Isn't that sweet?
They made me Employee of the Month whilst I was gone on my vacation.
Apparently, our general manager chose the picture for the posting. I was flattered that he picked a hot chick from Lord of the Rings to represent me! I told him today that it would have been so much funnier had he picked Gollum for the picture instead of Arwen.
I've been working my ass off since getting back from vacation. I'm the one responsible for mapping out what display/promotion is going to go where for the holidays. That's been interesting...at least I get to be semi-creative. But it's a lot of unpaid work at home, and I will be continuing said work after I get this up.
All I need to do is survive the next 2 1/2 weeks. This is the time when the entire store changes into a Winter Wonderland. Signs, displays...*sigh*
This creepy little fellow will be put into every corner of the store.
Apparently he's a 'tradition' here in the US. I'd never heard of it, and just in case you haven't, parents are supposed to place him in strategic spots in the house to watch over children and make sure that they aren't doing naughty things.
Parents think it's genius, I think it's cruel.
Anyway, if you don't see me posting a lot until mid-November, the reason is work exhaustion. I do have some pics that I took from a jaunt up to Beaufort that I may post sometime in the next few days.
If you're starting your Christmas *gasp! I said it!* shopping in the next few days or weeks....make sure you're nice to your friendly, neighbourhood store clerk. :)
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17 comments:
I think that Crapmas shopping should be illegal until 20th December!
Because Mrs IG works in retail, I do have a soft spot for shop workers.
Recently I was in a store and some woman was giving the assistant a hard time. She had no receipt, but was demadning a full refund for an item because she didn't like it. The assistant was trying to explain, very politely, that he could change it for another item, but couldn't give a refund unless she had proof of purchase. He evn asked if she had paid on a card, so he could try to look up the transaction. She just kept on getting ruder and ruder, demanding her money back.
I grew bored and decided to join in. I suggested that she either change the item, or go home and get her receipt. She asked me whether I could believe how ignorant the assistant was.
I calmly then pointed out that legally, the assistant was offering more than they had to, and she should be grateful.
At this, she shrieked that she worked in retail and knew her rights.
I replied, "Of course you do. That's why you're standing here, screaming like a bitch, and we're all laughing our arses off at you."
She stormed off, and I got to make my purchase. The assistant gave me a pretty decent discount without me having to ask!
And you know what, the majority of customers are actually pretty nice. Hurried, but nice. The few that are super rude just ruin things for everyone.
Last week, a customer swore at one of our head cashiers and tossed a book at her across the counter when she wouldn't give him a free discount.
I've been gift wrapping (which is FREE because we are untrained) for a customer and she's yanked the wrapping paper out of my hands and proceeded to tell me 'No, THIS is how you wrap a present, LOOK'. That pissed me off like you wouldn't believe. Now I warn everyone that asks me to wrap gifts for them that they can't expect professional quality. I still dread doing it at all...
You know who the meanest customers as a group are at Christmas (and actually the rest of the year as well)? People who are purchasing bibles or other Christian paraphernalia. You would think they'd be the nicest!
Thanks for doing the decent thing and dressing that rude customer down when she was treating that clerk badly. Because we feel so angry sometimes and can't say a thing to the customer for fear of being complained about.
The dude that threw the book at my co-worker and swore at her made a formal complaint about her customer service to Corporate. Ridiculous. It's a good thing I wasn't there that day as manager on duty, I probably would have rolled up my sleeves and gotten myself fired.
Dude! I work in a call centre environment and it's been my experience that when dealig with our religious clients (churches, synagoges etc) I can expect them to be completely unreasonable in sticky situations.
One time, while dealing with a Christian father I actually reminded him that he was a man of god and that perhaps he should watch his tone and language while conducting business for church. He told me to shut up and do my job.
I hung up on him :)
I think those folks must have pretty great lives, if THAT'S the kind of stuff that gets their goats. At the same time, I feel really sorry for them because they are just really dumb. I mean REALLY. You are going to give me a free discount because I'm an asshole and treat you shitty? C'mon! I waited tables for six years and found the RUDER people got to me, the NICER I got. I'd start calling them 'sweetie' and 'honey'. And they were so DUMB, they had no idea I was being bitchy behind my sweet facade. I still do that when I am dealing with a difficult patient. And I DO like your comment about the majority of customers...it's important to focus on the good! And most of us are really good.
I agree about the elf; I saw one at Chapters, and found it totally creepy and disturbing. I can't imagine doing that to my kids.
Having worked in customer services and retail one way or another for the majority of my working life, I know dealing with people who talk to you (or rather, at you) like you’re a piece of shit, and/or taking the brunt of people’s frustrations with the situation out on you, is not easy.
It often takes sheer willpower to stay polite, when all you’d love to do is tell them to feck off and to stick their “issue” where the sun don’t shine, because it ain’t worth a toss. It's one of the reasons I didn't go back to my job as cabin crew after my husband died - me standing nose-to-nose with an arsey passenger and telling them to get their priorities in life straight would have got me the sack.
