Credit Where Credit May or May Not Be Due

Any manager worth their keys knows that it’s important to give credit when it’s due. Bryan Jeffries knows this, which is why he’s down on the sales floor congratulating his staff on getting through an extremely busy weekend and doing an exemplary job of keeping the store in order in the process!

“I’ve always been proud of our sales staff,” says Jeffries, sales manager for Port City Craft Supply in Portsmouth, NH at the end of business Sunday night. “They’re the only reason we get through these crazy busy shifts without the store looking like a disaster area!”

Yes, it certainly takes class and grace to join your workers on the floor, share in their toils, and make sure they know you appreciate everything they do!

“What is he even talking about?” says Sara Milner of the store’s sales team. “There was barely anyone in here today. What in the actual heck is going on?”

“Is he talking about this weekend?” asks Denis Packer, another sales associate. “Like the weekend that just happened?”

”I’m pleased to say that we hit $350k in sales for the weekend!” says Jeffries, “as well as increased our customer conversion rate! Amazing numbers, guys, and we couldn’t have done it without all of you!”

“Yeah, okay,” says merchandiser Thom Smith, “those numbers are completely meaningless to me. You might as well say we made seventeen kilos of Krugerrands and our skippity-dippity index rose from guinea pig to chocolate lab. All I can tell you about this weekend is that it was pretty chill, but I don’t know the spreadsheet term for that.”

“This is what happens,” says shift supervisor Meridith Burke, “when managers only leave the back off once a year.”

Despite Miss Burke’s assertions to the contrary, Bryan Jeffries was indeed on the sales floor this weekend helping to manage the neverending throng of customers and the messes they left behind.

“Yes, I know,” says Burke. “At one point he called the entire staff to come help sort three carts of go-backs. That's like three people per cart! Hell, I've sorted three carts of go-backs since I started this sentence!”

“Again, guys,” continues Jeffries, “great job all around. I know it wasn't easy, but I'm floored by how pristine the store looks right now. Kudos!”

“The store's pristine,” adds Parker, “because the store hasn't been touched.”

“Thanks again, everybody!” says Jeffries with a wave, leaving the sales floor once again.

“Okay, am I crazy,” exclaims Sara Milner, “or was it really not that busy this weekend!?”

Back in the office, we catch up with Bryant Jeffries as he does his administrative tasks to close the day out.

“It's a boon really,” he says, “to know that the sales floor is in good hands, because you can't always get out there. I hope they all know how much I appreciate that!”

Well, if they didn't before, they do now, even if they insist it wasn’t very busy and you’re just out of touch with what a busy weekend would look like!

“Yup,” he continues, “now I'm confident they can handle anything, so they should be able to get through the coming holiday season no problem, even after we cut half the staff hours!”

Yeah, it does pay to– Wait, what!?

“Unfortunately, because of the demands on my time during the season I won't have as much time to spend on the floor as I did this weekend,” says Jeffries, “or to be here on weekends at all actually. But just look at how they did this weekend! These guys can handle anything!”

It really takes a humble and grateful manager to recognize a job well done and have the faith in his team to know they'll still do an amazing job even after he halves their hours for budgetary reasons but frames it in a way that seems like praise all while misunderstanding the actual needs of the business vis a vis staff scheduling.

The kudos here really go to you, Bryan Jeffries, a shining example of how to properly manage staff through difficult times!