As I write this, I'm opening boxes of Post-It Notes in the main store in southeastern Wyoming with Freddie Svenson, Dayshift Manager for 3M, Grant Vennison, who is senior research engineer for 3M, and several other stock boys. We're testing Freddie's keys to his 1978 Pacer on several boxes of the new, hot-pink Post-It Notes.
I must be living in a vacuum. Grant tells me that the use of 'box cutters' have a rapidly growing following among stockmen, especially office supply workers. I had no clue. Only once in my life have I ever seen anyone using one of these dangerous utensils.
I call them "assault" utensils, which may upset some people. Excuse me, maybe I'm a traditionalist, but I see no place for these weapons among our restocking fraternity. I'll go so far as to call them "terrorist" utilities as they were used in bringing down airplanes on 9-11. They tell me that some companies are producing "safety" blades.
Sorry, folks, in my humble opinion, these things have no place in opening boxes. We don't need to be lumped into the group of people who terrorize the world with them, which is an obvious concern. I've always been comfortable with the statement that stock clerks don't use assault box cutters. We've always been proud of our "just sharp enough keys."
This really has me concerned. As stock replenishers, we don't need the image of walking around the store carrying one of these weapons. To most of the public, an box cutter is a terrifying thing. Let's divorce ourselves from them. I say other departments should ban them from the warehouse and showfloor.
