July 22, 2008

End of an Era

So Sunday I officially retired from the Restaurant industry. Its been a good decade, but I am
tired. For the 2.5 years, I've been working 6 days a week. Bob Evans was my "fun job" I
enjoyed meeting new people all the time and getting some physical exercise.
I started working at Bob Evans when I was a 16 year old senior in high school. I was
homeschooled so I would work the day shift as a hostess. The next year, when I was in
community college, sometimes I would work on homework during the slow afternoons. When
the area director was in town, he would help me with my algebra.

After begging to become a server, one day my manager handed me an apron and a ticket book
and told me to wait on the counter. Considering I had not yet had any training as a server, it
was a bit overwhelming, but lots of fun. A couple weeks later, they finally got around to
"officially" training me. It was a few months after this that I met a customer, who helped me get
a job at the airport. I took a leave of absence from Bob Evans and worked there during the
school year.

I couldn't stay away too long and next summer I was back in my blue apron. I still preferred the
morning shift, but would work an occasional evening. I was going to MoBap at this time in my
life, so I would adjust my schedule around school. That was one thing I loved about the
managers. They were so flexible with me. I would tell them what days I could work, and they
would let me work those days.

When I graduated college I waitressed almost full time. It was a great shift, it seemed like most
days I wanted to work, someone else wanted a day off, which was a perfect arrangement.
Since I only was obligated to work a couple days, I was free to job hunt when I needed. When I
was hired for an office job, I only worked the weekends for a couple months, then dropped to
one day a week.

Working at Bob Evans only Sunday mornings was so nice. I made just enough cash to never
have to use an ATM. I had my own regulars who would always ask for my section. I moved up
in seniority and got the early shift, getting out of bed was rough, but seeing the sun rise was
always worth it.

This summer I reached my "official" five year anniversary (really its been 8, but the leave of
absence messed with my employment history). It was my goal to reach 5 years, and you get a
5 year present. So once I reached my goal, it was only a matter of time before I decided to
retire.

6 comments:

Becky said...

Longtime no see!

Happy retirement, lol! Seems kind of funny to say to someone so young. ;)

That's great to have a job where they work with you so well. It pays to be a good worker, because employers want to keep you at all costs!

Jenster said...

Sounds like a great job and a bittersweet retirement. I'm excited to see what's next in your future!

Jules said...

Wow! Retirement's good, right? And so what was the prize at the end of the long road? Something spectacular, I'm sure?
And your future plans are.........?

Robin said...

Now that you have spare time we are hoping you will spend it blogging.

Tanya said...

Thanks everyone. I did miss it a little bit this Sunday, but having and extra day to sleep in sure was nice.

Muddy said...

Sounds like you had a great set up. My daughter worked at chick fil at her senior year of homeschooling this past year during the mornings. She is still working there, and enjoys it for the most part. She plans to just work this first semester, and perhaps go on to community college in Jan-or in the least next summer.

Congrats on your retirement. Sounds like you had a wonderful arrangement with this company.

The Bob Evans around here closed. I never went to one to see how it stacked up next to the other offerings nearby.