Christmas Countdown 2023… Day 8

Happy Friday! Sharing today on how I got my first exposure to retail work. It led to a variety of other jobs in that field through the years. As I am currently working yet another one, and I need to scurry so I can be there on time. Here is our final entry of Help Wanted posts for this week. Tomorrow will be a recap of the family holiday activities since last Saturday. I hope you will enjoy that nonsense and then come back on Sunday for an Advent devotion <3

Stewart’s Dry Goods was the first department store west of the Allegheny Mountains. It was located on the corner of 4th and Walnut in the heart of the hometown to both of my parents:  Louisville, Kentucky. Both of them loved Louisville and knew every nook and cranny of it. 

It felt like the only hometown I knew as unchanging because while the Air Force moved us around North America, and much of their extended family had relocated to other states, Louisville was the place where my maternal grandma and Aunt had remained. And that was where my father made sure his wife and children visited, at least once a year for the holiday. 

A trip to see my mom’s family around the Christmas holidays included heading downtown and walking past the windows of Stewart’s Dry Goods. These large windows were decorated in the inspiration of Macy’s. Each year had a theme and we would follow the rows of elaborate scenes displayed in each window frame, marveling at the creative and imaginative sets. 

Then we would go inside and take in every single floor with wide eyes before settling at the counter of the restaurant to order a Benedictine sandwich or a Hot Brown. If you are unfamiliar with either of these, the first is a spread that is made of pureed cucumber and onions served on white bread with the crust removed. The second is Kentucky’s version of the Midwestern horseshoe. Suffice to say it involves a white sauce, turkey breast, bacon and Texas toast. 

But I digress. 

Stewarts Department store was, in my mind, as fabulous as others might have considered Times Square on New Year’s Eve and absolutely stamped a love for the world of retail and customer service and shiny things deep in my mind. And so when I found myself attending the University of Louisville as a freshman and needing a summer job to keep me grounded and not traveling the country yet another year with my parents in their Airstream tailer, I went in and landed a job as a sales associate for this legendary establishment. 

Unfortunately, I was assigned to one of their satellite mall locations. And not even the one at the upscale Oxmoor Mall, but the smaller store in the mall simply called…The Mall. While Oxmoor boasted a two story anchor store for Stewarts in a beautiful newly built shopping center, The Mall offered one floor at the end of an older and somewhat dated mall. 

But I loved working there. We had to attend training downtown and I felt like I was joining an elite team of customer service staff for this store. We were taught about the history of the company, the expectations for customer service and the importance of our role on the sales floor to represent the name of Stewarts and the quality of experience they desired to give their customers. 

And I ended up loving that little mall. It was just the right size for a young college kid to work in and stroll through on breaks. There was a Bishop’s Cafeteria at one end. Again, if you aren’t familiar with these places, you missed out on a slice of life from my childhood. You could go through the line and order whatever you wanted – everything individually priced. Perfect for a girl on a tight income. 

After picking up a bowl of soup or a dessert, I could go and sit out on the benches and people watch. There was a pool outside the restaurant with small fountain bubblers and green plants. It was like an oasis. It was fun to window shop on the way back to the store and if you have never worked retail, let me tell you, the stories that happen with those who work beside you and those who come to shop keep life interesting. I have so many memories of the short time I worked there, but one in particular still makes me smile. 

On occasion, there would be special items that came in and were targeted by the main office as ones they wanted to be sold. A notice would come out to us on the sales floor about the potential for earning incentives. During my short tenure, one of them was a new line of cashmere sweaters. Pullovers, as I remember, and in a variety of lovely colors. For every sweater we sold during our shift, we would receive a silver dollar along with our regular paycheck. 

That probably doesn’t sound like a lot in this day, and truth be told it wasn’t really that much in the late 1970’s. But there was something about picking up your envelope with a silver dollar or two that just put a bounce in the step. I wouldn’t even dare spend them, but tucked them away. They are somewhere in an old jewelry box or treasure keeper from that era stashed with other mementos from days gone by. 

While this was a short term job over a summer break, the standards the company set helped further hone a strong sense of work ethic in me. My parents had always set the example of giving 100% to your work and that no job is menial. All work serves a purpose and there is dignity in doing it well. I have had the opportunity to work in other sales type jobs over the course of my full time career of working part time and in all of them I have enjoyed helping people and serving my employer well. 

I also have learned to appreciate when someone offers me excellent customer service. It is an art and I am thankful to have learned it young. It has served me well as I have enjoyed working a variety of retail jobs over the years. But good customer service is really needed in caring for your family, your friends, acquaintances, people who are waiting on you and just about everybody you encounter on the journey. 

Kindness, grace, good listening skills and thinking about what the other person needs are all skills we should practice regularly. I recently had a conversation with a shop owner and a young mother. The latter was telling us of an experience where she and a friend had visited a new store with their toddlers. The children were being good, but no one on staff greeted them or made them feel welcome. 

Acknowledging the presence of others and engaging in light conversation, ascertaining if there is a need you could help with is more than customer service. It is courtesy. As Christians, we must make the effort to see the people around us and at least offer a smile. We are not traveling this journey alone, we share the road. Let’s share it well.