retail/fashion design

I work in a small boutique in Carytown. The store just opened in September so it has been interesting to see the start of a business I will be a part of for the rest of my life. The boutique carries all European fashion lines, something that is completely new and exclusive to Richmond. The lines we carry are all designers out of all over Europe, but we get the garments from vendors in New York and LA. We don't get the lines directly from Europe due to export/import issues, but the vendors we work with work directly out of Europe. This is a great experience for me because I one day hope to be selling my own line to independently owned boutiques. I have been able to see how the entire process is executed, from placing orders, communicating with design houses and vendors in both the US and Europe, and developing line sheets. As a design student, I don't get to learn much of the merchandising/business end of the industry through my classes - so this gives me a chance to see it first hand through a small, intimate learning experience.

The worst hair cut

Don't every get your hair cut at the Hair Cuttery in Carytown. It was the worst experience of my life. I went there thinking I was going to get a quick, cheap, and half way decent hair cut. WRONG! I sat around and waited for almost an hour it was just before noon when I arrived and no one was in-front of me all of a sudden two out of the four people working went on lunch. Now is it just me or should they have waited till after the 1 to take lunch, because most people who work get their hair cuts on their lunch break. Once I finally got a chair the woman began brushing my hair like it was a Brillo pad. She was also talking on the phone to her girl friend while cutting my hair. At the end she asked me if the sides looked even to me, i was like no the left side was way off. This girl didn't have a cute how to cut hair, some times i wonder where Hair Cuttery finds these people.

Shopping online

I am so skeptical about shopping online. Especially when it comes to Ebay, it can be so deceiving. For example my friend bought a pair of boots from Ebay, that had claimed they were bran new and when she got them they had a stain on the them that she could get out. That would really piss me off. I was also watching MTV's "Sweet Sixteen" and this chick bought her dress for the party off line and it fit in the waist and top part. But it was made for a seven foot tall person and she was like five-two, but she got a Porsche at the end so it was all good. If i was going to buy something off line like clothes or shoes for example i would defiantly want to know what i was getting fit.

Google presentation

I agree completely with Kendra's post on the google presentation. The presentation was on a very interesting topic and relevant as everyone is beginning to look for jobs after graduation. All of the presentations done this semester were interesting. It was nice that most of them pertained to the class in some way. Also, it was helpful to learn from everyone.

Hourly Pay

I learned a good lesson in organization and keeping track of hours this week. I work at a retail store in carytown and get paid every other week. When given our paychecks, we receive an outline of our hours, days, times, etc. Sometimes when I (and the other girls who work there) go in and out of work it is very easy to forget to clock in and out - especially if you go in in the middle of the day when the store is full. I got my pay stub last week and the hours were all wrong, which of course made my paycheck incorrect as well. We clock into a computer and sometimes people clock in the wrong names, etc - (careless mistakes). Luckily I have written down on my planner each day I have worked and the exact hours. That made it very easy to figure out the correct hours and clear everything up. If I hadn't have kept track the situation would have been much more hectic.

Black Friday

Like a fool my sister and I went shopping on the day after Thanks Giving we almost got hit three times by crazy drivers in the parking lot at Kohl’s department store. We also were almost hit by a car from walking from the parking lot into the store. Once inside we had to wait around to get baskets from finished shoppers. The store was a mad house to say the least. I could not even walk down the pathways they were so many people either, standing in line or browsing the stands with discounted merchandise that I had to make my way around the store by walking in the middle of the different departments. When we went to check out my sister stood in line for us both while I tried on the merchandise that I had found that probably took about 30 minuets. When we got to check out, Kohl’s employees were behind the register and girl scouts bagging merchandise. They were just throwing the merchandise into the bags. After we left Kohl’s we went home to enjoy hot coco by the fire, just joking we went to Best Buy.

gOOGLE

I really enjoyed the presentation that was done on Google. I had seen the special about it on television , but i just find their company to be so interesting. Their employees are taken care of very well, from free lunch to a spa downstairs, they have it made. I think that is the key to a successful business. If you treat your employees good they usually dont have a problem doing their own work or staying overtime, or just giving their all to the company.

Black Friday

I will never understand the Black Friday craze in Richmond. I have been out on it in New York during the day but its not as bad as what goes on here. Nothing is wrong with wanting to take advantage of the excellent deals offered by various stores. But to me sleeping in my warm house is more important than camping outside a store for the whole night. I have friends that camped out from 4:00 on Thanksgiving night till the stores opened the next morning. They ended up getting everything they wanted, so I guess it was worth. Personally i think that it ridiculous, maybe the right item is going to have to come out to change my mind. I was also wondering who came up with Black Friday? It is a very good, profitable idea, but who decided when it should be? I'm probably the only person that thinks about these things, but I just wonder about different things.

