Get in the Pit with Rick Aranda!

Mikey P

Mikey P

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Those who have spent a moment with The Rick knows he bleeds Carpet Cleaning.

You can't pay a guy enough to fake his t'ude.


Let's find out what makes him tick..


-Rick, aside from being a singer in a hard core punk band in the 80's, what else did you do for kicks before getting sucked into our industry?

-Were you ever a cleaner?

-Al Nessinger....s'plain please.

-When it comes to selling new set ups,would you rather deal with the owner of a 20 truck company, or a one trucker looking to make a big move?

-You just returned from Jon Don's CAD in Dallas. You must attend events like this 20 times a year. How much time do you spend after the shows sucking down beers with Tim Bakers and Steve Polouses compared to planing how to put them out of business? Must be tough, right?

- Speaking of CADs, just how many Ball Park Franks can one company rep eat at these things before a guy pops an artery? How do you cleanse after weeks on the road?

- In your opinion , what is THE ultimate van/ TM set up as of 12PM 4/16/15 (what would you buy?)

-Bill calls tomorrow to tell you you're canned...Do you stay in the industry or look elsewhere?

-Where will you retire? You've seen the whole country by now....

-Trade shows.. How many does this industry NEED in one year...and where.

-Best punk band ever?

-Pick 5 industry super stars to spend the rest of your days on that deserted island with...

-Death row meal...

-Best prespray?

-If you could take over ownership of ONE supply shop in the US, which one would it be?

-Once those Bruders brothers retire and buy their own Hawaiian Island, do you move up to the top of the RPM food chain?

- What dive bar are we hanging at in Clearwater next week?

- party on garth.... :rockon:



 
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Sapphirerick

Sapphirerick

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Rick Aranda
Mikey P said:
Those who have spent a moment with The Rick knows he bleeds Carpet Cleaning.

You can't pay a guy enough to fake his t'ude.


Let's find out what makes him tick..


-Rick, aside from being a singer in a hard core punk band in the 80's, what else did you do for kicks before getting sucked into our industry?

-Were you ever a cleaner?

-Al Nessinger....s'plain please.

-When it comes to selling new set ups,would you rather deal with the owner of a 20 truck company, or a one trucker looking to make a big move?

-You just returned from Jon Don's CAD in Dallas. You must attend events like this 20 times a year. How much time do you spend after the shows sucking down beers with Tim Bakers and Steve Polouses compared to planing how to put them out of business? Must be tough, right?

- Speaking of CADs, just how many Ball Park Franks can one company rep eat at these things before a guy pops an artery? How do you cleanse after weeks on the road?

- In your opinion , what is THE ultimate van/ TM set up as of 12PM 4/16/15 (what would you buy?)

-Bill calls tomorrow to tell you you're canned...Do you stay in the industry or look elsewhere?

-Where will you retire? You've seen the whole country by now....

-Trade shows.. How many does this industry NEED in one year...and where.

-Best punk band ever?

-Pick 5 industry super stars to spend the rest of your days on that deserted island with...

-Death row meal...

-Best prespray?

-If you could take over ownership of ONE supply shop in the US, which one would it be?

-Once those Bruders brothers retire and buy their own Hawaiian Island, do you move up to the top of the RPM food chain?

- What dive bar are we hanging at in Clearwater next week?

- party on garth.... :rockon:



Click to expand...
 
Sapphirerick

Sapphirerick

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Rick Aranda
-Rick, aside from being a singer in a hard core punk band in the 80's, what else did you do for kicks before getting sucked into our industry?

I was a crew chief on F-16 fighters in the USAF. I worked as an A and P licensed mechanic before Mike Roden hired me into this great industry at Prochem in 1990. I guess at that time in my life if I wasn't singing gigs i would be out riding quads.
 
