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(June 26, 2009) It’s been a while since we posted anything new here, but we’ve been busy. And by busy, I mean actual physical labor involving moving this whole enterprise lock stock and barrel, so to speak, down the sidewalk about fifty feet.
The worst part of it is, the move is to temporary quarters while our new facility is being built out. And yes, I know that no one in their right mind would go through the complete move of a business, voluntarily – TWICE!
The plain story is this: for nearly two years we have been needing a larger space.
As those of you who have visited our former showroom here in Phoenix already know, it was as cramped and crowded as a closet. We really needed about double that space. It had to be configured both as a retail showroom, and also a back-office including shipping and materials processing space. The challenge was that we had to continuously run all our walk-in and national businesses while this was being built, which necessitated a temporary space to operate in. And, I felt there is a definite plus to staying at the same address, one where a precious metals business has been continuously operated since about 1977.
A friend of mine in the metals trade, upon hearing our plans last week, declared it a definite sign of a market top. So far, he’s been absolutely correct. But given the way things are going in Washington, where ink and power conspire to create dollars, I’m not too worried that we might have jinxed precious metals.
Over the past few weeks, the new place had been cleaned up, painted, and pre-wired for action, so moving day actually went pretty smoothly. We met at dawn, a crew of eight worker bees, with a uniformed officer to stand guard. As the Arizona sun rose higher in the sky, we carted treasures, quasi-treasures, furniture, store fixtures, and boxes of paperwork and supplies down the sidewalk to our new digs. Our telephone crew and IT guy showed up to plug stuff in and make it work, the alarm companies sent crews to make ready the cameras and motion detectors, while staff claimed their new locations.
The most exciting part was the safe movers, and the seeming miracles that those guys pull off. Two of our safes weigh over 5500 pounds each, empty, and all the moving of those big boys is done manually with leverage, roller bars, and specially made pallet jacks. It’s a sight indeed to see when a safe on a cart (total height 80 ¼ inches) goes through a doorway (after removing the doorjamb) with a clearance that I would generously estimate at 3/8.”
“Piece of cake,” the crew chief exclaimed.
Sure, there were glitches the first day. Magnetic lock doors that wouldn’t close properly, an alarm company that failed to perform in a timely fashion (we have a new one, thank you), the drama of patching together a 30-year-old air conditioner by cadging parts from another 30-yer-old air conditioner, and three (3) false alarms that caused me to meet the local police here around midnight.
But, we are now securely ensconced at our shiny new offices and showroom. And it couldn’t have happened without the mental and physical support of the whole crew of the Coin Gallery and Onlygold – Tim Forsyth, Cathy Hamler, Dave Platteter,
Chris Vomero, Zachary Smith, Mike Hockett, Mr. Barry (semi-retired), and of course my wife Candace, who holds everything together. Soon, I have promised, she will have an office actually larger than a closet.
We are still using the same mailing address. Meanwhile, the complete interior demolition of a circa-1983 retail build-out is underway. Starting next week the new place will begin to come together.
If all goes according to schedule, we will be moving back down the sidewalk again in September. And I can’t wait.
-Richard Smith
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