Memories of Kosher Delight and Other Stuff

When I was a kid Kosher Delight was all the rage. Like many families we enjoyed the convenience of eating at their establishment. Anyhow... let me take you back to 1990 when I was about to enter my 2nd year of college. For those who remember those time our economy was not doing well. The stock market crashed only a few year earlier and everyone seemed to be hurt financially. The shop until you drop attitude of the 1980's was no longer viable. Nevertheless, we still had bills to pay. In my case, I needed a way to pay for college. As the summer was winding down, I started looking for a job. I called several ads and was getting nowhere. Since I was 18 years old at the time this is no surprise.

Upon hearing of my job woes, my mother said to me, "Your going about this the wrong way. I have an idea. I am going to drive you around. You will walk into different establishments and tell the store manager you are interested in working for them." Our first stop was Kosher Delight. I spoke to the manager for a few minutes and was hired immediately. My shift was from 6-11 PM 5 days a week; Sunday- Thursday. At this job, I had several tasks including carrying up the food from the freezer in the basement, preparing customer orders, and assisting customers. I do not remember too much about the experience. However, here are a few things I do remember. My manager, told me after they finish the order to subtly ask if they need anything else. Furthermore, if the customer, did not order a drink we were encouraged to ask the customer if they want a drink with this order. I also remember had to wear a silly Kosher Delight hat and some kind of Kosher Delight uniform which had seen its better days.

A few weeks later a friend of mine bumped into me at Kosher Delight and asked me what they were paying me hourly. When I told my friend I was making minimum wage she was horrified. She then told me, "I am going to get you a better job with my boss." I went on the interview to work at a picture frame factory. Sure enough, they were interested in hiring me. With this in mind,  I discussed this new job opportunity with my parents and told them how I would get paid 6 dollars an hour instead of 4 dollars an hours. My father was concerned about me leaving Kosher Delight and was noting that you might  regret leaving if this Kosher Delight manager gets promoted and you bump into him in other circles. He further noted that if I really want to leave I should give the manager 3 week notice. Suddenly, my mother said sarcastically, " 3 week notice? He only worked there for 4 weeks! Plus your talking about a  fast food job!" Afterwords, we all had a good laugh and of course I started the new job.

So... what is the point of this story? Well, in short my mom was someone you could always depend on sensible advice. No one had more  street smarts than her. Who else could coach their son to walk into a store and get a job. Who else could dispense great dating advice, how to handle changing jobs, and so on. This is why she was well liked at the medical office she worked at. She knew people were nervous about going to the doctor. To this end, she would always dispense good advice, and put their mind at ease.