Chapter 1: Tensions in the Workplace

It's challenging to pinpoint the reasons for the rising tensions in the office. Despite everyone ostensibly working toward common goals, it seems there's a deep-seated animosity. Edgar suspects that, on a mental checklist, he and others might record this issue as follows: 1) Don's behavior is irritating, 2) Marla's is even more grating, 3) Todd appears clueless yet stubbornly refuses to acknowledge his mistakes, especially regarding the RU Data situation, and 4) various complainers seem to thrive in this environment, capturing the attention of management while the more level-headed employees feel sidelined.

However, the management team has a different perspective. Edgar receives a reality check the next day when Fred summons him to his office, a request that usually signals trouble. As they sit across from each other, Fred glances at his computer screen, likely looking over relevant emails.

“Just a quick note, some team members have expressed concerns about your emails,” Fred begins, then adds, “I personally don’t find them particularly problematic, but just a friendly warning—maybe tone it down a bit.”

“Sure,” Edgar replies.

“Sure? Like this email here…” Fred trails off, reading aloud, “I believe this requires more work and represents a significant regression from our previous methods. But it seems this has already been decided.” He gestures dismissively, signaling Edgar to stop. “Enough of that,” he insists. “We don’t want to hear the pity party anymore.”

“Pity party?” Edgar retorts, “I was merely trying to point out that our long-established method is superior to this new approach.”

“Yeah, well, there are better ways to express that.”

“Really? Like how? You’ve just said it’s not that bad. I want to ensure they realize this isn’t how we operate. I’m knowledgeable on this topic, and, as I mentioned, it feels like a major step backward.”

“Alright, but I’m advising you—be mindful of your tone.”

“Where is this coming from? Did Don unilaterally decide that everyone should start sending me their paper invoices to find new items? That would take ages!”

“I'll discuss this with him. But just so you know, you've been warned.”

Despite this encounter, Edgar views it as a minor victory, as the previously established procedures for handling new items remain intact. It appears Fred was able to communicate effectively with Don about this issue. However, this likely means Don will approach Edgar with a more critical attitude in the future.

On a brighter note, a long-anticipated opportunity is finally materializing. On January 13th, a Friday, Todd announces that all staff are required in Lorena, as the general public will soon be allowed in. The only downside is that Todd believes everything should be ready for a “soft” opening by the 20th. The team can only express disbelief, muttering about how they hope this opening is as “soft” as a puddle of melted ice cream. Given that Arcadia is far from ready, it’s hard to imagine how the colossal Lorena store, which dwarfs the other three locations combined, will be operational in just a week.

However, voicing such concerns to Todd would be a mistake. He clearly undervalues their input; if he cared, he would have solicited it long ago. Complaining that this timeline is unrealistic would only result in a negative label being attached to them. Therefore, the best course of action is to buckle down and see what can be accomplished.

Edgar tries to celebrate the small victories that he can claim. Amid Todd's continuous boasting and grandstanding about future projects, including a complete remodel at Palmyra and an office relocation, Edgar manages to assert that they need to order the same scale models for Lorena that are already in use at Central and Palmyra.

This discussion, however, takes place without a clear view of the store, as they had only talked about it during a Monday meeting. Edgar relies on asking how many scales are available and conveys their requirements to Todd, with Vicky and Vince—who oversees produce and bulk—as witnesses. Todd has not only followed Harry Redcrow's approach by keeping everyone out of the store until the last moment but also resisted their attempts to gather more information. Most inquiries are met with vague responses, likely due to a mix of protectiveness and an unwillingness to admit ignorance.

They have seen the blueprints and have listened to Todd boast about his fantastic deals and revisions. Time will ultimately reveal whether his claims hold any merit. Meanwhile, they piece together information from whatever snippets they can find elsewhere.

Todd has informed them that, as part of a “steal” of a deal with MRI, they will not only take over the lease on the store and retain its employees but also acquire existing inventory at a fraction of the cost. Some paperwork must have been provided to support this claim, as it's hard to believe without evidence. However, similar to previous inventory counts, Todd seems uninterested in entering these numbers into RU Data. This seems odd since Rob and Wanda, among others, have been actively requesting these figures, so why not input them into the system? Conversely, if these numbers were allegedly so inaccurate, why would he even provide them, and how could he be certain they were favorable?

Another peculiar aspect is that, while virtually no one from Wholesome Shopper Market has stepped foot inside the building, the sales team from Universal Foods has been present. This could be attributed to Todd’s wife being part of that team, but nonetheless, their assistance is a welcome relief. Team leader Roberta has been meticulously going through every aisle, taking note of the necessary shelf tags for Edgar to print. Edgar has always regarded her as a kind, diligent, and organized individual, especially since Marla often complains about her—making Roberta, by default, an ally.

