And talk they did. It helped that many of them knew of Chuck Mitchell's reputation at Mad Dog. Assembler Jo Tubbs, for instance, had two nephews and two grandnephews who had worked at Mad Dog. "He's never been anything else but genuine," she says of Mitchell.
Believing that, many reciprocated.
Hannah Allen, a sales assistant, told him that the GTO salesfolk were too commission driven, creating conflict between those who sold do-it-yourself-installation models -- the E-Z Gate and the Mighty Mule -- and those who sold the GTO/Pro, designed for professional installers. Eight months later Mitchell lowered commissions, boosted salaries, and created a bonus system based on overrides. Sales director Linda K. Williams, who had quit in June 1993 specifically because of Tabb (whom she describes as "strong willed, ironhanded, and hardheaded, and he wouldn't listen to reason"), returned after his death. She suggested to Mitchell that the company expand its product line and carry items made by others -- things that would be helpful to GTO's dealers, such as intercoms and safety loops. He told her to come back with specific recommendations; last year, out of the 15 products the company added, only 5 were made by GTO. And regional sales manager Karren J. Pitts made a pitch for a much more distinctive and cheaper do-it-yourself gate opener for the retail market, which Mitchell hopes to release in June.
Mitchell quickly gained a sense of some of the higher-priority items among employees. There were certain things he knew he could do right away. "The little things often mean more to people, and they show that management cares about everybody," he says.
So, for starters, Mitchell went out and bought coffee and sugar. Under Tabb, he found out, employees had to ask before they could buy supplies for the coffeemaker. And Tabb, a health zealot known for his 75-mile bike rides, didn't consume coffee. Mitchell found a steady supply, and he got the vending machine loaded up. Because the building leaked terribly, he also quickly hired a roofer to do some patching. To promote a sense of ownership, he told employees to feel free to bring their cars in so they could use some of GTO's tools to repair them over the weekend. And he enhanced a policy started by Dana Tabb -- who says only that she stepped down because she "wanted to do things differently than the people there wanted them done" -- that granted people flexibility with their schedules. "A little extra consideration goes a long way," says Mitchell. "And these are things you can do that don't cost a lot of money."
Not that Mitchell avoided all significant changes. Based on suggestions from his brother, John, from Payne, and from Wilkins, he acquired a hobbing machine, which cuts out grooves for gears. GTO had been paying $20 each for motors with gears; now it could pay $13 and add its own gears for $1.50. He also hired someone to handle quality assurance. Beyond checking tolerances on machines and making sure people keep their shirtsleeves out of Big Mo, the company's 100-ton metal-stamping press, "it's a hell of a sign that we consider quality important," Mitchell says. "They didn't know us, but they could see we were serious about putting out something good."
And everyone could see he was serious after February, when he raised workers' pay and promised to do so again by year's end "if we keep making money." As for the exact amounts, Mitchell mostly left that up to Payne. "I took a printout of all the employees' names and put down what I thought their pay should be," Payne recalls. "I went to Chuck, and he said, 'If this is what you really feel, then do it." He did. "I trust his judgment," says Mitchell.
He also, of course, supremely trusted his own instincts. Some matters would take time, he knew. Like raising GTO's Dun & Bradstreet rating, which now stands over 80. Or selling Lance-Austin, the Subchapter S corporation Tabb had started to sell Fan Fast. (After four attempts GTO sold it last December.)
But after Mitchell's initial meetings with employees, he assured them he would change their health-insurance policy when it expired the following June. Under the plan had Tabb chosen, which he changed frequently, employees wrestled with a $300 deductible and then, depending on the problem, paid anywhere from 60% to 80% of additional costs. The new plan -- "We keep our promises," Mitchell notes -- requires a $5 copayment and an extra payment for dependents. It costs $3,000 a month, doubling GTO's expenses. But "making people comfortable frees them to come up with ideas for making this business better. I need their help," Mitchell says.
Disability insurance, which Mitchell introduced last November 1, further frees workers from fretting. The cost: a "surprisingly inexpensive" $700 a month, Mitchell says. "We don't pay great salaries down here," he adds. "This is a way of giving people a good benefit that means a lot to them. I can't quantify it, but I believe we get it back in productivity. Maybe it doesn't make somebody work faster, but it makes people sure that every piece they work on is quality." He notes that returns have dropped from nearly 5% in 1993 to 1% last year -- despite an increase of roughly 10% in sales.
To a large extent, though, Mitchell's is a strategy made up of small gestures rather than sweeping moves. It's the way he freely gives employees keys to the building. And the blank check he hands over when an employee needs to buy a part. When he partakes of the abundant coffee in the break room, he trades jokes or kicks around ideas about, say, how the technology of refrigerator magnets might be applied to gate locks. "I don't want them to bring me just the highly refined stuff," he notes.
In December, when Mitchell handed out the much-promised profit sharing -- folding each check inside a gift bag with a T-shirt -- a couple of employees even cried. And when employees returned after a holiday break, Mitchell strode through the factory, shaking hands: "It's nice to see you," he'd say. "Did Santa find out the truth, or did you get some presents this year?"
"I hope it's because he cares," says Tubbs. But maybe he's just keeping his ego up."
Maybe so. Early last year, Mitchell had raise
