The Ohio Independent Automobile Dealers Association made history and honored history last month by giving 100-year-old World War II veteran Stan Maybruck its Life Achievement Award.
The group also gave its Ohio Quality Dealer of the Year award to Joe Kaisk Jr., of Magic City Motorcars in Barberton, Ohio.
The awards were part of Ohio IADA’s Convention and Expo at Nationwide Hotel and Conference Center in Lewis Center, Ohio.
Maybruck’s life is like a history book, ranging all the way from a famous battle in WWII to Miami where he made friends with Hollywood legends before starting an auto auction that is historic in its own right.
for Fort Thomas, Ky. Stan was assigned to Camp Barkley, Texas for basic training and was later transferred to General Hospital in San Francisco as a medic and opted to go to dental technician school. Stan figured once he got out, he could go back to college and become a dentist.
After being transferred to Camp Shenango in Pennsylvania, then on to Norfolk, and back to Shenango, Stan was eventually assigned to be a replacement overseas and put on a boat to England.
As a member of the 4th Infantry, 12th Division in World War II, Maybruck’s unit was a key component of the Omaha Beach landing which began on June 6, 1944, in Normandy, France.
Oh, and he sold cars, too.
Born in Columbus in 1925 to immigrant parents, Stan grew up as an only child. At the age of 18, Stan was drafted into World War II and left
ing a soldier that he was shot in the back. Paralyzed in the right arm, Stan faced numerous surgeries and years of rehabilitation to recover.
After he returned home, Maybruck studied at The Ohio State University and began a career working in the furniture business. His company manufactured cotton batting used as insulation in upholstery. Eventually, he started a successful furniture factory.
In 1955, Maybruck’s mother Anna died. While he was grieving, he headed for Miami Beach, staying at the iconic Fontainebleau Hotel where he befriended the head of security and hung out with Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and other members of the Rat Pack. That was also when he met
As a medic in the war, Maybruck was out with the infantry treating soldiers on the battlefield and pulling the wounded back to aid stations. It was while bent over treat-
another Columbus native, Peggy Jo Knapp, an American Airlines flight attendant and winner of multiple beauty contests. Stan was immediately smitten.
They married, returned to Columbus to start a family, and Stan started a new business with a friend in 1959.
They formed a corporation and Continued on page 5
Technology News
11/17/2025
Futurist Shows How AI Will Shape Future of Business
By Jeffrey Bellant
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A futurist discussing Artificial Intelligence at National Auto Auctions’ World Remarketing Convention set the table for what this cutting edge tech will bring.
“AI is a subject that scares many people and excites many people,” speaker Steve Brown said. “For most people I find it both scares and excites them.
“If that’s the category you’re in, then you understand what this moment is all about.”
Brown, a former executive at Google DeepMind and Intel, recently published the book “The AI Ultimatum: Preparing for a World of Intelligent Machines and Radical Transformation.”
“I’m here to tell you that, yes, some jobs will change, some will be transformed, some will be automated away and some will be formed,” Brown said.
But you shouldn’t be afraid of AI.
“You should look to AI to amplify the impact that you have for your business, your customers and not be worried about changes and what that might mean,” Brown said.
That said, Brown said we are likely to see more technologically driven change in the next five years than the last 50 years.
He compared it to the Industrial Age where we built “mechani-
cal muscles,” or machines to do physical work for us, “replacing the need for human stamina and strength.”
Now, he said, we’re building “electrical minds” to do knowledge work.
Looking back at the buildout of the internet is a map for what we can expect next, Brown said.
The creation of the internet in 1998 wasn’t a complete transition.
“You had to figure out e-commerce, how to pay for things online, how to take digital payments,” Brown said.
“When social media came you had to figure out digital marketing and how you deal with reviews from customers.
“The cloud came and suddenly we’re buying software over the internet, instead of boxes of CDs.”
Then came mobile devices and now Web 3.0.
The two families of AI include the old classic AI, which is artificial neural networks, and the use of machine learning, called “predictive AIs,” Brown said. It’s exemplified by things like spam filters, fraud detection and Netflix recommendations.
The other family is generative AI based on a technology called a transformer, invented by Google in 2017.
Brown said, “It translates between different types of data.”
It can translate between a question and an answer, a piece of text and an image, a video and a transcript of the video. Using AI to help design
workflows for a business is one way businesses can improve through collaboration, Brown said.
Tools like spatial AI give machines the ability to perceive the world, such as enabling a robot to pour milk into a bottle, understanding distance, gravity, etc.
