Working in a grocery store the day before Thanksgiving sounds nuts, right? Well I thought so too ... so that’s why I signed up!
Bright and early last Wednesday, I was off to the Big M in New Berlin to see what the Thanksgiving rush would look like in a small village.
Knowing for certain the last-minute details for everyone’s Thanksgiving feasts would require hundreds of people to venture to the stores for a can of cranberry sauce or that forgotten package of biscuits, I was sure I would see what action really happens inside the stores.
At 9 a.m., the store was already full of shoppers and the cashiers were working diligently on pricing and packaging one order after another.
Once I arrived, I was introduced to the boss (as everyone calls her) Michelle Persons. Michelle’s parents Paul and Leila Marquit, have owned the store since 1975, and Michelle says she started working with them as a teenager and has had a hand in the business ever since.
After a quick introduction, it was off to the back to see where I would work first. The market, the only one in the village, is more than just a grocery store. While heading to the back of the store, I could smell coffee brewed for shoppers, and everywhere I looked, people were greeting and smiling at the customers. “We open at 8 a.m., but there are people here knocking before then,” said Persons. “I let them in ... I would never turn away business.”
Persons introduced me to Terry Humphris, a part-time prep cook and Shelly Burtis, the full-time butcher. Burtis was unsure about me at first, but I told her that I would make her sound horrible in this article and she warmed right up. (Just kidding, Shelly).
Working in the grocery store the day before a major holiday would not be complete without a small crisis, right? Upon arriving, the crisis, or at least the set-back, was explained to me. Persons said the truck company had called, and the grocery truck was going to be three hours late. Of course it is, I thought, who needs groceries to sell the day before Thanksgiving?
Anyway, I started helping Terry with the prep work for the “pre-cooked counter,” which is all homemade including deep fried foods and salads. From potatoes to chicken, everything had to be dipped, battered, shook and cooked to get ready for the lunch crowd. Meanwhile, Burtis was busily chopping, grinding, packaging and pricing meat, while also grabbing turkeys, prime ribs and other choice meats from the freezer that customers had pre-ordered for their Thanksgiving feasts.
“Shelly has the best meat around,” said Humphris.
After just an hour, the crisis had been averted, and the crew of employees were busy unloading the grocery truck, which happened to be less than three hours late by a long run. Meanwhile, as the goods were getting put away, I headed to the beverage aisle to price and stack 2 liter bottles.
I priced more items and got to meet the rest of the employees and some of the regular customers as well. The hours passed quickly, and the one thing that I took away with me, besides floured pants, was a sense that the store not only appreciates its customers, but they treat their employees like family. Not a moment went by that the employees weren’t laughing and joking around. The atmosphere was light and all the work was done smoothly.