I had my first experience in the work force was when I was sixteen years old. Before my “real job”, I helped my dad build four houses and for the most part I did not receive payment for my work. My dad felt that my help just covered my room and board. When I turned sixteen, I wanted a car and my dad told me to get a job and he would consider advancing me some money to help pay for the car. One of my high school friends Alan Obst, had a job at a store that sold and repaired vacuum cleaners and he wanted to quit because he found another job. He said I should stop by and he would show me what he did at the store. It was a very small storefront in downtown Belleville nestled between a movie theater and a restaurant and across the street from a furniture store. The sign on the window said Compact Cleaners with a script cut line below stating “Queen of the American home renovating systems”; below that was a notice: we repair all brands of vacuum cleaners. Inside the store there was a small counter with a phone, a pad of work tickets and a small container of business cards. There were also vacuum cleaner posters on the wall and a picture of Jack Bailey, the host of the popular television show Queen for a Day. It was very sparsely decorated except for the space age looking vacuum cleaner in the window display. The machine was aerodynamic in shape and looked like something from the future. All the attachments were chrome plated. It was a very impressive sight. I was interested in science fiction and fascinated by planes and rockets and it reminded me of the television show Space Patrol popular in the 1950‘s.
There was a narrow back room, that you entered through a curtain, with a work bench on one wall. The workbench was equipped with rudimentary tools, a buffing wheel, a device to rewind motor armatures and a small cabinet full of screws, switches, plugs and brushes for repairing motors. Hanging above the workbench were parts to repair vacuum hoses and cords. I was familiar with most of the items because my dad and grandfather had similar tools in their workshops. On the opposite wall there were stacks of old vacuums cleaner carcasses piled to the ceiling. The worn wood floor was littered with remnants of the repair process. In the back of the workshop, there was as very dirty bathroom and a doorway to the alley. Just outside he alley door there were more piles of assorted vacuums cleaner parts.
My friend showed me how he refurbished the old Electrolux cleaner bodies. He clean them and put put a new vinyl skin on the bodies and polish the chrome trim pieces and replace the cord and hose if needed. He also inserted a new cleaner bag to give the appearance of a fine restoration. The local high school shop teacher recruited him for the owners and he received rudimentary training from a previous repairman. Most of the vacuums he reconditioned were the Electrolux brand that were taken in trade for a new Compact cleaner. Many other brands of old upright cleaners were stacked in piles. The canister style had just hit the market and old models like the Kirby had Hoover were taken in for trade. I found out later that the owners new Stan Kahn a regular on the Charlotte Peters show and vacuum cleaner collector. He had been in the store seeking machines for his collection. Electrolux was a main competitor in the door to door market. They were mass produced and were easy to refurbished with parts cannibalized from the mass of old parts stored in the workshop. I never found out what they did with the refurbished Electroluxes. I did help load some of the reconditioned and used machines into their black 1954 Cadillac trunk for some unknown destination.
Alan’s duties also included answering the phone. He was told to just take the name and phone number and tell the caller he would receive a call back when the the manager returned. He also took in vacuums for repair and would make out a work ticket and tell the customer the technician was out and they would receive a call detailing the repairs needed and the cost. In addition to reconditioning the Electroluxes, he did make small repairs to cords and hoses and occasional put new brushes in the motors. However, the owners would tell the customers that the vacuum needed major repairs and they could get a great deal by trading it in for a new state of art vacuum as advertised on Queen for a day.
I worked with my friend that afternoon and he told me to stop by tomorrow and the owners would be in town. I met the owners the next day. There name was Mr. and Mrs. Hollander. The man was short slim man with an ill fitting double breasted suit and a fedora. His wife was about a foot taller and out weighed him by at least fifty pounds. Her attire was over the top. She wore bright dresses lot’s of jewelry and makeup. She also had a fox fur with little beady eyes that were creepy. However, to a young boy of sixteen from a small town she looked like a movie star. I can’t recall them using their first names. They used to refer to each other as “honey” or “sweetie.” He was very talkative and after a brief interview, he said, ”son your are perfect for this job”. The job paid twenty-five cents an hour and I could make as much as fifty cents helping them with special events. I started work the next day. I worked with my friend for about a week and then worked by myself each day after school from three to five and every Saturday from nine to five. The first Saturday I worked, the owners spent the entire day at the store making phone calls and recording the information on index cards that they bound together with rubber band. They told me with stories about the product and the money they were making. However, I was surprised that they did not give me more instructions for repairing the cleaners. I did manage to do a few simple repairs. Mysteriously, most customers opted for a new space age cleaning machine and not the repairs. I did have a few problems with customers questioning me about repairs but the owners were very cleaver in turning every problem to their advantage .The Hollander’s were more interested in the information I could get from the customers. Mr. Hollander said that a good memory and attention to detail was important for a salesman. The couple confided in me that they were high school teachers in Missouri and they invested in an exciting new company called Compact Cleaners and were working part time to develop a business. The were very motivated and it was exciting to be with them and hear stories about their fantastic adventures. I was wide eyed and thought I was part a some grand money making scheme. I went on a few sales calls with them and it was amazing to see them at work. They dazzled the customer with many facts and left with a signed contract that they sold to a local loan company. I did not understand this process at the time. l learned later in life it is was called “selling or passing” paper. The small loan companies did not have much regulation and the customer was tied into a long term high interest contract.
One of their demonstrations showed the cleaners suction power. They attach a plugger head to the hose and pick of a bowling ball. The customers would be awe struck by this simple manipulation of physics. Mr. Hollander would also demonstrate the strength of the cast metal case by standing on it. Not only was it a vacuum cleaner, it was a floor polisher, and a sprayer. I soon realize it was not about repairing vacuum cleaners but about selling the amazing new American cleaning system. One exciting adventure was helping they set up a display at the county fair. I passed out brochures and sign up cards for a free cleaner. I gathered hundreds of leads for future sales. I watched them work the crowds like carnival pitchmen. I worked there my junior and part of my senior year and when I returned from college my junior year I went to visit them. The store was closed and the building was abandoned. I always wondered what happened to them. They were from Missouri and I know they had stores in the St. Louis area but I never tried to find them.
As you have probably guessed the moral of this tale is “it is looks to good to be true it is probably is” It is a cautionary tale but once upon a time I worked for the queen.