“Spatial AI/World models are a way for AIs to perceive 3D space; understand objects, their relationships to each other …and fundamental physics and causality,” Brown said.
This helps with autonomous vehicles, next-generation robotics and next-generations assistance, Brown said.
The next phase is Agentic AI.
Agents have the ability to perceive the world through sensors; memory to remember preference, while also learning and getting better over time. They can also reason through planning.
“If you give them a complex task, they will break it down into subtasks and go execute on that,” Brown said. These agents will become digital workers that can work 24 hours a day and don’t work on salaries, Brown said.
“AI can also help you boost your creativity, improve your perception, gain more insight from data, have better intuition, expand your knowledge, and so on,” Brown said
Then when you put agents and
spatial AIs together you end up with robots – which are now a real prospect.
Improved battery technology, lighter electric motors and lightweight materials for a robot’s frame, machine vision capabilities and sensors optimized for phones are now part of robots.
Brown said with 7.4 million open jobs, we don’t have enough people to fill them and robots can provide that labor needed for things like physical manufacturing work.
Robots described by Brown have a targeted sales price of $25,000 to $30,000, with a lease price of $300 per month. Brown offered a quote from venture capitalist Vinod Khosla: “In the next 15-20 years, bipedal robots will be a larger industry in dollars than the current auto industry.”
Consider the implications, he said.
“Here’s your opportunity NAAA,” Brown said. “When are you going to become the NRAA? Because these things need resale. They’re going to be up for auction.
“There’s going to be a huge opportunity here with a brand new industry that is opening in front of your eyes that is going to be as big as the auto industry you currently serve,” Brown said.
“Maybe you can double your business and get into the robotics industry.”
Collections News
Collections Remain Critical for Success
By Jeffrey Bellant
LAS VEGAS – Collections workers shared some of the biggest mistakes they’ve made on the job during a discussion at this summer’s NIADA Convention & Expo here.
Bob Zeserson, controller for Shannon Motors in Johnston, Rhode Island, sat down and talked with his collections manager about her biggest mistake. When she first started out, she gave every customer the benefit of the doubt.
“One of the customers had said they were going to the doctor, they were in rehab, but when she (checked the GPS), they were in Florida,” Zeserson said. “Her exact quote was, ‘Assume everyone is playing (you) until you know otherwise.’”
Chris Gross, finance director for Northwest Acceptance Corp., the
related finance arm for Sole Savers Auto Sales with stores in Eureka, Calif., and Medford, Ore., had a similar story where believing what the customer says without verifying it, can cause the most problems.
“We know the story is awful and ugly, but just tell us the truth and we’re good,” he said. “Believing a customer when they’re buying a car is probably the worst thing.”
“This one cost a lot of money,” said Jerry Resendez, general manager of Thunderbird Auto Finance in Laredo, Texas. “I didn’t want to repo a car, but we’d had it. My collections manager convinced me to let her redeem that account, because she didn’t want that charge-off on her monthly bonus schedule.”
Resendez let her redeem it, not for the entire delinquency but for a portion of it.
“The customer took off and four hours later totaled the car,” he said. “Stick to your guns. Don’t let the
sympathy get to you, even from your collections staff.”
Panelists discussed a wide range of issues regarding their collection operations, starting with underwriting.
In the past, Zeserson’s dealership has used Lexis Nexis for underwriting. Now the general manager and collection managers are pulling background information and going to the Department of Motor Vehicles website to get information about the customer.
“They’ve found that to be very helpful in getting information in real time,” Zeserson said.
Gross said looking at collections formulas has helped.
“The biggest thing we did was switch our payment-to-debt ratio,’ he said. “It used to run about 25%. Now we’ve dropped it to 20% max about 18 months ago.”
Inflation when it came to groceries wasn’t a problem for customers but increases in rent $500 a month were a problem, he said.
The dealership did extend terms out, which has helped a little bit.
“Fifty-four months is a long term for what we are doing, but if the owner says, ‘don’t lose a deal because of term,’ that’s what I get to do,” Gross said.
Resendez said his store has readjusted up its under-writing, pushing more to verify income and employment after realizing a trend that was hurting them.
“We had gotten a lot more lenient to our detriment,” he said. “Affordability, cost of cars, income and inflation pushed us to become a little more lenient and that ended up costing us.”
So the store tightened up on its underwriting.
“People tend to move around a lot these days, and (change) jobs,” he said. “So even if you verify, it just gives you a piece of employment, because they can move next week. Verifying has always been important but it’s become much, much more important.”
