Circuses: I couldn’t find the definition I was looking for, but I recall it being part of a restaurant critique, no? Anywho, I was going to title this piece circuses, but I went with “Be Excited!!!” instead because that is my intention. I want to write about all the “woo woo” kind of vibrations and all that comes about when one is excited!!!
I have a friend who once told me that she has a mantra taped to her bathroom mirror that she reads every morning. In a nutshell, it is a reminder to be excited! You don’t have to know what about, but being in that state of mind, alters your vibration and wonderful things begin to happen. As of late, that is my focus in life, at home and at work.
At home, it’s all about my garden. I’m so excited to finally be able to set some of my plans into motion. I have been moving pieces around the yard and prepping the garden beds with the aid of my trusty assistant. She is the 7-year-old daughter of my friend Ray. That kid is strong, lifting bags of garden soil and helping me spread it around with the little hand rake I give her to use. One time, she tossed it to lay it down and it perched itself perfectly on the side of the garden bed. “Fancy!” I told her, so now, she tries to do it on purpose, just to be fancy. Why? Because it’s exciting, that’s why! It doesn’t have to be something big; the smallest of intentions can lead to some of the most amazing feelings (vibrations). It’s like a pebble being dropped into the center of a pond; the rippling effect is a wonder to behold.
The day she was assisting me; I lent her a pair of my garden gloves. Of course, they were big for her, but she enjoyed wearing them. A new dollar store of sorts, opened in the same plaza as the store I manage. I was able to find two pairs of work gloves, small and large, for $1.75 a pair. I was so excited to find them, and at such a great price, but even more so, because I am looking forward to giving them to her this Sunday when we get back to work in the garden. I can just imagine how thrilled she will be to have gloves that match mine, but fit her better. I think this was the beginning of my bonanza of vibrations that I have been experiencing.
I had my annual review at work last week. It went well, but it also gave me the opportunity to share some of my ideas with my district manager. I told him that if they cannot give me a position where I go store to store, making them as groovy as mine, that they should send team members to me so I can train them on my merchandising techniques. Everyone agrees that I excel in merchandising, so why not send them to me, so I can train them and send the grooviness to our other stores? He thought that was a good idea, so maybe it will happen and if it does, I get an extra set of hands to help me in my store from time to time…bonus!
I also shared my ideas about how we need to create some excitement in our juice bars. I told him that we need to create some circuses (like I said, that was my original title because I swear it is part of a restaurant’s critique, but I couldn’t confirm it, so…). I was thinking that maybe we could come up with a beverage option that includes a shaker bottle, sort of like how when a bartender is blending a drink from scratch. Shaking it up brings excitement into the atmosphere and other patrons, including myself, want to know what it is that they are making and inevitably order one for themselves, including myself, to try. Circuses!!!
This led me to request permission to purchase a portable bar for the store to use for active demos. It came with 3 skirts, to give it a professional appearance and yes, one of them has a tiki theme!!! However, we will use the plain black one for our intended purposes, but just knowing that the tiki themed one is an option, is very exciting!!! The first day we set it up, was for a passive demo, but it looked so good, professional, clean, inviting. I took a pic and sent it to my boss, he approved.
Since then, I’ve been talking up the “circuses” to my team members and how I want them all to be excited when it comes to speaking to our customers. I recently gave them their reviews and I included this in our conversations. I want the vibrations to continue, just like the pebble in the pond, reaching out further and further to all our customers, suppliers, and support team. I want us to be the “go to” store for ideas and circuses. I want our sales to soar and I also want better scores on our mystery shops. Our last one was a dog, but we all believe that the person who did the critique must have been in a bad mood because, simply put, it was not an honest representation of the work we do at the Yield.
Two days ago, we received a new report of our most recent mystery shop. We scored 100%!!! They spoke about how the cashier was very friendly and made them feel much appreciated. More importantly to me, was their comment about the store’s appearance, “The store was very clean and well maintained. It gave off the feeling of an upscale premium boutique health focused store.” I almost cried. That’s exactly what I’ve been trying to create at this new home store. I firmly believe, there’s only one chance to make a first impression and I want to wow folks who walk through that door. I was so excited, I sent the review to my boss, highlighting the amazing critique statement, and wrote, “Now that’s what I’m talking about!!!” Circuses!!! It’s got to look full and fresh; I can’t sell holes and no one wants to shop a messy store. I work very hard at maintaining our shelf conditions and I am thrilled that someone, with a voice, noticed! Some serious vibrations, were had when I shared the excellent news with the team. This is just the beginning, I asked for suggestions, because it takes a village and I want everyone on this team to contribute to our awesomeness, let the ripples, begin! (insert conch shell horn blasts)!
I had today off and a long list of chores to attend to, but instead, I went shopping! The window of opportunity to purchase paczki is closing soon, so I headed out to the Orland Park Bakery for a fix. Then, I headed to a Home Goods I had not been to before and hit the mother load on pots for my garden. I had gone with the intention of finding a colorful table to add to my garden, but instead, I found pots! So many pots, a plethora of colors and sizes, it was difficult to decide, but that was all a part of the excitement! I finally narrowed it down to 6, a respectable amount, and all at very nice prices. Then, I met Ray at Merichka’s for lunch. What a wonderful time we had celebrating my mystery shop critique, my shopping scores, and the thrill her daughter will receive when I give her, her very own garden gloves, that just so happen, to match mine. What an amazing day!
Tonight, I told my therapist that I haven’t written in over a month. Maybe it’s because I’ve been relatively happy and didn’t feel a need to flesh a dilemma out with my writing. However, once I began telling him about all the wonder excitement and circuses that I’ve been experiencing, I knew I was on to something, I had a theme, you gotta have a theme, and I thought this was a damned good one to write about.
Well, I hope that all made some sort of sense, because I had a great time writing it! It’s so exciting to be recognized for my work! It’s so exciting to share my garden with a young gardening enthusiast! It’s so exciting to share my stories with you and maybe, just maybe mind you, drop a pebble into a pond of hope, that ripples all the way to you, and beyond.
#thelieswechoosetolivewith
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