Saturday, April 22, 2006
Making Happy 1978
It's July and I've just left my home in Lenexa, Ks. to start a new life in Hawaii. I arrived with two suitcases and hopes of living out my fantasies and the rest of my single life. I had sent a deposit to a man that owned a tire store in Honolulu with the intention of purchasing his business. Unbeknownst to me, if you're not a local or have strong local connections it's hard to get a bank loan, even with numerous letters of references. Interest at that time was around 21% and my application was being held up for quite awhile without any straight answer given to my questions.
While waiting I went to work at the store, which was a filthy mess, in hopes of cleaning it up and making it a much more pleasant place to shop. The owner, an older Japanese man had been there for many years and had gotten complacent in the stores appearance both in the retail area and the shop. He sold nothing unless you asked for it. If you came in for a tire repair that's what you got, no selling of new tires, no checking underneath the vehicle, no nothing.
After getting the store into a somewhat presentable fashion and making some displays I thought that it's time I tried to introduce the customers to me as the soon to be new owner. There didn't seem to be a problem and I started to sell, something that hadn't been done in quite some time.
I was selling exhaust jobs, tuneups, shock absorbers, waxes, tools and you name it. If they needed tires they bought a whole set, if they needed a shock absorber in one place, they bought a whole set especially after I told them that if they bought three, one was free and no charge for installation.
Well, to make this portion a little shorter, after about 6 weeks the owner changed his mind and decided not to sell, he was making a profit. I was not disappointed, in fact I was happy for him and me. I was going home each night with dirty hands and dirty clothes from going into the shop whenever a car was up on the rack. He gave me back my deposit and $1500. for the work I had done, for which I had received no pay.
Well I was out of the automotive business, now what. (next blog)
While waiting I went to work at the store, which was a filthy mess, in hopes of cleaning it up and making it a much more pleasant place to shop. The owner, an older Japanese man had been there for many years and had gotten complacent in the stores appearance both in the retail area and the shop. He sold nothing unless you asked for it. If you came in for a tire repair that's what you got, no selling of new tires, no checking underneath the vehicle, no nothing.
After getting the store into a somewhat presentable fashion and making some displays I thought that it's time I tried to introduce the customers to me as the soon to be new owner. There didn't seem to be a problem and I started to sell, something that hadn't been done in quite some time.
I was selling exhaust jobs, tuneups, shock absorbers, waxes, tools and you name it. If they needed tires they bought a whole set, if they needed a shock absorber in one place, they bought a whole set especially after I told them that if they bought three, one was free and no charge for installation.
Well, to make this portion a little shorter, after about 6 weeks the owner changed his mind and decided not to sell, he was making a profit. I was not disappointed, in fact I was happy for him and me. I was going home each night with dirty hands and dirty clothes from going into the shop whenever a car was up on the rack. He gave me back my deposit and $1500. for the work I had done, for which I had received no pay.
Well I was out of the automotive business, now what. (next blog)
