Little did I know what I was getting myself in for when I accepted the job at Penney's. In those days, to be in the management training program, it didn't matter what your experience was. You started out as a sales associate and had to complete a 90 day evaluation of your selling skills and ability to complete relevant tasks. Then you were promoted to the trainee program. During this time you had to work at each different job, whether it be catalog, credit, stockroom, sales audit,etc. You had to learn each one and master it and then go on to the next. You had to know that each one was important and the success of each one depended on the other. There were no prima donna's, you either made it or you were out. We were supposed to work 40 hours a week, period. We had paper time sheets posted on the wall that you had to sign in and out on. Needless to say there were some strong words when the auditors showed up and wanted to know how we could have been so punctual, in and out, day in and day out. Someone else had to answer that question.
I survived the trainee program and was promoted. That was the beginning of what was to be a total of almost 30 years with the company. I'm getting a little ahead of myself though, since after 5 years we decided to relocate to Georgia.
Monday, October 5, 2009
My resume 8
From a life at sea, I became employed at Seven Seas. It was a gift shop with things from all over the world. Many of these things had been purchased by the owners as they travelled. I really looked forward to the arrival of new merchandise as it was always unusual. Setting the displays and decorating the front window was my forte. We also imprinted Christmas cards and did napkins and matchbooks for parties and weddings. The manager came from one of their stores in Ohio. She had worked for them for a long time and it turned out she was pregnant and not married. They sent her down to Florida to protect her so that it would not be common knowledge that had happened. Hard to believe when in this day and age being pregnant does not preclude that there should be a husband. I used to sew a lot of my clothes and so I had made maternity dresses for her. We became very good friends and to this day still exchange Christmas cards every year. She decided to go home before the baby came and recommended that I take over as manager, which I did. Around this time, I remarried.
The Mall had a management meeting every month and all the store managers, big and small, would attend. Always one to make my opinion heard, I was elected president of the Mall Merchant's Association. This was no small feat as ours was a very small store. Not only had I beat out all the major department store managers, but I was the first woman ever to be elected. We were a very strong and vocal group and tried to always do things in the best interests of everyone. We got into a row with Mall management in regard to trash collection. We were all very satisfied with our service provider and we were being told that we had to change to a different company. One day I was asked to lunch by the owner of our service. I thought it was a bit unusual but agreed. He asked me to go along with the change. It seems his trucks and other equipment had been vandalized to send a message. He said he didn't want me to get hurt and I just needed to convince everyone to go along with the change. So, there I was again. Who controls waste management? Me versus the Mafia. No contest.
Regardless of that episode, I was re-elected president. At some point, the manager of Penney's asked me to come to work for them. They wanted to promote women into management positions since it was a strictly male environment and they wanted to change that. So I packed up my gavel, a gift from the Association, and moved on down the Mall.
The Mall had a management meeting every month and all the store managers, big and small, would attend. Always one to make my opinion heard, I was elected president of the Mall Merchant's Association. This was no small feat as ours was a very small store. Not only had I beat out all the major department store managers, but I was the first woman ever to be elected. We were a very strong and vocal group and tried to always do things in the best interests of everyone. We got into a row with Mall management in regard to trash collection. We were all very satisfied with our service provider and we were being told that we had to change to a different company. One day I was asked to lunch by the owner of our service. I thought it was a bit unusual but agreed. He asked me to go along with the change. It seems his trucks and other equipment had been vandalized to send a message. He said he didn't want me to get hurt and I just needed to convince everyone to go along with the change. So, there I was again. Who controls waste management? Me versus the Mafia. No contest.
Regardless of that episode, I was re-elected president. At some point, the manager of Penney's asked me to come to work for them. They wanted to promote women into management positions since it was a strictly male environment and they wanted to change that. So I packed up my gavel, a gift from the Association, and moved on down the Mall.
Monday, July 27, 2009
My resume (7)
Next stop Palm Beach Mall, Palm Beach Lakes Blvd. How did they get away with the name? It was in West Palm Beach after all and as I noted before there was a world of difference once you crossed the bridge. I guess this was supposed to be the average person's Palm Beach experience. It was, in the beginning, an oasis in the middle of acres of sand. Someone envisioned what it would be like in 10 years but all we saw was sand.
