I had been pursuing studies in physics and electronics at LaSalle College (now LaSalle University). Each semester, I enrolled in two courses, attending classes four nights a week. Additionally, I took accelerated courses every July and August, attending one class four nights a week. During those summer sessions, my wife and children would vacation with her parents in Massena, NY.

As I approached graduation, my prospects in electronic engineering seemed grim due to Nixon's wage freeze and the suspension of military contracts.

One day, while browsing the Help Wanted Ads for engineering positions, a management role caught my attention due to its distinctive wording. I submitted a resume along with a cover letter that echoed the language of the ad. When I received no reply, I regretted my attempt to be clever.

About a month later, however, I received a call regarding my resume. The caller asked if I had personally composed the cover letter. Admitting that I had, he requested that I come to his office in King of Prussia immediately for an interview. It was Sunday and I explained I was painting my house, but he insisted I "come-as-you-are."

That afternoon, I was interviewed by Sy Hochman of S&S Associates, a company that sold and repaired industrial electronic test equipment with offices in King of Prussia, PA, and Bethesda, MD. Mr. Hochman was inspired to expand his industrial repair business to include home electronics after struggling to find reliable service for the tape recorder and electronics in his "mobile office," a luxurious, red Lincoln Continental.

He had started the business and employed one part-time TV/Stereo repair technician. The business was currently repairing products for Radio Shack and Lafayette Radio and was authorised to repair Sony and Harmon Kardon electronics under warranty. Now he was looking for someone ambitious and creative to help expand and manage his home electronics repair business. I got the job and my raise in pay.

Sy Hochman was an ambitious individual with degrees in Electronic Engineering and Juris Doctorate. His goal was to become the largest home electronics repair center in the Delaware Valley and provide warranty repair services for consumers and retailers across all manufacturers. We began reaching out to manufacturers like Craig, Panasonic, and Sanyo, essentially from Admiral to Zenith, to become their authorized repair center.

After understanding the information requirements of various manufacturers, I began designing a repair ticket that complied with their standards and included copies for them, the customer, our records, and a matching stub that could be attached to the repair.

I also had to set up a replacement parts system for everything from transistors to motors. Some manufacturers compensated us for defective parts returned, while others exchanged them for new ones. I utilized 4x6 index cards to track the usage and replenishment needs for hundreds of repair parts.

Finally, we needed customers. I had a talent for business, and Sy taught me sales techniques. We started visiting local electronic retailers and department stores such as John Wannamaker, E.J. Korvettes, and Gimbles to convince them that we could manage all their repair work more efficiently and cost-effectively than they could.

Within two years, I had hired 12 new employees: a secretary, nine repair technicians, a parts manager, and a delivery person. We provided service for all kinds of home electronics, including microwave ovens and VCRs. We became the warranty repair center for over 40 manufacturers of home electronic products, both foreign and domestic.

Our clientele included consumers, retailers, and department stores. Some department stores, like Gimbles, Korvettes, Lit Brothers, and Wannamakers, delivered repairs to us by the truckload. Each store had its own method of manifesting its merchandise for repair. Gimbles invoiced us at full retail for every item sent and credited our account upon the item's return.

With department stores and retailers delivering repairs in bulk, we added a second floor to the warehouse area to accommodate the merchandise. To expedite the process of sorting and identifying merchandise, I implemented a "color coding" system with colored tags attached to the items. We were indeed the largest home electronics repair center in the Delaware Valley.

Around 1970, RCA attempted to compete. Headquartered in Cherry Hill, NJ, they launched Service America, a home electronics service that offered "in-home" repair on all brands of home electronics. I anticipated the challenges Service America would face in repairing all brands, and ultimately Service America did not succeed.

Unfortunately, neither would Service in Electronics. President Nixon received political praise but his wage and price freezes and imposed government cutbacks had devalued the dollar and severely harmed the nation's economy, forcing S &' S Associates to close the Bethesda, MD office. Sy's partners moved into our King of Prussia facility, even taking over my office.

