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

When will the war start?

Sometime earlier this year I came in to work to find two rather pleasant men demolishing #7 register.

Now this poor register has never done anything to upset anyone. It has sat there faithfully waiting to be used since I've been there. I actually did see it used. Once. It was a Christmas about three or four years ago.

The reason this register gave up its life and spot was because there is legislation that we have to be wheel chair accessible. Well the store is, but none of our check outs were. Now there have been wheel chairs come through the store and they have made it through the registers, but they have so far been the narrow, sleek ones. We would not have been able to get a regular, like you see in hospitals, wheel chair through. Also we have people that have double wide baby buggies that have to put their groceries up, go around the service counter and back to the other end of the register. There have been no complaints from them, but it is surely an annoyance.

SO. The big plan was to make this spot extra wide. It involved quite a lot to get all of that 'stuff' out of there. Somebody in the metal collecting department made a lot. Anyway, while they are doing this I notice they have some tools capable of doing something that has bothered me for a while. I ask them if its possible to add some higher bag bracket shelves. Those are the little things that allow each person to adjust of the height the bags for themselves. He says he can get a couple done for me. He did this while his buddy was working on something else. In other words instead of standing around leaning on his shovel he did something nice for somebody! ! ! ! !

I asked it be done to the two registers I tend to be at the most. Selfish I know, but no one else thought to ask and you gotta strike while the irons hot ! ! ! Or while the drill is in the store.

I wish I could have got it done to all the registers as it is ergonomically a very good thing to do.

Now if I can just get the registers turned in such a way that we move the arm back and forth as opposed to having them reach across our body, I will have really made progress.

***

**This post has been sitting as a draft for a long time and I'm not sure why it didn't get finished. So its here now and there will be a few more showing up as I catch up on things.**

When last we left off . . . . .

Sally Missing part 2:

I named it that because of the reaction I got from customers both in our store and in other places that I would run into them.

I'd be walking around somewhere else and someone would say hi, how are you and then follow it up with a 'where have you been?'

To which I would tell them what had happened and then they'd ask questions etc. After that would be the 'we miss you, when are you coming back?'

* * * * *

Back to the story . . . . .

As I explained I was in the hospital and they were checking me out. The gave me Tylenol, which they said would reduce the fever. Well, it did ! ! ! ! ! I know. I was surprised too. I never expected it to do that. So inside of a 1/2 hour my temp comes down, not right to normal but way better than it was before. Of course when this happens my brain is working a little better. I start to notice things. For example: the resident assigned to me, very handsome young man, comes back in and decides to see if I can stand up straight now. He's looking at me, I'm looking at him, and I said 'don't I know you?'

He says "I thought you looked familiar ! Don't you work at ------?"

me: "yes"

handsome doctor guy: "Wow. I come through your line all the time! I'm so sorry to see you having this trouble."

me: "well, I'll do anything to keep an eye on my customers."    -    And another friendship is sealed. He's young enough to be my son so its a mother kind of figure I represent. He reminds me that I used to praise him on his shopping and the fact that there was mostly good stuff on his list; as opposed to junk food.

*

It is decided that I will be admitted because as soon as 4 hours goes by the fever comes back with a vengeance. It still doesn't hit 104 but they don't like that it went right back to 103.8. By now I'm on intravenous fluids and they have drawn a circle around the suspected area of my leg to see if the redness moves more. Apparently its a 'little' larger than they'd like it to be. Yes that was sarcasm, because the redness affected the whole back of my left calf!

As an aside: I take a lot of medications because of heart issues, etc. I always carry a list with me of what I take and when I take it. It is so much easier than trying to explain it to the doctors/pharmacist/nurse, etc. I give them the list. The doctor is impressed that I have it with me and after asking if he can keep it, puts it in my file. I even brought all my meds with me as that is what I thought you do. Apparently they just want to see what you take and then they use their own drugs.

Soooooo, some time during those first several hours, the pharmacist comes in and asks about the list. I explained how I take my meds and when. I showed her how the list is made up and explain what my notes mean.
'Can I keep this?'
(Its already part of my file so): "Sure."


I am sent for an x-ray and at about 5AM a bed is available and I am off on a trip to my room. Once there I am barely settled and they send me for another couple of tests. In the meantime, the fever has returned right on the 4 hour mark and more Tylenol is given. They have also got some results from blood tests and I am started on an IV antibiotic. My leg is still very, very sore. Painful in fact. Like 'I don't even want a sheet to touch my leg' painful.

Then the highlight of that day ! ! ! They bring something on a tray, which I decide must be food of some sort. I'll tell you the liquid was something that smelled sort of like coffee, which I don't drink anyway. That's okay, not really that hungry. They did supply big glasses of water which, I'm sorry, tasted like city water. BLECCHHH.

*

(This is probably more than anyone wants to know about my adventure, but after all it is my blog! ! !) 

*

End of today's story

* * * * *

Well, where the heck have YOU been?

I know, I know.

I haven't written in months. A lot has happened to me since last I wrote, so I'll attempt to get you caught up.

