For 29 years, through good times and bad, Mike and Brenda Eidenschink have been running their company, B&M Electric, in Detroit Lakes.
But these times are especially difficult.
The company employs four electricians, Brenda said, and “our main concern is keeping our employees working … Mike takes it personally and worries about his employees. They’re very loyal and dedicated and they’ve been together a long time. We want to make sure we take care of them."
Mike is a working electrician and manager, and Brenda keeps the books, answers the phone and handles billing, payroll and similar duties.
The company is fortunate in that its electricians have been kept busy working on new construction, Mike said. The work is mostly on residential buildings.
“We’re finishing up a lot of houses we started last fall,” he said. But that work is running out during the coronavirus pandemic, and with new construction down sharply, Brenda expects less work in the short term to come from that sector.
Demand is down for electrical work at homes and businesses.
“It’s been difficult. The phone doesn’t ring as much anymore,” she said. “I’m sure people don’t want them in their house working,” because of concerns about coronavirus.
Mike says the company is sensitive to coronavirus concerns of customers.
“If we go into a house, we call first to make sure it’s OK,” he said. And the electricians keep the 6-foot social-distancing rule in mind when interacting with customers.
B&M Electric employee Tim Quittschreiber hangs a light fixture on a recent job. (Submitted photo)
Mike is 57 and Brenda is 56, so they are concerned about staying safe from COVID-19 themselves.
“We just do things a lot differently,” he said. “We don’t run to the store all the time. We stock up for a week or two. We don’t have a lot of contact -- just what we need to to manage the business and family.”
The Eidenschinks' home is full these days: A daughter and 6-year-old granddaughter have moved back in with them, and they also watch a 9-year-old great-nephew at times while his parents are working.
They keep in touch with another daughter in Fargo by phone, FaceTime and texts.
These are challenging times, Mike said: “All you can do is hang in there and hope everything turns around … I think it’s going to be a long recovery before everything returns to normal.”
Related:
Title: Owners of B&M Electric
Job duties: Mike Eidenschink handles electrical and management work; Brenda Eidenschink handles bookkeeping, bills and payroll.
The impact of social distancing: “It’s been difficult, the phone doesn’t ring as much anymore,” Brenda said. “”I’m sure people don’t want them in their house working,” because of concerns about coronavirus.
What you've done to cope: Mike says the company is sensitive to coronavirus concerns of customers. “If we go into a house, we call first to make sure it’s okay,” he said. And the electricians keep the 6-foot social-distancing rule in mind when interacting with customers.
What you’ll remember most about this time: Mike and Brenda are both Rotarians, and have been attending Rotary meetings remotely via Zoom. “It’s OK,” Mike said. "You can see most of the people on there and people can talk. You raise your hand to ask questions. It keeps everybody in contact with everybody.”
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May 17, 2020 at 07:00PM
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The Essentials: Eidenschinks concerned for electric company employees - Detroit Lakes Tribune
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