I work in a very small store so it's not uncommon to be the only cashier at the front. I'm a pro at multi-tasking though so it's not a big deal. Today I found myself alone helping this elderly lady with her items and I noticed a guy having trouble with the self-checkout. (Seriously, if you don't know how to work the machine or have more than 10 items, do NOT use that line, it's not faster.) The lady I was helping was just about ready to go when I hear, "HEY, this thing's broken." Yep, I got it sir, give me just a second...get on the pager to call a cashier up to the front to help Mr. Impatient. Less than a minute later, he's in my line complaining about how nobody showed up. I look over my shoulder, yep, there she is, he could have waited and been gone by now. The lady behind him in the self-check line followed him over to my line.
Mr. I: Well those things never work
Lady/Sheep: Yeah but I prefer them because I spend so much time picking out my produce and the cashiers just throw it in the bag and bruise my produce.
Mr. I: You know, you should just tell them you want to do it yourself
Meanwhile, I'm already done ringing his stuff up and I'm waiting on him to pay for his things. Approximately 3 minutes later, he gets done and tells me that the lady behind him would like to bag her own groceries.
Now let's stop for a second. This is an incredibly easy job. There are a lot of rules to remember once you get past the basics but really, we know how to do this as children. Scan, bag, scan, bag, scan, bag, total. Easyyy. Not to toot my own horn but...toot, toot, I'm pretty smart. I can do this shiz in my sleep.
Back to the story. I look at the two and look back down and I hear the woman say, "no it's alright, she looks competent enough to do this."
I was just coming off my meltdown over the radio so I had the potential to deliver a roundhouse kick to the face. Alas, I held my tongue and smiled, even told her to have a great day.
Really though, I work with a couple of ding dongs but most of my coworkers are really smart. Circumstance leads a person to that job, not will. Think about it.
However, I will admit that my passive aggressiveness has gotten the best of me before. I squeezed a package of cupcakes this lady just had to have an extra bag for. I don't like cupcakes and I don't like waste. Boom.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Radios, rawr!
The managers at work put up a problem/solution board in our break room about two months ago. We were told it was anonymous and all of our requests would be recognized and possibly resolved. Inevitably, the board exploded with requests for things like better pay, new management, no 'I' in team (doesn't make sense to me either) and, just in case they didn't understand, pay increase. So a month of management erasing such requests resulted in a meeting where the purpose of the board was defined a bit more clearly. The board is for actual physical problems with the building, not for personal issues. Enthusiasm for the board dropped so I became the only one using it. I listed a missing outlet faceplate, broken mart carts, new US flag (because ours is tattered and sad) and a request for new/more radios (walky talkies).
When I first began at "Retail Shed", we all seemed to have our own radio. Communication was easy and the paging system didn't get used for every little thing. Ideally, the assistant manager, CSM (moi), customer service desk associate and one other associate will carry a radio. No doubt you can understand why effective communication is necessary in a business. Well radios started going missing and we were reduced to two radios (only one of those worked) and the assistant manager's radio. So the service desk and the assistant manager became the only two with radios. Cashiers became frustrated because it was difficult to communicate with CSMs when they needed things. My store manager called me into her office and explained to me that I always need to have a radio on me. I explained to her that as soon as she got enough working radios in the store, I would be glad to but that I'm not going to bother carrying a one-way radio everywhere with me. Then she started complaining about us using the paging system and I told her that it would all stop as soon as we got more radios. So it's been this vicious cycle. Let me break it down:
A radio costs around $50 but I was told that our store couldn't afford to buy anymore. The world's largest retailer SELLS radios, it wouldn't even be a drop in the bucket to drop $200 to improve store communication.
I also need to include that I was asked to keep my things in a drawer in the manager's office because they wanted my bag out of the way when Home Office came to the store. I was fine with that and when I went to retrieve my bag, I found a radio. I asked my manager why it was there, she didn't know, so I assumed the little bugger got put in there by mistake. Boom! We've got another radio. Well, two days later, an assistant manager is pissed because I didn't have any business in her drawer and that was "her" radio that she stole from her former store.
