Slidell store keeps growing in fifth year of operation
By KEVIN CHIRI
Slidell news bureau
SLIDELL – It still comes across as a crazy idea for a longtime air conditioning man to open a shipping company.
And better yet, that he would decide to sell and ship king cakes from the same place.
But that’s what Gerry Vallee, owner of Vallee Air Conditioning and Heating, decided to do. And now heading into the fifth season of operating all three businesses out of the same location at 647 I-10 Service Road, it’s pretty apparent that the young entrepreneur has a mind for business.
Vallee built a successful AC and Heating business on the South Shore before expanding to the North Shore, then built his own office building at the I-10 Service Road location.
Not only did he have the business sense to build three office units there, now leasing two of them out, but he saw the opportunity to do more with the AC & Heating space. That’s when In & Out Shipping was born five years ago, which was quickly expanded with the sale of Nonna Randazzo King Cakes, which In & Out can also ship anywhere you want.
The king cakes are now available at In & Out with the traditional cakes that Nonna Randazzo is so famous for. Besides all the busy times of holiday shipping that the company continues to handle, their seasonal ramp up of selling and shipping king cakes is off and running now too.
Megan Shorter and her daughter Chloe head the office since Megan had 10 years of experience working at a shipping company before Vallee hired her. Then the growth of the business has been so steady that Chloe came on board to work with her mom two years ago.
“People love the fact they can ship their packages from here, and also pick out some great king cakes to ship from here too. One lady does 20 cakes every year,” Megan said.
Gerry does admit that it was Megan’s idea to sell the king cakes after he decided to open the shipping business.
“She knew how many they shipped at the place she used to work, so when I talked about ways to expand our business she immediately suggested selling and shipping the king cakes right from our shipping business,” Vallee said. “It’s been a great idea and has grown every year.”
Megan said that they get asked all year long “when will you get the king cakes in,” which traditionally starts in early October.
With the king cake business that continues to grow, they will soon open an online site for the public to purchase and ship the king cakes without ever stepping into the store.
“We hope to have that up and running by Thanksgiving or just after that,” Vallee said.
Shorter said their shipping business also is getting bigger each year—hence, the need to add her daughter to the office staff—with the key focus on the best customer service ever.
“In my 10 years before coming to work here I learned how important it was to help the customers with their packages,” she said. “We know every little in-and-out about the best way to ship so you get that experience from us when you come in. Customer service is number one with us when anyone steps into this office.”
She said it goes further than that since some people come in ready to ship something like phone equipment that doesn’t need to go through them.
“We know all about those things so we help a lot there too,” she added.
Shorter added one more tip for those who are preparing packages before coming in.
“Don’t wrap with newspaper,” she noted.
In & Out also has all the packaging and other incidentals needed to get your package put together right on site, something else Megan and Chloe are there to help with.
They are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday through Friday, and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. Packages go out at 3 p.m. on weekdays only.
For more information, call them at 985-445-1168.