Bewilderment

Today I was getting ready for work and had a little extra time so I switched on the computer to check out the blog updates for the day.

I was late for work, for what I found on one blog took several readings.

A few years back when a family member died, it was tough, but expected because of old age. A little later another family member was killed in an accident, but it was a life well lived so it was somehow acceptable.

Today I read of an acquaintance's death by suicide. Someone young, seemingly happy, with not any more than a normal person's share of troubles. A friend of a friend of a friend, really, but still, I feel like I knew him through his blog.

There's no way to make sense of it. Someone my age. Not that unlike me. Dead. By his own hand. No sense at all. It hit me hard and I didn't even know him that well. What his family and close friends must be feeling is unfathomable.

At work I went about the normal routines while trying to process the information. A customer complaint about being out of stock.....who cares. The cashier needs change.....ok....stocking....cleaning....handling staff issues....doing paperwork....all on auto-pilot.....why did he do it? A bright future, a loud yet clear voice, unfulfilled dreams.....forever darkened, silenced, and unfulfilled. Why?

Intelligence

A woman approached the register that I was running, ASSISTING A CUSTOMER, to ask for help. It was obvious from the start that she would be nothing but trouble. I informed her, "I'm helping this person right now, but I'll get someone to help you if you'll wait a moment."

Someone was close by so she got the help right away. When the employee returned to the front with the customer, it was obvious that the employee was PISSED OFF and trying to keep from:

a) using inappropriate language with the customer and

b) running at her with a knife and repeatedly stabbing her until she shut up.

Lucky me, it was still busy so I got to ring the lady's sale. She complained about EVERYTHING and then she took forever to write her check. She asked me something and I wasn't really paying attention (since I was nearly asleep from standing there waiting so long) so I just repeated the total. She snottily replied, "I asked for the DATE." Oh. {Scan my computer screen, looking for the date....why should I know it any better than her?} "Who do I make it out to?" {My store.} (Do you need me to spell everything for you, too?)

Then our check approval system wasn't working perfectly. The customer wanted to know, "What's the problem with your system?" I casually explained, "Oh, there was just a communication problem with the bank the first time." The customer accusingly replied, "Oh, it wasn't MY bank's problem. It was YOUR system." (Fine, whatever. Doesn't matter. Just leave.)

She left, ignoring my goodbye.

A few minutes later, she was back....with an exchange.

"Apparently the boy wasn't **intelligent enough** to know that I wanted the same colors. Why would I want this color? I want to exchange this."

"OK.....that's fine....." (what are you waiting for????).

"I don't remember what aisle they were on."

"Shall I get it for you?" I HATE THIS FAKE SUBSERVIENCE!! But with this woman, I was totally "respectful" while being sarcastic and matching her attitude. Nothing I could get in trouble for, but just enough of an edge so she couldn't take advantage of me.

The employee she was referring to is actually quite smart. Later I asked him about it, just curiosity, not because I believed he did anything wrong. He explained that she SPECIFICALLY REQUESTED the color that she originally bought to match something else that she already owned, not to match the other item that she was buying.

There's a 90% chance that she'll return everything she bought. It was that kind of sale. Waste his time, my time, then my time again for a small sale. Intelligent? My employee gave her the color that she asked for. He wasn't intelligent enough to read her mind that she really and truly wanted the other color?! Please!

Back to Work

Did I not say that I was going on vacation? Oops, guess not. So....I went on vacation last week. Had fun. Rested. Got burnt to a crisp and spent all my money. Normal vacation stuff.

My first day back was mostly good. I felt refreshed and was much more patient with customers. I assisted several regulars who I hadn't seen for awhile. I also had several problem employees where it was to the point of my practically beating them to get them to do ANYTHING.

Most of the employees (at least the good ones) were glad to see me back…..let's just say that there were a few "issues" while I was gone. So much so that according to the other managers, I'm not allowed to take any more vacations. Yeah, well, I still have some vacation days left! It's not my fault that those issues happened while I was gone. It just would have made it a little easier having another manager to spread the stress around.

Back to work......I'm sure I'll have some more stories soon!

Happy

One of my best employees got a disturbing phone call at work. Luckily I was already in the area to take over her for her while she took the call. She NEVER gets personal calls, so I suspected it was something bad from the start.

Sure enough, when she emerged from the office a few minutes later she looked pretty shaken. She apologized for the personal call. (Are you kidding me? Emergencies are fine. It's the employees who have friends calling ten times a day every day to make evening plans who get disciplined.) When she explained what was going on she began crying in the "I'm at work and I don't want my boss or my co-workers to see me upset" kind of way. All I could say was, "I'm sorry. Do you need a few minutes?" "Would that be all right?" Uh, yeah!

