A Renewed Enthusiasm

I've been in a variant of the retail food business all of my life. My various job positions always had me being directly involved in the things that resulted in sales and customer service/satisfaction. Everyday was full of "opportunities" that had to be overcome or our sales would suffer and/or a customer would be unhappy. These are known as "Operations" positions, because (SURPRISE) they impact the way the business operates. Operations, in a very real sense, are where it's at. That side of the business really is the biggest part, and to me, the most important part. No matter how well things may go on behind the scenes, it's the operation that determines the success or failure of the business. That being the case, it's important for the positions that can or should contribute the most to the operation to be available any time of the week. That's why I've always had a schedule that required me to work nights and weekends. 

It takes magic to get schedules to work sometimes

It's also important to remember that operations positions are very much based on customer traffic flow, so a high sense-of-urgency is needed, a polite way of saying that it has to get done NOW! You never have time to do it all, you can only get the high points. Gets hectic at times.

Finally, I'm not getting any younger (yes, I know that no one is, but that's beside the point). My produce position involved a lot of stocking, which is another polite term for lifting 50 pound boxes and stacking them on other 50 pound boxes. A lot of lifting and stretching and bending and carrying... you get the point.

SO, when a position came open that was out of operations, I applied for it. The position is Inventory Audit Associate, or Audit Team. The Audit Team makes sure that everything that has to do with keeping a proper count of the inventory on hand in the building is done properly, and that the inventory is properly accounted for. This controls "shrink", which is a loss of product, that can seriously affect the profits. These people go through and count different departments on a rotating basis and investigate and reconcile discrepancies  and they verify the numerous reports that are done that affect the inventory. It's a lot of counting and paperwork and such, but no where near as physical as operations. 

I just finished my first week in the position.

Imagine looking for two individual boxes in all of this. My first
audit this week involved that. Two items in boxes roughly 3x5 feet
were stuck high in the steel on the back side of the club from
the display. Took me 30 minutes to find them.

The schedule for this position is Monday through Friday, 4am-12:30pm. Yes, that's early, but not that much earlier than produce. I've never had a M-F job. I can't imagine what it'll be like, but I'm looking forward to it. I like the job very much so far, and I'm working with two people that I've long considered friends at work, so it's great. So far.

But what I really wanted to say is this: It's exciting that, after all these years working, and with 14 1/2 years at Sam's Club, I'm in a position that I know virtually nothing about. It's a whole new experience, and a whole new way of life. That's why all the backstory above, to help you realize how big a change this is for me. I'm not anywhere near as tired when I get home from work as before. Every hour at work produces a new topic. My outlook on the job is turned around. I have a renewed enthusiasm, which the General Manager has already noticed. 

How long will this New Attitude last? Who can say? We're getting a visit from the Regional person Monday, so it may change after that! (Just kidding....I hope).