Wednesday, May 08, 2013
Sunday, April 17, 2005
April Week 3 Day 1
It was a sunny early mid-spring day. The morning was cool and the day was going to be warm. Almost too nice to go to the MegaWeenieMart but I had to go. I was scheduled for the day shift. I was running my usual ten minutes late after pulling a shift the night before. Gladys was outside watching the neighborhood and reminded me of this on my way to the car. Lucky for me the car started right up and I pulled into the nearly empty lot of the MegaWeenieMart. The relief on the face of the graveyard shift cashier wasn't that obvious but I know the feeling of waiting for the morning person to come so you can leave. I remember those dark days very, very well. I punched in and made a note of the time so I could make it up at the end of the day. I opened my locker and unrolled my smock. I put it on and was ready to face the day.
Manager X was working and I waited to see what my orders for the day would be like. I wasn't disappointed. Same list I get every other day. I would try my best but sometimes my best isn't good enough. At least for the suits in charge. I'm fine with my performance in this day to day drama. The third-shifter left and I wasn't sure but I think there was an extra spring in her step as she walked out the door. I glanced around my area to make sure I had all my supplies ready. I made extra sure there were plenty of new flyers. This was Sunday, the first day of a new sale. I also double-checked to make sure there were extra UberBargain books. That was always an area where I needed to be extra vigilant. Once I assured myself I had all I needed the customers came. The line was steady, mostly people buying the morning paper and getting an early start to the sale. Things were rolling along nicely until the first incident.
I was in the middle of an order when the phone rang. I usually try to complete one task before going on to another. Once I got to a safe point I answered the call.
Me: Thank you for calling your 24 hour MegaWeenieMart. We are here to fill all your needs including things you don't know about. This is Trixie speaking, how may I assist your needs today?
Caller: *silence* So uh, whuter ya doin?
Me: Is there any need I can assist you with, sir?
Caller: Are ya, uh busy?
Me: Do you have any questions I can assist you with today, sir?
Caller: Uh, whuter ya doin?
Me: Can I assist you with anything sir?
Caller: *silence* *click*
I turned back to my customer and we had a chuckle over the phone call from Lou Zehr, the person with nothing to do and all day to do it. After the call from Lou, the morning proceeded smoothly although a bit slowly. Then there was incident two. Stu Pidd, Angry Consumer entered my line.
Stu: I have this Gizmoronathingie and it was the only one on the shelf and you have a Gizmoronathingie in your ad but I didn't see any sign in front it.
Me: Okay, sir. Let me just check the price.
I checked the price and it was not, as I suspected, the same Gizmoronathingie that was in the ad. We did not have the Gizmoronathingie that was in the ad and it didn't matter how close the picture in the ad looked like the picture on the box. I paged Manager X to the front but she called instead. I informed her of the situation and she told me the same thing I told Stu. I relayed the message. It only inflamed Mr. Pidd.
Stu: WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T HAVE ANY GIZMORONATHINGIES??? IT'S JUST THE FIRST DAY OF THE SALE! YOU SOLD OUT OF THEM ALREADY? I DON'T THINK SO!! GET ME THE MANAGER NOW!!!
I called the office and while waiting for Manager X I tried to offer some explanation.
Me: Well, sir these ads are printed months ahead of time and sometimes we can't control...
Stu: THEN THINGS SHOULDN'T BE IN THE AD IF YOU DON'T HAVE THEM!!!
How can you argue with logic like that? When Manager X came out Stu went in a flying rage with his cart spewing his other purchases.
Stu: THIS HAPPENS ALL THE TIME!!! YOU NEVER HAVE ANY ITEMS WHEN THE SALE STARTS! THAT'S POOR A BUSINESS PRACTICE!!
And so on and so forth. Manager X was able to locate another Gizmoronathingie at another MegaWeenieMart but Stu Pidd was still mad. But to give him one small credit he did put back the sale items that we did have and was perfectly happy to get. Also on the way out he apologized to me for getting caught in the middle "of that". I hope Stu enjoys his Gizmoronathingie and it gives him hours and hours of pleasure.
