More than you really want to know about Wellesley, Mass.
It’s time to sign your child up for the summer camp experience of a lifetime. Whether they’re into coding, arts and crafts, sports, or nature, there’s a camp out there for them. The Swellesley Report’s Summer Camps page is now updated with over 50 camps in Wellesley and beyond. Thanks to iCode, our Camps Page sponsor, for their swell support. Enroll at iCode here or call 781-291-3131 or email.
Want to advertise YOUR summer camp? Contact us at [email protected]
Remember how excited you were after your last home renovation project? It was so much fun to invite the neighbors over for the ribbon-cutting ceremony followed by a bite to eat, while everyone oohed and ahhed over how much brighter the space looked. You didn’t do that? What a shame, Needham Bank just did at the neighborhood bank’s 458 Washington St. location, and it was tremendous fun.
They’ve spent the past couple of months sprucing up the place with a new roof, windows, floors, lighting, a fresh coat of paint — the works. Even the employee break area and restrooms were taken from dungeon-like gloom to tower-like heights of high style. The type of tower you’re allowed out of, though.
After the glossy red ribbon was cut with the golden scissors, attendees enjoyed pizzas; skewered chicken and steak; skewered fresh mozzarella wrapped in prosciutto with tomato, and basil; and skewered grilled zucchini, green peppers, and onion, all fresh, delicious, and beautifully presented. For dessert: unskewered fruit and assorted cookies, brownies. Baker’s Best in Needham supplied lunch.
President and CEO Joe Campanelli said a few words to the crowd, which was mostly Needham Bank employees, a few customers, and me, with board member and Wellesley resident Bill Darcy attending for good measure.
Kudos to Facilities Director Jay Johnson, who keeps the place looking sharp.
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Wellesley Service League (WSL) presented a donation of $25,000 to Wellesley Friendly Aid, an amount that will help send over 60 local kids to summer camp this year who otherwise would not be able to attend.
Each year the two groups’ longstanding partnership ensures that young Wellesley residents up to 8th grade will have the opportunity to enjoy a local day camp whether the experience be outdoorsy, artsy, techie, or general all-around summer fun.
WSL is a not-for-profit organization that provides volunteer services to the community in the areas of education, child-based and elder initiatives, cultural events and other charitable interests. Here’s information on getting involved with the group.
Wellesley Friendly Aid is a community-based, non-profit organization that works to improve the well-being and quality of life of the residents of Wellesley, Massachusetts. The group offers assistance to Wellesley individuals and families of all incomes and ages who have a variety of unmet needs. Here’s information on how to volunteer.
Some shoppers love self-checkout machines in the grocery store. Count Mr. Swellesley as one of them. He likes to zip the bar code over the scanner, then in one fluid motion drop his item into the waiting bag and carry his score to the car himself. When allowed to process these small daily transactions independently, a happier shopper you’ll never know. This is because Mr. Swellesley is uneasy as the object of service. When given the choice, he’ll always pump the gas, mow the lawn, iron the shirts, and wash the car on his own. His latest: trying to figure out if he can maybe cut his own hair. He hasn’t yet dared, but has spent much time interviewing the fearless men who do.
Other shoppers hate self-checkout machines. For them, it’s a matter of principle, a simple cause-and-effect equation. When the check-out part of shopping is outsourced to the customer, then jobs are taken away away from cashiers, they reason.
Roche Bros. in Wellesley has found itself on the defensive as the business, in town since 1981, moves toward installing four self-checkout machines in Wellesley. Construction has begun, and the new system is expected to roll out later in June.
Roche Bros. says the change will give shoppers choice as the store faces a tight labor market that has made hiring increasingly difficult. Even though the store currently has six cashier positions open, they say they’ve struggled to fill them. As Roche Bros. sees it, technology is the solution to this tight labor market problem.
Maribeth Grant, Manager, Customer Service for Roche Bros. says, “We have a diverse customer base, with different preferences on how they like to shop. For example, most of our Wellesley customers shop in-store, but we also have hundreds who prefer to shop online with Roche Bros. and have their groceries delivered. Similarly, adding Fast Lane registers will appeal to a subset of customers who prefer to check themselves out, while we are happy to continue to offer multiple cashier-attended checkout lanes for customers who prefer a face-to-face interaction.”
Still, the decision has sent Roche Bros. Director of Marketing Media & Public Relations Dena Kowaloff into customer reassurance mode. She has lately spent a lot of time dispelling customer fears that self -checkout lanes will lead to job losses for cashiers and baggers. She’s even been granted access to a popular closed Facebook page on which members have been voicing their concerns that baggers and cashiers will be let go as a result of the new lanes.
“We will not be laying off or eliminating any positions as a result of the new Fast Lane registers,” Kowaloff says. “Our Wellesley store will continue to offer cashier-staffed traditional and express checkout lanes, bagging services, and grocery carry-out to your car as we have been. We will continue to offer express lanes and regular lanes staffed by our fantastic cashiers. The new Fast Lane registers will simply be another option customers can choose if they wish.”
Some customers take a big-picture view and suggest it’s inevitable that a combination of new technologies and worker shortages in areas such as Wellesley will result in big changes. Wellesley resident Julia Hicks de Peyster says, “As someone who has focused on workforce development and employee benefits for much of my career I can say that huge changes are afoot. We will likely see wave upon wave of firings, robots, redeployment of human capital – this will cause great sadness and stress to workers and managers alike. As customers of businesses, I think we are going to need to develop a new thinking that we are partners in this intertwined economy so we get through this with the most human decency possible.”
Roche Bros.’ Wellesley location currently has openings for six cashiers. Interested candidates can apply online at www.rochebros.com/careers. Full-time employees (associates who work 40 hours per week or more) are eligible for benefits that include medical, dental, paid time off, 401k, and more. More on that here.
