By : Zak Romanoff
Zak@omnifs.com
August 21, 2016
One of my first mentors was Jimmy Aiello. Jimmy was drafted and served in the Vietnam war. When he returned, he began working as a meat cutter in a NY supermarket. Over time, Jimmy worked his way up to become the Meat Director for over 100 supermarkets. Jimmy left Sloan’s/Red Apple/Gristedes to become the VP of Sales at #omnifoodsales and served here for over 15 years. I was fortunate to work with him closely for 4 years. We went on dozens of calls together and I quickly realized I never knew anybody who had such a well-built and consistent reputation for being a gentleman. Everywhere we went, people lit up when they saw Jimmy and were quick to strike up a conversation with him. Jimmy was always happy to see people even if he wasn’t having the best day.
There was no secret to his ways – he treated everybody with the same level of respect – from the receptionist, to VP’s of Fortune 500 companies. His word was his bond. And he was transparent about who he was – his family, and what he liked to do in his free time. People loved Jimmy.
One of his famous lines was “I ain’t nothing but a dumb butcher“, which of course he was anything but.
Jimmy lost the ultimate battle with leukemia this year and will be dearly missed. Jimmy taught me many lessons – one of the first was about the fundamentals of:
- Being on time
- Being well dressed
- And getting back to people right away
Because regardless of how much money or experience you have, anybody can do those 3 things.
Agree? Disagree? Send me an e-mail, I would love to hear your thoughts… zak@omnifs.com
OMNI Food Sales is a New York Food Brand Advocate sales and marketing company… Working with food brands to increase their sales/ launch new items at traditional grocery retailers in the Metro New York market…
Check out our short film about the market with the highest number of independently owned supermarkets in the country!
Follow me on Instagram @zakromanoff
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