Jason’s Blog

Cost Plus World Market (10/2007 – 3/2011)

Last night was the last night at World Market.  Having fallen in love with the low prices and unique items, I applied for a part time seasonal position 3 years ago and have been working there until last night.  Ultimately I needed more time to enjoy life and with Uncle Sam taking so much in taxes over the past 3 years, it was time.

I still love the store and will be in to shop :)

When you work in Retail…

When you work in the retail market, you earn a respect for what goes on and tend to sympathize with the current working folk of a similar function.

Wegmans Sub Shop

For example, having worked in a Wegmans Sub Shop part time when living in Rochester NY I realize how annoying cell phones can be and rude customers are and try to not be that way myself.  I do admit when a customer was on their phone, I skipped them and asked the following person in line if I could help them since a hand signal with a number only seems to work in Asian restaurants :)

Shampoo Factory

The Shampoo Factory was a full time job between semesters during college and gave me a new appreciation for those bottled products and you recognize all of those funny alignment marks for labels.  I sat for days monitoring sealing of various salon tubed products and testing bottle cap tension,which by the way should be automated and not done by anyone for that is surely going to give you carpal tunnel!

While it was relatively mindless, just what I needed after 2 semesters at college, I would think if I were to do it on a regular basis I would probably become a zombie.  Not that I think anyone is really cut out for this kind of work, but we do what we need to in order to get the bills paid and this job probably just barely serves that purpose for the full time staff there.

Waiting Tables

Granted it was a restaurant I was co-owner of, but nonetheless, when I go out to eat now and if the restaurant is busy, I don’t get frustrated if service is slow and I always pile up my dishes with food scraps on the top plate for the wait staff :)

Funny how I was introverted and still am to a degree, but when waiting tables, you do need to provide great customer service if you want to get a tip and I really did open up during this chapter of my life.

World Market

I have learned that some customers always are out to get a good deal and will in some cases “break” an item in order to get a discount.  I recall one time when a customer showed me what seemed to be a problem with glue on a wreath.  She said, they are all like that and wanted a discount.  After we talked a bit more, it turned out that she had pulled off the supposedly loose flowers!  She was like, “I can glue them when I am home.”  I was thinking to myself, well, if you had not pulled them off in the first place…..  Anyway, I did not give her a discount and proceeded to fix them with our own hot glue gun.

There are others that walk around the clearance section each time they are in, or offer to “buy it all” at a discount.  Another funny time was when a customer came back to the wine dept and asked me for the bottle with the most savings and I showed them a $50 bottle which happened to be $13 off :)  That is what they asked for, but certainly they were looking for the Rene Barbier which normally $4.99 is often on sale for $3.99, but only a savings of a $1.  Perhaps she should have asked for the largest savings percentage :)

There are so many stories to tell and not enough time in a day to tell them, but you get the idea…customers can really be a pain in the neck after that experience, I will do my best to not be in a bad mood, get impatient with long lines, or harassing management to give me a better deal.  :)  I cannot promise however that I will not trample you when the store opens and holiday clearance goes on sale 90% off!

After catching an episode of Family Matters on Nick at Nite, and a recent discussion with a coworker about classic cars, I decided to search for the car Steve Urkel drives. It is a BMW Isetta (Clown Car). I found a great site which talks about Microcars….

http://www.microcarmuseum.com/tour/bmwisetta250.html

Click on the “Next Microcar” link next to the picture to see many variations which seem to have led to the BMW Beetle. It claims to be a cross between a motorcycle and car which is quite apparent when you look at the 3 wheel model :)

Perhaps at retirement, assuming I don’t need to actually drive on a road due to speed limitations and also with a front opening door, not so confident in a 5 star crash test rating! A Mini Cooper is my other option. Though by the time I am able to retire, around 79 at the rate the government is going, I may need to get a scooter with a shopping basket instead.

Hmm…sometimes I wonder if signs really do anything.  Probably not, stop signs don’t work, don’t walk signs don’t work….so why would a No Solicitation sign in my apartment building mean anything?  First of all, it is only in English, and I am betting that 30% of Americans have no idea what that big word means!  Perhaps No Flyers or a picture would work better to get to more people if they care.  

So…tonight, I heard a flyer come under the door.  Normally I am at work and see it when I get home.  I opened the door, walked over to the kid (would not had they been built or older as I have never been in a fight), Adrenaline pumping, and told him that he is not allowed to hand out the flyers.  He looked a little shocked and took out his earbuds.  I took the flyers from him and walked back into my apartment and locked the door.  He walked around a bit and then I heard him get into the elevator.  I took the stack of 500 flyers, he probably covered the floors above or below me already, and presented them to the concierge.  I recycled them and pointed out the kid who was just outside the front entrance.  She walked out, asked him if he was handing out flyers, and then was told that if he ever did it again, they would not be able to deliver.  He ran off scared.

I felt like a hero today..but if he were older, probably would not have messed with him…and if he were experienced, would not have let me take the flyers and would have taken off running.

Want to find your dream job?  You need to understand your Career Anchor.  Edgar Schein at MIT came up with 8 and after taking a 40 question assessment, I came out being “Security/Stability.”  While I was hoping to be “Lifestyle” where I balance personal and professional, I always have preferred a job that I am happy doing, and one that is secure.  Doing my job, and doing it well are my measures of security aside from the company’s stability and reputation.   I have co-owned a restaurant “Patrik’s Culinary Kreations” and currently a bakeshop “Simply Sweet Kreations,” one would think “Entrepreneurial Creativity” would have been my top Anchor.  While I do like the proposition of retiring and owning my own business, the initial startup can be risky and I don’t mind this as a secondary source of income, but until established, would not be my only job. 

Hope you have all been enjoying the nice weather.  I did not need to wear a coat today! :)