Managing Editor
My uncle Ray Rogers owned and operated a successful Texaco
marina in the Thousand Islands region of New York state in the 1960s and when I
was old enough, I volunteered to spend a few weeks one summer helping him out
there.
Most of his work at the marina involved repairing outboard
motors as quickly as possible and seeing that supplies of fishing tackle, bait,
cold beer, and sandwiches were available for his customers. More than 90
percent of his business arrived by boat at the Rogers Texaco Marina docks in
Alexandria Bay.
Uncle Ray was a big man, standing about 6 feet and weighing
abut 250 pounds. As the owner of the marina, and his name on the marina sign,
it was evident that boating enthusiasts in the Thousand Islands came there to
see him, seek his advice about the best places to fish, or to have him listen
to a strange new sound that their boat motor was suddenly making.
He commanded everyone’s respect, and he enjoyed sharing a few cold
ones at the marina’s outside picnic table after he had closed the shop for the
day.
When I first told him that I wanted to learn business skills
working for him, Ray was skeptical.
“You’re the type of kid who is better off reading a book,” he
told me.
But I persisted and that summer, even though I was only 12, I
learned more about business than I ever imagined.
My first task was assigned to me by Ray’s younger brother
David, who had me sweeping floors inside the marina office. Then he had me
clipping the hedges along the side of the marina property.
The next day I got up early and was excited about going to work with Uncle Ray and learning about his business. Instead, I was handed sandpaper and told to use it on the metal railings leading from the dock to the marina door. Once that was completed, I was instructed to sweep up all the old paint that I had sandpapered off the railings.
After lunch, I was told to put down a tarp under the railings
and then handed a paint brush and told to apply several coats of paint to the
railings.
By the time that project was finished, I was starting to
wonder if perhaps my uncle was right and that maybe I would be better off
reading a book.
On “Day Three” of working for my Uncle Ray, I was shown how to
work the cash register, make change and process credit card transactions. My
uncle took me aside and said that he was impressed that I never grumbled or
complained about the past day’s chores. He said he wanted me to work directly
with customers from here on out and that meant pumping gas for their boats and
taking their payments.
He asked me if I knew the four phrases everyone in business
should know. I shrugged my shoulders and told him no.
“Always remember this, no matter where your life may take
you,” he said. “The four most important phrases everyone in business should
know are ‘Yes, Sir,’ ‘No, Sir,’ ‘Yes, Ma’am,’ and ‘No Ma’am.’”
According to Uncle Ray, as I pumped fuel for the boats,
limiting my vocabulary to use those phrases would endear me to the customers of
Rogers Texaco Marina and help me down the road if I ever went into business
too.
As each customer piloted their boat up to the docks that day,
my smile, kindness and willingness to be of service was repaid with generous
tips. Even though I was volunteering my time at the marina, Uncle Ray told me I
could keep anything I earned in tips.
By the end of that first day of pumping boat fuel, I took home
more than $10 in tips and the next day was even better at $15.
By the end of my two-week visit there, I was having fun, made
a little money and was not wanting to go home. My Aunt Bernice made me pancakes
every morning and Uncle Ray introduced me to all his friends as “his hard-working nephew.”
It’s been 56 years since that summer and Uncle Ray, Aunt
Bernice and Ray’s brother David are all gone now, but Ray’s advice to me
remains as meaningful today as it was then.
“The four most important phrases everyone in business should know are ‘Yes, Sir,’ ‘No, Sir,’ ‘Yes, Ma’am,’ and ‘No Ma’am.’” <
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