Kabert family provides unparalled customer service

Published in the March 18-31, 2015 issue of Morgan Hill Life

WATCH OUR VIDEO OF VALUE BUSINESS PRODUCTS BY CLICKING HERE

By Robert Airoldi

Photo by Marty Cheek Alan Kabert, Iris Kabert and son Sam Kabert watch as Luke selects a tennis ball representing a raffle winner.

Photo by Marty Cheek
Alan Kabert, Iris Kabert and son Sam Kabert watch as Luke selects a tennis ball representing a raffle winner.

The Kabert family has been in the office supply business for 35 years and has outlasted numerous incarnations of stores, including the office-supply mega-chain Office Depot, Inc., which was recently purchased for more than $6 billion by Staples.

Despite the competition, Value Business Products has thrived, altering its business model when needed and changing with the times when required.

“We were in business before Staples and Office Depot,” said Alan Kabert, who took over his father’s typewriter repair business decades ago. “Now Office Depot has been sold to Staples and we were around before they were here and we have some of the same customers for more than 30 years.”

Value Business Products offers thousands of products, including cleaning and break-room supplies, coffee service, office supplies, managed print services, technology, promotional products, custom stamps, new hire kits and thousands more. But what they’re most proud of is their promotional product line.

“In terms of promotional products, we can provide anything you can think of with a company logo on it,” said Iris Kabert, the owner and founder of the company. “It’s really a fun part of the business. Customers get really excited about seeing their logo on products.”

Thirty-five years ago, the company was born from humble beginnings. Alan’s father owned a typewriter repair business in Los Angeles, but Alan didn’t want to live in Southern California. So after he graduated from Chico State University, he started a similar business in San Jose in the early 1980s.

“We were selling and repairing typewriters and soon after the writing was on the wall that the typewriter industry was dying,” he said. “Computers were coming around and my wife had the idea of looking into office supplies. We looked at a few businesses and bought a company that offered discount office supplies in Palo Alto that was ready to go out of business.”

They soon opened another store in downtown San Jose. As the Gulf War raged in 1990 and the economy declined, they realized their phone call-in business was becoming more popular. So they altered their business model and adapted.

While living in Gilroy, Alan went on a fishing trip one day and spoke with a friend about moving the business to Morgan Hill. They eventually purchased the bottom floor of an office building and moved to the community in the early 2000s.

“We traded a 45 commute for a 15-minute commute, so it wasn’t a difficult decision,” said Iris in the company’s conference room as their two Golden Retrievers Luke and Cali ambled about. “We have the benefit of being in or near Silicon Valley without all the traffic and congestion, and we have easy access tour customers.”

And those customers range from small businesses, large Silicon Valley companies, state agencies, cities and private schools, said Sam Kabert, the 26-year-old son of Alan and Iris.

He said partnering with the Chamber of Commerce has been a great asset.

“We really enjoy getting the chance to connect with local businesses and meeting new folks,” he said. He is part of the chamber’s recent efforts to create a Young Professionals Network.

“For a younger person going to chamber events, it can be intimidating,” Sam said. “Getting them with young folks first helps get them more inclined to do more chamber events and that’s where you see more relationships formed.”

And relationships are the key to a business like Value Business Products.

“We provide the type of service people want but can’t always get with a big box store,” she said. “Our customers appreciate a person they know answering the phone, a voice they recognize, someone they might run into while out in the community. That’s the level of personal service and attention we strive to provide our customers.”