Even in today’s do-it-now climate of constant upgrading, text messaging, reorganization and change management, there are some businesses that remind us of a different time, when the pace was a little slower and the world a little simpler.
The Chicago Clock Company is one of those places.
The company, family-owned since 1917, is now owned by fourth generation clock worker Jason Matthiesen. It began as a door-to-door clock repair operation, under the watchful eye and steady hand of Matthiesen’s great-grandfather.
“Then my grandfather, a baker by trade, married into the business. After keeping the books for a while, he started learning to do repairs,” Matthiesen said.
The business continued as a door-to-door repair entity for nearly 45 years, until its first retail location opened at 22 W. Madison St. in Chicago.
“We had already been selling clocks to clients door-to-door,” Matthiesen said. “My grandfather would purchase clocks from customers and sell them to others.”
Today, the Chicago Clock Company has locations at Water Tower Place, Clarendon Hills, Orland Park and Palatine, as well as a Web site and an online store.
Matthiesen, who grew up around the business, has been actively involved for 15 years.
“I have seen it grow through the addition of stores, but our core business has not really changed,” he said.
Repairs still make up the majority of Chicago Clock’s business and are handled at all locations except Water Tower Place. Coupled with new clock sales, the company still offers “door-to-door” service to clients seeking repair of large pieces.
About the only ongoing change involves the technology of the clocks themselves, Matthiesen said.
“Now there are radio-controlled clocks that stay in time with the atomic clock, there are musical clocks that play Beatles songs and some that chime like the European bell towers,” he said.
There are antique replica clocks, nautical clocks, novelty clocks and clocks for the hearing impaired.
“It’s really amazing,” he said.
But with the amazement comes the company’s biggest challenge: finding qualified service technicians.
“Staying up-to-date comes with experience,” Matthiesen said, and it can take five to 10 years to fully train someone in clock repair.
“There are a few trade schools around, but we just don’t see them (graduates) come through that often,” he said.
But Matthiesen is determined to keep all repair work in house, something for which the company has become known, and a fact of which he is proud.
“We are complete full-service,” he said. “We can handle just about any issue there is with a clock. Nothing is sent out, not even watch repair.”
And when customers come in for repairs, Matthiesen said he sees their eyes light up as they look around the showroom.
“I can’t tell you how many times people come in and don’t realize all the different things we sell,” he said. “They thought all we had were Grandfather clocks.
“But I want people to know that if they need any type of clock, we have it. Alarm clocks, digital clocks, musical clocks, watches, kitchen clocks; whatever they need, it’s here.”
An expanding customer base is that of corporate gifts. Again, Matthiesen said the key is bringing a buyer into the showroom.
“The Internet is wonderful, but much of our business comes from newspaper advertising and listings, as well as word of mouth.”
This local focus on marketing, coupled with direct mail to surrounding neighborhoods, has helped the company retain the founding spirit of Matthiesen’s great-grandfather.
“It’s really important that we have people come into their closest location and see for themselves the huge variety of clocks we offer.” Matthiesen said.
Chicago Clock offers products from more than 450 manufacturers worldwide.
And while Matthiesen said technology is changing the clock itself, he doesn’t see those advances changing the heart of the business.
“In fact, I see that young people crave the nostalgia of the old fashioned clock,” he said. “They don’t mind the routine that goes along with hand setting or winding. It’s one of the few things in our lives that is still mechanical.”