Alright back to the board. My request for new radios has been unanswered for over a month. Meanwhile, we're still not supposed to page and we can't communicate with each other. I noticed an overnight support manager making some purchases before he headed out and he had a radio on. I said, "hey we're going to need that, you can't take it with you." He gave me this incredulous look and said "No, this is MY radio, I take it home with me." WELL. Dumbfounded, frustrated and immediately pissed, I made my way to the break room to see how many radios we had. One.
My favorite thing about working in my store is that we can speak our minds with no fear of retaliation. (Largely because my store manager doesn't actually understand anything that we're talking about, I've decided she spends all of her time playing Snake on her phone.)
A couple of my buddies are making breakfast so I started up my motor mouth and let it rip.
When I first began at "Retail Shed", we all seemed to have our own radio. Communication was easy and the paging system didn't get used for every little thing. Ideally, the assistant manager, CSM (moi), customer service desk associate and one other associate will carry a radio. No doubt you can understand why effective communication is necessary in a business. Well radios started going missing and we were reduced to two radios (only one of those worked) and the assistant manager's radio. So the service desk and the assistant manager became the only two with radios. Cashiers became frustrated because it was difficult to communicate with CSMs when they needed things. My store manager called me into her office and explained to me that I always need to have a radio on me. I explained to her that as soon as she got enough working radios in the store, I would be glad to but that I'm not going to bother carrying a one-way radio everywhere with me. Then she started complaining about us using the paging system and I told her that it would all stop as soon as we got more radios. So it's been this vicious cycle. Let me break it down:
A radio costs around $50 but I was told that our store couldn't afford to buy anymore. The world's largest retailer SELLS radios, it wouldn't even be a drop in the bucket to drop $200 to improve store communication.
I also need to include that I was asked to keep my things in a drawer in the manager's office because they wanted my bag out of the way when Home Office came to the store. I was fine with that and when I went to retrieve my bag, I found a radio. I asked my manager why it was there, she didn't know, so I assumed the little bugger got put in there by mistake. Boom! We've got another radio. Well, two days later, an assistant manager is pissed because I didn't have any business in her drawer and that was "her" radio that she stole from her former store.
Alright back to the board. My request for new radios has been unanswered for over a month. Meanwhile, we're still not supposed to page and we can't communicate with each other. I noticed an overnight support manager making some purchases before he headed out and he had a radio on. I said, "hey we're going to need that, you can't take it with you." He gave me this incredulous look and said "No, this is MY radio, I take it home with me." WELL. Dumbfounded, frustrated and immediately pissed, I made my way to the break room to see how many radios we had. One.
My favorite thing about working in my store is that we can speak our minds with no fear of retaliation. (Largely because my store manager doesn't actually understand anything that we're talking about, I've decided she spends all of her time playing Snake on her phone.)
A couple of my buddies are making breakfast so I started up my motor mouth and let it rip.
"Evidently we all have our own radios now. Mark is taking his home. This is just like the Telxon's, everybody is afraid they won't have the tools they need so they hide them and screw the next shift over. I'm sick of this crap! I get in trouble for not having a radio but they won't even supply me with one! Lisa got all pissy because we were using her radio. I guess I just need to take one with me when I leave and tell everyone it's mine. I'll never have to worry about these stupid radios again!"
I noticed my store manager in her office but I didn't let up because I wanted her to hear it. Maybe I even threw my pen and growled. Sue called from her office and said if I had a problem I could come talk to her about it. I grumbled, "I'M FINE," took a deep breath and decided that I was not fine and stormed into the office.
I started my rant all over again and she said, "nobody has a personal radio, they are the store's radios and I will ensure that nobody takes them home." "Alright thanks, sorry I yelled," I yelled. She told me it was fine.
I'm on a personal mission to reclaim the radios for our store. I'll keep you posted.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
You know what they say about hindsight...?
It's true.
I finally got a job, "Retail Shed" took a chance on me :). The job is incredibly easy, I've always been a fast learner though. They have been trying to decide where they want to promote me to Deli, Stocker, or Customer Service Manager (basically lead cashier). It's a good thing, my punctuality has been outstanding which is something no boss of mine could ever say before. Everybody is really nice and my supervisors are great. Except for sometimes one calls me "the cashier" instead of by name which is clearly displayed on my badge. Oh well. That's a pretty small complaint.
