dbryce@journalnet.com

POCATELLO - Treating people right and making them feel comfortable almost always guarantees a satisfied customer, and in the furniture business, it also means a repeat buyer, says salesman Herschel Bowman.

For five years, Bowman has sold home decor items for Cozy Home Furniture in the Westwood Mall - the same store he helped to open more than four decades ago.

Bowman, 73, started selling furniture in 1951 for Petersen's Furniture in Old Town.

In the 1960s, he began driving a truck for Bannock Paving, hauling earth in and out of what would become Westwood Village, the first shopping mall in Idaho.

He opened up the mall as a salesman for Montgomery Ward. While employed for the company, he traveled to Alaska to open Caribou Wards in Anchorage, Alaska, as well.

As a salesman at Martin Furniture, Bowman also helped the Pocatello-based store open a new location in Las Vegas.

Home styles change as quickly as fashion trends, and Bowman said he keeps up on the latest crazes and new products through trade magazines. But what customers want most, he said, is still good service.

"I treat the person buying a lampshade the same way I treat the person buying a room full of furniture," Bowman said. "Because in two years, they will both be back, only in reverse roles."

Bowman was born in Idaho Falls but raised in Pocatello, and, although employment opportunities have lured him away in the past, he always returns to the Gate City.

"I like the people and I like the atmosphere," he said.

Bowman and his wife, Barbara Jean, were married 52 years ago and had three children and six grandchildren. Barbara Jean died two years ago.

When he's not working, Bowman enjoys watching sports. He no longer hunts but hopes to spend some time fly fishing.

Whatever the future holds for Bowman, retirement is not part of his plan.

"I've got good health. I'll just keep doing what I'm doing," he said.