Corey has always projected this weird dichotomy whereby, long before appointed to such, he tended to act like someone on the inside circle of every discussion, wielding untold power…until a problem surfaced which might require him to do something, in which case he would deflect. Throw up his hands and remark “this place is dysfunctional” or “somebody needs to do something about this,” while remaining aloof from the predicament. …

“I don’t know what’s got into Corey,” Johnny grouses to Edgar, a rare cloudy sentiment coming from him. “I think that new promotion’s gone straight to his head!”

Edgar doesn’t agree or anything, only laughs and offers the expected, “really?” Even though he has entertained the same thought himself. This seems the most obvious explanation, regarding his own frequent and baffling run-ins with Palmyra’s former store manager here of late. But upon further consideration, Edgar doesn’t really think this is it. The signs were always there. …

Apart from one occasion about a year and a half ago, he hasn’t worked any Saturdays. Following, to date, the only day he’s missed so far, he decided he needed to make up the hours, on account of some pressing work, rather than turn in a personal day. Therefore drove down here to South, just that one Saturday, which was admittedly a little more peaceful than the standard weekday, nearly alone up there in the offices. Still, he’s hoping this doesn’t turn into the new norm, giving up a Saturday for a Wednesday every time they have some event at…

Though already having proven himself something of a manic madman, deli merchandiser Pat DiStazio is at least an entertaining one. The question of how long it is before he completely negates all progress made in this department has become a celebrity death watch type event, with bets ranging anywhere from a month to a year and a half. …

Wholesale changes continue unabated at Palmyra. Then again, this is the nature of the beast pretty much everywhere, which leads Edgar to wonder where this phrase even came from. He gets that the word wholesale has another meaning, a synonym for sweeping, all-encompassing. But he also thinks there’s probably a good joke to be had somewhere in there, a slogan that those in this industry might relate to. Maybe something like Wholesale Changes: Welcome To Retail! Or maybe something more like a dry quip you might read, a quote from an industry analyst interviewed in the Wall Street Journal:

“Wholesale…

Trade show weeks have a distinct summer school vibe about them. Roughly once per quarter, Duane, the merchandisers, Corey and maybe one or two other select individuals fly out to some distant major city, for these major industry events. The whole point of this exercise is to forge connections, learn about some new products, and hopefully strike some hot deals on these as well as preexisting products. However Duane arrives at this guest list is a bit of a mystery, though, for while Corey has always been a constant presence and Karen, too, ever since she came aboard, the other…

They have begun to refer to it as The Curse of the Employee Newsletter. Even as when Valerie took over this job from Barbara, they switched from black and white to full color, this curse remained in full effect. And nothing has changed even with the presumed good luck charm of the Southside mural photo at the top of each one.

Someone first noticed this phenomenon when Aria was fired, the same week that she was profiled as Featured Employee of the Month. Then it was the previous Southside vitamins manager, who put in her notice within two days of…

The predominant word on the streets has it that Karen Hatley is a bitch. This is what virtually all of the employees say, particularly those a safe distance removed from her. But Edgar doesn’t believe this is quite accurate. He doesn’t think Karen Hatley is a bitch, per se. If pressed, he would describe her as a smug contrarian instead. Technically speaking, she’s not that difficult to get along with — even though she is going to disagree with just about anything you might say, and act as if you are fairly ridiculous for even suggesting what you have.

Whenever…