I love the Wall Street Journal and the fact that they can make almost any economic story interesting. For example, the leading gong salesman in the U.S. Yes, gongs.
When the economy was going gangbusters, salesmen were piling into gongs. Sales people seem to like making customers bang gongs to ease the pain of buying something they might not be able to afford.
“But as soon as the recession hit, bam! It stopped,” says Mr. Borakove. Gong sales shifted over to the meditation market. “Because when people go broke,” he says, “they get spiritual.”
Turns out there are a few folks in the gong business, and they aren’t joking about the spiritual aspect of gongs. Their top buyers now are yoga instructors and people who are buying “planet gongs,” probably related to the end of the world predictions.
The gong dealer says that Countrywide was a buyer during the subprime crazy selling days. This should be a warning sign. Any business that thought it was a good idea to buy a giant gong probably deserves to go out of business with a few exceptions.
Another random fact I find amusing is that the tv show “Scrubs” can singlehandedly boost gong sales.
That reminded Mr. Borakove of the “Scrubs” episode where J.D. says to Julie, “Um, now it’s time to ring the sex gong.” Whenever that line airs, no matter where in the world, gong orders pour into Gongs Unlimited.