Unfortunately, they still lack a printer set up on the HSX system, forcing Edgar to print the tags himself. Currently, his office is the only one equipped with an HSX-enabled printer, as Felix and Teri have been too busy with Lorena to make progress at the other stores. On the bright side, aside from Park's tag design looking excellent, the system prints everything on sticker sheets instead of the rolls they've used for years. He can neatly organize these sheets in a large manila envelope for his first trip to Lorena.

In terms of RU Data, they are bringing in another coder to get that store up and running. This time, it's not Glen or Matt, but a newcomer named Stephen. While he presumably has the necessary skills, it puts them in a position where another character must familiarize themselves with prior work. Still, Todd seems to be acknowledging that the RU Data team is not the most efficient group in addressing their issues. This realization is reflected in Todd’s latest announcement as he pokes his head into Edgar’s office before leaving for the day.

“Hey, just a heads up, I'm bringing in Ken Douglas as a consultant. He’ll be working with you.”

Edgar glances up from behind his desk, chuckling slightly, as he had anticipated this move for quite some time. It seems evident that, as Todd and his team continue their work, only familiar faces from St. Louis and a few attractive women will remain. It’s only a matter of time before Edgar finds himself reporting to Ken or possibly being replaced by him.

Sensing Edgar's apprehension, Todd waves his hand reassuringly. “Don’t worry, he’s not taking your job or anything. I want him on board because he has good connections with the RU Data team. He’ll handle interactions with them from now on, allowing you to focus on other matters.”

Edgar shrugs and replies, “Sounds good,” especially as Todd frames it that way.

However, the actual execution remains uncertain. Todd mentions that he expects Ken, Edgar, and Sharon to communicate solely via Microsoft Teams. This is a new platform for the two existing Wholesome Shopper employees, but they can see its potential for facilitating communication on various projects.

They find themselves cautiously optimistic, pondering whether Todd might successfully navigate the complexities of the new store opening. Yet, just as they start to think that perhaps this new character has some insight, Todd undermines that notion by throwing another curveball into the mix. He had previously stated that email costs too much and that they needed to phase it out. That was months ago. While Microsoft Teams is free, it’s hard to believe that their Slack service, considering its user base, is without cost. Despite this, the email floodgates have not only remained open but have actually increased, while Slack usage barely registers. Were they really expected to tell colleagues like Marla and Don to stop emailing? And what happened to Todd's insistence that he would manage Vince's communications? How would that even work with external contacts?

Are they allowed to cease using both Slack and email? No, Todd insists. He needs proactive employees like Edgar and Sharon to help others adapt to Slack, so they must continue using it. However, for conversations between just the three of them, they can utilize Microsoft Teams. Todd will manage any communication with Vince, he reiterates, so they shouldn’t worry about that.

Of course, it’s tempting to disregard these convoluted instructions. But each time someone fails to receive a message on either platform—an all-too-frequent occurrence—they often express their frustrations to Todd, who in turn asks why they didn’t send it through both channels. Consequently, this has become a habitual practice. At this point, Edgar finds the entire situation so absurd that it feels comical, and he’s curious to see how long this can continue.

Meanwhile, another upheaval looms on the horizon, demanding their attention. This time, Todd wants to completely overhaul their weekly sales strategy. Going forward, Lorena and Palmyra will run one advertisement, while Central and Arcadia will have a mostly different version. Todd claims to have conducted market research focused on demographics and median incomes. Additionally, the ads will be adjusted to align with whatever specials MRI is promoting that week, although the rationale for this remains unclear. Presumably, if MRI is running a sale, Wholesome Shopper can also purchase those items at a discount during that time. However, past experiences have shown that such assumptions often diverge from reality.

For now, three pricing tiers will exist, with two stemming from MRI. The merchandisers will continue sending their files to Edgar weekly, as they always have. Todd usually adds a few items to the mix, provided they are lower than MRI’s prices. In such cases, the weekly sales price at MRI will take precedence. There will also be a Temporary Price Reduction (TPR) that is supposed to take priority over all others.

This setup seems barely manageable as Edgar envisions a flow chart in his mind to track the order of comparisons and uploads. However, it soon becomes evident that the MRI sales file arrives in a bizarre format that no one, including Edgar, Felix, or anyone else at RU Data, has encountered before. After considerable back and forth, Felix figures out how to set up a program called Filezilla on Edgar’s computer, which will convert the file into a format that RU Data can process.