In case you don't follow college football, there is an amazing story building this season. Rutgers University, a team that for years and years was lucky to win a few games, is undefeated and knocking at the door of a national championship. OK, the odds of the championship are a long-shot at best, but from someone teaching at a small Division I school, this kind of story warms my heart.
It seems that Rutger's success is also warming the bank account of at least one small business owner in New Brunswick, New Jersey. From the Philedelphia Inquirer:
Yesterday afternoon, fans hungry for Scarlet Knights merchandise packed into Scarlet Fever, a popular shop on Somerset Street, where owner Steve Ostergren juggled two ringing phones. The store, teeming with jerseys and sweatshirts and flags, had bare patches where customers had grabbed up gear as fast as workers could unpack it."This is the busiest we've been in 18 years," Ostergren said. "It's unbelievable."
Ostergren, a Rutgers alumnus, was thrilled.
So is Ostergren trying to profiteer from the sudden surge in demand for all things that are red and have a big "R" on them? Not in the least. In fact, in an interview with Wall Street Journal Radio this morning he said that he had not only kept his prices in line, but had actually added large quantities of a couple of tee shirts for students that are priced at only $5.
He knows that it is these same customers who will keep him in business in the years to come -- even if the football team falls back into its losing ways. If he treats his customers fairly now, they will remember him later.
By the way -- don't even bother to try and buy anything from Ostergren's web site. His store is so busy that he has temporarily suspended sales via the web.