I took a job at Bentley's Luggage. True to the way I approached any job, I absorbed every bit of knowledge about luggage, how it was made, why to recommend one over another, how to pack and in short became an expert salesperson. Pretty much, that was all I did was work. Christmas eve came and the manager asked me to join his family and go out to eat. We got in the car and started driving around and there was nothing open. I started getting a strange feeling about this but after all his whole family was in the car, wife and three kids. Finally we drove up to White Castle. I had never even heard of a White Castle although the name sounded interesting. We get out of the car and it was a burger place. Christmas eve dinner at a burger place! From the heights of luxury to the depths of fast food mini burgers all in one quick trip over the bridge.
It came to my attention, once I had been there for awhile, that the manager was being less than forthright with the accounts receivable. Married, too many kids, not enough money, too much temptation. They say that the people on the left end of the spectrum will steal no matter what and the people on the right end will never steal and then there are the people in the middle that could go either way and that circumstances being what they are some of them drift off to the left and the rest is history. So I "packed my bags" and left. Not long after that the manager was fired. The owner called me and asked if I had known what was going on. He wanted to know why I didn't tell him. I asked him who he would believe, his long time manager or a new hire? He conceded that it would have been him over me. He wanted me to come back and manage the store but I just couldn't consider that. I had already moved down the mall and up to assistant manager.
I took a job at Bentley's Luggage. True to the way I approached any job, I absorbed every bit of knowledge about luggage, how it was made, why to recommend one over another, how to pack and in short became an expert salesperson. Pretty much, that was all I did was work. Christmas eve came and the manager asked me to join his family and go out to eat. We got in the car and started driving around and there was nothing open. I started getting a strange feeling about this but after all his whole family was in the car, wife and three kids. Finally we drove up to White Castle. I had never even heard of a White Castle although the name sounded interesting. We get out of the car and it was a burger place. Christmas eve dinner at a burger place! From the heights of luxury to the depths of fast food mini burgers all in one quick trip over the bridge.
It came to my attention, once I had been there for awhile, that the manager was being less than forthright with the accounts receivable. Married, too many kids, not enough money, too much temptation. They say that the people on the left end of the spectrum will steal no matter what and the people on the right end will never steal and then there are the people in the middle that could go either way and that circumstances being what they are some of them drift off to the left and the rest is history. So I "packed my bags" and left. Not long after that the manager was fired. The owner called me and asked if I had known what was going on. He wanted to know why I didn't tell him. I asked him who he would believe, his long time manager or a new hire? He conceded that it would have been him over me. He wanted me to come back and manage the store but I just couldn't consider that. I had already moved down the mall and up to assistant manager.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
My resume (6)
And so it was that I found myself living in Palm Beach, as if I belonged there. Many days were spent riding around in my convertible with the top down, perusing shops on Worth Avenue, dating various young men whose families and fortunes were well known and therefore eating at some of the best restaurants and drinking at some of the best lounges. The sun was almost always shining, the exotic tropical plants and flowers were everywhere, the clear waters of the intercoastal and the ocean were practically at my doorstep and I was far away from reality.
So, it became necessary to get a job. I'm not really sure how I found this job in the first place. There was a man who was opening a perfume shop on Worth Avenue. My job was sort of a glorified gopher (go for this, go for that) and whatever he needed, I arranged it. Remember, this was before cellphones and blackberries, computers and such. The telephone was my link to everyone and everything. Marketing, models, photo shoots, newspapers, contractors all brought together to produce a business venture which I had envisioned as this very classy perfume shop. Did I mention the bodyguard? He had a bodyguard. I guess I should have wondered why.
Then he told me we were going to the Bahamas for the weekend. Been there, no big deal. Light dawns and I told him no. He insisted it was for business and he needed me there. I agreed as long as he understood it was business only and I wasn't " staying" with him for the weekend. He agreed. As it was , there was a lovely room and he sent me to the hairdresser at the hotel to have my hair done. We went to the casino and he gave me money to play the slot machines while he did serious gambling. I don't know that he ever did anything that had to do with his business venture.