He also said “term” has gone up significantly which has its own challenges.
“Because the break-even point of getting your money back gets pushed out quite a bit,” he said. “We had to work on the affordability issue and term is the quickest and easiest solution.
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Used Car News
Awards
– Continued from page 1
started an auto auction at the Ohio State Fairgrounds. It was a very successful auction that most of us know now as Columbus Fair Auto Auction.
Married to his lovely wife PJ for over 63 years, Stan said he loves automobiles, and he likes the excitement of competing against other buyers – and still sells cars today.
Ohio IADA’s Lifetime Achievement award is only bestowed to individuals that have excelled in support and service of the association and industry, through unparalleled efforts over time.
This year’s Ohio Quality Dealer of the Year, Joe Kaisk Jr., is a worthy recipient of an award that will allow him to compete for the National Quality Dealer of the Year award in Denver next summer.
His journey started more than two decades ago.
Back in November of 1998, Joe and his wife Christine took a leap of
faith.
After years of working in finance for franchise dealerships, Joe decided it was time to try something different - something on their own. Joe had a vision: to help people buy affordable, reliable vehicles, and make the experience more personal and honest than what he’d seen in the industry.
They bought a small property in Barberton, Ohio. It was an old gas station and repair shop that sold a handful of cars. Kaisk hadn’t been selling cars long and he had never been to an auction or worked in a service department, but he and Christine believed in what they were doing and they were willing to learn.
The building was landlocked and could barely hold 25 cars. They had two lifts and a third bay used for detailing.
Since then, the business has grown slowly, steadily – the way
Joe believes a business should. They bought property behind the lot and another building to the west, making room for up to 80 vehicles on site. In 2016, they moved the service facility a mile west of the sales lot and completely remodeled the original building. In 2022, they added an indoor photo bay and showroom, and by 2023 they had bought and overhauled the service building, adding more lifts, more parking, a better workspace for the techs, and a comfortable customer lounge.
They now have eight lifts that can handle larger trucks and vans, with a full service independent dealership.
But this journey wasn’t always smooth.
From 9/11 to the 2008 banking crisis that nearly shut them down – to Cash for Clunkers which disrupted the entire industry – to March of 2017, when Joe’s wife of over 30 years died suddenly. It was a devast-
ing loss – not just to the family, but to the business, the employees, and the customers. Even through this hardest chapter of his life, the family didn’t have a choice but to keep going. His sons Mike and Pete, stepped up in ways that still make Kaisk proud today.
Joe says he’s fortunate to work beside both of them. Over the years, they’ve become more than just a dealership; they’ve become part of the fabric of Barberton. They sponsor scholarships to support student athletes, help the police department outfit their cruiser fleet, support the fire department and community ministries, and say “yes” whenever possible to local schools, sports teams, and civic organizations. The business is still family-run. Now, with his new wife Paula by his side and more than 25 years in business, Kaisk said he is still learning, still improving, and still grateful.
Vehicles priced to sell
Used Car News
11/17/2025
Collections
– continued from page 4
“But we need to be careful with what we’re doing.”
Zeserson said the store has five people in its collections department.
“The best way we have found our collectors is through internal promotions – and they’ve all been prior receptionists.
“The philosophy we use is ‘they are the face of the company.’ They’re the ones talking to the customers on the phone, they’re the ones meeting with the customers to accept their payments.”
It means they have collectors who know the business and the customers.
“One of the people we have now actually came from Chick-fil-A,” he said. “The reason is they hammer home customer service. She’s been a great addition to the team.”
Gross said most of his collectors have been with him for more than a decade. He said it’s important to
hire “adults” because younger people tend to have a lot of issues that interfere with work.
Resendez said Thunderbird’s an older company so the collector with the shortest tenure is over 10 years, which means a lot of experience which can be good, but they did lose people to another company.
“What we’re doing is looking for people that have good tone, who are amenable, polite and customer service-centered,” he said. “Because you can teach and train on the collection part, but it’s hard to take someone who is a tough collector and make them into someone that’s really good in customer service.”
Panelists offered their strategies for training collectors.
Resendez said the company’s head collector trains collectors on working the phone, how to look at an account and even on skip-tracing. Gross uses ACA International for
training to provide a base what they are supposed to do and not supposed to do. The dealership also offers classes on improving phone techniques. Zeserson said his collections manager will listen to calls, showing
the difference between good calls and bad calls.
