Everyone operates on their own moral limits.
For me, one of THE most essential limits, personal or otherwise, is trust.

It underpins everything in life.

You cannot value a person’s opinion or standing, unless you have trust.
For all the waffle and spin, without trust, none of it matters a jot.

Some time ago, in my long and varied working life, I was enjoying a change.
From a stand-in store supervisor to part of a three-man ‘hit’ team, travelling around the county, revamping superstores and building mezz floors, where previously there was just wasted space above.
It involved huge resources, manpower organisation, budgeting and heavy work. Then after three weeks getting all the main works in place, the entire store’s remodeling, moving every single piece of stock, into new bays and displays, new POS (point of sale), new styles and better displays.
New audio boards, new technology, all fitted and working for opening day.

A strict target date was to be met, budgets to be met, all while the store remained trading and maintained it’s weekly sales budgets.

A mammoth task indeed, all for not one extra penny in wages.
Simply fuel expenses for extra travel.
Each time, the store’s revamp was met on time, under budget and to a standard that was signed off by the very top brass, who came to inspect on opening day.
A party weekend reopening of the store, that had never closed, continued trading all the way through the development.

I loved it.
I was part of a three-man team, leading each revamp, working long hours but a reward that we’d advanced the company in the area.

In between each new project, such was the trust placed in myself, I was in high demand from within the company.
I was the first shop floor worker ever to make a full presentation, at the company’s huge head office, to area managers and top brass from the board of directors, ever in the national company’s over 80 year history.
I was called upon to help run stock takes at surrounding superstores, I was called in to help organise and revamp stores without new 1st floor creations.

It was all about trust and the area managers had enormous trust in my work. This was reward enough for me. I was very proud of my achievements.
Yes, I was cheap labour for the top dogs within the company.
Yes, I was very cost effective.

Then, after six superstore revamps, the top brass were so impressed with my workings, I was invited to London, to revamp stores there, gather my own team down there from all the London branches.
Hitting each store for a full day, mini revamps and signage, while the stores were still trading, getting them ready for a privatisation sell-off on the stock market.
In many stores, prospective new shareholders from corporations appeared to be shown around and discuss the nature of the business and procedures within the company.

After four weeks of intense work, the sell-off date came and was a complete success, raising an extra £12 Million pounds of new investment for the company!

I was very proud of my work.
I received a signed, hand-written letter from the deputy CEO of the company, thanking me for my work and aptitude in serving the company.

After a few more store refits in my local area, I returned to the job I was originally working in, serving customers and being a relief supervisor, covering late shifts, cashing up and locking up, when no one was available.
I was again taking deliveries off wagons, on my own, every week, I was building products, fitting products, everything a normal shop worker would be expected to do.

I didn’t mind this at all, safe in the knowledge that should anything big, project wise, come up in the future, I would be one of the names considered for the position.

I still see my work to this day, whenever I venture into one of the superstores I worked on.

A new young manager, about my age, that I’d worked with before when he was a deputy, got the job at my own store.
I was pleased that the new boss would carry on mostly as before, as part of a successful branch.

Then, one weekend shift, the opposing full time sales lad to me appeared at the door to work for the full Saturday.
Very strange.
We had alternate weekends off and he left on the Friday teatime ribbing me about having to work that weekend, as we always did.
Now here he was, working the full Saturday on his weekend off?

“I got a call last night about 9pm telling me to come in and work Saturday!” He said.

That was it. We completed the full day as per, selling, serving and fitting, thought nothing more of it.
Then at the end of the day he told me, “The boss wanted me to come in and keep an eye on things!”

On the following Tuesday, after my Monday off, I collared the boss in the office.
“That was strange sending [workmate] in on his Saturday off to work. Is there something i should know?”
“It’s nothing to do with you, I wanted him in, to keep an eye on the place!”

As I was one of the acting supervisors over the weekend, I took it personally.
“So I’m not to be trusted then, I see.”
With that, I worked the rest of the day, then handed my notice in the next day.
The boss accepted it without question and I left the company, after over 12 years of service, without even a thank you, two weeks later.

A month later I was in a neighbouring store picking up some bits for my car, when I had a tap on the shoulder…
“Hiya, are you doing the stock take in Blackburn next week? I’ll no doubt see you there!”
It was the area boss.

The new store boss that had accepted my resignation without a word or question hadn’t even told him I was leaving the company!

“Sorry boss, I’ve left the company, the boss brought someone in on my weekend in, to watch over me/us without telling me, saying it was nothing to do with me why he did it. I left after two weeks notice”

He was livid, as part of his hit-team, I’d gone.
He wasn’t told why or that I’d resigned.
While I was still shopping for bits, he was straight in the office, on the phone, shouting. He went mental.

An ex colleague of mine later told me he’d been “Moved on to a joint manager’s position at a bigger store and less than 6 months later, he’d quit the company and set up as a driving instructor.”

I received a nice letter from the area boss, apologising for how I was treated, I simply replied, “No apology needed Boss, the trust in me was obviously not there, so I’ve moved on to another company and job.”

So you see, trust is essential in all my dealings with people.
If I’m crap at what I do, then tell me. If I’m not wanted then tell me.
When trust has gone, there’s no coming back.