{"id":298424,"date":"2019-04-29T06:00:43","date_gmt":"2019-04-28T20:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=298424"},"modified":"2019-04-29T06:00:43","modified_gmt":"2019-04-28T20:00:43","slug":"working-at-dfs-has-been-the-best-decision-ive-ever-made","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/working-at-dfs-has-been-the-best-decision-ive-ever-made\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Working at DFS has been the best decision I\u2019ve ever made\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
Marian Aldan-Pierce, the president of DFS Saipan Limited Division, is celebrating 43 years with DFS Saipan this month. (Contributed Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Marian Aldan-Pierce has that rare trait of being instinctively trusted. That unique capacity has served her in good stead. This month, Aldan-Pierce is celebrating 43 years with DFS Saipan.<\/p>\n

That length of time with the company makes her grateful. \u201c\u2026I will be forever be saying that I have been blessed by the people I worked with all these years. \u00a0My bosses have been wonderful mentors, all of whom have been supportive of me since I started,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Now president of DFS Saipan Limited Division, her remarkable journey working in the retail business since 1976 has honed her management and business skills in many ways she never thought possible. That included being the very first employee of DFS Saipan, even before its store in Garapan opened.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was employed by the government when I heard about a new company interviewing for several positions to open a store. It was Duty Free Shoppers Limited, a company I was not familiar with. So I decided to try my luck as I was not happy in my job at the time,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Thankfully for Aldan-Pierce, people trusted her, even from the start.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been here since before we had stores. I was hired to be the executive secretary for the Saipan branch manager and, by Day 2, I was actually interviewing for sales associates. \u2026I had no idea what I was getting myself into but my two bosses at the time seemed to have a lot of confidence in me\u00a0and I appreciated that\u2026\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

During the Trust Territory transition, Aldan-Pierce had an opportunity to work at the Office of Transition Studies and Planning. <\/p>\n

\u201cI actually resigned at DFS. \u2026This would have been about a month after I had been with DFS and our general manager at the time did not want to lose me so he asked our president, who was in Guam, to fly to Saipan and talk to me, which he did.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was explained that I was already in a position of trust and our general manager really did not want to lose me. After a while, he offered me an increase in salary\u2026[and] I relented and decided to stay. Needless to say, it was the best decision I\u2019ve ever made. \u2026It was knowing that I was appreciated that got me,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

According to Aldan-Pierce, 43 years did not go by silently because there was never a slow day at DFS. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was my first job in a retail company so the back-of-house activities were new to me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

At the same time, there was constant training on so many subjects\u2014from language to product knowledge to grooming to customer service and so much more. \u201cIt was very enlightening,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026We met people from all over the world constantly: brand representatives, merchants, IT folks, corporate folks and many others\u2026 DFS is ever-changing and constantly evolving. No two days are the same,\u201d she added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The \u201970s and \u201880s were a transformative time for women and work and Aldan-Pierce was up to the challenge. \u201cThe great thing about DFS then and now is that your gender does not play a part in what you are or what you could be. \u00a0Once you have shown that you can do a job and have the passion for it, you could be whatever you want to be,\u201d Aldan-Pierce said.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026 One of our corporate goals in deference to all the women at DFS is to have a 50-50 split in our management levels and I am happy to say that, [on] Saipan, we have met that goal. <\/p>\n

She assured that employee benefits at DFS are second to none. <\/p>\n

\u201cSince we opened in 1976, all our employees receive benefits that were and are given only to management in other companies. This includes retirement plan, insurance (life, medical\/dental, accidental, educational assistance, vacation, sick leave, discounts, appropriate skills training for your job, and so many more,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

As president of the company, Aldan-Pierce is expected to trumpet the benefits of being a DFS employee but she pointed out that it\u2019s not only about taking care of executives but also the rank-and-file.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo other company did as much for its employees as DFS did,\u201d she said. \u00a0<\/p>\n

That was evident when the CNMI was hit by Super Typhoon Yutu in 2018 and with Typhoon Soudelor in 2015.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe company cares for us all the time and they go beyond any expectations. \u2026The cash outlay, our own laundromat, daily drinking water, hot showers, they brought in $25,000 worth of heavy-duty tarps for our employees so they could cover their roofless homes, and our time-for-sharing policy (usually for serious illness) was changed to allow for natural disasters,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Aldan-Pierce said she is always inspired by how she sees her company. \u201cDFS is a company with a heart as it cares about its human resources and about the community it does business in. When we take on a project or get involved in a cause, it always has been because, whatever it may be at that moment, it will positively impact our community as a whole\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Her advice to newcomers? \u201cNever let it be about the money. Let it be about the people you have to work with. Ask the question: Do you feel empowered, respected, trusted, appreciated? Appropriate compensation and accolades will fall in place sooner rather than later.\u201d <\/p>\n

Her plans for the future includes retirement\u2014\u201dit is just a matter of when. I still love my job and enjoy going to work every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the meantime, her job allows her to engage is one of her many passions\u2014recreational biking. \u201cI will be on my way to Holland in late May to do my third tour with a company out of New York\u2014all fun-loving, professional women ages ranging from 30s and 70s.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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