If your aim in life is to catch Patti Franklin in a foul mood, perhaps you’d be better off pursuing a more achievable goal, like presenting the collected works of Thomas Mann via interpretive dance or selling tickets for that Chumbawamba reunion concert.
Franklin, 45, has worked for Dollar Rent A Car, most recently in the sales and marketing department, for 26 years. She’s held a second part-time job as a receptionist at Supercuts for the last 19 years.
That’s a lot of public contact — and, by extention, a lot of opportunity for aggravation — for a woman whose unfailing amiability is well established among co-workers and regulars.
"I figure if I have to work — and I do have to work — why not have fun?" says Franklin. "Why not try to make a customer’s day?"
Franklin is the older of two children born to a woman from Hilo and an airman from Buffalo, N.Y.
Franklin and her younger brother were born in Buffalo but moved with their parents to Hilo when Franklin was 7 years old.
After graduating from Waiakea High School, Franklin moved to Oahu to attend Cannon’s Business College. Soon after, she got a job doing customer service for Dollar (now Hertz Dollar Thrifty).
Franklin wasn’t necessarily envisioning a 20-plus-year career with the company when she accepted the job.
"It was close to where I lived," Franklin says, laughing.
She also worked part time at Kinney Shoes in Pearlridge. While there a friend told her about an opening at the Supercuts on Kapiolani Boulevard.
"It was a lot closer than Pearlridge," Franklin says. "That was important since I didn’t have a car."
Although her motivations may have been geographic, Franklin attributes her success and longevity at both jobs to the close relationships she shares with her bosses and co-workers, with whom she celebrates "every birthday, every anniversary."
Franklin says her boss at Dollar, Garrick Higuchi, sets the tone for the family-oriented office. Higuchi flew to Hilo to attend her parents’ funerals and gets his hair cut at the Kahala Supercuts where Franklin now works.
"I work with awesome people," she says.
For her part, Franklin says she tries to keep her workplaces light and lively and to treat every customer with kindness — even those who might not be inclined to respond in kind.
Outside of work, Franklin enjoys working out at YMCA, attending church and spending time with her many friends. Whatever she does, she brings with her the same spirit.
"I just try to treat people like I’d like to be treated," Franklin says. "It’s like my mother taught me: Be nice. How hard is it to be nice?"
