This is an I Heart Podcast. Guaranteed human. No gloss, no filter. Just stories, spoken without fear. A person who is not generous cannot be an artist. The world will be at peace only when it is ruled by poets and philosophers. Listen to my weekly podcast, the Pooja Bhachon on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Come for the honesty, stay for the fire. Welcome back, it's a brand new episode. This is Laugh With Me podcast with Jeremy Odom and I'm your host. Hey, it's J.O. Man, it's good to be back, Johnny. I'll tell you what, it's good to see you on the ones and twos over there. Always good for a brand new therapy session. That's exactly what this is for me. I hope you can relate. You gotta have that outlet, man. You gotta be able to say what you need to say. Whether it's to nothing, to someone, or somebodies, you gotta be able to get it out there. Fortunately for me, I get to lay it all out there to you all. Thanks for listening. Today, we've got a very important topic to discuss, something that's near and dear to me. And that's the take your child to work day type situation. I just saw on Facebook, actually, just the other day that there was this child, four year old, he has fourth birthday, and he wanted to spend his fourth birthday working at the grocery store. So the grocery store set up, you know, situations throughout the store, they had him a little shirt, he had a little polo on and a little name tag. And, you know, he was gonna go to work and there was pictures of him. He's in the bakery, he's trying cookies. He's in the produce department, pointing out the lettuce. Like he's doing all the things, right? He's going around to each department getting a little bit of a taste of what goes on in the grocery store. I'm sure this was a situation that lasted maybe an hour, you know, which ended in some cake, I'm sure, in the conference room. Fun, fun for everybody. But here's the deal, we do this thing. We do this thing that, it used to be real popular back in the day. Where you take your, it was a take your daughter to work day, take your, then it turned into take your son and then take your kids, they go in the shadow of you at work. I did this when I was a young lad. I hopped in the truck and my dad, he delivered periodicals and I spent a day working with him and we delivered, we delivered that day. And it was fun, it was fun to see what's up. I got a glimpse into the life that is. No, there wasn't any like tastings and no birthday cake at the end. I mean, there was nothing like that. It was a, it was a complete shadow of the job. And it was awesome. I learned a lot. And I think we're doing a disservice to these kids, creating these events where it's, it's become a party for them. It's been a fun day of activities for them instead of shadowing an actual work day. I think that's the more important thing here. Kids are getting a, not a true glimpse into what the work day is. I really, I really think we need to get back to it. So I kind of thought about that, you know, if I was, if I was still working at the grocery store and it was take your kid to work day, what would that entail? What would we, what would we do? What would we show this kid? What would a true day of work look like? For a little Tommy. I think it's important. I think, I think this is where as a, as a society, we need to get back to, because it's not all samples. Okay. It's not all photo ops at the, at the wet rack with the lettuce. It's knowing what's expected when you have 4,000 strangers or more coming through your door every single day and expecting perfection. I'm not kidding about that. Expecting perfection at all moments. I mean, think about it. It's true. You go, when you walk into a grocery store, the very first thing you see is the beautiful produce, the beautiful produce. And it does look amazing when it's presented right. What are we really looking for kid? Little Timmy, little Tommy. What are we calling this guy? Johnny, what did we have a name break out? We're going to go with Timmy or Tommy, depending on how I'm feeling. I think little Timmy walks in. Oh yeah, look at this. It looks great. Yeah, but we're not looking for the good stuff. No, no, no. We're looking for the bad stuff because think about it. When a customer walks in the door, they don't go, oh yeah, you guys look awesome today. No, they notice the apple right on top or even on the bottom, which is worse with the sunken hole in it. We need to be looking for the miscues, Timmy. This is where bananas and avocados go to die, frankly. They're not growing anymore. This is as good as they're ever going to get. And they are on the decline. We need to find the ones that are past their prime. And we got to move on. We've got to move on. So that's the first thing. We can't just get all excited about how beautiful this looks. We need to dial in and make sure that it really does. But then if we want a real true work experience here for little Tommy, okay, little 10 year old Tommy, let's throw them on the register. Let's get this first customer interaction right off the bat. And how are we gonna do it? We're gonna do it like the real life. There's not gonna be much training. No, not anymore. Not in 2026. There is not gonna be much training. If you're lucky, you may have gotten the opportunity to watch an online video that walked through. And you're not paying attention. You're on your phone. You're scrolling, you're texting. You're not really paying attention. Long gone are the days that you had one-on-one interaction with a coworker where they tell you and run you through many, many scenarios. Now you'll get to be in a room full of other people talking and complaining. And you'll get to maybe pay attention to a little bit of this video. Just how it is. So that means you got no training. You're rolling in just on vibes, which a lot of times I think I can roll with that. Just give me vibes and I can probably figure out. But I don't know about 10 year old Tommy. You get a customer coming up and like, hey, these grapes were 2.99. The kid's like, all right. But the sign said they were 2.79. I mean, what do you, the kids