I Really Dislike Amtrak

So one weekend I was going home and my mom decided I should take Amtrak because I was tried of taking Greyhound and she wasn't going to make the 6 hour drive to come get me. When I first got on the train I was happy because it was definitely more spacious than Greyhound but as the trip went on I found it was no better if not worse than Greyhound. When the train departed from Richmond it stopped less than 30 minutes away for 2 hours. Now it was summer and hot so when the engine went off so did the air conditioner. While the train was stopped a conductor never came around to say what problem the train was having. After we started moving again the train stopped after passing Washington D.C. Everyone on the train was becoming irritated because of this and the conductors not giving any information on what was happening. Anyway I was supposed to arrive in New Jersey at midnight but I didn't get there until 6am the next morning. Amtrak never even issued an apology for all the delays.

Flying the "Friendly" Skies

I have had the opportunity to do a significant amount of traveling in my life, with a pretty significant spike in travel during the last two years. The vast majority of my traveling has resulted in me using air transportation. I fly many of the large and discount air lines, but the three air carriers that I use the most are Delta, US Air, and Air Tran. Most of my flying experiences have been exceptional. Despite the rising cost of airfare, the continued nuisance of lost luggage, delayed or cancelled flights the flight attendants aboard the flights have always managed to meet or exceed my expectations. They are always very friendly, concerned about meeting my needs, and always seem to have a great sense of humor. They always seem to make some of those percolating issues seem less significant. I really have a high respect for the men and women who make our flying experiences pleasurable. A correlation could be made to many other business industries. In business there are going to things that occur that are beyond our control, but with good customer service and a commitment to the customer the bottom line may not be impacted as dramatically.

Travis Preau

My Best Job

I think the best job that I have ever had was working for Extended Stay America. It was a hotel that deals with long-term occupancy. I started off as on of the house keeping staff and did that for about a month. I express my interest in work the front desk and phones. After about a month there was an opening position as a front desk clerk. My manager who I got along well with promoted me to front desk and before I knew it I was checking after the housekeepers and checking people in. I would still occasionally roll up my sleeves and help clean room when we were short staff but my manager was right along side with me. I think the reason I liked the job so much was because I knew that there were advancement opportunities, which I was able to take advantage of and actually promote because my hard work was being recognized.

Job Hopping

Bouncing for job to job is something that I have regretted of doing. When I first entered the work force I was thinking short term, which I believe most young employees do. I was not looking at my crappy first job at McDonalds as something that I could one day use as a work reference but rather as a little extra money to spend going out on the weekends. Although I was only fifteen and stayed there for almost an entire year, and it stands to remain to be one of the longest jobs I have held thus far. I regret the way I left the company. Which was by not showing up when I was expected to work and by not calling in a head of time. Though I was later forgiven by my boss and was able to use the job, as a reference I know now that the way I left was unacceptable. And when I go to fill out job applications now I am hesitant to list the jobs that I have had because some were extremely short. I wish that I would have treated them more serious and I encourage young workers to think long term rather then short.

Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment is a serious issue in the work place. Although according to statistics it most of the time is only an issue among women. But the issue can also apply to men. I think that it is harder to prove that a woman is sexually harassing a man then it is for a woman to claim sexual harassment on a man. There should be a hotline for men to be able to call on how to deal or address the issue. Because I think that it is harder for a man to address the issue and come forward then it is for a woman just because of all the resources available to them. I know that the issue is embarrassing for women but I think that it is more so for a man. This is because a man is expose to be stronger than a woman and not as easily influenced or whatever. This happened to my self when I first entered the work field I was young and impressionable, it took a long time for me to confront the issue and even when I did I was encouraged by my own family to just quit the job and never go back. But I wasn’t encouraged to go beyond reporting it to the police and taking further action but rather to learn how to deal and cope with the emotions that I was experiencing for the first time.

