ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, January 28, 1996 TAG: 9601260014
SECTION: ECONOMY PAGE: 5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
Don Osborne, a salesman in the men's department at Leggett Department Stores; Florence Hetz, a part-time office worker with Kelly Temporary Services; and George Bond, an assistant manager at McDonald's, have something in common:
They work in the types of businesses that are among the lowest paid in the Roanoke Valley, according to the Virginia Employment Commission.
But despite the relatively low pay, all three find pleasure and satisfaction in their work and say their jobs for the most part fulfill their needs.
The lowest-paying jobs in the Roanoke Valley are in movie theaters, where the combined wages for full- and part-time workers average $147 a week, according to VEC statistics.
Not far behind are the businesses in which Bond, Osborne and Hetz work: restaurants and cafes with an average wage of $164 a week; apparel and accessory retailers, $192 a week; and business services, $243 a week.
Osborne worked as a substitute teacher in Roanoke County but began looking for other work after the state's early retirement plan for teachers knocked him out of work because it requires retirees to work as substitutes.
Having had a long-time interest in retail sales, Osborne applied when he ran across a newspaper advertisement for the Leggett job. He has worked at the retailer's Tanglewood Mall store since August 1994.
Osborne, 46, worked in both mining and coal sales jobs in his native Buchanan County, and his experience in sales has helped him at Leggett, he said. "I've always been sort of people-oriented," Osborne said. That's what he likes most about the job, he said, working with people and making new acquaintances.
In early December his dental bridge work broke while he was talking with a customer. That's the strangest thing that's happened to him on the job. "That can be embarrassing when part of your job is to smile," he said. The most annoying thing was the day a young girl stole a jacket from a rack and he failed to catch her.
The job has its gratifying moments, Osborne said, such as the day one of his customers, an Alzheimer's patient, came to the mall to eat. While he was there, the man asked his wife to take him by Leggett to visit with Osborne. "That really made me feel good - to leave an impression on that gentleman," Osborne said.
He likes to see people happy, but not all shoppers are happy people, Osborne said. "I try at least to get a smile on somebody's face," he said.
Leggett gave him some training at its in-store training center, but that was mostly in how to operate the store's cash registers. When you get down on the sales floor, it's a different world than you hear about in training, he said.
"A lot of people don't realize in the retail business what there is to do," Osborne said. When he started the job, Osborne said he had no idea how much paperwork is involved in retail sales.
Osborne said his pay is roughly in line with the average for the retail clothing business. It's less than he was making as a substitute teacher, but he has health insurance and retirement benefits now.
He doesn't make enough to fulfill all his needs and dreams, but he gets by, Osborne said. "I'm just thankful that I do have a job," he said. |n n| Florence Hetz began working as a temporary office worker in December 1985. Sometimes she works for Kelly; sometimes businesses hire her directly.
She began working in her husband's optometry office after her oldest child left for college. After both children finished college, she began working as a temporary employee.
When a company's regular employees go on vacation or the operation gets more work than it can handle with its own work force, it will hire a temporary such as Hetz. She does word processing and clerical work and usually works at least one or two days a week.
The best thing about her job, Hetz said, is meeting new people. She also likes working with computers and the challenge of keeping up with changes in computer technology. If anything about the job is annoying, she doesn't stick around, she said.
Hetz likes working as a temporary because the job is always different "That's what I need, the stimulation of different things and new things," she said. If she needed to make a lot of money, she wouldn't work as a temporary, said Hetz, who also fills her time by running a bookstore at her church. |n n| George Bond, 23, has worked at the McDonald's restaurant across Williamson Road from the Roanoke Civic Center for five years, rising from a member of the crew and cashier to assistant manager.
Bond applied for a job after seeing a help-wanted sign in the restaurant. He already had some training for the work, having taken home economics and business management courses at Franklin County High School and Virginia Western Community College.
Bond enjoys working with people; that's fortunate, he said, because the hardest part and a mandatory part of his job is keeping customers happy.
He also likes his schedule - which includes night work at least once a week - because it allows him to attend his church on Saturdays and Sundays. Sometimes the job can be a little stressful, but he loves it, Bond said.
As a manager, Bond makes considerably more than the average wage for restaurant help in the Roanoke Valley and is eligible for regular bonuses. He's single, and the pay takes care of his needs, he said.
He wants to go back to school at nights and take more business management courses, Bond said. Would he like to have his own restaurant someday? "That would be nice."
LENGTH: Long : 103 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: 1. KEITH GRAHAM/Staff. Don Osborne sells men's clothingby CNBat Leggett at Tanglewood Mall. 2. WAYNE DEEL/Staff. In five years,
George Bond has risen from crew member and cashier to assistant
manager at McDonald's. Graphic by staff: Lowest paying.