I took my car in to the service centre to have the snow tires put on. I asked the serviceman if he was new there. He told me he started in May. Prior to that he worked at a similar place. But he had moved as he wanted a job close to home. He has been in the business since he was 19 and he is now 36. He seemed happy in his job.
This place has a complimentary shuttle service. They use retired men to run the service and they are always full of interesting conversation. On my way home, we spoke of the upcoming Pan American Games next summer, all the bad mayors, all the road construction, you name it. For the return trip to get my car, he made good points. For example, people shouldn't complain about the snow because the people who work in the ski resorts are happy, it's good for their business. I learned that the service centre is slow in January and September. January because everyone's broke after the holidays. September because everyone's broke after dealing with their kids' school expenses! It's the same for all the stores and they have to run sales to keep their cash flow going. Then we decided the restaurant and grocery business (and indeed even my hairdresser) is happy at Christmastime because all the parties and festivities bring in a lot of business for them. The summertime is also a good time for the restaurants. Indeed his daughter has a restaurant and hires a lot of students in the summer. It all works out when they have to return to school in the fall as business slows down.
So these are the interesting tidbits for today, I think I learned something.
