If You’re Working On Thanksgiving, Be Thankful

November 25, 2015November 30, 2015 / Alex Doriot / Leave a comment

My first day on the job at Kohls was Thanksgiving.

2 years ago, and just a few months out from stepping away from a full time youth ministry job, I decided to take a part time job at the retail giant to make some extra cash for Christmas.

I did a few training shifts in the week before the holiday but my first official shift on the register was Thanksgiving night at 8 PM.

This was the first time Kohls and many other stores would actually be open on Thanksgiving night itself instead of opening in the early hours of Black Friday – a trend that is only continuing to grow.

I remember staring at the clock at dinner that night, counting down the hours, dreading the moment I would have to leave the pumpkin pie behind to go risk being trampled by a sea of crazed customers busting down the doors seeking half-priced Keurigs. Continue reading →

7 Things I Learned From 7 Months At Kohls

July 24, 2014December 28, 2014 / Alex Doriot / 10 Comments

Seasonal. I was just supposed to be a seasonal employee.

In November of 2013, a few months after leaving my full-time position as a youth pastor, I began working at Kohls part time to help me earn some extra spending money for Christmas.

I thought I would work here for a few weeks.

Today, over seven months later, I’m clocking in at Kohls for the very last time.

Life has not panned out as I planned it in 2014. I didn’t find a full time job as soon as I thought I would.

But now, as I prepare for a new working opportunity, I’ve been wondering how to sum up my experience with Kohls.

Diving back into the world of retail after a 7 year absence has been one of the most challenging experiences of my life.

I’ve complained. I’ve cried. I’ve whined. I’ve moaned and groaned to my closest friends. I’ve screamed at God, wondering why He would let me flounder in a dead-end job without any hopeful prospects on the horizon.

I’ve struggled to figure out exactly what I’ve learned from this detour in life.

Maybe it is still too soon to tell what all my time at Kohls has taught. But I have come up with a few things that have surprised me along the way about myself as an employee, about consumer behavior, and about the retail world. Continue reading →

POP GOD POPcast: Episode 16 – Ellie Holcomb

April 16, 2014 / Alex Doriot / 2 Comments

Welcome to Episode 16 of the POP GOD POPcast – an exploration of into the lives of people seeking God in the present tense.

This week’s guest is Ellie Holcomb. Ellie recently released her first full-length solo record entitled “As Sure As The Sun”. We talk about what led to her branching out from her husband and their band to record this album and the incredible amount of support she received. Ellie also shares how she came onto the music scene, her fears and doubts about hitting the road, the way a newborn changes everything, and what it’s like to have your music played at department stores across the country. Plus since it’s Ellie’s first solo album we play a game of Firsts to reveal some things you probably never knew about her like her first job, first concert, and more! Enjoy this deeper look inside the life of a musician truly seeking God in the present tense.

Listen to the podcast here:

Or Subscribe and Download on iTunes Or Listen on Podbean

Check out Ellie Holcomb’s site for tour information and pick up As Sure As The Sun on iTunes

Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, rate it, leave a comment, listen to all the other episodes, share it on Twitter and Facebook and anywhere else. I’d really appreciate it. Thanks.

I love sharing stories of people seeking God in the present tense. Let me hear your feedback. Leave me a comment and let me know how to improve things, what you’d like to hear discussed, and give me your ideas as to who you’d like to see on the next episode of the POPcast.

Who Do You Work For?

March 13, 2014March 16, 2014 / Alex Doriot / 2 Comments

I get asked one question almost everyday:

“Excuse me sir. Do you work here?”

Who me? The guy with the headset and walkie talkie on, the guy with the nametag and lanyard with the store name on it, the guy who’s putting all the shoes back on the shelf? Why yes, in fact I do work here!

I just don’t get it. To me, it should be obvious to customers that I’m an employee. I can’t quite figure out how some people can’t quite figure it out.

Apparently though, there’s something more I should be doing. My labor is not bearing fruit in their eyes.

Maybe there are other things I should be focusing on. I’m sure I could be talking to customers more, engaging with them instead of doing all the daily tasks of the shoe department. Maybe then people would recognize who I work for.

The whole thing makes me think of that age-old guilt producing Sunday School question: “If you were put on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to find you guilty?” Continue reading →

The Retail Worker’s Prayer

January 3, 2014January 9, 2014 / Alex Doriot / 8 Comments

The Folding. Don’t get me started on The Folding.

This holiday, after leaving my full-time job behind, I got a job at a major department store to earn a little extra spending money. I’ve mainly been running the register. But in between customers one of our main duties in the store is The Folding.

It’s incredible, really. You spend a few minutes folding a stack of shirts. Everything on the shelf looks in order. You turn around to check out one customer. You turn back around and a dozen shirts are back on the floor again.

As an employee I begin to wonder what the point is. I wonder why I bother picking up all these clothes off the floor just to see them knocked over and out of place just a few moments later.

But The Folding has to be done. We must go through the motions of The Folding and The Re-Folding day after day after day to keep the store in order. If we deny our duties just one day then the store would go into disarray. Continue reading →

The One Phrase The Church Needs To Retire This Christmas

December 4, 2013December 9, 2013 / Alex Doriot / 2 Comments

If a bell rings and no one is around to hear it, does it still make a sound?

If a Salvation Army bell ringer stands outside a department store all day and not a single cent drops into the bucket, was it really worth the ringer’s time and effort?

If a church holds a rally and not a single soul gets saved, was it worth the church’s time and effort?

Many of us have been to a church-sponsored camp, revival or other event where we heard a speaker attempt to rouse a reluctant crowd, saying, “If only one person chooses to follow Christ tonight, then all of our work here will have been worth it.”

But what if no one came forward that night? What if no one chose to give their life to Jesus at that rally? Was the work still worth it? Continue reading →