Kempner Feed and Supply — Local services in Lampasas

I'd heard that last weekend was their Grand Opening. So we loaded up and drove over on Sunday, just to find out they are not open on Sundays. I don't know about you, but my horses like to eat 7 days a week. I don't understand a FEED store business that thinks they only need to serve their customers when it is convenient for THEM instead of the customer. UPDATE after response from owner: Owner's response is confirmation of their lack of knowledge in the feed store business. From where I live, I can travel in 3 different directions to find 3 Tractor Supply locations with Feed and one Murdoch's Ranch Supply with Feed or a total of four (4) Animal Feed Stores that ARE OPEN ON SUNDAYS. Next: I work for a living, which means I don't have the luxury of shopping when it is convenient for the store owners. My day to do those chores is on SUNDAY. Obviously, the store owner missed the point that my horses (like me) need to eat EVERYDAY. There is also the fact that emergencies don't just happen on the days they like to go to work. Stock tanks leak, floats break, horses have medical needs, hay nets need replacing, horse blankets get ripped,...all of which, can happen on a Sunday. However, I see now on this page, where they have added Sunday hours. Too bad it took a customer to direct you to that point. A good business plan would have had that matter thought out and taken care of before the store opened for business. Last point. I don't shop for my needs in order to "Give you a chance." Your chance came and went. I don't know that I can trust a store that has such little consideration for their customers as what you have demonstrated. So even though you have now added Sunday hours, you've already shown me that I don't care to (or need to) patronize Kempner Feed when I have...

I don't know how many people can actually score a brand new business that just opened their doors with 4 and 5 stars. NOT every transaction, every interaction with every customer can be stellar. Something has to be off at least once or twice in a new business. Especially when you consider the owners have never owned a feed store before.

Here's an honest review.

In two different trips to this store (two weeks apart), both times I walked away empty-handed because they were out of stock on the product I wanted! Yes! How does that happen? It can't happen in a feed store that wants to stay in business. Especially when your customers are feeding horses. Apparently, they don't know the horse's digestive system is not that willing to switch from one feed to the next overnight. It's not like they want a variety - like Cheerios for breakfast this morning and Bacon and Eggs tomorrow.

Here's a tip for new feed store owners/managers: When your supply gets down to 50%, REORDER. You can't afford to run out. If you run out of product on two consecutive trips, you're effectively telling that customer to go to your competitor. You're telling them that you don't appreciate or want their business. How many times can you do that and with how many customers before you're whistlin' Dixie all by yourself?

To be as fair as possible, I went in with a good intent to score at least a 3 star rating (if possible), which is above average. But you fell to 2 stars the first time and down to 1 when you repeated the experience on my second visit. I won't give you 3rd chance to...

Unlike reviewers that only post 1 star rants when they're unrealistic expectations aren't met, I found the staff at Kempner Feed and Supply very helpful. I was logical enough to check their store hours before I went, and didn't expect they'd be open 24/7 for any unplanned/emergency I may have due to poor planning on my behalf.

The store was currently out of stock on regular corn, albeit no surprise that they'd sold 9 pallets in the last 2 weeks due to people being off work and able to get to their feeders to fill them up. I did pre-purchase a pallet of regular corn for pick-up the following day (it was delivering to them tomorrow) and I also purchased the 19 bags of cracked corn in stock. Again, no surprise, that a high demand item would potentially be out of or low in stock. I'm sure they'll have more in stock and I'll better align my needs to their inventory going forward.

I'd encourage everyone to call the store before visiting, if you have specific needs and want to confirm availability for what you're wanting. If the store doesn't have it, they can tell you when they'll get it. You can also confirm the store is open, if you're otherwise not able to navigate technology and find out for yourself otherwise.

If you're looking for friendly service while supporting a local business versus a chain (regardless of your reasons), this may be the...