“I know the owner” is a phrase I hear most often from a disgruntled customer. When those words reach my ears all I can think is “Hah! I know him, too!” I’ve worked for my boss for 12 years, but I still wait for him to leave so I can slack off. It’s kind of hard to put anything past him, since my boss is my dad.
In 1979, my dad, Richard Eid, became the owner of a service station where he had previously been a mechanic. Almost 30 years later, it has evolved into a convenience store/gas station, Rich’s Mini Mart, in Parma, Ohio. The store runs efficiently with nine employees and seven family members. I’ve been working with my dad for a long time, and in that time I’ve learned a lot. My mom, brother, sister, aunt and even my 82-year-old grandmother have joined the ranks, as well.
I’ve learned that when we argue, the best thing to do is to walk away and cool off. If any of us breaks down, the store would not run properly, so we have to keep our cool. It’s hard to remember that, but we seem to be doing a good job at it.
The complaint department consists of me, my brother and my sister. But it’s usually just the three of us filing our own complaints, since no one else wants to hear them. Most of this activity takes place in our crowded office area, which looks worse than a garage sale. There is paperwork scattered all over the place, products crammed in small spaces and notes everywhere from each of us asking if anyone knows where the duct tape is.
Our “business meetings” are practically the only times we get together anymore. They mostly consist of chatter about who did what wrong, which customer did what offbeat thing or which employee is dating another. Family functions? Too busy working our shifts. Spending holidays together? That’s unheard of, since we see each other every day anyway. When we do have the occasional holiday dinner, the conversation usually centers on the store.
We have a system. Whenever one of us comes in to relieve the other, we know right away if they are in a bad mood by our code phrase, “Don’t go there.” Hearing that, we know to steer clear or else there will be an argument. It took us a long time and a lot of disagreements to develop this system. We space ourselves out and try to work different shifts so we don’t get on each other’s nerves. Sometimes there is an overlap; that’s how “Don’t go there” was born.
For the most part, we get along. I won’t lie; it’s hard working day after day with every member of my family. But we are always there for each other when something happens. We band together when an employee doesn’t come to work or there is a problem with a customer.
When customers joke with my dad about when he’s going to fire me (I hope it’s a joke), I just laugh and say that will never happen. I know my dad thinks highly of me. I’m there to run the store when he is sick or out of town, and I know that he trusts me. It’s nice to know the trust is there, but I still like to goof around every so often.
There are many perks to working with my family. When I need a day off I can have it. When there is a crisis in my life, I know my job will still be there when I get back. Best of all, I know I have the support of my family. We work together every day, so they know everything about me. They know how to make me feel better when I’m down and know the right things to say. I’d have to say that I wouldn’t give it up for anything in the world.
Diana Eid lives and writes in North Royalton, Ohio.