Not-So-Sweet Sweets At The Beach

During my years as a high school student, I worked part time at a local sweet shop called Sweets At The Beach. Sweets At The Beach was a retirement business owned by a sweet elderly couple, Ann and Don, who were looking for a fun way to spend their newfound free time. Ann and Don were active members of the Point Pleasant Beach Chamber of Commerce, frequented Board of Education meetings, and new nearly everyone in the town on a first name basis; to say they weren’t involved in the community would be a severe lie. Contrary to their town involvement, however, the two were extremely uninvolved in nearly every aspect of their business. It was during the two years that I worked for Ann and Don that I learned how not to manage a business.

First and foremost, Ann exemplified every way not to handle business finances. It took her nearly half a year to realize a certain co-worker of mine had been stealing money from the business on a weekly basis. This was primarily because she never dealt with any financial records. My co-workers and I were solely responsible for any bank transactions that occurred and it was our duty to cash-out every night. Had she taken the time to even remotely glance at her financial statements or records, Ann would have been able to catch the culprit much sooner. If I ever get the opportunity to management a business, or perhaps have my own business, I will be sure to keep a close eye on all finances.

Another thing I learned from observing Ann and Don’s management style is that it is extremely necessary to pay close attention to inventory. Similarly to their financial theft, Ann and Don also fell victim to inventory theft. In my own opinion, it was a combination of their lack of presence in the store and their lack of inventory records that made it possible for many co-workers and friends of co-workers to constantly steal sweets. Ann and Don were not against giving samples to potential customers, however many of my fellow co-workers took that principle and ran with it. Friends would come in and get bags upon bags of free confections. One of my co-workers even stole an elaborate gift basket to give to her sister as a graduation present. Ann and Don never even suspected inventory was missing or questioned why the store was going through so much candy yet sales weren’t higher than usual. It was unfortunate to witness, and despite trying to inform my beloved bosses of their troublesome woes, the two were never concerned enough to address the situation or try to catch the culprits in the act. Like I said, I personally think they were just trying to have fun and were not serious about having a successful business.

Although I witnessed some unusual occurrences during my time at Sweets At The Beach, I also learned a multitude of things. It was during my time working at the candy store that I developed a sincere interest for working with chocolates and confections. I might even argue that it was my time here that made me decide to venture into the hospitality industry.