Quantum Newsprint hosted by Bill Sjoblom

Are You a Quitter?

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a blog Are You a Smoker?  I got responses from three people who wanted to quit smoking.  That's a great start!  I wanted to share one story (with permission) that I found very interesting and yes, inspiring...from Bryant in Syracuse:

You will be glad to know that as of today I have been smoke free for five days. I know that does not seem like a lot to most but to a smoker that is a big step.

How you may ask?

Well, I'll get to that but first I will answer why I quit. Main reason is health (the most obvious) but did you know that here in NY a pack can cost you about 8-9 bucks a pack? Lets see... that's one pack a day, seven days a week comes to 252 dollars a month... to slowly kill myself.  Not to mention the smell (in your clothes, your car, on your hands, and worst of all your home). I could go on and on but now you will learn what surprised me the most, was how I quit.

This part is going to seem odd... but effective. After the long drive home from ASDG (Keep in mind, that during this whole story I have not had one cigarette) I went straight to bed and awoke that Sunday to find myself feeling a little under the weather. At first I brushed it off as fatigue and went about my day... Monday came and I knew I had caught a little cold, all the signs were there.

For the record, however, I hardly ever get sick but when I do... its bad, so as you can imagine, that Tuesday was pretty tough.  I pushed myself through the day and slumped to the sofa where my wife began to cater to my every need (Even if it was a need I didn't desire. She has a pushy bedside manner) Morning came and ohhh... did I hurt. Classic Flu. The aches, pains, cough, and tissues were in full bloom. The biggest shocker was that my loving wife had used my phone to call Lynnette the night before to inform her that I was not going to able to make it to work. Yes, I was just as shocked as you probably are and I was little conflicted. I loved her more for what she did yet felt slighted at the same time. Luckily (for both our sake I think now) the flu had sapped me of all energy to be able to fight against her better judgement. It was at that time spent in bed that I decided to test the old saying, "it is always best to quit when you are sick".  I found this to be true. The whole time I was fighting the flu I was also going through withdrawal of smoking. Killing two birds with one stone in a way.

I don't recommend a smoker go find the nearest flu bug to quit but it helped me. Hhmmm.. first time I can recall being happy I got sick.  So far, so good. With no cravings I can go each day making the right step to a happier healthier me.

Next step is to get the wife to quit... least I can do for what she does for me.

Great story, Bryant!  It is really hard to kick this habit.  Please take a moment to send Bryant an email to encourage him -- or get his help if you want to stop smoking (bmawyer@quantum-services.com).

What about the rest of you?  Anyone else want to share how they are kicking the habit?  And don't forget my offer.  If you want to quit we want to help.  If you are on our health insurance contact BAC or Pam Hoyt for details on what our plan covers.  If you are not on our health insurance let Pam (phoyt@quantum-services.com) or me know if you want our help with a quit smoking aid. 

Introducing Paula from Tampa and Steve from Tucson

Last week the New DM workshop was held in Columbus and I had the opportunity to sit down and get to know two of our newer DM's...Paula from Tampa and Steve from Tucson.  Here are some interesting things I learned:

Paula was promoted to the DM position in Tampa last September but she has worked for QS for more than three years. She mentioned that Sheri from Orlando has been a tremendous help to her as she learned this new position!

One of the things you may not know about Paula is that she has worked in the c-store industry for more than twenty-five years starting out as a cashier for Circle K when she was 19 years old.  Over her career she was a store manager for both Circle K and 7-Eleven.  If Paula could visit any event past, present of future she would like to attend the inauguration of JFK.  She is fascinated by the Kennedy's. 

If Paula could throw any kind of party she wanted it would be a white party - the guests dress in white, she would serve white food, all the furniture would be white and so on! 

Paula has been doing a great job in our Tampa division - Thanks!

Steve transferred from Denver to Tucson in December of last year and was promoted to DM.  Steve is an interesting guy with a lot of interests.  One thing you may not know about Steve is that he has more than 5,000 books and is an avid reader.  He also has lived in 22 different cities and 21 different states - mostly because he transferred a lot when he was a district manager for RGIS for three and a half years.  He left RGIS because during a slow week he worked 80 hours! 

Steve has a passion for languages and would like to study linguistics someday.  He wants to learn Spanish, French, Arabic and Greek!  The oldest thing Steve owns is a ring from his great grandmother who got it from her great grandmother!  He thinks it is from the early 1900's!

We appreciate all you do for QS, Steve!

Meet Jim from Albany and Danise from Erie!

One thing most people don't know about Jim is that he taught high school English and Social Studies for a few years.  He has two daughters, Andrea - 7 and Maura - 6.  If he could throw any kind of a party it would be one where each guest had to dress up as a character from a Bob Dylan song!

He grew up in a family with seven kids and the person who influenced him the most was his mom because she was always calm and could handle every situation.  The oldest things he owns are some ties and t-shirts from when he was in high school and a toy tractor truck from when he was a kid.  Jim is such a relaxed, easy going guy that he makes everyone around him comfortable.