The dealership also uses training and compliance videos to show collectors the importance of protecting customer information.
Photo by Jeffrey Bellant
BOTTOM LINE: Bob Zeserson (from left), Jerry Resendez and Chris Gross discussed the ins and outs of collections this summer at the NIADA Convention & Expo.
“My wife and I just had a little boy in April and we also opened up another store (our fourth) in February, so it’s been very busy.
“I got my dealer’s license in December 2014 and then we started selling vehicles that January.
“We just had a staff meeting this morning and talked about COVID. I’m a pretty composed person and I really like to focus on what’s going on in the world and the economy and cater our business to it, rather than just do the same thing over and over and always expect better results.
“I started out selling a few wrecked cars to salvage mechanics and then transitioned into a very high-end used car operation. So, our
company has always been transitioning to what the consumer needs. When COVID hit we doubled down and started buying a lot of inventory from all over the state and that helped us. And we went to back to our bread and butter: selling Toyotas. There were some months in COVID where we sold more 4Runners than the new-car stores around us.
“Now as the economy is changing, just in the last few weeks we have started also going into older, higher mileage Toyotas.
“We probably spend in the $2,000s for reconditioning. Each of our stores has its own reconditioning center.
“We keep about 350 cars for sale. Between all the stores, we are selling in the low 200s every month.
“About 40-50 percent of our cars come from auc-
tions. We have a lot of trades and off-street purchases because people with mods come to us directly because we pay them more than the dealerships would. I go to the auctions in person. I’m more old-school than what my ID says my age is.”
“As far as down payments, when dealing with higher end cars, people tend to put down more cash so it’s kind of a double-edged sword.
“The people who buy Asian cars are very likeminded, they know the cars are reliable, and we like selling those instead of budget friendly luxury cars that then break down.
“The most recent fun car we sold was a Japanese Toyota turbodiesel Dyna fire truck. We sold that to a construction company for them to use in their advertising. I think we got around $30,000 for it.”
INDIANA
Jeff Long, partner, Noblesville Imports, Noblesville, Ind.
“We have been here nine years this month and all in the same location. We had an additional location, Westfield Imports from 2021-2023.
“This year, 2025 is much better compared to 2024. Not so much the market, but mainly internal culture and process changes.
“Our sales break down to 52% cars and minivans, 12% trucks, 35% SUVs.
“We do have our own service shop with 2 techs and 3 lifts.
“We buy both online and at auctions, but mainly at auctions.
“We do install and sell GPS on all our vehicles.
“Our average down payment is $1,500 with a 650 average credit score.
“We average about $1,500 recon per unit.
“We stock around 125 units and have around 90 listed at all times.
“My main tip to new dealers would be cash flow. Do not operate solely on floorplan.
“If that’s your only choice, keep your risk low with $20k-and-under units until you build up enough cash to increase business size.
“In an ever-changing auto industry, our ability to adapt and evolve is crucial.
“We embrace innovation and new technologies and are always looking for ways to improve our services.
“We value the loyalty of our customers and employees to strive to build long-lasting relationships.”
“Yesterday we sold a 2021 Buick Encore GX with 44,569 miles and we got $17,500.”
Wholesale Markets
11/17/2025
OKLAHOMA
Kyle Clopton, general manager, Oklahoma Auto Exchange, Oklahoma City, Okla.
“This is our 20th year.
“We don’t do an anniversary sale but for the last 13 or 14 years, we have a Thanksgiving sale on the day before Thanksgiving, which (falls on our) regular Wednesday sale.
“We do $20,000 in giveaways, cash prizes, different stuff and turkey bowling. The turkey bowling is something our dealers love and a tradition that everybody really embraces and enjoys. We look forward to that.
“We are running between 700 and 750 vehicles per week.
“Our sales percentage is at 68% in Q3. We’ve been very blessed to have great buyers and sellers alike. Our average sled price across
the block has been $7,550. Oklahoma has always been a place where a $20,000-andunder retail vehicle is prime.
“Our volume mix is probably between 65/35 (dealer to commercial) and 70/30.
“Our commercial consignors include Exeter, Wheels and Stellantis Financial Services, which are the main players for us. The are fantastic companies and partners to work with.
“Oklahoma is a big buyhere, pay-here state and we have the top four multi-rooftop BHPH franchises who run their repossession and trades here. It’s great to have them as well.
“We’ll have between 300 and 350 bidders in-lane. We’ll have 50 to 75 bidders online.
“We got record rainfall this year. We’ve broken every all-time record for rainfall in Oklahoma. We’re still not
through the year yet.
