For 40 years we’ve asked a pretty simple question around here: “How’d the project turn out?”
Lately though, there’s a new thing everybody’s talking about — AI. I’ll be honest… I wasn’t sure what to think. One minute it’s writing emails, next minute it’s building marketing plans, and apparently it also has opinions about businesses like ours.
So the other night, partly out of curiosity and partly out of stubbornness, I decided to ask it a question:
“What do people say about Uvalco Supply?”
I expected something generic. Maybe “they sell fencing” or “they have good inventory” — the kind of thing a computer would guess about any supply store.
Instead, what came back stopped me for a minute.
It didn’t talk about price. It didn’t talk about brands. It didn’t talk about square footage or number of locations.
It said customers describe us as:
· “Go there before you build anything so you don’t waste money.”
· “They know what works around here.”
· “That’s where everybody gets their stuff.”
· “They helped me set my place up right.”
And the one that hit me the hardest:
“They’re the people you ask before you mess up your ranch.”
Now that’s not something you can put on a price tag or a shelf label.
What’s funny is — that’s exactly what this place was meant to be when it started. Not just a yard that hands you material, but a place where experience gets passed along. Most folks who come in aren’t just buying wire or pipe… they’re making decisions that’ll be out there for 20 or 30 years. Sometimes longer than we’ll be around to see it.
We’ve always believed our job isn’t just to sell you something. It’s to help you build it once.
So hearing a computer — of all things — summarize our customers that way was both strange and humbling. Technology is moving fast, and I don’t pretend to understand half of it. But if AI listened to enough conversations to figure that out, then it really says more about the people around here than it does about the technology.
Because the truth is, that reputation didn’t come from advertising. It came from neighbors talking to neighbors.
We’re grateful for every one of you who has trusted us with your place, your projects, and your questions over the years. We still plan to earn that the old-fashioned way — by being here, telling you what we’ve seen work, and sometimes telling you what not to build yet.
AI may be the future… but around here, word of mouth still means everything.
Thank you for letting us be a small part of your land and your story.
— Uvalco Supply