I can recall when I was about 12
years old, my father took me aside and told me it was about time I starting
making some money by going to work for him.
At the time he owned a gas station in our home town that was situated on
a major highway (US 41) that ran between Atlanta, Georgia and Macon. That was before the Interstate highway was
built so a good traffic flow was always on the road. We also lived next door to the station so it
was easy for me to walk to work every day after school. I started off cleaning the bathrooms, keeping
the concession stand area clean, and sweeping down the parking lot as
needed. That lot took a lot more work at
times due to the dirt (or rather mud) that would collect on it after a
rain. My Dad said it didn’t matter what
the work was that I did as long as it was honest work and I did the best I
could while doing it. So I made sure
that my work assignment was always taken care of the best I could. As I got older I was even allowed to pump the
gas for customers, check their oil levels, and clean the windshield. Those were “full-service stations” at the
time, so you did what was needed to make the customer happy. My Dad was always telling me “If the customer
is not happy he won’t come back. And if
he doesn’t come back you’ll go broke!” I
always tried to remember that, but there were times on a damp, rainy evening
when a car would pull in for gas when it wasn’t easy. You would go running to the pump only to have
to wait (in the rain) for the driver to “crack” the window down and order
“fifty cents worth of regular.” Gas was
only twenty-nine cents a gallon for regular gas at that time and it seemed like
fifty cents would give you enough to drive around the whole weekend. But those situations built within me a work
ethic that has continued all these many years.
Since that time there has been many times I had to do things in my work
career that have not been pleasant, but I knew they were necessary for me to
continue my employment.
As I got older (during my junior and
senior years of high school) I worked for a local grocery store. There too I had to remember that there would
be things I would have to do for my employer that I personally would prefer not
to do, but that was the job! By the time
I reached graduation day I had been “promoted” to manager of the produce
department. Now, to those who know me
well, (and that may only be a few of you) you’ll understand how ironic that
was. For the most part I don’t eat
vegetables, never have! And to be “in
charge” of all those items was somewhat funny.
But, I remembered what my Dad had told me about work. So I took it upon myself to learn a bit about
all that the department offered. When
the “little old ladies” came in on the weekend I could help them choose what
was “ripe” or what would be the items they would like to have. And then when I saw them going through the
check-out line (and I wasn’t busy with another customer) I would run over, help
sack their purchases, and carry them out to their car. This went a long way with our customer
satisfaction and did not go unnoticed by the boss. He appreciated it enough to “pad” my paycheck
on more than one occasion with extra funds for that pay period.
I think many of you who have already
lived a number of years can appreciate that type of upbringing and
teaching. Why do I mention all this work
ethics background? It’s because today I
feel it’s no longer there! Now I’ll have
to admit that today’s younger generation has many problems placed upon them
that did not even exist in my youth, peer pressure is greater and
cyber-bullying, just to name a few. But
many youth are not encouraged to work after school (and I know available jobs
are hard to come by.) Many spend there
“extra” time (or even their prime time) playing video games or other such
activities, such as constantly being on their cell phones. And those who do find work seem to think that
they can do whatever they want, when they want, and the business owner is still
suppose to pay them a large sum of money for taking so long in getting the job
done (if they do!)
Many young people today want a
“title” not a job. They will spend more
time trying to find ways to get out of doing the work instead of getting the
work done! It almost seems there is a
“bragging right” with their peers on HOW
MUCH they got paid in comparison with HOW
LITTLE they had to do to get it.
There doesn’t seem to be any work ethics in most young people
today. WAIT, don’t blow a gasket!
I know there are many exceptions.
And when I hear about some of them, especially when it is a young person
working to help others, and not them, I must sit back and think, “Maybe there’s
a chance after all! Maybe there’s hope!”
and I have a wonderful feeling of redemption.
THOUGHTFUL GEM
"How much work could you get done, if you stopped dreaming about how much work you could get done, and GOT BUSY!"
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