She was there at the start of one of the first MILK-AGRO stores in Košice. She worked there for over twenty years. Fresh retiree Mrs. Ľudmila Bugárová recalls the years spent in the Cash and Carry store on Pri Bitúnku street in Košice.
Do you remember your first contact with Milk-Agro?
Very well. I was interested in working at Milk-Agro and wanted to learn more. I called the director directly. The secretary could not connect me then, so I gave her my phone number to have the director call me. And he did! Since then, I have been working for this company. It was twenty years ago. And even though I am retired, I am happy to help if needed. Recently, I helped start a store in Kremnica.
You started as a saleswoman…
I already had rich sales experience, although not in food products. But selling is always about the same thing, primarily a satisfied customer who will gladly return to the store. I worked in this operation for fifteen years and was there at its opening. I communicated with managers about the technical implementation of the operation and assembled the work team. And now I am retiring from here…
… from the position of store manager. Were you a popular manager?
You know, I stick to the rule that a store manager cannot be nice. Let the deputies be nice. The manager must be decisive, systematic, and above things.
I was demanding and a bit authoritative.
After all, the manager is ultimately responsible for the store's performance and indirectly for the saleswomen's salaries; she cannot deal with "petty wars." I am an open type of person, I want clarity and I demand it from others too. I was lucky to choose the staff myself, and after all these years, I am glad most of them have been here as long as I have. It was not and is not easy; there were times when it was very difficult to manage such a whole, but we managed.
Although you are strict, the store has a friendly atmosphere…
The saleswomen know each other well not only among themselves but also with many customers. They cultivate friendly relationships with them. It happens that when they bring expected goods or have an interesting discount, they call customers, who come and shop.
Twenty years at Milk-Agro is a significant part of your working life. Something must have really attracted you to this company…
Yes, several things. Working conditions, salary conditions, good communication with company management, and also that as a manager I had relatively free hands.
What does "free hands" practically mean?
I had the management's trust and could decide independently. For example, about the product assortment, supply, and deciding which products to promote with discounts.
Tell us some unusual experiences…
It happened, for example – and this relates to the good relationships with customers – that a saleswoman had a birthday and a group of about six men came to congratulate her at the store. And they sang loudly in the middle of the store. You don't see that every day. And I was very pleased when the director himself came to say goodbye to me personally when I retired, with a large bouquet of beautiful flowers. With so many stores, so many employees, and many problems solved daily... I even shed tears of emotion.
