The state of business

By LARRY RINGLER Tribune Chronicle
Government numbers released last week make the case that the nation’s economy, while slow, hasn’t entered a recession. It may be hard to convince local business owners and consumers, some of whom say times are as rough as they’ve seen in a quarter-century. Here’s a snapshot of how business owners and their customers are dealing with the economic pinch.

DEALS FOR WHEELS

The dealer



Surging gasoline prices mean car shoppers have two goals when they enter Warren’s Crown Ford Lincoln Mercury, the company president said.

‘‘They want to reduce their payment, and they ask if they can trade their truck in on something with better gas mileage,’’ Mike Klaben said.

The dealership is seeing ‘‘radical changes’’ in shoppers during what Klaben called probably the worst he’s seen since the 1981-82 recession, a period considered the deepest economic downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

‘‘People are trading in a crew-cab truck for a Focus (small car) or a small SUV,’’ he said.

The dealership tried to prepare by stocking more smaller vehicles, but the speed of the switch caught it by surprise.

‘‘We didn’t expect the decline to be as severe in fullsize trucks and SUVs. We thought the need-based buyer would still be there, but they’re keeping their trucks another year,” Klaben said.

Klaben said he thinks the rough times are bottoming out. It’s how fast things will rebound that’s still confounding.

‘‘I have a feeling it’ll stay this way for a while,’’ he said.

The buyers



Price for both vehicle and gasoline is especially important to Sharon, Pa., residents John and Debby Maynard, leading them to do extensive shopping before making a decision.

‘‘With gasoline at $3.85 a gallon, you bet we have to look around,’’ said John Maynard, who has funeral homes in Sharon and Greenville, Pa.

The Maynards said they even factor in the grade of gasoline their car would use. They said they liked the Mercury MKZ luxury model because it doesn’t require premium gasoline as other luxury cars do.

‘‘That’s 20 cents a gallon difference,’’ John Maynard pointed out.

Under the carpet



Not tying up too much money in inventory is an important tool the owner of Satolli Carpet in downtown Warren said he’s using to deal with the slow economy.

‘‘If you order 150 yards of carpet, I’ll have that delivered by the mill the week or a few days prior to installation. In the past, I might have had rolls of carpet in inventory,’’ Eric Thompson said. ‘‘I can’t install everything the next day like I used to, but I usually can install within three days. Not many customers need next-day installation.

Thompson said he’s endured other rocky economies — a ‘‘real scary’’ time during a 1998 strike in Michigan that idled the local General Motors Corp. car factory and the lull that occurred after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks — in his 15 years.

‘‘You cut your profit a little bit to make a deal. Our margins already are pretty slim, but I want every deal,’’ he said.

NOT FLYING HIGH

The travel agent

Tough times called for a tough business decision a year ago for three local travel agents — Renee Derr’s 4 Star Travel, Lisa Franks’ Palazzo Travel and Felicia Mooney’s LaMar Travel.

The result is a travel center on North River Road, N.E., that offers a combined 70 years of travel experience and the personal touch customers may not get over the Internet.

‘‘We’re three local travel agencies who competed against each other for years but who have chosen to bind together,’’ Derr said. ‘‘We’re still separate, but it’s been a great move for all of us.’’

The growing threat of Internet travel spurred the combination, which gave the agents a chance to prepare for the new challenge of a weakening economy. Rocketing prices for fuel and food, along with job insecurity, are forcing vacationers to cut back on travel.

Derr noted three or four airlines have folded up in recent weeks or raised ticket prices.

‘‘I’m sure travel is the last thing people are thinking about in this economy,’’ she said, adding that recent events are making the current business climate the toughest in her 14 years as an agent. But, ‘‘We’re still here, and we still do a good job.’’

The honeymooners

Jeremy Bowers and Joy Williams had hoped to honeymoon at the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas and Texas after they get married in June, but the realities of high gasoline and food prices got in their way.

They opted instead for a bus tour package deal to Washington through 4 Star Travel, something that will help them stay on track for long-range goals of caring for their 18-month-old son and buying a house.

‘‘Gas prices have a lot to do with it,’’ Bowers, 30, said of their decision to scale back their travel plans. ‘‘It’s hard to pay the bills, plus put gas in the vehicles. Living on a budget is hard; you have to make sacrifices.’’

RECESSION-PROOF?

Veteran vet



If there’s any recession-proof industry, pet care may come as close as any.

‘‘I don’t think we’ve noticed. We seem to stay pretty busy at Howland,’’ Dr. Rufus Sparks, an owner of the Town & Country Veterinary Hospital in Howland, said when asked how the tough economy if affecting the business. ‘‘People still take care of their pets.’’

The Parkman Road office definitely has seen a decline in business, but Sparks said not to the point where layoffs among the total 45 workers is possible.

‘‘We’re still growing, although the growth may be slower,’’ he said.

Sparks hesitated to call pet care recession-proof, but he did say it seems resistant to downturns.

‘‘Pets become so much a part of the family that if a pet get sick, (the owners) might not go out to eat or go to a movie, but they won’t let their pets go. Something else will suffer,’’ he said.

Hooch-e-cutie



When her previous Dogue de Bordeaux — the breed made famous for drooling its way through the Tom Hanks 1989 movie, Hooch — needed medical care, Bobbi Barnett spent didn’t hesitate to spend whatever was necessary. The tab ultimately reached $8,500, including a total hip replacement, the Mesopotamia resident estimated.

‘‘I would scrimp on other things first, especially when it comes to spaying or neutering,’’ Barnett said.

Neutering is exactly why she brought her new Dogue, six-month old Wyatt, to Town & Country in Howland for a procedure that Sparks said is beneficial for the animal’s health besides population control.

The landscaper



Economic conditions are the ‘‘worst I’ve ever seen,’’ said Jack Durig who has been in business almost 25 years with his brother, Pete Durig, with Durig’s Landscape Supply.

Durig said he lets customers stretch out payments over a number of months in an effort to be flexible and keep his 10 employees — and himself — working.

‘‘I get my hands dirty by working in the field a lot. That’s what helps,’’ he said.

Even so, jobs generally are hard to get because customers are worried about their own paychecks, prompting many to do the landscape work themselves.

‘‘It’s getting harder and harder,’’ he said.

CATERING TO YOUR BUDGET

One of Warren’s best-known restaurants is no stranger to hard times ñ the Great Depression was raging when the Economos family took over Saratoga Restaurant in 1935.

Jim Economos, the second-generation in the family who added a catering business, said he’s closely watching basic expenses, such as electricity and gas bills, that he once took for granted. Higher gasoline costs to run his catering vehicles — and food, of course ñ are more burdens he knows he has to bear while maintaining service and staff.

‘‘We’re probably seeing people cut down on their list of invitees, but whatever the size party I use the same staff. I can’t cut back,’’ he said, adding he also can’t go below a standard price. ‘‘I can’t work just to work.’’

The goal, Economos said, is hang on and ‘‘hope to come out even stronger when things turn around.’’