In Business: Cat’s Minnesota T’s in Brainerd Stays Focused on Customer Service

According to numerous surveys, the average life in America for small business is 8 to 10 years. 50% fail after five years and 65% fail after ten. Cat’s Minnesota T’s, a garment and customized apparel business in the Brainerd area, has been around since 1992, and they say the formula to this success is simple.

“Always customer first,” said owner Cat Hanson. “Making sure that every need that they have and want is taking care of.”

“Customer service is number one,” agreed general manager Sabrina Drahosh. “Being able to help customers pick exactly what they want will actually help them find what they want. And we won’t just hand them a catalog.”

In a time where e-commerce and online shopping dominate the retail industry, Cat’s Minnesota T’s says they see the value in putting the customer first.

“[They] all sell the same products, but our customer service is the best,” said Drahosh. “We’ll actually say, ‘Well, what are you looking for?’ And go into detail and materials and weight and feelings and actually find them what they actually want versus what is just selected.”

“Being able to actually all somebody and ask a question just makes it way different than going on the internet,” added Hanson.

The business also prides itself on quality over quantity, where every design sold is unique and specially tailored to each customer. The crew at Cat’s Minnesota T’s has years of experience doing this type of work.

“We’ve all been here for quite a while. I’ve been here 17 years, so it’s – we all pretty much know what’s going on back there,” said script print manager Wade Wink. “We thrive in quality from the beginning, from making screens to putting it onto the shirt. We pay attention to detail, and everybody seems to like us when they come in.”