T’was the Night AFTER Christmas – in the Produce Aisle
I was nibbling on the last of some Christmas cookies when Russ T. Blade appeared from behind my Rudolph-reindeer coffee mug. “Rusty” is the miniature, imaginary produce manager who lives in my desk and drops in occasionally to talk shop.
Rusty: Dropping festive cookie sprinkles all over your keyboard, I see.
Me: Ah! Well, ho-ho, Merry Christmas and Happy New Years, Rusty. I figured you’d be home, taking vacation days or something.
Rusty: Ahem…Have you been away from retail so long that you’ve forgotten that most of us in the produce business work up to and through the holidays?
Me: My apologies. It seems I recall a few people could be away, yes?
Rusty: Very few, but I must tell you. With all the brass away – District managers, some store directors, a few others like that, it’s kind of nice. No surprise inspections to worry about.
Me: Something else comes to mind. If I remember, the days following Christmas and leading up to New Years are pretty quiet in the store. Everybody’s home watching football and eating leftover turkey and who-hash.
Rusty: That’s a good combination for guys like me. A rare quiet day or so in the produce aisle allows me to break down displays, make sure things get cleaned and reset. Most of all I can spend that precious time getting my paperwork in order. Not only for regular business, but for the months ahead.
Me: An old produce director friend once said the same thing to me. While others squeezed in a few days off, he thought it was the best week to work. No bosses around meant no meetings and fewer interruptions, and he could get organized for the upcoming year.
Rusty: It’s not like the store is closed, but it seems that once the department is set up, I can count on the fewer-interruption time, too. I can get a jump on setting up my labor and ad plans, my post-holiday merchandising plans. I can even wrap up end-of-year duties like quarterly inventory preparation or catching up on employee evaluations.
Me: I recall making notes of what went right during the holidays, what could be improved on for next year, too.
Rusty: That’s a moving target, so yeah, any info helps. I like to make some notes on the actual labor schedule, and on the order guide for the holiday weeks and file it in like-named folder in our office. Things like how many key items we ordered. If we were long or short on some items. I list factors like supply issues, weather, schedule coverage, things like that. It’s amazing what a person can forget from one year to the next. Good to retrieve the following season to refresh the memory and hopefully make fewer mistakes.
Me: Ha, yeah old produce vets like us never make mistakes, right? Okay, hardly ever…
Rusty: Even when the store has a quiet, brief reprieve, produce managers like me are busy. Or should be.
Me: Good points, old friend. What’s on your 2022 January docket?
Rusty: Not all of us are conversing with imaginary friends. This produce manager is taking time off with the family and hitting the slopes. My favorite ski area isn’t nearly as crowded – immediately after the holidays.
