hen Said (Sa eed) left his home country of Oman as a young man, he was not fleeing poverty or oppression. He left a very comfortable life. But, being young, he was full of dreams, he was a big fan of Hollywood movies, and he thought there was no place more exciting to be than the U.S.

espite objections from his family who begged him to stay, he departed to this country with money that he had earned as a mechanic and by selling his precious car ― a painful sacrifice he never second guessed.

Said (Sa eed) now laughs about how disappointed he was after arriving and thinking life here is not like the movies. “It was not as glamorous as I imagined. Many places where I came from were actually more glamorous. I was also living on junk food, but there were many things I liked very much. I loved working and meeting people at work,” says Said, “that was enough to keep my spirits-up and keep going.”

Said’s open and honest nature, the personality he is well known for now, was a blessing. “People trusted me even when I thought they didn’t have a reason to trust me, they just understood me and knew I was really doing my best, and so people opened many doors to me,” says Said.

After many years of work, Said had gotten married and not long after his son Adam was born, Said opened his own Auto Repair Center. Said says, “All of a sudden these big pivotal points of my success came at once ― I suddenly had a family and a successful business. Although I did have worries, life suddenly felt so wonderful. I decided on the name, Quality Auto Center, because I was confident I could treat customers as my father had treated his customers ― with consistent quality work and quality interaction. I knew I could stand-out from other locations running my shop as my father had taught me. And, I think my customers noticed right away. I suddenly had so many fans.”

Both Said and his wife Silvia say they sacrificed much in the beginning to get the business going. But, thanks to customers quickly noticing how well they will be treated, the business has become a bigger success than they could have imagined. Just as Said has always loved interacting with people since arriving, he continues to love meeting people at work. Said also has a great affection for all the delivery people who bring him parts everyday, the towing companies who help him, and his team of mechanics that work so hard to get things done the right way even when it is the hard way. Said is a person full of gratitude and compassion for a countless number of people.