“From an auction standpoint, I feel really happy, encouraged and blessed with the team we have and the direction we’re heading.”
WISCONSIN
Kristie Letizia, president, Greater Milwaukee Auto Auction, Milwaukee, Wis.
“We run five lanes and we typically run between 500 and 600 vehicles per week.
“Sales percentages are strong – 65% to 68%.
“We’re up in volume because we’ve taken on more fleet accounts. We have our 26,000-foot reconditioning facility with a big D.I.D. (deidentification) lane, rows for detail, a mechanic shop and body shop.
The de-identification lane is for the FedEx trucks, the Comcast trucks and other business trucks where you
take off the stickers, (logos, decals) of those trucks.
“We’re doing a big job with white metal – white work vans and white work trucks.
A lot of those have the company name on the side. So we actually have an entire D.I.D crew who work on removing the decals but still preserving the paint of the vehicles.
“What that’s done for us is the opportunity to service more fleet accounts. We’ve grown our commercial truck and commercial van consignment.
“We celebrated 15 years with Ally Financial this year. They’ve been doing great at our sale.
“Our other commercial cosigners are J.D. Byrider and Remarketing by Holman.
“We also have U-Haul, which is having a big Edge Pipeline online sale this month. It’s across the whole country but our auction is a
Compiled by Jeffrey Bellant
part of that. We’re really excited about it. It’s Nov. 21- 27.
“We are now 60% dealer consignment and 40% fleet/ lease. It used to be 90/10. So we’ve moved heavier into fleet – and fleet sells. The buyers like them. The dealers like the fleet and bank cars. The product is straight forward.
“Our average price in the lanes has gone up to about $7,500.
“Repos are really strong right now as far as volume coming in. We had our 21st anniversary earlier this year. We ran 900 cars and sold almost 600. It was a wonderful sale.
“We’re also going to put in a state-of-the-art kitchen. We want to create an open concept kitchen in the lanes. We’re in the design stage of that, looking toward 2026.
“I think the live events are back in full force.”
Let Auto Assign do the heavy lifting, automatically routing vehicles to the best-fit auctions based on your custom rules. Faster decisions. Better results.
2021
ADESA Boston November 7, 21
508-626-7000
ADESA Charlotte November 13
704-587-7653
ADESA Chicago November 7
847-551-2151
ADESA Cincinnati/Dayton
November 11
937-746-4000
ADESA Golden Gate
November 11, 25
209-839-8000
ADESA Indianapolis November 11, 25
317-838-8000
ADESA Kansas City November 11, 25
816-525-1100
ADESA Lexington November 20
859-263-5163
ADESA New Jersey November 13, 25 908-725-2200
ADESA Salt Lake November 4
801-322-1234
ADESA Tulsa November 14
918-437-9044
Columbus Fair November 12, 19 614-497-2000
Manheim Atlanta November 13
404-762-9211
Manheim Dallas November 4 877-860-1651
Manheim Milwaukee November 5 262-835-4436
Manheim Atlanta November 13, 19
404-762-9211
Manheim Baltimore Washington November 4 410-796-8899
Manheim Dallas November 4, 5, 19
877-860-1651
Manheim Denver November 5
800-822-1177
Manheim Detroit November 13
734-654-7100
Manheim Fredericksburg November 6, 20 540-368-3400
Manheim Milwaukee November 5, 19
262-835-4436
Manheim Minneapolis November 26
763-425-7653
Manheim Nashville November 12, 18 615-773-3800
Manhe m Nevada November 14
702-730-1400
Manheim New England November 11
508-823-6600
Manheim New Jersey November 5, 19 609-298-3400
Manheim New Orleans
November 5, 19
985-643-2061
Manheim Orlando November 4, 11, 18, 25
800-822-2886
Manheim Palm Beach November 19, 20
561-790-1200
Manheim Pennsylvania November 7, 13, 14, 21, 28
800-822-2886
Manheim Phoenix November 6, 20
623-907-7000
Manheim Pittsburgh November 5
724-452-5555
Manheim Riverside November 4, 6, 18, 20 951-689-6000
Manheim Seattle November 12 206-762-1600
Manheim Southern California November 13, 26 909-822-2261
Manheim Tampa November 13, 20 800-622-7292
Manheim Texas Hobby November 13, 26 713-649-8233
Manheim Atlanta November 13
404-762-9211
Columbus Fair
November 19
614-497-2000
Manheim Dallas November 4
877-860-1651
Manheim Milwaukee November 5 262-835-4436
NOVEMBER 2025
Manheim Nashville November 12
615-773-3800
Manheim Nevada November 14
702-730-1400
Manheim Orlando November 4
800-822-2886
Manheim Palm Beach November 19 561-790-1200
Manheim Pennsylvania November 13
800-822-2886
Manheim Phoenix November 6
623-907-7000
Manheim Riverside November 6, 20
951-689-6000
