The Importance of Community at Work during Covid
How Big George’s fosters a family-like environment in the workplace
—By Andre Boutros
In addition to its impact on public health, Covid has caused an everlasting shock to the American economy. Among everyone struggling, small businesses have taken the greatest hit. Small business owners are tired, feeling the heat of burnout and mental exhaustion. More than a quarter of businesses report that their work-life balance is much worse as compared to before the pandemic, a third report that they aren’t able to sleep well, and about half said that running a business during the pandemic had a drastic effect on their well being.
Big George’s is a local Ann Arbor home appliance mart. The business is family owned, founded in 1959 by Bud Bishar, who has now appointed his two sons, Ramsey and Mark, to continue the tradition. Among the many chain retailers in the area, Big George’s is regarded by the general public as the benchmark. The store is characterized by its welcoming environment and its integrated kitchen, bathroom, and theater sections of the showroom, offering a wide variety of products to clients. The staff is characterized by their friendliness, courteousness, and genuine care for each and every customer who walks through the front doors. Like all other small businesses, the pandemic definitely took its toll on Big George’s, and continues to have an impact now.
The (not so bad) struggle
Ramsey Bishar, co-owner of Big George’s, discusses how the pandemic affected Ann Arbor small businesses in particular. “Being born and raised in Ann Arbor and being very involved in the community, I know that the majority of businesses in Ann Arbor were heavily affected.” Ann Arbor is known for its vibrant, lively environment, which turned into a ghost town during the height of the pandemic. The once energetic and beautiful atmosphere revered as one of the nation’s best places to live was lost. “When word hit the street about Covid, the whole world was scared. Not a soul was walking around downtown for about a whole year, and many owners had to close up shop. Everyone was devastated and sad, most could not weather the storm for government funding in COVID relief grants because it was taking too long, and very few ended up bouncing back,” says Ramsey.
“With regard to Big George’s, business came to a crashing halt, nobody came in to buy anything. We had to take a step back, adapt, regroup as a company, and unfortunately lay people off. It was the hardest thing we’ve ever had to do.” The store closed in March of 2020, and slowly began to reopen in May of 2020, with few sales for the first couple weeks. A staple Ann Arbor business that has been around for over 60 years was on the verge of closing for good. “We weren’t ready for that, so we made the executive decision to endure the indefinite wait to see if things would change.”
However, the Big George’s crew noticed an interesting and unexpected shift when the world as months began to pass by. The demand for home appliances began to skyrocket to an all time high. Due to the amount of time people were spending at home, money was no longer being used for travel, it was being used for home improvement, with consumers looking into renovating and remodeling outdated appliances and living situations.
“Home owners were using appliances more than ever before, for example, opening the fridge ten times more than normal, hence more risk of failure. People were also probably getting tired of using their old fashioned TVs too, not really buying the saying of not fixing what’s not broken,” Ramsey states. Although the situation seemed too good to be true for Big George’s, the inherent problem was that the supply was unable to meet demand. “Although we are doing the best we can, today, some customers are waiting up to a year for their kitchen appliance of choice.”
How Big George’s got bigger
“When we first reopened, we had a total of 90 employees. As demand and sales began to escalate, we couldn’t keep up and needed more staff. To date we currently have 147 employees, all of which I went out and personally hired myself. This was when I had to put my recruiting skills into overdrive,” exclaims Ramsey.
The pandemic has had, and still has, a traumatic impact on people’s well being. After the long and dire months of isolation during the peak of the pandemic, people have seen the toll that an absence of a social life has had on us. “I wanted to foster an environment that would make people look forward to waking up and coming to work every single day and to make them feel important. Recruiting is super important to me, so I went out by myself to find people to work. I explained to them that I do not have HR (human resources) and that you aren’t just a number, we are a family” says Ramsey.
Ramsey emphasizes this notion when asked what makes Big George’s different from other stores. “Word of mouth is our primary mode of advertisement. We have more people applying to work at Big George’s than we can accommodate, which is both a blessing and a curse. It really makes me feel like I was successful in creating this awesome environment and community that people want to be a part of.”
Big George’s has definitely earned their reputation as being one of Southeastern Michigan’s best home appliance marts, topping every list with nearly completely 5 star ratings. “Everyone who comes in looking to make a purchase leaves satisfied in their decisions, and it all stems from our sales staff who do a fantastic job day in and day out of putting themselves in the shoes of the customer to guide them in their product choices,” Ramsey explains.
Customer’s satisfaction with Big George’s is emphasized on the sales and installment staff. “Big George’s has my utmost confidence. Everyone I have spoken to has been wonderful, I am thrilled with the service and professionalism of this great local business,” says Daniel B on Yelp. Big George’s service team always puts the customer first. Mike T. on CustomerLobby says “We couldn’t have picked a better store. Our product expert, Kevin Renaud, was extremely knowledgeable, and we never felt we were being steered toward any particular brand. He listened to what we needed and told us the pros and cons of our choices. The delivery crew and installers, Eric and Joey, were on time, friendly and really good at putting all the parts together. They answered all our questions and made sure we were up to speed before leaving.”
“A boss is only as good as his team. We are doing the best we can to meet the demands of our clients every single day, and it couldn’t be done without my incredible staff,” Ramsey explains. “Our success with our clients is not solely about Mark and I, but more importantly those that choose to work with us.”
How to be a big leader in small business
The pandemic stimulated a new wave of entrepreneurship, as many people have begun to investigate careers in small business ownership. The US saw 3.4 million new business applications in 2021, as the pandemic opened a lot of different possible avenues for careers when people were stuck at home with nothing to do and not attending their daily 9-5 job. In particular, many individuals of “Gen-Z” have decided to skip out on a conventional college education due to the shifting landscape of the American economy. According to a recent study, about 54% of Gen-Z indicated that they want to start their own business, and a significant portion of Gen-Z is having second thoughts about whether attending college is necessary. The question that remains is how to be successful in doing so.
“As a part of the managing team, it is your job to be able to hands-on and coach your team to success. I answer my phone on the first ring. You have to be a good people-person, small business requires strong leadership and genuine care from everyone behind the scenes,” Ramsey explains. “The best leaders recognize that long term success in whatever field you are working in, comes from the wonderful people doing the work, and not just the management team who have the privilege of taking recognition.”
During these times of constant uncertainty and fear, it is important to make people feel included and cared for. “Belonging to a community that cares for you like your own parents is more important than ever, especially right now. I think that the impact that the pandemic had on people’s mental health should be a wake up call for everyone in leadership positions,” Ramsey claims. “Everyone is struggling in their own ways, and it is the job of the management team to make employees feel like they are part of something that is bigger than themselves. Even regardless of the pandemic, people spend so much of their lives at work, many of which work jobs they don’t like, the least that the people behind the scenes can do is make them feel wanted there.”
Logan Weber, a member of the Big George’s team for the past 8 years, shares his thoughts about his respect for the Big George’s management team and his appreciation of their care for the employees. “It’s truly a family business when the founder who is 86 years old still comes in every day seven days a week and has empowered his two sons to continue his legacy. You really have a sense of family and care from the Bishars. With this being said, myself and my coworkers enjoy coming to work knowing the owners are present, hands on, and working closely with each department. Stop in and feel the energy!”
Feature Photo: The Big George’s team during the summer of 2021 (Photo used by permission of Ramsey Bishar)