Now I hate drama in the workplace and people who can't handle things and "oh, my boyfriend broke up with me for the tenth time this week, the world is ending" and all that kind of nonsense. But this was entirely different.

It was so hard to see this particular employee upset. She's normally cheerful and enthusiastic and even the most annoying customer doesn't phase her. She's optimistic and improves the mood of everyone around her. (Except for in the morning. There IS a thing called being too cheerful in the morning. It's early-thirty. I'm not even awake yet. SHUT UP and STOP SMILING. She has gotten better at that, though, realizing that I need a couple of hours to wake up before having any kind of meaningful conversation.)

She handles customers beautifully, gets along with all of her co-workers, is well-liked, works hard, thoroughly does anything you ask of her in a timely manner without complaint, does things WITHOUT BEING TOLD TO, etc. I've NEVER seen her in even a slightly bad mood or anything. But with this news it was hard for her to hold it together.

But she did……more or less. She tried hard. Some employees will call in with a "I can't come to work today. My third cousin sprained his ankle a month ago. I have to go visit him at his house instead of coming to work." But she was extremely accommodating. She didn't want to leave us short-handed, so we arranged for her to leave early when a replacement could come in. She did her job, but the issue obviously weighed heavily on her mind.

The next day I half expected her to call in, but she showed up. She showed up with swollen eyes from being up most of the night, but she was there. Again, she left early, but it was a true give-and-take that left both sides satisfied.

She was scheduled off the next few days. The next time I saw her I wasn't sure how to handle it. Should I ask her about it? Should I wait? I don't want her to think I forgot or don't care, but I also don't want to get her upset again. After all, if it was good news wouldn't she have shared it right away? Later in the day she shared the bad news, the news we were half expecting. A tear or two escaped, this time without the embarrassment of the first day. She tried to put a positive spin on it…….that's the employee I remember! I again expressed my regrets, genuine regrets. You know…..there's the people that you say "I'm sorry" to because you're expected to, and then there's the people that you really do feel sorry. You feel their pain because you know them so well or perhaps because you've been there yourself.

Funny thing, wait, poor choice of words, weird thing is…..I feel like we got to know each other a lot better through this situation. We saw a side of each other that we haven't seen before. Because of the transitory nature of the retail worker, I don't get to know people until they've been here awhile. Seriously, no personal questions until they've worked at least a month or two. It's just not worth the energy to get to know someone who might be gone tomorrow.

Anyway, the way she handled the situation showed her commitment to the store and a strength that I didn't realize she had. We've been considering her for a management position, but weren't sure about it. I didn't feel that she was ready and favored Duh boy instead (who has improved immensely). After this, I've become a lot more open to her as a manager. It's possible. She needs lots of practice on some of the technical aspects of the job, but on the interpersonal aspects, she's light years ahead of Duh boy.

We had a few touchy days with an ultimately bad outcome, yet a good outcome for the store and for relationships. I can almost see us as friends, but then there's the boss-employee thing. I'm never sure where that boundary lies. Ultimately I feel like I handled the situation as best I could and was I imagining it or was she glad that I was on duty and not one of the other managers when all of this happened?

Perhaps she needs a nickname. I've already got a "Friendly," so for her, I think she should be called "Happy."

CRAZY

I spent a lot of time with an old woman today. She couldn't remember what she usually buys, couldn't lift anything WHATSOEVER, and after each item I had to walk it (and her) to the cashier before she decided that she needed help with more stuff …..blah blah blah……strictly her talking for 10 minutes about nothing related to anything in my store. At that point she needed help with something else in a far part of the store but the cashier needed change and another customer needed help with a truly heavy item.

I asked her to go on back to that section and I'd be there in a minute (knowing it would take her a lot longer to walk there than me). I carried the heavy item to the customer's car, got the change, then took a phone call regarding a supposedly defective item. (The man hadn't read the directions. Amazing what a difference that makes.)

I was on my way to see what else the lady needed when I heard her back in the front complaining to the cashier that no one had come to help her. Augh! Shall I strangle you now, or wait until you need help to your car with your 5 pounds worth of stuff and do it then???

There are some old people that I absolutely love (and not just family members). But others…….they drive me CRAZY! They think they're entitled to my undivided attention for as long as they want it. They have nowhere to go and nothing to do, and think that I don't, either. When you combine a store full of ancients who all think that the world revolves around them with a few time-starved baby boomers who want to get IN and OUT FAST with a limited number of employees and you have a problem!