This is, what.....Day 6?

Another GREAT day on the job-front!!  Things are going SOOOOO smoothly.  Now, to get the proper people into place.  And that's going to take some juggling.

A rep. from the distributor that we all HATE is coming to talk with us on Wednesday....trying to make amends, I suppose.  Like all the times before......just smoke blowing up our asses.

On a non job-related thingy........

I have some GREAT news....but I'm forbidden for exposing it, right now!   But let me tell y'all,


THIS SHIT IS BIG!!!!

I'm SOOOOO happy!

Things are GREAT!!

Things are going sooooo good, I'm apprehensive....

I mean, when things are THIS good, there's always some sort of evil lurking around the corner.  But, for now, I'll relish the events unfolding before me.

Sales are UP at work, the sales floor and stock room look GREAT, we're attracting more customers, and my side catering business is even increasing!!

Do I have too many "pokers in the fire"?  Possibly, but I work BEST when under pressure.

I am reveling in it all.  LET'S DO THIS!!

A New Regime - Day III

Today, the owner commented on the increase in sales these past couple of weeks.  WoW!  Um, ya' THINK?

The reason?

More competitive pricing.
More accountability for product sales.
More focus on sales and PROFIT!
A more streamlined sales floor.

At the rate our sales are rising, we WILL be a major contender in the market!  And I look forward to leading us in that direction!

Yes, I LOVE MY JOB!!!

We'll bite the bullet and move on....

From stories of freebies, unauthorized discounts, and - YES - sex in the store, it's AMAZING what customers will tell about an ex-employee.  I just wish they would have come forward sooner.,...

Nevertheless, the damage was done, financially, and it's time to rebound.

Sales are UP (imagine that!), customers are pleased and are well-taken care of, and the general mood is positive.

It just breaks my heart that someone that I trusted....thought of as a younger sibling....was so deceitful and took advantage of the business.

I learned my lesson - the hard way.

A new regime. Day 1

First on my agenda, was to bawl out a distributor rep. for their company NOT HAVING PRODUCT THAT WE DESPERATELY NEED TO SELL!!

We have NO Jim Beam Honey 50 mls....NO Jim Beam Apple 50mls......NO Jim Beam Red Stag 50 mls.......AND WE CAN'T GET THEM!

Last week, they were totally OUT of the Ole Smoky Moonshine products I ordered!  Yeah.  Ole Smokey.  It's an hour away and they couldn't send a truck to pick some up?  But I digress....

Back to the Jim Beam minis.....

Last week, the rep. told me they had 1/2 case of Jim Beam Apple 50 mls in stock so I said "SEND THEM!"

When the truck arrived, they were back-ordered.

Now, this rep., a couple of weeks ago, was bragging about their new inventory/ordering system....how it updates in REAL time, blah, blah, blah.

So today, I confronted him about WHY we didn't receive our Beam Apple minis when he told me they had a 1/2 case in stock.  His reply was "It all depends on who keys their order in first."  Mine: "So, Knoxville got them."  Him:  "It all depends on who keys their order in first."  Mine - AGAIN - "So Knoxville got them!"

He then admitted....Knoxville got them.

THIS IS UTTER BULLSHIT!!!

You see, the stores here in Greeneville are very LOW on the level of priority.  This particular distributor caters ONLY to high volume stores - giving us little guys no chance.

And this practice repulses me to no end.

Sometimes, all you have to do.....is ask!

Approached the bossman with the idea of making me salaried and giving me a pay increase.  To my delight, he had NO problem with it!!

He asked my price and agreed to it!!

I AM ECSTATIC!!!

Things Are FINALLY Coming Together!!

After months of suspicion, doubt, insecurity, etc., I now can say I'm WHOLE-HEARTEDLY into my job!  Inventory is coming in-line, things are getting DONE, the store looks GREAT, the stockroom is immaculate and organized, and my co-workers actually seem to "care" about the direction the business is going!!

I am so proud of them - taking direction and getting things taken care of.

