Customers and employees alike enter and exit Corner Brook NAPA Auto Parts in good spirits
By Kristen Lipscombe
For the owner of the NAPA Auto Parts nestled in tiny Corner Brook, N.L. – population just over 19,000 – it’s hard to believe that his store has had its doors open for just over 25 years now.
Jack-of-all-trades Craig Jackson and staff started warmly welcoming customers from in and around the small west coast Newfoundland town into the NAPA associate shop, registered as CRJ Automotive, Ltd. back in September 2000.
“The first anniversary of the store was the 9-11 attack,” Craig said of the heavy atmosphere that long hung over the store’s annual birthday. “So, we never celebrated anything for this store for an anniversary until our 10th anniversary in 2011.”
“And we really don’t celebrate it all,” out of respect for all of those impacted by the historical tragedy – and Newfoundland’s unique role in helping out stranded passengers in the midst of chaos – but it was time to do something special for the NAPA Auto Parts associate shop’s 25thanniversary.
And that celebration included an incredible car show with the obligatory free barbecue on site at 37 Maple Valley Road back on Sept. 13, all day long for anybody who stopped by, along with free giveaways such as NAPA swag, including a coat marking the company’s 100th anniversary, along with other fun prizes.
“We had 27 old cars in the parking lot,” said Craig, while isn’t a mechanic by trade has been an avid automobile enthusiast his entire life. “Right back to the 1931 Ford Model A Roadster; that was the oldest car here.”
“I knew every car coming at me by the headlights going to the highway at night, I could tell you what they were,” Craig recalled of growing up loving vehicles, explaining the NAPA model of business combined with his joy for the road just works for him professionally. “I come in every day, and I’m happy coming through the door.”
He was only 29 years old when he started up shop a quarter of a century ago.
“I have a business background and have always been interested in cars, and my father had his home wholesale business at the time, and one of his suppliers was talking to him and said there’s a great opportunity in Corner Brook, for the size of the town, that doesn’t have a NAPA store, and he put us in contact with NAPA franchising,” Craig said.
“Within six months, we were rockin’ and rollin’ and ready to go.”
“I’m proud that we’re still here,” said Craig, whose wife Stacy Jackson has helped out since the start, at first full-time and now part-time, primarily working the front counter, although he jokes, she “didn’t even know how to pump gas” when the store first got its start. “Now she can run circles around most people.”
“Meanwhile, I’m usually in the back – they hide me away,” Stacy’s husband said with a chuckle.
It’s that fun and friendly atmosphere that help make the NAPA Auto Parts location in Corner Brook a unique place to walk into and spend any amount of time – for both customers and employees alike.
“I think it’s the light atmosphere here,” Craig said of his eight-employee outfit. “Everybody gets along very well.”
It’s such a relaxed atmosphere in fact, that employee Colin Park ended up marrying Craig’s sister, teacher Danica Jackson-Park some 17 years ago. It’s been a match made in NAPA Newfoundland heaven.
Employee Dwayne Ellsworth, who “does a little bit of everything” from driving to sales, likes his work at the NAPA Auto Parts Corner Brook location so much that he’s stayed in his job for 23 years – so pretty much the store’s entire existence.
“Pretty well everyone gets along,” Dwayne agreed, adding with typical Newfoundland joking sarcasm that “once in a blue moon somebody can probably piss you off.”
“It’s a family atmosphere,” said Dwayne, who grew up in Corner Brook along with Craig.
And when it comes to clients, the Corner Brook NAPA Auto Pro location’s business philosophy is to ensure “every customer leaves happy.”
“Regardless, if someone is upset because something is broken, we will always fix it to the best of our ability; if we make the mistake, we’ve got to fix it,” Craig said. “We don’t leave them stuck.”
“Whether it’s a $1,000- or a $100-part, what’s that going to cost the store in the long run?”
Happy customers are return customers, he said.
“I stand behind what we sell here,” Craig said, adding he’s also loyal to the blue and yellow NAPA colours, or in other words, the strength of the highly respected cross-border brand.
“If they buy it from me and they break down on the road, NAPA’s got a North American warranty policy,” he explained.
“If you buy it in Corner Brook, Newfoundland, and you break down somewhere in Florida, you can get your part replaced.
To me, that means the customers are well looked after,” Craig said. “I do believe in the NAPA brand.”
At the end of each workday, Craig wants to ensure every employee and client enters and leaves in good spirits.
“If the customer leaves with a smile on their face; they’re coming back.”