NEVER AGAIN

Me and my roommate went out to eat this weekend and had the worst experience of our lives. When we went to the restaurant it took forever to be seated. When we got out food it was cold and the Waiter had the nerve to get an attitude when we informed him that we wanted to send the food back. He came back 30 minutes later with our food and we had no utensils to eat with. He took forever bring that to us. Before we ate our food we asked to see the manager and told him that we were not happy with the service that we were receiving. He offered us our meal at a discounted price but we told him that we would not be eating at the restaurant and left.

organization

I've mentioned before how important I think it is to be extremely organized when dealing with not only school projects but projects in the workplace as well. I had a situation at work the other day where someone wanted to have our store be involved in an event - they came into the store not knowing exactly what they wanted, who they needed to talk to, etc. They had an appointment to come into the store at a certain time so they were taking up our time as well - which they didn't acknowledge at all. They were overall just very unorganized and had obviously not at all thought out what they were trying to plan. They were rude in the fact that they never once apologized for taking up our time. I took time to pull garments, think of color schemes(basically do they're job for them) and then after speaking with an organizer for their project, they decided they weren't going to use what i put together for them and that they were going to have to come back later in the season when they were better prepared. Yikes!

Presentations

I have learned some interesting things about business from the different presentations. There were a lot of good points that Brittany touched on regarding the body language. Travis's presentation on pregnancy and the fire department was very interesting. I wasn't aware of half the policies that he discussed. He made a good point about researching different aspects of jobs and things that could potentially affect you. As a female, I may decide in the near future to get pregnant adn i need to be aware of the different policies of the company i am working for and i need to know my rights. I am very eager to hear some of the other presentations because a lot of them are going to be issues that all of us may have to face in some way or the other.

Rude

I cant stand to go up to the register in a store and have to wait until the employees are finished holding their conversation before they decide to help me. It is so unprofessional but yet it goes on at every job.
I went to Burlington to pick up something really quick. I grabbed it and proceeded to the register. I walked over to a register that didn't have a line and stood there. These two girls were standing behind the counter having a LOUD, intense conversation. One of the girls saw me standing there and just kept talking. Then after they were finished their conversation the girl turned around to ring up my purchase. She didnt say hello, she just rung it up and told me my total. Then she handed me my bag and turned right around and began talking with the same girl again. All I could do was laugh because some people dont even know they are doing anything wrong.

body language

I thought the presentation on body language was really interesting. All of the points she made were extremely true. Peoples body language is what makes them approachable, interesting, or vice versa. The other day a girl came into my work wanting to use our store for a fashion show. She was a young girl and I could tell from the beginning by her body language that she was nervous or didn't know exactly what she was doing (or asking for). The entire time she was talking to me and the store owner she stood back and never really seemed engaged in the conversation. She seemed very unsure the entire time. Her ideas and plans were great but it was her body language that made her seem unsure of her situation.

I learned a good lesson in networking last weekend. I was working a fashion show for the store i work at on Friday night. I agreed to do the show for the experience and network possibilities. I got to the venue at 7:00 on Friday night and was supossed to be out by 10. It turned out that the show wasn't going to be starting until much later than planned. I had plans that night and my presence backstage at the show wasn't vital. I waited backstage not really doing anything at all for about an hour...really frustrated that I was having to wait for the show to even start. Eventually my boss from the store showed up and I was able to leave backstage. I ended up meeting a lot of people from Richmond involved in the arts, which is the best way to start networking for eventually moving to a bigger city. The fashion show didn't end up starting until 11:00 (3 hours late). I worked backstage and learned a lot about how exactly a show is run. After the show I continued to talk to people from the area about possibilities Richmond has in fashion and art. It was extremely refreshing to meet people who have succeeded in the arts right here in Richmond. Although I was there much later than planned, I was happy to have had the opportunity. If I had gotten frustrated and left the show early I would have never had such a great networking opportunity. The people I met will hopefully help me get my career started after graduation by leading me to new and exciting opportunities in Richmond and beyond in fashion and the arts.

Near-Fatal Routines

I had the pleasure of attending a seminar not long ago that touched me in a very emotional way. Such much so, that it impacts how I do my job everyday. The speaker was a tenured Division Chief for the Denver, CO Fire Dept. He spoke of how many citizens and civilians depend very heavily on our level of preparedness and expertise as we respond to their fire and medical emergencies. I am not sure that we actually grasp the weight of such a responsibility. His particular area of focus was on our development of routines as we mitigate emergencies. We respond to so many incidents that we rarely put an actual face to a name or understand the impact of a fire or death on a community. Chief McGrail told a story of a financially well off family who upon deciding to create a family, went and found the best labor and delivery doctor that money could buy. After working with the doctor they were able to conceive a beautiful daughter. A few years went by and they decided to have another child. They went back to the doctor and he had retired. They again looked for the best doctor available that money could buy. They found a Harvard graduate with significant experience. The day of delivery comes and the mother is delivering the baby in the L&D room. A nurse who was assisting with the delivery interrupted the doctor and asked why the fetal heart monitor was located out of position high up on the mothers chest. The doctor looked in awe at the misplaced monitoring device and quickly discovered upon proper placement that the monitor was picking up the heart tones of the mother and not the baby. As a result the baby went 17 minutes in distress without being noticed. The child was born and as a result of the fetal distress is severely handicapped and unable to walk, talk, or care for himself. The doctor likely considered the delivery to be a standard "run of the mill" delivery and missed and important step that has impacted a life permanently. The disabled boy was Chief McGrail's son. He used that story to illustrate that routine and complacency can have impacts that may far surpass or awareness. He was let down by someone that he trusted. Don't let that doctor be you! People count on us everyday. Don't let them down!.

