Knox and Sam’s: convenient companions

All Knox students know of Quick Sam’s, or “the Quickie” as students call it, but most do not really know it. Parminder Kaur, the manager of Quick Sam’s, provided some insight into what Quick Sam’s is really like.

Kaur works with her husband and two other employees. She and her husband moved to Galesburg in 2000 and have been part of Quick Sam’s for seven years. Quick Sam’s seemed like a natural fit since her husband had worked at a gas station and Kaur worked in a department store in New Jersey for over 10 years.

Kaur said the Knox relationship with the Galesburg community is average. They interact sometimes, but generally stay separate. It is not that they make an effort to stay separate, the residents and the students just do not know each other too well.

Kaur is aware that some people view Quick Sam’s as a dangerous place to be. However, she feels her store is just like any other store. In her opinion, moods of the customers and the time of day are what really decide if any problems will occur.

Kaur estimates that only 1-2 percent of all customers cause a problem. “[Customers] usually talk very politely and respect me,” said Kaur.

As for when there are problems, Kaur said, they can never predict who or what will cause problems. She mentioned a time when a customer bought one product for $8.99 and another for $7.99, gave her $20.00 and demanded $8.00 back. She was able to settle the issue, but used that story to explain how little things can be the hardest to deal with.

Her husband has also encountered unexpected problems. One night when he was working, Kaur said he greeted a college student who responded nicely and then ran out with a box of merchandise before her husband could stop the student.

Over her seven years at Quick Sam’s, Kaur has gotten to know many customers who go to the store on a regular basis. She likes getting to know people over the years.

As for the Knox students, she said, “We may not know their names, but we still want to see them.” Kaur enjoys having students that graduated come back to visit her and her husband.