The owner comes back on Monday, after a 2-week vacation, and I'm hoping he'll be impressed with the changes and throw a bit more $$ my way.  After all, I AM looking out for his best interests.  When HE makes money, I do, too!

As for this weekend....I'm very tired.  But, there's still the homestead to take care of.

I swear.....it's always something!

Feb. 24th and I Did the UNTHINKABLE!!

Yes, I MOWED my yard.....well, MOST of it.  Mainly to get up loose debris from the winter and to trim up some vibrant-green patches that were getting gnarly.

I think that I one-upped the neighbor this year!!

Overall, the yard looks pretty good.....going to need to put some environmentally-friendly weed & feed on it, though.  And some re-seeding is in order.

...............................................

As for work?  GLORIOUSLY busy day!!  Evidently, people have their income tax refunds in-hand...ready to spend!  And I'll be more than happy to take it!!  The store looks GREAT, we're well-stocked and I'm DYING for people to come give us a try!

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Tonight's dinner?

Thawed out some NY Strips that I bought in bulk and cut up.....these are a good 2 INCHES thick!!  Some baked Idaho Russets and some grilled asparagus accompany these delicious looking pieces of meat.

And I like meat that's pretty.

VERY Productive Day!

Since Christmas, I've been saving my loose change for....well......who-knows-what.....so today, I took it all to the Cash Cow machine at Food City.  I ended up walking out with $79.34!  And, guess what?

I USED THAT MONEY TO RENEW MY TAGS!!!

I've got to remember that trick!

Merle and I took off the household trash and then, it was BACK in to town.  First, I needed to go ahead and get change for work AND I needed to go to the car wash.

I LOVE the car wash we have here that you pull into, put your car in neutral, and it pulls your car through while lovingly sudsing, wiping, rinsing, and drying it.  PLUS, you vacuum for free and they have those machines you run your floor mats through that cleans them!  My poor car was FILTHY, but now, it looks SOOOO much better.

Made it to work by 11:00 and talked to the coworker about things that are going on.  Knowing that money is tight, I let him go home at 12 - no use in having us BOTH there and besides, I needed to know that he could open the store by himself.  He ACED it!

Dealt with 2 distributor reps and checked-in 2 deliveries and got those put away and then FINALLY, it was time for me to leave.  BUT - I still had chores to do.

So, it was off to Sam's Club!!  Got snacks and Red Bull for the store (they say you can't drink Jager without Red Bull) and bought a few things for the reception I'm catering in June.

Now at home, defrosting some chicken tenders to fix. . . . . side dishes of mac & cheese and fresh (albeit FROZEN) from the garden lima beans!


All in all, a REALLY good day!  I've felt more "on-top-of-things" this week than I have in AGES.

And it feels GREAT!!

Bossman back next week.

We WILL talk! 

MORE Changes At Work!

First, I re-merchandised the shelves, cleaning them AND the bottles.
Then, I marked down a BUNCH of stuff that was just not selling.
I then honed-in on the loss of money and merchandise.

Now?

I've TOTALLY reworked our stockroom!  We used to have back-stock wines in various unused display racks, but now, they're all gone!  We had some unused - LARGE - wine display cases that we will NEVER be able to use on the sales floor (thanks to the wine in grocery stores stuff), so I utilized them to group and store all our back-stock!  These shelving units are a good 12 feet long, 4 feet wide, and weigh A TON, but I was able to move them myself - 2 of them! I then grouped all the miscellaneous racks in a back corner and lined them up....leaving enough room to get in there to get one, if I choose.

THEN, I reworked the liquor back-stock.  We've always kept liquor back-stock sorted by distributor - which I kept - but NOW, I have each product "striped" on the shelving units.....200 mls on the top shelf, 375 mls on the second, 750's on the 3rd, liters on the 4th, and 1.75's on the bottom shelf.

Freed up TONS of floor space and actually, it's easier to find things, especially for a new person.

The bossman is still out of town until the first of the week, so I HOPE AND PRAY he will like what I've done and HOPEFULLY, give me a pay increase.

'Cause I'm asking for one!