Mac Hughs Inc. Clothing Store

      A rite of each school year while growing up was a trip to Mac Hughs to buy some new cloths to replace the previous year's school cloths which were either too small or in disrepair. First the Mac Hugh store was in downtown Ridgewood and later they would build their own much larger location across from the Duck Pond. The amazing part were the salesmen who would remember us by face and welcome us back each year. It was even possible to develop favorites among the salesmen since these guys remained at their jobs year in and year out. This was my introduction to what "Customer Service" is all about and to this day Mac Hughs remains a touchstone which I use to discern the relative merit of whatever establishment I patronize. Very few have ever come close to the professionalism and civility which used to be offered by Mac Hughs.

      As times changed and I moved away from Ridgewood my taste in clothing changed to Brooks Brothers and I never returned to Mac Hughs. It's a shame because as I have subsequently learned through experience it is worth the time and effort to go out of your way to receive the kind of attention which the guys at Mac Hughs used to lavish on us. This is true for most things but especially important when it comes to a sense of style in clothing.

      And who can forget the Lucky Bucks we received with each purchase? These could be traded in for various build-them-yourself model kits of cars, boats, and aircraft. Mac Hughs was certainly ahead of its time in knowing that if they could convince children to shop at Mac Hughs by simply rewarding them with the modern day equivalent of the McDonald's Happy Meal, they would build a thriving business via the repeat customers. It certainly worked for a good long time and last I heard the owners retired to Vermont. The Mac Hughs building is now a bank with offices for rent, where kids once used to try on the latest cloths and Lucky Bucks were the coin of the realm.