History
When Calvin Clark first
started his business, his goal was to provide supplemental income for his
family by providing quality used appliances to his customers. Over the
years, the vision for Cal’s
Appliances has changed and grown into what it is today.
Through the years, the
Clark family learned a solid work ethic and tremendous drive toward honesty
and fairness by working in the business. Cal and Gladys’ only son, Charles,
started working for the bu
siness
when he was in Jr. High School. He trained in every position, and eventually
worked his way through college by continuing to work at
Cal’s. Charles says, “I’ve had
some excellent hands-on training over the years. I have also seen first-hand
how to conduct business by ‘the good book.’ When my father committed his
life to Jesus Christ back in 1978, everything about him changed. He was
always an honest man and a hard worker, but he strove harder to honor God in
all aspects of his life, even in his business. When people found out he was
a Christian businessman they would say, ‘You should put a Christian symbol
on your sign or in your ads.’ Dad would reply, “If people can’t tell I’m a
Christian by the way I conduct my business, advertising it won’t help.’”
As a result of Cal’s
commitment, the Cal’s Appliances
vision expanded to include: honor God
in all of our business dealings.
Early on, Charles also
learned technical skills and common sense diagnostics from two excellent
technicians, Steve Muzichia and Bruce Richmond. From Steve, Charles learned
the importance of continuing education and natural curiosity. Technicians
who do not learn new skills will get left behind, and will not be effective.
From Bruce, Charles learned to seek the simple solutions first.
So
many technicians go straight for the most expensive repair when a more cost
effective solution will do. This business philosophy does not bring
luxurious richness, but does set the foundation for a solid company that
will endure the test of time.
Drawing from the
expertise and knowledge of these technicians came another part of the
Cal’s
Appliances vision: a
commitment to continual training and a commitment to value and simplicity.
In 1991, after
graduating from college, Charles purchased the business from Cal and began
to build on the foundation developed by Cal, Bruce, and Steve. These were
the learning years: many mistakes
were made, and many lessons learned.
It was during this time
Charles expanded the vision for Cal’s.
In addition to offering used appliances for sale and in-shop repairs,
Cal’s began providing in-home
service.
In 1997, Charles married
a lovely girl who has a real heart to help and bless her husband. During the
next several years, both the business and Charles’ family grew. The
Cal’s Appliances staff grew from
one technician to four, and the office personnel grew from one to two.
Charles and Crystal have been blessed with five children so far. Together,
Charles and Crystal have implemented many of the Charles’ business ideas he
had been unable to execute on his own.
Over the last several
years, a new aspect of the Cal’s vision has been established and
implemented: a commitment to
professionalism.
Family is very important
to Charles, so he understands his employees must be able to properly care
for their own families. Charles has learned that in order to attract and
keep professional employees who will provide professional service to his
customers, three specific needs should be met:
1)
Competitive
Salaries
2)
Good tools
with which they can complete their jobs
3)
Professional
training
In sort, professionalism
relates to every aspect of our business. At
Cal’s Appliances, we realize professionalism begins with our
employees. We strive to provide our employees a good living that will
support their families and provide for their needs such as medical insurance
and retirement options. One of our regrets is that we were unable to provide
a faithful technician with health insurance, and because he could not afford
quality medical care his cancer was diagnosed too late to help. We do not
ever want that to happen again: we want to take care of our employees and
their families.
Our technicians attend
training classes several times a year to keep up with innovations in the
appliance industry. We are always looking for ways to help our technicians
do their jobs more efficiently, whether that means providing training or
purchasing better tools.
At
Cal’s Appliances, our goal is not to be the cheapest or the biggest
repair shop making the most profit, but rather
to provide well for our employees
and their families by providing our customers with excellent service they
can trust. Our dedication to our mission greatly depends on customer
feedback. We are constantly striving to improve our service to our
customers, and your feedback is essential to this process. We understand
that our commitment to our vision may result in higher prices than other
appliance repair centers you may call, so we strive to ensure we provide you
with the excellent, professional service you deserve.