are, I can't control that, sir. I mean, that's literally gonna be the answer. And now we've got an upset customer. But this is where it really gets, this is where we really hit them. Because this is the stuff that happens. Now you've got a customer busting out old receipt showing that the price was far cheaper in 2014. See what it used to be? Everything was cheaper back then. Yeah, yeah it was. So was gas and hope. I mean, that's just life, baby. Tommy, you're gonna have to learn to roll with the punches here. And we also need to get them experienced in the big spill. These spills are gonna happen. I can't even tell you how many spills I cleaned up still. I cleaned up a spill yesterday. You don't tell them how to do it. You just roll with it. Gallon of milk explodes to the ground. They're fragile. All right, kid. Come on, little Timmy, let's go. Kids are gonna be sitting there standing there with paper towels probably. Not knowing what to do. Definitely wishing their parent had been a veterinarian. Not a grocer. Ah, get that mop bucket, brother. And then if you think, oh, I wish my parents were a vet. I love animals. Ah, we'll send you back to the Beats Department. You won't, we'll teach you about love for animals. You like cows? Oh yeah, I love cows. Yeah, you're gonna become a vegetarian after seeing what we're gonna chop up today. I distinctly remember in my coming up as a young guy in grocery, having to break down, having to break down the old slab of beef. You gotta know all the cuts. I don't think they teach them that anymore. Maybe they'll get to watch a video. I think the fun one might be when you have to, like, get to meet a lot of the regulars. The regulars are not okay. None of them. They spend their time, I mean, they spend their time at the grocery store. I mean, think about it. This is what they do. A lot of times, I don't think they have jobs. I don't think that's possible. They spend way too much in the grocery store. But I think it would be fun to assign little Tommy to one of the regulars. And when they come in at 612, just be like, here you go. And then that regular's like, hey, weren't you here last Tuesday? I think I've met you. I'm like, no. How was that recess? They always recognize the new people. You know what I mean? They're there every day. They know everybody. But whenever you introduce them to a new person, they're always like, oh yeah, we've met. No, you haven't. We dragged this poor fool off the streets. You don't know this one. No gloss, no filter, just stories, spoken without fear. Addiction is a disease and it should be looked upon as any other disease. How did you cope with a reckless father like me? Join me, Pooja Bhatt, as I sit down every week with directors, actors, musicians, technicians, and beyond. You don't need to work with the biggest people and the biggest sound to have great music. I have gone through the sub-city, Hachakar. The reach, the pinnacle, stung by the sneer, I've fallen down again. I am not writing actively anymore. And when I see my old work, it kind of saddens me. I'm only as good as the last shot that I gave. Mom's gone, but don't shut the theater. The show must go on. Listen to my weekly podcast, the Pooja Bhatt show on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Come for the honesty, stay for the fire. Okay, welcome back, I'm Jeremy. And this is Laugh With Me. We got Johnny on the knobs. Say hi, Johnny. No, perfect. We roast our fears in real time. Tell the truth and twist the line. Take this shame, make it shine. Turn the wounds into punch lines. Week one! Three downloads, all their phones. Jeremy texts his mom the link. She says she'll get to it soon. Week three, someone writes from Omaha. I listen on my night shift, having smiles since dad moved out. Week six, they record in blankets, banging on the ceiling. Johnny whispers, keep laughing louder. And this is a classic line. I've been watching this store longer than you've been alive. I don't know how many times I've had a regular tell me one of those. It's not a flex, guys. It is not a flex that you have been going to this store longer than I've been breathing. I think Fund One Two might be at the register and just hit them with the coupon folks, you know? You know, you got 73 coupons for like 12 items. I wonder like the coupon people, and I know they're saving a lot of money and at times some of the hardcores in this coupon biz, they're saving a ton of money. And in the age of, you know, having the loyalty apps and that kind of stuff, you've got many of different options in order to save money at the register. But if you spend an insane amount of time on this very area, on coupons, on the deals, what are you saving? Cause in my eyes, time is money. So you could be doing a whole long list of various things. To accomplish in your day, or you could be working insanely hard and insanely long to save 50 cents. That's the thing. I would like to speak to somebody who's a hardcore couponer, and just see, you know, and just see how much time they're actually spending in it. Cause I would like to know their philosophy on time is money in that regard. Anyway, I digress. You give the kid, give little Timmy the coupon people and they're bound to have expired coupons in there. You know, my favorite line from them is, when you tell them it's expired, time is just a suggestion. Suddenly they're very philosophical. What is it? Philosophical, there it is. I thought that was not a joke, Johnny. I just didn't know how to speak. This would be a good one. Send this, send your 10 year old in now, little Tommy needs to clean the restrooms. Not a fun job. Today's kids probably never even cleaned a toilet. Never even cleaned a toilet. In fact, now that I'm thinking about it, I don't think my children have. I've got one that's about to turn 16 this weekend, and I don't think he's ever cleaned a toilet. This is a problem. I've certainly, man, by that age, I hate to be that guy, but when I was his age, I cleaned many toilets at work at home, which by the way, my brother Kyle, he was talking to my parents, I don't know, a few months back, and they were talking about