Her Story
About Cristine
I've been in my field for 10 years, and my journey is really the story of an immigrant woman who took risks and raised herself up. I started at the bottom as a crew member at McDonald's in the Philippines and got promoted to manager, but even as a college graduate with skills, there was no room for growth and the pay wasn't good. So I said, I'm gonna risk myself, and I moved to Dubai with no plans, going back to zero. I found a job as a server within a month, then worked as a barista in different places like Dubai Mall, and became a supervisor for one of the biggest companies there, AW Rostamani, where they have a clothing store and a mini coffee shop that we helped open. Then I got an opportunity as a barista in Bermuda through LinkedIn from someone I didn't even know, and I said let me give this a shot and risk it again. I was young, probably around [AGE], and when I went there my salary went to 3 times what I was earning in Dubai. I worked as a barista and food server, then moved to a grocery store even though I'd never worked in grocery before, always been in food industry and restaurants. They offered me a position as produce manager, and I said I didn't know I could do that - being a woman, you always doubt yourself, and as an immigrant when locals look at you like you're just an immigrant. But I gave it a shot for 3 years. Then I got married and moved to the United States, and now I'm an assistant guest service manager here at The Fresh Market.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Cristine
01What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Some of the challenges in my role are that people would make fool of you, especially when you're in a grocery. They would think, oh, I'm not satisfied with this, and in grocery or any purchasing, if you're not satisfied they can refund it to you, but sometimes they don't have the receipt, sometimes they don't have the product, and they're just saying words. If there would be 10 persons and it's only one person doing this thing, I would just let it, and then I would always tell them, I would let you at this time, but then next time I cannot give you free or give you store credit, and that's how I normally resolve the problem. Sometimes they just keep coming back, and I've always been telling my co-managers, what is the best thing to resolve this person, because I think it's just taking advantage of us.
02What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Personally, as a manager, I value more of my employee. It's like a connection we have. If you treat them like you connect with them, they follow you. I don't like to just command them - I'm not that type of person. I've always said them in a word, like, hey, when you get a chance, this is what I'm doing, and would you mind continuing it in this way? That's how I normally value my employees. Me and my boss, we would always boast around in other departments that the rates of our turnover and resignation, we were the lowest one. For like my two years, there would be only a few people leaving. I lead by example, and I know how it feels to come as a nobody, or you don't know, like honestly you don't know what it is from the start.
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