Sort of Off Topic and a Rant

[Eric Cathell]

I always try to live by the golden rule...even though in business is sometimes doesn't make sense or isn't easy to do.

About two weeks ago, we had a similar call - it happen to be the third one like that this particular week. We had helped both the other two and I was reallying feeling the pinch that morning when Ginny came to me and said there was a young man on the phone who needed to have an oven box cut down and frame modified. He was here just for the day helping his mother (she had purchased a new stove while her son was visiting) and he headed back to Michigan the next morning.

I was so very tempted to brush it off, but I couldn't. I told Ginny to tell him to come in and we would help him. When he arrived 15 or 20 minutes later, I simply left my desk, put my apron on and headed into the shop - it took between 30 to 40 minutes to make the modifications he needed and I enjoyed talking to him throughout the process. He was impressed with our shop and was extremely thankful for helping him out of a bind, again he had called at least a half dozen shops who simply blew him off. We continued talking as I carried the project to his car and it was then that I found out he was here because his mother had just been diagnosed with cancer - I also found out that he had been a draftsman in a cabinet shop in Michigan which had closed down due to the economy. He has been bar tending to make ends meet.

My dad always told me that he truly believed, "the lord works in mysterious ways, when a door shuts a window will always open - you simply have to have an open heart and follow your instincts." Our shop has been struggling for months because we've needed someone to help me create the sold designs in eCabinets and move them through to the shop and to coordinate our PO and inventory programs. Joe starts on the 23rd...glad to be leaving Michigan's winters, excited to be joining our team and thankful for the opportunity to be close to his mother....

Mark

Thats really awsome Mark! Amazing how things workout sometimes.