When Sy Hochman died in an accident while on business in New Jersey, his partners shut down Service in Electronics. They lacked interest in the repair business and fired me. To maintain some income, I took a job at Seifert X-Ray, located in the same industrial park. However, within a year I secured a position as product service manager with the JCPenney Company.

  In 1971, I was interviewed for the position of Product Service Manager at JCPenney Company, a memorable experience for me. I met with the Regional Product Service Manager at the Audubon, NJ Service Center. After they reviewed my application and discussed my background, education, and experience, I was asked to complete an in-basket test.

The in-basket test presented a scenario where I was the newly appointed manager of a product service center. The manager's in-basket was overflowing. I had one hour to prioritise and make decisions on each item in that in-basket. I later learned that some of these in-basket "problems" were based on actual situations.

The in-basket contained various issues, including office jealousy, personal rivalries, and customer complaints. One issue was a letter from a neighbour of Mrs. Flowers, who reported seeing a JCPenney truck parked at the widow's home for long periods. I do not recall my decision on that matter, but the only feedback I received was that I should have prioritised returning a call from the Regional Service Manager. I promised to improve and was that day hired by JCPenney as a Product Service Manager.

The company opened its second full-line store at King of Prussia Plaza in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, in late 1962. These stores expanded the range of merchandise and services offered by J.C. Penney to include appliances, sporting goods, tools, garden/lawn items, restaurants, beauty salons, portrait studios, auto parts, and auto centres.

The Product Service Centers operated independently, providing repair and maintenance for these products. They also offered service contracts known as Assured Performance Plans. The manager was responsible for the entire operation, including assets, staffing, profits, and ensuring customer satisfaction.

After a brief training period at the Audubon Service Center, JCPenney provided me with the opportunity to open my own product service center in Dayton, Ohio. This Center would serve a large store in the Centerville Mall, a long-standing downtown store in Xenia, Ohio, and an outlet store in Cincinnati.

My experience at Service in Electronics proved invaluable. I worked from the Columbus, OH Service and Parts Distribution Center while the company sought a suitable location for the new service center. They eventually found a building near the mall, but it was far from ideal.

It was a large, empty warehouse located in a small industrial park in Centerville, featuring three offices at the front. There were two restrooms in the warehouse area and a ceiling-mounted gas heater at the back, which provided heat for the entire warehouse.

Fortunately, my family remained in Pennsylvania, as it would take many long days of work to transform the "warehouse" into workstations and a parts department. Additionally, I needed to hire technicians for electronics, appliances, and gas engines, as well as office staff, and order desks, file cabinets, workbenches, tools, and trucks.

Assigning the offices was straightforward. The Call Center would occupy the large front office at the entrance, Contract Sales would take another front office, and the Bookkeeper would use the small office between the two larger ones. The Call Center would require two desks and three file cabinets, while the Contract Sales office needed four small desks. The bookkeeper would need a desk, a file cabinet, and a small safe.

The plan I devised for the warehouse area was quite clever. I established three workshops along the wall with the restrooms—electronics, appliance, and gas engines. Each shop had two workbenches along the wall, and between every two benches, I placed sections of 24" deep steel shelving perpendicular to the wall. The shelving separated the three workstations and served as holding bins for repairs.

To create "walls" between the workstations, I secured 4' x 8' panels of particle board to the backs of the shelves. The combined weight of the steel shelving and particle board formed sturdy walls while still allowing the overhead heater to warm the entire warehouse. Gas engine repairs were located at the rear of the building for easy access to the overhead door.

Subsequently, I established a parts department on the wall opposite the workstations and near a side door. This door would allow convenient access for carry-in repairs. The parts department was created by constructing three "walls" of 12" deep steel shelving with particle board attached to the back. Three sections of shelving were placed inside the area along with a desk and roll-around inventory file.

On the wall opposite the restrooms and adjacent to the call center office, I set up an office for myself. Once again, 12" deep steel shelving and particle board formed the walls necessary to enclose the office area. The shelving, facing inward, functioned as bookcases.

Once the building layout was finalised, I had staff to hire and train. I hired three electronic technicians, three appliance technicians, and one gas engine technician, along with two call takers, a bookkeeper, and two contract salespeople.

