Home Center Merchant

BILL FISHMAN

Blll Flahmrn & Affrllater 11850lberla Place San DfcAo, Ca.9212€

I'vE BECOME vcry rcnritivc about I my a3iry. Somc clerci$ mc u a "lcnior citizcn." At 6l I don't fccl old and I'll mstch my ?O-hour a wcck work cchedulc with any young Turk. Whcn I look in the minor I don't look old. . to mc.

How othen Eae mc, howcvcr. il probably rclativc to thsir own agc. But it's sure a big turn-offto mc whcn pcoplc pigpon-holc mc in a broad group with the s8pd.

What's all this got tro do with sclling lumber and building matcriab? Thcre's a leggon to bc lcarned herc by retdleru. Read on, o My spiritual leader is now younger than me. o I was 52, with both my kids still

Becausc of an incidcnt on a U.S. submarine loday, I've been remembering milcetones in getting older.

. I can rcmember yean bock whcn I was asked for my drivcr's liccnce by a police ofli@r, after examining it , he addre$€d me as "Willie." Now police offioers call me "Sir."

. At age 45, I got my private pilot license.

Hqne D€pot Buyr Flclda Sltc

Home Depot has purchased a store site in Margate, Fl., near Sample Road and U.S. zl4l.

Part ofa 48.6 acre shopping center site, the property was acquired for $2.2 million.

Lowe'r Heldr Follod

Unusud schemes to steal merchandise from two different Lowe's stores in the Carolinas were fouled up by an out-of-stock lawn mower and a derailed forklift.

At Lowe's of Orangeburg, S.C., a customer allegedly ordered a mower, stole the sales ticket, and then went to the warehouse to pick up the mower, according to sherilf C.R. Smith Jr. But the item was not in unmarricd. On a lllfht Eo!t, I war in &at llA, an inhnt wor in llB and thc mothcr in llC. Thc baby rmilcd at me. I rmilcd at tho boby, Tho baby rmilcd back. Thc mothcr lcancd toward thc infant and raid, "Doo thc nicc man rcmind you of Grandpa?" I immcdiatcly wcnt on thc Scarrdalc Dict and droppcd from 255 to 218 pounds. o On my 55th birthday I workcd rround thc clock to oomplctc a clicnt'r report. Tircd and huryly, I Etroppcd for brcakfagt at Denny's and was faced with a tcnt sign on thc oountcr rcading "Senior citizan discount for ovcr 55." o I am no longcr ashamcd tJo ulc my AARP card for maximum discounts at car rentals and horcb. o Whcn our San Francisco moeting cndcd early today, I hcaded straitht for Firhoman'g Wharf. Thc USS Pampanito is permanently moored there and can be loured. Thc prioe sign reads: 03 for adults, 01 for children and seniors. I plunked down my buck. The guy behind the @unter Eaid, "You don't look 62, sir, that'll be 03." I paid. and smiled the rest of the day. stock, and he returned to the store to exchange the ticket for cash, according to the sherilf.

The sales manager grew suspicious and began questioning the customer. After he left the store, Lowe's checked records to discover two other mowers had allegedly been stolen by Johnny Coulter, 25, in a similar fashion.

Coulter was arrested and charged with grand larceny and attempted grand larceny, the sheriff said. The two stolen mowers were recovered.

At Lowe's in Gastonia, N.C., thieves tried to use the store's forklift to steal materials, but got the vehicle stuck in a fence, according to police reports.

They next tried to force the lift through the fence with a Lowe's delivery truck. The lift, truck, fence

lulldne PloCtotr Dhort

o I arold tho rupcrmrrlcot rt whlch in enrs'cr to a qucrtion I hrd ukcd, lhc younS carhlcr Cuippcd lo me, " , and you rcmcmbcr how lt was whon you workcd."

A roccnt atticlo ln Inc, quotes rtrtiltlc! lndhatirg that pcoplc ovor 55 arc approechfug I pcrccnt oftho populatlon that b hricr than thc youth catetory.Thoy art ilxy and wlll oontinuc to bc a mqior rpcndiru foro at retall lumbcr and buildin3 mrtcrial outlctc. I know. Within thc part l2-monthr this ccnior har rcphcod lhowcr hcadr, in$allcd a clocct ryctcm, attcmblcd a barbocuc gill, staincd tho outdoor rcdwood furniturc, rcplacod all thc circuit brcakcru and lhere'c lots morc.

To kccp soniors aE a customor base. retdlcrs must b careful not to group all thcsc cugtomcrg in one "senior citizen catcgory." A working 55-year old does not picturc himsclf in the same grouping as a retircd 55-yoor old. And, I imagine thrt a 5S-ycar old would deeply resent being clareillcd in thc samc catcgory as an 80-year old. Retailers must lcam to be scnsitive to the scnior market.

