Do we not CARE about customers anymore??

Worked Monday from 10:30 - 2:30. It was insane. Not only did some schmuck decide to do a backup on the computers, which kept taking different devices out, but we had only three people that could 'work.'

When one of them went on her lunch there was just two of us out front. We ended with one girl on the second register having to take all the large as well as small orders and myself on express, with the 1 - 8 (yeah right) items. The first time we paged for a cashier we were told that the day's cash had just arrived. So...... No one can come out and treat customers with the respect they deserve? Might I point out the the Botch can do cash but does not come out to help. And besides, it doesn't take three of you to do that. No sense having cash if we lose all our customers due to lousy service.

Then I paged because I can not STAND seeing customers having to stand in a big line up. Didn't even get an acknowledgement. Even when the cashier came back from lunch The first of four customers that transferred to my line asked me to page again, which I did, to no response. Again.

Yes, lousy service. We have customers who come to our store because they 'always have' and because 'they like the size' and because they like a lot of the cashiers.

But some of the complaints are that the store too often is out of something that is in the flyer.
Or even something that they have bought for a long time, suddenly not being there.
They want to know why we cater to the students to the detriment of the the older people who have kept this store going.
They comment on some management treating them rudely or like they are beneath them.
There are comments about trying to get a grocery item checked for price.
And especially the fact that there aren't enough cashiers. And enough pleasant ones either.

In fact we had a mystery shopper in one day who wrote in her report about the cashiers talking too much to other cashiers. And not smiling or even acknowledging the customers.

Bad, BAD customer service.

And one last thing. If you know we are busy out there why would you call on the bat phone to tell us why you can't come out or have we covered the shift for someone or something else. I don't care why you can't come out and help when we have ten or twelve people in line. I just care that you don't. If I don't answer after the second call then I am busy with my customers who come FIRST to me. I will call you as soon as I am done with the customer. We can be seen on the cameras when its time to tell us we aren't working, or we're slouching or something, so I'm guessing you know when we're halfway down the cereal aisle in customers.

So, get off my back and let me do my job.

Wow, That Was Rough

Friday was my first 8 hour day in roughly two years. My knee held up fine. It was rough but not nearly as bad as it used to be.

Standing all that time wasn't a problem and the time went fairly fast. Till 2:45 or so. Then the clock stopped. But there was my hubby to pick me up right on time at 3:30. But the next day my back was SSSSSSOOOOOOO sore. It has just gone away after three days.

Enough about me, for now.

I have still not exchanged one word with the Botch. She does however wait until I am not at my tray and then cleans it out. I came back from break to find I had two twenties. I don't like having that small amount in case I need to do a cash back. I'm not allowed to borrow from another tray any more. So they want me to call them out instead when I need money?

Plus they (well, she) has decided that our coin cups will all be rearranged. Loonies, quarters, dimes, nickels and an empty cup at the bottom and the toonies back up above. And also, why would you do that when the trays are not uniform anyway. Half the trays have the extra coin cup on the right; the other half on the left. When you're counting out change for your customers its nice to be able to do it fast and accurate. Having all the coins in one row makes it easy to do that. Each tray would be consistent.

And now coupons go one place, air miles stickers somewhere else and the money-off coupons we are supposed to rip in half and throw out. And don't forget the coin star coupons which have a special place as well.

Changes are fine if they make sense, but don't bring them all in at once. That is asking for mistakes.

* * * * * 

Ended up doing a tiny (2 second) spot on the news the other night. Been recognized by 8 customers so far. You'd think I was 'a star' the way they talked.

Off to see if today brings any fun stuff today. Plus it was a full moon and that usually brings out the strange. And I will acknowledge that Monday was a really weird day in the store with all the glitches we had.

(what kind of idiot schedules a computer back-up during the day???)

The Botch Tries To Takeover

We have a new character! ! ! !

(The Diva will have to wait).

So there has been a shift in the cash office. We have a new NHC (New Head Cashier) learning the ropes. Problem is, while there IS seniority there is NOT the knowledge of the job. Consequently the replacee was asked to do the training. To which she said "uh, NO!!!!" Can't say I blame her. She has done a marvelous job of running the store and everyone likes her. She is approachable.The replacor, now has a head cashier person (let's call her Botch) from another store showing her what to do.

