the sandals -- top view

When I walked in, he didn’t even look up.

A few seconds passed, and the kindly Chinese gentleman in the shoe repair shop rose from his bench and meandered through the tiny, ultra-crowded shop.

He stood in front of me and waited.

I gave him one of my sandals and showed him the broken buckle and the worn out bottoms.

He answered quickly.  Apparently, for him, it didn’t require a lot of thought.

“Broken.  Need new pair.”

Being the kind of person who sometimes needs to hear things more than once, I asked again, just to make sure.

“You can’t fix these?” I asked.

He handed me the shoe.

“Broken.  Need new pair,” he said.

“Thank you,” I said.

He returned to his bench, in order to continue working on a pair of shoes that apparently were worth his effort and skill.

I remember, as a child, visiting that shop, in the first block of East Innes Street, in downtown Salisbury — located sort of in the basement of a building on “the square.”

My father, or grandmother, sent me there a few times, in order to drop off or pick-up a pair of shoes.

Our family’s department store sold a lot of shoes, and I suppose we used that shop’s service for customers who bought high quality shoes that needed new soles.

Other than this pair of sandals, I pretty much wear tennis shoes all the time — and I wear them forever, until they are completely, 100% gone, before breaking down and buying a new pair — so I really can’t relate to getting shoes fixed.

But I wonder how long that shop has been there and who has owned it over the years.  How long has this man been there?  Has it changed owners many times?  Is it a family business, passed down a couple of generations?  Could that same man have been there last time I was there, when I was a kid?  It doesn’t seem like the store has changed at all.

I’m sort of curious and don’t mind, usually, asking questions such as this.  But I dare not ask this man.  He’s busy, with broken shoes everywhere.  His work is tedious and continuous.  He doesn’t seem like the type of guy who would waste away his time shooting the bull in English with a guy like me.

the broken buckle

That buckle broke about two weeks ago.

I knew it was a long shot.

I’m thinking I’ve had those sandals at least ten years.  I remember getting an incredible deal.  I think they cost $12.  It was a mismatch.  One was size ten, the other ten and a half.

I’ve worn them almost every day around the house, and often out of the house.  I wore them to work, on teacher work days.  I’ve worn them to bars.  I’ve worn them in the mountains and on the beach.  I’ve drenched them in ocean water and beach sand — and stepped in, and scraped off, and scrubbed off, dog poop.  Several times.

I’ve looked around town at a few shoe stores already.  In February, there aren’t many to be found.  The ones I’ve seen, I don’t like.  They don’t have tire treads on the bottoms.  They don’t have good arch support.  And they’ve got too many straps.  They’ve got straps on the back, which may require sitting down or bending over in order to take them on or off.  There’s just too much sandal on the sandals.  And they’re way too expensive.

On the internet, I’ve seen sandals that look just like mine, but they’re over a hundred dollars!

Thus begins my quest for a pair of sandals.

the bottom of the sandals

Kim Hinson owns and operates German Imports, on Irish Potato Road, in Kannapolis, NC.

Kim has been serving Volkswagen owners — repairing and maintaining their cars — for 30 years.

He is a model small business owner.  He does a modest amount of advertising — but the vast majority of his marketing takes place between the four walls of his business.  He does great work at a fair price, and his customers tell their friends and family.  He lives in a house next to his shop, and he stays busy.

There are no Volkswagen dealers in Rowan or Cabarrus County (not to mention Mercedes, Audi, or Porsche).  Certainly, these companies have sold cars to locals who take comfort in the fact that German Imports is there, willing to provide service — without driving to Charlotte or Greensboro.

My wife and I publish Coffee News, a popular, weekly restaurant publication, available primarily in restaurants.  Kim has been advertising with us for the past few months.  In fact, because he runs his ad in several areas, it’s safe to say he is one of our best customers.

my 94 honda

It’s a small, simple ad (3×2 inches), that offers parts and service for Volkswagen and other brands.  We’ve been using the Volkswagen logo for the graphic.  He also used this graphic on his business card and sign.

Not anymore.

Volkswagen tried to put German Imports out of business.  They sent him a quarter-inch-thick packet of materials, explaining that he can’t use a VW logo, picture of a bug, or picture that looks similar to a bug.

They demanded money.  Quite a bit of money.  Enough to put any Mom and Pop mechanic — however good — out of business.

Kim hired a lawyer who settled for an amount that would put many small business owners out of business.  He’s paying the money and is determined to come back.

I have little knowledge of trademark law, but I think I understand Volkswagen’s point.

However, it seems to me that this giant, international company is not hurting a competitor but instead trying to extract money from a friend.  A good, loyal friend who has been helping Volkswagen grow for 30 years.

Sure, VW wants to service the cars they sell.  But having a network of qualified mechanics in areas in which they don’t have dealerships only adds to their sales.

Imagine if they wanted to own the market on gasoline.  They would only sell to people who lived in the neighborhood.  Service is no different, albeit much less frequent.

They should be thanking Kim Hinson for 30 years of service to their brand.

At the very least, they could have asked him to stop using the logo.  He used it innocently and would have stopped without the hostile gesture.

I recently listened to the audio recording of What Would Google Do? by Jeff Jarvis.  Great book.

Google grew faster than any company in the history of the world, and there are a few principles it lives by.  One is to ‘do good, not evil.’  Jarvis talks about the “gift economy,” which is fascinating — and, at the risk of oversimplification, amounts to a spirit of generosity in corporate affairs.  I’m guessing Google has even been kind enough to put a Volkswagen ad on this page. I appreciate that. We’re all working together.

But Volkswagen seems to prefer Gotcha Capitalism, which Jarvis says will not — in this age of transparency — endure.

German Imports is located at 6385 Irish Potato Rd., Kannapolis, NC.  The phone number is (704) 932-8211.

Here are some logo ideas for Kim, if he wants to use them:

German Imports

German Imports logo