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The Indiana Daily Student

RPS employees say they feel valued

Campus Filler

After thedeath of the Wright Quad C-Store cashier, Djiby Sissoko, employees are continuing to share his morale, and members of the IU community are increasingly showing Residential Programs and Services workers how much they are appreciated.

Donald Glass, the general manager at Wright food court, said he always felt valued and appreciated when he received what RPS employees call a “kudos.”

A kudos is a way to show RPS employees that something they did was appreciated. Glass said he received one for helping a student with her lost-and-found item. After receiving a kudos, employees are invited to a reception and receive a certificate.

“And if I remember correctly, I believe Djiby received several,” Glass said.

Jeff Kutche, the general manager at McNutt Quad’s C-Store, said today he feels extremely valued by his coworkers, but things have not always been this way.

When Kutche first started working for RPS 33 years ago, he was told that he should not let his personal life affect his work. He said he never understood how a person could not be affected by a fight they just had with their parents or knowing someone in their family is sick.

Kutche said managers were not sympathetic. Instead of asking a worker politely to do something, they would often yell requests at employees.

Because of those moments, Kutche said he promised himself that he would treat all employees with the respect they deserve if he ever became a general manager.

In his years with RPS, Kutche worked his way up. Starting out as a cook in Gresham, he made his debut. He further climbed the ladder and worked in 12 different positions at every location on campus except for Collins.

Although making more than 700 subs daily keeps C-Store employees pretty busy at McNutt, Kutche said in their down time he doesn’t mind if they chat.

“The biggest thing we promote here is good customer service, but I’m no tyrant,” Kutche said. “I don’t mind if employees are having a good time, as long as the customers are being served first.”

Kutche said working with students gives him a huge sense of self-worth and is his favorite part of the job.

“Working with students makes me feel young at heart,” Kutche said.

Paige Botts, a student working at McNutt’s C-Store, said she has great managers.

“Our managers are very understanding about the fact that we’re students first, so they offer a lot of flexibility with our schedules,” Botts said.

On the other side of campus, Moon Appleby, a student employee at Wright food court, said although keeping lines short during big lunch rushes is difficult, he is always up for the 
challenge.

Appleby said that in this fast paced environment he feels most valued, but when he is assigned to do something more low maintenance, such as cleaning off tables, he feels he is not being utilized.

Appleby said he picked up an extra shift and was working at multiple different stations in the food court. He said his managers were very appreciative of this, and his high work ethic makes him want to apply for a student supervisor 
position.

Although Appleby said he loves his job, he thinks that he did not get enough training.

“When I first started I felt like I was sent off to die,” Appleby said.

Botts had a similar attitude.

“IU could improve its employment program by offering students a higher rate of pay and having more opportunities for growth within the job,” Botts said. “And some supervisors could use more training in leadership skills rather than simple 
delegation.”

Despite this, Glass said one of his favorite parts of his job is actually training students, especially if they have no prior experience in the food industry.

“Being able to see their growth is rewarding,” Glass said.

James Alfonso, the assistant manager at Wright C-Store, shared this view. He said that working with students is his favorite part of his job. Although Alfonso said he will not intrude on their lives, if a student comes to him, he does enjoy being a mentor figure for them.

Kutche said that RPS would not be able to function without students.

“They are not my staff, we are a team, and honestly they are the backbone here,” Kutche said. “This place would not run without them.”

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