Secondhand Sam’s

Where Secondhand Children’s Clothes Are First Class!

EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK

Sam’s Message

Maybe you’re here to stay, or just for a season. At Secondhand Sam’s, you’re part of a family and you’re valued, no matter how long you’re here for.

Daycare, dinner, melatonin, bed; the rhythm of Sam’s childhood. At weekends, he and the other children were let out into the guardian’s yard in all weathers, supervised from a window. One wet Sunday, Sam pushed a girl who kept spitting in his face. The rain washed the spittle from his cheeks and made the blood on her temple spread like oil in a bath.

Customer Service

No sour faces. If a sad sack wants to talk about their problems, pull up a seat and cheer them up. Customers at the register? I know you can multitask. The tub of candy is under the counter.

Sam was moved to a new home. More daycare, dinner, melatonin, bed. He despised the new guardian and the things he made Sam do behind the shed before giving him candy. Sam handed it to the other kids in exchange for hiding places.

Quality Control

We get donations in various states. Broken zipper? Worn knees? Missing parts? An irreparable hole? If we can’t make it like new, we don’t sell it. Kids have enough problems without standing out for the wrong reasons.

When Sam was moved again for kicking the guardian in the nuts behind the shed, he started middle school. His donated corduroy jacket with extra-long sleeves, and mud-coloured pants wearing thin at the seat were targets.

Older kids weren’t given melatonin, so Sam lay awake as the names he’d been called squirmed in his mind like burrowing maggots.

Shoe Fitting

Check they fit. Then check again. Get the customer to run, skip, jump, and wiggle those toes. Ask them to fasten the shoe themselves. If they can’t tie laces, teach them.

He’d got the branded sneakers by chance. Hand-me-downs from someone his new guardian knew. Velcro too, thankfully, as he couldn’t tie laces. He bunched his toes so the sneakers would fit, his toenails curling.

Conduct

I think Jesus had it right when he said love your neighbour as yourself. And like Jesus, I’ve got good news. I turn the other cheek. So, if you mess up, don’t worry. I give second chances. Everyone deserves them.

Sam walked the streets at night when he couldn’t sleep. He spotted his old guardian, the one from behind the shed, pissing in an alleyway, swaying with alcohol. It was just the two of them in the darkness. Sam only wanted the man to feel fear, to make him cry, but the man was surprisingly strong, and Sam had to bolt. When he reached the road, he tripped on his bunched-up toes. The car splintered his leg.

Final Note

One last thing. Always leave the stick with the hook on it by the door, otherwise I can’t reach the shutter from my wheelchair to shut the store.