Heavy Cloud

    I apologize for any confusion on posts from 7/16.  There are no posts on that day.  I had trouble adding a photo slideshow to the blog and for the time being, a temporary, is located at the bottom of the blog page.

    So, there were ten days upon receival to figure out whether to sign the termination agreement.  Phone calls were made to the Detroit politicians.  The lawyer was consulted.  They struggled with how to handle this but in the end, it all pointed to signing because not signing meant immediate closure.  Time meant hope.
    The first step was to tell the employees.  They put out the word that there would be an All-employee meeting at the 2nd floor service area.
    A few minutes before the meeting, Keith was in the used car office with two guys that he worked very closely with(one of them from the day Keith began work).  One wanted to stay and cover the lot but Keith said "No, you should come to the meeting.  It's not good news.". They both knew immediately.  Keith apologized to them for not telling them sooner.  They said they understood.  There were tears.  You know how much tears cost for men because you see it so rarely.
    Over the years, Keith had made opening announcements at meetings and he volunteered to give the news.  He had to fight to keep his composure as he told them that the dealership had received the "bad letter" from GM.  Charles Jr., Doug Jr., Keith and his dad, Doug, all stated that they were going to do all they could to fight this.  They wanted to sound hopeful because they did still have hope at this time.
    There were tears and there was shock and there were angry comments about GM.  One of the questions was about a timeline.  If the fight was lost, how much time do we have? The October 2010 date was given and that was 16 months away.
    The meeting lasted about 20 minutes.  The guys said they would keep everyone informed.  It was encouraged now to tell others, anyone they knew in the community that could possibly help.
   Once they told the employees, they knew the word would spread.  People had friends at other dealerships and it would be fast.
    It was going to be difficult to carry on with business as usual under this heavy cloud.  Other dealers were not being public about signing and keeping it to themselves.  Who knew what was the right course?  Everyone was in shock.
    They'd heard that some dealers never told their employees until the end for fear they would jump ship.
Dalgleish didn't want to do that and that's because of the good relationship they had.
    Many of the people were long timers.  A majority of them had been there over 20 years but some had been there 30 years, 40 years.  There were a couple of generations of some families that worked there beside the Dalgleish family.
     You knew their families.  Keith grew up with them.  There were weddings and babies and funerals.  There were picnics and bowling and Christmas parties, concerts and Tiger games together.This small business was like an extended family.
    The meeting was on a Friday afternoon.  You knew they would all go home to be with their families and tell them the news just as we had told our boys.  It was a very sad time.
    Next blog - Shirley Temple