Garden hose nozzle display at Frager's
When I set out to spend the day working at Frager’s, I planned to do real work. However, instead of lifting bags of mulch, stacking boxes or answering customers’ questions, I spent four hours talking to some of the store’s many employees and learned not only why I want to work at Frager’s but why so many Frager’s employees want to work at Frager’s.
I arrived at 10am, three hours later than Tom, a manager at the store, told me to arrive. After a quick review of why I was tardy and a few disapproving looks, Tom walked me to the garden department and introduced me to Bob, who was seeking refuge from the elements under the small roof that protects the registers.
Bob is an older gentleman with the type of accent that makes me believe he’ll be rooting for the Red Sox when they come to town this weekend. Bob moved to the District about 30 years ago, and has lived on the Hill for the last 15 years. “I’ve been a Frager’s customer since 1995,” he said proudly.
I asked Bob, who recently earned a certificate in horticulture and landscape design from the USDA Graduate School, what the most popular selling item is in the garden department and, much as one would expect from a Frager’s employee, Bob shared with great gusto more than just one top-selling item.
“In the winter there is firewood and of course shovels, which we were selling off the truck,” he said, proud to be a part of the seemingly endless supply of shovels that helped clear the Hill of Snowmageddon’s wrath.
“Everything is selling after the damage from this winter,” said Bob, “with pansies being the biggest seller right now.” But don’t count out the forsythia, azaleas, hydrangea and even curly rosemary, which Bob assured me are selling almost as well.
While Bob helped a few customers find the perfect garden trellis, I made my way inside to look at a few of the indoor aisles that are dedicated to the garden department.
“We had to bring the basil in. It just came in yesterday and today temperatures are dipping into the 40 degree range. Basil needs to be covered if temperatures dip below 40 degrees, so we had to bring it all inside,” says Elizabeth, the co-manager of the garden department.
Elizabeth, whose curly hair is tucked into her ball cap, is as approachable as she is knowledgeable. After talking plants for a few minutes, I asked her what brought her to Frager’s.
“I was a Hill staffer for 10 years and wasn’t willing to commit to two more years. While I was working on the Hill I was doing landscaping on the side,” she said, “so a friend got me a part time job at Frager’s.”
Within a couple of months, Elizabeth was responsible for ordering items sold in the garden department. Two months later she was co-manager of the department. “I spend my off time learning everything I can about gardening,” said Elizabeth.
For Elizabeth, her new career turn was about more than just turning a hobby into a profession. “Being hired at Frager’s is like being welcomed into a family.”
This family of employees had already made me feel welcomed, and it was only 11am.
Be sure to check back for future installments of My Day at Frager’s.
maybe this is too personal, and maybe you just can’t share it, but how much does a person like elizabeth make as manager of the garden dept. at frager’s?
there is a belief (whether true or not) that people working in retail cannot make enough of a living to afford to live in the city, and especially in a pricer neighborhood like capitol hill. i (and i wager many others) would be interested to know if you can afford a home in the neighborhood on the salary at a job like this.
Well, there are lots of things to consider, like maybe people who work at Frager’s don’t want to own a home or want to live on the Hill. Maybe they worked really hard and saved up their money so they could retire from a stressful life as a hard-working Hill staffer or public relations professional. Maybe they are married and their spouse makes a good living, so they can afford a home on the Hill and a smaller salary–if the salary is in fact small.
I think I see finances differently, but maybe that is because I am now living life on less money than I ever thought I could after becoming unemployed a year ago.
When talking with a friend who was also laid off at the same time I was, we both agreed that we found ourselves without an extra income but still making it. (And wondering what we were buying when he had all that money!)
oh, i’m not doubting that you can make it in this city for a lot less than some people seem to believe. of course, i’m assuming that one couldn’t buy a house in dupont or georgetown on a retail salary. but i still think it’s an important question to ask. sure, some people don’t want to own a home, and there are other situations that could exist (retirees, etc., that you mention here), but i don’t think i’m being difficult when i ask that question.
the fact is that i know people in other cities who are able to own homes, raise a family, and live comfortably on a job in retail. for all i can see, you can’t pull that off in DC. i’d love to be proven wrong.
I was wondering the same thing, IMGoph. Frager’s sounds like a place that values its employees, and only hires those who are top-notch to begin with, so I imagine they pay better than other retail establishments.
I’m currently looking at houses on the hill, and I haven’t found anything that meets my criteria for under $600k (presumably more than any retail employee could afford). But she might be able to swing a condo in one of the transitional areas.
I didn’t think you were being difficult, IMGoph.
I agree that it is easier to make it in other cities on much less than is needed here. I just don’t want to live in those cities.
I’d wager that the pay at Frager’s doesn’t compare too unfavorably with that of a Hill staffer. Those kids don’t make squat, after all. And a Frager’s T-shirt costs a lot less than a closet full of business suits!
As a huge Frager’s fan, i think this is a great thread, fantastic idea. When is part 2 and beyond?!?!? I’ve been checking back since last weekend 🙂
Thanks for reading Just161!
I’ve got more than 20 pages of notes that I have been sorting through. I hope to have more posts early next week.
Check back then!
basically, my point was that it seems like you can live OK (not fabulously rich-and-famous-like) if you’re making over $50K in DC. can you say if a frager’s salary compares with that?
because making $27K (for example) isn’t going to get you too far in DC.
I have a question: where in this article did it say that good people went to Frager’s to strike it rich? As far as I can tell, Frager’s attracts great people, from diverse backgrounds, who choose their current position over their last one or who choose to work in a certain craft. In the end, doesn’t Frager’s seem to have happy employees from the customer’s point of view?
If you are interested in knowing if Frager’s takes care of its people… ask. I think if you ask you will find that most everyone who works there lives within walking, or biking, distance.
But in the end… Does this really matter?
I”d say that in this city, and a lot of other metro and non-metro areas, it is easy to get caught up in who makes what and how they make it.
When I set out to write my love note to Frager’s, I never thought to ask about salary because I would never choose to work there for the money–no matter how big or small the check would be. I’d work there because I could say I worked at Fragers–in my book that’s just as cool as working for someone “famous” on the Hill–and I would also work there because the people and the atmosphere are just plain great.
I think a lot of people could say the same. Some people get a job at Frager’s and turn it into a career, others stay for a year or two or five and then move on to something new. I doubt any of them would have anything bad to say about Frager’s.
my apologies. i guess i failed to get my point across, but i guess it might require more than one can type in a blog comment.
great story. i feel like there’s something deeper to discuss here, but i guess this might not be the right forum.
I agree, IMGoph… there is a deeper, more interesting discussion in all of this. However, I think that because the conversation started at a Fragers post, people might be sensitive to it because the store means so much to so many people on the Hill.
Thanks for commenting, IMGoph, and thanks for reading!
well, i just hope that no one took anything i said as a knock on the store. to the contrary, i like it as well. if someone read that in what i said, i guess i need to work on my conversational skills.