Shopping for Carl Pohlad

Every year I have the same dilemma: What do I get Carl Pohlad for Christmas?

Now, many of you may wonder why I need to buy Mr. Pohlad anything. The truth is that I have known Mr. Pohlad my entire life, and he has been more than just a friend of the family and business partner to my father….. He set me up on my first date many years ago.

Yes, you read that right: Carl Pohlad set me up on a blind date, and without giving away too much… let’s just say that the young man he set me up with years ago is still someone I consider a friend and was a great Senior Prom date!

Every year a big box arrives at my house with a gift from Carl, and it’s always beautiful. This year it was this clock, which will sit next to this exquisite picture frame that I keep in my office to remind me of how lucky I am to have such a special man in my life.

Many of you know the public persona of Carl Pohlad, but few know the private man. Out of respect for him and his family, I will tread lightly when it comes to sharing personal stories… except for this one, which seems very timely:

Carl and I have had lunch together a couple of times in the recent months, and he shared a story with me that I think would be OK to share with you.

I asked Carl after all of these years, and through all of his business dealings (including a behind-closed-doors business deal with the reclusive Howard Hughes), what has been his favorite business that he just couldn’t wait to wake up in the morning and get to.

His answer? You won’t believe this one — running and owning a car dealership, something he did early in his career.

I got a big kick out of watching Carl light up as he reminisced about those days; but I got an even bigger kick out of his special car selling tactics. Carl used to sell up to six cars a day, which, as you may or may not know, is a lot in the car business — which, of course, compelled me to ask him what special technique he used. Customer service? Sort of… Carl and his partner had an "arrangement." When a potential car buyer would come into the dealership, Carl would serve as the salesman, and his partner would… well… be the owner/hard ass.

As soon as a customer was even close to buying a car… here is how Carl would seal the deal: He would tell the customer(s) that he had to run the offer by the owner. (What they didn’t know was that HE was the owner.) So, he would excuse himself, telling the customer he would be back shortly, and he would go to a corner and talk to HIMSELF. Then he would return and tell the customer that HE really had to work over HIS boss and would probably take a loss on his commission, but if the price was a deal breaker, he was willing to forego his sales commission.

Little did the customer know that even in those days Carl Pohlad had a brilliant poker face and was already in the green. 🙂

I love this story, because I just can’t picture Mr. Pohlad selling cars. But as he told me… He was HIS number one car dealer, and repeat customers only wanted to work with Mr. Pohlad because HIS commission was not as important as HIS relationship with his customers!

So, back to what to get my dear friend Mr. Pohlad for Christmas…

Last year I went with UGGS, and they were a big hit. But this year is tough. Any suggestions anyone? Let’s see… he has owned the Tropicana Casino, Banks, Pepsi Co, The MN Vikings, our beloved Minnesota Twins, B96, JB Hudson — What do you get a man for Christmas that has everything?

I guess since this has been a wonderful year for all of Mr. Pohlad’s family….. I am going to go with the Christmas Wish of another Happy and Healthy year filled with more lunches and more great stories!!!!!