For most of my life I have always been fascinated by the "how" process, something my parents will validate. In fact so will Mrs. Schuster because of the many different dismantled junkyard finds that use to litter her basement. This is the part that most people skip right past. When you wake up certain things just are, and that is what we have come to expect, because of that a certain disconnect has been created. So what am I getting at you ask. Let's begin...
We always hear about the farmer and the hard work and life that they have to grow our food. Ok...I could go off on a tangent here about why I do not believe that to be so true today, but I wont...I want to take you into a different world, the world that has pretty much always been there and looked right over...
The Grocer...For the sake of argument, were not talking about the CEO of Kroger, Schnucks, Dierbergs, Hy-Vee, Price Chopper, etc...We are talking about the people who actually run the individual store from as big as those previous mentioned companies all the way down to the small business grocery store owner like my dad's place Freddie's Market. That is the grocer I am talking about...
For almost all other jobs, when it says business hours are between this and that, that's when they are. When I was an architect, that's how it was. I got to the office to work, and didn't have to prepare it for customers, I went to work to get my job complete. But being a grocer is much different, just like the baker. We have to be ready to provide you when our doors open at the promised time, which means "x" amount of time must be taken to get there. You want fresh produce, well then someone has to drive to Produce Row in St Louis and get that produce, which means someone like Vince Mantia has to even beat us out into the workday. 
Growing up during the summer I would go to work with dad around 5:00am to head into work (dad got up much earlier, because he had already eaten breakfast by the time I slid out of bed), we would be in the truck or van heading downtown by 5:30 at the latest, well ahead of traffic, where still the quiet of the night fell over downtown St Louis. We would get the produce picked and purchased and then loaded into the van and head back to the store, where it needed to be unloaded in a timely matter. Meanwhile the meat department has someone arrive where they are taking inventory of the case and getting it cleaned up and filled for the day, same with bakery, and general grocery products such as milk, eggs, back stock, etc...and this goes on everyday...produce maybe not everyday, but at least three times a week...but this isn't just an 8 hour shift, its a salaried position, which means you are there as long as there is a need for you to be there, so in other words, for awhile, and holidays are even longer...So what am I trying to get at here?
Some people have been known to voice frustrations while in the grocery store, for instance political talk, maybe there is something going on in politics that are creating a strain on operating a business. Maybe instead of getting ticked off at what is being said, give it an honest listen, learn and understand that grocers don't raise prices just to buy vacation homes, they raise prices because every day it becomes more and more expensive to work under the increasing regulations. **NEWSFLASH** typical grocery store turns a 1% net profit at the end of the year. so that 88 cent box of mac and cheese they made 8/10ths of a cent profit...
Being in a bad mood, I will go ahead and apologize now for every grocer out there, when you have your crappy day and its in a cubicle only your fake plant has to deal with it, but unfortunately we do not have that luxury. We try our hardest to keep it away from you, but as the day slips into the long end of the hours our guard comes down a little...we are people too...I had to wait...boo freaking hoo...for this scenario I'm just going to jump right to a specific night...Christmas Eve, New Years Eve, Thanksgiving Eve, any holiday eve...While you are throwing your tissy fit about waiting, because your going to be late to whatever dinner party, party party or your couch at home, you have ignored the fact that the person who is going to help you out, obviously will not get the same luxury tonight that you will.
But don't mistake me, I'm not complaining, in fact most grocers you will find get their energy from helping the customer, talking with the customer, yes, even having political banter. As crazy as we sound, we really don't mind the hard work and long hours, we sometimes just wish you the customer would appreciate it a little more, that's why we do it.
So in closing, I just throw this out there for 2014, remember your grocer. We have families that sacrifice with us, that put up with our strange hours, that all too often get "leftover" time, so you can get to your event, and if we look tired sometimes, we probably are...and lastly, we love Christmas Cookies too...just saying...
To 2014 - a new year, with new adventures...
Brian
i4031
