A new nutrition store in Minot isn't just in the business of selling supplements, it also works with customers to help them achieve their goals.
Complete Nutrition just opened its doors Friday, and owner Carson Stratman said superior customer service is what sets them apart from from other nutritional supplement stores.
"Our goal is really to listen to our customers and provide them with the best health supplements that they're looking for to make them look better, feel better and perform better," Stratman said.
The store has three different product types - sports nutrition, weight loss and general health.
The sports nutrition products include all the proteins and pre-workout powders an athlete typically uses to enhance their performance.
Stratman said it's the weight loss products that really set Complete Nutrition apart, not because of what they sell, but what they give away for free.
"What we do here which is a little bit different for all of our customers - we work with them by giving free consultations," Stratman said. "The people who work in our store are trained consultants that when you come into our shop, we're going to put together a meal plan for you, a workout program for you, and then we're really going to follow up with you to make sure that whatever goal you're looking to hit, you're going to achieve that goal."
Stratman said the consultations they give are a major part of the store's philosophy to help customers in every way possible. He doesn't want someone to just come in, buy a supplement, leave and never be heard from again. If a product works for a customer, Stratman wants to know about it. Perhaps even more importantly, he wants to know if a product didn't work so he can find something else that does.
"What we do is follow up with every single one of our customers. We make sure that the product's working correctly the way that it should be working for them," Stratman said. "All we care about is that you're going to reach your goals that you're looking for. That's our job, to take care of and make sure when you walk out of here you've got a coach."
Stratman said even if a customer doesn't buy anything, Complete Nutrition still offers free nutritional advice, supplement recommendations and will put together exercise programs for them.
"We'll even go to the gym and work out with them. Not a lot of places do that," Stratman said. "So that's what makes us pretty cool, I think, is that we're just so customer service friendly."
Dan Biskup, a consultant at Complete Nutrition, said he loves that the business is result driven, not product driven.
"It's not just somebody coming in here and getting a product and never seeing them or talking to them again. What we do is actually a process of follow-ups," Biskup said. "They want to lose 40 pounds of weight, that's our goal, too. We're going to walk that line with them and make sure that they achieve that goal through follow-ups."
The general health line consists of multivitamins, essential oils and healthy aging products to help with everyday body maintenance and upkeep.
Beyond those three broad categories, Stratman said Complete Nutrition has something that should be of help to just about everyone who walks through the door.
"We feel like anybody that has a need or a question on supplementation, there's a product in here for them. We focus not just on your 25-year-old sports nutrition guys or 35-year-old mom looking to lose weight," he said. "What we really focus on is, there's something in here for everyone. And we can help out anybody and everybody in a really non-intimidating environment.
"We don't want anyone to come in our store and feel intimidated or whatnot because they're coming into a supplement store. We want them to feel open and welcome, and we're here to help. That's our job, and we love doing it every day, and we see the results from all of our clients."
This is the third store Stratman has opened in his franchise. The other two are in Montana and Idaho. Complete Nutrition is a national chain, and Minot is the fourth location in North Dakota, following Bismarck, Grand Forks and Fargo. Stratman is not involved in the other North Dakota locations.
Stratman, who is a native of Omaha, Neb., said they were set to open last summer when the Souris River flood hit. He was prepared to delay moving into Minot for quite a while when he made a trip up to the Magic City a couple months after the flood. What he saw changed his mind.
"I was kind of thinking that I was going to have to hold off on this for a while, but I was just impressed, I was actually amazed with how quickly Minot has kind of recovered," Stratman said. "I was thinking this store would be pushed off a little bit because of the flood, but we're open a year after the flood and ready to go. I wasn't expecting that."
The consultants currently in Minot are actually from Stratman's other two stores and are here to help get the Minot store off the ground. Stratman said they are still in the hiring process to staff the store and are always looking for talented people. He said many of the consultants at Complete Nutrition are either licensed personal trainers or certified nutritionists, which makes them more able to help customers with questions.
"So we're looking for someone who has a background in the fitness industry," he said. "It's not a necessity, but a lot of our consultants do have that licensed personal trainer or nutritional background and can provide all of that to our clients."
Something Stratman is proud to do is give 25 percent off to all military personnel all the time. He said some of his employees in other stores are military, and he feels that discount is the least he can do to thank them for everything they do.
"And I just know how much the military means for us, what they do for the local community of Minot, as well. And it's just an easy way for us to give back to them and say we appreciate what you do for us, thanks a lot," Stratman said. "In return, it's small, but here's 25 percent off every day on all the products in our store. I just think it feels good and I want to give back to them in any way that I can."