If there was ever someone who embodied the concept of “whistle while you work” it is our December 2016 Volunteer of the Month Eric Anderson. Eric is a robotier, (the esteemed title reserved for our store volunteers), during the Friday evening shift at Liberty Street Robot Supply & Repair. Not only does Eric often actually whistle while he oversees the store, but the general ethos he brings is one of good-natured, hard-working, upbeat positivity. He comes in (very often dressed in crisp maize and blue office attire to show support for his favorite football team), turns on some Van Morrison, and gets to work tidying the store, greeting customers warmly, and helping with any number of tasks that we have ready for him. And we can’t forget the occasional bursts of whistling, which has this infectious quality that puts everyone within earshot into a good mood.
Eric is an amazing ambassador for 826michigan. When he gives “the spiel” to folks who wander in about what 826michigan is and why we have the store, it is the most genuine and compelling introduction to our organization imaginable. Some staffers (ahem, this writer) even experience a mix of awe and envy when overhearing how natural he is conveying our story and connecting with customers. Beyond excelling at his robotier duties, Eric is always up for assembling chapbooks, putting folders together, or doing any number of odd jobs we leave him with on Friday evenings. And—–get this–—every evening as he closes up the store he wheels out our clunky vacuum and proceeds to clean our entire store. Does he ever complain that the robot shop doesn’t task this job to a Roomba? Of course not—–he just whistles as he works.
One last anecdote to help illustrate why we are so darn charmed by Eric Anderson: his Facebook cover photo is of three different vintage editions of Strunk and White’s The Elements
of Style. Yes, I know, it is almost too delightful to bear.
Eric has been a robotier since May of 2015, and the whole while we have admired his work ethic, but we’ve decided to highlight him in December 2016 for a big reason.
This month our attention has been honed in on the retail portion of our operation. December is undoubtedly our busiest and best sales month of the year. We extend our hours so we can be open on Sundays, we stock our store to overflowing, and we make sure that we’ve got all bot and human gift-giving needs covered. We also get to do fun things like dress as robots and sing robotic versions of holiday carols outside LSRS&R to lure in holiday shoppers. And, drumroll . . . this year is ESPECIALLY momentous, because we are opening our second retail front, the Detroit Robot Factory.* We felt it was appropriate to highlight Eric and all of our incredible, hardworking robotiers as they kick into overdrive to make our holiday season possible.
Am I above putting in a plug for more of you to sign on to help in the store? Of course not! But you’re more than welcome to consider becoming a fully programmed robotier and taking on a store shift at either of our fabulous retail fronts! Email Retail Manager Tom Bianchi at Tom@826michigan for details.
If we had a magic wand, we would have thanked Eric by granting him a UM win against their unnamed rivals to the south. But since our theme is robots and not magic, we hope that you all will join us in giving him the heartiest and most heartfelt* BEEP, BEEP, HURRAH. Eric, we are so incredibly grateful for all you do!
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*Of course you’re invited to the grand opening AND of course we cannot wait for you to see it!
