Staff Development Day

We take a day off once a year for a Staff Development Day. It is very important, official and serious. Here are some photos from last year's event. In the first photo you can see the staff taking a test. As you can see, they cheat liberally. I have to say that if you are taking some kind of test and want to cheat, sit near Gwyn and Tracey.* That's Tracey holding her paper up for Gwyn to copy. Janet is a not as 'easy' with the answers as you can see; she's actually trying to think things through for herself.


















In additions to testing the staff's product knowledge we like to give them some endurance training. This is the 'see how long you can keep your heiney in a teeny train seat' portion of the day. As you can probably tell, they all do fairly well at that. We went to Pullen Park last year for our staff day. It was an almost perfect location. The weather was fabulous and we had delicious food. That last picture is Galen carrying the box that the caterer put the lunch in. I don't know who they think we are, but it was a really heavy giant box. This year I hope we have a few smaller boxes so Galen doesn't have to work so hard.

So where are we going this year? What are we doing? Well, that is a secret. Everyone on the staff has to be at Ornamentea on the morning of May 1st to get their map and instructions. They have to wear sunscreen and clothes that can get dirty. Oh, and comfortable shoes. The stores are both closed all day, which probably makes a few of our customers mad, but the staff is never really able to be in one place at one time. This gives us that opportunity and we also get to refresh ourselves and play together. I think this helps us all to help the customers; to be ready to work together to give our customers the best service and advice we can. Plus, honestly, it is so much fun to just spend a day in the park when, technically, you are supposed to be working. It's that old hookey feeling, you know?


*The point of sitting near Gwyn and Tracey is that they will cheat but they won't be at all subtle about it. The proctor or professor giving you the test will be so amazed at their behavior you can read the notes written on your hand and not get caught. NOT that I am condoning cheating of any kind. Or writing on your hand. Ink is bad for your skin.