Couldn't have done it without you

Jan. 1, 2020
One of my favorite clients just walked in. He?s a crusty old curmudgeon who can be abrupt and difficult for just about all of the other 11 months of the year. But, somewhere around mid-October or early November he stops shaving and a miraculous trans

One of my favorite clients just walked in. He’s a crusty old curmudgeon who can be abrupt and difficult for just about all of the other 11 months of the year. But, somewhere around mid-October or early November he stops shaving and a miraculous transformation takes place. The longer his brilliantly white stubble becomes; the nicer, warmer and more loveable he gets!

By the time his beard is suitable for the Santa suit it compliments so nicely, it would be hard to determine exactly what happened to the crusty old man who delights in creating havoc at the counter the rest of the year.

Every year at this time, I am in awe of just how much each of us is capable of succumbing to the many different personalities we all seem to drag around. I know I’ve been guilty from time to time.

I like to think of myself as a warm, outgoing, even-tempered, pleasant kind of a guy, far more mellow and laid back than the maniac I used to be when I was younger.

(Right about now, there are counter-professionals, jobber store owners and warehouse executives all over Southern California, who are laughing so hard they will probably require serious and immediate medical attention!)

However, it’s a safe bet there is someone out there wondering exactly who I’m talking about because the Mitch they know can be and often is intimidating, intense, unyielding, inflexible and judgmental, especially when it comes to his profession, his business and our industry. And, for the most part they would be right. I take this stuff pretty seriously.

It’s not just what I do. It has become a very big part of who I am!

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And, yet, as we move through the holidays, everything seems to soften a bit. We are happier and more accepting. We tend to see others in a softer, more empathetic light.

We care more somehow. And, somehow, we are more likely to act on those things we care about.
Beginning with Thanksgiving, the holidays are a time for reflection — a time to think about who and what is important to us. Generally, we reserve deep and personal feelings like these for those we care about most, family and friends. But, “family” can mean lots more than brothers and sisters, sons and daughters or moms and dads.

A family can be any group that shares a common interest or experience. It can be the folks you work with or interact with every day. My definition of family has grown to include all the important people who have helped me to survive and succeed. It certainly has come to include our clients, customers and friends. But, more than that, it has expanded to embrace the jobbers and warehouses, the manufacturers and reps, countermen (and women!) and outside sales professionals who come to work every day, bringing with them everything they have to give; everything they have to offer.

So, to Eric, Ralph, Warren and Brian; to Gary, Rick, Mark, Nic and Fran; to Bob, Leif, Steve, Ron and Jose; to Danny, and John, and Dave, and Gabriel, and Manny and Garret and all the people all of us in the repair community count on for everything we do and everything we are!

You do a difficult and demanding job and for the most part, you do it with grace and elegance that far exceeds the recognition and appreciation your receive for the incredibly important work you do, the incredibly important role you play in the lives of every member of the repair community.

I’ll take the four weeks Chuck is Santa. And, I’ll try to be a little softer and nicer myself. I’ll think about the incredibly important role you play in my success and then I’ll stop and say, “Thank you! Thank you for everything you do and thank you for doing it so well!
I’m not sure about anyone else, but I know that I couldn’t have come this far or done as well without you!”

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