I wasn't afraid to get my hands dirty either even in my times of grandeur as assistant CEO and compiler.
It was a Bank holiday Saturday in circa 2003, my brother the CEO was away on holidays and I had the reins.
As usual when I was head compiler on the day I would have all my homework done the previous night and turn up fer work fully prepared. On that day the 'Sick' staff phone calls were flooding in and the personal manager was doing his best arranging emergency staff relief fer the shops but one shop was left short, it was a shop on the quays and I knew it very well as I had managed it fer 4 years, it was a decent 3 staff shop mid week but definitely needed 4 of a Saturday and now all we had to cover it was 2, thankfully the 2 lads there were both decent workers but I knew they could not cope. Only once did they ring fer help but unfortunately there was none available.
When I finished my shift as acting CEO and head compiler on the day, I rang the quay branch to see how they had fared, the manager seemed distracted, so I drove over to him in my 5 series BMW, I let myself in with my master key and the 2 lads looked like beaten dogs behind the counter, I said to the manager; "What do you need doing ?", I could see it in his eyes 'I can't ask Ken for this' and I said a little bit louder; "What do you need doing ?".
I could see behind the counter as I knew the shop very well, dockets everywhere, cash everywhere, nothing done or even close to being done before finish up. The manager gulped a huge gulp and said to me; "Wash off all the boards and get tomorrow's Bets written up for the morning", "Grand" I said taking off my suit jacket and waist coat to do a boardmans job. Two and a half hours later 3 beaten lads left that shop, but we left with a smile on our face and a joke on our lips fait accompli.