A trip to Yoder Department Store isn’t just about tracking down great deals. Sure, just like when the store first opened its doors in the 1940s, you can still find an incredible selection of high-quality clothing for men, women, and children, plus an array of sewing and quilting necessities like fabrics, notions, and machines. When Ora Yoder founded the store generations ago, he emphasized customer service above all else. That service and Ora’s family’s commitment to upholding those values is the greatest contributing factor to the store’s longevity.
Yoder’s History
Yoder Department Store began in 1945 when Ora, a former schoolteacher at Shipshewana’s Farver School, purchased an existing store in Topeka, IN. Over the years, he acquired multiple other stores in Shipshewana, where he ultimately consolidated the businesses between 1945-1967 into a newly built shopping center. Organized along three main product lines — sewing and fabrics, footwear, and apparel — the store has provided a wide range of products for all facets of life since its inception.
“The recognition for the store’s brand centers more around customer service and the experience than it does necessarily the product,” said Andre Yoder, Ora’s grandson and current general manager of the store.
“Customers don’t come for a certain brand — they come for the quality, fair prices, and good service,” said Meredith Yoder, part-owner and Ora’s daughter-in-law.
A Pride in Customer Service
Instilling that drive to provide excellent customer service is the top priority for onboarding new employees, Andre said. Their managers place extra emphasis on giving new hires the support they need to acclimate and excel in the store’s customer-first environment. A two-week orientation takes new hires to all departments of the store, working within a wide range of skill sets to give them a greater understanding of the store’s layout and offerings.
“There’s a lot of hard work in teaching new hires about all the generations and the people who came before and the importance of that legacy and how that all ties into their role,” Andre said. “Almost daily, I’ll have a customer in one department who may be on the border of another. They’re able to get someone who has the familiarity with that other department and can tag in the expert into that other area.”
Yoder Department Store Today
Located on Van Buren Street in Shipshewana, Indiana (Amish County), the store is afforded a loyal base of shoppers who are looking for an enjoyable shopping experience. To them, a trip to Yoder Department Store isn’t some chore — it’s all part of their rest and relaxation, and that positive mood is reciprocated by the staff.
“It’s so helpful to have a customer base with people who came to enjoy themselves. They’re coming in with a good attitude, and that’s always contagious,” Andre said. “In our store, we’re always going to greet you and engage you with not the typical, ‘What do you need?’ or ‘What can I help you with?’ but, ‘How are you doing? How’s the weather outside?’”
Yoder & Shipshewana
Stories involving customers joking with employees — even asking if they’re keeping Andre “inline” — are commonplace at Yoder Department Store. They’re indicative of the relationships the store establishes with new customers and maintains with those returning as well as a reflection of Ora’s guiding principle: to treat others with the same kindness and dignity you’d expect to be treated with.
“It’s very gratifying to carry on this legacy. Ora was very community-oriented and wanted the best for the community. We still would like to carry that legacy on,” Meredith said. “It gives me a lot of pride that we have the gifts within our family to still be able to keep it going.”
