CafeNeves

Wow! The first 60 days of the new store have breezed past us and I havn’t posted anything here. I mean it’s not like nothing is happening. So now I just need to figure out where to start. Hmmm…..

The first few weeks that the store was open we did pretty good business. People seemed to be finding us even though we didn’ have a Grand Opening or anything like that. A lot of customers evern expressed excitement about the new store because they were tired of the other options in the area (OfficeMax, WalMart, Target) and didn’t really want to have to drive to Freeport, Hicksville, or Farmingdale to other Staples stores. So that was pretty cool. The only consistent complaint we get in the store is that there is no rear entrance for customers (or staff) and as anyone who has been to the shopping center where we are located knows, there is a TON of parking in the back and not so much up front. During these first few weeks maybe 30-40% of customers would mention this.

Then the town ripped up that parking lot in front of the store. People still came in, but the traffic dwindled. And the customers who did come in, every single one of them complained about the lack of the back door. For just over two weeks there was no parking in front of the store and it killed us. There would be nights when I was there from 5:30-9:00 where it seemed like maybe 20 people came in the store the entire time. Thankfully they finished the constuction in front of our store last weekend and the parking lot is back and paved. Though as of last night there were no lines to show people where to park…..

Oh, and that Grand Opening I mentioend, Sat. Jue 13th. Should be fun!

(In the following sections names have been changed to protect the innocent/guilty parties)

So I work with some really great people. Most of my time is spent in the front of the store in the Customer Service area with the primary cashier who is working. And believe me, they keep it interesting. There is “Ms. Firecracker” who has been out most of the month due to being in a car accident. I miss her, she is a real character. Then there is “Ms. CatchMe!” who literally passed out on me one night. She simply turned to me at one point and collapsed. While the official cause of her fainting was due to not eating or drinking, I think she just finally realized how awesome I am and it overwhelmed her. We also have “G.I. Jane” who, well, hasn’t done anything really worth noting here other than brining her mom to the store to buy a laptop. And finally there is “Giants Fan”, who thinks she is really tough, and tries to act it, but I know it is all a show. I mean, she has 4 brothers, she *has* to act tough all the time.

I could go on and on about the others, but I can’t think of anymore catchy fake names. So that is it for this episode of Adventures at Staples. Stay tuned for the next episode when we will introduce our very own super-hero, Captain Awesome! and the rest of the Store 1886 Crew.