MONTAGUE, P.E.I. — Makan Rakhshan hasn't been sleeping on the job.
Quite the opposite, in fact. His mattress retail business, SleepConcept, was recently recognized with the new business of the year award during an annual Eastern P.E.I. Chamber of Commerce event in March.
Asked how he earned the award, Rakhshan said it was because of the way he treats his customers.
"I try to give them the best service that is possible," he said.
And so far, he think's he's been doing a good job. He opened his Montague business late last year, shortly after he and his family moved to P.E.I. from Iran.
SleepConcept mainly sells Canadian-made mattresses, pillows and other bedding supplies that Rakhshan finds hard to source elsewhere without paying more. Its swift growth and customer base may be thanks to one of his core principles, which he picked up throughout his 12 years working in similar industries.
"I think the best marketing tool is happy customers," he said.
One way he works to deliver on this is by delivering his mattresses for reasonable rates, or for free when it's feasible. As well, some companies only deliver mattresses as far as the customer's front door unless they pay extra, but Rakhshan doesn't work by that policy.
He's had instances where customers may not have been able to carry a mattress into their house without assistance.
"When I delivered mattresses to places where they needed help, I just did it. I didn't ask for extra charges and stuff like that."
Rakhshan also believes the success of his business is simply because he's selling the right products in the right place at the right price. Apparently, his inventory of pillows is rising in popularity all across Kings County, he said.
"Everybody wants my pillows."
Having only been open a short time, the positive response he's recieved from his customers and his community is one of the many reasons immigrating to P.E.I. has been easy for him, he said.
