T. Kettle Part 12: Time To Go
When I first applied for the managers position at T. Kettle, I was very nervous and kept wondering if it was a mistake. What if I left my job as an exterminator and things at T. Kettle didn’t work out? Could I get my old job back? Would I find myself unemployed for a while? Besides some encouraging words from friends, the big thing that pushed me over was that the company was so new at the time, having only been around for less then a year, and so as it grew they would need to hire for position such as regional manager.
During my initial interview with the company I had expressed great interest in moving up to regional manager should the job ever become available. I was told that when this position opened up that people within the company would be given the opportunity to apply. I was also told this frequently during my time with the company, as were other managers who were wanting to move up. Throughout the year the company had closed stores and opened more.
Maggie, whom you may remember was one of my seasonal staff, was able to get a managers position of her own at a new store that was roughly an hour from where she lived. It was a massive store and they gave her the same speech they gave me about how great the store looked and how the stock was there and everything was ready to go. She too was met with a dirty, partially set up store with no cleaning supplies, and even worse, because of the company no longer having a teaware supplier, she had only a little stock from a closed store to fill her shelves, but it was not nearly enough.
I congratulated her and wished her best, but I knew the best was never coming. About a week later while browsing in Indeed for jobs I saw a new posting from T. Kettle looking for a regional manager. I thought that was odd considering they had not told anyone that this position was now open. I felt so let down by this. My store had high numbers consistently. I had expressed my want to this position numerous time and was promised a chance to interview for it when the time came, and yet I never got a word. None of us did. I called the other managers and they too were shocked.
I decided to take shot and apply for the position on Indeed anyway to see what would happen. Days went by and nothing. I heard from no one. I was deflated and it was clearer now more then ever that not only was the company full of shit, but that it was gonna sink and I needed to abandon ship. As luck would have it my old employer had begun treating the mall food court and on several occasions I ran into my old boss who would always ask me if I was ready to come back.
I usually told no because in truth I didn’t want to go through the physicality of being an exterminator again, but on this particular occasion, he joked that an office position was open but figured I wouldn’t be interested. I told him I absolutely would be! Seeing that I was serious he said he would talk to the current office staff and get back to me, and a few days later he called me to offer me the job, and to let him know when I was ready to come back. At this time I decided to take one more shot at the regional managers position.
I emailed HR directly with my resume and explained that I had been promised an interview for the position and that if I was not given my fair shot that I would be turning in my 2 weeks notice. I never heard a word from and neither did any other manager. And so that was it, I was through. I put in my two weeks and shockingly the company got back to me within a couple hours to wish me luck and let me know who would be taking my position so I could train them.
I informed my team who were not happy but understood. I never kept them in the dark about the bullshit that was going on behind the scenes. Fast forward to three days before my time was up and I still had not heard back from the company on my replacement. I emailed that and they said they were still looking. I suggested having Maggie take my position as she lived close to the store and had already worked for me and with my team. They decided to take my recommendation and Maggie was transferred to take my position. It was a good thing too because her store never did get it stock and with only a couple months was shut down. And I returned to my old employer in a new position and never looked back.
I kept tabs on the store since leaving. For roughly another year my store remained open in the mall while more stores continued to close. My old stock was given the majority of the stock which helped keep the shelves full but there was still no new teaware supplier and still on going issues getting tea to stock the tea wall. Maggie’s partner also worked for T. Kettle behind the scenes and reported multiple people leaving or getting fired which created more delay.
A little over a year after I left my old store was shut down due to lease issues and transferred to another nearby mall, however it remained closed and employees unpaid until renovations were complete because in this case they had not moved to an old DavidsTea location but instead an old chocolate store, so the whole space had to be remodelled.
Finally after a long wait they reopened. I went to visit them and saw that they had been converted to also selling waffles and boba. I was also told that the company which at it’s highest had around 45 stores was now down to just 3. Upon this last visit I felt more confidant in my decision to leave then I ever had. I truly hoped to relive my Teavana days and create a new haven for tea lovers but it was not in the cards. This was truly a clear case of a company taking on too much and a subject which they new nothing about, and had no business being a part of.
But I am glad for the 10 months I had there. Yes, this was all within 10 months. I do miss my team and getting to hang with them and making new relationships with other mall employees. However, it wasn’t meant to be, but judging from where the company is at now, I have no regrets.
The End.