NORWICH
—
S&S
TV
and
Appliances
co-owners
Tom
and
Joan
Brauer
have
been
serving
Madison
and
Chenango
County
since
1971.
2023
was
an
important
year
for
the
family
business,
with
the
family’s
son
Kurt
and
daughter-in
law
Alyssa
taking
on
a
growing
role
with
the
company.
S&S
two
showrooms
are
in
Norwich
and
Hamilton.
They
carry
selections
of
brand
name
appliances
such
as
Amana,
Speed
Queen,
Danby,
Electrolux,
Maytag,
Monogram,
and
Whirlpool.
“Our
goal
has
been
to
deliver
the
best
brands
at
the
best
possible
price,
while
delivering
outstanding,
friendly,
customer
service,”
said
Tom.
“We’ll
work
with
you
to
find
a
product
that
fits
your
needs,
budget
and
lifestyle.”
In
the
last
few
years,
S&S
received
recognition
and
was
named
the
BrandSource
Dealer
of
the
Year
for
the
North
Atlantic
Region.
They
also
received
the
New
York
State
Senate
Empire
Award
for
outstanding
contributions
and
dedication
to
the
growth,
prosperity,
and
betterment
of
their
community.
“Our
in-house
technicians
are
specially
trained
and
prepared
to
service
all
that
S&S
sells,”
Tom
added.
“We
also
do
in-store
repairs
at
our
Norwich
location
if
you’re
in
an
area
we
can’t
get
to
in
a
timely
manner.”
Story Continues Below Adverts
In
addition
to
appliance
repair,
they
offer
a
great
selection
of
parts
and
can
help
identify
the
correct
piece
needed
for
repairs.
If
they
don’t
have
the
part
in
stock,
they
will
special
order
it.
He
said
they
also
also
sell
reconditioned
appliances.
A
family
business
close
to
community
“We
do
a
lot
of
business
with
landlords,
it’s
a
part
of
our
business,
and
we
work
with
coin
operated
washers
and
dryers,”
Tom
said.
“We
rent
them
and
work
on
consignment
and
commission.”
“Say
a
guy
has
a
three
to
four
family
apartment
building
and
he
wants
to
put
coin
operated
washers
and
dryers
in
there;
we
put
them
in
and
split
the
collection
50/50,”
Tom
said,
“S&S
does
all
of
the
servicing.
The
landlord
only
has
to
pay
the
utilities,
otherwise,
we
do
it
all.”
Tom
said,
“Speed
Queen
is
really
popular
with
excellent
washing
machines.
He
said
they
are
built
old-school
and
don’t
wear
out
like
the
others.
“That’s
been
a
good
selling
point
for
us.
They’re
a
little
pricey
but
worth
it,”
he
said.
“We’re
a
family-run
business
that
are
employees
appreciate
and
allowances
are
made
for
our
employees
to
have
the
freedom
to
take
some
time
off
to
take
their
kids
to
the
doctor.”
“We
know
what
families
go
through
and
support
our
employees
with
their
personal
family
needs
and
they
appreciate
it.”
Tom
also
said
the
company
joined
with
another
buying
group
for
better
pricing
and
better
service.
He
said
2023
has
been
another
good
year
and
they
hired
two
more
service
people.
He
explained
the
benefits
of
being
based
in
a
small
town
with
only
two
appliance
competitors,
the
box
store
and
S&S.
He
said
they
compete
with
them
very
well.
“Maybe
30
years
ago
there
may
have
been
five
or
six
appliance
stores,
so
it’s
easy
for
us
to
prove
our
service.”
he
added.
Between
the
two
stores,
they
have
15
employees,
12
being
full
time.
Story Continues Below Adverts
Working
closely
with
customers
The
company
had
a
hard
time
finding
qualified
service
technicians
to
fill
roles.
“Nobody
wants
to
work,
so
we
had
been
going
a
little
crazy
to
keep
up
with
it,”
he
said.
“It
took
about
four
to
six
weeks
to
find
the
right
local
hires,”
said
Tom
“The
challenge
is
we
must
tell
the
people
what
we
do
for
them.
A
lot
of
people
don’t
realize
what
a
small
business
can
do
for
the
town.
We
don’t
stand
there
and
say
we’re
the
greatest,
we
can
do
this,
we
don’t
do
that,
but
a
lot
of
it
is
word
of
mouth.”
