Proud K-Mart employee during high school- 1979-1981 stock boy - hardware department and anywhere they needed help for the Southgate, MI store, downriver - home of steel mills, and Chrysler Trenton Engine. One of the first "true" K-Marts stores built in 1965. We had two floors and a stand-alone furniture department. No beer was sold on Sundays (per the Kresge's family) who were the nicest people to work for. We were paid in cash every week, plus a bonus for Christmas. Back then, they offered Layaway for a few buck, which many people did for X-mas gifts, making small payments and paying them off on the week of he 20-24th, it was a crazy, busy, happy time. My co-workers were middle aged ladies who were the salt of the earth and swore like sailors. All 5'8'" 110 lbs of me would walk them to their cars for "protection" after we closed at 9:00 PM. It was a safe neighborhood, they did not like it that the timers had turned off the parking lot lights. If you asked me, the group of them could more than handle anything. Shopping carts weighed 30 lbs or more, made of USA steel and more chrome plating than a 1959 Imperial bumper. If you wanted someone, you paged them over the intercom. I used to run the Blue Light specials in the Mid-way for all the out of season and other discontinued items. The store close and it was torn down. I still remember all of those good people and a company that actually cared about its employees. Thanks Carmine, don't thrown that paper ad out, it's history. Unfortunate teen years - a Mopar guy and K-cars..
Great story... you inspired me to write my own...
November 1988 and I've had my driver's license for all of a month. I've also got a '69 Chrysler 300 and a job chopping and cleaning chickens at the KFC, which I took months ago because it was within bike-riding distance. But now I've got big-block-powered wheels.
The KFC job sucks, although I enjoyed the free leftovers when we closed for the night. I constantly smell like chicken guts and popping the livers out with my thumb has lost its appeal; which it never had anyway.
K-mart requires driving, but they are hiring Christmas help. I figured they'll keep me on if I'm half-decent as a stock guy. Thus begins my regular route to the location at 15 Mile and Groesbeck in Clinton Twp, supposedly the biggest store in the area because it had a built-in grocery story years earlier.
Back then, stock guys had to wear Dress shirts and TIES just to be on the floor. We were only open from 10-6 on Sundays, and SHUT DOWN THE STORE on Good Friday from noon-3pm! So forcing employees to work on holidays was obviously unheard of, unlike today.
It was a pretty good place to work, just like you said. I made friends with all the old grandma's who usually ran the clothing departments, etc. and did the same closing-walk you described.
Our manager was a nice older guy who'd been transferred up from a store he'd run forever in Ohio. He was none to happy about that and I later on figured out they were probably trying to get him to quit before he could retire. I also remember he drove a late-model New Yorker, so that earned him so points with me as well.
One day he called me into his office and asked if he could count on me to work a lot of extra hours... it seemed that most of the other stock guys had been caught stealing, and that by the next day, there would be a half-dozen job openings! I think this is when I learned a lesson about negotiating... I told him I'd do it; IF I could go to the auto service department once the stock guy mess was sorted. True to his word, I moved out there about a month later.
I left after high school, but I could see the changes for the worse beginning to occur. It amazes me that as a 18 y/o kid, I could see the stupidity in what K-mart's new CEO (Joe Antoninni) was doing. The new store signage and paint scheme were hideous.. what dumbass paints brick and natural stone battleship gray? Why would you junk the iconic
K-mart logo for
kmart !?
These dummies were shuffling deck chairs while Wal-Mart was investing in modern point-of-sale inventory systems and we were perpetually out of stock.
Still, I remained loyal for a long time and K-mart was my first stop when I needed something. But eventually I gave up. The stores weren't being kept clean. Shelves were empty and messy. Stock people dressed in sloppy street clothes. They screwed their shareholders and employees. I moved on to Meijers.
So you needn't worry... that sales flier is going into my plastic tubs full of work momentos... except this one piece does TWO employers! 
