Posted: Friday, 01 May 2009 11:35AM
Would You Buy A Used Car From This Man?
Steve Corbett Reporting
Friday, May 01, 2009
At 10:26 this morning, I called Nationwide Car Sales on Mundy Street in Wilkes-Barre.
When a nice woman answered the phone I asked “Got any Cadillacs on the lot?”
“Just a moment, please,” she said.
But when the salesman came on the line and said “Bob Reilly,” I was confused.
This couldn’t be the same Bob Reilly who works as the Luzerne County Clerk of Courts, could it? This couldn’t be the same guy who works in a cash-strapped government and not all that long ago made such a fuss about not having enough employees to do the job that taxpayers elected him to do.
Nah, that couldn’t possibly be the same guy, could it?
You bet.
On this busy end of the week workday, Reilly was hard at work selling cars rather than upholding the public trust, a job for which he is paid good money and benefits.
I told Reilly that I planned to talk on today’s show about county row officers who also work other jobs. I asked if he’d come on the air and discuss why he was selling cars on a day and time when most taxpayers expected him to be at work doing the people’s business.
He said sure and said he’d call at 5:05.
“By the way, you got any nice Cadillacs for sale?” I asked.
“No,” he said.
Before he hung up, though, he said he wanted to clear something up.
“I’m not usually here this early,” Reilly said.
He said he was filling in for a guy who asked him to take his shift or whatever they call it at the car lot. Whatever car salesmen call it, most taxpayers will not be encouraged by the news that the clerk of courts in a cash-strapped county that’s currently racked by a massive federal public corruption scandal is hawking automobiles on taxpayer time.
I can’t wait to hear what Reilly has to say if he calls “Corbett” like he promised to do.
We have recently talked at length on the show about honest services in government and how the people deserve to receive a full day’s work in exchange for a full day’s pay.
But apparently no law exists that requires an elected row officer to show up for work every day for eight hours. Most elected offices require far more than eight hours a day for the office holder to provide quality public service.
Luzerne County Commissioner Maryanne Petrilla has accused Commissioner Greg Skrepenak of not putting in the time it takes to justify his salary and benefits or even to know what’s going on in the courthouse.
Now law-abiding, hard-working taxpayers of that same county have to wonder if Reilly also has shirked his elected duties in exchange for a job that puts his picture on a Web page advertising the car dealership.
On the “Meet the Staff” page, Reilly is shown wearing a white shirt and dark necktie. Grinning into the camera he beckons customers with a wide, toothy smile that says “trust me.”
Printed beneath the title “sales consultant” is Reilly’s telephone number and email address at Nationwide, “America’s New Car Alternative.” Printed on the company home page is a message that Reilly must take to heart in exchange for his job.
“For years we have been striving to give our customers the best quality service possible. Customer satisfaction is our number one priority and we want our customers to know that we are here to help,” the message says.
In the business world, these are indeed words to live by.
But, no matter how many shiny new cars Reilly sells in a week, he is shortchanging his most important customers – the people whose precious business he handles part-time.
Luzerne County is a wreck.
But with his extra income, “Cadillac Bobby” Reilly smiles all the way to the bank as he takes the people for a wild, sad ride.
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Corbett
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