Banse said having competition in Oroville has forced Murphy’s to carve out a niche from others in the pawn business. Mostly, it’s being family run and dependent upon themselves that dictates how they operate.
Banse said she’s proud of being able to continue with her mother, after her father died, providing a business, creating jobs and helping the community.
“What does a woman bring with this business? I won’t say softness, but I try to treat customers as I would like to be treated,” says Banse.
As small a town as Oroville is, there are residents who’ve never known about Murphy’s Pawn, which sparked Banse to turn to social media to spread the word. She regularly markets on Instagram, Facebook and the website.
“It’s taken a while for people to catch on, but I think the various help we give people shows up in different ways. That’s why the different social media comes in handy.”
For some customers, Banse is just a friendly face behind the counter. For others, she and her mother are more like counselors, listening to personal problems or family issues.
When there are no customers, Murphy works on a hobby of painting old saw blades and sewing quilts. “Or maybe we’ll just sit down and play cards.”
Daughter and mom are proud of the three decades of business. “Our slogan is neighbors helping neighbors. Our goal is to make people comfortable, not pressured and not embarrassed,” said Banse.
That may explain why some of those customers greeted by Linda and Charles Murphy back in the ’80s, walk in to hear Cindy Jo Banse’s voice of welcome. If there was an indication of how Murphy’s treats its customers, it can be found in a recent Facebook post.
“Congratulations! For those of you who were or are our customer, for pressing forward looking for better things. Achieving goals, getting jobs and getting a paycheck. How exciting how awesome congratulations.”
Banse doubts that her children will follow in her footsteps, but “that’s OK” with her.
“My goal is to stay here as long as I can.”
Laura Urseny is a business and general news reporter, as well as a columnist.