I finally got a job, "Retail Shed" took a chance on me :). The job is incredibly easy, I've always been a fast learner though. They have been trying to decide where they want to promote me to Deli, Stocker, or Customer Service Manager (basically lead cashier). It's a good thing, my punctuality has been outstanding which is something no boss of mine could ever say before. Everybody is really nice and my supervisors are great. Except for sometimes one calls me "the cashier" instead of by name which is clearly displayed on my badge. Oh well. That's a pretty small complaint.
Working for the Man
So it took two months but I finally found somebody that would hire me. Let's call it "Retail Shed." Say what you will about them but they were willing to take a chance on me so I'm grateful for that. Don't get me wrong, I don't like the job. I especially hate it when my boss refers to me as "the cashier" instead of my name which is clearly displayed on my badge.
Update
I've actually worked at my little "Retail Shed" for over a year now and I have to admit that (most of the time) I enjoy it. I work as a Customer Service Manager now and the manager with an attitude got the boot about six months ago. There are a couple of retirement communities behind our store so I've gotten to hear some pretty good stories. It turns out I really enjoy my job, perhaps that's why it's best to try everything, except drugs, I don't see that ever being a good idea.
I'm still not sure what my future is going to look like but I'm starting to accept it. I'm hoping to be back in school by January and I'm thinking of pursuing English/Creative Writing or maybe Art.
Update
I've actually worked at my little "Retail Shed" for over a year now and I have to admit that (most of the time) I enjoy it. I work as a Customer Service Manager now and the manager with an attitude got the boot about six months ago. There are a couple of retirement communities behind our store so I've gotten to hear some pretty good stories. It turns out I really enjoy my job, perhaps that's why it's best to try everything, except drugs, I don't see that ever being a good idea.
I'm still not sure what my future is going to look like but I'm starting to accept it. I'm hoping to be back in school by January and I'm thinking of pursuing English/Creative Writing or maybe Art.
S County
Seriously, they don't know up from down. I know because I had to highlight the "important" parts of the forms they're supposed to fill out. I mean, how many times do you need to fill out a form to remember the parts that are the most important?
The jailers had sexual tension that you could cut with a knife.
My second day in there, there was a guy charged with Minor in Posession. Officer Allen jumped all over it. She was asking what teachers he had, living her whole high school career through him. He told her and they swapped stories about the teachers. Then she told him that she could go arrest him in front of a bunch of girls at High School because that would be "so hot." I guess she doesn't know that an adult harassing a bunch of kids is not sexy but creepy.
These guys/girls were discussing a particularly rowdy party that ended with pouring the jailers into their cars and hoping they made it home alright. You don't have to worry about a DWI if you know all of the officers on duty.
They all deserve to go to jail. I have only met one Officer in my experience with S County that merits any kind of respect and he was the last Officer to deal with me. I'm done with that place, there's no reason to ever return.
The jailers had sexual tension that you could cut with a knife.
My second day in there, there was a guy charged with Minor in Posession. Officer Allen jumped all over it. She was asking what teachers he had, living her whole high school career through him. He told her and they swapped stories about the teachers. Then she told him that she could go arrest him in front of a bunch of girls at High School because that would be "so hot." I guess she doesn't know that an adult harassing a bunch of kids is not sexy but creepy.
These guys/girls were discussing a particularly rowdy party that ended with pouring the jailers into their cars and hoping they made it home alright. You don't have to worry about a DWI if you know all of the officers on duty.
They all deserve to go to jail. I have only met one Officer in my experience with S County that merits any kind of respect and he was the last Officer to deal with me. I'm done with that place, there's no reason to ever return.
Bikes
I love my bike and I can't tell enough people about it. Seriously, a bike is so much better than a car.
1. No gas. I've saved a whole bunch of money because I haven't paid for gas in over a year.
2. It's fun. For real. If you see that smug grin on my face after going through the light before any of the cars, know that it's from a genuine place. I AM faster than you. I AM having more fun than you. My bike is better than your car.
3. Exercise is always a good thing.
4. I get down to my music way more than the folks in their cars do. Seriously, show me a person singing aloud in a busy intersection and doing a jig so publicly.
5. I get to know the folks at my Local Bike Shop (LBS)
6. The folks at my LBS (Nate and Jeremy) take good care of my bike as well as me. Hey Riders Ready in Maumelle, you guys really are the best. I can walk in and say I have a flat and they can tell me what I need and how to fix it.
