Alexander Panagiotopoulos

6:15 AM

I wake up around 6:15 this morning, as I must prepare my lunch for the day and pack my bag for footy training. My work clothes are ready from the night before which makes the morning much easier. I jump in the shower, brush my teeth, get changed, do my hair and get ready relatively quickly. I take my time to make breakfast and get my lunch ready. Around 7:00 am, I make myself a coffee for the road. I double check I have everything I need and I’m out the door at 7:15 am. I drive into work against traffic to Doveton so it’s a very easy drive!

7:40 AM

I walk into work and put my food away ready to start the day and say g’day the boys who have started before me! Usually greeted by some banter I then jump on the computer and check the emails, first the branch emails and then my own work email. We have events logged onto the online calendar for the branch, so we know when people will go out to see customers or have a day off etc. it helps us plan the day.

I then go through my diary to see what I’ve written the previous day. I need to call two customers today about special orders to finalise some details. There is another reminder that I need to release a customer order that must be delivered to the site today as well.

Once it quietens down, we have our branch daily huddle. We discuss what we have on for the day and everyone has time to speak about what they have coming up or any issues they would like to raise. We also go through the previous day in terms of budget and other reports. We discuss the targets for the day and the week, while also going through any important reminders for the branch or that’s happening with Reece as a whole.

Of course, if the phone rings or customers come into the branch the huddle is put on hold and we come back to it. After the huddle, we have a busy rush of customers again that goes on for about 45 minutes. I call the two customers to grab those final details and release the customer order for delivery for tomorrow.

I go through the stock ordering for the day with the 2IC, Grant, he shows me the most efficient way to order stock without raising stock levels too high, considering minimum quantities and keeping track of average product sales. This will be vital for me to understand my buying role down the track.

I have a banana and coffee at 11:00 am to get me through to lunch.

Around 11:30 am I take some time to do the daily stock count, we do it on a phone making it simple and quick. This helps us constantly stay on top of stock levels and makes stocktake a 10x easier!

12:00 PM

I go for lunch at 12:30 pm today and I have left overs from dinner last night, its steak and broccoli so I’m not complaining! Other days lunch could be tuna salad if I’m in a rush which is not as interesting!

When I return from lunch our warehouse and supplier stock has arrived. We double check and receipt the stock to make sure everything’s correct, then put it away. This is always important as some stock will be for customer orders and some will be just replenishment, so it’s always vital to double check.

Around 1:45 pm the Branch Manager, Dean, takes some time to run me through the reports for the branch, providing more of an insight into different aspects and sections of the business. Dean specifies the reports that will be relevant to me when I go into head office for my merchandising role in few months.

Dean then reviews my progress for the Start, Stop, Keep program. It’s a review of the goals that I have previously set and want to fulfil while at work. I had previously set them in September so now we review how I’m going and if I have achieved them. For example, we review my ‘Start being more punctual arriving to work earlier. As someone who is goal driven I appreciate these opportunities to work on myself at work and on a personal level.

I take some time to go through a self-audit check for the store, making sure that everything is done correctly, appropriate signage is up and labelled etc. These are vital to keep the store in an appropriate manner, ensure procedures are followed, safety is maintained, and we are ready for when we are audited.

3:30 PM

At 3:30 pm I speak to a customer on the phone about a hard to find part for an evaporative cooler he is chasing. I call multiple suppliers to locate the part to try and find the best price for him and turnover time. After locating the part, I send him through a quote and call him to make sure he receives it.

In the quieter parts of the day I run through previous Marketing Updates, so I can further familiarise myself with categories and brands I’ll be working with in the future.

At 4:30 pm we make sure the branch is clean and I write down in my diary what I have on for the next day. At 4:45 pm I do the banking which usually takes about 10-15 minutes.

5:00 pm, time to go! 

We all say goodbye and make our way home. Today I have footy training, so I head towards Kew! Takes about 50 minutes in traffic now that I know which way to go, I’ve learnt that through trial and error…

After a decent training, I head home arriving at 8:30 pm. I quickly have something to eat and have a shower. Tonight for dinner we have grilled fish and salad (so a good day food wise). This is late for me to eat but I don’t get a choice when I have footy! Over dinner, I spend some time with the family speaking about our workdays and catching up. After dinner, I prepare food for the next day and get my uniform ready. I put my gym clothes in a bag ready for the next day as well. I’m a bit more prepared this time.

I brush my teeth and jump into bed at 9:30 pm and watch an episode of David Attenborough- Planet Earth II on Netflix, and relax after a long day. It’s such an interesting show to watch and always seem to fascinate me every new episode I watch. I set my alarm for 5:30 am the next morning so I can go to the gym before work (Wish me luck….)

I check my phone and it says 10:30 pm…. Time for bed, another big day awaits.