Much better training--I love this store!

Mammoth General Store is definitely a great place to work.  Not only is there a company philosophy of happy guests, but there's a store policy of happy employees.  Let me tell you about my day:

At 9, the 15 of us who started today met with Robyn, the manager, in the employee break room. She spent the morning going over all kinds of interesting things related to our working at the store. We learned about George the Buffalo - who made national news last year for tossing a tourist who got too close up in the air. We learned about crazy things tourists do and ask, and how we patiently deal with them. I learned that Tom Brokaw, who lives in Livingston, comes in every year to buy his fishing license. We learned about our work schedules, and we got them for the first week.  I know I'm working 9 to 5 tomorrow, then I'm off Thursday and Friday. Then on Saturday and Sunday, I'm working 2:15 to 9:45, as the store starts staying open till 9:30 this weekend.

We then went on a scavenger hunt - finding things like fire alarms, freezer and cooler temperatures, items in the store that are made in the USA, which t-shirts we carry in XXXL, where the batteries and film were stored, and where the toilet paper, paper towels, and Kleenex were located. 

We got an hour for lunch, and I found out we get free coffee and sodas. We finally had a sunny day, so many of us sat outside on the porch that's for associates and watched the elk and bison grazing across the street.  (We also watched the many people who disregarded the warnings and got too close to the animals.)

For the afternoon, we were divided into four groups, and spent one hour with the head of each department:  grocery, apparel, gifts, and fountain.  It's amazing how well these people manage the space in this store - every possible nook and cranny upstairs and in the basement is being used.  The upstairs used to be a lodging area, so there are numerous rooms and closets.

After work, Bob, one of the floor managers, had invited us to dinner - so we joined 14 others at the Lighthouse Restaurant in Corwin Springs. We were at two large round tables, and enjoyed the conversations and good food with new friends. I'm tired, and will attempt to hang on to watch a little bit of the Kings game, but I have to work tomorrow morning and will be going to bed soon.