Maintaining a courteous demeanour is often a great way to get their goat; what are they going to say - ‘I want to complain to your manager because you were polite to me’?!
Unfortunately it's generally the assholes that stick in your mind long after they've slithered out of the shop/off the plane/wherever.
Doing unpaid work at home is a bummer. Now go wash your mouth out for saying the C-word! ;D
First, I have to say congratulations for your Employee of the Month award. Second -- I've never heard of the Elf on the Shelf concept. That must be because I don't have kids. Thirdly, I'm really annoyed because I went in to Hobby Lobby last weekend to pick up a fall plaque I had seen a couple of weeks ago, to go on our garden gate, and it was gone. In fact just about all the fall stuff was gone and it was Christmas as far as the eye could see -- I was ticked, to say the least!!!
Oh yes - and I forgot to add two things. 1. congrats! and LOVE the pic. 2. Never heard of the Christmas Elf? But I am from Missouri.
Prairie: Before I left Canada, I also had a call center job, with the government. But at least there, I definitely got paid enough to be sworn at!
Melissa: Haha, I try to do that. The worst thing you can do to piss someone off even further is smile at them when they're mad :D But sometimes I've just had enough and I can't even fake it...
And thank you! :)
Tweedle: They have them in Canada now, huh? We sell assloads of those things.
Bub: I shouldn't really complain that much, really do like my job. If I had to have a job where I was holed up by myself and never really got to talk to anyone...well, that would drive me crazier lol. But yeah, negative happenings stay with me WAY longer than the positive ones.
Jayne: Thanks! :)
Yeah, all the fall stuff really gets skipped over, except Halloween-related things. I think we started getting those in in August. You're right though, fall stuff goes away before I'm even ready to put it up!
Hi Kyna,
But where's the fun in life without idiot or arsehole customers???!!!
Thankfully I haven't worked in retail, but my boyfriend does and he hates Christmas, I guess I can't really blame him though considering they start getting their Christmas stock in during August.
I did however work at a University, and I'd love to claim all the students are intelligent, polite people, but that would mean talking out of my ass.
Personally, I'm always polite to people, even when the service sucked major. Today my mum refused to give a tip after eating, quite rightly too because the food was atrocious. I on the other hand wouldn't have the balls.
Oh God, i hate those elves. It was exclusively through B+N but we have them this year at Booksamillion too. Congrats on employee of the month! "Me wants it! So.... Precious!"
Liz: I think if the food was atrocious, I still would leave a tip, because it's not the server's fault. I'd still SAY something. But if the waitstaff are atrocious, I wouldn't leave anything. Chuck leaves a tip regardless. I think tips should be earned. When I say 'earned' I just mean that they can't just be super-shitty servers and still get a tip. They don't have to do cartwheels or anything. Although that would be a plus. ;)
One time we were at a restaurant in Jacksonville, and the waitress was stoned. Like, I'm sure half the employees in J-ville are stoned at work at any given time, but this girl was STONED as a BAT. Took half an hour to even get our drinks, then forEVER to get our food...and on top of that the food was terrible. I didn't even want to pay for my meal, let alone give her a tip.
RG: We have so many stacks of those things it's ridiculous. Once December hits though, we can barely keep them in the store.
umm Elf on the Shelf, bloody creepy, if I was a child and woke up to that in the middle of the night I'd be frightened out of my wits, let alone have it watching me all over the house for a month. Whatever happened to good old spankings? (oh right, ya, not politically correct, bah) I always thought people buying coffee were the worst customer. Tweaking out waiting for their caffeine fix I got yelled at regularly. Oddly though I can see the religious ones getting right cranky, makes sense in a weird way.
I've never heard of the Elf on the Shelf and agree that he's kind of creepy. If he's watching the kids, isn't he also watching me? Stalker!!
All hail Kyna! jim
Dear Kyna,
congratulation to your award! That the stores start so early disposing Christmas things is - well - strange... As is this little elf (I wouldn't buy it if my son were still small - which he isn't, with 2.02m - I do not like that they try to frighten little children. Formerly it was Knecht Rupprecht, the one with the birch, who came with Father Christmas - and a long list of what they had done wrong. Thank's God the 'Black Pedagogy' is over!)
I wish you stamina for the next month! Britta
Kyna girl I am just catching up now yet again ? !
Elf on the Shelf ? maybe because we are Canadians we don't engage in Christmas "gorilla" warfare ?? jeez!
.. and apparently it really doesn't do any good .. just look at how many kids are not angels in said States .. oops .. was that a shot across the bow from Canada ? hehehe
Hey .. don't let this mission consume you ok ? I do Christmas shopping while hubby is in Cuba .. a place most Americans can't go .. so there is peace and quiet on those lovely islands as of yet ... tick tick tick .. I am in trouble again aren't I ?? hehehe
Take care
GIRL !!! .. don't forget you are Canuck and you are a SUPER-Woman from the Great White North !!!!
Joy : )
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