Danise from the new Erie division used to work as a c-store manager for Country Fair.  She also worked in a nursing home as a nutritionist.  She told me that on her first day she thought "What did I get myself into?" because everyone was so fast!  But she loves working for QS because of the travel and the chance to meet new people everyday. 

What you might not know about Danise is that she is an avid outdoors person.  She loves to hunt (bear hunting is her favorite) and fish (especially for perch).  The oldest thing she owns is a 1919 silver dollar that she uses to wash her hands with each New Year's Eve because she believes that will insure that you will have enough money for the new year.  Her husband Randy is her best friend and she has three kids, Nicole 23, Randy Jr 20 and Andrea 15.

What's New in Your Stores...Your Feedback

I got several great responses for new or interesting items in your c-stores:

From Chad in Roanoke:

Forget flavored waters with vitamins pre-mixed in.   It has been proven that the longer vitamins remain dissolved in a beverage, the less effective they become, over time, for the consumer. 

Now, introducing Karma Water, the water with fresh vitamins that you dispense.   Inside the cap of each bottle are 12 essential, and fresh, vitamins.  A push down of the unique, specialized cap and these vitamins are released into the water.  Just shake and enjoy!   With 6 tasty flavors,  it's sure to have something everyone would enjoy.

I found this today at a Sheetz in Trinity, NC. Thought it was a pretty cool idea!

Check out the advertising video via YouTube here: Karma Water

 From Laura in Tucson:

2 kinds of suckers one with a scorpion and the other one is tequila flavored with a worm

 

From Bonnie in Binghamton:

Mmmm...deviled eggs!  That's what I thought when I first saw these in my Extra Mart.  You may or may not be disappointed when you bite into one though...they are actually made of white chocolate!

Meet Kimberly from Pittsburgh and Bryant from Syracuse!

The Audit Supervisor Development Group (ASDG) was in town the second week of April and I got the chance to get to know Kimberly and Bryant.  Here are some interesting things I learned:

This is Bryant from Syracuse.  His grandfather gave him the nickname "Tadpole" (because he was a great swimmer as a kid) although no one calls him that anymore.  One song that would describe Bryant's life is "Where is My Mind?" by the Pixies.  He picked this song because he lives his life by the seat of his pants - he does not like to plan too far in advance. 

When Bryant was an assistant manager for a Mobil station, he and the manager told a new employees that he had to fill up the air in the air pump station out in the parking lot.  They gave him a blown up trash bag with a nozzle from a Pepsi dispenser and he spent about ten minutes trying to figure out how to attach it to the air machine.

Bryant would like to learn to play classical guitar and he has always dreamed of driving a souped up Dodge Reliant K car!

Kimberly's first job was working for Dairy Queen when she was 15 years old but it was not as great a job as you might think because the owner made them pay for any items that they made a mistake on!  She has two daughters, Felicia and Shanon.  If she could witness any event past, present or future, she would like to be able to go to a live Elvis concert.  She would also love to go King Crab Fishing like the show "Dangerous Catch". 

Kimberly most recently worked for Walmart where she was an inventory supervisor for one store.  She had 12 people working for her and they would do cycle counts on anywhere from 56 to 286 items a day.  She would also be notified on her Telzon if there was product that needed to be restocked.

Meet Ronnie and Matt...

The New DM workshop was in the office last week and I had the opportunity to get to know two more QS people, Ronnie and Matt. 

Meet "Pancakes" our new Division Manager from Binghamton, NY!  Actually his name is Matt but his good friends call him Pancakes because he likes to eat pancake batter!  I have to say, it is one of the more unique nicknames I have heard!  Matt's favorite food to buy at a c-store is Buffalo Combos although he says some bags are flavor duds.  Matt's hero is Steve Prefontaine, a middle and long distance runner who finished 4th in the 5000 meter event in the 1972 Olympics.  Google Prefontaine for more details...evidently he was an inspirational role model.  If Matt could have any special power, he would love to be able to run a sub four minute mile. 

Ronnie is another really interesting guy!  He is our new Division Manager of the Newark, NJ division and has a multi-cultural background.  He spent most of his youth moving back and forth from New York and the Dominican Republic.  By the time I was finished talking to Ronnie, I wanted to catch the next plane to the DR!  Ronnie wears his values on his sleeve - he has always been promoted in every job he has held.  He has a passion for excellence.  His prized possession is a picture his daughter, Amarie (I love that name!) drew when she was four years old (she is now ten). 

More Interesting QS People

A couple of weeks ago we had a group of new Audit Supervisors in town for training.  I had a chance to sit down and get to know three of them a bit better.  This has become one of the favorite parts of my job!  Our people are so interesting and unique.  I wanted you to get to know them a little better too...

