Saturday, June 7, 2008

Restoration: A Synopsis (#257)

I've been working at "Resto" for a couple weeks now and I've gotten to know my coworkers pretty well. I like them all, and I think that to say that they could all be on a TV show is the way to say it best. They all have interesting characteristics-- the type of diversity one only finds in the retail environment. I've decided to describe them for you.

Johnny: GM
Johnny is an easy guy to talk to, and if you want to know why, don't ask him. You'll never get a straight answer from Johnny, who likes to ask open-ended questions to solve your problems. More likely than not you'll answer the question yourself, so it's best not to ask Johnny where anything is, or how to handle a customer, as he'll often retort "How would you do it?" Johnny hired me on the spot for my sociable nature and my keen interest in human culture and the holistic view of human interaction. In some sense, I believe he thinks the best way to interact with others, is to let them do all the interacting for him.

April: HM
April is spunky, is studying Interior Design, and has a Chinese symbol tattooed in green ink on her right arm. She's always willing to help, and talks extremely eloquently on the telephone. If you have a problem, bring it to her, and instead of talking down to you, she offers clear, concise, help when and where you need it. She sets the schedule, so having her on your side is always a plus. She handles tough situations with ease, and has guided me through my adjustment at Resto.

Jill: M
Jill moved to the place I work at from one in Maryland because she is the best of the best at doing "Floor Set" which is when we set up the store to look exactly like it does in all the others. She taught me how to fold towels correctly, and has the audacity to wear heels to work (You go girl!). She's not too talkative, which is good. She a detail oriented person, who will adjust a crease in a pillow if necessary to make it look not only good, but "Resto. good"

Sunny: M
Sunny is a middle-aged Indian man who has been with the company for years. He's anal about everything, and gets annoyed when people are disruptive. He handles customers with ease, however, and on my first day of work he thought I was a rogue customer trying to break into the back of the store. Silly Sunny.

Deeqa: M (Pronounced Deca)
Deeqa is 4 months pregnant with a baby boy and I often worry that she lifts too much. She's an Indian woman who is glowing with motherhood, but she isn't afraid to get work done when she needs to. She is enjoyable to work with, and I don't know how she manages to work in high-heels all day long. She is the nicest manager and always helps me out even when she's busy.

Harry: Sales Associate
Harry is an elderly man who has worked at Resto for at least 5 years. He hails from the U. of R. "I'm a spider myself," he told me when I said I went to VCU. His son just graduated from college with a degree in msic performance, and hopes to join a group somewhere in Pennsylvania. Harry enjoys tinkering with the toys in the store and annoying Sunny. Harry likes working at Resto. a lot, but keeps quiet most of the time.

Karen: SA
Karen is older than middle aged, and has an accent that I can't place. She wears docker shorts, clogs, and sweaters tied around her shoulders, and her blond hair in thick headbands. She is the epitome of "Preppy" and is one of our best associates. Her face graces the employee of the month wall a total of three times over the last year. She, however, is too loud for her own good, and when she was making fun of a customer, she was overheard..... not that she noticed. It seems Karen only cares about customers who buy things, and not about the customers we lose. I'm not sure if I like Karen.

Russel: SA
Russel is one of the only associates at Resto who is my age. Though only 19, he will be a Junior at NC State next fall. He likes to act goofy (April says it's because He thought I was single) and gets up on all of the other SAs. He likes to talk about all of the crazy things he has done, including drop acid ("...by accident!") and he enjoys vacuuming the store. He's been with Resto for about three years, and he knows everything. He makes work fun, as he's just about the only person I can relate to on the job.

Gretchen: SA
Gretchen is the daughter of my sister's old orchestra teacher (what a small world). She's nice as can be, but I don't know her that well. All I know is that she does a lot of visual work for the store, and sold 4,000 worth of draperies, therefore making her a "High Roller" in our store.

Adam: SA
Adam lives right on capital hill, folds towels a lot, jokes around with me, and talks about his partner all the time. One of the first sentences I heard from him was "Lisa, you're going to see that Deeqa throws around the Pregnancy card a lot, don't let her, she can handle an 70 lb mirror just fine. okay?" He always says hello to me with enthusiasm, and when he cant wait to leave, I'm right there with him.

James: SA
My sister's boyfriend is the identical twin of James. He's tall, curly hair, glasses, the works. He is basically my sister's BF, but not. I've only worked two days with James, but he's nice, well-spoken, and interested in boats, apparently. That's about all I have to say about him...

Massaya: Stock room
Massaya's age is questionable, as he looks to be about 5 years old, and yet says he's done at Langley HS. Massaya's descent is questionable, his name marks lebanese, and his looks appear Asian, but what matters is his smell. Massaya has strong body odor from lifting heavy boxes and running around. he has 7th grade facial hair and sunburnt cheeks. Massaya asked me on a date, and all interaction with him has been awkward since. I count on him for stock checks, but not much else.

Ehsan: SA
Ehsan really taught me how to fold towels and pay attention to detail. Sometimes his english isn't good, but he's the dark handsome type who smiles his way through things. he's a great guy, and takes every effort to make customers laugh and be comfortable. he's a favorite in the stock room, and everyone appears to love him to death.

Joey: Stock room
Joey is probably older than me, but not by much. Off duty he wears a green trucker hat which doesn't balance out with his pinstripe pants and crisp shirts for work. he smokes Marlboro menthols, and has a black Razr just like mine. He does project for management, and provides sales support when it's busy. He's the mast of visualization and he also handles Signage (setting up the sales and organizing them). he's a nice guy, and always remembers my name.

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