Anyone who knows me or has read my About Me page on the blog knows that I am a bookseller. Well, for the past three years, I’ve been the Assistant General Manager at a chain bookstore.
A couple of months ago, my then-General Manager got an opportunity outside our company that offered more money and also had a tuition assistance program, so naturally she took it. My record as a manager is impeccable. My sales numbers are good, I finish projects ahead of schedule, and (not to brag but) I’m a whiz at analyzing sales reports and identifying trends. My customer service skills are so next-level that some people become irate if I’m not available to help them. I’m the bossest of Boss Monsters. Also, my degree is in marketing so I feel like I have a pretty in-depth understanding of how to sell things.
My customer service skills are so next level that some people become irate if I’m not available to help them. I’m the bossest of Boss Monsters.
I made my pitch for the job immediately. I updated my resume, emailed higher-ups, made a play for the position, etc. Then I waited. And I waited some more. And then I had to wait even longer. And then I had to work 50+ hour weeks doing a quarterly overstock scan. And then I had to prep for a store inventory as the person in charge of it (for the first time). And then I waited some more.
This past Monday, June 28th, was our scheduled inventory day. I arrived at my store at 4:30 AM and made sure everything was ready. For those of you unfamiliar with the retail scene, periodically (usually once per fiscal year) the company you work for will schedule an inventory. On the day of your inventory, a group of people (the number will depend upon the size of your store) will come and scan through each individual item in your store. Some stores that are small enough may have their inventory(ies) performed by in-house associates.
The details of what happens during this process and after this process (auditing counts, preparing post-inventory paperwork, etc.) is irrelevant to my story here, so I’ll move on. By this point I have spoken to my direct supervisor more than six times about the promotion I was gunning for. I was ready to be the General Manager. I knew what I was doing and I was doing great at it. I was like Liam Neeson in Taken kicking loads of Albanian sex-trafficker butt without breaking a sweat.
I was like Liam Neeson in Taken kicking loads of Albanian sex-trafficker butt without breaking a sweat.
So, around hour twelve on the 28th, I finally get to sit down with Lola*. Lola and I talk about how things have been going, how I’ve been able to keep operations running (relatively) smoothly considering the volatility of the labor and sales markets. I tell her I’m ready. And she tells me the job is mine. I am now officially a General Manager. Plus, I got a nice pay raise as well. I am so thrilled that all of my hard work has been validated. Power tastes really sweet.
Anyway, that’s the news I’ve been waiting to share.
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*Not her real name
The Voracious Bibliophile 