Travis Preau

Burning Bridges!!!

So I learned a while ago that one of the most important rules in networking is "Never Burn Bridges". Well some people are horrible when it comes to remembering that. Last year in my Sports Management class our teacher told us this story about a coach in our athletic conference. JMU had to cut a number of their male sports last year, Track and Field happened to be one of them. A coach in the conference sent an e-mail to JMU's Athletic Director telling him that he was a coward and they didn't respect him. The reasoning behind this being that instead of the Athletic Director telling the team that their sport would be cut, he sent the Assistant Athletic Director.

Well, JMU's Athletic Director forwarded that e-mail to every other Athletic Director in the CAA. This past May VCU opened a position looking for a new head coach. The coach that sent the e-mail applied for the job. Needless to say they did not get the position and probably will not ever work for a school in the CAA.

Customer Service??

Nordstrom has a reputation as one of the top companies in customer service and they proved it when I had an issue. I purchased two pairs of jeans on the 24^th of September. I’m short so I always have to get my jeans altered. I left them at them at the store on the 24^th and was told to come and get them on the 2^nd of October. I returned on the 2^nd and on both pairs of jeans one leg was shorter than the other. I called the store about the jeans and was told to bring them in again and I would have them ready the next day. So I brought them back that day and returned on the 3^rd the very next day and they were still wrong. One leg was still shorter than the other.

The seamstress came in the fitting room looking stupid and acting like she didn’t realize that they still weren’t right. At this point I am pissed because this was my third time coming back to the store and my jeans still weren’t right. I got a sales associate to call the manager who was very apologetic. She asked me if I needed anything, and took a statement from me and promised to have the store manager call me the very next day. Even though I was angry, I appreciated the way the manager handled the situation.

The store manger called me the next morning and said she would refund the amount of the alterations. She then said I could get a new pair of jeans or I could bring back the ones I had and she would personally make sure they were altered the correct way. I chose to just get the pair of jeans and get them altered somewhere else. I liked the way both the manager and the store manager handled the situation. There is nothing worse then buying something, having problems with it and then having issues getting the problem fixed. Nordstrom gets an A in my book for customer service.

Horrible Sevice @ B-Dubz

So Monday after class me and a friend of mine decided that we would go to Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the Cowboys game. When we got there the host told us that we would have to find a seat anywhere because they were packed. Well when we finally found a table it was dirty and I asked could it be cleaned so that we could sit down, eat, and enjoy the game. Someone did clean off the table....20 MINUTES LATER! I was upset but figured we'd just enjoy the game. We ordered our drinks but needed time to decide what we wanted to eat. When we began looking for the waitress because another 20 minutes passed we saw her sitting at a table with a group of guys holding on a conversation. She finally came and took our orders. Now at most restaurants that I attend the waitress comes back and asks "How is everything going?" or "Do you need anything else?", she never did that. Another waitress refreshed our drinks and cleared our table. In the end we didn't leave our waitress a tip but gave it to the other waitress.

MY EXPERIENCE

While I have been in and out of the work force I have learned many skills that I have then taken and applied to my personal life. The service industry particularly restaurants and hotels, calls for a manager who is capable of balancing both his staff and satisfying customer service. Being able to communicate with staff to assure that the job is executed correctly and that the demands of the labors then being fulfilled. Keeping workers moral up is also something a manager must keep in mind, whether it’s vacation time off or a bonus in a paycheck. Making sure that your staff is happy with their job and its environment boosts how effective and efficient a worker is. Ensuring a customer is treated properly is the manager’s job because that is the first person an angry client is going to ask for. By responding in a way that handles the situation quickest satisfying all concerns with out reprimanding staff immediately on site is the best.

Managers are the key entity of the service industry because they are the ones who are held accountable. Accountability is simply to be responsible to somebody for something. As a result if someone for example someone buys a MacDonald’s and heirs you to manage the place. You are excepting the responsibility of the food, service, quality, profit, staff and records. Every little responsibility that follows running a fast food restaurant. Profits and customer service are going to be your top two priorities and if you succeed with that you should have a well ran establishment.