Independent service contractors who had previously worked with JCP products were informed that their services were no longer needed, and the stores were trained on the updated Product Service procedures. Within a month, the JCPenney Dayton Product Service Center was ready to operate.

One of my initial challenges involved dispatching technicians. It was essential to carefully schedule calls to keep technicians in the same area on the same day. In Audubon, they used a large map on a magnetic board to outline service areas, using different coloured magnets to indicate electronics, appliance, and gas engine service requests.

I did not have enough space for such a large setup, so I copied the Area Code Map from the telephone directory. I arranged six letter-sized maps, labelled Monday through Saturday, in a three-by-two configuration on a cork board. When a service call was scheduled, a colored push pin was placed on the map.

Red, blue, and green push pins represented service calls for electronics, appliances, and gas engines, respectively. The goal was to keep all the red pins together, blue pins together, and green pins together for each day of the week. I occasionally had to replace the maps, but the system worked effectively. I would later program a computer to manage service calls using zip codes instead of area codes.

My unique service center quickly gained recognition as a regional award-winning Center, despite the fact that the old, three-story main-street store in Xenia primarily sold clothing and the outlet store in Cincinnati did not offer service contracts or in-home service.

With the majority of my business coming from the Centerville Mall store, I eventually needed two additional contract salespeople and another employee for the parts department. The only Center surpassing my APP sales was the Pittsburgh Service Center. The Regional manager would not accept the justification that Pittsburgh had three large metropolitan stores while I only had one.

The P&L statements for the JCPenney stores and product service centers were generated at headquarters in New York, so they were not available until ten days after the end of the month. Consequently, managers were required to provide a "flash report" of their monthly P&L.

I kept daily records of four key figures in my Day-Timer pocket calendar, ensuring that my "flash" was always more accurate than any other product service manager in our region. My expertise in Operations led to my selection as the manager of the very first computer implemented in Product Service when JCP decided to incorporate technology.

  Camden was set to become the first computerized product service center. Its considerable size and convenient location near JCPenney's headquarters in New York City made it an ideal location for testing. I was tasked with managing it.

The Camden Center catered to all of South Jersey and the Philadelphia metropolitan area. Upon taking charge, I discovered several significant issues. There was contention over an open supervisory position, employee morale was low, and both productivity and APP sales were falling short of expectations.

My first priority was to address the rivalry between the two technicians. One television technician felt entitled to the supervisor role due to his outstanding service and lengthy tenure. However, he had a noticeable accent and some communication challenges. A more personable and approachable appliance technician was a much better fit for the position. I decided to promote both; the appliance technician became the technician supervisor, while the electronic technician took on the role of lead shop technician.

This approach was so effective that it lifted morale among all the technicians and eventually became a case study at the annual JCPenney managers' training seminar. It might have even made it to the in-Basket test.

Efficient dispatching was crucial for improving morale and productivity. Camden's dispatch system featured a large map on a magnetic board with coloured magnets, likely the same one I trained on in Audubon, NJ. However, the only "division" on this map was the Delaware River separating New Jersey and Pennsylvania. We needed smaller divisions.

I could not implement my Area Code concept from Dayton because the Philadelphia area code was 215 and New Jersey's was 609. I chose to split the map into four zones: one for New Jersey and three for different parts of Philadelphia – Northeast, West, and South. The aim was to keep service calls for each type of service more closely grouped. It took some practice for the schedulers, but the divisions proved effective, leading to improved productivity and morale.

I considered myself lucky to oversee the first computerized product service center. However, I soon realized that the initial software demanded a lot of data entry and provided little benefit in return. When a customer bought hardline products, the product service department received a pink copy of the customer's sales receipt.

These "sales slips" were filed by last and first name, but with the introduction of the computer, the sales slip information had to be input into the computer system before it could be filed. The tedious data entry led to a backlog of sales slips accumulating on the dispatchers' desks, making it difficult to find information when a customer called for service.

