The Recession, Most Would Say, Is Already Being Felt : ‘Balancing Game’ in San Diego

Morris Wax has been an executive with Waxie, a San Diego-based janitorial service, for 35 years. He now serves as chairman of the company , which deals with all segments of San Diego’s business community. Wax has watched San Diego grow from a small Navy town to the state’s second-largest city. He doubts that San Diego will be severely hurt by a recession.

“Our business is not suffering yet, but, yes, there is some concern out there. I think there probably is going to be a downturn, but it’s not come to San Diego yet. (San Diegans are) running into a fear cycle, no ifs, ands or buts . . . (but San Diego) will suffer less than the other big industrial areas.

“There are some closings, but other, new facilities are coming on board, so it offsets. You can’t, for example, exactly tell that the hotel/motel business is off, because of all the new hotels. The business is just being spread around more.

“We won’t cut off credit completely, (but bankruptcies) are something we have to guard against. . . . When these guys go broke, and we gave these guys credit, we lose our money, too. I would say to our credit department, ‘Watch ‘em closer, tighten up.’

“You’ve got to play a balancing game. . . . I’ve got customers who have been with me for 35 years. We go with them in fat times and lean times.”