The Village Concept

This week I learned about a new business concept that will soon revolutionize the level of service delivery for the City of Richmond Fire Department. In a traditional means many will not readily make a connection with a Fire Department as being a business entity. It is however. Businesses ordinarily provide products and services as is the case with the fire department. Our output is not however measured in number of units produced or sold, but rather how effectively we mitigate emergencies and handle customer service issues. The new village concept addresses a new way to approach customer service delivery.

The Village Concept decentralizes the fire department and places ownership for a community on the individual fire stations within those villages. Instead of calling a central fire administration to have your personal issues addressed, you can have your local fire station better meet your needs. By placing the ownership on the individual fire companies they are better able to respond to the needs of their particular village. The key advantages to this concept are increased responsiveness to customer needs, more creative problem solving, and a vested interest in the successes and failures of the village.

The Fire Service is now only slowly becoming an organization that understand the importance of good customer service and an improved responsiveness to customer needs. It has begun to learn from the successes of the business world and developed policy innovations that mirror that of many Fortune 500 companies. The new direction of the Richmond Fire Department, with regard to the Village Concept, will make it one of the most innovative fire service organizations and set the bar for other fire service organizations to emulate.

Business

I have learned many things about business from my past work experience. The first and most important part of any business is communication. Though cliche, communication is key. As an employee you should be able to speak with your employer and colleagues about anything that bothers you without feeling inferior. As an employer you should discuss any issues you have with an employee, with that employee not anyone else. I recently worked at Victory Lady Fitness Center with all women and that was an issue I faced. My manger would discuss things about other employees with me and though I didn't comment on it, it was unnecessary. I would know why and when someone got fired, or if she didn't like the person. That in itself was completely unprofessional as was the business itself. I also worked at Victoria's Secret which was also all women and the same thing happened there. Work environment is very important when it comes to any job. I have decided that I don't want to be in a business with an all female staff. That is harsh but after having two jobs with the same outcome, i just don't want to do it anymore. I am not saying that the same thing wont happen if I work with a male and female staff, but that just how I feel right now.

Customer Service plays a huge role in running a successful business. If you are dealing with the public then you need to know how to speak to them and handle your self in a professional manner. You are going to have people be rude to you, but you have to know how to not respond back in the same manner. Also everyone needs to be professional and if you have rules they need to apply to everyone not just some people. For example if Sara is late and gets written up, then Bobby is late and gets a warning that isn't fair. The rules need to be the same for everyone. needs to get written up also. Many lessons can be learned from working in different businesses, some good some bad, but I think the challenges we face help prepare us for later in life.

Business

I've learned several things about business in the past year. Last summer I interned in a design studio, my first real "job" in the fashion industry. As an intern, I wasn't ever exactly sure I was doing everything right. The company was a small clothing line based out of Charleston, South Carolina - but the design studio was fast paste and at times very intimidating. I learned there to always act confident in the work you do and the assignment you've been given. Half of the time I was there I had no idea what exactly to do when first given an assignment. Once I sat down at my desk and thought about how I would do things - I always finished the task with flying colors. I was always glad I figured things out myself before asking questions. This may not be the case in all situations, seeing that sometimes asking questions is a very good idea. In certain cases, I think you should always act confident and know a company hired you for a reason.

Another important thing I've learned is that when working with any sort of business, communication is key. It sounds very simple and obvious, but being organized and having good communication skills is extremely important. When dealing with things like production in the fashion industry, communication can make or break a line. Communication skills with manufacturers, buyers and clientele is what sells a product or a brand. Being patient and clear with request to manufacturers in India, for example, is a key element in producing a line successfully. Organization is also very important. Being able to pull up old files and documents to find out where something went wrong, or even what made something so successful is valuable attribute in making a business work.

Cafe Solace

Cafe Solace is a locally owned neighborhood coffee shop with some very unique characteristics. Our coffee shop will be open 24 hours, helping people stay awake during those last excruciating hours before a deadline! Along with our unique hours, Cafe Solace will provide live entertainment from 6:00 - 11:00 pm Wednesday through Sunday. We hope our business will bring the community together in the appreciation of local artist and musicians. Along with our entertainment nights, various artist, musicians, and poets will be available on a weekly basis to give lessons in specific areas. Cafe Solace will be the perfect place to come relax, work, learn and play - all while sipping on the best coffee in town.

CAFÉ SOLACE

The CAFÉ SOLACE Coffee Shop is locally owned and managed company.