Jagdish Dube is a simple man with humble beginnings.
And despite being at the helm of the first and one of the biggest vehicle dealerships in Auckland, Jack – as he is commonly known – has never allowed his business success go to his head.
Instead, as the chief of The Car Clearance Centre vehicle dealership in Otahuhu, Jack is sincere in his tributes to his roots and to those who have stood by him to help guide his business to the heights of success it is enjoying today.
“It was hard work, and we have gone from strength to strength to where we are today,” Jack told Indian Weekender this week.
The Car Clearance Centre was started up by Jack and his father, Hiralal Maharaj Dube, 16 years ago initially operating out of 31 Salesyard Rd, now at No. 41.
Dube Snr had been in the truck and carrier business in Samabula, Suva, and so was the great motivator and mentor in getting Jack started on to the road to success.
He passed away two years ago, and Jack has been left with a huge vacuum in his life and the business.
“I really do miss him a lot now,” said Jack, who turns 50 next month. “He was always there to guide and help out where he could.
“He always knew what was happening, and was the key inspiration for me.”
Filling in the gap left by his dad is business manager Dalip Singh, a veteran of more than 30 years’ experience with Carpenters Motors in Suva.
“Dalip is a key man in the business and his experience in the industry is invaluable,” said Jack, who is the eldest of five siblings – three brothers and two sisters.
Jack also has high praise for his accounts manager Ravnesh Kumar who packs 20 years’ experience with him from ANZ Bank in Fiji.
Jack himself started off as a clerical officer with the Lami Town Council, about 20 minutes’ drive west out of Suva City.
I, as a cadet reporter covering the council rounds for the Fiji Sun in the early eighties, still remember Jack helping us with any queries we had about council matters. Although surrounded by council bureaucracy and “tough” bosses, young Jack remained down to earth and accessible to all.
Following the military coups of 1987, Jack and family migrated to New Zealand where Jack did administration work before setting up Car Clearance Centre.
And the rest, as they say, is history.
Car Clearance Centre is now a multi-million dollar business, and Jack owes his success to good after sales customer service which has brought him lots of repeat business.
“One customer just recently bought his fourth car here,” said Jack, whose company now also offers in-house finance for customers.
“We used to carry up to 50 cars before but now stock well over 100 vehicles, all makes and models.”
He also attributes his success to taking care of his staff, customers and the community. Jack is also heavily involved in charity work in the community through schools, and is also an avid supporter of the medical camps to Fiji.
Jack has two children – Shayne, 22, and Dolly, 18, both students at University of Auckland.
WAITING FOR YOU
Jack Dube recently ventured into movie making and his maiden venture has been released in theatres and the DVD is due out next year.
“Waiting For You” was produced by Jack and Premlata Dube, Dr Singh and Shyam S R Upadhyay, and lead cast includes Bomi Dotiwala and Usha Jerajani; and also well known local TV personality Roopa Suchdev.
Directed by Shyam S R Upadhyay and shot entirely in New Zealand, “Waiting For You” is a gentle, warm and very human love story between an elderly, childless Indian couple who have lived in New Zealand for most of their life, far away from home, and what happens when the wife is admitted to the hospital with a heart problem, and her husband has to deal with the realisation that he is going to lose her soon.
The past and the present are interwoven into the narrative, as the husband has to cope with an increasing loneliness, as he deals with daily visits to the hospital and returning home to an empty house.
In his remembrance of times past, he revisits his homeland of Rajasthan through books in the local library, and starts wandering through the empty, silent city streets, and into a large park in the rain, deep inside his troubled mind.
He forms a friendship with a young New Zealand girl, who has a baby, and this simple uncomplicated relationship makes him happy for a time.
Family friends try to intervene, but he gradually finds it more and more difficult as his wife's condition deteriorates, and he resents their intrusion into his personal life, and rejects any help from them.
He now knows that he is going to lose his wife, and in their last time together in the hospital, she tells him not to worry about her, and that they will live forever.
More details at www.waitingforyoufilm.com