Fuller Brush salesman still peddling sweepers after 55 years

Drive around Centerburg or Ashley or Mount Gilead or Marion or Mansfield or Butler on a sunny day and you might see John Timms walking down the sidewalk, sample case in one hand and a little hand sweeper in the other.

The sweeper is a mainstay Fuller Brush product, perfect for picking up pine needles tracked into the house.

Timms would know. He’s been using one for decades.

“It picks up toast crumbs, pet hair, grass shavings, pebbles, just anything like that, it’ll pick up anything a big sweeper will,” he said. “And there’s no cords to trip over, no bags to have to empty out.”

But wait, there’s more — brooms and dust mops and witch hazel lotion and can openers. There’s a coffee scoop at the end of a clip, perfect for keeping grounds in their bag. There’s a foaming cleaner and bristly brush combination that’ll take the gunk and offensive smells out of your garbage disposal.

Timms knows his business, and with good reason: He’s been selling Fuller Brushes door to door for 55 years.

It’s quality stuff that’ll last, and it’s guaranteed, Timms will tell you. If you’re not happy, he’ll figure out a way to make things right.

“Most of the time, if people have a complaint, I don’t bother the company with it,” he said. “I take care of it myself.”

And he’s still going strong, making the rounds in central Ohio, taking orders and delivering the goods, repeating the cycle every five or six months.

A Vinton County native, Timms, 74, has long lived in Mount Vernon with his wife of four decades, Delores. They raised their four children there, and Timms worked at General Motors in Ontario and Westinghouse in Mansfield and as a pastor in his hometown.

And all that time, he moonlighted selling Fuller Brushes.

Back when he started, there was a bigger group of salesmen and women in the region, and Fuller Brush was a common household name.

“Everyone knew it at one time,” Timms said. “It was a little easier to get in the door, so to speak. … Those days are bygone days. You don’t see anyone out there doing this anymore.”

He’s been at it long enough to have a list of regular customers, people like BG Brochers, a retiree in Mount Vernon who has been buying from Timms for about three decades.

She appreciates his gentle demeanor; there’s never any pressure to make a purchase, Brochers said.

“He is just the dearest man,” she said. “He comes in the door and you just want to make him stay for supper. … He just visits and lets you look through his catalog, and if he’s got something new, he’ll show it to you.”

The stuff he sells works, too, said Brochers, who regularly buys carpet and fabric spot cleaners to deal with stains left by her two big dogs.

“It’s really good stuff,” she said. “I had to call him and ask him to order me some because I was out. … You just want to buy something from him. I usually end up with $70 or $110, and I’m retired. I don’t have that kind of money anymore. He is a jewel.”

Jack Scott, also of Mount Vernon, has been buying from Timms for about as long as Brochers. Just last month, he snagged a Fuller Brush can opener.

“I’ve been through more electric can openers,” he said. “It does the best job I’ve ever had.”

It’s a little more challenging to find new customers in a day when people are more skeptical of door-to-door peddlers and throwaway cleaning products can be bought for a buck at a discount store.

Also, “if they’re under 40 years old, they’ll get a puzzled look on their face because they’ve never heard of Fuller Brush,” Timms said.

Timms is polite as he introduces himself to each potential customer. He asks if they’d like to see his specials for the month. He shows some of his display products and thumbs through the Fuller catalog.

Still, it’s not an easy business. There’s the weather: Snow and ice aren’t a good combination when you’re pounding the pavement, looking for a sale.

Some communities have made efforts to bar door-todoor peddlers, and Timms has been escorted out of a few of those.

And then there are the dogs. A big one once broke through a door and bit Timms on the arm, sending him to the hospital for stitches.

Keeping a good attitude is a must.

“I can’t expect to sell a dust mop or a broom every time,” he said. “You can go for a whole day without selling anything and then make up for it the next day. If you don’t have persistence, you might as well hang it up.”

He added, “You meet all kinds of people. There’s people that will … tell you that they don’t want any salesperson calling on them. You have to be able to somehow overcome the objections and keep a good mental attitude and be as positive as you can. You have to learn how to overcome opposition.”

Timms was making the rounds on one of his usual routes a few years back when he struck up a conversation with a woman raking leaves.

He felt like he was interrupting her yard work and was apologetic as he showed her brushes and cleaners.

“I tried to be as polite as I could,” he said. “She was very nice to take the time to look and see what I had.”

And she bought $779.94 worth of merchandise, Timms’ biggest single sale to date.