I have had a plethora of jobs ever since my debut in the working world at Connie Cone Snow Cones at 16. I currently am fortunate to work for a Mississippi senator and get to help Mississippians almost daily. In the summers I’ve had the opportunity to get legal experience and assist practicing attorneys. All through undergrad, I worked for a governmental “think tank” and got to do extensive research in Mississippi politics.
After a summer at Connie Cone, I could wield a flavor dispenser like Tom Cruise in “Cocktail.” All of these jobs have taught me a great deal, but one surpasses them all. Following the snow cone days and preceding the think tank was, without a doubt, the greatest learning experience I’ve had thus far.
I was (pause for dramatic effect) the head monogrammer at the Monogram Hut. What exactly is a head monogrammer, you might ask? You know all of the monogrammed towels, toiletry bags and other odd pieces that you were given as graduation gifts? I was the girl who put them there.
From delicate newborn smocks to bulky golf bags, I was the go-to girl for all things monogrammable. I worked with huge embroidery machines that were nearly double the value of the 1998 Ford Taurus I had to drive in high school, and they had nearly as many technical problems as the ole Silver Bullet I drove. The surprisingly complex process of monogramming, however, wasn’t the biggest learning curve of the job. It was the customers.
When I starting working there, the Monogram Hut was a small kiosk located adjacent to the food court of the Turtle Creek Mall in Hattiesburg. Like a watering hole in the Sahara, a mall food court provides a diverse cross-section sample of a community. Every type of person imaginable is there, and I had a front-row seat to witness their social interactions.
Moving into an actual store didn’t end my education in human behaviors. Not only did I witness every personality type known to man, but I had to politely deal with them. You have the Chatty Cathys and the Silent Susans. You have the extremely nice and considerate people who actually make you smile. Then you have the types who treat people in retail as less than dirt.
Working the Monogram Hut on Black Friday still conjures up more nightmares than the scariest installment in the “Saw” series. I’ve chased down a stolen diaper bag and had a newly stitched towel wrap thrown in my face and stomped on, and those were some of the easier days.
All that being said, it was truly a great experience. I learned the importance of being kind and respectful. I realized how much a simple smile or thank you can brighten someone’s rotten day. If everyone worked retail at least once in their life, I think we would all be a little nicer and more pleasant to one another. Or at a minimum, we would treat people currently working in retail much better.
Anna Rush is a law student from Hattiesburg. She graduated from Mississippi State University in 2011.
