Ernie Gonzalez
Check-out Clerk , Nob Hill Foods / Raley ’ s
Ernie is the morning guy five days a week . Born and raised in Gilroy he now owns a five-acre ranch in Hollister . But his affable nature , warm smile , confidence and willingness to help is very much Gilroy . Ernie jumps between English and Spanish and seems to know the names of most of his customers . Ernie started working at Nob Hill in 1980 and has worked in five different locations . Starting out as a stock clerk he moved up to assistant manager . Somewhere along the line he realized that management took too much of a toll on one of the most important things in his life , family . For Ernie the checkout clerk job is the way to balance work and family . Ernie has two sons , a ‘ 55 Chevy and is married to his high school sweetheart .
What is your favorite part of this job ?
“ The people obviously . The elderly , they have so many stories to tell . I seem to be their ears ; I am a good listener . They always tell me their stories and I have the patience to listen to them .”
What is the biggest challenge of this job ? “ Try to get everyone on the same towrope . I expect everyone to have the same passion for living I do and some are not on the same page .”
Do you have something special you do outside of work ?
“ I like playing poker with my nephews … ten at the table playing for hours , listening to stories . I like working on my car , working in the garden and even riding the lawn mower listening to my music .”
What is special about Gilroy ?
“ The tight knit community … still small enough to know the mayor and who is running for office and you can go back a few generations with them .”
W I N T E R / H O L I D A Y 2 0 1 2 G I L R O Y T O D A Y 61