that. You guys didn't have chores when you were growing up. Yeah, we did. The downstairs bathroom of our house, I know, was one of my main responsibilities. So I had to make sure that one was clean. I don't know about Kyle, but I know I had to. So I had plenty of practice of cleaning the toilets, and especially at work. And it doesn't get any easier. The older you get, let's say you get out of the grocery business, you want to go work at the gas stations. I think that's worse. You go in the restrooms there. I mean, you don't want to know the kind of damage they're doing in there. Actually, if you go back to one of the previous episodes of Laugh With Me, you'll hear all about one of the instances I had. Oh, man. Welcome to the real world. This would be the welcome to being an adult moment, I think, for Lil Tommy. You know, and then there's stocking of the shelves. It's not easy. You know, we always joke in the business like, oh, we're just can stackers, but I'll tell you what, there is a talent or a skill to be learned here as far as stocking shelves, because it can be quite messy if you don't do it correctly. It also can cause a lot of problems. I mean, we're talking about the, at the register, things are ringing up, right? Just stocking incorrectly and you'll hear all about it. You got to teach these kids. Here's the thing. You're going to have customers in there that are going to tell you when you're doing something wrong. Many times you hear, I've been shopping here 40 years, that's not where that goes. They'll tell you, just hang around an aisle long enough. I just don't know why that's always their credential. Like I don't care. The resume customer always bothers me. Like I care for each customer individually the same. I want you to come in, have a great experience, get what you need, pay for it and get out. I don't need your resume. It's not going to earn you special deals. And then anymore with the way, you know, the labor structure is and as tight as it is, you don't have available hands to go do price checks. You know, you get the price check at the register. Guess who's running from their register to go check it. It's likely you. It's hopefully a little time you can run. You got to go, man. And I'm sure in the take your child to work day situation like this where they're getting the real experience, they'll find themselves at one point just staring in the frozen aisle staring at the frozen pizza, thinking, so this is it, huh? This is what I do. Jody and I, we've had that moment. And then, then you get to five o'clock and the shift, it's over baby. It is over. We are heading home, but no, it's 459. And the boss wants to know if you can do one quick thing. Can you just go grab, just go grab a few carts before you leave. Can you just, just run outside real quick and grab in a few carts? It's not that easy, man. It's not that easy to go just go grab a, grab some quick carts and run in. No, you gotta fight the elements. You gotta fight the traffic. You never know what kind of trash situation you're gonna find outside. There's always the runaway cart. And I've seen different tools, you know, like I've seen different retailers. They've got the big motorized thing that catches all the carts and it basically drives them for you. That's sweet, but that's an investment. So not every retailer is gonna have that. You've got the bungee cord, that's not safe. Now, I mean, kids that things sprung back and popped them in the face, can't be doing that, especially not little Tommy. But it does. Man, getting carts, they get heavy too. You got the old saying, they always say like only taking five at a time, right? Cause otherwise you're pushing those wheels and you're ruining those wheels, but you can't just do five at a time. You'll be going in. It's just not efficient. It's just not efficient. You gotta do more if you can. I get excited about this stuff, Johnny. I get real excited about this stuff. Oh man, then you get to the end of the day. It's all over. No treats for the child. No samples, no photo ops. Just angry customers, broken carts. And you're always gonna have that guy who's just working in produce since the 80s. This is what he does. He comes in, he does really shifty stocks, he leaves. He's got stories. I don't wanna know your stories, man. Yep. Welcome to the real world, Timmy. Welcome to the real world. That's all we need for these kids. Take your child to work day. They need to know what it's really like to go to work. Put an honest day's work in. And I didn't even get into the bosses that say one thing, but mean another. I mean, the mind games. You know, we're over on budget today, Timmy. I need you to, we need to cut eight hours, but I also need you to add three shifts today because we're sure handed. The mind games. We didn't even sweep the floors or mop the floors. Don't forget to face forward every aisle, every single item all the way to the lip. We didn't even begin to touch the real world situation of working. So I'm tired of seeing the photo ops, guys. We're gonna take our kids to work with us. Let's grind it out. Let's grind it out. They need to know, they need to start to get mentally prepared on what's up. I am advocating for no more take your kid to work day parties, activities and fun times. Okay, we are going to work and damn it. We're gonna cry about it at the end. Johnny, that's the way it should be, man. That's the way it should be. Who's with me? Anyone else with me on this? Extra listening, extra laughing. Johnny, you gotta be with us. Love with me. Love with me. Numbers climb in crooked lines. One clip hits like a flare in winter. Suddenly the inbox floats. Come on, tour. Come to my city. Jeremy stares at the stats and shaking over takeout boxes. Johnny's already mapping hotels on a napkin with greasy crosses. No gloss, no filter, just stories. Spoken without fear. For a son who's not generous, can not be an artist. The world will be at peace only when it is ruled by poets and philosophers. Listen to my weekly podcast, the Pooja Bhat Show on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Come for the honesty, stay for the fire.
