Yes, your threads are interesting!
Fingers crossed for you! Keep us posted.
Yes please.
The joys of having only a 13-member work force.
My boss just called me. My mentor has called out for today’s second shift. He’s vomiting. My boss wants me to work until 11. But right now, there’s no second person to work with me, and I am not working a 2-11 shift by myself; that’s not happening. I told her as much. And no one is currently answering their phone.
I told her to try her best to get ahold of someone, and when she has a coworker for me, to give me a call. I didn’t tell her that barring that, I might not come in at all, and the morning shift will just have to fuckin’ work a double.
Crisis averted. Someone on the overnight shift, someone whom I have enormous respect for, is just going to have to fuckin’ work a double. I was already planning on bringing dinner for both myself and my mentor today; she gets it instead. Chicken and dumplings leftover from last night. Hopefully she’ll enjoy it.
And if my experience is anything to go by, Publix employees are encouraged to be friendly and chatty.
That’s a bummer, union wages at a grocery store paid most of my way through college. I admit that towards the end of my 7-year run there, I could barely wait to leave (for a lower paying internship) but that was because I had realized that the owner was never going to promote me into a full-time position and I had become thoroughly bored with being treated as if I was still in high-school.
You are doing very well at this job. Don’t give notice until you have secured something else. And, just so you know, supermarket schedules vary a lot too. But when you do find that other job, be nice about leaving this one. It will only help your reputation.
Day 26:
A 2-8 shift on a Monday afternoon.
My mentor had to call out because he woke up vomiting, much like Work Ethic Woman had to call out a few weeks ago which caused me to pick up her overnight shift and work a double. This time, it would be Work Ethic Woman having to work a double, 7p-7a.
I worked with Foreign Man from 2-4, and then with Slow Old Lady from 4-7 until Work Ethic Woman arrived at 7. I tried to call Mentor during a lull period to see how he was doing, but he didn’t answer his phone. He’s probably trying to sleep it off, the poor guy. I like him. He’s one of my best friends, and if I do get the job at Wawa, I’m going to miss him the most.
When I arrived for my shift, I immediately noticed that the first shift hadn’t restocked the buffalo wings, so I promptly made three packs of five. And no sooner had I put down the cover for the oven insert than someone inquired about buffalo wings. I told him I’d have them ready for him in seven minutes, and he was very polite about waiting.
I was in such a good mood today that I was literally singing almost the entire time I wasn’t directly taking care of a customer. And I’ve got a good singing voice. I’ve been singing in church and school choirs since I was four years old. Once, while I was singing “I’ll Take Lonely Tonight” by Tim Minchin early in the day, a man commented, "Voice of an angel!" That made me feel so good. Probably emboldened me a little too much. I kept singing until Foreign Man put on his portable speaker. Maybe to shut me up. Unfortunately in furtherance of that possible goal, he put it on Foreigner, so I sang “Faithfully” and one of their other songs that I recognized when they came up.
A customer, praising my customer service, compared it to Walmart’s lack thereof and predicted that they’d be out of business in 5-10 years. I disagreed. “As long as the American people value artificially low prices over customer service, Walmart will never go out of business.” He said that when he was growing up, corner marts would write down what you picked up and you’d come in and pay for it when you got paid. No one does that anymore. They all want their money now. Now Walmart won’t let even 35 cents slide.
A gentleman exited the men’s restroom and told me that the toilet tank was on crooked. It had been like that for a few days, and I always thought it was because it was improperly sized. NOPE! It’s a trapezoid. It was on backwards. Easy fix.
We had four packs of candy cane cookies left over from Shift One (I worked Shift Two), and they were labeled as white macadamia nut cookies with the words “Candy Cane” written on them in permanent marker. I have no idea why. Remember upthread when I told you they’d trained me in cookie labeling? The Candy Cane cookies are literally the very first damn button on that screen. Fixed.
An old lady came in with two gentlemen, one in his 80s and one 90 years old. And they both tried to open the doors for her. I grinned. “Look at you, you must be hot stuff! You’ve got two guys competing to open the door for you!” One was her husband, the other was the best man at their wedding.
A customer’s transaction came to exactly $22.22. She said this is the second time she’s gotten mysterious 2s pop up recently, so at my suggestion (good salesmanship), she played those numbers on Pick 4.
Speaking of good salesmanship, a man wanted to buy 6 of those tiny Southern Comfort bottles, and I talked him into getting a pack of 10.
A new employee prospect came in today. She works at IHOP (which is killing her) and Pizza Hut (which isn’t giving her any hours). She lives within walking distance. I gave her my 100% honest assessment of the job, the good and the bad, and she got very excited. I did not tell her I’m thinking about leaving. Only friends and family know that. I’m not even going to tell Mentor or even Boss Lady until the job is in the bag. She took home an application, after asking for my contact information for some reason, when I told her the boss is currently in Canada. Then I texted Boss Lady and let her know about it. She said thanks for the heads-up; next time try to get the person’s name and contact information. Um, okay. Fuckin’ pay me, maybe.
A woman came in and asked how fresh the coffee was. I admitted that I hadn’t been able to get around to it, but if she tasted it and didn’t like it, I would make her a fresh pot of whatever she wanted; company policy. I did end up having to do that. Colombian coffee. She was thoroughly impressed, and understanding.