Hore's my list of don'ts when dealing with thc scnior m.rket.

a Don't aEsume senility comes with gray hair & wrinkles.

o Don't shout. We're not all deaf.

o Don't spesk to us as you would a child.

o Don't asgume we are no longer in the work force.

Treat seniors with the same oourteousness and consideration as the 18 to 54 group.

On second thought, keep those special disoounts coming. and maybe you can make the gpe a little bigger!

and a door sustained a total of $1,540 in damages.

The robbers escaped with three radios, valued at $975, and a $100 tool box set, which was recovered, authorities noted.

Scotty's Llkes llafurc Staff

Scotty's on Airport-Pulling Road in Naples, Fl., is one of many home centers discovering the benefits of hiring the over-55 worker. George McNeil, who will celebrate his 76th birthday in November, has worked there for the last five years.

"I wish I had l0 George McNeils working here," said George Kouloungis, assistant manager. "Ten more just like him and I'd have the best store in the chain."

Texas Convention

(Continued from pase 15) were generally bullish on business conditions for the balance of 1988.

Among an excellent array of speakers was Texas economist Don C. Reynolds who flatly said "the worst is over for Texas." He forecast that by early 1989 housing starts and home resales will be increasing, that Austin is the only city not yet bottomed out. that oil will be at $22 a barrel by the end ofthe year and that "it will take time for the Texas economy to get better."

Jeremiah J. Attridge, another speaker, urged dealers to avoid selling on price and going head-to-head with their competition. "Find your niche," he advised, "make your business something special that can sell from strength." He said business must cold-heartedly examine itself before changing into its most profitable operating condition.

LAT's legislative analyst Robert Bass said "there will be a lot of new faces in the state legislature come January." He is looking for the biggest Republican gains since Reconstruction. Bass spoke in favor of the lumber industry political action com-

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Comufr Cct Bnrlfircugh

Convergent

Building Material

Systems has just announced a new low cost computer system for homc centers and lumber yards that is expected to give its competition fits as well as spreading computerization to new segments of this industry.

With the S/80, CBMS adds a low price (under S20,000) computer to their family of advanced "S" series supermicro computers. It is designed specifically for small to medium sized businesses. According to CBMS president Mike Murray, the new S/80 represents a breakthrough in both price and performance for multi user systems.

bincd with tailored leasing programs, opcns the door for thousands of smaller building material dealcrs to eqioy the benefie ofstrong software solutions, as wellas our training programs, financing, hardware maintenance, and computer supplies. For the cost conscious dealer, the S/80 represents the best value in today's market."

The S/80, the smallest member of their advanced computer system family is designed to accommodate two to sixteen users. The line includes four other models. The top of the line 5/640 accommodates up to 120 users. All are manufactured by parent company Convergent Technologies and use standard microprocessors and the UNIX computer operating system.

Convergent claims that their system provides great protection from obsolescence and significantly improves the overall integrity of the system. They offer a wide variety of computer solutions designed to improve profitability through automated accounting, inventory control and point of sale management, among other areas.

opcrating system, CBMS is now in the unique position of helping larger dealers solve their complex automation problems."

Two of the most experienccd and knowledgeable people in thc organization have been named to head the new group: in the East, Dan Waters, and in the West, Dinny Waters, Simmeth said.

Convergent has operations in two mqior computer business segments. One, Convergent Technologies develops and manufactures innovative computer systems. The other, Convergent Business systems provides business-automation systems and services keyed to specific industries. These two strategically linked operations position the firm to supply and support independent businesses with total computer solutions.

Texas Conventlon

/Continued fron page 23)

CBMS, part of Convergent Technologies, a half-billion dollar a year company, was formerly known as Dataline and for almost 20 years has provided computer systems and services to larger lumber yards and home centers throughout North America.

Notes CBMS's Murray, "The S/80, with its low entry price, com-

Additionally, CBMS has formed a Major Systems Group to focus on business which does not fit into their traditional turnkey philosophy. According to senior v.p., field operations Bill Simmeth. "one of the most ignored segments of the building material business is the group of larger single location or multi location home centers and lumber yards which could not find a solution with unmodified software. At the same time they had trouble finding a main frame vendor who understood their business well enough to meet their needs. With our new hardware coupled with our move to a standard mittee called LUMPAC. LAT's new executive vice president Winston Depew did likewise in an energetic talk that he capped by writing out a $100 personal check and donating it on the spot to the committee.

The condition of the Texas Workers Comp. program was described by insuranceman Robert Harrison. He told dealers that workers comp. had increased in some categories by 900/o in the last four years and urged greater stress on operational safety.

National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association's Harlan Hummel reported on Washington affairs to LAT,its affrliate. He said to look for an increase in the

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