August 12, 2020 –
I arrived early for my first day on the job. Things did not go well. As I sat in the big Sears parking lot, I waited for other employees to arrive so I could see where you entered the building. Once inside, I observed the other employees go to a time clock and “punch in.” So, I found my time card and did what the others punch in.
Having been hired as a salesperson for the Farm and Fence department, I went to that department. No one else was there. I spent the next five minutes looking at the products in my department. Suddenly, there were two more people joined me and introduced themselves as coworkers.
When the first customer arrived, I went over to him and introduced myself and asked, “How can I help you”? In a college sales course, I learned that the customer was interested more in how I could help them than what I knew, which was very little.
Once we found the product he was looking for, we headed to the cash register, where one of the other salesmen offered to ring up the sale. I was thankful as I had no training in operating a cash register. The other salesmen were helpful all day in ringing up my sales. It wasn’t until the next morning when my department manager asked me why I had no sales I realized the other salesman had not helped me; they had helped themselves to my sales by ringing up the transactions using their numbers, not mine. On that first day, when I need to take a bio-break, I did not know the location of restrooms. I had to ask.
The first day on the job did not go exactly as planned. But I learned some things that would serve me later when I hired people. I told new hires how to get into the building, instructed on how to use the time clock, and how to use the cash register.
The best thing I told them was the location of the restrooms.