Posted on 03/03/2012 8:43:31 PM PST by gaijin
Dale Carlsen was about 24 years old and had been merely selling mattresses, but finally Dale got frustrated and went into the biz for himself. He was coming up on having to make a payment on the loan for his new, tiny mattress company.
He didn't have much money, and this loan was at over 20% interest, ok?
Worse was that Dale had chosen the location of his first mattress store in gritty South Sacramento, near Sac State, alongside some train tracks, next to a flea market. He'd thought the flea market foot traffic would bring customers, but in fact flea market afficianados are not huge mattress spenders, right?
And in fact that first Sleep Train location had lots of drug dealers and SLUTS nearby --I'm serious.
So in fact young Dale was looking at a major business failure for his little struggling company. But next door to his little disheveled mattress dump was a pizza place, and that's where Dale, the CEO of the erstwhile tiny Sleep Train, Inc. would eat:
A drummer had taken time off from touring with his band to sell radio ads for KFBK, a Sacramento radio station, simply cuz his buddy worked there. So this drummer had gotten this gig as an, "Account Exec" and he would eat at the pizza place next to Dale's tiny, dumpy mattress store:
One day Dejected Dale is staring off into space over an oily pool in a piece of pepperoni, muttering about not being able to sell mattresses to sluts (a bit like that Georgetown feminazi from hell, except that these really were pro sluts). Meanwhile sitting next to him was Mr. Radio Account Exec, drumming his hands on the table, and he chirps back to Dale's, to cheer him up a bit, "Well there's a new guy at KFBK who just moved into town, and he needs a mattress..."
Dale goes, "OK well send him by..."
Maybe you have figured out that this guy who needed a mattress was Rush Limbaugh...?
OK well, poor fat Rush (who by that time had been fired 7 times and was 42 or so) waddles into Dale's place to buy his mattress for his tiny and empty apartment in none other than Rio Linda (which was the only place poor Rush could afford to live in Sacramento, at the time).
Rush bought a mattress, and being a natural salesman also convinced Dale to consider advertising on his show, on KFBK.
And Dale did exactly that, he took out ads on the show of fat, poor Rush Limbaugh, the unknown whose career would shoot skyward like a P51, and completely transform AM radio from an empty backwater for kooks and weather afficianados into a hotbed of politics and a, "Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy".
And Rush turned on the charm, and talked up Dale's mattresses so much that they drove from miles and miles around, saying, "I want the same mattress Rush sleeps on..."
And so with that thunderclap of Rush-mediated publicity it turned out that Dale could make the payment on his +20% interest loan --he survived. And soon after he opened up a branch adjoining the parking lot of Rush's station, so intimate was the link between the growing success of each man.
And now Dale Carlsen has over 250 stores, in Sleep Train, making 1/3 of a billion dollars yearly.
But then something happened:
Dale fired Rush, the saleman extraordinaire, who'd saved Dale decades before.
Why?
--> Because Rush insulted dishonest feminist who thinks the government should pay for contraceptives. < --
I was just a boy at the time, and I just thought that Freeps should know just how much Rush has done for Sleep Train, over these decades.
I'm really mad about this, because someone treated me just like Sleep Train has recently treated Rush, and I know it doesn't feel good.
IBTZ!!
What’s wrong with the post/thread?
Great story, but Rush was in his 30s when he started his NY & National show.
...did you let Sleep Train know how you feel?
“Dale fired Rush”
Hmm. Rush fans now know what beds NEVER to buy.
ok —what’s wrong with it?
gaijin, thanks for the retrospective.
Good to “see” you again.
I was going to put, “Freeper Account” in the title, but then I forgot.
I wrote all this —I’m not a pro writer, as I think you can tell.
I’d be much more sympathetic if Rush hadn’t thrown US under the bus today.
The to add salt in the wound ole RUSHBO goes & makes an apology. The guy who calls the chikifycation of America goes & does a mea culpa. RUSH - RIP.
I'm new here but I don't quite understand. I assume we are all pro-Rush, right? Are you upset with Sleep Train (I am) or Rush??
Thanks - this is interesting backstory
Well it goes without saying these idiots are making a HUGE mistake because the majority of their customers are conservatives or just Repub. Rush listeners. Do companies like Carbonite actually think liberals are going buy what they are selling? Lberals who refuse to work and want everything for free including condoms? LOL! When they come crawling back to Rush begging for air time I hope he charges these fools triple.
Carbonite Corporate Headquarters
177 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
Main Office: 617-587-1100
Toll Free: 877-665-4466
LegalZoom
Corporate Headquarters
101 N. Brand Blvd., 11th Floor
Glendale, CA 91203
(323) 962-8600
Quicken Loans - Main Office
1050 Woodward Avenue
Detroit, MI 48226
Client Relations - (800) 863-4332
Sleep Number
877-310-1526
The Sleep Train
415-751-2259
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