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Sapphirerick

Sapphirerick

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Rick Aranda
Mikey P said:
-Were you ever a cleaner?
I happened upon a great deal for a Prochem Legend/Van combo one time. I became a weekend warrior cleaner for a period of about 6 months. I did ok but I found a new respect for all you cleaners out there(tough work). After 6 months a cleaner friend of mine was in need of a set up. I just so happened to have one and he offerd me $6k more than I paid so my short career as a cleaner was brought to a close.
-Al Nessinger....s'plain please.
My mom always told me if I had nothing nice to say..............
Seriously though, I think he had good intentions but manufacturing requires deep, deep pockets.
-When it comes to selling new set ups,would you rather deal with the owner of a 20 truck company, or a one trucker looking to make a big move?
I want them all! I absolutely HATE to lose. This is a great question because of the dynamics involved in each scenario. A 20 truck company has presumably already created a working process and therefore likely knows what unit he wants. With this customer it's going to be a bottom line conversation.
The single truck operator looking to grow would be more intriguing because he/she would have more questions and be more open to suggestions.
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Sapphirerick

Sapphirerick

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Rick Aranda
Mikey P said:
-You just returned from Jon Don's CAD in Dallas. You must attend events like this 20 times a year. How much time do you spend after the shows sucking down beers with Tim Bakers and Steve Polouses compared to planing how to put them out of business? Must be tough, right?
I liken it to professional sports. When the game is being played they're my mortal enemy. After the game we are buddies. Those two guys you mentioned are icons in this industry. It's humbling to be mentioned in the same breath as them. I learned a lot from Baker and consider him a true friend. I know him much more than Steve as the majority of my career Tim was my Prochem rep.

- Speaking of CADs, just how many Ball Park Franks can one company rep eat at these things before a guy pops an artery? How do you cleanse after weeks on the road?
Click to expand...
First off I need to drink lots and lots of water. After the CAD I feel almost like I used to feel after singing on stage. I'm exhausted. I give my all at these things. After weeks on the road believe it or not I like to jump in my RV and take my wife and two doggies camping fishing.
 
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Desk Jockey

Desk Jockey

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That's impress engineering to make the install almost bullet proof! :cool:
 
Sapphirerick

Sapphirerick

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Rick Aranda
Mikey P said:
-Trade shows.. How many does this industry NEED in one year...and where.
Click to expand...
I think the industry is on the cusp of overdoing it. I like the two a year deal. One should be in the same place and around the same time yearly(Las Vegas in the fall/winter). The other should be in the East during the summer at different locations yearly. We should show some love to our northeastern brothers and sisters some time.
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Sapphirerick

Sapphirerick

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Arizona
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Rick Aranda
Mikey P said:
Best punk band ever?
Click to expand...
That depends on my mood and time of day! I love Rancid's "Out come the wolves" album. Every song was great. Currently I'm on a Clutch kick. Nothing like listening to 'Escape from the prison planet" before a CAD. NOFX was influential as well. The standard DK, Black Flag and one of my favorite satire bands Dead Milkmen!
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Sapphirerick

Sapphirerick

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Joined
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Arizona
Name
Rick Aranda
Mikey P said:
-Once those Bruders brothers retire and buy their own Hawaiian Island, do you move up to the top of the RPM food chain?
Click to expand...
I gotta tell you, I have my dream job now. I absolutely love my position. I get paid to talk about truckmounts! If RPM needs me to move up then I will do what they need. I'll scrub toilets if need be. I always took pride in the fact I never said "that's not my job". If it needs to get done then let's do it!!
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rwcarpet

rwcarpet

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Robert Hodge
Sapphirerick said:
-Rick, aside from being a singer in a hard core punk band in the 80's, what else did you do for kicks before getting sucked into our industry?

I was a crew chief on F-16 fighters in the USAF. I worked as an A and P licensed mechanic before Mike Roden hired me into this great industry at Prochem in 1990. I guess at that time in my life if I wasn't singing gigs i would be out riding quads.
Click to expand...

That's cool, Rick. I was a munitions maintenance/ bomb and bullet loading crew chief on the lowly, but fun to work on, A-37.
 
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Dolly Llama

Dolly Llama

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adamh said:
Rick is one of the good guys
Click to expand...

Agreed
My BS Meter needle never moved when talking to Rick

Matter of fact, my "straight shooter" good guy meter pegged

So unlike salesmen not to be bullchitters. ..Rick was refreshing.

You impressed me Aranda ...that ain't easy to do
SS did well to get you


side note...Your padn'r did good too.
even though he was nowhere near as knowledgeable about the TMs , he didn't try to "pretend" to and wasn't afraid to say "i'm not sure, but can find out"
Excellent way to handle it, rather than trying to blow smoke up someone's azz
(like many vendors do... not knowing the guy they may be talking to knows substantially more about it than them)


..L.T.A.
 
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