FROM BUS BOY TO COO, Part 2

Part Two: The First Big Move

Trailing my stepfather wherever he was transferred, I had worked in three El Chico stores so far: Oak Cliff at West Davis, Valley View at Montfort, and Town East Mall in North Mesquite. I had graduated high school and was thinking about going to ETSU in Commerce TX to pursue a fine arts degree. I had a given talent in drawing and painting, and art was all I found interesting about academia. It was 1980, and I was now working at a fourth El Chico location, Medallion Center at Skillman, and Abrams Road in Dallas. The center was a hub for singles, and it was anchored by the popular Medallion Movie Theatre.  As I mentioned last time, “Jaws” made its Dallas premier at this theater, and it was there that we waited two hours to get tickets for what we had no idea was a live audience test opening with Steven Spielberg attending. I remember a woman screaming and running out of the screen room when Ben Gardner’s eyeless head popped out of his sunken boat. How little it took to terrify us then! True to my stepfather’s dark humor, we went to the beach in Galveston one week later. None of us went in the surf above our ankles. The Medallion Center El Chico was the chains flagship location and it had been completely renovated. John Madden broadcast the weekly Dallas Cowboys radio show from our banquet room. Several important things happened here that would facilitate the first big career move for me.

First, we were assigned a new district manager named John Enrique, a military sort who noticed everything, a real “white glover”.  I was about half-way through an assistant manager training course and was already a certified server trainer and point of sale instructor. While everyone else took off running when they saw John coming, I stood my ground.  Second, the Cuellar brothers had sold the chain to Campbell-Taggart which would provide the much-needed capital to remodel and rebrand the now 40-year-old mark. Sharp-eyed fans of El Chico might remember when servers went from looking like Mexico City street peasants to wearing aprons and ballcaps. It was one of many stark changes, another was the change in music. Corporate wanted to make the background ambience a little hip, and the music tapes now included rock interspliced with the traditional Mariachi. We got a kick out of the Trios Los Ponchos’ “Sabor a Mi” segueing directly into Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lot a Love”. Anyway, the rebranding activity called for talent to re-open remodels, and open ground up starts. El Chico did all their marketing promotions and photography at the Medallion Center location. One day we were preparing for a shoot and John was on hand. After the job, John asked me if I wanted to join a new team to open stores. I jumped at the opportunity and said yes without really knowing what that meant.

At the time I was making the minimum tipped wage and about $70-$100 each straight shift. No-one wanted to work “straights” because it made the day long. I worked every straight I could get because it netted about $20 more in tips than “split” shifts. I bought my first new car, a 1979 Cougar that listed for $7,900. Like every male teen of the era, I wanted a black Trans Am with the gold “screaming eagle” but Mom was a nervous co-signer, and she didn’t want any part of the “outrageous” $11,000 price. To this very day I still give her a hard time over that $3,100 gap! My pay for the away team work would be $12 an hour plus expenses which one could argue wouldn’t eclipse my tips in a big way however my decision to accept was not based on money, although $12 an hour at this time was eye-opening. It was based on elevation of title, and responsibility, something challenging and different.

So, in late 1982 I traveled to my first re-opening in Amarillo Texas, an old store that was being rebranded. About a half dozen of us traveled to the location with an expense account. Each of us was assigned to a discipline. My assignment was to help recruit and hire, train for floor service, and configure and train the point of sale system which at the time was the state-of-the-art NCR 2160 keyless board.  We always did this at the local beer distributors building because they had the space, and we had the beer account! Anyone been to Amarillo? The first thing you notice is tumbleweeds, second, I-40 is so long and straight that you can drive 110 miles per hour and still have no sensation of motion. The job lasted roughly ten days, and I remember vividly placing 200 leaflets for free lunch and dinner for our soft opening on the windshields of hapless shoppers. There was something about this experience, I felt important, necessary, and a great sense of accomplishment. For the first time in my life, I had a sense of arrival. It was at this junction that I let my disdain for school, and my over evaluation of my so-called arrival convince me not to sign up for college. A bad decision indeed but one that I won’t regret for 38 years.

My first gig on the away team with El Chico was a great experience overall, and I found out my next assignment was in Lufkin, Texas.

Next time: Some Bad News

Takeaways

·      Work hard, never say no. “No” insures you won’t get asked again. Take what others discard. Do the extra. No-one was ever promoted for doing only what they had to. I can show you people who said “no” who are still right where I left them 15-20 years ago.

·      Learn all there is to learn at work. Don’t focus just on your own role.

·      Strive to elevate your level of responsibility, and your income.

·      Career moves may not always be a financial windfall at first.

·      Never turn down a promotion. You won’t get a second chance.

·      Be “on” at all times. You never know who is watching.

·      When new management comes into your path, don’t follow the herd and resist. Cleve and serve. I was given three significant promotions on this mantra.

·      No matter what, go to junior college and get an associate degree at the very least. Take a four-year in your field of interest but try to align that interest with an income generating career. Business Administration is a good floor or side degree. For me, experience won for most of my career. I am quite sure though, that I could not do what I’ve done again today without an applicable education.

·      Work in the entry level positions of your preferred study or career path as an employee, intern, or apprentice while you are in school. Equal amounts of education and experience are always a win-win.