7. Bikes are cheap! A tire costs about $4 and takes about 10 minutes to replace if you're a newby. No oil change, no gas. The checkups cost about $40 and they make sure everything is working properly.
1. No gas. I've saved a whole bunch of money because I haven't paid for gas in over a year.
2. It's fun. For real. If you see that smug grin on my face after going through the light before any of the cars, know that it's from a genuine place. I AM faster than you. I AM having more fun than you. My bike is better than your car.
3. Exercise is always a good thing.
4. I get down to my music way more than the folks in their cars do. Seriously, show me a person singing aloud in a busy intersection and doing a jig so publicly.
5. I get to know the folks at my Local Bike Shop (LBS)
6. The folks at my LBS (Nate and Jeremy) take good care of my bike as well as me. Hey Riders Ready in Maumelle, you guys really are the best. I can walk in and say I have a flat and they can tell me what I need and how to fix it.
7. Bikes are cheap! A tire costs about $4 and takes about 10 minutes to replace if you're a newby. No oil change, no gas. The checkups cost about $40 and they make sure everything is working properly.
Postcards aren't always nice
So I went to my sister's house and I had a postcard in her mailbox. "There's a warrant out for you arrest issued by S County." Ok that's not a good quote but that's basically what it said. The flowery writing was better suited to an adolescent buddy. I immediately called the number and found out that I could pay the whole fine or pay the warrant amount and be given a court date. This would be nearly impossible to attend because I would have to find a ride to the awful place yet again. I was told the best option would be to pay the whole thing and be done with it.
Now let's look at this: A person could probably pay the warrant fee of $50 but they may or may not be able to pay for the fee that it would take to get rid of the whole thing. In my case, it was $1300. I planned to ask my sister and my dad for $400 each but then I checked my paystub for the next week and I found out that I was only going to be paid $461.
It's hard to ask your parents for money when you're 25. It feels very pathetic. My dad, who always has a sense of humor, asked why he had to pay more than my sister and I did. I told him it was because he makes more than I do. I laughed about it but it just gutted me.
I was one month late with my payment to those bastards that run the S County whatever, and they issued a warrant for my arrest. I called the guy, evidently the one in charge, and he said that it was up to him if they pursued my warrant or not.
I actually work with my local police to stop identity theft. I could not stand the idea of being walked out of work by the "authority" for missing a payment. I thought debtor's prison was over.
Anyway, my family bailed me out and that fact makes me want to vomit. I'm so sorry that I had to ask. I'm sorry because I know it put them both out of money and that's not fair. I want to be the best daughter/sister ever and I know that I fail epically when it comes to financial matters.
I'm working on it though and I hope to be in a position where I can go back to school by January. I may have to lobby to get into the program I desire but...that doesn't seem any harder than participating in the Tour de France. Come on, those guys have a professional masseuse waiting on them when they get done riding for the day.
Now let's look at this: A person could probably pay the warrant fee of $50 but they may or may not be able to pay for the fee that it would take to get rid of the whole thing. In my case, it was $1300. I planned to ask my sister and my dad for $400 each but then I checked my paystub for the next week and I found out that I was only going to be paid $461.
It's hard to ask your parents for money when you're 25. It feels very pathetic. My dad, who always has a sense of humor, asked why he had to pay more than my sister and I did. I told him it was because he makes more than I do. I laughed about it but it just gutted me.
I was one month late with my payment to those bastards that run the S County whatever, and they issued a warrant for my arrest. I called the guy, evidently the one in charge, and he said that it was up to him if they pursued my warrant or not.
I actually work with my local police to stop identity theft. I could not stand the idea of being walked out of work by the "authority" for missing a payment. I thought debtor's prison was over.
Anyway, my family bailed me out and that fact makes me want to vomit. I'm so sorry that I had to ask. I'm sorry because I know it put them both out of money and that's not fair. I want to be the best daughter/sister ever and I know that I fail epically when it comes to financial matters.
I'm working on it though and I hope to be in a position where I can go back to school by January. I may have to lobby to get into the program I desire but...that doesn't seem any harder than participating in the Tour de France. Come on, those guys have a professional masseuse waiting on them when they get done riding for the day.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)