When you’re a popular hardware store servicing a large and diverse local community, it’s not just your product range that keeps customers coming back – it’s also the friendly and knowledgeable staff.
This month, Murphy’s Mitre 10 in Monbulk said goodbye to two of its best, as Linda James and Wendy Tyack retired with 50 years of service between them.
When Ms James started work as a cashier in October 1999, Sydney was preparing to host the Olympics, Australia had rejected a referendum to become a Republic, and the number one song was Mambo No. 5.
Mitre 10 belonged to local businessman Eddie Anderson, and the shop still had its petrol bowsers out the front.
“Those bowsers drove us crazy! We had to push a button on the console to start them for the customer, and you’d just start another job out in the shop and have to rush back to the front when they started beeping,” Ms James said.
By the time Wendy started in August 2001, fresh from doing a MYOB course at TAFE and working in banking, the business had been sold to Paul and Julie Murphy, and within a couple of years, Murphy’s Mitre 10 had doubled in size.
Working in hardware was a big learning curve, but Ms James became responsible for inward goods, while Ms Tyack ended up managing administration.
“In the early days we used to build stock on the shop floor, putting together barbecues and wheelbarrows, just like we do today. It was a bit of a challenge when Paul Murphy came and asked me to put together a wood lathe!” Ms Tyack said.
They found Paul to be an exceptional boss – a real dynamo, with a great sense of fun.
“Paul would stride straight into the office in the morning, park his briefcase, then spend half an hour going around the shop floor, talking to the staff,” Ms James said.
“At the end of the day he’d play footy and cricket in the aisles with a home-made cricket bat, and rubber stress balls were always flying everywhere.”
Everything changed on a Wednesday morning in March 2013, when they were called in to the office and told that Paul had died suddenly, from an extremely rare condition.
Mr Murphy’s wife, Julie Murphy, who eventually took over Murphy’s Mitre 10 with her daughter Laura and son Pat, remembers the devastation.
“Paul’s sudden passing completely shook our world. It was an incredibly tough time. But Wendy and Linda were nothing short of extraordinary. Together with Gary, who moved up from the trade yard to manage the store, they kept everything going, while grieving for Paul,” Ms Murphy said.
“Paul wasn’t just a talented businessman, he was an incredible person, and Wendy, Linda, and Gary carried his spirit forward. The three of them ran the business with dedication, loyalty and unwavering support, and without them, it would not have survived.”
Ms Tyack and Ms James said they’ll miss the camaraderie at work, and the chats with customers, some of who’ve been coming to the store for as long as they’ve been working there.
“Monbulk is still very community-minded, and the majority of people like to support Murphy’s Mitre 10 as their local store. People are amazed by how much we stock,” Ms James said.
For Ms Murphy, whose store was recently judged Victoria’s Best Medium Format Mitre 10 for the second time, it will be bittersweet to say goodbye.
“Wendy and Linda have always shown passion, professionalism, and heart, and having employees like them, who live locally and connect with the community, is one of our biggest strengths,” she said.
“When your staff genuinely care about the people they serve, it shows – and that’s what keeps customers coming back.”
