Bookstore popularity continues to grow
Previously published on The Mount Online a publication produced by the staff of Mount Michael’s Journalism team that also produces the school newspaper The Mount. Follow them via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube links on https://mountonline.org
BY AIDEN FRAZIER
The bookstore was greeted with a new face last spring: Shelly Rogers. After seeing a listing for the new job, she applied, looking to return to the working scene with a schedule that matches up with her children’s.
Shelly Rodgers rings up Connor Size ’22 with the new point-of-sale system.
“I saw the posting last spring and sent in my resume,” Rogers said. “I am thankful that the opportunity came along at the right time.”
Going into the job, Rodgers had fairly simple expectations for the position. She expected the boys to follow the guidelines she put in place and to have patience with her. Shortly after arriving, Rodgers was able to experience the “welcoming” environment..
“Students make my job fun and make me want to come to work every day,” Rogers said. “Everyone is so welcoming, friendly, and helpful.”
Rogers implemented a point of sale and inventory control system as one of the first changes under her management.
“It makes a huge difference not only in ringing people up and customer interactions, but it also provides real-time visibility to sales and inventory reporting,” Rogers said.
Not only that, but it also allows her to easily keep track of what is in the inventory. She has made it so that almost every item in the bookstore has a barcode to make entering transactions as smooth as possible. With the new system, the students “punch cards” and the tracking of customer credit has become automated.
“The new system allows families to add money to student accounts,” Rogers said. “Either in person or from home and spend it over time without having to carry a card or anything with them.”
With her new system and other changes, i operating the bookstore has become really “easy” on her, which allows her to get to know the students better.
“Additional changes that have occurred are more behind the scenes,” Rogers said. “But, the changes hopefully benefit the parents and families through automation of some of the more manual tasks.”
Rodgers has fallen in love with her position since taking over. Her favorite part of managing the bookstore is the interaction she gets to have with the students. With her prior experience in retail, she can say that she prefers working in a small scale environment.
With Mount Michael’s small community, it seems the position was almost perfect for her. Students have noticed the hospitality in the bookstore.
“She is very friendly to all the students that come in, and she works really hard with all the duties of being the bookstore manager,” Matthew Rogers ‘23 said. “The atmosphere in the bookstore is overall very nice, and it is enjoyable to be inside of the bookstore.”