Then there was the bodyguard and the phone calls and somewhere along the line a connection to the "Canadian Mafia". I didn't know there was such a thing. What I did know was it was time to find another job and all the while looking over my shoulder again and wondering if someone was going to come and get me in the dead of night, again.
So I crossed the bridge, literally, into West Palm Beach. The fairy tale life was over and it was time for reality to set in. Time to get an apartment and a real job.
So, it became necessary to get a job. I'm not really sure how I found this job in the first place. There was a man who was opening a perfume shop on Worth Avenue. My job was sort of a glorified gopher (go for this, go for that) and whatever he needed, I arranged it. Remember, this was before cellphones and blackberries, computers and such. The telephone was my link to everyone and everything. Marketing, models, photo shoots, newspapers, contractors all brought together to produce a business venture which I had envisioned as this very classy perfume shop. Did I mention the bodyguard? He had a bodyguard. I guess I should have wondered why.
Then he told me we were going to the Bahamas for the weekend. Been there, no big deal. Light dawns and I told him no. He insisted it was for business and he needed me there. I agreed as long as he understood it was business only and I wasn't " staying" with him for the weekend. He agreed. As it was , there was a lovely room and he sent me to the hairdresser at the hotel to have my hair done. We went to the casino and he gave me money to play the slot machines while he did serious gambling. I don't know that he ever did anything that had to do with his business venture.
Then there was the bodyguard and the phone calls and somewhere along the line a connection to the "Canadian Mafia". I didn't know there was such a thing. What I did know was it was time to find another job and all the while looking over my shoulder again and wondering if someone was going to come and get me in the dead of night, again.
So I crossed the bridge, literally, into West Palm Beach. The fairy tale life was over and it was time for reality to set in. Time to get an apartment and a real job.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Daydreaming
As I try to remember the people, the places...the next thing you know I am daydreaming. The waters are so clear that you can't define their depth, the beaches have beautiful soft sand that on some of the islands is pink or black or powdery white, the flowers are everywhere. How I wish there had been pictures to capture everything, instead the pictures are all in my mind. There is a blog that I came upon quite by accident called Cruising on "ARITA". If you have the time, take a look at it and you will see some really incredible pictures as well as great commentary on sailing the islands and definitely paradise found.
We stopped at all the islands going out from St. Thomas; St. Bart's, St. Kitt's, St. Martin or Maartin (Dutch on one half and French on the other) and on down to Grenada. We never actually got to Grenada. It was late and we anchored out. In the early hours of the morning there were strange sounds and we came up on deck only to see British paratroopers dropping out of the sky. Needless to say we hauled up the anchor and hauled away! Even paradise has its dark side, which brings me to how this all ended.
The captain always wore a white uniform. He was stunning in that uniform, absolutely gorgeous and he knew it. He attracted every female wherever he went and the admiration was mutual. Unfortunately, he was married. Unfortunately, he wanted the best of both worlds. I went through a very rough time over this. For many days I never came out of the stateroom. For many days I contemplated slipping over the side into the dark depths of the water, never to be seen again. I've never told anyone about that and it has taken me awhile to get the words out here. We parted ways. It was more or less amicable. He helped me purchase a car. It was a red Mustang convertible and let me tell you, that certainly did wonders for shoring up my self esteem! The owner let me stay in the Palm Beach house for awhile as no one was there at the time except the caretakers. So now the next thing on the agenda was to get a job.
We stopped at all the islands going out from St. Thomas; St. Bart's, St. Kitt's, St. Martin or Maartin (Dutch on one half and French on the other) and on down to Grenada. We never actually got to Grenada. It was late and we anchored out. In the early hours of the morning there were strange sounds and we came up on deck only to see British paratroopers dropping out of the sky. Needless to say we hauled up the anchor and hauled away! Even paradise has its dark side, which brings me to how this all ended.
