Folks Of Interest Is Then and Now Still in Business?

I wanted to get a fuel pump rebuild kit from Then and Now Automotive. Their phone goes to voicemail and the mail box is full, the email does not go through also. Are they still in business?

 

I'd like to know also.

 

Are they located in Massachusetts? If so here is a review from Feb '24 that mirrors some of the other reviews I see.

"I have encountered a lot in the automotive world, these people take the cake! Unprofessional and useless! They had a set of motor mounts for 4 months. They only answer the phone 2 days a week and the people that do answers the phones can't even answer questions because they know nothing. The guy in charge wont return calls so you have to call excessively to get him on the phone. I got excuse after excuse as to why it was taking so long. I finally requested my mounts back and it took getting very upset to get them back, 3 weeks later. The people in the office are useless and the owner just doesn't care to communicate with customers. Just beware!"

 

Saw that.. Also read their FB post from Oct 2023 about Covid problems, retirement, etc. It said he went from 8 people to 2, and the phone has someone to answer on Monday, and Thursday ( I think those are the days listed). Said in operation since 1973. I'm thinking mostly a one man operation that's trying to keep up.
Just a guess, but I can relate. Decent employees that small businesses can afford to hire, AND do an OK job as employees are damn scarce. Loving your job would be a must in his business,too, I would think. If he's been there since 1973, he's not scamming anybody, just covered up, doing his best.
Don't know the guy, but what I read looks like he's got a business we all need to survive.
Call til you get him. Butt hurt reviews that are bogus are much too fucking common these days. Vengeful pissed off customers don't always have a valid point, but like the idea of destroying a business cause they didn't get their ass kissed properly. Maybe not the review above my post, but internet reviews often are worthless.

 

Yep. Great local pizza place just closed due to after effects of Covid and not being able to find folks who want to work. Damn shame these days. Know the owner of the local bakery and he wants to sell. Same issue, almost impossible to find workers. Local Timmies (Tim Hortons) coffee shop has to bring in folks from town (20 mins away - hired a driver and bought a minivan) because local kids don’t want to work.

 

Yup that's the place. The people on the Thunderbird forum seem to like them for fuel pump kits.

 

50 years in business , customer base dwindling , profit margin dwindling , reliable help dwindling , parts quality / availability dwindling , plus if he's the guy who started the business , he's probably tired .

 

Finish the sentence! Don't want to work for that person or those wages.

https://livingcost.org/cost/canada/on/ottawa
The average cost of living in Ottawa is $2170, which is in the top 15% of the most expensive cities in the world, ranked 1355th out of 9294 in our global list, 25th out of 153 in Canada, and 13th out of 43 in Ontario. The median after-tax salary is $2926, which is enough to cover living expenses for 1.3 months.

 

I’m actually on the Quebec side, 45 kms (30 miles) from Ottawa. Things are cheaper on the Quebec side, but I get your point in a way. Jobs I’m talking about are for kids, not really for adults trying to support themselves and/or family. Min wage in Quebec is $15.75/hr. Folks typically working a lot of these jobs are immigrants from Africa from former French colonies.

 

Thanks, but 'jobs for kids' also doesn't fly. The pizza shop, bakery and Tim Hortons are open early in the morning to after 5. School hours. I bet it ends up a bunch of part-time shifts during the full day too if it's like the US, so not even enough solid steady hours to count on.
The bakery is probably doing work at 2AM to get fresh bread and other stuff ready for the morning rush. Pizza may start at 7-8 AM for fresh dough, but stay open until mid evening. Anyone working those hours deserves more than 'just kids working for pocket money'. They are working and contributing to the business and the general economy and putting up with the retail public. They are expected to have a dependable car, insurance, a phone to contact, a place to live. That costs money. 16 bucks an hour for 20-30 hours a week isn't going to do that. 16X20X4.33=1385.60 a month before taxes. 2k for 30 hours is just under COL before taxes. How long do you expect people to stay in those positions?
Here are the age groups broken down. Kids 15-24 make up 13% of the population. Median age is 40.
https://capopulation.com/area/ontario/ottawa/#
Not trying to get all into heated discussion here, but the bottom rungs of the ladder are under water and it's been getting worse for decades.

 

Agree, we are all sinking fast…

 

Most low income jobs are filled by people who depend on being supported by others ( kids who live at home or part of a multi income household etc. In 1965 a single person could not support themselves with a minimum wage job , very much like today . The concept that earning something is better than earning nothing seems to be lost . Starting at the bottom & working your way up is another idea that seems to have been rejected . If you raise wages , you then must raise cost of product , its called inflation .

 

We kind of got off topic here. Lets get back to Then and Now Automotive.