Just like anything else, ESK has little quirks and smirks that make this shop what it is. With 9 girl kitties, floods of customers, deliveries, and phone calls, there is no such thing as a normal day around here. There are odd things we have come to know as normal and stories that still make the kitties laugh to this day.
Curtis
We have two mailmen that visit us each day – one that drops off our mail like your lotto cards, returns, and love notes and one that picks up the outgoing packages. The gem of a man who drops off our mail is named Curtis. Let’s paint this picture – Curtis is a wiry man who talks a mile a minute but doesn’t really say much. We know he’s here because every day when he walks in with a handful of letters, he yells, “Mail call!” He knows he can drop the mail anywhere but he always makes sure to ask if it’s okay if he leaves it on the table.
One afternoon, the outgoing packages had not been picked up so Jess called the number that she thought was the post office. It was actually Curtis’s personal cell phone number that he gave us for emergencies of the mail variety. She left a voicemail which, apparently, caused Curtis to fall in love with her. The next day after yelling “Mail call!” he told Jess that he listened to her voicemail a few times because he liked her voice to much. Awkward.
Crystal Springs
We drink A LOT of water around here. Everyone is so busy rushing around and Erin’s number one rule is to stay hydrated. Consequently, we have to change the Crystal Spring water jug often. If you’ve never tried lifting one of those things, they weigh a ton! There’s two quirks that we have realized about these jugs: 1. We ALL think we are the ONLY one who has to dead lift these things because nobody else changes them. 2. Lindsay gets really annoyed when we leave the green stickers that cover the lid of the jugs all over the kitchen.
Friends
For some reason, friends of the critter variety love us. Lizards, luna moths, ant armies, and many more have snuck in our door but nothing beats the adventure with Alvin. A few months ago, it was a nice cool day so Janine propped open the front door to enjoy the breeze. Alvin, a darling little chipmunk, must have smelled all the wonderful yarn and decided to come in to shop. His cuteness was welcome but the fear of his chompy little teeth were not! After a short trip to a hardware store, the purchase of a humane trap, a failed attempt that involved a blockade of boxes & cocoa powder to see if he ran out (we thought we would be able to see footprints – WRONG), and a lot of peanut butter, little Alvin was set free in the woods. May he live long and prosper…just not in a bed of silk & cashmere!
Short Quirks
Any salesperson who walks in is both amazed and confused as to what it is we do.
We all have a junk drawer in our house but we have a junk ROOM that houses party decorations, our Christmas tree, t-shirts, Knit Night chairs, and stuff we don’t even remember. Nobody is allowed in there but us – embarrassed face.
Lindsay doesn’t like that we are called “ESK Kitties” because she is a dog person.
Erin’s office is a calculated mess. She knows where everything is amongst her soda cans, Del Taco cups, and tons of papers.
Someone goes on a coffee run just about every day.
We scare each other…a lot. Not on purpose but there are so many blind spots around the shelving that it’s almost impossible not to run into someone. So, if you are visiting and hear a gasp and then a barrage of apologies, it’s totally normal.
Jess has an at home and an office yarn stash.
Everyone knows when Emily is having a rough day because she has her “mood lighting” on in her office which consists of 5 small lamps. It’s pretty romantic.
We try to answer the phone by the second ring but sometimes, we lose the phone around the shop. If we answer semi-out of breath, it’s because we were running around trying to follow the ring!
We have a shower at the shop & we don’t exactly know why. We are located in a business park so we suppose the previous renters had some seriously stressful (and sweaty!) meetings.
Everyone here loves a good pen. There is an unwritten rule that “borrowing” them is not acceptable.
That’s the end of the quirks we are willing to share. Some we like to keep to ourselves because they’re the weirdly special things that you only come to know by being a puppy…see, I’ve tried ESK puppies for Lindsay but it just doesn’t work!
Time to wake up – Lindsay is an early riser! She wakes up so she can spend the morning with her husband before they both start their days.
First breakfast – before the gym, Lindsay enjoys her most important meal of the day…twice!
Gym time – Lindsay and Larry hit the gym early to beat the crowds. She loves a peaceful workout before the craziness of shipping tons of yarn orders begins.
Commute – Lindsay commutes an hour to work each way, every day. She has become a big fan of books on tape!
Arrives at ESK – This is the scariest part of Lindsay’s day. Imagine walking into an extremely dark building all alone trying to find 10 light switches. Luckily, she keeps a pair of slippers under her desk that she immediately puts on for comfort!
Second breakfast & e-mails – As Lindsay nibbles on her second breakfast, she is answering all of the customer service questions/concerns that you all have.
Print orders – Lindsay starts printing out the orders that have poured in over night at 6 AM to ensure your package is pulled and shipped as fast as possible.
Pull orders – This is a big process, especially when the day before was a 150 order day! She turns on her music and zooms around the store in her slippers. It looks like she is on an episode of Supermarket Sweep!
Pack orders – Kinsey arrives to check the orders that Lindsay has pulled & packed. Lindsay has to be sure she has chosen the correct box for the weight of the package or if it’s an international customer. She adds the prizes you all have earned and makes sure all your yarn matches nicely.
Scan, Tape, Ship – After Kinsey has checked all the orders, it is time to scan the invoices so they are marked as shipped, top the boxes with tissue, tape them up, and put them on our big cart for USPS to pick up.
Load up the cart – Lindsay gets to play a little Tetris to see if she can fit all the boxes on the cart. The First Class mailers all go into giant plastic bags. Once the mail truck arrives to pick up the packages, they scan a sheet we print out (this is what creates your tracking numbers), and do their best to fit everything in the truck. Sometimes, they have to come back for a second pick up or switch to a bigger vehicle.
The End – A mere 12 hours after The Shipping Queen wakes up, she is ready to go home to her husband and dogs! She drives an hour home and is usually in bed by 7PM so she can come back bright and early to start this process all over again!
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