He
said
some
time
people
shop
for
price,
some
shop
for
service
and
its
up
to
him
to
try
to
convince
the
public
that
service
is
more
important
than
price.
He
explained
that
on
Thanksgiving
Day
he
received
a
call
from
one
of
his
customers,
saying
he
bought
a
range
from
S&S
about
8
years
ago
and
it
wasn’t
working,
so
he
would
need
another
one.
Tom
said,
“I
told
him
to
meet
me
at
the
store,
I’ll
be
right
there.”
“On
Super
Bowl
Sunday,
I
received
a
call
from
Jim
Cushman,
and
he
said
I
want
to
watch
the
Super
Bowl
but
my
TV
just
conked
out,
and
I
said,
ok
Jim,
come
to
the
store,
we’ll
get
you
one.”
Those
are
the
things
people
don’t
consider,
they
only
consider
that
when
they
need
it,”
he
added.
“Its
my
job
to
show
them
thats
what
we
do.
He
said,
“Thats
service,
thats
all.”
Another
challenge
shared
was
the
issue
of
sales
tax.
He
said
the
business
is
on
East
Main
Street
and
they
have
to
collect
more
sales
tax
than
the
whole
city.
“We’re
not
even
in
the
Business
District,”
he
said.
“We
do
over
$2
million
dollars
a
year
and
with
8%
sales
tax,
thats
a
lot
of
money.”
He
said
he
reached
out
to
the
Commerce
Chenango
but
the
only
answer
he
got
was
the
Business
District
only
takes
care
of
the
main
downtown
up
to
the
railroad
tracks.
“I
think
S&S
should
be
included
in
the
Business
District
and
would
like
this
looked
into
100%.
Welcoming
a
new
future
S&S
welcomed
Kurt
and
Alyssa
Brauer
on
their
return
to
Norwich
last
year,
the
couple
is
partnering
in
ownershi.
Tom
said,
“Kurt
and
Alyssa
will
be
doing
a
lot
more
social
media
and
advertising.
I’m
pretty
much
laid
back,
where
word
of
mouth
means
a
lot
to
me,
but
we
must
get
into
the
new
times.
We’re
trying
to
keep
the
younger
people
as
our
customers,
thats
the
main
thing
for
the
future.”
He
said
the
service
department
is
going
to
get
busier
with
all
the
new
appliances
and
it
will
be
imperative
to
keep
up
to
date
with
all
of
the
electronics
in
them.
“So
we
will
have
additional
training
to
stay
current,”
he
said.
S&S
Partner
Kurt
Brauer
said
he
grew
up
in
Norwich
and
was
always
with
his
parents
at
the
S&S
store.
He
said
he
enjoyed
sports
and
was
part
of
the
community
but
when
he
married
his
wife
Alyssa,
they
decided
to
move
to
Maine,
being
two
young
married
kids
they
really
didn’t
care
where
they
lived.
Story Continues Below Adverts
He
said
they
were
gone
for
about
eleven
years
and
when
they
found
out
there
was
an
opportunity
to
work
with
his
parents,
to
work
with
the
business,
they
decided
to
move
back
home.
“We
moved
back
in
May
2023
and
found
a
house
and
settled
down,
putting
our
roots
back
in
our
hometown
of
Norwich,”
Kurt
added.
“I
just
invested
in
the
business,
so
I’m
working
buying
it
from
my
parents,
over
time.
It
sounds
kind
of
weird
for
me
to
say
part
owner.
The
whole
thing
is
humbling,”
he
said.
“Working
with
my
dad
has
been
awesome,
I
wouldn’t
want
to
work
with
anyone
else.
He
really
knows
his
ways
with
people
and
has
a
great
demeanor
about
him,”
Kurt
said.
“I’m
doing
sales
and
service
now,
helping
out
where
I
can
behind
the
scenes.”
S&S
would
like
to
thank
the
community
for
making
2023
such
a
great
success!
Norwich
S&S
store
hours
are
Monday
through
Friday
from
8:00
a.m
to
5:30
p.m.,
Saturday
8:00
a.m.
to
4:00
p.m.
and
closed
on
Sundays.
www.evesun.com
https://www.evesun.com/news/stories/2024-02-06/39835/S&S-TV-and-Appliances:-A-new-generation-for-a-long-time-family-business
