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I'm a front-end supervisor at a large, membership-based wholesale retailer. That means I work in the front end of the business and oversee the cashiers.

Before the store opens we have to make sure all 17 register tills have the right amount of money, $135 in every till. In the morning we also have to make sure all the prices that have been changed are in the computer. During the day we supervise giving change to the registers. Another responsibility is to make sure all the employees take their breaks. In eight hours of work there are two 15-minute breaks and one lunch break.

We assist customers with questions. If they come and say something like, "I need a sweater that's blue in size medium," we search in the system and help them find what they are looking for. Sometimes items are missing labels, so we need to look up prices. Or sometimes a cashier needs us to find an item number. If people call in sick we have to go in the system and record that. We mark down if people are there, if they are late, and if they are sick.

The entire warehouse employs 300 to 400 people, including the office employees. Each day there are between 40 and 50 employees working and three or four supervisors working on the front end. Above us are three assistant warehouse managers and one general manager.

It's a lot of stress. As a supervisor, you are in between managers, employees and customers, so you have to control yourself. That's the hardest things to do, for me. Customers sometimes get upset at policies. Dealing with people's attitudes is also a hard thing to do. People aren't in a good mood every day.

You have to like people. If you are not a people person it would be very hard. You have to be very understanding. Manners are a big part of that. Some people, even though they don't have the manners, they expect you to have the manners to deal with them. That's the way it works. If you have a good personality and good manners it doesn't matter what the problem is. You can always overcome it.

I came in 1979 from El Salvador. I was 18 years old, and I knew zero English. I went to three months of school in Los Angeles to learn some English. Then I started taking classes at the junior college. I started in electronics but didn't like electronics. I took classes in business administration, but I didn't like that. I kept changing. I did water technology and worked for the water department in Sacramento. I never knew what I wanted, so I kept changing classes. When I came up here I said, "You know what? I'm going to do database." So I did that.

Back in 1997 I worked with computers and database management for a telecommunications company. I started working for my current company to make extra money during the holidays. Then they offered me a position, so I started working for them. I liked dealing with people, so I stayed.

At first I was pulling carts and working on the lots. Then I stocked merchandise, learned to work the bakery, then did marketing. I made a safety database for the marketing department and other little things having to do with the computers.

Being promoted to supervisor was being in the right place at the right time. You have to show them you want to be promoted. After a year, I started doing backup supervising. A few years later they offered me the position as full-time supervisor.

The whole idea is to move up. Right now, the company is going to open a new store. Some positions are going to be open here because some of the managers are going to move. I feel confident I'll be promoted to manager.

It's usually eight hours per day, but from time to time someone calls in sick, and we have to work more.

Supervisors who open come at 9 a.m. because we open the store at 10 a.m. If it's not an opening shift, you might come in between 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., and the shift goes for eight hours after that.

There's a lot of variety. Especially when you have people with an attitude who want to get away with things. Sometimes people change the price on something, and they want it for the lower price, but we know it's not right. People want to use the wrong membership card to get in. We have a collection of credit cards that people forget in the store. People walk in with a cane and walk out without a cane. The lost and found, that's part of our responsibility. If somebody gets hurt we have to tend to them. If something happens in the line where someone passes out or gets sick we have to call 911 and get paramedics there. Every day is something different.

With bonuses and overtime, it's about $48,000.

We are entitled to six paid sick days a year. We get five other paid days off a year. You get paid for your birthday and anniversary and get the day off. You accumulate vacation hours through the years. I get about 130 hours a year plus 40 hours of sick time. I get off almost two months out of the year that I get paid for.

We have full benefits, which is great. Medical, dental, vision, stock options, 401(k), we've got all that. With every paycheck they invest money in your 401(k) for you, and they match it. You get bonuses twice a year, based on the number of years you've worked there.

It's based on the union; after working so many hours you get your raises. I don't need to ask. I don't need to apply. It's automatic. It varies from 50 cents to a dollar and 20 cents per raise. Every 480 hours I got my raise until I topped out. For assistants the maximum is 16 or 18 dollars an hour. For clerks it's 19 dollars an hour. Supervisors make a dollar more than what the clerk makes.

Because it's not a regular job, it's what they call "retail," it's different than most. The schedule comes with the territory. Fortunately, because I have 11 years of experience, seniority kicks in and I can say, "I want my Sunday off." I have Sunday and Monday off. But some supervisors have days off in the middle of the week. For my social life, it is good that one day out of the weekend is off.

Since I work Fridays or Saturdays until eight o'clock, it is difficult sometimes for my fianc and me to make plans with other couples to do things. We miss a lot of baptisms and parties and things like that. But for some things, like making appointments or running errands, it works well because I have the morning off.

It's very stable. Right now my company is one of the top 10 companies to work for. They lay off seasonal help, but you know that when you get hired. Otherwise they don't do any layoffs.

After 10 years they give you long-term disability, so if you get injured on the job you'll continue to get paid until you would have retired. After 20 years you can retire. You get your 401k and a pension from the union after you retire. Even if you're not 65 you can retire. That is up to you. There are some people who already have 25 years and they are still there. The longer you stay there, the more money you get from the union for your pension.

To know that I can help a customer with what they need. To know an employee can count on me to take care of a problem. That's what I like about the job, that you can do something for somebody.

Having the manager not being consistent when it comes to the supervisors and employees. A lot of employees and supervisors get away with things. That's my frustration. We don't have somebody who stands up 100 percent and says, "You cannot do that."

At the beginning, every item was coded by numbers. Now they use scanners. Two months ago they changed the whole system, and the new scanner guns are cordless. Now we have one person to assist each cashier, where before it was one assistant to two cashiers. With that, we don't have to be worried as much, but we still have to perform the same duties.

For someone to work here they have to like dealing with people. They have to have a people personality. They have to be fair with everybody they manage and know how to deal with the public.

For me, personally I believe in showing innovation and creativity. I believe in working hard in a smarter way. Try to change things. Don't constantly do the same things over and over just because you know how to do them. In my experience there has been no supervisor I have worked with who has created anything new. But I saw a need for improvement so I created new forms and re-did the steps to run reports at the end of the night.

A successful person is also someone who knows to take care of the customer, because that's who is paying for your salary. And a supervisor is someone who should help an employee do his job. The satisfaction of being a supervisor is to know he can deal with different situations and show somebody something new.

You can start anywhere. If you start in the meat department, you could have no experience and they are supposed to train you. They don't look for particular experience.

I would tell them to learn how the system works. To always be on time. If you really want to move up with the company, you have to have the ambition to move up. Even if they don't notice that in you, if you have that and you like to do that, that's what you need. Have innovation, be aggressive, and do things when they are required. Don't wait to be invited, just have the initiative to do it.

If you have no experience in supervision, then you need to start from the bottom because you need to learn what's required. My company only promotes from within, so you have to work your way up.