Bill’s note: A recent visit to Big Y, a local supermarket, led to this week’s blog. It’s an open letter (which he intends to mail, btw) about the importance of doing your best work even when it’s not exactly your dream job.
Dear Big Y checkout clerks and baggers;
Yes, your job sucks.
Yes, it is boring.
Yes, customers can be rude.
Yes, you hate coming to work.
Yes, the clock moves very slowly.
Yes, the pay sucks.
And yes, you are doing yourself a disservice unless you do this—your first and possibly worst—job with pride, intention, purpose, and joy.
Everyone has a first job. It is almost always a minimum pay, service-oriented, and often customer-facing miserable start to the rest of your work life. But EVERYONE looks back at their first job and says, “I hated it…but I learned so much.”
I write this letter to you after recent shopping experience where the bagger literally lobbed my groceries into a bag. I nearly said something in the moment but didn’t quite have my thoughts together and felt I might be cast off as a male “Karen.” Instead, I offer them this message.
I had another encounter with a young person last week that serves as an important contrast.
It was a bone-chilling Friday when I pulled into a gas station to get my car inspected. A high school-aged kid left the warmth of his cubicle and walked over to my car to politely explain I needed to come back since their inspection staff was off that day. Next, he offered two local alternatives I might try if I couldn’t wait. He thanked me for coming in and finished the encounter with a cheery, “Hope to see you again!”
Someone raised that kid right! Someone pulled him aside and advised him to always do his best. If I was hiring, I would return to that gas station and look him up.
Big Y checkout clerks and baggers, take advantage of the opportunity before you. Do your best work, not because someone might notice but because character is what you do when no one’s looking.
Do your best work because you have the chance to make someone’s Big Y experience special and that, in turn, will result in personal satisfaction.
Do your best work because, who knows, maybe someone WILL take notice and offer you a job.
And do your best work because you have a choice to do your best work. You can lob packages into the bag or you can carefully position each item while smiling at the customer and adding, “Hope to see you again!”
You are creating a memory for a future, “Let me tell you about my first job” conversation. Decide now what you want that memory to be.
*******
There are parts of every job that qualify as “less than,” such as dealing with a small and seemingly meaningless order. If you are going to accept the job, complete it with joy and gratitude. Bill Farquharson can be reached at 781-934-7036.
