Tweet
Post-Departure Compliments (longish)
So some of you know that I changed jobs recently. I used to work retail electronics sales in the computer department of a major chain. I liked it, but I was anxious to get out of retail and put my college degree to work for me.
Since I left, I've had three compliments from former co-workers, though one was second-hand. I feel like sharing them.
Compliment #1 - One Week After Quit Date
Co-worker AF told me a story about Young Manager and co-worker Mario. Young Manager and I worked reasonably well together, but he wasn't exactly my friend, and he wasn't my direct manager either, so we had little interaction. Mario worked in my department and was, in my opinion, lazy and condescending.
Each night, every department has a set of closing duties to do, including straightening the products, printing price tags, creating a report, and pulling overstock items (like printers and desktop computer boxes) from the high shelves to the main aisles. The labor budget allowed for only one closer (last hour of sales and a half-hour of locked-door clean-up) most weekdays. For various reasons, that was usually me, even after my surgery which left me limping around with a cane for a few months.
I typically started the closing duties an hour before closing time, even well before I started having to use the cane. Many of the others in my department started about 20 minutes before closing. Mario started at closing or a few minutes after.
AF told me that he overheard Mario and Young Manager talking one evening. Young Manager was displeased with Mario because Mario was not getting all the closing duties done on his closing shifts, particularly the straightening and downstocking. Mario claimed that he never had enough time to get all the tasks done. According to AF, Young Manager then shot Mario down with this statement: "If HawaiianShirts could get it done every shift by himself with a cane, you can get it done!"
Compliment #2 - Two Months After Quit Date
Mrs. Shirts and I went shopping at another branch of Major Electronics Retailer to use a small gift-card I'd won. I got a Wii game, and she got a couple of DVDs. I'd never worked in this particular store, so I didn't expect to see anyone I knew. I was surprised to see JJ there. JJ was a manager at my store for about a year, but he transferred to another state. He'd recently transferred back to Utah and was the general manager of this store where we were shopping.
JJ was in a hurry to get to the customer service desk, but he saw me browsing the movies and had to say a quick hello.
JJ: Hey, HawaiianShirts! How are you?
Me: Hey, JJ. I'm good. What are you doing here.
JJ: I'm GM now. Cool, huh?
Me: Yeah. I just left [other store] for a new job.
JJ: Nice. You want to come work for me now?
Me: Sorry, man. My days are full of other stuff now.
JJ: Well, if you need a weekend job or something, call me. I could really use you here!
Guess he remembered the good things I did when I worked with him.
Compliment #3 - Five Months After Quit Date
A co-worker at my current job needed some networking equipment. I made a few suggestions about what she needed, but she was afraid of buying the wrong stuff. I told her to go to my old store (because she lived near it and because I knew what they had) and ask for RO, AF, or BC because they knew the most about networking.
The next day, this co-worker told me her story. She had found BC working and told him what she needed. As he was helping her get it all, she said that I had referred her to that store. He said, "Oh, you work with HawaiianShirts? Yeah, I worked with him here for a while. Good guy."
BC couldn't find one crucial item on the shelf where it belonged. He knew they had it, but he didn't know where. He excused himself to go look. About 10-15 minutes later, he returned with that item and said, "Sorry that took so long. This place has really fallen apart since HawaiianShirts left. We don't know where anything is anymore!"
Sure it sounds like a case of nobody-notices-what-I-do-until-I-don't-do-it, but they eventually figured out how much work I did there. It's just really nice to actually hear one of them say it, especially almost half a year since I left.
---
Ah, that feels good. It's nice to have this sub-forum to share things like this and not feel guilty about boasting.
Since I left, I've had three compliments from former co-workers, though one was second-hand. I feel like sharing them.
Compliment #1 - One Week After Quit Date
Co-worker AF told me a story about Young Manager and co-worker Mario. Young Manager and I worked reasonably well together, but he wasn't exactly my friend, and he wasn't my direct manager either, so we had little interaction. Mario worked in my department and was, in my opinion, lazy and condescending.
Each night, every department has a set of closing duties to do, including straightening the products, printing price tags, creating a report, and pulling overstock items (like printers and desktop computer boxes) from the high shelves to the main aisles. The labor budget allowed for only one closer (last hour of sales and a half-hour of locked-door clean-up) most weekdays. For various reasons, that was usually me, even after my surgery which left me limping around with a cane for a few months.
I typically started the closing duties an hour before closing time, even well before I started having to use the cane. Many of the others in my department started about 20 minutes before closing. Mario started at closing or a few minutes after.
AF told me that he overheard Mario and Young Manager talking one evening. Young Manager was displeased with Mario because Mario was not getting all the closing duties done on his closing shifts, particularly the straightening and downstocking. Mario claimed that he never had enough time to get all the tasks done. According to AF, Young Manager then shot Mario down with this statement: "If HawaiianShirts could get it done every shift by himself with a cane, you can get it done!"
Compliment #2 - Two Months After Quit Date
Mrs. Shirts and I went shopping at another branch of Major Electronics Retailer to use a small gift-card I'd won. I got a Wii game, and she got a couple of DVDs. I'd never worked in this particular store, so I didn't expect to see anyone I knew. I was surprised to see JJ there. JJ was a manager at my store for about a year, but he transferred to another state. He'd recently transferred back to Utah and was the general manager of this store where we were shopping.
JJ was in a hurry to get to the customer service desk, but he saw me browsing the movies and had to say a quick hello.
JJ: Hey, HawaiianShirts! How are you?
Me: Hey, JJ. I'm good. What are you doing here.
JJ: I'm GM now. Cool, huh?
Me: Yeah. I just left [other store] for a new job.
JJ: Nice. You want to come work for me now?
Me: Sorry, man. My days are full of other stuff now.
JJ: Well, if you need a weekend job or something, call me. I could really use you here!
Guess he remembered the good things I did when I worked with him.
Compliment #3 - Five Months After Quit Date
A co-worker at my current job needed some networking equipment. I made a few suggestions about what she needed, but she was afraid of buying the wrong stuff. I told her to go to my old store (because she lived near it and because I knew what they had) and ask for RO, AF, or BC because they knew the most about networking.
The next day, this co-worker told me her story. She had found BC working and told him what she needed. As he was helping her get it all, she said that I had referred her to that store. He said, "Oh, you work with HawaiianShirts? Yeah, I worked with him here for a while. Good guy."
BC couldn't find one crucial item on the shelf where it belonged. He knew they had it, but he didn't know where. He excused himself to go look. About 10-15 minutes later, he returned with that item and said, "Sorry that took so long. This place has really fallen apart since HawaiianShirts left. We don't know where anything is anymore!"
Sure it sounds like a case of nobody-notices-what-I-do-until-I-don't-do-it, but they eventually figured out how much work I did there. It's just really nice to actually hear one of them say it, especially almost half a year since I left.
---
Ah, that feels good. It's nice to have this sub-forum to share things like this and not feel guilty about boasting.
Comment