After dealing with Lou and Stu it was lunchtime. I spent a quiet half-hour contemplating my day so far. I returned from my Zen moment and the rest of the afternoon passed peacefully. The evening shift came in, I passed along some instruction to my replacement and I ended another productive day on the retail front-line.
My name is Trixie. I'm a cashier. I wear a name badge.
Manager X was working and I waited to see what my orders for the day would be like. I wasn't disappointed. Same list I get every other day. I would try my best but sometimes my best isn't good enough. At least for the suits in charge. I'm fine with my performance in this day to day drama. The third-shifter left and I wasn't sure but I think there was an extra spring in her step as she walked out the door. I glanced around my area to make sure I had all my supplies ready. I made extra sure there were plenty of new flyers. This was Sunday, the first day of a new sale. I also double-checked to make sure there were extra UberBargain books. That was always an area where I needed to be extra vigilant. Once I assured myself I had all I needed the customers came. The line was steady, mostly people buying the morning paper and getting an early start to the sale. Things were rolling along nicely until the first incident.
I was in the middle of an order when the phone rang. I usually try to complete one task before going on to another. Once I got to a safe point I answered the call.
Me: Thank you for calling your 24 hour MegaWeenieMart. We are here to fill all your needs including things you don't know about. This is Trixie speaking, how may I assist your needs today?
Caller: *silence* So uh, whuter ya doin?
Me: Is there any need I can assist you with, sir?
Caller: Are ya, uh busy?
Me: Do you have any questions I can assist you with today, sir?
Caller: Uh, whuter ya doin?
Me: Can I assist you with anything sir?
Caller: *silence* *click*
I turned back to my customer and we had a chuckle over the phone call from Lou Zehr, the person with nothing to do and all day to do it. After the call from Lou, the morning proceeded smoothly although a bit slowly. Then there was incident two. Stu Pidd, Angry Consumer entered my line.
Stu: I have this Gizmoronathingie and it was the only one on the shelf and you have a Gizmoronathingie in your ad but I didn't see any sign in front it.
Me: Okay, sir. Let me just check the price.
I checked the price and it was not, as I suspected, the same Gizmoronathingie that was in the ad. We did not have the Gizmoronathingie that was in the ad and it didn't matter how close the picture in the ad looked like the picture on the box. I paged Manager X to the front but she called instead. I informed her of the situation and she told me the same thing I told Stu. I relayed the message. It only inflamed Mr. Pidd.
Stu: WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T HAVE ANY GIZMORONATHINGIES??? IT'S JUST THE FIRST DAY OF THE SALE! YOU SOLD OUT OF THEM ALREADY? I DON'T THINK SO!! GET ME THE MANAGER NOW!!!
I called the office and while waiting for Manager X I tried to offer some explanation.
Me: Well, sir these ads are printed months ahead of time and sometimes we can't control...
Stu: THEN THINGS SHOULDN'T BE IN THE AD IF YOU DON'T HAVE THEM!!!
How can you argue with logic like that? When Manager X came out Stu went in a flying rage with his cart spewing his other purchases.
Stu: THIS HAPPENS ALL THE TIME!!! YOU NEVER HAVE ANY ITEMS WHEN THE SALE STARTS! THAT'S POOR A BUSINESS PRACTICE!!
And so on and so forth. Manager X was able to locate another Gizmoronathingie at another MegaWeenieMart but Stu Pidd was still mad. But to give him one small credit he did put back the sale items that we did have and was perfectly happy to get. Also on the way out he apologized to me for getting caught in the middle "of that". I hope Stu enjoys his Gizmoronathingie and it gives him hours and hours of pleasure.
After dealing with Lou and Stu it was lunchtime. I spent a quiet half-hour contemplating my day so far. I returned from my Zen moment and the rest of the afternoon passed peacefully. The evening shift came in, I passed along some instruction to my replacement and I ended another productive day on the retail front-line.
My name is Trixie. I'm a cashier. I wear a name badge.
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