By Kristine Ellis
Some people spend half a lifetime learning where they fit in the world, others are born right into it. Such is the case with Keith Guidry.
Retail manager of Percy Guidry Hearth & Patio, in Lafayette, La., Guidry grew up working in the family business along with his brothers and, later, his sister. Like his grandfather and father before him, Guidry is a natural born sales person.
"I'll go talk to a customer and within five minutes I know where they're from, what their husband does for a living, how many kids they have and if the kids play soccer, baseball or football, and whether they're expecting to have any more," he said. "I love talking to people."
Guidry laughs and says he has a "B.S. in sales," but he is completely serious about taking care of his customers. "I have a genuine interest in getting to know their needs, not just in selling them something," he said.
Doing right by their customers has been the family philosophy since Guidry's grandfather, Percy, opened his blacksmith and welding shop in downtown Lafayette in 1945. Keith Guidry's dad Ray carried on the tradition when he opened a patio showroom right across the street in 1967.
By then, the family welding business was producing primarily ornamental ironwork along with the occasional niche product such as burglar bars. Ray kept broadening the custom product line in response to customer …
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