Manheim Seattle November 12 206-762-1600
Manheim Nashville November 12
615-773-3800
Manheim Nevada November 14 702-730-1400
Manheim Palm Beach November 19 561-790-1200
Manheim Pennsylvania November 13
800-822-2886
Manheim Riverside November 6, 20 951-689-6000
Manheim Seattle November 12 206-762-1600
ADESA Boston November 7, 21
508-626-7000
ADESA Charlotte
November 13
704-587-7653
ADESA Golden Gate November 11
209-839-8000
ADESA Salt Lake November 4 801-322-1234
Columbus Fair
November 12
614-497-2000
Manheim Dallas November 5, 19 877-860-1651
Manheim Fredericksburg
November 6, 20 540-368-3400
Manheim Milwaukee November 19 262-835-4436
Manheim New England November 11 508-823-6600
Manheim New Jersey November 19 609-298-3400
Manheim Orlando November 11, 25 800-822-2886
Manheim Atlanta November 19 404-762-9211
Manheim Dallas November 4 877-860-1651
Manheim Milwaukee November 5 262-835-4436
Manheim Pennsylvania November 14, 28
800-822-2886
Manheim Pittsburgh November 724-452-5555
Manheim Seattle November 12
206-762-1600
Manheim Southern California November 13, 26 909-822-2261
Manheim Palm Beach November 19
561-790-1200
Manheim Pennsylvania November 13
800-822-2886
Manheim Riverside November 6, 20 951-689-6000
Tony Moorby
I know that car manufacturers undertake area market surveys. They get updated to monitor shifts in population, changes in the socioeconomic shape of the areas being studied and a whole bunch of other information. The vast amount collected is crisscrossed and correlated to assess current dealers’ performance expectations in the area, the region and the country. The data also support allocation decisions regarding models and volumes for vehicle inventories, as well as parts and service facility sizes and so on.
The studies look at the competition, of course, and whether a new point should be established in support of the existing network.
I’m sure that other industries undertake similar methods to ascertain performance and placement of
outlets and stores. We live in an area that has and continues to change significantly from a relatively sleepy backwater near Hilton Head Island, to a bustling and vibrant community of its own. Large subdivisions abound, populated by families but increasingly by retirees. These folks, like me, have moved in from elsewhere – mostly the Eastern seaboard from Florida to Maine. Infrastructure projects are going on all around –roads, hospitals, and schools are being built to accommodate the needs of the growing and shifting profile of the new population. It’s that shifting profile that now dictates changes in tastes and buying power. Expectations in customer services also go up. It’s not necessarily a question of speed, after all, retirees have more
time to take things easy than most. The Low Country is often referred to as ‘The Slow Country’ and that’s fine by me – it’s why we moved there.
Grocery stores are a case in point and regular readers know that I love to cook so I spend a fair amount of time in them. But just because one belongs to the same chain as the one a few miles away, service and attitudes can be as different as chalk and cheese. Prices have risen at an alarming pace for all kinds of reasons, most of them political, but service levels don’t keep pace and you finally tend to begrudge giving them business and start to look elsewhere for more economical means. We have a large chain around us, I believe founded in the South, where at one store you’re greeted with curmudgeonly,
grudging staff, avoiding eyecontact (that really frosts me) even to a point of belligerence with a tut-tut to go with it. The pharmacy staff couldn’t organize a barn dance in a brewery – I had one of those on-going mess ups worthy of a Monty Python sketch – you get the picture. At the other store everything is all bright and shiny, matching the efforts of the people who work there – smiling, attentive, efficient – kind even. The prices are the same, so guess where we go.
A word on pricing leads me to another peeve. I think they adopt the ‘boil a frog’ method of upping the prices until the strain starts to show, blaming everything but economics. I don’t understand the rate of rising prices, and we may be staring inflation in the face. Incomes and pensions cer-
tainly aren’t there to meet the increases. The meat and produce counters at Costco are a good weathervane, where some prices have even quadrupled over two or three years. Maybe market area studies should include customer sentiment studies, too.
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