Scouty’s Weblog

Was in Bugis area today to get the lotion for my face and then decide to take a bus down to Chinatown to visit my Lao Da at OG People’s Park, since I hadn’t visited her for a long time. She was my Senior Supervisor during my days as a part-timer in OG Great World then.

Well since she was my senior supervisor so being the typical playful guy, that is her nickname I call her back then, and somehow it remain that way even when I am no more working under her for such a long time. Still addressing her as Lao Da in the SMS and greeting cards I sent to her.

She was the one who taught me all the trades of working in the retail line and had trained and exposed me to alot of things most part-timers will never have access to. Being a part-timer, She had taught me how to key orders and do returns, which is a job only supervisor level and above are doing. But back then, I was doing all that for her despite being a part-timer. Furthermore, she also let me deals with all the suppliers in our dept with regards to any Purchase Order processing, thats where I really built up my interaction skills where it had helped me even till today.

Throughout my 3 years working with her, there are many wonderful memories of how she had really touched my heart.

The concern and anxious in her, during the day where I collect my O level results. She had paged me (Yah.. Pager Era then!) to inform me that, I am to call her as soon as I got my results. And well, she was like the 2nd person I called after my mum when I gotten my results. Despite me not doing well, she still encouraged me on the next day when I report for work.

Still remember how she ‘force’ me to understand the concept of how the various trade discounts worked, and why certain brand simply refuses to give us a 40% discount margin.

How she stood up for me when I created a huge mistake in the quantity of the plush-toys we return to  suppliers and the Head Office lady was screaming her head off at me when I told her I was the one that keyed the Return Note. but well, my Lao Da didn’t scold nor blame me, but just told me to be careful in the future and re-typed the Return Note. Best thing, she even chided the Head Office lady for being fierce.

Those times where she will buy lunch for me when she knows I am busy doing all the Purchase Orders for her. There was even an occasion where she was caught in the rain just because she was buying lunch for me and I became the hot topic in the store when news of her actions were being spread around by the other colleagues who saw her coming back wet from the rain.

I also become her listening ear when she got embroiled in the usual office politics and though being young and inexperience, she do ask for my 2 cents worth of opinion at times when she got really stressed up.

I believe if I were to list down, there are alot of things that I had learnt and a lot of things that touched my heart during my stint there working with my Lao Da. Some of the advice she gave me had still remained in my heart till now and it sure brings back alot of nice memories whenever I visit her, cos she will always boast to the other staffs how she had seen me grow up from a Xiao Di to now a working adult.

I must say, she has been one of the best ‘boss’ I have in my years of working. And because of that, she had longed earned a place in the list of VIPs in my life.