A 21-year-old who works at the Target Distribution Center got pissed at me when I asked him for ID for his cigarettes, for apparently the fourth time. I told him that two days ago, I’d had a problem with a 19-year-old trying to sneak past me. He said, “Yeah, but I’m 21, though.” Well fucking PROVE it, buddy. I’m 40 years old. Everyone under 25 looks like a kid to me. I didn’t say that, though. He didn’t have his ID with him, so the friend who came in with him gave me his ID instead. If he comes in again and gives me hell, I’m going to refuse him service, and if he bitches to Boss Lady about it, I don’t think it’ll go very well for him.
The very next customer, I asked to check her ID. She had to go out to the car to get it, but she was very polite. She was born in 2000. I said, “You should take it as a compliment that I’m asking.” “I do.” “I feel old, and this is going to sound strange, especially to someone who looks like you,” (she was gorgeous), “but you were born the same year I graduated from high school.” She said, “Wow.” Then I immediately said, “Please understand I meant that as a compliment, and not as sexual harassment.” She understood.
Something was making an awful ruckus near the end of the night at the microwave area, so I went to see that someone was undoing some kind of Maruchan snack pack and nuking it. He hadn’t paid for it yet, but promised he would do so. No problem. I said, “You better, or we’ll get’cha!” “I know, right?” Later he left the store without the product or paying for it (he needed to get his wallet, I think), and he said, “Don’t panic! I’ll be right back!” I said, “Uh-oh! I’m gonna turn you upside-down and shake you!” hehe!
I brought leftover chicken and dumplings from last night for dinner for both me and my coworker, whomever that may be-- I’d planned to do that yesterday before Mentor even called out. Mentor ended up missing the meal, so it was intended for Work Ethic Woman instead. I brought a handheld cloth cooler and bought a 7-pound bag of ice for it. But she’d already eaten, so she declined the meal, even when I urged her a second time. Fine, taquitos and cookies for you instead of homemade chicken and dumplings, girl. More for me. I love her, though.
Slow Old Lady actually did a very good job today. I trained her in how to write things off, giving her step-by-step instructions the first time, and then the second time, let her show me what she remembered. And she remembered, without any guidance from me. I’m very, very proud. She also emptied the trash and made a pizza, and was the #2 cashier during her shift. She did, however, forget to clear the lotto machine once, which caused brief consternation when I didn’t notice it before the next transaction. I corrected myself, though. And didn’t have the chance to mention it to her. But today was a day for words of affirmation. “Thank you!” I said as she left. “You did a good job today!”
Work Ethic Woman, uncommonly, messed up once too. We had a DoorDash order late in the day, mostly ice cream, and she kept the bag in the ice cream cooler but forgot to put the tamper-proof seal on the bag and write the customer’s name on it. I leaned over real close and spoke sotto voce to her. “[Name], out of all the people here, I respect your work ethic the most, you know I do. But you forgot to put the seal on the 7Now bag.” “Oops. It’s so early in the day for me that I can barely remember my own name.” “It’s all right. You do a great job here, but I’m not gonna blow smoke up your ass when you screw up.” And I gave her a comradely pat on the back.
Work Ethic Woman came in before her shift and took down the fall decorations finally, putting up Christmas decorations. And she did it off the clock, and apparently, this is not the first time she’s done work off the clock. I don’t know if Boss Lady knows about this or not, but it’s against the law, and I told her, she shouldn’t do it. I said that when I’m off the clock, I don’t lift a finger for 7-Eleven except through text.
I’m off tomorrow. It’s a laundry open day at my house, but I’m going to call Wawa and try to get in touch with their AGM for an interview.
Uh-oh, in many, if not most, locations, this would be a huge error. @Broomstick could elaborate. You can’t let somebody buy products for another person who can’t legally buy them for themself.
This sounds delightful! Please keep it up!
Fuck. Fuckity-fuck. Well, he told me he was 21, I’ve apparently carded him three times before, though I don’t remember him out of the 500 people I see every day, and I’ll never make that mistake again. And if he gives me hell again, he can piss off. (And I will tell him that in those exact words. I’m out of fucks to give with this guy.) I won’t ring him up for a soda or even gas. He needs to learn a lesson.
Yes, I learned that the hard way at my days at a White Hen Pantry (7-Eleven-type minimart). It’s a common ruse that state liquor inspectors use to catch unsuspecting cashiers trying to do their job. Which is a good explanation to customers who harass you for daring to hold them to the law.
Probably best to not “teach him a lesson,” just use the “sorry, can’t help it, I’m not allowed to [whatever]”, as you don’t want to enrage anybody.
Around here, the cops don’t try to trick you or use fake IDs or things like that. They send in someone who’s underage and looks underage, and when you ask for ID, they’ll either say they don’t have it or they’ll show you their real ID that confirms their lack of adultivity.
Yeah, that’s definitely the biggie (and we’re currently in the same PacNW region). I’d just hate to see @ekedolphin possibly get in trouble. And if the question comes up on an employment interview, he’ll be ready.
Granted. I will still refuse him service if he gives me hell about it again, as this isn’t the first time. And if he goes to my coworker, I will warn them that I have already denied him service, which is a constitutionally guaranteed right (I know because I just looked it up), and if they override me, I will sit on my hands for the next 10 minutes as a gesture of protest.
Lol!
Nitpick, and I hate myself for knowing this. That’s a Journey song.
Foreign Man? Why do you call him that?
He’s from the Philippines and speaks fluent Spanish and Tagalog but very, very poor English. I can barely understand a word he says. It’s not meant as a slur. If you’d prefer a different name, I’ll gladly use it. But most of the employees are from a Filipino family.
It kinda is a slur, though.