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I was thinking about this the other day. Every now and then you interact with someone over a long period of time and you don't really realize just how much of an impact that person had on you. Lately, I've been thinking of Margarita. For no real reason except the thought makes me smile.
Let me tell you why.
When I was in college back in Alaska, I was managing a Taco Bell. One day, I was making the schedule for the week when a grandmother and her grandson came to the counter and asked to speak to me.
I went to introduce myself and the grandson asks me why we haven't put his grandmother on the schedule. I told him because she doesn't work here. At that point the store manager comes up from the back and tells me that she had hired the grandmother, Margarita, two weeks ago and forgot to inform me.
So there I stand with egg on my face. Margarita stood at 5'6" had white, loosely curled hair and an infectious smile. She also spoke zero English. That didn't bother me because everyone else on the closing shift, which I was the manager of, did.
It was also very fortuitous that she showed up when she did because I was short one closer. SCORE!
So I put her to work that night and she quickly developed into a full time employee for the following reasons:
1) She showed up!
2) She wanted to be there.
3) She NEVER complained.
All she wanted to do was clean.
And, man, was she ever good at it.
Which brings me to the memory of Margarita that makes me smile.
It was the 4th of July. It was the busiest day my store had EVER seen. We were basically a Taco Bell Express at the end of a strip mall. We were not a full line store. That day we had exceeded the days projection by 100%! We made over $4400 dollars on a day that we were only projected to do around $2000.00. Needless to say, we were busy!
I spent about two hours calling other Taco Bells coordinating transfers of stock and food so that we wouldn't run out. By the time we closed at 2 AM every pot and pan in my store was dirty and piled in the back. You could barely walk into the kitchen area because the dishes were piled all over. Not only that, the three sinks we had were also piled up, too.
Let me clarify the three sinks, each sink was 3 feet wide by 3 feel long by 3 feet deep. You go Wash, Rinse and Sanatize. And each of them were filled with dirty dishes.
I told Juan to tell Margarita that as soon as I was done with my paperwork I would be back there to help her out. Paperwork is fairly standard so I was done in about 45 minutes. So I walk into the back to help Margarita and stop in my tracks.
SHE WAS FINISHING UP THE LAST DISH AS I WALKED AROUND THE CORNER!!!!!
I was floored. I called Juan back to ask her how she was able to do all those dishes so quickly. Juan asked. Margarita answered. Juan said that she found the best scrub brush that she had ever seen and just went to town on the dirty dishes.
I'm scratching my head trying to figure out what scrub brush she is talking about because all Taco Bell has was the thin green scrub pads. So I ask him to ask her to show me the scrub brush.
So she smiles that infectious smile of hers and reaches into the soapy water of the first sink and pulls out the scrub brush.
And my jaw almost hits the floor. Juans, too.
She was holding a toilet brush! I couldn't help myself. I just started to laugh and laugh hard. As Juan tells her what the brush is really for her smile slips from her face and I just laugh even more. Juan is trying not to laugh, too.
Margarita starts to speak very fast and even I, with my crappy Spanish, can tell that she is trying to apologize. I finally stop laughing and tell her that it's all right.
Between Margarita, myself and Juan, we were able to get all the dishes that Margarita originally cleaned rewashed, cleaned and resanitzed in just over an hour and 15 minutes.
To this day, the memory of Margarita holding up the toilet brush as a scrub brush and the sheer excitement she had in her smile still brings a smile to my face.
So, Margarita, this thread's for you!
Let me tell you why.
When I was in college back in Alaska, I was managing a Taco Bell. One day, I was making the schedule for the week when a grandmother and her grandson came to the counter and asked to speak to me.
I went to introduce myself and the grandson asks me why we haven't put his grandmother on the schedule. I told him because she doesn't work here. At that point the store manager comes up from the back and tells me that she had hired the grandmother, Margarita, two weeks ago and forgot to inform me.
So there I stand with egg on my face. Margarita stood at 5'6" had white, loosely curled hair and an infectious smile. She also spoke zero English. That didn't bother me because everyone else on the closing shift, which I was the manager of, did.
It was also very fortuitous that she showed up when she did because I was short one closer. SCORE!
So I put her to work that night and she quickly developed into a full time employee for the following reasons:
1) She showed up!
2) She wanted to be there.
3) She NEVER complained.
All she wanted to do was clean.
And, man, was she ever good at it.
Which brings me to the memory of Margarita that makes me smile.
It was the 4th of July. It was the busiest day my store had EVER seen. We were basically a Taco Bell Express at the end of a strip mall. We were not a full line store. That day we had exceeded the days projection by 100%! We made over $4400 dollars on a day that we were only projected to do around $2000.00. Needless to say, we were busy!
I spent about two hours calling other Taco Bells coordinating transfers of stock and food so that we wouldn't run out. By the time we closed at 2 AM every pot and pan in my store was dirty and piled in the back. You could barely walk into the kitchen area because the dishes were piled all over. Not only that, the three sinks we had were also piled up, too.
Let me clarify the three sinks, each sink was 3 feet wide by 3 feel long by 3 feet deep. You go Wash, Rinse and Sanatize. And each of them were filled with dirty dishes.
I told Juan to tell Margarita that as soon as I was done with my paperwork I would be back there to help her out. Paperwork is fairly standard so I was done in about 45 minutes. So I walk into the back to help Margarita and stop in my tracks.
SHE WAS FINISHING UP THE LAST DISH AS I WALKED AROUND THE CORNER!!!!!
I was floored. I called Juan back to ask her how she was able to do all those dishes so quickly. Juan asked. Margarita answered. Juan said that she found the best scrub brush that she had ever seen and just went to town on the dirty dishes.
I'm scratching my head trying to figure out what scrub brush she is talking about because all Taco Bell has was the thin green scrub pads. So I ask him to ask her to show me the scrub brush.
So she smiles that infectious smile of hers and reaches into the soapy water of the first sink and pulls out the scrub brush.
And my jaw almost hits the floor. Juans, too.
She was holding a toilet brush! I couldn't help myself. I just started to laugh and laugh hard. As Juan tells her what the brush is really for her smile slips from her face and I just laugh even more. Juan is trying not to laugh, too.
Margarita starts to speak very fast and even I, with my crappy Spanish, can tell that she is trying to apologize. I finally stop laughing and tell her that it's all right.
Between Margarita, myself and Juan, we were able to get all the dishes that Margarita originally cleaned rewashed, cleaned and resanitzed in just over an hour and 15 minutes.
To this day, the memory of Margarita holding up the toilet brush as a scrub brush and the sheer excitement she had in her smile still brings a smile to my face.
So, Margarita, this thread's for you!
