History and memories of the family from Scafati which, from grandfather to father and father to son then, has been working in Roloil's sales force for over seventy years.
Nice to meet you Giovanni, your family has written important pages for Roloil. Can you tell us how it all began?
My grandfather Giovanni – I was named after him – became a Roloil agent back in 1949. That was a long time ago. The war had recently ended and the whole country was really busy in rebuilding its economy. Those were fortunately years of great investment and strong industrialisation. I obviously wasn’t there but I was told about it. My grandfather was very good at gaining the credibility and trust of the workshops in the area.
Do you know any interesting anecdotes from those years?
Definitely, the funniest is related to the fact that when my aunt had her communion, my grandfather drove her to church in a car Roloil-branded car!
About your father Francesco, when did he start?
My father started in 1977, first working alongside my grandfather and then little by little taking over his business. I’ve not been able to observe my grandfather in the field since he passed away shortly after I was born, so I can only base my story on my father’s work, which I’ve seen in action for so many years. He’s the model i’m inspired by, as he taught me everything I know about this wonderful job.
What do you mean?
To me character and temperament plays a key-role, do you get it? In this work, it’s easy to lose a customer over a trivial argument or a more aggressive response than necessary. On the contrary, I am a very sunny, patient person, I never get angry. Of course, it has happened that I have been greeted badly by some customers or that they have complained about something, but I, who am not at all quarrelsome, try to move on and not take it personally. I’m not saying it’s always easy! [Laughs, Ed.]. I’m very forbearing and if a customer is grumpy that day, I try to meet him again after a few days, hoping for a completely different approach. Of course, if he keeps up… then I give up! Even my patience has limits! [Laughs, Editor’s note].
And how did your father teach you this?
Before taking over his sales role completely, I went through the same training experience that he had carried out with my grandfather: shadowing, i.e. a sort of internship in the field. So I had the opportunity to see a professional at work, which I was able to draw the foundations and lessons from, in order to build later my own method.
And what was his approach?
For him, going to work every morning was like hanging out with friends. He would go to clients without ever being in a hurry, taking the time to chat and also taking an interest in their family and personal affairs. This prompted the customer himself, without any insistence or pressure from my father, to order some Roloil products. Certainly the personal and already established trusting relationship helped the sale and sponsorship of the products. With some customers he also managed to create bonds that went beyond the work sphere, sharing moments of family life such as summer holidays.
When did you officially take over ?
In March 2019. It took my father a while to totally leave his life’s work, but he finally made the handover: on one hand a well-deserved retirement and on the other the start of a new career path [smiles, Ed].
And how are you getting on now?
To me the Roloil’s world is inextricably linked to the concept of family. It’s an identity that we have passed on to each other for three generations. It’s maybe all the memories and many photographs we have in our home that make me feel proud to be part of this work. It is obvious that I feel a strong responsibility to ensure that all the work done by my father and grandfather continues in the same vein of esteem and success, trying, if possible, to do even better. Who knows, maybe this family saga will continue in a few years with the fourth generation! [Laughs, Ed.]
