The Kohler

Instead of telling tales of the customers that come into the shop, let us wander to the lives of the employees, specifically to one. Let's call her Maggie Kohler. Maggie is a die hard. She has been working at the shop for a little over 15 years and just recently put in her two weeks notice. She said to me one day, "It's my time, honey. I'm getting to old for this..."

Maggie is a very interesting old soul who sells dresses (specifically for mother of the brides). If I could describe her in a matter of words, I would say she's about a 60 year old, eccentric, fashion loving, biker chic who has also adopted the name The Kohler. She has the tendency of calling everyone "Honey" and whenever The Kohler does something funny or talks to customers at all, we all grin and say, "Well, that's the Kohler for you..."

For instance, one busy Saturday morning, The Kohler was leading a group up to the bridal department, which passes tuxedos so I could hear her commentary. The bride, thinking she would be friendly, started conversation by saying, "It's a beautiful day, isn't it?"

"Well honey, I've been inside all day, I guess I wouldn't know..."

"Oh..Umm...So...How long have you been working here?" She asked hesitantly.

"Oh Honey, I've been working here so long, I'm like one of the fixtures."

That wonderful piece of conversation was all I had the pleasure of hearing. Oh The Kohler just brings a sense of realism to customer service which seems to have disappeared over the years....sometimes I wish I could be more like her.

In short, this post is dedicated to The Kohler. I'm really going to miss her blunt comments, and tell-it-how-it-is mentality. She always liked the tuxedo department because we appreciated her funny quirks and sarcastic humor. She liked us so much that she even brought huge bags of her old shoes, purses and jewelry when we learned that she was leaving. She said that we could have what we wanted cause "it's too much stuff for an ol' lady to have." Although I'm pretty sure half the stuff was somehow stolen or on the black market at some point, I appreciated the sentiment. She even gave Lucy a pair of her most prized black, leather, Harley boots. She was touched. We were all touched. We will miss The Kohler and wish her well. Here's to you Honey.