Newcomers Getting a Lesson in Patience | Video

Amy Fox | 6/15/2012

If you`re moving to Minot, or most anywhere else in western North Dakota, the number one thing on your mind is finding a place to live. Once you find a place, you also need the basics, like furniture, cable and internet.

With the growing population in the area and the demand for amenities, businesses are trying to respond to the people’s needs.

Zimmerman’s Furniture Manager and Sales Josh Pretzer explained, "The demand for getting furniture into homes has really picked up, so we`ve had to pick up our delivery."

It`s a demand that Minot businesses, like Zimmerman`s Furniture, are trying to prepare for.

"We have to fully stock our stores. So we have customers come in here and pick out what they like and get it into their homes in a sufficient time,” said Pretzer.

In addition to a growing population, businesses are trying to meet the needs of those affected by last year`s flood.

"With the disaster, it has to be everything," said Pretzer. "Mattresses, sofas. There`s just so many families moving to the area with nothing. We have a lot of flooded families that have nothing."

As families move back into their homes, many of them are forced to start all over.

"The focus before was mattresses," Pretzer said. "Now it`s everything and that just has to do with the growth in Minot and the community."

As Pretzer explained, there’s a lesson in patience for the buyer.

"You need to know that it`s not as difficult as everything else is here. We`re trying to make it as easy as we possibly can. Getting furniture in stock is a big thing and getting it to house in a very quick time."

Furniture is not the only thing you could wait a few weeks for.

SRT Communications Inc. in Minot is scheduling about two weeks out for internet installation, which is mainly due to all of the growth in Minot.

As people move back into flood homes, the company says it has technicians working overtime to meet the needs of their customers.

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