New managers at the Coffee Shop/Community Centre and at the Charity shop – both within a month! Mind you, the Coffee Shop had been working with only one part-time manager for a month and the Charity shop has had an acting manager and assistant manager for about a year, so the changes were not unexpected.
The Coffee Shop lady is only part time and is young and competent – but not “our Lucy”. She has a different style but as she has worked there longer she has become more relaxed and is starting to talk more to the customers and get better known. She seems to get on OK with the other manager, as far as I can tell, but it is all early days yet. She is getting married soon, so will have some time off – so we will see how things change after that!
I met the Charity shop manager one week when she was still training with a manager from another shop. They were both working in our shop for a couple of days, having previously been doing training in the other manager’s shop. Then, when I went in the next week, I didn’t recognise the place! It was tidy, one could walk along the aisles without tripping over bags – and I couldn’t find anything! Not sure I can cope with this…… The style of working has changed too, so we put less on the tags and put things that are ready in crates, for pricing (except the things that hang up). Most of that is because some people were making too many mistakes. As I have got to know her a bit more she also is relaxing a bit and getting more chatty, which is good. I think she is competent in ways the previous managers haven’t been, but maybe needs more experience on what will sell and what won’t?
Another change is my hairstyle. It is either so close to what it was before that most people haven’t noticed or they don’t think it suits me so haven’t said anything!
I have also got a new (to me) car as the other one was about 11 years old and I had had it for 10 years.
So are the changes good? I think we will have to wait a bit longer to see. All change is difficult, so it is a matter of getting used to it and if I decide I don’t like it or can’t cope then I am only a volunteer so I can give up and do something else and change my hair back. New car is not so easy to change again!