Your Momma Doesn't Work Here!

The phone rang this morning - where was the employee?

"I didn't know I was scheduled!" She said. "I just told them I wasn't coming in."

"Did you call yesterday to check the schedule?" I asked.

"No."

"Well, then you need to go in. They are counting on you to be there."

She grudgingly called them back, then grudgingly started to get ready.

"It's not like they need me anyway. . ."

"Well, if they didn't 'need' you, then they wouldn't pay you to work there. . .think about it. They don't exist for your benefit. . ."

Being a teenager, poised on the brink of adulthood but still dangling a toe in childhood, is a tough transition. We talked about how, in the adult world, you can't continue to look at things from a child's perspective.

"If you approach your job with the same attitude, whether you are the CEO or the Bagger, your reputation will be that of a go-getter. Sure, you're probably not going to work here forever, but your reputaion IS yours forever."

I was proud of her eye-roll control. I had also bought her breakfast, so that probably helped.

Having dealt with the modern-day workforce from the perspective of a customer as well as an employer, I see the need for all of us to say these things to our teens as they enter the working world:

If you're going to do a job, do a good job, no matter what your job is.

Be on time. Be courteous. Leave your personal business at home.

The customer is the most important part of a retail business.

Learn to count change.

Notice as you hit the grocery store, the mall, the gas station how many "employees" lack such basics as actually SPEAKING to you or making eye contact. It is up to us to teach the next generation that employment is NOT an entitlement, it is up to them to earn the position then work hard to keep it.

Now, can someone lend me a hand as I step-down from my soapbox?

Have fun.