Joe Pollock
If you’re going to stick around the office technology industry for 50 years like Joe Pollock, the second-generation owner of Pollock Company, one of the largest independent document imaging providers in the Southeast, you’d better enjoy what you’re doing. Contributing to that enjoyment is the satisfaction that comes from running a successful business and nurturing a team of employees with a reputation for being attentive and responsive to their customers. And as is often the case, satisfied customers tend to be loyal customers.
Pollock Company was founded in 1965 by Joe’s father, Ed, branch manager in Augusta, GA for Olivetti-Underwood. Rather than accept a transfer to Detroit, Ed convinced the powers that be at Olivetti-Underwood to sell him the Augusta office, setting the stage for a 50-year legacy. Joe was in high school at the time his father acquired the business and started helping out in the dealership after school and summers. He’s been there ever since. During his time in the industry, Joe’s been at the forefront of all the biggest changes to hit the document imaging industry and seen Pollock Company grow to $22 million in yearly revenues with 70 employees.
Today, Pollock Company sells Konica Minolta and Ricoh products as well as Managed Print Services. It’s also an award-winning dealership, earning Konica Minolta’s Pro Tech Award in recognition of superior customer service and customer satisfaction for 18 consecutive years. Joe and the dealership were also honored by Konica Minolta with its first Dealer Award of Excellence in 2009 for ongoing and extensive commitment to the local Augusta community through its various charitable activities and for building long-term and loyal relationships with its employees.
We caught up with Joe in early August to learn more about Pollock Company and get his insights into the industry, the reasons for the dealership’s long-term success, and the evolution he’s witnessed during his long tenure in the family business.
How’s business?
Pollock: Great, we’re on a June 30 fiscal and just finished our best year ever. We’ve had 50 years of growth year over year. Even though we’ve been in business 50 years we continue to attract new customers.
What’s going right for you this year?
Pollock: Frankly, it’s a number of things; we’re in two secondary markets, Augusta, GA since 1965 and Columbia, SC since 2001. Our larger competitors are getting worse at customer service as they’ve gone more corporate. We’ve capitalized on that. We push our local presence and accountability, and our involvement in the community, and that seems to be paying off. We have many great long-term employees with little employee turnover. I believe we have some of the best people in the industry. We also have the best products in the industry.
What changes in the industry have had the biggest impact on the business during the past 50 years?
Pollock: In the late sixties, early seventies, when mechanical and electric products became electronic, like programmable calculators. In the pre-desktop computer days, electronic typewriters and word processors had quite a bit of growth in the seventies. We became a Minolta copier dealer in 1977 and that gradually became the majority of our business. When copiers evolved from analog to digital, everything changed and expanded.
What do you attribute to the Pollock Company’s longevity?
Pollock: We try to make relationships with our customers more of a partnership rather than vendor-supplier relationship. Being the largest independent in the area has always given us first shot at new products from the best manufacturers. We came up with a theme years ago offering “the best of the best in products and services.” We also have a long-term advertising program which has helped us develop our brand.
Most of our long-term employees are home grown. Our general manager started as an entry level technician 36 years ago. He’s a great example. Most of our managers have similar stories. Our general sales manager started immediately out of college and is in his mid fifties now. Our service director has been with us 27 years and our office manager 28 years.
It’s almost like a family, isn’t it?
Pollock: In many ways it is, and along those lines we’re in the process of going third generation. I have two sons in the business and they will be taking over fully in the next few years. I’m very excited about that.
What segments of the business are doing well?
Pollock: Production print, wide format, color MFPs, and MPS.
What product categories would you like to see perform better?
Pollock: All of them (laughs). We’d obviously like to see more growth in production print.
I understand you’re getting into 3D printers, how deeply involved in 3D printing are you at this point?
Pollock: We’re just getting started with 3D. We’re trying to learn the business; we’ve scheduled meetings with a couple of dealerships that have been in the business for a while and are trying to learn from them.
Despite being around for 50 years, are you still open to learning new things?
Pollock: Absolutely. As you know, in the technology business things are constantly changing and we try to learn new things constantly. But, again, things that will never change are accountability and outstanding customer service.
Are you looking into other product or service areas beyond what you’re offering now?
Pollock: Although it’s not a glamorous market, we recently entered the mailing equipment business. We saw a niche in our markets where we found that most of our customers either had no relationship or a bad one [with their vendor]. We’ve been trying to capitalize on that with our existing customer base.
You’re not as involved in the day to day running of the business as much as in the past, is there any part of that you miss?
Pollock: No, I still spend a lot of time at the office, and I enjoy what I do. We have our own leasing company and I spend time with that. I have a lot of confidence in our managers and they continue to do the right thing.
What’s been the most challenging part of your job?
Pollock: The most common challenge for most dealers is personnel. We’ve not had that challenge as much as some others. The second would be capital. I’ve been hearing for many years that smaller dealers are not going to be able to make it. I think we are getting closer to that. I see dealers doing under $5 million in revenue having a difficult time competing, which probably explains the increase in acquisitions in our industry, although some seem to be managing very well.
Many dealerships have grown through acquisition, have you done many acquisitions over the years?
Pollock: We’ve done three. We are in a conversation presently regarding a fourth. The last acquisition was in the mid ‘90s so it’s not something we do often.
You have one son who has been with the company for 19 years and another for three, how has that worked out?
Pollock: Their skills complement each other and they both like the industry. I’m fortunate, I’ve seen many families where that’s not the case.
Do you have any secrets to successfully bringing your children into the business?
Pollock: It can be tricky, but part of the bigger picture is how they were raised regarding business, money, and responsibility. We happen to be fortunate that two of our children were interested in the industry and are very capable. I’ve seen many cases where that has not worked. My father was good at transitioning the business to me. Most of the cases I’ve seen where it didn’t work were either the father wouldn’t turn away from anything or the child expected to start near the top. It is critical that the family members earn the respect of their fellow employees. We’re in the process of transitioning now and hope to have a lot of that taken care of by the end of the year.
What do you do for fun when you’re not working?
Pollock: We have five children who all live locally and we’re soon to have our fourth grandchild. My wife and I like to fish and I like to hunt quail, but mainly it’s spending time with the children and grandchildren. We are both involved in our community and church.
Do you still get out to the dealer meetings?
Pollock: I’ll get out to some of them, not all. We try to have someone at every dealer meeting. I have been to two in 2015.
As a successful dealer you’ve probably had an opportunity to go on a lot of fun dealer incentive trips. What’s the most memorable trip you’ve ever been on?
Pollock: Konica Minolta took us to South Africa in January of 2014. That was far and away the best, although there have been many great ones.
What’s next for the Pollock Company?
Pollock: We grew 8 percent this past year. Historically, we’ve had small, steady growth more so than large spikes. I would anticipate that continuing unless we make an acquisition. We continue to increase our market share. As you know, in order to grow you’ve got to pick up market share.
