Business closure due to coronavirus mandates, owner says
Small engine repair technician Scott Rautio works on a carburetor in his 16 W. First St. shop, which he is in the process of closing.
Businessman Scott Rautio stands by a closing sign on the front door of Cheney Small Engine, a service he's closing due to issues arising from coronavirus mandates.
CHENEY – The owner of a small engine repair shop is calling it quits, thanks to coronavirus mandates and shutdowns.
Scott Rautio is in the process of closing his business, Cheney Small Engine, after two years at 16 W. First St.
Rautio said he has no choice but to shutdown "due to COVID and not enough people wanting to work."
The businessman and repair technician has a backload of small engine repair jobs for lawn mowers, riding tractors, weed eaters, chain saws, rototillers, snow blowers and more.
Demand is high, but parts are harder to obtain because of coronavirus-related shutdowns here and around the country, he said. In addition, he can't find employees to help shoulder the load because unemployment funds far exceed what small businesses can afford to pay.
"They make more on unemployment than working," Rautio said Tuesday, May 25, from his shop. "I wish I could go on unemployment."
Rautio got into the business in 2014 when he opened a mobile, small-engine repair service.
Business was good for about five years. So two years ago, he moved into his current brick-and-mortar location.
Business improved for the first year as customers spread the word that small engine repair was available locally.
Then on Feb. 29, 2020, Gov. Jay Inslee declared a coronavirus-related emergency. Elsewhere around the country, some other governors did the same.
The declarations shut down large parts of the economy as well as schools, businesses and government offices.
For Rautio, production of needed parts slowed to a crawl.
To compound the issue, when parts were available and repairs complete, stay-home edicts prompted customers to stop walking in the door to pick up their machinery. That led to a cash flow crunch.
Then last summer, when $600 per week was added to unemployment for those who lost jobs due to coronavirus mandates, demand boomed.
But there were fewer parts available for repair work, causing repair delays, in some cases, for months, he said.
That additional amount of money also provided a massive incentive to deter people from returning to the work force, he said.
Today, with the federal government now providing an additional $300 per week on top of unemployment, an employee shortage remains, he said.
At present in Washington state, a full-time minimum wage employee is paid the equivalent of about $38,000 per year to stay home. That's nearly $5 more per hour than if they had gone to work in a minimum wage job.
Without parts, repair jobs are backing up. Without people coming in to pay for completed repairs, cash flow stalled. And without someone to help him get small engine repairs and servicing complete, he couldn't keep up.
As a result, he decided it was time to put out the closing sign.
The sign went up more than a month ago.
"Sorry. Closing," it says. "Thank you All!! For Everything!!"
Rautio said he will be keeping hours 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday for the next few weeks to allow customers time to pick up their machinery. He's even willing to make arrangements after hours for customers who cannot come during the work day.
Looking ahead, Rautio said he's planning to initially return to where he started as an owner.
"I'll probably go back and see how the mobile thing turns out, again," Rautio said.
If that doesn't pan out, he may return to a previous career in agriculture.
"I deeply appreciate everybody in and out of Cheney who stopped by with equipment and let me fix it," he said. "I give the community a big thanks."
He credited the city utility staff for trying to help him keep his business open during the tough times caused by the shutdown mandates.
"That's a big thank you," he said. "I'm paying what I can."
Roger Harnack is the owner/publisher of Free Press Publishing. Having grown up Benton City, Roger is an award-winning journalist, columnist, photographer, editor and publisher. He's one of only two editorial/commentary writers from Washington state to ever receive the international Golden Quill. Roger is dedicated to the preservation of local media, and the voice it retains for Eastern Washington.
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