Internship
For two weeks I interned at Christensen-Heller Gallery which is a jewelry store in Rockridge. I chose this internship because I was always interested in how businesses worked and how they were operated. Every day i started with setting up the jewelry in the cases so the customers were able to view the pieces. Other daily responsibilities before opening included preparing the store for opening, cleaning the glass cases, picking up the store, and sweeping outside the front of the store. During business hours my responsibilities were assisting customers who were interested in seeing jewelry, running to the post office to send jewelry orders, answering the phone, receiving FedEx shipments, and getting lunch for the staff.
ACLC helped me with this internship because I used a lot of time management to make sure I got everything done that was needed on time. If I needed to make a quick trip to the post office, I needed to make sure I would be back in time for the FedEx deliveries. I was good at doing this because throughout my time at ACLC, I manage my time pretty well and I'm always on time for what I need to be doing.
The most challenging part of this internship was assisting customers. I wasn't really familiarly with the jewelry and what types of stones they were so I wasn't always able to help people with their questions. I feel if I spent some more time in the shop I would have known what was what and would have been able to assist the customers a lot better. Another challenge was making sure I didn't have more than one piece of jewelry out at one time. It is a company policy and I understand why because if I had more than one piece of jewelry out at one time, it was hard to keep track of who had what when the store started to get busy.
One good experience I had with this was when the store wasn't very busy, I got to watch the jeweler make jewelry and he taught me the basics to make a ring. It was really amazing to me that they can make a piece of gold into a beautiful piece of jewelry. Another fun thing for me was cleaning jewelry. It's simple and I felt good when I saw the reaction of the customer when they had new looking jewelry.
When I first decided to do this internship I thought it was going to be very easy. I thought I would set up and show jewelry without any problem. I was very wrong. There is so much more to it than just that. There are so many things you need to pay attention to at once its amazing. I needed to make sure the glass was clean because a lot of kids would come in and breath all over it, while assisting another customer with something. I needed to be on my feet and be friendly with the customers. I wanted to be as nice as possible so they would either buy something and/or come back.
Overall, it was a very good experience and I really like the idea of owning a business.
Weekly Journal
4/17
Today I got introduced to the store and learned how to set-up. I ran a few errands and had a good, simple day.
4/18
Today I was taught how to talk to customers and show them jewelry. I showed a few pieces of jewelry but didn't sell anything. I cleaned a few pieces of jewelry and satisfied a dew customers. I also got lunch for everyone and we all had a good time.
4/24
Today I did the usual set-up and got ready for business. I felt really good about today and knew I was going to have a good day. I learned how to get the size of peoples fingers. Once again I didn't sell anything but I ran some more errands and had a wonderful day.
4/25
Once again, I did the usual. I ran errands, helped out some customers, cleaned a few rings, and had a relaxing day. I didn't sell any jewelry which frustrates me, but I got over it.
ACLC helped me with this internship because I used a lot of time management to make sure I got everything done that was needed on time. If I needed to make a quick trip to the post office, I needed to make sure I would be back in time for the FedEx deliveries. I was good at doing this because throughout my time at ACLC, I manage my time pretty well and I'm always on time for what I need to be doing.
The most challenging part of this internship was assisting customers. I wasn't really familiarly with the jewelry and what types of stones they were so I wasn't always able to help people with their questions. I feel if I spent some more time in the shop I would have known what was what and would have been able to assist the customers a lot better. Another challenge was making sure I didn't have more than one piece of jewelry out at one time. It is a company policy and I understand why because if I had more than one piece of jewelry out at one time, it was hard to keep track of who had what when the store started to get busy.
One good experience I had with this was when the store wasn't very busy, I got to watch the jeweler make jewelry and he taught me the basics to make a ring. It was really amazing to me that they can make a piece of gold into a beautiful piece of jewelry. Another fun thing for me was cleaning jewelry. It's simple and I felt good when I saw the reaction of the customer when they had new looking jewelry.
When I first decided to do this internship I thought it was going to be very easy. I thought I would set up and show jewelry without any problem. I was very wrong. There is so much more to it than just that. There are so many things you need to pay attention to at once its amazing. I needed to make sure the glass was clean because a lot of kids would come in and breath all over it, while assisting another customer with something. I needed to be on my feet and be friendly with the customers. I wanted to be as nice as possible so they would either buy something and/or come back.
Overall, it was a very good experience and I really like the idea of owning a business.
Weekly Journal
4/17
Today I got introduced to the store and learned how to set-up. I ran a few errands and had a good, simple day.
4/18
Today I was taught how to talk to customers and show them jewelry. I showed a few pieces of jewelry but didn't sell anything. I cleaned a few pieces of jewelry and satisfied a dew customers. I also got lunch for everyone and we all had a good time.
4/24
Today I did the usual set-up and got ready for business. I felt really good about today and knew I was going to have a good day. I learned how to get the size of peoples fingers. Once again I didn't sell anything but I ran some more errands and had a wonderful day.
4/25
Once again, I did the usual. I ran errands, helped out some customers, cleaned a few rings, and had a relaxing day. I didn't sell any jewelry which frustrates me, but I got over it.
