Getting started

When I was just sixteen years old I new I had to get a job. My Dad was working all of the time, so naturally I figured it was the right thing to make "my own money". I went to the first place I could think of and applied as Randalls Grocery store in Katy, TX. I was scared and nervous, but once I began talking to the store director Jimmy Overton, I slowly started to gain some sort of slight confidence. I didn't know what to expect, but I had found out that checkers needed to be 16 years old or older so that is what I asked for on the application. After one interview I was hired!

Once I became an official employee, all of the thoughts that my Dad had taught me began to play in my head. "Work hard, get a good job, and stay out of debt". At sixteen I was hardly worried about debt, but I felt content that I at least had what I considered a "good job" at the time and I knew that I would absolutely work hard.

The days went by like minutes during the first few months. I came in early to every shift. I rode my bike, so traffic was never an issue. No matter what the circumstance I always made it to work early and ready for my shift. During the shift, I would do whatever was needed and seemed to naturally care about the customers which made my managers very happy. In about the fourth month, the manager approached me after I had arrived soaking wet on a rainy day still eager to work. He complimented my work ethic and asked if I wanted to consider management. Still sixteen, I was shocked at such an offer but accepted with great satisfaction.

At this point, I didn't know anything about managing people. I knew I had worked hard to get here, but other than doing my best I had no idea what to do in order to be a successful manager. I just kept coming to work expecting to learn as I went day after day. Most of my time I spent helping customers and talking to other employees. There were moments that I would move people around to accommodate increasing flows of guests ready to check out, but usually I would just run a checkout lane and approve any overrides at other checkout terminals. The position was called service manager, but it felt more like a glorified checker than anything else. What made me different from everyone else? What was I supposed to be doing that would make me successful as a customer service manager? These are the questions I had to ask myself constantly.