Q&A with Fred Mares

"My mom told me to do 3 things for someone every day… But you cannot tell anybody you did them," Fred Mares.

Shaylee: What is your job description?

Fred: I am a greeter. It's not a simple hello though. I try to keep the store clean and customers happy. I am constantly moving around to help people find items in the store. I am like a reference librarian or a gps system.

S: What do you enjoy most about this job?

F: I would say putting a smile on the face of every person in here is what I enjoy most. I may be the only smile a person sees all day. I try to relate to each person on a personal level.

S: What is one of your favorite memories here?

F: A man in his late 50s named Larry once asked me for an old apron. He collected GI Joe's. He needed the apron to turn the GI Joe into a "greeter" doll to look like me. He later brought it up to the store for everyone to see. It makes me wonder why he wanted to do that for me of all people.

S: How often do you work?

F: I work 40 hours a week. I come in at 9 a.m. and clock out at 6 p.m. I have Sunday and Mondays off. I come to work at 5:30 a.m. and read every single newspaper in here and every inch of them. I do this to be able to converse with every man, woman, and child that comes in this store.

S: If you could change one thing about this job, would you? And what?

F: Life is all about change. I would like to improve my knowledge of every man, woman, and child's name who walks in here so I can call each of them by name. I want to be able to treat everyone like family.

S: How long have you worked here? How long do you plan on staying?

F: I have worked here for 12 years and about 10 years as a greeter. I want to retire at Hy-Vee well past the age of 65. I published my first book here.

S: Do you have another job? What do you do in your free time?

F: My other "job" is that I am a writer. I'm not being paid, but putting in blood, sweat and tears into my life story. I want to include a CD to serenade each person that reads my book. In my free time I play piano and guitar in churches. I serenade people for their birthday and volunteer in three nursing homes. Music is a powerful tool for people.

S: What does this award (Hy-Vee's Legendary Customer Service Award) entail?

F: This award is for someone who goes beyond the call of duty to do their job. This includes inside and outside of the store.

"I want to leave you with 2 main points," Fred said. "This award is simply going to make me work harder everyday. And, my mom used to say this prayer everyday: Dear lord, help me to fulfill the purpose for which I have been created and share abilities that have been given to me not only to help myself but to help others too."