Matt is our new Division Manager in Valparaiso, IN.  As I mentioned in a previous blog, he is currently going to school to get his degree.  Matt and I share a love of chicken wings, his favorite are the Parmesan Garlic wings at BW3.  If he could spend a week with any fictional character it would be Michael Scott from the Office.  His favorite place to visit is Chicago - he takes the train into the city and enjoys a Blackhawks game or just visits with friends.  Before coming to work for QS, Matt was a probation officer for the state of Indiana.  He commented that he didn't like the job much because the people he worked with were not really folks he cared to hang out with!  One thing most people don't know about Matt is that he does not like chocolate...crazy!

Corey is a new Audit Supervisor in our Jackson, MS division.  He is soft spoken and laid back.  Before coming to work for QS, Corey was a Repo Man!  I had to ask him if his job was exciting as it seems if you watch one of those Repo Man TV shows.  I was so disappointed when he said, no, it was mostly boring work.  He describes his wife as a "born again hippie".  He has two girls ages 6 and 3 (Daisy and Clover - hmm...I see the hippie influence there?) that he absolutely adores.  Corey is a bit of a history buff - if he could witness any event, past, present or future, it would be the signing of the Declaration of Independence.  He loves to visit New Orleans.  He has probably been there 40 or 50 times!

I was so happy to meet Jeff, a new Audit Supervisor from our Syracuse division.  Before coming to work for QS, Jeff was an assistant manager for Walmart, responsible for about half of the operations in a store.  He transferred several times for promotions with Walmart and ended up in Albany, NY which was just too far away from his son and girlfriend.  So he quit, moved back to Syracuse.  Jeff's passion is fishing, mostly in freshwater steams and lakes.   He would really like to be present when we find life on another planet! 

Self Improvement

Over the past few months when people come into the office for a workshop or training, I have tried to carve out a little time to get to know people a little better.  I have shared some of those with  you and will continue to do so.

One of the things that I was happily surprised by was that so many of the folks I talked to were going to school at night or actively involved somehow in furthering their education and learning.  Stephanie (Providence), Zada (San Jose), Matt (Valparaiso) all are going to school at night. 

For the past 5 weeks I have been taking a class at my church titled "What Guys Need to Know" which was basically a class for guys interested in improving their marriage.  It gave me a small taste of what it must be like for some of you that go to school at night. 

I am interested?  If you are going to school or taking a class and working for QS I would like to hear from you.  What are you studying?  How do you juggle your work and classes?  Please share your story!

A Pretty Exclusive Club

The final year end P&L's came out a couple of weeks ago.  I took a quick glance with only one measure in mind.  Which division's financial results were better in 2011 compared to 2010? 

It's a pretty exclusive club...one that we can all enthusiastically applaud.  Although I have listed the DM here, to get results like this requires a team effort.  The $ improvement is also listed:

• Riverside (Carmen)   +$  9,496
• Cleveland (Jamie)   +$  1,541
• Columbus (Dave)   +$  6,614
• Tupelo (Rob)   +$42,815
• Providence (Ryan)   +$  5,554
• Fredricksburg (George)   +$ 515
• Buffalo (Karla)   +$  7,210
• Miami (Valerie)   +$  4,075
• Bristol (Brandon)   +$24,005
• Toledo (Joe)   +$12,425
• Phoenix (Chris)   +$   7,745
• Brooklyn (Dimitri)   +$  2.396
• Dover (Pam)   +$  5,591
• Louisville (Doug)   +$ 9,339
• Albany (Ron)   +$ 11,618

Congratulations to all of these divisions and each person that worked and sacrificed to make these results possible!

As I Reflect on This Past Year

They used to say that behind every successful man is a good woman.  In today's world it is more accurate to say that behind every successful person are people who provide support, love and understanding.  I know this is true of each person that works for QS. 

Your job is difficult.  You often have to leave early in the morning, leaving your spouse or partner to get the rest of the family started on their day.  Your schedules are variable - you often don't know exactly when you will get home.  This can create problems for your loved ones.  And when you get home, there is often more work to do.  Scheduling, returning phone calls and paperwork cut into your family time. 

I am thankful for each and every person who provides the support, love and understanding that allows QS people to be so committed to their clients and our company. 

I want to share one recent story that has stuck in my mind.  Just before Thanksgiving I announced (I Am Thankful for Ted) that QS would change our waiting period for holiday pay from one year to 90 days.  I received many replies thanking QS for this decision, but here is the one that was most striking to me.  I received this email at 3:19 pm ON THANKSGIVING day:

This is Will from Richmond, Virginia. I must admit, this company is by far the best I've worked for, I'm really impressed so thanks for everything Bill.  Changing a policy the day before a holiday so people will get paid is something you would rarely, if ever, see in today's world.  It doesn't hurt that I'm actually at a hotel in Waynesboro, Virginia because I am helping out another division tomorrow morning and I live a few hours away so this news was especially nice to hear.  Have a good thanksgiving.

Wow.  An email from Will on Thanksgiving day from a hotel 3 hours from his home...THANKING ME!  No, thank you, Will and thanks to all your family and loved ones that put up with you leaving "for work" on Thanksgiving Day.

This is just one example of why I am so thankful for all of your family and friends that support each of you so you can do such a great job for QS.  Thank you!