First Job Stories

In February of 1993, I turned sixteen years old. In May of that same year, I got my first job as a cashier at Hobby Lobby. I ended up working there for three straight years, and had many funny, memorable and somewhat crazy experiences working there. I made plenty of mistakes, made some new friends, learned to manage my money, and gained some self-confidence. Here are a few stories from my time there.

1. When someone gave us a check, one question we cashiers had to ask was, "Is all the information correct?" One time the phone was ringing right as someone was handing me their filled-out check. I procedeed to answer the phone and say into the receiver, "Is everything correct?" There was a long pause on the other line, then a woman said, "Yes, everything is fine, but is this Hobby Lobby?"

2. One time the police showed up and quickly headed to the back of the store. Turns out there was a flasher back there and he had exposed himself to someone. Right there in the basket aisle. I remember being really grossed out when they brought him handcuffed to the front of the store where I was.

3. Christmas time was crazy at Hobby Lobby. We started stocking our shelves with Christmas items in July. All throughout the Christmas season the lines were long, people were more impatient, and we were open later hours than usual. We had one whole aisle devoted to Christmas ribbon. At night, after we closed and the registers were shut down, we would all have to help clean up. We used to draw straws to see who had to clean up that ribbon aisle because it was always a disaster. And no one wanted to have to painfully roll each and every ribbon back up, knowing it would just be trashed again the next day.

4. When answering the telephone, our required greeting was, "Thank you for calling Hobby Lobby, where may I direct your call?" One particulary dead night, a bunch of us cashiers were standing around talking about how hungry we all were and what sounded good for dinner. I mentioned that I was craving spaghetti and garlic bread. Then the phone rang, and I answered with, "Thank you for calling Hobby Lobby, where may I direct your bread?"

5. We had several nights after we closed where a kid with a desperate looking mom or dad would knock on the locked doors while waving a school assignment around saying thing like, "We only need Modge Podge to finish this project that's due tomorrow!!" Or, "We just need a few more styrofoam balls to complete my son's solar system model!!! Please!!!" Oh it was so sad. I still can see those looks of panic on their faces.....

And I'll always remember the eclectic bunch of people I worked with over the years. Some were high school girls like me, some had families they were supporting, some were working a second job to pay off debt, and some were exotic dancers on the weekends. I learned so much about people and about treating everyone with respect-- no matter what their life was like. I learned how to deal with grouchy customers and also how to stand up for myself. It was a good first job.

What was your first job? What things did you learn?