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August of this year I placed a help wanted advertisement in the Naples Daily News for a local sales representative. We were in the process of moving our small operations that had worked for three years from West Beach Plaza in Bonita Springs. Our new operation called for a 2,100 square foot showroom with additional office space and warehouse two blocks away.

The tone of the employment market was certainly evident after placement of the ad for three consecutive Sundays. It was an attractive offer for the right candidate. Must have experience in unfinished hardwood flooring with the candidate chosen to receive a guaranteed weekly base. Darned good incentive considering how poor the local business climate is at the moment.


I heard from about 15 individuals with two having actual experience in unfinished hardwood flooring. Enter Robert Knupp. I had known Bob from days installing floors with the now defunct Prestige Hardwood Floors out of Fort Myers in the mid nineties. Quite honestly I was skeptical because I hadn't seen Bob since, and like all kids at 20 years old, they knew everything.


Now Bob is 33. His roots in the business go back to the fifties when his grandfather started Endurance Hardwood Floors in Miami. His father Charlie Knupp, started his own successful flooring business in Dania Beach three decades later, now specializing in custom stained floors. Hardwood flooring is in his blood going back three generations. Father and son, father and son, but they don't work together? What's up here? Like many family/business relationships they sometimes do not work.


I too had my son working with me in 2006 and parts 2007. His performance at work was exceptional, but other work habits lacked. It was time for him to sit on the sidelines and grow up a little. I actually hired my son back after a few months, but he failed to show up on time the first day. Then Bob walked into the office five days after his initial interview.


"You still need the job?" I asked. That was it. In the initial interview, Bob's greeting didn't impress me. "I'm your man for this job." In fact I thought it was the 20 year old Bob all over again. Weeks went by. We're still not in the new showroom due to delays beyond our control. Bob is filled in on our business on the internet to get him familiarized. Remember the job was for a local sales rep and not an internet rep.


Bob was the man for this and other jobs! I can't say enough. I have always been firm on bringing in people that have actual installation experience, and not some guy that worked at Home Depot for two years. It was a relief finding somebody with a strong installation and sales background. Bob preferred working the internet much to my relief. I had not thought of someone to fill the open sales manager position. It was right up Bob's alley.

Now I can relax while working on the core of the business. This is Bob's dream job, and whomever sold him short in the past (there are a few) made a very big mistake. I almost did the same! I only wish I could find three more just like him.

Incidentally we're still looking for someone to fill the local sales rep job. The other qualified candidate failed to provide a resume as requested. Hard to find someone when there's no paperwork. Possibly a good indication the individual wasn't the right person for the job.