A Tribute to Our Dad – The Ultimate Salesman

A Tribute to Our Dad – The Ultimate Salesman

This Sunday our father will “clock out” for the final time from the Sears store in Dedham, Massachusetts where he has been working for over 50 years. Like many other stores nationwide, this one is closing its doors for good. For families in communities nearby, this isn’t just the loss of a store, it’s the loss of their favorite, trusted appliance salesman, George – our dad.

At nearly 80 years old, our father has seen and learned to adapt to many of retail’s biggest trends. He can share stories about how selling has changed during the age of the Sears catalogue, Consumer Reports, corporate web sites, online coupons, instant price matching and so much more. Throughout all of this change, he has held firm to a few core beliefs about selling – always be professional, honest and know your stuff -- and you’ll have a customer for life.

To this day he gives customers his personal phone number in case they have a problem after the sale. If he thinks a lower cost appliance will do just as good a job as the higher-priced one you’re eyeing – he’s going to tell you. If you underestimated your ability to self-load that heavy refrigerator onto the back of your pick-up, he’s likely to find a few guys in the store to help, so you don’t have to pay for delivery. These are just a few of the reasons why this long-time West Roxbury resident is consistently recognized as one of Sears’ most successful salespeople – a member of the Million Dollar Club.

Over the past few weeks countless families have stopped by the store to say how much they will miss him. In many cases he has served multiple generations within the same family – and they have all come to say thank you. Of course we always knew our dad was special. When we were young it wasn’t uncommon for him to pack up items into his car and drop them off after his shift to those who simply couldn’t make it into the store that day. As we got older, we watched how he looked after our friends and neighbors with great care, and were often asked: “Hey is your dad working tonight? I need a new dishwasher, but only want to go up to the store if he’s going to be there.”

There are countless stories about what our dad has done for so many people, which is why we couldn’t let this moment pass without marking it in some special way. It’s still unclear if he will fully retire from working. He says he is ready, but we hear that Sears is hoping he might work for another store, and other retailers are stopping by to see if he would consider joining them. The fact that he is being courted and recruited after a lifetime of service says it all. Of course, we would be very happy to see our dad hand in his badge and get some well-deserved time to himself. But we also know he loves his work, so if he should choose to keep selling, we and likely countless others will be right there cheering him on.

With all of our love dad – from AnnMarie, Linda, Michele and Marc