Customer Profiles: A Monroe Goes a Long way

It’s not every day that we hear a customer say that they have been using the same printing calculator for 30 years. But when Monroe customer Carl Esakson, billing administrator of Arnie’s Bakery in Grand Rapids, Michigan, told me he had used a Monroe 1330 calculator since 1988, I had to find out more! So I reached out to Esakson, who was more than happy to discuss how the calculator has played a crucial role in running the successful bakery that was founded more than a century ago.

Today, the business has one bakery plant, four local restaurants and one corporate office, all in the Grand Rapids, Michigan-area. Arnie’s also ships product to another 58 surrounding grocery stores. In addition, the business sells frozen baked goods to larger wholesale customers across the Midwest.

So, you can imagine how crucial their printing calculator is for balancing their books!

Esakson began his career with Arnie’s Bakery right out of high school. The owner at the time gave Esakson his first Monroe calculator, a Monroe 1330. Little did he know, he'd be putting that calculator to the test … for the next 30 years!

“The owner told me the Monroe 1330 was a good machine, and I have used it every day since June 1988 for day-to-day calculations. Since then, the other six employees that I have worked with have gone through more than one calculator, which were not Monroes. I used mine until it finally quit in January 2019.”

How Have You Maintained Your Calculator for So Long?

With a little service and supplies, Esakson says that there were only two times that he had to have the Monroe 1330 calculator serviced. “Once, I just had it cleaned by a local repair company. The other time, I had to go there and get a new power cord for it. The technician couldn’t believe that he still had one that would fit it. It worked ever since then.”

Esakson says that what he loved about the Monroe 1330 was that the paper was stored inside of the calculator, so it didn’t seem to get as dusty or dirty. The other staff, however, had to have their calculators serviced due to the dust and dirt.

When the time came to buy a new calculator earlier this year, Esakson decided to stick with Monroe because of the longevity of the Monroe 1330. He ended up purchasing a Monroe 8130X 12-digit printing calculator. While it can be difficult to part with a calculator that you have been using for so long, Esakson welcomed all of the new bells and whistles his heavy-duty unit featured, and had no problem migrating from his Monroe 1330 to the new Monroe 8130X.

“It’s as fast as I am, easy to use, and the keys are very nicely defined on the Monroe 8130X,” concludes Esakson. “I also like the keypad layout, and love knowing if I’m currently in a calculation. There is also a red light, just like on my previous model, that tells me if I need to clear out the machine or if I am good to go. It’s just a straight-forward machine. It’s wonderful!”