Dennis and Jane Cuchiara, owners and managers of $1 Please, Falcon’s new dollar store: $1 Please opened Oct. 2, and this is their first Christmas as owners, but the Cuchiaras have been in the retail business for years. Although they anticipate a busy holiday season, they aren’t planning anything drastic to get through it. Jane Cuchiara’s plan for surviving is to let things slide at home and concentrate on the business. Her advice to others? “Don’t take things too seriously. Get lots of sleep and try to eat right.” She admits that eating right is harder when you’re busy; fast food is convenient, and healthy food is usually harder to get and takes time to prepare. Her tips for shoppers: Shop during the morning hours when stores are less crowded.Dave Mascarenas, owner of Pack, Ship, & More: Mascarenas has owned Pack, Ship, & More, the retail store and shipping center near Safeway, for three years, but he was a corporate manager for 22 years before that, so he knows something about holiday stress.Mascarenas said Pack, Ship, & More gets busy starting in late November. He does one quarter of his yearly sales between Nov. 26 and Dec. 23. To cope with the holiday season, Mascarenas plans to hire two-to-three extra employees who will be trained to do specific tasks, lessening the load on the regular year-round employees.He tries to lessen the stress in the store by keeping the lines down and shortening the amount of time customers need to be there. Mascarenas also keeps the atmosphere light by joking with the customers and employees, and he deals with his own stress by making sure he winds down before going home. He said the daily checkout process is an ideal time to do that.The best advice Mascarenas has for his customers: Don’t procrastinate. Shipping by Dec. 15 gets the package there by Christmas; after that, you risk having to pay for special services to get it there in time. He said, “Remember, the longer you wait, the more you pay.”
