It's off to the mall, but not to shop

By KRIS HUNDLEY

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 27, 2001

The coolest job at Busch Gardens is running the roller coasters. The dorkiest uniforms are at a certain lemonade stand in the mall. And even working fast food can be fun if you're behind the counter with your best friend.

Even without parental pressure, some teenagers know the score: If you want the clothes, car or spending money with no strings attached, you'd better get a summer job. At 14 and 15 years of age, the options are pretty much limited to grocery stores and fast-food chains. At 16, mall stores become the job magnet.

Louis David Brown, 17, explains the attraction of the mall like an adult speaking to a very thick-headed child. "Because," he says patiently, "that's where everybody is."

Brown, a graduating senior at Boca Ciega High School in Gulfport, has never worked at a mall himself. He turned on-the-job training setting up a database for his dad's real estate company into a job with the St. Petersburg Police Department.

For the second summer in a row, Brown will be computerizing the department's personnel training records, then teaching staffers how to use the program. Then he's off on a scholarship to Howard University, where he wants to study to be a corporate lawyer. He'll leave his e-mail address behind in case the system crashes.

"I've learned a whole lot of organizational skills and a whole lot of responsibility," Brown said.

Other students say summer jobs teach them how to deal with people, including some who aren't so easy to please.

"The worst part is dealing with unhappy customers," 15-year-old Billie Jo Iles said of her new job at Chick-Fil-A in Palm Harbor. "All you can do is get the manager."

Christina Hernandez, 17, of Tampa has learned to be tactful in her sales job at Jus d'Orange, a clothing store at WestShore Plaza mall.

"You can tell customers that some things run small, but they don't want to hear that they don't look good," she said.

Though Hernandez has discovered she has a knack for selling, it hasn't affected her career plans.

"I want to go into sports broadcasting," she said. "My father works in sales and it's very stressful."

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright