I got a job. :-)
I got a job. :-) was created by Charlie
In October 2014, after 37 years in analytical chemistry and two years in the brewing industry, I retired. Supposedly for good. One year of sitting around the house did nothing at all for me. My projects were done, human interaction was rare, and my self esteem was in the tank. So I got a job.
Meet the newest Hunting and Fishing associate at Academy Sports. I was hired as holiday part time temp, but they almost immediately put me on full time. I have a horrible suspicion that they intend to keep me on after the holidays.
Working retail is a bit weird, but I love most of it. I get to show guns and talk guns the whole shift. A lot of the other guys don't know AR pattern rifles or Sig Sauer products, and that's where I shine. I can usually tell within a couple of minutes if I'm going to make a sale, but it doesn't matter because I don't get a commission. I will cheerfully show and talk guns as long as the customer is interested. Most of our customers are good folks, and frequently I will learn something from them. We got a Kel Tec KSG in a few days ago, and I showed it to a customer who had never seen one. I had seen, but not handled a KSG, so we figured it out together.
When I was younger I was so shy that if anybody looked at me cross-wise I would turn brown and curl up at the edges. Somewhere along the way that changed. Maybe being married and having kids is incompatable with being shy. These days I love talking to people, particularly about guns (and brewing, and music, and motorsports, and chemistry, and .....).
I have seen posts on another forum where associates at Academy/Bass Pro/Cabellas gun bar get a bad rap, and I'm sure that it's deserved. Not every sales associate is interested and helpful. I have seen that myself. Some are condescending, pompous asses, and some couldn't be bothered to look for a product if their life depended on it. But I would like to believe that it's rare. Most of the folks I work with, both men and women, are quite knowledgeable and helpful.
There is a situation in every job that I avoid like the plague: I worked Evening Sort at UPS when I was a junior in college, and the handlers would cluster up on break and talk about how crappy the job was. Pretty soon everybody hated it. At the med center there was a group of women who gathered on smoke break to talk about how crappy their lives were and what their husband did wrong that day. Eventually all were divorced. Mood can make or break a job, and if you let yourself get caught up in groupthink it can ruin you.
Stay happy, y'all. ,
Charlie
Meet the newest Hunting and Fishing associate at Academy Sports. I was hired as holiday part time temp, but they almost immediately put me on full time. I have a horrible suspicion that they intend to keep me on after the holidays.
Working retail is a bit weird, but I love most of it. I get to show guns and talk guns the whole shift. A lot of the other guys don't know AR pattern rifles or Sig Sauer products, and that's where I shine. I can usually tell within a couple of minutes if I'm going to make a sale, but it doesn't matter because I don't get a commission. I will cheerfully show and talk guns as long as the customer is interested. Most of our customers are good folks, and frequently I will learn something from them. We got a Kel Tec KSG in a few days ago, and I showed it to a customer who had never seen one. I had seen, but not handled a KSG, so we figured it out together.
When I was younger I was so shy that if anybody looked at me cross-wise I would turn brown and curl up at the edges. Somewhere along the way that changed. Maybe being married and having kids is incompatable with being shy. These days I love talking to people, particularly about guns (and brewing, and music, and motorsports, and chemistry, and .....).
I have seen posts on another forum where associates at Academy/Bass Pro/Cabellas gun bar get a bad rap, and I'm sure that it's deserved. Not every sales associate is interested and helpful. I have seen that myself. Some are condescending, pompous asses, and some couldn't be bothered to look for a product if their life depended on it. But I would like to believe that it's rare. Most of the folks I work with, both men and women, are quite knowledgeable and helpful.
There is a situation in every job that I avoid like the plague: I worked Evening Sort at UPS when I was a junior in college, and the handlers would cluster up on break and talk about how crappy the job was. Pretty soon everybody hated it. At the med center there was a group of women who gathered on smoke break to talk about how crappy their lives were and what their husband did wrong that day. Eventually all were divorced. Mood can make or break a job, and if you let yourself get caught up in groupthink it can ruin you.
Stay happy, y'all.
,Charlie
"Yes officer, I know I smell like beer. I'm not drinking it, I'm wearing it!"
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Replied by jtallen83 on topic I got a job. :-)
Congrats! 
I wish the local box stores around here would hire someone with a little gun knowledge for behind the gun counter.
Your dead on with the groupthink stuff. I'm up against working for the federal government.....think of all those stereotypes you hear....then x10. I'm used to being an agent of change but victories are few and far between here.
I wish the local box stores around here would hire someone with a little gun knowledge for behind the gun counter.
Your dead on with the groupthink stuff. I'm up against working for the federal government.....think of all those stereotypes you hear....then x10. I'm used to being an agent of change but victories are few and far between here.
LIBERTY FIRST!
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- faawrenchbndr
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Replied by mlotziii on topic I got a job. :-)
Very exciting! Congrats!
Hopefully you get a nice employee discount so Santa can bring you everything you asked for this year
Hopefully you get a nice employee discount so Santa can bring you everything you asked for this year
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Replied by Charlie on topic I got a job. :-)
Thanks folks. I really appreciate it.
I had a crabby customer yesterday, but I didn't let it get me down. I made a conscious decision years ago to leave sadness and regret behind, and to be happy. And most all of the customers are pure gold: Understanding, patient, and willing to learn and share what they know. I was doing a walkup today and chatting with the customer, and he asked about my experience. I told him that 99% of the customers were great people, and he was surprised. But I think most gun folks are like that. They're every day people enjoying a hobby. The 9mm vs .45 ACP depate will rage on until doomsday, but gun owners have more in common than almost any other group I can name.
Yes. 20%. And I don't have to go very far to spend my paycheck.
Charlie
I had a crabby customer yesterday, but I didn't let it get me down. I made a conscious decision years ago to leave sadness and regret behind, and to be happy. And most all of the customers are pure gold: Understanding, patient, and willing to learn and share what they know. I was doing a walkup today and chatting with the customer, and he asked about my experience. I told him that 99% of the customers were great people, and he was surprised. But I think most gun folks are like that. They're every day people enjoying a hobby. The 9mm vs .45 ACP depate will rage on until doomsday, but gun owners have more in common than almost any other group I can name.
Yes. 20%. And I don't have to go very far to spend my paycheck.
Charlie
"Yes officer, I know I smell like beer. I'm not drinking it, I'm wearing it!"
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- Libertarian623
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