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By Mary Beth Breckenridge
Beacon Journal staff writer
POSTED: 12:06 p.m. EDT, Apr 18, 2008
In our throwaway society, Anthony Bologna is an anomaly.
He's in the business of fixing things.
Vacuum cleaners, to be exact. And sewing machines.
Bologna is the second-generation owner of Good Housekeeper Appliance, a store and repair shop just beyond downtown on West Exchange Street. You might know it as United Vacuum, the name on the sign outside. That goes back to the shop's beginning, when it was one of Royal's United Good Housekeeper stores, he said. Today the business carries the corporate name United Vacuum Cleaner Stores of Akron Inc., but it does business and advertises as Good Housekeeper.
Bologna's uncle and aunt, Vincent and Gladys Bologna, opened the store in 1955. The younger Bologna started there right out of high school in the mid-'60s, lured by his uncle's success and the opportunity to deal with the public.
He became the manager after his uncle died and took over the business when his aunt retired in 1984.
Low overhead The shop is a no-frills storefront in an aging brick building, the kind of place that thrives on service, not showiness. Vacuum cleaners that have been coaxed back into service share floor space with shiny models awaiting new owners. A simple sales counter doubles as a portal to the cluttered repair room where Bologna and his employees — one full-time, two part-time — work their magic. It's not a swanky shop, but that suits Bologna just fine. The low overhead means he can beat the competition on labor costs, he said. And the location on busy West Exchange near Akron Children's Hospital and Akron General Medical Center means high visibility and a good bit of traffic from people who combine a stop at his shop with a medical appointment. Bologna cuts a dapper figure amid the plain surroundings. He is a compact man, dressed in a crisp white shirt and a fashionable gold-and-gray tie. His mode of dress is his trademark, he explained: He has a fair amount of commercial clients, and he believes his appearance sets him and his business apart. It's not the kind of dress you expect from someone in the repair business, but Bologna admitted he usually sticks to fixing sewing machines (they're not as dirty) and leaves the rest to his employees. Good Housekeeper sells vacuum cleaners and some sewing machines. While those are important moneymakers, vacuum repairs are what demand the bulk of the staff's attention. Bologna and his employees have seen every manner of things sucked into the machines: Legos, small toys, a gold bracelet the owner was thrilled to learn had been found. They even found a dead mouse once. ''That customer we didn't tell,'' Bologna said with a smile.
Old parts available The shop keeps an inventory of old machines and used parts, just so it can fix the ancient vacuums and sewing machines that customers sometimes lug in, needing parts that are no longer made. The basement is cluttered with cannibalized machines and old components: vacuum hoses slung over a pipe, metal bottom plates hanging from the ceiling, handles leaning against a wall. It's that kind of service that keeps people coming back. Bologna said he has opened sewing machine cases and found receipts inside from the '60s. Oddly, the business seems to defy the economic tides. In tough times, business seems to pick up — probably, Bologna speculated, because people are focusing more on home than on things like expensive vacations and flat-panel TVs. And then there's the plastic.
More repairs Bologna said the shop is doing more repairs then in the past, simply because the cheap vacuums with mostly plastic components that people buy at discount and big-box stores don't hold up. He's happy to fix them, not just so the owners can get more use out of them, but also because it gives him an opportunity to show them that a little more investment could buy a much more reliable, better-performing machine. He figures eventually they'll replace that vacuum, and maybe they'll buy that replacement from him. And he's planning to stick around to sell it. At age 60, Bologna has no intention of retiring. He laughed when he recalled how customers often buy a vacuum and then seek his reassurance that he'll still be around to service it. ''I say at least 80,'' he said. ''At least 80.''
Mary Beth Breckenridge can be reached at 330-996-3756 or mbrecken@thebeaconjournal.com.
In our throwaway society, Anthony Bologna is an anomaly.
He's in the business of fixing things.
Vacuum cleaners, to be exact. And sewing machines.
Bologna is the second-generation owner of Good Housekeeper Appliance, a store and repair shop just beyond downtown on West Exchange Street. You might know it as United Vacuum, the name on the sign outside. That goes back to the shop's beginning, when it was one of Royal's United Good Housekeeper stores, he said. Today the business carries the corporate name United Vacuum Cleaner Stores of Akron Inc., but it does business and advertises as Good Housekeeper.
Bologna's uncle and aunt, Vincent and Gladys Bologna, opened the store in 1955. The younger Bologna started there right out of high school in the mid-'60s, lured by his uncle's success and the opportunity to deal with the public.
He became the manager after his uncle died and took over the business when his aunt retired in 1984.
Low overhead The shop is a no-frills storefront in an aging brick building, the kind of place that thrives on service, not showiness. Vacuum cleaners that have been coaxed back into service share floor space with shiny models awaiting new owners. A simple sales counter doubles as a portal to the cluttered repair room where Bologna and his employees — one full-time, two part-time — work their magic. It's not a swanky shop, but that suits Bologna just fine. The low overhead means he can beat the competition on labor costs, he said. And the location on busy West Exchange near Akron Children's Hospital and Akron General Medical Center means high visibility and a good bit of traffic from people who combine a stop at his shop with a medical appointment. Bologna cuts a dapper figure amid the plain surroundings. He is a compact man, dressed in a crisp white shirt and a fashionable gold-and-gray tie. His mode of dress is his trademark, he explained: He has a fair amount of commercial clients, and he believes his appearance sets him and his business apart. It's not the kind of dress you expect from someone in the repair business, but Bologna admitted he usually sticks to fixing sewing machines (they're not as dirty) and leaves the rest to his employees. Good Housekeeper sells vacuum cleaners and some sewing machines. While those are important moneymakers, vacuum repairs are what demand the bulk of the staff's attention. Bologna and his employees have seen every manner of things sucked into the machines: Legos, small toys, a gold bracelet the owner was thrilled to learn had been found. They even found a dead mouse once. ''That customer we didn't tell,'' Bologna said with a smile.
Old parts available The shop keeps an inventory of old machines and used parts, just so it can fix the ancient vacuums and sewing machines that customers sometimes lug in, needing parts that are no longer made. The basement is cluttered with cannibalized machines and old components: vacuum hoses slung over a pipe, metal bottom plates hanging from the ceiling, handles leaning against a wall. It's that kind of service that keeps people coming back. Bologna said he has opened sewing machine cases and found receipts inside from the '60s. Oddly, the business seems to defy the economic tides. In tough times, business seems to pick up — probably, Bologna speculated, because people are focusing more on home than on things like expensive vacations and flat-panel TVs. And then there's the plastic.
More repairs Bologna said the shop is doing more repairs then in the past, simply because the cheap vacuums with mostly plastic components that people buy at discount and big-box stores don't hold up. He's happy to fix them, not just so the owners can get more use out of them, but also because it gives him an opportunity to show them that a little more investment could buy a much more reliable, better-performing machine. He figures eventually they'll replace that vacuum, and maybe they'll buy that replacement from him. And he's planning to stick around to sell it. At age 60, Bologna has no intention of retiring. He laughed when he recalled how customers often buy a vacuum and then seek his reassurance that he'll still be around to service it. ''I say at least 80,'' he said. ''At least 80.''
Mary Beth Breckenridge can be reached at 330-996-3756 or mbrecken@thebeaconjournal.com.
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