Scenes From a Suburban Strip Mall

With apologies to Billy Joel’s Scenes from an Italian Restaurant, I had a number of interesting experiences and observations when I did my errands this past Saturday at the local strip mall. It seemed that most every place I went offered a unique experience, or ’scene’, if you will.

Employee Relations at the Bank
I followed the branch manager, who was carrying a tray of coffee, into the bank. He gave a cup to my teller. I had to ask if he paid for the coffee. She said no, she paid for it but she was thankful that he went out for the coffee. I asked if he ever paid for it and she said occasionally. I thought this was good. There was no overarching expectation of payment and an appreciation by the employee of the effort that the manager provided. The office at the bank seems happy these days and I’ll bet the branch manager is a big part of that.

Stock Rotation at the Market
My local upscale market has a recurring issue on stock rotation and date codes. I was looking for my favorite brand of cottage cheese (don’t ask, please) and I saw most of the containers expired that very day. I did find one with a date code out two weeks, still too close for comfort, but within my range of consumption. I then found one that had expired more than two weeks ago. Coincidently the dairy manager was stocking shelves. I gave her the container and she thanked me. When I gave her another one she glared at me. I feared I’d be wearing the third one I found.

Managing Direct Labor at the Coffee Shop
The manager was on duty and directing the small shop like an orchestra. There was a short line but the efficiency of the process was excellent. Yet, one of the clerks was chatting with a customer, but well after the transaction was completed. She told him quietly to wait on the next customer, which unfortunately was me. His remarks about working too hard were done in a stage whisper. One other clerk then commented on how hard they had to work when the manager was there. She kept her cool and I kept my mouth shut. It wasn’t easy for either one of us.

Global Positioning and the Delivery Driver
Driving home from the strip mall I noticed an international package delivery service’s truck weaving a bit. The driver was trying to read a map book while driving. I found this strange for a whole host of reasons but one stuck out. Within seconds of delivery I can determine that a package has been delivered and who signed for it. But the driver needs to struggle with a map book? Even I have a GPS onboard. And a second one if I want to access my BlackBerry.

My stops at the dry cleaner, the post office, the oil company, and the gas station were uneventful. Thankfully.