Labor of Love

With Labor Day quickly approaching, one retail manager can’t wait to show his appreciation to the laborers he values most: The customers!

“When you think about it”, says Craig D’Addio, “everyone labors at something!”

We stopped by Kessler’s All-In-One, a retail store in Colorado Springs, and spoke with the store’s general manager Craig D’Addio to discuss why he feels it’s so important to honor laborers with a storewide mega sale.

“People work hard” says D’Addio, “and that’s why they deserve up to sixty percent off all summer apparel!”

The store around us is bustling with activity as the sparse weekday shoppers weave around store employees stocking product off U-carts, folding and neatly stacking clothing, and merchandising key focal areas.

We asked one of the workers nearby if he shared his boss’s zeal on the subject.

D’Addio intercepts the question. “Could you please not distract the employees?” After explaining it would be better for the article if we talked to a few staff members D’Addio agrees but proffers up an “Okay, but make it quick.”

“I don’t know,” says store employee Zachery Frawley who is rearranging the toy section and visibly sweating through his shirt, “it’s fine I guess. Probably be busy. Sorry, can I go? I gotta front all the sale stuff to the aisle before my bathroom break.”

D’Addio reminds Frawley that he still needs to go over the truck manifest before he leaves for the day as we walk off.

“It’s great that we, as a country, can take a day to remember those who work so hard to keep things going,” says D’Addio, who pauses to remind Denis in footwear to re-box the try-ons and Marcia in kitchenware that she has a full cart of go-backs, “keep the trains running on time so to speak. It’s just nice to give back to the community, and not just because of the inventory thing.”

The “inventory thing” D’Addio refers to is a massive overstock the retailer is reportedly facing after sales dipped as a result of “inflationary” price increases. But D’Addio assures us that’s not the case here.

“That’s not the case here,” says D’Addio. “No, this is all about giving the workers a break. They deserve it. And it isn’t really much of an ask for them to sign up for the loyalty card to get the discount. It just takes a minute.”

D’Addio introduces me to another worker who seems to be checking stock against a spreadsheet.

“I’m just making sure everything marked-down is prominently displayed and stocked out,” says Jessica Skiles, the store’s most recent employee of the year.

We asked how she plans to celebrate the holiday weekend.

“I don’t know”, laughs Stiles, “I’ll probably go back-and-forth between cash registers and restocking. I’m closing Saturday and then opening Sunday and Monday, so yeah,” the smile fading from her face, “I’ll just, uh… I’ll just be here I guess. All weekend. Right here.”

“It’s all hands on deck!” adds D’Addio, who informed us later he’ll be staying with family in the mountains through the holiday. “She’s the best we got and that’s why we need her here!”

We leave Kessler’s All-In-One as D’Addio is distracted telling a pair of workers to straighten a slightly askew “SALE!” banner. We hope that area workers appreciate the discount this weekend as a thank you for all their hard work, whatever and wherever that may be.

As for the workers of this Kessler’s All-In-One, D’Addio had this to say on the matter: “Eh, we might do a pizza party after the holiday or something. We’ll see. Depends on how we do saleswise.”

Well, that’s… something.