In addition, if a customer purchased a JCPenney service warranty, the Assured Performance Plan, it had to be typed up and sent to the customer before the sales slip was filed. The slow process of data entry caused major delays in customers receiving their APPs.

As frustration mounted, everyone began to dislike the computer. JCPenney did not have plans to install "Phase II" of the computer for another year. I needed to find a solution to the data entry problem, and hiring data entry clerks was not the answer.

JCPenney opted to use a Motorola computer for product service due to delays in acquiring IBM computers. During the initial setup and data entry, a considerable amount of time was spent entering city names such as Conshohocken, King of Prussia, Pennsauken, and Cherry Hill. When I voiced my concerns, Motorola modified the program to use a few abbreviations that would convert to the full city name.

When my people started doing the data entry, I was not satisfied with Motorola's solution. I proposed using zip codes to post the city and state. Motorola acknowledged that it was possible but would necessitate creating a file of zip codes, and modifying the program to use that file. When I asked how that could be done, they obliged.

During the initial setup, I observed as programmers made changes to the software. I even made some changes to the program myself with their guidance over the phone. Creating a zip code file and modifying the program did not seem overly complicated. When Motorola declined to make the change, I felt confident that I could program my zip code idea into JCPenney's computer.

Zip codes were listed in the telephone directory, and my service area included 120 zip codes; 87 in Philadelphia and 33 in New Jersey. I began creating the file with one record for each zip code and each record containing its corresponding city and state.

Following the steps provided by Motorola and observing how files were managed in the existing software, I started to modify the program: "opening" the file, "skipping" over the city and state, "retrieving" the zip code record, "reading" the city and state from the record, and "posting" the city and state to the customer's record. IT WORKED.

The morning I informed my two dispatchers that they no longer needed to input the city and state, they were ecstatic. This significantly enhanced the data entry process, and we began to catch up on posting sales slips. I had successfully created my first computer program!

With the success of the zip code implementation, I had another idea. Perhaps I could develop a "model number file" that could be used to post the product description and warranty expiration date to the customers' records.

JCPenney sold hundreds of models in everything from TVs and appliances to garden tractors and water heaters but I created the file. Each record contained a description of the product and the number of days the product was under warranty. I then modified the program so that when the typist entered the model number, it would retrieve the model record and post the product description and warranty expiration date to the customer's record.

Calculating the warranty date was a stroke of genius on my part. With no prior computer experience, I converted the sales date to Julian, added the number of warranty days to it, and converted that date back to a calendar date. If the Julian date exceeded 365, I subtracted 365 from it and added 1 to the year. In a leap year, I subtracted 366 days.

My two modifications greatly reduced data entry time. My dispatchers could input customer records into the computer without delay, and the computer became an instant source of information when a customer called for service. Morale improved, and everyone began to appreciate the computer. This was the second of many programs I would create for the computer.

Typing Assured Performance Plans after entering all the information into the computer was redundant, and no program was scheduled for the computer to print APPs for another year. So, when a truckload of APP forms arrived at my office one day, I felt confident enough to write a computer program to print the APPs.

However, this project would involve more than modifying the main program to "flag" the records that had an APP to be printed. It would require creating a "printer program" from scratch. And the print program would need to print customer and product information in specific areas on the pre-printed APP forms. I relished the challenge.

The first day we were ready to print contracts was exhilarating. We placed a stack of blank APP forms in front of the printer, loaded them into the printer, and started the program. The printer began churning out printed service contracts faster than we could count. My three dispatchers were overjoyed. They no longer had to type APPs and, after data entry, all sales slips could ne filed away, never to be retrieved again.

But they were not the only ones pleased with my program. My Pitney-Bowes sales representative was also thrilled. He had a machine that could take a stack of printed forms, remove the perforated edges, separate the forms, fold them, stuff them into envelopes, seal the envelopes, and stamp them. I purchased that machine.

Yet I was not ready to stop there. I was confident I could write a program that would schedule our service calls. I designed the system to keep service calls close together by using the customer's zip code, just as I scheduled service calls using the customers' telephone area codes in Dayton.