The captain always wore a white uniform. He was stunning in that uniform, absolutely gorgeous and he knew it. He attracted every female wherever he went and the admiration was mutual. Unfortunately, he was married. Unfortunately, he wanted the best of both worlds. I went through a very rough time over this. For many days I never came out of the stateroom. For many days I contemplated slipping over the side into the dark depths of the water, never to be seen again. I've never told anyone about that and it has taken me awhile to get the words out here. We parted ways. It was more or less amicable. He helped me purchase a car. It was a red Mustang convertible and let me tell you, that certainly did wonders for shoring up my self esteem! The owner let me stay in the Palm Beach house for awhile as no one was there at the time except the caretakers. So now the next thing on the agenda was to get a job.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
My resume (5 continues)
Most of my days were spent cleaning up after the guests and serving meals. See the world thru a porthole; not exactly the glamorous lifestyle you were imagining. One day, on our trip back up to Maine, the cook got off the boat and never came back. So, here we are off the coast of Maine and the owner says "can you make clam chowder?" I said, "of course". Then he said there would be twenty people for lunch tomorrow and if the chowder was any good I was the new cook. You have to realize that all my worldly possessions were in one little suitcase. Other than clothes it contained my Fannie Farmer cookbook. What was I thinking? My experience was cooking for two and quite probably not well. Lunch for 20? And so it was that Fannie and I made clam chowder and thus began my new career as a cook.
The owner was pretty set in his ways as far as food went. No matter what was served for lunch, there had to be a platter of sliced tomatoes and cucumbers. Cocktail hour at 5:00. Dinner was very basic meat and potatoes and vegetables. Lamb chops were one of his favorites. He liked them rare, which I had never heard of, and it didn't matter what the guest's preference might be because everyone got rare lamb chops.
One of the places he had for the boat was a slip on Australian Docks in Palm Beach. He had a home in Palm Beach also. Every day he was in Palm Beach his table was set for him for lunch at the Bath and Tennis Club. I don't know that he ever ate there while I was cooking for him.
I had carte blanche as far as providing food. When we were in Palm Beach, I would call and everything would be delivered. When we were in Maine I actually shopped at a grocery but never paid for anything as they would send a bill. And then there was the lobster fisherman who would drop off a mesh bag from his boat to the bow of our boat and I would wake up in the morning and find live lobsters on the deck. How many ways can you cook lobster? Fannie and I were in lobster heaven.
The owner was pretty set in his ways as far as food went. No matter what was served for lunch, there had to be a platter of sliced tomatoes and cucumbers. Cocktail hour at 5:00. Dinner was very basic meat and potatoes and vegetables. Lamb chops were one of his favorites. He liked them rare, which I had never heard of, and it didn't matter what the guest's preference might be because everyone got rare lamb chops.
One of the places he had for the boat was a slip on Australian Docks in Palm Beach. He had a home in Palm Beach also. Every day he was in Palm Beach his table was set for him for lunch at the Bath and Tennis Club. I don't know that he ever ate there while I was cooking for him.
I had carte blanche as far as providing food. When we were in Palm Beach, I would call and everything would be delivered. When we were in Maine I actually shopped at a grocery but never paid for anything as they would send a bill. And then there was the lobster fisherman who would drop off a mesh bag from his boat to the bow of our boat and I would wake up in the morning and find live lobsters on the deck. How many ways can you cook lobster? Fannie and I were in lobster heaven.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Captain, sir? not ma'am
I digress for a moment. "Captain" in the previous blog stirred another memory. In order to transport the Wanderlust, he needed a captain's license. We both took the course, after all we both needed to be fully aware of all the rules and regulations regarding the sea.
It was a very intense learning experience. As I recall there were a few other females who like me were the wives of the prospective captains. I, however, was actually taking the course. There was a lot of reading and tests leading up to the certification. We plotted courses and used a sextant and learned navigation. At some point, I was having a conversation with the instructor about what our plans were. Imagine my surprise and consternation to find out that although women could take the course, they could not be licensed. I would get some kind of certificate that said I took the course but that was all. Undaunted, I completed the course. Today one would shout from the rooftops that this was discrimination. At that point in time it was just the way things were done.
It was a very intense learning experience. As I recall there were a few other females who like me were the wives of the prospective captains. I, however, was actually taking the course. There was a lot of reading and tests leading up to the certification. We plotted courses and used a sextant and learned navigation. At some point, I was having a conversation with the instructor about what our plans were. Imagine my surprise and consternation to find out that although women could take the course, they could not be licensed. I would get some kind of certificate that said I took the course but that was all. Undaunted, I completed the course. Today one would shout from the rooftops that this was discrimination. At that point in time it was just the way things were done.
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