Throwback Blog: Work Feb 11, 2014

Blogger's Note: Throwback blogs are blogs from my past. I start posting past blogs reflecting what I wrote. It's like my "A Second Look" blogs for which I give myself feedback.

Today's throwback blog is titled Work Feb 11, 2014 written on Feb 11, 2014. I thought about my time working at a start-up company. The company sells premium wines, beer, and sake at a discount price online. The company opened two brick and mortar stores in Silicon Valley. The company has been in business since 2008 or 2009. The company is similar to Fry's Electronics and Borders both out of business. Good business model. Bad management. I blog my thoughts years later in bullet format.

*The second store was burglarized. Over $10,000 in total damages and stolen inventory was big for a start-up company. I'm confident insurance covered most of the damages. Management didn't inform the employees any updates afterwards.

*I remember the Fri Jan 31 when the co-owner told the employees to "occupy ourselves" because the city inspected the store. The morning free time I shopped at Trader Joe's to purchase snacks for Super Bowl Sunday. I also visited the local library where I discovered the library sold used books at a city office suite within walking distance from the library.

*I was lucky I didn't work on Super Bowl Sunday because the first store closed. The Seattle Seahawks defeated the Denver Broncos. The second store was opened. It made lots of money.

*The employees hated days when management announced email specials. Most email specials sold out in hours.

*The part-time employee is the first person I met who worked two jobs to support his wife and two children. He worked full-time and worked part-time. Eventually, he quit the company months after I quit because he was hired for a full-time management training job at a hotel. We both agreed management was bad. The last I heard his new full-time job is installing solar panels.

*The last bullet is an update. The first store moved from a busy street to quieter street. My intuition tells me the first store moved because a BevMo store opened blocks away. A yoga studio occupies the first store location. An advantage for the first store's new location is more parking for wine tasting.

The second store was burglarized on Sun Jan 26. The co-owners spent the entire Mon Jan 27 with law enforcement and with their handymen contractors to repair the damages. Total damages and inventory lost were over $10,000.

I changed my breakfast routine on Tue Jan 28. I reduced eating bread 50%. As of the blog entry, I lost two pounds. I eat cereal, one piece of bread, almonds or walnuts, milk, and fruit. The second manager came back to work after his business trip.

One of my co-workers spilled a bottle of wine on Wed Jan 29. It was difficult to clean up the floor. The narrow aisles limited maneuverability and the number of staff assisting. The golden rule is don't drop bottles.

The same co-worker cleared some boxes to open a window inside the enclosed office at the back end of the store. The window was closed since I started working. The breeze felt good. We also had a conversation on death during my lunch hour.

There was an accident on my way home. It was my first evening accident. I was on the road for 40 minutes. The normal time is 25 minutes.

I worked at the second store on Fri Jan 31. I was told two customers told one of my co-workers there were suspicious customers videotaping the store. The customers wrote their car's license plate.

I arrived on time after getting my tires rotated and balanced. Everyone's shift started late because the store was inspected by the city. The co-owner told me and my staff before we entered the building to occupy ourselves and wait for a phone call. I shopped at Trader Joe's for snacks to eat on Super Bowl Sunday. I drove to downtown to visit the library and mail a letter at a drop off mailbox. I purchased used books at the library's used book store.

The store reopened at 12:10pm. There was chaos, misinformation, and confusion. It was crazy. We found out the inventory needed for today's activity was delivered to the first store. We had to wait for someone to deliver the inventory before the activity started. Fortunately, the inventory arrived in time. Everyone was tired at the end of their shifts. I experienced pain throughout my body.

The entire week of Feb 3-7 was busy, busy, and busy. We talked about the Super Bowl when we have a few minutes of break time. I even took two 30 minute lunches. I went to the dentist before my shift on Wed Feb 5. I got gas afterwards. I used the extra time commuting by driving on a city road exiting the freeway early. I discovered a hospital and supermarkets I could shop on my way home.

Thur Feb 6 was the worst day of the week. The owner slammed the entire staff and managers with an email special. She took advantage of a close out from a vendor. She passed along the cost savings on an email special. We sold out within hours. I continued to get slammed making sure all inventory were priced and on the website for both stores. There were hours I didn't check my email. My unread inbox reached the middle 90s.

I started using my laptop bag when I worked at Cisco. No more Microsoft tote bag. I brought my laptop to transport my company's laptop to the second store for my Fri shifts. The laptop bag has more space for my papers. There was no need to bring two bags.

I got my car's alignment checked before my second store shift on Fri Feb 7. It was the easiest day of the week, yet I was still busy. More customers shopped today compared to the previous two Fridays. There was a salesman from a distributor who wanted to sell his products. He couldn't wait for the co-owner. He exited the store after waiting for 20 minutes.

He's the man. I small talked with one of my co-workers on Tue Feb 11. He has a full-time job and a part-time job. The part-time is my company. I call him a man because he's married with two children. Working two jobs tells me he's a devoted husband and father.