Jeff Burkhart: Just being local isn’t enough

When I was back in journalism school, one of my professors put forth the proposition that you may not offer criticism without also offering praise. It’s a maxim I’ve tried to live by ever since. And it’s with that thought in mind that I now offer the following insight.

The phrases are everywhere: buy local, shop local and support local businesses. And as a former local business owner myself, I know how valuable this can be. So, when I recently purchased a new “used” car, I decided to finish up the outstanding services by buying what I needed locally.

Sure, I knew that I could easily get the parts online for cheaper, but I thought that $50 worth of miscellaneous parts was a wonderful way to get connected with the local people at the local dealership. They need jobs too, right?

I walked through the front doors, passed the coffee counter and the magazines in the waiting room, and went right up to the parts counter. It was midday, and the waiting room was empty. The parts counter was not. There were three people standing on both sides of the counter, all wearing shop uniforms. And then there was one man in a Hawaiian shirt sitting cross-legged on the countertop itself and staring at his phone.

Anyone who has worked in the service business has probably also been caught unawares by a customer. You turn around mid-joke with a co-worker and there they are. If you haven’t worked in the service industry, you’ve probably experienced this in reverse. Who hasn’t walked up to a barista or counter clerk who just took a bite of a candy bar, sipped on a soda or just come in from the back? It happens.

Usually, service people quickly professionalize the situation. “Let me help you?” or “I’m sorry, what can I get for you?” or something like that is what has come to be expected.

But that didn’t happen here. In fact, I had to resort to actually clearing my throat in order to get Mr. Hawaiian Shirt’s attention.

He looked up at me, and then slowly — very slowly — got down off of the counter, never once looking up from his phone. It didn’t take me long to realize that he was probably the manager.

But some people become managers not because they want to manage, but rather because they actually don’t. Maybe they do it for the attention. Maybe they do it for the perks. Maybe they do it for the scheduling. Or maybe they do it for the money. If you’ve ever worked for someone like this, you know what a challenge it can be.

The woman behind the counter looked up the parts I needed, cross-referencing my car’s VIN number just to be sure.

“Does this come with mounting hardware?” I asked.

“Yes,” she said.

“You’re sure?” I asked. “Because if it doesn’t, I will just order that today, too.”

She assured me that the necessary parts would be included. Then, she informed me that it was going to take three days for the parts to come in.

“Three days?” I asked, knowing full well that online the parts were not only cheaper, but they were also guaranteed to arrive in 24 hours.

“We’ll call you when they come in,” she said.

Four days later, I called them.

“Oh yeah, your parts are here,” I was told.

Thankfully, when I arrived, no one was sitting on the counter, but I did have to ring the little bell twice in order to get someone to come out from the back.

Of the two parts that I’d ordered, the first one was the wrong part, and not even for my car. The second part, that I’d asked twice about, did not come with the mounting hardware as I’d been told.

I was already waist deep in this river, having already committed five days to it, and they had already processed my credit card, so, in the interest of second chances, I stuck with it.

Four more days later, I called again. My part was in. Thankfully, this time it was the correct part. However, when I arrived, I was also informed that the mounting hardware for the other part was no longer available.

“You’ll have to call us,” said the guy behind the counter, processing my order once again. “Because we are not that diligent at calling back.”

Leaving me with these thoughts:

• Just being a “local” business is not enough, you also have to be a good local business, or at the least a professional one.

• Beware the people who seek out power, because they are usually the ones least deserving of it.

• Inept at the top, inept at the bottom.

• “Three strikes and you’re out” is for baseball. For business, it’s usually two.

• In memory of my late professor, I will now state for the record: Their coffee wasn’t that bad.

Jeff Burkhart is the author of “Twenty Years Behind Bars: The Spirited Adventures of a Real Bartender, Vol. I and II,” the host of the Barfly Podcast on iTunes (as seen in the NY Times) and an award-winning bartender at a local restaurant. Follow him at jeffburkhart.net and contact him at jeffbarflyIJ@outlook.com