My first textual artifact is a picture of my manager that was on a poster by the time clock. The poster was for an event our store held for “back to school.” There were different activities for children to partake in, and as you can see from the picture there were mascots all around the store for children to take pictures with. The poster was like a giant Thank You Card to all the employees who helped this event be successful. Also the poster was meant to encourage other employees to volunteer for this event next year with the pictures of children and fellow employees having fun. 
My second textual artifact is a flyer from the bulletin board above the time clock. On this board employees find letters from our managers and other coworkers. For example, the grocery manager might post a change in the way that we “block” the store, or a coworker might need a shift or “last job” covered. They also use the board to congratulate employees when they received a complement or were noticed by the customer service manager giving excellent service. 
My third textual artifacts are pages from the workbook that we received at orientation. Orientation was a weekend class where newly hired personnel were taught everything that they needed to know to be an efficient Publix employee. The first page I chose was the “Publix Slogan.” Everyone knows that the slogan states, “Where shopping is a pleasure.” However, in orientation we were taught how to make the customers shopping experience pleasurable. There are 5 steps to making a pleasurable shopping experience that Publix teaches their employees. They are: welcome the customer, use the customer’s name, take care of their needs, thank them, and invite them back. Publix says that by using this 5 step approach, employees are guaranteed to make the customer’s shopping experience great. 
The second page that I chose out of the workbook is entitled, “Our Store Structure.” It is a table that identifies the leaders of the Publix stores and explains their job title. It is important for employees to know who is in charge of what and their responsibilities so they know who to go to when they have questions or concerns. Publix has an open door policy, which means that the managers listed in this chart are available to answer any questions an employee might have at anytime. 
The last textual artifact that I chose was the brochure on the associate benefits. There are many benefits that employees receive while working for Publix and when they retire. Publix has an excellent 401(k) smart plan. This allows associates to save for retirement while they are working. For every dollar you save, Publix pays you fifty cents in your account. It may not seem like a lot, but if Publix is your career and you work there for twenty or more years it can really add up. Narrative
When I was called for an interview at Publix I was very nervous. This was going to be my first job and my first interview ever. I didn’t want to say the wrong thing or mess up in anyway because I really wanted to work for Publix. I have always thought of Publix as a great place to work; the people were nice, the store was clean, and there weren’t any deep fryers or “mystery meat” to deal with. I got to my interview thirty minutes early and I sat outside the manager’s door nervously swinging my foot back and forth. When I was called in I smiled nervously and took my seat in the manager, Jerry Kingsley’s office. He asked me simple questions like, what I thought good customer service was and how I would help Publix to achieve its goal of making the ultimate shopping experience for the customers. I must have given answers that he liked because when I got home I received a phone call from Kyle Campbell, the assistant customer service manager, offering me a job as a “front service clerk” (aka bagger). I eagerly accepted and the next day I was going in for pre-orientation paper work and drug testing. Orientation wasn’t at my store; it was at a larger store down the street. There were people who were newly hired, not only in my store, but in other stores in our district. For two days we were taught everything from bagging groceries, mopping floors, and the correct hand washing procedure. In orientation I also learned some shocking news. I learned that my title of “front service clerk” required more than just bagging groceries. We were responsible for the jobs that no one else wanted to do like: taking out the garbage, sweeping/mopping the vestibule, cleaning up spills, and cleaning the bathrooms. When I discovered this I was not very happy, I really didn’t want to clean dirty public bathrooms; so from that moment I was determined to work my way up from “front service clerk” to Cashier.
We then attended post orientation, which was actually at my store. There we went around and were given a tour of where everything was that we would need to use (mop, cleaning cart, trash compactor). We also received our schedule and uniform this day. I was scheduled to work the next day and I was very excited. I was just shadowing so I could learn what it was really like to work at Publix and the next day that I worked I’d be on my own. I shadowed a boy named Westley. On the last job schedule we were scheduled to clean the bathrooms that night but he talked to the team leader of the night, Megan, and got us switched to store sweep (thank goodness). That night I learned how to correctly bag groceries so they didn’t fall out of the bag on the way home, how to get shopping carts and follow the cart schedule, and how to put the broom together to complete the job of store sweep.
Over all working at Publix is a very easy job (especially now that I don’t have to worry about cleaning the bathrooms). When I was a new employee all of the rules and customs that Publix has established over the years was intimidating to me. However, now that I have worked there for over a year it is like second nature to me and I am getting to train people just like when I was trained by Westley.
