Help Wanted by Adelle Waldman

Author:Adelle Waldman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Published: 2024-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

14

“How’s everyone doing?” In the glare of morning sunlight, Big Will squinted. “Good? Good.”

He was speaking to twenty-­seven front-­of-­the-­store employees gathered in a large circle near Checkout.

“Today, I want to talk about the new Town Square app. I’d like to remind all of you that when you come across a customer who’s looking for something we’re out of, you should use the opportunity to tell them about our new, improved app—­let them know they can access a wider range of items on the app and that we offer free shipping when they purchase through it. That way, we don’t lose the sale to—­uh . . . an online competitor.”

An elderly couple entered the store. “’Morning!” Big Will called. “Welcome.”

The man looked up from his walker, confused as to who was talking to him and why. His wife, a few feet behind him, hurried to his side. “The young man was just saying good morning,” she explained. “He works here.”

Her husband still looked suspicious.

Until a few years ago, the Huddle took place not at eight but at 7:45, before the store opened. Then management consultants had pointed out that it was wasteful to pay so many employees to be on hand before the store was even taking in revenue. Stores weren’t exactly mobbed right at opening. If necessary, a salesperson or cashier could dart from the Huddle to assist a customer.

Big Will praised a member of Checkout for working a double shift on no notice the previous day—­the store had been unexpectedly busy, pulling in just over $100K for the day, an excellent take for a weekday, before school had even let out for the year.

“Thank you, Kira!” he said. “We couldn’t do this if you guys weren’t so flexible, so willing to help out.”

One of the primary purposes of the Huddle was to express appreciation for store employees. Cost-­cutting notwithstanding, Town Square still sought to be an employer of choice, and indeed, internal surveys conducted by HR found that the majority of its employees appreciated the efforts it made to acknowledge them. That was why they preferred Town Square to their second jobs, the ones they worked because Town Square didn’t give them enough hours or pay them enough to live on.

When the Huddle ended, Big Will got on his walkie-­talkie. He paged Little Will, asked him to come to his office.

Little Will appeared in his doorway moments later. His khaki cargo pants sagged in the knee, and his navy flannel shirt was even more pilled and wrinkled than usual. Under his eyes, deep purple bags bled into his brown stubble, like war paint. He looked like he was playing a homeless person on TV.

Big Will felt bad for the guy. He’d been here since midnight. “Want to grab a drink before we talk?” Big Will asked. “Maybe one of those smoothies that Meredith likes? She claims they’re better than coffee for energy. Vitamins or whatever. I’ll write out a req slip.”

Little Will shook his head no. “I’m okay.”

Big Will smiled.

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