Dunc Dynasty

Words By Terrell Manasco | Images by Blakeney Cox The pale red-and-white building sits a few miles off Highway 5 in Jasper in the community of Macedonia. Behind the chain link fence with the YellaWood sign, half a dozen assorted stepladders are fastened to the building. Through the doors you’ll see aisles with plumbing supplies, brass pipe fittings, molding samples, and an array of building materials. One thing you won’t see: chairs behind the sales counter.“It’s just not allowed,” says the pleasant gentleman in tan slacks and teal golf shirt. Sitting in a desk chair in the back, Mike Duncan, who co-owns Duncan’s Supply with his brother Frankie, explains the logic behind this policy. “We’re very customer oriented.”The current building has existed since 1972, but the roots of the business date back several decades. “My grandfather had an old country store right here on this spot called Duncan General Merchandise,” Mike explains. “He sold groceries, horse collars, anything you might use on a farm.”Mike’s father, Billy, worked at the local A&P. On his days off, he bought items from Birmingham wholesalers and would sell them at the store. In 1958, Billy and his brother Hubert had accumulated enough merchandise to open a business. “My uncle and my dad sprung out on what ended up being a building supply store,” Mike says. Hubert later sold his share to Billy, who left his job to work in the store. He was actively involved until his death in 1995.Although Mike and Frankie both worked in public accounting before becoming partners years ago, they know their way around the building supply business. “I’ve worked here all my life,” Mike says. “When my brother and I got in from school, we’d have deliveries to make.”For decades, Duncan’s has been a mainstay for contractors and do-it-yourselfers. “We offer anything necessary in constructing a new home, from blocks to roofing and everything in between,” Mike says.If you don’t see it, they can probably have it within a few days. Special order is a large part of the business. “We have vendors that have been supplying us for 40 years,” Mike says. “We stock two colors of shingles and there’s probably 12 available. We have maybe 5 styles of exterior door units, and another 45 we can have within a week.”When Mike came here in 1977, there were six local independent building supply stores. Now five are gone. The secret to their success, he says, is simple. “We concentrate on three things,” Mike says, emphasizing each point. “We offer a good product, at a fair price, with good service. I truly believe good service is more important than price.”Now 64, Mike has no plans to retire soon. “This probably sounds kind of hokey but it’s just a pleasure to work with people,” he says. “My friends say, ‘When are you going to retire?’ Well, I enjoy what I’m doing. Why would I want to? Getting to help people, to understand their problems and let them know I want to help them, that’s what has kept us here too, and what helped us survive ’08. We had loyal customers who came back.”He recalls a story about one new customer who came in. “We talked, and I was able to help him,” Mike says. “He said, ‘I just left another business and couldn’t get anybody to help me. I come out here and you greet me when I come in the door. I’ll be back.’”Much of the credit for Mike’s customer service knowledge goes to his dad. “I learned so much more from him than in the four years I spent in college,” he says. “To get to work with him and just to watch him and how he reacted and dealt with customers helped me to relate and deal with them.”That knowledge is now being passed on to a new student. Mike’s son, John, flashes a grin beneath his Yankees ball cap. “I started here when I was about 19, delivering, working in the back, loading customers, and worked my way up to the front, answering phones, setting up deliveries,” he says.Named after his great grandfather who started the business many years ago, John says he enjoys working with his dad. “It’s been great,” he smiles. “I get to see him every day. That’s been a blessing. I couldn’t ask for a better boss or a better father. That’s a win-win situation.”Mike agrees. “To be able to spend time with your son at least eight hours a day, I can’t overlook the importance of that,” he says.John is also fond of his Uncle Frankie, who always keeps him laughing. “There’s never a dull moment with him.”Now 37, John says he really loves his job and plans to stay here. “I’m hoping to take over the business,” he says. “This is what I want to do.”That is, if Mike ever retires. 78