Coming to the store after quitting a week ago hits different
Last week my fiance and I both quit (I think in the system the SM put us as fired though) I haven't been to the store since but tonight I needed a couple things and didn't want to drive 25+ minutes to another tree so just went to the one 5 minutes away where I used to work.
I saw most of my people I used to be the manager of. The moment they saw me their faces lit up, one even did a happy dance and run to me to give me a hug.
Since I quit last week the store has basically fallen apart. The store is filthy, go backs everywhere, the case of bang energy drinks that was busted open that I forgot on the water fountain when I was draining them is still there. It doesn't look like anyone's swept in a week.
My people have also told me everything has gone to shit since we left. Our SMs mood is worse, everyone is struggling way worse than before.
I still feel bad leaving them behind but I needed to leave for my mental health.
Going in and seeing everyone's faces light up like that really makes me realize that I did actually have an impact on that store. My SM made it seem like all I did was mess up and not do my job etc etc but based on how my people reacted when they saw me shows me that no. I DID do a good job. These people respected me. These people liked me.
I don't even know what to say right now. The way I'm feeling right now. It's a weird feeling. Not a bad one but one that's making me want to cry happy tears. The past several months I felt like a failure of a manager but tonight proved me wrong. Way way wrong.