orders. The 5,000 sq. ft. of storage we started with was full. The funniest part was that we did not have a warehouse at the time. So, we bought a fork lift and used our call center space. Giant trac- tor-trailers delivered palettes of soap to us and since we had no way to accept them in a prop- er warehouse they would drop the pallettes on the access roads around our building. We would then scoop them up with the forklift and bring them inside. On delivery days the whole parking lot was filled with palettes of soap. I’m glad it didn’t rain on those days or our street might have been filled with suds. Proctor and Gamble audited our work- manship on a scheduled basis. When they found everything shipshape they prepaid us for the quarter. It must have been easier for them to write a single check. For me, it was like a free loan. I’m glad that we saw the market need for credit card processing and did something about it.
like how the fellow was treating Herman. They both knew it. After that lunch, Herman asked me to manage his finances. I built a trusting rela- tionship that made him feel appreciated. Since that day, I have had a very special relationship with the whole family. During a slowdown in the economy, Herman and I planned a valuation of the company. It was the perfect time. We used that value as part of a gifting plan for each of his children. Each was given an equal part in the small company. The rest is history. 777 PROPERTIES Herman Shooster - We moved into our current headquarters at 777 S St. Rd 7, in Margate, Florida on 08/08/1988. We rented 3,000 sq. ft. in a 40,000 sq. ft. building. It was part of an office complex of four buildings. Those buildings were all split into small office spaces and rented. I made a special request in our lease to give us the first right of refusal for adjacent space. The landlord agreed, shifting tenets around as we found a need for addi- tional space. Eventually, when we were rent- ing half the building, the landlord suggested we purchase the whole thing. We followed his advice and took ownership of the property. The business kept growing and we started renting space in the next building. In 2002, we rented a shipping center about two miles away in a warehouse district. Because we do lots of client tours we found the distance to be inconvenient. To solve this, Mike, wanted to buy the 32 acres of vacant land next to our office and build a warehouse in our backyard. So, Mike went to the City of Margate and met with the zoning director, Bob Meehan. He asked Bob if the property next to us could be re-zoned for a warehouse. Bob said, ‘Absolutely not.’ Within a few weeks, a billboard went up on the land showing a 20 ft. image of a ware- house. It was exactly what we wanted. The sign was odd because it was facing us on our private street and not the main road. Mike went back to Bob and told him about
BOB CASE Bob Case - The first time I saw Ding-A-Ling Answering Service I knew it was an integral part of the direct mark- ing phenomenon that was happening around us. They had every- thing thing you needed;
Robert Case
phone lines, people, and enough scale to begin taking calls for television commercials and newspaper advertisements. I saw their poten- tial the first time I visited the office. I met them when they just moved into a small retail storefront across the street from my office. They had about 25 employees at the time. I was running The Gold Coast Execu- tive Network, a local networking group, and enticed Herman to join. One of our members hired Ding-a-Ling, then went on a national talk show and mentioned their phone number. The switchboards lit up. Trouble surfaced when that fellow refused to pay the bill. I tried to arbitrate the payment with both parties. I was upset because I didn’t
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