City Views, Country Dreams

Good morning from New York.

It often seems to those of us who have seen a few New York springs, that the hot weather abruptly arrives at the end of May, around the time of our Memorial Day holiday. That is what happened again this year. It's finally fine to wear sandals, and to shed a layer or two of jacket or sweater.

There has also been lots of rain, and the park is very heavily green. Rose bushes in sunny places are beginning to bloom, and some folks on my block have planted begonias, impatiens and pansies to bring a little color to the concrete and asphalt.

Although I have yet to see them, new neighbors have moved into the recently renovated apartment next door to mine. Last night when I returned home from work and was unlocking my front door, I heard a baby crying from behind the door next door. Previous neighbors in that apartment have had babies, and it is a testimony to the design of the building and the thickness of its walls, that once inside my home sweet home, I heard no crying.

I do hope to meet this new family soon.

After some blustery rain last evening, today is a lovely day, made more lovely because it is a day off. We will host a "special" event at the shop tomorrow, focused on our petite-sized range (theoretically for those 5'4" and under.) This event is not a very extravagant affair, featuring some light refreshments, and the opportunity for customers to meet with the company's petites specialist, and to have 10 per cent of the amount of their purchases be donated to a worthy philanthropy.

I am a bit worried that not too many folks may attend, despite our publicizing the event. Often our events give the customers a certain dollar amount off the price of an item, or give them a gift with each purchase. That will not be the case tomorrow. Customers making a purchase will received "double points" for their purchases, however. (We have a program that grants a customer a point for every dollar that is spent. When the accumulated points reach 2,000 ... no matter how long it may take, the customer receives a gift card worth $100.) It is my sense that a gift with each purchase would have been a stronger draw, but we will know more tomorrow.

After working so very hard, day after day during the retail month of May, it was very disappointing to my staff and myself that we did not meet our sales goal. Therefore, we won't get a bonus check for May. The checks that we each received for our April success were quite substantial and quite welcome in these inflationary/recessionary times. We think that what kept us from our May goal was powerful Mother Nature, who provided two very, very cold and rainy days, when few customers ventured out to shop.

Now it will be my task to motivate the staff to keep going strong during June.

My assistant manager and I will be out of the store for two days next week, attending out of town managers meetings. We do value our staff and their ability to flourish without us, but all the same, I really wish that both of us did not have to be away for so much of next week (the two meeting days, plus our regular two days off.)

It is now the season when staff will begin taking lots of holiday time off, so it is a bit of challenge to juggle the schedule, making sure that everyone does get the free time they request, but also making sure to keep the shop adequately staffed. I try to be fair to everyone.

Since the weather is so good today, I will now put my sandals on and go outdoor to check on those roses.