So, new development at work!
I've officially had the title of Lead Customer Service Representative since the beginning of January. With our current store hierarchy it basically means that I've been the acting assistant manager. I've actually been doing the job since the middle of November, but Will wasn't going to make any definite move on it until his boss gave the go-ahead and Kelsey was removed from the picture.
Today, his boss called about the current status of the actual store manager - her leave has been extended yet again and it really looks like she won't be coming back. This means that he wants me to be moved up to be co-assistant manager with Will. Will is still an assistant manager on paper but has all the responsibilities of the store manager, and I've been doing the assistant manager job despite not actually being one on paper. So, on paper, Will and I will both be assistant managers with Will being the senior assistant manager and me being the junior assistant manager. And I'm perfectly okay with this.
We did talk about what I would do if, say, he moved to another store to manage it. I told him that I'd prefer to continue to work alongside him but if necessary that I would run our current store as acting manager until somebody else was hired to do the job and then move to whatever store he was at. Will was surprised by this, but I explained that while I know I could be a full store manager that it is not something I actually want, that I've done it enough times in that past to know that I really don't want the headache that goes with the role, especially if I'm put in a store that needs serious work to get it up to standards. Not that our store is in need of that - we have a decent enough team, and even the problematic staff we have has potential to be much better - which is why I'd stay put at our store if absolutely necessary.
I know that the newest manager in our territory isn't the strongest and there's a chance that they will not last for much longer. Will and I have already discussed the possibility of switching off managing both our store and that store instead of him having to split his week between both stores like he was when there was a search on for a new manager for that store in the first place, with me running things on his days off. Basically, it would mean that we both work M-F as acting store managers at opposite stores. It's not ideal and I would miss working directly with him, but I know we'd be okay.
It was that whole experience that made it clear to both Will and the territory manager that they had won the jackpot when they hired me. Kelsey flaked off and couldn't be counted on to show up, so with Will's permission I had done up a schedule that had me cover the two shifts a week he had to be at the other store and pretty much cut Kelsey out of the picture. Plus, she was on 'holidays' during part of this and I knew she wasn't coming back, so...
But I stepped up and ran things even before I got the lead CSR position. I handled a rough weekend with very little input from Will, and kept things going at the store. And I'm a hell of a lot more reliable than Kelsey was at the end, even when I'm feeling like utter shit mentally. And it's paid off...4.5 months with the company and I'm already going to officially be getting the assistant manager role. Considering that it was something I didn't want when I started there, especially after the bullshit I'd gone through under Nicole at the hotel. I was completely turned off of management roles, regardless of how well I knew I could do in any of those roles, because I was scared of ending up with another narcissistic boss. But Will has been anything but that, and I respect and trust him a great deal.
I'm hoping to stay with this company until I'm ready to retire or my body falls apart, whatever happens first. So what if I'm working at a gas station? It's a good job with a decent company where I feel like a person instead of a speed bump or a pile of garbage. I've got decent extended health benefits that will be kicking in at the end of March, and I honestly feel appreciated and heard. All those things are major for me, so long as I earn enough money to get by on. The rest will come in time as it's meant to. I'll take it.
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