Issue link: http://www.insightdigital.biz/i/285855
w w w . i n s i g h t o n b u s i n e s s . c o m A p r i l 2 0 14 • I nsIgh t | 27 trying to gain more market share." CCCP ranks 74th out of 25,000 hP resellers. "If you're in the top 100, you're a player," says Chernick, a longtime member on hP's reseller advisory council. CCCP is one of only 300 hP gold resellers in the United states and is one of the tech giant's largest educational resellers in Wisconsin. Chernick values the relationship with hP, proudly dubbing hP CEO Meg Whitman one of the top execs in the world. "she makes the tough decisions," he says. One of those decisions was recently rolling out a partner commitment program to increase the profitability of vendors. Chernick spoke about Whitman in a February 2013 CRn article, "she is absolutely the real deal and has set it straight within hP, letting employees know they need to take care of the reseller. she is passionate in totally embracing the channel." In the CRn article, Chernick continued, "It is all about time and money. I want to focus more on where we are going to make money rather than waste our time. hP is all in … they are going to make the (reseller) programs easier to understand and simple so they can be used by everybody." at's dedication hP appreciates as well. "At the end of the day, you want a partner who knows hP better than hP knows itself," tsang says. Weathering challenges J ust as his father did before him, Chernick is dedicated to making sure the CCCP name endures and that he and all his employees stand behind the company's mission of serving the customer. Companies just hear the name CCCP and "they feel safe," Chernick believes, adding that he is proud to touch every account. "I'm one of the CEOs who goes out and visits customers," he says. "I love what I'm doing. My job is to continue to build relationships." to that end, he includes his home phone number on his business cards. "You don't know how good we are until you're in trouble," Chernick says. he has fielded service calls at night, even as he is pulling into his own driveway at the end of a long day. at personal attention, from the top down, is just one way Chernick works hard to keep customers. he gives his staff a lot of credit as well, so hiring the right people is a human resources imperative. "You must take care of the customer," he stresses. "You either live the job or you don't." at's a message that is oen tough to sell to a workforce of gen Xers and Millennials. "at next generation is a little different" in terms of work ethic, he believes. "If you're in sales, you better be checking your email at home. … I care, and I'll put teeth in it." It's not a ruthless approach; rather, it's how Chernick chooses to empower his employees to become better at their jobs and, in turn, succeed. "If you're going to survive, you've got to have good people. We want you to work hard, but I'm not the warden of prisoners." Chernick thinks so highly of his staff, in fact, that no CCCP employees were laid off aer the recession hit in 2008. "You can only cut so much," he says, adding, however, that everyone was given a 10 percent pay cut to weather the storm. Being honest with staff about tough times is a hallmark of Chernick's. "You don't survive 61 years Bs-ing people," he says. Beyond the challenges of the recession, in 2008 CCCP's main office sustained $1.5 million in damage when the company's data center burned. Electrical equipment started the fire, contained to just one room, which contained all metal equipment. seventy-five servers were destroyed. "at aged me," Chernick recalls with a pained look on his face that shows the memory remains vivid for him. At the time, CCCP hosted more than 1,000 websites. It took months to rebuild the center, but Chernick says every client was up and running within just eight days. at essential mix of successful troubleshooting and customer service (combined with Chernick's inherent charm, according to people who know him) has served CCCP well as it enters its sixth decade. "he's a very passionate, energetic person; he treats you not only as a valued customer, but as a friend," Dyer says. Modest as he may be, Chernick stands by three mottos that he expects all employees to adhere to: Work hard. Care. have fun. ose tenets, if executed correctly, will add up to CCCP being the best at what it does, Chernick believes. he oen repeats the phrase that's emblazoned on a wall in the CCCP offices. "We aren't the best because we are the oldest; we are the oldest because we are the best!" It started with a 'click' rick Chernick knows better than anyone that "every picture has a memory." that's why it's no surprise the walls of his modest office are covered, ceiling to floor, with framed photographs. And, perhaps not surprisingly, Chernick still prints and sends – via snail mail – photographs to business clients and contacts. "I like pictures," Chernick says matter of factly. "I like to share pictures." And he loves being surrounded by pictures. on that wall of "moment in time" photos are titans of business, community bigwigs, personal friends, his children and grandchildren and, of course, his father, norman, who started it all…with a camera. While the company has expanded far beyond cameras today, you can still buy a camera at CCCP. besides goPro and Phantom 2 Vision (drone video) cameras, popular new items are zoom or wide-angle lenses to attach to a smart phone camera. As Chernick admits, "the world of photography has changed" since he sold his first Kodak Instamatic. w w w. c c c p . c o m