Saturday, September 27, 2008

Crapdom...It's a Word.

I'm listening to "Gypsy" from Lord of the Dance....what do you listen to when you're feeling reflective?

I'm feeling reflective this week, partly because it's been a hectic week and partly because it may very well be the week that changes my life to a degree.
Remember my once-upon-a-time-boss-now-friend, Tammy? Well, it seems she may leave the company. This sucks because the company won't be the same without her. My job as a manager won't be the same without her and that store won't be the same without her. She made me the manager I am today. She taught me how to be strong, how to be flexible, how to bring a store back from the brink of crapdom. Yes, crapdom. It's a word now. Speaking of crap....I had the opportunity to go and see another store this week. Oh My God. The coolers looked like crap; they were mostly empty and bug-ridden. There was only two kinds in the damn thing, instead of all the flavours there should have been. The cans down the grocery aisle were dust-covered. There was a huge butcher knife in the fridge behind the limes....wait...I had to move my shovel last winter in case someone grabbed it and brained me with it, and this manager gets to keep a big-assed knife in their cooler????

Damn.

To be fair though, I would like to say that I came away from that store more focused and with a zest for bleach.

Dear________

Thank you.
Because of the crappy, filthy, shudder-worthiness of your store, I went back to mine and cleaned.
Yet again.
I washed the back door; front and back. I washed the walls. I washed the windows. Again.
I washed the coolers and the floor. Then I took all the product off the breakfast food aisle, washed every item, and the shelves, and then put it all back together.
And we aren't done. When I left, a staffmember was washing the magazine rack with hot soapy water. And when I get back to work tomorrow, I'm sure I'll find something else to clean.
Thanks for proving to me that I am doing a good job at my own store.
I just wish I could challenge your number two position.

I was saddened to learn this morning of Paul Newman's passing. He was a good 'un.