When a customer called for service, the program offered the dispatcher a choice of three days for service. The customer could select one of those days, or the dispatcher could override the choices for emergency service calls or special needs. All of our service calls were now scheduled with a simple key press. Goodbye magnetic dispatch board!

After that, I developed a program to print the technicians' dispatches. My dispatchers no longer had to type APPs, assign service calls, or type route sheets. Almost all of our typing was eliminated. Goodbye IBM Selectrics!

Meanwhile, Camden's APP sales were becoming so successful that we took over the APP sales for the Ephreta, PA, and Wayne, NJ service centres. Production was so strong that we completely took over the Wilmington, DE service center. My sales and service area now encompassed all of New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania west to Harrisburg. I employed thirty APP sales representatives, with annual APP sales exceeding $1 million, up from $10,000.

At this point, JCPenney was ready to implement Phase II. My boss arrived at my office with a JCPenney programmer from corporate and a Motorola programmer who was an independent contractor. They were discussing the program to print APPs.

Their suggestions were so inadequate that I had to reveal that I had already programmed the computer to print APPs and my program printed the location and phone number of the nearest JCPenney service center throughout my entire sales area, a feature they said could not be done.

I explained my zip code file, that was used to post the city and state, now included the zip codes of my sales area and each zip code record included the service information. The programmers were astounded and my boss was surprised to the extent of being upset, but the group insisted that I hand over all the source code and they left to return to New York.

I did not mention that the computer also scheduled our service calls and dispatched our technicians, and I provided them only with the modified original source code and the APP print program. A few days later, I heard back from Senneta Koch. Senneta was a JCPenney programmer at corporate. We became friends during the initial setup of the computer. She confirmed that my programs could not be improved and would be used just as they were written.

Senneta was thrilled about my achievement and congratulated me by sending me an engraved 18" steel pica ruler, which programmers use to align print on forms. Thank you, Senneta, wherever you are today. If only I had had time to show you my dispatching program!

However, in April 1983, JCPenney exited the appliance business and closed all of its product service centers. I was out of a job.

Camden had been the one and only computerized service center. If I had known then the value of the software that I wrote and had not been so insecure about my accomplishments, I should have approached Motorola about my future.

  After JCPenney shut down their product service centers, the successful phase of my management career came to an abrupt and unforeseen conclusion. Montgomery Ward had offered me a job in South Carolina, but I had assured Bob that we would not relocate so he could finish school with his friends.

I sought a position as service manager at a fuel oil company, but the owner believed I needed to know how to repair boilers. I also applied for a service manager role at an office machine retailer, but the owner claimed I was overqualified. And, I pursued a managerial position at an ITT Technical Institute but was unsuccessful due to my lack of formal classroom teaching experience.

With no management opportunities available, I turned to sales roles. The sales professionals I knew were thriving. Barbara sold condominiums, Sherry sold houses, Dick Goodwin constructed and sold entire communities, and Dick Schultz sold paper. I attempted to sell advertising, office supplies, and computers, but I did not succeed. Consequently, my friends encouraged me to enter Real Estate.

I followed their suggestion and enrolled in classes at Fox & Lazo Realty training center. Given my business background, the course was manageable, and I obtained my license on the first attempt. I was subsequently hired at Fox & Lazo's office on Tanner Street in downtown Haddonfield.

Haddonfield is an affluent area renowned for its distinctive boutiques, appealing variety of restaurants, historic Victorian houses, and the Tavistock Country Club. Competing against seasoned and established agents was challenging, but I was learning some tricks of the trade.

Real Estate demanded a lot of effort. We were in the office by eight every morning, and regular meetings were scheduled. There were days "on floor" to assist walk-in clients. Cold calls had to be made in search of listings. Presentations for listings were often conducted in the evening when both spouses were available.

If you were lucky enough to have a listing, there were weekend "Open Houses." You were on call seven days a week from morning until night, dealing with clients who frequently changed their preferences. Furthermore, when a sale was made, there was a mountain of paperwork for mortgages, title clearances, home inspections, and scheduled repairs that all had to be processed urgently.

