I work at Fortnum & Mason in the fashion department with the jewelry buyers. My tasks differ on a daily basis, but one of the things I do daily is look at the stock from a report the distribution center sends us and change what is in- and out-of-stock on the computer system. I send an email to all the department heads who need to order more or not order as much to let them know. That email is always slightly terrifying to send. I'm always afraid I messed up. My face gets all hot and prickly when I see an email come in because I assume it will be someone telling me how bad of a job I did. On the contrary, it is more of appreciation for doing something that apparently helps them tremendously. Some of the people have even come introduced themselves to me! Also, they told me to stop being so formal in my emails. Whoops. I now call everyone by their first names. It took a while to get there, but I got it.
I work with two other interns, one from here in England and the other from Scotland. They are both really fun and nice and have helped me a lot! They ask me a lot about America and the trends and traditions there. We had a whole conversation at lunch about biscuits (our biscuits, not cookies). They were baffled by the fact that we have chicken biscuits. They also laughed at the way I hold my fork when I eat and tried to tell me the difference between fries and French fries. I said it's all the same, just call them fries. And one of them has started calling me Sazzy. I have no idea where it came from, but having a nickname means they like me, so I am fine with it. She comes up to my desk a lot and says, "Hey Sazzy, how's it goin'?" in her Scottish accent. It makes me giggle.
Some of us went to the distribution center in Ely on Friday, and Monday I am spending the day in the basement warehouse at the store to see the similarities and differences between how things are done. I had orientation to the store last week as well. We ate so much food (One of the restaurants prepared like 20 samples for us all to try. I ate them all.), learned about the history, and took a tour of the store. Probably my fourth tour. I can (maybe) point you in the direction you need to go because of all the tours.
They give interns free lunch, and it is delicious! It is also American-sized portions, so I take a little box to bring half of it home in. Another thing they laugh at. Oh well, free dinner too. They also bring up cake from the floor that hasn't been sold and sell it for 10 pence whereas customers get it for 40 pounds. Yikes.
Overall, I am enjoying Fortnum pretty well! It is a massive business that has a lot of history and tradition. It is way more laid back than I thought it would be, and the people are really nice and willing to answer any questions I have. Which is a lot. I am anxious as to what this week will bring!
Cheers,
--Sarah
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