I have cut back to 3 - 4 shifts a week, as any more is just too hard on my knees.
If I've had one I've had a hundred customers ask where I have been.
"We thought maybe you'd left."
"Haven't seen you in a while. Were you on vacation?"
They like me, they really like me ! ! ! !
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So, what's been happening.
Well....... as it is the start of a new school year we suddenly have students using our parking lot to leave their car in while they bus to the university. Not nice ! ! ! ! It takes away from the space we use for customers. I think if I was going to park somewhere illegally, I'd at least make sure to put my car where it wouldn't be in the way and therefore not liable to be noticed.
Also, there is a certain faction of our young customers that are too cheap to pay 5 cents for a plastic but think nothing of walking off with one of our buggies. I have even told them that they can't take them off the lot and they pretend like they listen, and they think they have me fooled. But I can see them out the window. By the way, they are also, for the most part, very rude. They have no clue as to what please and thank you mean. I guess they're used to having everything handed to them on a silver platter.
It really irks me that we don't take more steps to keep our buggies around. We know have about 5 different styles, so when the guys go and get buggies and try to put them away in the corral, it doesn't work very well. Buggies are supposed to nest together. They can't because of the different types and styles of buggies.
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Now most of you are used to me and they way I look at things. I think the customer, though not 'always right', deserves the courtesy of being treated like we appreciate them coming in. I DON'T think the cashier should be standing there and ignoring the customer. They should be making eye contact and talking to the person not over them.
I like to talk to fellow employees as well, but as soon as I have a customer, I immediately switch over to being the one that listens to the customer and give them all of my attention.
Anyway. . . . . A couple of weeks ago, there were two girls on cash and one girl on her break. It was over the dinner rush hour, and we were packed ! ! ! ! !
The girl on express and myself had line-ups 8 to 10 people deep. So many customers that you could not see the front shelves for 'people'!
I don't like to see customers standing in line looking a little more angry with each passing minute. I called for another cashier and was told by head cashier that "there is no one else." Next thing I know, (mind you the front end was FULL of customers), some one wants me to go on my break.
I can't walk out and leave those people standing there, even if the schedule must be maintained in order to get all the breaks done. So I kept checking and no one comes over to put my 'closed sign up and to close down my line. (Its better if head cashier does it then the customers are not so angry at us." I get told to go on my break and I said "I can't. I can't leave all these people standing there ! ! ? ? ? ? ? ?
So I kept working to get these people through and on their way home. I was leaving at 7:30 and finally got my break at 6:15. It is supposed to be around 5:30. But to be honest I really do like a late break so I didn't mind. It makes the shift go quicker.
What really bothered me was the fact that I called for an extra cashier which means that the head cashier is supposed to come out and start checking as well. But she couldn't. Why????? Because she was busy selling lottery tickets.
WTF????? They count for a small, very small, portion of our income. People will buy tickets for lottery, no matter what you do or don't do. Its not even like we (the store) get a prize of anything for selling a winner. The lottery commission has put a to the retailer winning for seli. I tell you, I was so pi**ed at the way things are handled when this one particular girl works. Its like she thinks she's special or somehow, above work. And she has a way of making people uncomfortable when she talks to them. She has a bad habit of looking over people's heads rather than make eye contact.
Its like she feels the customer's are not as good as she is. It doesn't even look good. She is one of those people that doesn't make direct eye contact. She also will laugh out loud in such a way that she draws attention to herself and it is usually just after dealing with one of the employees on some cashier type thing.
"nuff said on that, other than I wish I wasn't working these 'rush hour' shifts with people that are afraid of working. I miss the odd daytime shift that I prefer.
Having said that, I was fortunate to work twice this week with a few people that really know how to work. And actually communicated with the customers.
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