How has God worked in your life? Do you have a testimony to share? If so, and you feel comfortable with the world reading your story, share it in the comments below. Or you can email it to us at CSRApostles@gmail.com and we’ll post it to the page. Now, more than ever, we should proudly proclaim the miracles God still performs for all to see. Shout it from the mountain top, or share it on this page.
Terry’s Story
I’ve had Terry’s story for six years, but I did not know what to do with it until this work came to fruition. I met Terry in 2005 when I was Produce Manager the first, initial time. My store manager contacted him for an interview. He had years of experience working for Winn-Dixie, one of Publix’s main rivals for grocery retail in the state of Florida. I was not a big fan of hiring from competitors, especially those who stay with the competitor for a substantial amount of time. At that point, I felt they carried too many bad habits. And in Florida it was no mystery about the greatness of Publix, so those who knew better would involuntarily make the move on their own before wasting years at the competitor. Because of these reasons, I always questioned why someone would stay at a lesser competitor and not just make the move to the better company. So, I rarely entertained interviews from the competitor. But my store manager persisted we at least interview him. There was another challenge that lied ahead, one I was not worried about because I had worked with an associate with the same disability and knew it was not a major issue. Terry was hearing impaired. He interviewed very well because he is a great man. He is kind, caring, funny, extremely hard working, and grounded in his faith. That last fact I would not learn until he presented me with his story. I knew he attended church and when he worked for me, I did all I could to give him a Sunday off here and there, but I always gave him Sunday mornings off. He was one of my most consistent workers. I knew what to expect from him and he always did whatever needed to be done to complete the job. I pushed him further than I probably should have with the company, suggesting he go after management because Publix claimed the company would not discriminate against any disability, but he was unable to pass the management testing phases. When I left Publix the first time, not being able to help Terry in the workplace any more was the hardest pill to swallow. But he was left with caring managers. He stayed committed to the store that hired him for twelve years. Then in 2017, he and his current Produce Manager were butting heads and Terry came to the point where he was ready to quit Publix after 12 years of service. The store he was working at was bursting at the seems with business as that area of Bradenton had exploded with growth and there was zero competition in that part of town. Terry was working the sales floor alone during the busiest hours and sent his manager a text asking for help because it was getting hard for Terry to keep the department full. According to Terry, no one came to help him until three hours later. He went on break and didn’t come back. The next day he called out sick and told the produce manager he was not coming back to work until he sat down to talk to the store manager. Terry was ready to quit, his produce manager was attempting to get him separated for abandoning his job. But God had another plan already in place.
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My Story
If you would like to read my personal testimony, you can find it here.
Common Sense Reborn 