First Priority
When closing a store down for good don’t forget that there are still moments to take advantage of to have fun.
I’ll just leave this here…
I also got a great email from Tera about what she went through closing a store down:
“My first store closed, East Lansing MI, because they couldn’t negotiate the lease, so I can definitely relate to how much it
sucks. I couldn’t transfer initially, but after moving I found another job at a different location. I know how terrible customers are at this time, and how depressing it gets, and wanted to share some of my store closing experiences.
One, everyone that stayed until the bitter end got to pick one of the book cover canvas posters from the wall (I have Fitzgerald’s This Side of Paradise). I also got a French press, iced tea pitchers, some flavored syrups for coffee (I worked in the cafe as well). People got to take lounge chairs and fans. All the food in the cafe got distributed. All the strip books you wanted. Small but worthy consolations. Two, the last day our store was open (New Years Eve as it happened) my amazing store
manager was ruthless to any customer who was even a little insensitive to our situation. She told us to just walk away when people were douchey, no consequences. We could also call her phone and she’d tell us a joke from one of those awful joke
books if we got sad. She didn’t get transferred anywhere, but in the month following our close when we packed up the store she used company time to bring in resume workshop people and buy lunches and let us watch Ghostbusters.
Lastly, a bunch of our regulars came at the end. The good regulars who were polite and spent money and knew everyone’s name. One couple who always got lunch in our cafe brought a flower for each person working. My store manager gave the final
closing announcement, choking back tears and thanking everyone for ten great years of business, and everyone left in the store, the regulars and old employees who stopped in for a farewell, stood and applauded. Standing there with flowers in our
hands in front of the people we enjoyed working for and helping while they clapped and cried is one of the most bittersweet memories I have.”
Tera, thanks for that email. It’s been a great comfort.
