 A woman who never missed a day of work in her career spanning seven decades has finally retired. Melba Mebane, 90, worked at Dillard's department store in Tyler, Texas, for 74 years. She joined the retailer in 1949 at the age of just 17 as an elevator operator, KLTV reported. The mum then climbed the career ladder and was later moved to the cosmetics department, where she excelled in sales. Store manager James Saenz told Fox News: 'Melba sets the tone for everything, every expectation, every customer service quality that we look for in a luxury experience. 'She provides all of it to the team. Can you imagine how many people she coached and taught and trained to aspire to be more?' He said it was 'amazing' to think of how many people she'd helped over the years. She joined the retailer in 1949 at the age of just 17 as an elevator operator (Picture: KLTV) She has been given a special 'beyond excellence' award for her years of service (Picture: KLTV) James said she always turned up with a smile on her face and would provide customers with life advice. Her son, Terry Mebane, said he 'grew up in Dillard's' and would often visit his mum while she worked. He said: 'She's a grinder. The store would open at 10am and she wanted her parking spot, so she got there between 9am and 9.15am. 'She was the first person in the door and had her counter ready. She did the prep work. She only took 30 minutes for lunch. 'She brought her lunch, went upstairs to eat lunch in 25 minutes, and then she was back on the floor because she knew that people often took off [during] their lunch hour to come to the mall to buy what they were going to buy, and she didn't want to miss her opportunity.' She advised others to 'come to work' and 'never see it as a 'pay check' (Picture: KLTV) Melba and her son Terry pictured at her retirement party in the store (Picture: Instagram) Melba was still){kind=link}
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A woman who never missed a day of work in her career spanning seven decades has finally retired.
Melba Mebane, 90, worked at Dillard’s department store in Tyler, Texas, for 74 years.
She joined the retailer in 1949 at the age of just 17 as an elevator operator, KLTV reported.
The mum then climbed the career ladder and was later moved to the cosmetics department, where she excelled in sales.