The problem in, that said 'head cashier' has quite the attitude on her. Apparently she is better than us. Or at least that is the impression she is giving off. Now, I don't like change any more than anyone else, but don't come on MY turf and start to tell me how to do MY job!

I am hearing too many incidents of "well, at MY store, we do this....". Who cares, our store has a whole different dynamic, and is smaller. You can't come in and start doing this. That may be how your dictatorship works, but its not flying well here. You're not only messing with the new persons head, but now you're messing with EVERY cashier. Changing a system that works, for one like you want it to be, is not a good idea.

There are things that the customer service cashiers (CSC) used to do that are no longer 'allowed'. These are things the CSC needs to be able to do in order to finish her job. Simple things like performing an audit on a tray. We need to have the printer part of the machine with them. Now they have to ask permission to use it. I have yet to see the new cashier come out and do cash. Botch says we don't need it out here.

Botch also doesn't approach properly when asking for money for pickups. That's when we start to accumulate money in the tray exceeding the float by more than is necessary. I was at my register doing my job, when some woman comes up behind me, (this is before I have even met her) and says she needs my money. I turned around to look and didn't know who she was, but DID see the NHC so figured it was alright.

But seriously, coming up behind someone, not even introducing yourself and then asking for money???? She's lucky I held back my initial reaction, which was to knock the breath out of the 'robber'. Well, how am I supposed to know who you are? Plus she starts to tell me how to do it! ! ! ? ? ?

And what the hell is with changing the coin drawers so the penny compartment is back in play? Are you freakin' nuts? We have to make change in a hurry and suddenly YOU decide that that is how its done at YOUR store. You want our coupons all done a certain way, and the price reduced stickers done another way. Then we can not loan from one register to another. We can only get extra money from the cash drawer. Do you have any idea how long it takes to get someone to get to the service desk? Do you know why they take so long to getting there? Because now that hours have been cut, yet again, we have been operating with a skeleton crew in the daytime.

Two days this week I was the only other cashier working. I was on a 'regular' register and someone on express. Two people to handle crowds.At several points on Monday I would have a lineup of more than eight people! ! ! ! We should only have three in a line before another cashier comes out to help. My store just seems to be concerned about ONE thing. That is customer service. I keep telling them that that is what will keep ahead of the competition. 


Please go back to your store.

Wow, you go away for three months and have your knee replaced . . . . . . .

and the way customers react you'd think you were gone forever. Gives you a nice feeling though to know that the customers you serve, that have to give you money for their food, are so happy to see you back.


OnFeb. 23rd I worked my last day for a while. Finally I was getting surgery on my knee. So on the 25th I was in the operating room sitting on the edge of the table and looking at all this paraphernalia that may or may not be going into or used on my leg. I tell you, if they'd have given me some premed and then I saw the way they were dressed I'd have suspected I was abducted by aliens. Or beekeepers.

It was very interesting and I wish I'd had my camera. Saws and drills, nuts and bolts, gidgets and gadgets, glue and drapes, and tourniquets and hemostats!  Plus I'd say at least ten people in there. And right off the bat the anesthetist disagrees with something the doctor wants to do. No fighting guys, still awake here.

I stayed off work until the first week of May. The first day back I was so surprised at how easy it was to stand at the register for that long. I had not realized before then how much pain I must have been in. I blew through the four hours and no problems with the next day. Or the next shift either. The surgery has been such a success that I can now notice how bad the left leg was/is and wonder how it has stood up. It started to get more and more bothersome as time went on so that by my 12 week follow up I have signed up to get the left one replaced as well. Several reasons really:

I'd forgotten how nice it is to walk any distance at all!
I want to walk straighter. Right now, because I was so used to favouring both knees I sometimes lose balance or weave when I walk. Sort of like a drunken sailor.
I am able to walk up AND down stairs and hills with hardly any problem.
I can also go down stairs frontwards again. (used to be backward as it puts a lot less strain on the knees)

FOOTNOTE: Apparently the blogs should be shorter. It keeps people's interest better or something. So I will try to do that and I have a new list of characters that will be appearing periodically until they are fired or quit.

Next time around: the Diva