I worked at a dimestore when I was a teenage. The boss expected us to be there 15 minutes prior to opening for a group meeting of what was expected of us and upcoming events. During the day, he sat in his office in a sort of balcony above the store so he could see the goings on. When not in his office, he walked the floor. You knew he could see you from the office and never knew when he would be in your section, so it kept you on your toes to do your job and do it right. At closing time, he would go to the door, open it and look up and down the street to see if anyone else wanted in before he closed the door. We all hoped no one was within the block, for we had to stay until they left. And, we did not get paid for the 15 minutes prior to opening or the time after he turned the lock in the door.
However, he taught us good work ethics and I am glad to this day for his 'leadership', though he probably did not think of it that way. I imagine his thought was, "If you don't do your job, there are a hundred other teens out there who can replace you." I learned to wait on customers and treat them with respect, helping them when they needed something, no matter which section of the store the item was in.
On the most part today, you don't get 'waited on' like you did back then. But, there are still some out there who surprise me and make me feel like I want to go back to their store.
I guess that is it, the dimestore was 'our store' not just the manager's!