With many friends in Real Estate, I lacked a "center of influence." All my clients approached me when I was on floor. One of my first clients was a divorcee whose ex-wife lived in Haddonfield with their daughter. He was looking for a condominium where he could spend weekends with his daughter.

However, there was only one small condominium development in Haddonfield, and he was not impressed. Instead of the condo, he opted to purchase Haddonfield's only hotel (which I believe is now the Kings Highway Apartments). It was the only hotel in or near Haddonfield, and I informed him that I didn't think it was for sale. He replied, "Everything is for sale, Charlie."

As it turned out, he was wealthy enough to buy the hotel and drove to Haddonfield from New York on a snowy day with a $10,000 cashier's check to initiate negotiations. After arranging for an offer on the hotel, I lost the deal when, according to Fox & Lazo, I was creating a conflict with their Commercial Department. The hotel was eventually sold as a commercial property about a year later, but not by me or to my client.

In my first year in Real Estate, I sold two houses and earned $8,000. To supplement my income, I began taking on wallpapering jobs, a skill I had acquired as a teenager from Peg Walker. A coworker expressed concern, saying, "You are what you do. Do you want to sell Real Estate or hang wallpaper?"

The following year, I sold four houses and earned about $12,000. With such disappointing earnings from selling houses, I transitioned to selling mortgages the next year. I thought I could persuade all my Real Estate friends to use Crestmont Federal Savings & Loan for their clients' mortgages.

When that role also failed to pan out, I succumbed to the pressure from my former JCPenney colleagues to accept the position as service manager for American Appliances. American Appliances was a large retailer in the Delaware Valley selling new and used appliances and electronics. It had a substantial service fleet, but AA had a poor reputation among its customers.

  With the closure of JCPenney's service, several of my previous employees found positions as technicians, dispatchers and in service contract sales at American Appliances. Many encouraged me to join them. My reputation as a manager was well-known, and the owner of American Appliance was eager to have me in his service department.

However, despite American Appliances being a very large Deleware Valley retailer of appliances and electronics, they had a troubling reputation among customers regarding both sales and service and I did not want to work for them. However, out of a need for a decent salary I finally accepted a service management role with American Appliance.

In my initial days on the job, I quickly identified numerous issues. There were no records for merchandise received from the stores for repair, and the service department was held responsible for items that went missing. Technicians were taking replacement parts for themselves, and dispatching was arbitrary, allowing technicians to run their own service businesses and sell American Appliance's replacement parts while employed there.

I promptly shut down the parts department and only "exchanged" new parts for old ones that were used on a signed American Appliance work order. I started using signed shipping and receiving manifests to monitor all items sent from the stores for repair and returned to them.

I reverted to my previous manual JCPenney dispatch system. The two dispatchers, who had both been under my management at JCPenney, were pleased to see organized scheduling methods return to their office. My former contract sales supervisor managed American Appliance's contract sales, but, unlike at JCPenney, I had no responsibilities in that area.

I had meticulously developed a one-year reorganization plan, but would soon learn that my changes were not well-received by technicians or by store managers. Minimizing theft and managing production became so unpopular that the comptroller once cautioned me to "watch my back!"

For me, the working conditions were not particularly pleasant. I had to climb a ramp to reach my office. Dispatching was located across the hall, and I spent much of my day running up and down that ramp. Oh, my aching back!

As expected, numerous customer complaints kept me busy on the phone, drafting letters, and appearing in Small Claims Court. JCPenney went to great lengths for the customer, but my new boss believed that as long as he offered the best prices in town, customers would return, regardless of their dissatisfaction with previous purchases. Surprisingly, it seemed he was correct.

After nine months had passed, the owner fired me. His decision was based on his observation that my reorganization plan had not worked and that I delegated too much responsibility to the technician supervisor. The later was designed to prevent me from collecting unemployment. However, my former employees, still loyal to me, informed me otherwise.

The reality was that the technician supervisor desired my position. He had been with American Appliance for many years and was a "buddy" of the boss. Now that the service was organized and functioning well, he was capable of taking over the role. I decided it was time to step back from management and perhaps explore a career in computer programming.