Just who’s the boss here?

I was digging in my desk drawer when who else but Russ T. Blade emerged out from behind a collection of old produce manager name tags. “Rusty,” as regular readers know, is the miniature imaginary produce manager who appears occasionally to talk shop. 

Rusty: Hanging on to old name tags, aisle-boy? What’s up with that? Keepsakes from a nostalgic era?

Me: Call it personal history. It’s times wearing those little embossed pieces of plastic that generate most of the material for this weekly column space, you know.

Rusty: I thought maybe it’s to remind you that at one time you were the head enchilada in the produce department. Sometimes I wonder about my own position these days.

Me: What do you mean?

Rusty: Well, consider that a few grocers have peculiar protocol. I’ve heard that there are some stores that run their produce departments like a mini-democracy. Where the crew “votes” for internal decisions.

Me: That doesn’t sound like a good idea to me.

Rusty: Me neither, but it happens. The crew votes on how things are managed, who has what responsibilities, even who they designate as their produce manager.

Me: You mean in the produce-ocracy they vote how their boss runs the island, so to speak? The crew controls who gets to be boss?

Rusty: Worse, they can vote their produce manager off the island.

Me: I really can’t say I like this setup ...

Rusty: I managed a department once where my assistant didn’t at all approve of my holiday merchandise plan. He hailed from a boutique-style chain and had about a year of experience under his belt. He thought he knew it all.

Me: What was your response?

Rusty: I calmly pointed to the front doors and said, “See that big world out there? That’s a democracy and you can freely vote in any public election. But within these walls? It’s an autocracy. I’m the boss and they pay me to make decisions. Sorry bud.”

Me: I can’t imagine a commune-type of produce management business model.

Rusty: Nope. Simply because correct decisions are often difficult. Produce clerks are assigned shifts and tasks that are both desirable and otherwise. I’m not always popular, but they keep me around because we turn a profit.

Me: Not to mention marketing, promotion, ordering and merchandising decisions are based on a produce manager’s knowledge, and years of experience guide those decisions — even decisions that inexperienced clerks might disagree with.

Rusty: Right. The boss is the boss. Any successful format will point to experienced leadership as vital.

Me: I think having “Produce Manager” on the name tag says it all.

Armand Lobato works for the Idaho Potato Commission. His 40 years’ experience in the produce business span a range of foodservice and retail positions. E-mail him at lobatoarmand@gmail.com.