IT'S NEVER TOO LATE!

So, back to my work background.  Syms had the new hires train at their Addison location until the new store was ready to move into. We took a train from downtown, if we didn’t drive, were met at the station and taken to the store.  We were reimbursed for our train fare.  After the training ended and the construction at the store was completed, we got to help clean, move merchandise into place and get ready for the store’s opening.  Employees from their East coast stores came in to coordinate the work.

I enjoyed working there, but their business was not what they had hoped for and it was decided that they would close the store after three years.  I wanted to look for a similar line of work, rather than go back into an office.  When I applied at Filene’s Basement, a former Syms manager was working there and he put in a recommendation for me, so I was hired.  I started part-time with the expectation that it would lead to full-time employment.  Later, however, I discovered that very few people there were ever put on full-time.  They had to reach supervisor status and most of the managers the store was hiring were not inside promotions.  I felt underutilized, under-appreciated and underpaid, so I eventually quit.  I was nearly 62 then and I had decided to take early retirement.  I will continue my story tomorrow.