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Wearing Green Bay Packers attire in the Southland might get you some dirty looks at a bar or flack on the street.
But a Green Bay Packers tie cost one fellow his job. Car salesman John Stone, 34, was fired by Webb Chevrolet in Oak Lawn on Monday after he showed up to work wearing the Packers necktie.
Today, however, he was offered a job.
“Last night, I was watching the news on TV, and I saw that show about him getting fired for wearing the tie. I thought it was kind of ridiculous,” said Guy Cesario, general sales manager of Chevrolet of Homewood. “It’s hard to find a good Chevy salesman. He’s definitely got some passion … so we called this morning, got in touch with him and offered him a job.
Cesario identified with Stone’s story. His grandmother, a Packers fan, recently passed away and this served as a motivation to wear the tie.
“I kind of felt a little bit of a connection. My grandmother turned 90 last month and my grandmother is a diehard Cubs fan and I grew up on the South Side of Chicago so I was the only kid when I was little that had Cubs stuff, everyone else had Sox stuff. I always used to get ribbed for it,” said Cesario.
Chevrolet of Homewood’s decision to hire Stone has led to an unexpected boom in business. He already has a sale lined up.
“We’ve got a gentleman in Milwaukee that wants to come down and buy a Tahoe from John,” said Cesario.
The reach of Stone’s story has gotten interest as far as San Diego from a pharmaceutical purchasing manager who intends to purchase several vehicles for his local representatives.
But Cesario says that was never the intention.
“All we were really looking at is that the guy has two kids and that it was horrible that they fired him,” he said. “He was a good salesman there, he will be a good salesman here.”
The general manager of the Oak Lawn dealership, Jerry Roberts, told other news media that Stone's tie "salted the wounds" of Bears fans. He also said Webb Chevrolet's advertising deals with the Bears were put at risk because of the Packers neckwear.
Stone is scheduled to work his first day at Chevrolet of Homewood Thursday morning.
Editor's note: We had initially reported that Stone would be starting his new position at Chevrolet of Homewood on Wednesday. The correct day is Thursday, and the article has been amended. On Wednesday, he was scheduled to appear on Good Morning America.
Nancy
7:20 pm on Tuesday, January 25, 2011
yes he did WEBB Chevy is a joke they should invest in Customer Service I will however go to Homewood Chevrolet for car repairs well worth it. The whole Management team should be fired. I did them a favor and sent my concerns to GM headquarters with a list of my issues from WEBB.
Nick Wright
7:49 pm on Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Hey its a free country and we deal a lot with the Indianapolis colts and I wear my packers gear to work also and yet to catch grief bit of bad looks.
Nick Wright Toyota of Muncie
Dee Lamphere
8:23 pm on Tuesday, January 25, 2011
People should be able to support their favorite teams without being harassed. I am very happy for John Stone that he has a new job at a Dealership that will appreciate him.
Tom Mannis
8:55 pm on Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Brilliant move by Chevrolet of Homewood! I dare say that the average Bears fan is not so rabid as to agree with taking food off of someone's table because they were wearing the wrong sports team's bling. And let's be honest: There are a lot of Packers fans living in the Chicago area. I wonder how many Bears fans will actually decide to not shop at Webb because they feel that the firing of Mr. Stone was too extreme. There is no way to measure that, of course, but it seems that Webb Chevrolet did itself some big - albeit short term - public relations damage. That's too bad, because both Webb and Homewood are fine businesses.
Sharon Anhalt
9:19 pm on Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Mr. Stone, it looks like Mr, Roberts did you a favor. What a small, small man. Must be hard to work for someone so narrow minded. Good luck in your new work place, and GO PACK GO.
jim
11:30 pm on Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Sorry to inform everyone about the comments made, but I was employed by a large auto dealership.
When a dealership has a promotion that involves a certain sports team, only that team colors can be displayed and worn. The dealership also has a dress code that has to be maintained. Mr. Stone knew of the team promotion and was asked to remove his tie. If you show up in a stripe shirt, you had to change it. Where I worked at was Rizza Chevrolet. So I had to buy a shirt that day! He could have changed his tie. Rules Are Rules!
Neva
2:01 pm on Monday, January 31, 2011
Sorry to inform YOU, but the GM shot himself in the foot on this one. He told the reporters that it wouldn't have happened had he worn the tie on Saturday - the day BEFORE the Bears lost. Webb has no ground to stand on should Mr. Stone decide to pursue this.
scouter
10:56 am on Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Asking Mr Stone to leave, if he refused to change his tie, is one thing! Maybe a day off with no pay - for refusing to change - that is OK. As for honoring his grandmother, I can understand where he was coming from and that's ok. But if you're a sponsor of the team and you need to follow the rules, that has to be understood and that's ok. So send the guy home if he won't change - BUT firing the guy? That is NOT ok. AND let's get real - it was AFTER the BEARS lost - not before or during but AFTER... and taking away his means of supporting his family? Not very sportsmanlike.
OakLawnBill
3:51 pm on Sunday, January 30, 2011
Mr. Stone is a bonehead. He was not fired for wearing the tie, he was fired for not obeying a reasonable request from his boss. He was told many times.
Neva
2:03 pm on Monday, January 31, 2011
Sorry, not reasonable - just petty. Especially when the GM told reporters it wouldn't have happened if he wore the tie on Saturday, before the loss. Petty, petty petty!!!