125 Years of Family Serving Family – Frank Cruz Jr.

One in a series honoring the Exchange’s 125 years of family serving family

While Frank Cruz Jr. is the last of his family members still working at the Presidio of Monterey Exchange, the softlines department manager still gets to see family at work every day—though they may not be blood-related.

“When you create a relationship with these customers, they tend to become like your family,” he said, “They come in to see you, and when you greet them it makes their day. That’s what family serving family means to me: Treating customers like family.”

Softlines Manager Frank Cruz Jr. (right) is one of six members of his family who have served those who serve at the Presidio of Monterey Exchange. Pictured with Cruz, from left, are softlines associates David White, Lilia Fuentebella and Mauricio Martin.

The Exchange has been part of Frank’s life for as long as he can remember. His mother, Ciring Cruz, started working at the Monterey Exchange warehouse in 1978, retiring in 2007 with 28 years of service. Frank’s sister, Sheryl Cruz, worked at the Monterey Exchange food court as a shift supervisor from 1994 to 1999. Two of his uncles, one of whom retired, and one of his cousins also worked at the same Exchange.

But it wasn’t a sense of family tradition—or even his brief stint in the Army in the early 2000s—that drew Frank to work for the Exchange. His interest was more practical, attracted by the competitive pay and benefits package for part-time employees.

In 2007, Frank was hired at the Monterey Exchange as a part-time softlines stocker. He then moved to the garden center, where he worked for the next eight years. In 2016, he moved back to the softlines department to work as an inventory control associate (ICA), a role he credits with helping him see the Exchange as a serious opportunity for a long-term career.

“When I became the ICA, they took a chance on me,” he said. “Being in the garden shop, I would work my hours, go home and enjoy my time off. When the ICA position opened up, I turned over a new leaf in a way. It required a little more responsibility and kept me busy. It wasn’t just working the register, stocking and doing the same thing over and over. There were lots of projects I could work on and really take ownership of.”

Frank was promoted to his first full-time position in 2019, becoming front checkout supervisor. He was promoted again just four months later, when he assumed his current role. Today, Frank is responsible for four associates and approximately $597,000 worth of inventory.

“I wasn’t trying to get noticed or anything,” he said of his promotions. “I just had a job to do and was trying to get it done. There were deadlines to be met, so I just tried to finish things before the deadline. Give me a project, and I’ll knock it out as quickly as I can while still putting in good, quality work that has integrity.”

Presidio of Monterey Exchange General Manager Douglas Everett said Frank’s work as softlines manager has been an inspiration to the rest of the team, creating a positive culture both inside and outside his department.

“Since assuming this critical role, Frank has set department standards for safeguarding inventory integrity, right-sized sales floor configurations to match demographics and implemented the merchandizing of numerous seasonal inventories through the set sales plan,” Everett said. “Frank has created an exceptionally well-ordered department, attracting praise from associates, peers, leaders and customers.

“His daily presence on the sales floor exemplifies leadership by example.”