Gramps' Garage, Maynard: A quick fix
By Wendy Seadia

Feature from the September 1, 1998, Worcester Business Journal

Alice and Garry Pillivant know a thing or two about putting smiles on their customers' faces and delivering prompt, efficient service to clients who find waiting an especially difficult chore. Many of their patrons are under the age of 8. As founders and co-owners of Gramps' Garage, a retail shop and service center specializing in the sale and repair of Fisher-Price Power Wheels cars, the couple cater to growing children and their families -- parents and grandparents alike. Customers are impressed and delighted by Garry's ("Gramps") ability to singlehandedly fix a miniature Jeep Wrangler, Barbie's pink Corvette or a Hots Wheels Lamborghini -- and to make those much-loved and well-worn vehicles as good as new. And, says Garry proudly, the majority of repairs can be done in less than one hour, while his customers wait.

PHOTO/FREDERICK PECK Alice (left) and Garry Pillivant with a customer.

Conveniently located in Maynard on Main Street, next to The Forgotten Toy, a children's consignment shop, and the local McDonald's, the Pillivants' enterprise continues to grow. Their venture began quite by accident, the Maynard residents say.

Both Pillivants had been employed for many years at Maynard-based Digital Equipment Corp. -- Alice worked in the company's financial department for 23 years, and Garry was an engineer in the firm's purchasing department for 19 years. In the mid-1990s, Garry and Alice were both laid off and suitable new jobs were hard to find.

At about the same time, Garry, an antique auto buff, had been looking for parts for a Power Wheels car he wanted to fix for one of the couple's six grandchildren. He made repeated contact with the Fisher-Price headquarters in Fort Wayne, Indiana. A customer service representative there, impressed with Garry's knowledge of cars, asked if he had ever considered opening a service center.

Although Garry replied in the negative, his curiosity was piqued. He requested and received some information from the firm, was subsequently approved as a dealer, and a plan for the couple's new enterprise began to take form.

Both partners knew they would need training for their new venture. Alice, who took advantage of all of the transition programs Digital offered, participated in The Enterprise Center's full-time entrepreneurial training program, at Assabet Valley Regional Vocational School in Marlboro.

The couple then devised a plan for sharing entrepreneurial responsibilities. Alice would handle the firm's marketing and financial affairs. Gary would do all the repairs. Customers come from all over New England, they say. And the startup currently has its own active Web site, according to Alice. In addition, the couple has established an extensive mail-order business with customers from all over the world.

What began as a part-time business for the pair has now become a full-time venture. The partners spend roughly 40 to 60 hours per week at their enterprise -- and Gramps' Garage has become a major authorized sales and service center for new and used Power Wheel cars and most Fisher-Price products in both Worcester and Middlesex counties, they report.

"I heard about the [shop] from a friend and knew I could get [a car] and get it serviced there. [Garry is] very fast, very efficient and [he] has all the parts in stock and a very good selection of cars to choose from," enthuses Lorraine Guyer of Grafton, who purchased a toy Jeep for her two sons, ages 2 and 4.

Alice notes that she and Garry were able to start their business with a modest amount of capital and an inventory that cost less than $600 by picking up furniture and equipment at yard sales and flea markets. And, although Fisher-Price required that the principals have a centrally located storefront for their venture, Pillivant notes they were able to keep their costs low while simultaneously testing their market.

They did that, for the first four months of operation, by sharing a location and a portion of their profits with the owner of the toy shop now located next door. After just two months, the pair knew their startup would be viable, and realized they already needed more retail space, and would need additional work space to expand their business. They then rented the adjoining vacant store.

Marsha Whitney, who owns The Forgotten Toy, the shop adjacent to Gramps' Garage, says, "They can't help you enough. They're honest and aboveboard. They won't just sell you the first thing. They give you an option or a choice. They go the extra mile for you and that means a lot. ... Garry can fix anything. He's a master," Whitney says.

Because the couple run a service center for Fisher-Price, that company handles most of the direct print advertising for Gramps' Garage. However, the Pillivants also advertise independently in local free publications. To increase business, Gramps' Garage has a toll-free phone number, accepts payment by credit card and offers free phone consultation to its customers.

Alice says they've learned to conduct their operations cost-effectively and keep business expenses low, while continuing to expand their enterprise. They do it by maintaining a close watch on their inventory, consolidating orders and buying batteries and other parts in large quantities from Fisher-Price.

Though the Pillivants' business is not yet in the black, they expect to be profitable by the end of 1998. Their original goal, which Alice says they're on track to meet, was to continue to expand their venture, and within five years turn it into a profitable and desirable enterprise with a good reputation that they could sell to another owner. Proceeds from that sale would be added to their retirement package, she adds.

Thank-you notes, compliments and photos of their young customers' smiling faces sent from afar, which the Pillivants continually receive, are a constant reminder of the benefits others derive from their labor.

And, says Alice proudly, "I guess you always like some of those rewards. ... If you're working for a big company, you look for recognition in the form of bonuses or raises or stock options -- something like that. Here, our gratification comes directly from the customer. It's ... seeing little children happy [because of something the two of us have done together.]"