Hi, I’m Jesse Pugh, US Army Veteran and General Manager of the Malden Rhodes. When I joined PAJCO (the company that owns Rhodes, Imo’s Pizza locations and Rally’s Drive-Ins), I can honestly say I was scared. At the time, I only thought of Rhodes as a gas station. I quickly realized that PAJCO offered more than snacks and sodas to its communities. It offered a structured, supportive work environment with many opportunities for team members to feel like family. They expect a lot from their team but make sure they do everything to make sure you succeed. Overall, Rhodes is a culture, an amazing one at that.
My District Manager, Mary Henson, recruited me to join Rhodes. I’ve enjoyed so many things since joining the company including meeting new people, making each guest feel special and even making angry people smile. I get to affect people every day, both guests and my teammates. I enjoy seeing our young adults grown into strong members of society through their job. For that reason, I don’t intend leaving Rhodes anytime soon. In fact, I’ve set a personal goal to earn Mary’s District Manager job! Obviously, I want to see her move up in the company, also. Being able to help multiple stores instead of just one could be my ideal job.
The people I work with who don’t actually work in my store have built my desire to work with multiple stores as a District Manager. These people include Mary because she’s been really honest and good to me. It also includes Vice President of Operations and Business Development Brent Anderson. He seems too good to be true. He’s an amazing leader. It also includes District Manager, Matt Boxdorfer, who offers great advice and is fun to be around. My own team also inspires me to work beyond my own store. They get angry at me, and I get upset with them. At the end of the day, we are a strong crew, and they are amazing people.
I’ve come to realize that convenience stores are very under appreciated. They are very busy places. No one realizes how a small store like the Malden Rhodes can become a repetitive stop in people’s morning routines. My regular guests make up for that under appreciation including a lady that lost her husband of 60 years. I got to see her transform from being lost and not knowing how to pay bill to learning how to use a debit card. I have gotten to know her well enough that she tells me stories about going to BINGO, getting her nails done and a trip she took to Yellowstone.
I’m proud that she felt comfortable visiting my store through her difficult life transition. I’d like to think my store embodied all of Rhodes’ core values to feel that way especially the “outstanding experience for every guest” core value.
I would encourage anyone to join Rhodes. I worked in accounting before I came here and found myself wishing I had a fun job that paid the bills. Well, here it is at Rhodes! Rhodes is not like other places that just leave you. Instead, they actually care about you.
I invite you to visit www.Rhodes101.com and submit your application online. If you get hired, my advice would be to grow. Grow in your role. Grow in the company. Grow in the community.
Rhodes provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics. In addition to federal law requirements, Rhodes complies with all applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leave of absence, compensation and training. Rhodes expressly prohibits any form of workplace harassment based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, genetic information, disability or veteran status. Improper interference and the ability of Rhodes employees to perform their job duties may result in discipline up to and including discharge.