Brittany Weber

I attribute my success to hard work and going above and beyond expectations. I like to do a job and do it well, finding an efficient and accurate way to do things. When I've been able to do that so well, owners have seen it and given me challenges, and I've gone above and beyond what they expected. If someone ever tells me 'you can't do this' or 'this won't work,' to me that's a challenge. I will see that and be like, I'm gonna do it the best way that you never thought possible. That mindset has helped me go up the ranks very quickly. I also believe in being a lifelong learner - I went back to school this January for a business degree because there's still so much I can benefit from knowing more about, even after 19 years in the industry.

The biggest challenges in my field are maintaining professional boundaries when you spend so much time at work that you become friends with your coworkers. Sometimes when you have to give constructive criticism, it's making sure your coworkers know that line - that at work, I'm your boss. My daughter works with me and she's learning that at work I'm not Mom. We can't have that little sassy attitude that she gives me if she hears something she doesn't like. The other major struggle is dealing with difficult customers. Because we work in the restaurant industry, people think they can just say or do whatever they want to us. That becomes a struggle because to a point, we have to stand there and go 'yes, I'm sorry.' I'm always one of those people like, they're having a bad day, let's make their day better. We don't know what's going on outside of this store.

My top three values professionally are communication, which is the biggest thing, honesty, and not having a big ego. Just because my title is what it is does not mean I'm any better than someone who walked in on their first day of work. In my personal life, I value unplugging from electronics and focusing on family. I make a conscious effort to have at least one night a week where there's no electronics and we sit together and play games like Boggle or Monopoly. Phones aren't allowed - we unplug and just focus on each other and having fun. I wasn't realizing how zoned into my phone I was, so we really make that effort to cleanse ourselves of outside stuff and just have fun and focus on family. I also believe in honesty with my kids - there's nothing wrong with being honest, it's just how you provide that honesty in how you say it. You can be honest about something you really dislike or disagree with, but it's how you say it. You don't have to be rude.