Have you ever been frustrated naming your email? That happened to Logan Davis, the manager of the meat department at the Food City Oak Ridge location. He was so frustrated that he jokingly put in the phrase “thiz is awful,” and it connected; so, that is now the moniker on his email: thizisawful….
I had the privilege of spending some time with Logan, and his outlook on life is anything but awful. He values his job, appreciates his employer, and loves life in general.
I asked him how he maintained the beautiful meat counter on display in his store. Logan’s typical day begins at 6 a.m. and first ensures the department is set for the day: markdowns, clean packaging, and general tidying of the counters. He immediately begins the production for the day by deciding what should be on the shelves, relying on a team of skilled butchers and butchering some himself.
Logan values his skill at conflict resolution. He acknowledges that working with a large group, consisting of twelve people in his department, can be challenging, especially in a tight space. He says a part of his success in the managerial role has been the ability to intervene before issues come up, so his team works in sync and without issue.
He also feels valuable in his role due to his ability to manage the financial side of his department. He said, “I pay close attention to bills to be able to identify what is going to maximize our profits and minimize waste.”
Logan feels the most rewarding part of his job, by far, is getting to work with the people who want to get in the position that he has and teaching them the skills that he’s learned over time.
“I’ve been very lucky to have worked with so many great meat managers and to teach young people or anybody how to do what I do and help them, maybe make a career.”
Logan’s family lives in Clinton, being just 15 minutes from his work has been another benefit of his position with many of his friends choosing to shop with him at his store.
A big gamer, Logan loves to play video games. He also likes to watch movies and to generally be around his tight circle of friends, most of whom he’s known since childhood.
Being particular about his department and setting big goals for each day challenge Logan to balance his work and personal life. Still, he says, “I am working on that, because I have a really good team to help keep the department working well. I’m able to delegate and kind of step back.”
Logan ended this conversation wanting the readers to know how seriously he and his team take food safety. “I believe very strongly in not putting anything out that I would buy myself. I believe in treating other people the way that I want to be treated. I want people to feel like this is the best meat department on the planet.
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