Work has been pretty challenging lately and I've tried really hard not to get discouraged. Yesterday I nearly had a mental break down. Chris was amazing and talked me back into just keep trying. Most of it is about trying to manage the employees and keep on holding them accountable and eventually I will find great people to run the store. I have a few and am so glad they keep working hard.
Today was supposed to be a busy day and I had a lot to do. I planned on sampling at the 4th of July parade that goes right in front of the store as well as a manager meeting in IF. I wasn't sure how to rally the troops and get them on board to come in at 8 am, make sandwiches and pass them out. Last year almost every employee showed up and we sampled 750 samples. It was fun and all 15 people had a good time. This year I was running the show instead of Ruffin. I decided on a sign up sheet so I could get an idea of how much to prepare for. 3 people signed up. I was so crushed I tried to talk more people into comming and 2 other people said they would. I wanted to toss the idea and not bother. I almost texted those 5 people but Chris said just to do it and set the example.
Well I was really discouraged when those two people I talked to didn't show up. It was just the 4 of us and I didn't think we could even make a dent. The parade included the two neighboring cities this year and lasted over an hour and a half. It was a lot longer than last year and it was packed! We started having paying customers at 9 am! We made as many samples as we could starting at 8am. We took the first round out at 8:30 to the Parade participants. And another round at 8:45, 9:00 and everyone took a final box at 10 when the parade kicked off. Finally we still had bread to go out at 10:30. The four of us did 453 samples! that's more than half of what we did last year with a 1/3 of the people. Those three employees sparked my drive again. They really worked hard and each brought their talents to light. AC's wraps looked perfect every time. She was quick at them too. EB ran the whole time and worked just as quickly through the rest of his shift till 2pm and even swept and mopped the store by himself! JB was just an all out rockstar! He's crazy. I saw him in front of a crowed who were doing the wave for sandwiches.
I told them how much I apprecieated their enthusiasm for their job. They found out after we were done they were getting a raise. Drivers don't get raises. These three always work hard, not just today. They deserve to reap the rewards. We beat last year's 4th of July sales by 30%.
I love to see a small hint of success after a long couple weeks of depressing, discouraging events. I was starting to question my abilities. Sales are doing fine, but I have to constantly re-train, and re-train managers who can't follow simple directions. Lucky for me, Jimmy Johns has a system for weeding out the trash. And it works. Today was just proof that there are people that are smart, and care about working hard. What a horrible, but great 4th of July. I've been up since 3am. I'm achy all over and my feet kill. But all that extra work was so worth it to promote our store and the Jimmy John's brand!!
I am so glad I have a Job that I'm excited to go to every day.
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