The job is easy enough, but manually labor intensive. It's at least a solid 6 hours of lifting, bending and stooping over products weighing as much as 35lbs each. That part has its advantages, as it builds stronger muscles and increases stamina, but for those of us not used to working that way, it makes for a very sore body at the end of a long day.
My favorite thing about the job is that there is a bit of puzzle solving in each day. At the end of each part of the job, you have to figure out where to put your back stock, in an organized way and in the limited space provided so that the next time you need any of that product, it is easy to find and easy to get to. It helps immensely that we work in different stores nearly everyday. It keeps the puzzle aspect going because you are never the same person that worked your backstock last. In that way, it's a bit of an imperfect system. If you did work your own stores day in and day out, you would know precisely which items to order and which ones to stock up on based on the age old practice of supply and demand. However, merchandisers DO NOT work well with salespeople and vice versa. In fact, salespeople love to tell merchandisers what to do and merchandisers love to complain that salespeople order way too much or not enough of something. I think it would be a wonderful thing to demonstrate on a show such as Undercover Boss.
For me, I am paying my dues, learning as much as I can and building as many good relationships as possible in hopes that my next opportunity will be in sales. I look forward to a long and happy business relationship with Columbia Distributing. Yay me. A new job, and possibly...a brand new career!!
