I was just a pimply-faced teenager enjoying a spring day off from my grocery store job when the phone rang.
“Armand, we’re short-handed today,” my boss said. “Can you come to work?”
I hesitated, as any young and dumb kid would. Fortunately, my mother (who was a bakery manager at the same chain) read the nature of the call right away. “You tell him ‘yes,’” she commanded.
It was an early lesson for succeeding in the produce or any retail world. When you get the call, you go in. Always go in.
It hurt to do so that day, as I had a glorious day of goofing off planned with my buddies. Mom told me that, unless it’s some kind of genuine emergency, you help out no matter what.
Why? It’s a simple matter of dependability. Clerks, especially young part-time clerks, often whine about not getting enough hours. When you tell your boss you can’t come in to help in a pinch or make the smallest sacrifices, your overall value sinks ever lower on the list.
I’ve seen it and even experienced it later in my career. Like most, this manager quickly tired of excuses for why people can’t come in when called. It’s a waste of time.
These are just a sprinkling of reasons why employees couldn’t make it to fill in when needed: “I’m just leaving to get a haircut.” “I have to take my brother to get tires today.” “Today? Ugh, gee I just can’t today.” “I’m going to the movies.” “I might be able to come in tomorrow. Can you use me tomorrow?”
The next time I needed to fill a shift or two or more? I passed over those people that never ever came in. Managers quickly get to the point where they know who they can or can’t depend upon. The next thing that happens is all too predictable.
They complain. “You used so-and-so yesterday? I could have come in. Why didn’t you call me?”
Maybe it’s because that person is all talk and no action. People who do prove reliable? They not only get the extra hours (and pay), but they eventually get promoted, too.
Many years later I oversaw the quality control operations at a foodservice broadliner. In fact, I had already given my own notice and was moving on in just another week. On Sunday morning I got a call from the night foreman at the warehouse. Our lone, quality control person called in sick.
The other guy was out on vacation. That left only me.
It was like I was that teenager all over again. Every fiber of my being said, “Heck no.” No way I was going to bail out this bunch. It was my lone day off. With only a few days left on my watch, I owed these guys nothing. It was no longer my problem.
However, deep down I knew: It was still my responsibility.
Nobody noticed that I went in that Sunday, which was an especially busy receiving day for us. All it takes is one problem to trigger thousands of dollars of loss on the dock or catch errors in pick slot placements. It was load after load of fresh produce that needed eyes on the inbound that day, like every day, to ensure everything received was the right grades, the right sizes, the right quantities and the right quality.
No one noticed, and I’m sure nobody appreciated this little extra effort.
But just like when I went in to work as a disgruntled teen, it was the right thing — the only thing — to do. I don’t have to live with anyone who doesn’t take their job seriously, but I do have to look at this guy in the mirror every morning.
And as I wind down this crazy produce career all these decades later, I can honestly say: I haven’t any regrets.
Armand Lobato works for the Idaho Potato Commission. His more than 50 years of experience in the produce business span a range of foodservice and retail positions.