 * * * * *

I guess I'll backtrack. First off, the end of July was very interesting in my life. The hubby's band was paying two gigs out on the East Coast; PEI and New Brunswick. I dropped him off at the airport, waited until they left and went home. At about 11:45 am, I sat down to have some lunch and suddenly got a chill. I thought it odd as it was bleeding hot outside.

I'd had my ankles crossed, so I moved my legs, and upon doing so noticed my ankle was extremely painful. I put on a sweater coat and wrapped a blanket around me and still the teeth were chattering.

I decided to go upstairs for a while. Upon reaching the second level I went to the bedroom where I sort of laid down/fell onto the bed. I tried to push myself up by the arms and just didn't have the strength. Later, I got up and went up to the loft, still not suspecting anything was too wrong. I noticed I was very dizzy and unsteady on my feet. I sat down to watch tv and noticed that it was about 4 or 5 hours later than it should have been??????

Couldn't really register that as a problem other than it did stick in my mind. The phone rang and thinking it was my husband I got up to answer it. As I picked up the receiver I felt like someone had pulled the chair out from under me and over I go. Hit my head and several other places but still had the phone in my hand. I say hello. Now bear in mind that the person on the other end had to have heard the commotion as I went down. She says, "Hi, how are you?"

I say not too good. I just fell.

"Oh. Well, would you like to buy .........." at which point I sighed and said 'no'.

I managed to get up and thought that for this I better go to the hospital. Off to the music room where the computer and a phone are. Get on the computer and write to my girlfriend to ask her if she could drive me to the hospital. It is now about eight at night and don't expect to hear from her right away as like me, she is an early riser which means an early to bed person as well. (As it later turned out she had been so tired that night she'd gone to bed early. She was very upset the next morning about missing the message.)

As I am sitting at the computer feeling more and more befuddled, the phone rings again. Its my husband and when I tell him that I am going to take a cab to the hospital because of what's going on, he says he'll come home. I asked him to stay there and finish the trip and explained that I was pretty sure I'd be in the hospital where he couldn't do anything anyway.

I called a cab and waited on the front porch for him. He was here in a few minutes and I was so glad to see him. He was kind enough to stop part way along to allow me to throw up. (THAT'S a nice cab driver.)

I get to the hospital and take a number to wait. They get to me within five minutes and she takes my temp and asks come questions. I go back out to wait for some one to come get me, figuring it will be a while as there were three stretcher cases there. Well, I no sooner sat down than they called my name. I staggered over to the orderly and followed him to a room. I remember I had to hold the wall to feel secure in walking.

He gets me in the room and then everything happened pretty fast. They actually helped me get my clothes off. I wrap myself in blankets as I am freezing again. They took my temp again and within moments this lady doctor comes in, says "there's part of the problem!" and proceeds to uncover me. "When you're that hot you only make it worse by covering up. You keep the heat in which we don't want."

Maybe you don't, but I want to keep the cold out ! ! ! ! !  I'm freakin' freezing here!

And THAT was when I found out I had a temp of 103.8F ! ! ! ! ! !
Your brain doesn't function very well over 102 and at 104 you are only one degree away from heat stroke level ! ! ! ! ! 

That's a long enough story for 3AM.

More later.

PS. Merry Belated Christmas :-)

"I thought you'd be home by 6:45 ? ? ? "

Usually, I hear about the times we have problems with customers AFTER THE FACT. For some strange reason I have wanted to be there when one of these things go down.

Well, I GOT my wish ! ! ! ! !

Sunday afternoon, yet another new teen age employee, didn't show up for work so they called me in. I was just sitting down to watch a movie but when this chance came up, well . . . .

When you are called in they have to guarantee you a minimum of 4 hours. The shift I was covering was 2:30 - 6:30 and I was going to make it to the store for about 3:30. As it was a call in and unexpected at that, I said I would just cover to the end of the original shift. Only three hours, but I'm okay with that. It is much easier on the knees.

The day was fairly uneventful, and the pace was a little better than I have during the week as I was once again working with people who know how to work. Makes the job better. Plus when I get the 'over rush hour' slot it is very intense for about an hour an a half and there are seldom enough cashiers.

* * * * *

Okay, to the good (?) stuff:

I have about 20 minutes left of my shift and a customer I know from a previous job is checking out at my register. He says to me 'you night want to call for help." I didn't know what he meant at first, except maybe that we needed more cashiers. Turns out he shows me this guy, that I never even noticed before, and he is kind of loud and talking to someone at the end of my line. My impression was that he was a little, okay a lot, inebriated. He then heads off over by bakery and the 'security' code comes over the speaker. I start to 'see' these people now, (too busy concentrating on my customer I guess) and there is our head cashier and a couple of the stock boys (men) asking this guy to leave. He wanted them to give him something for free 'for his girlfriend'. "Come on, just help me out here."

Finally he takes the hint and goes. He stays by the front door for a while before they can get him out but he left peaceably enough.

When the young man at the end of my line gets to me I asked him if the guy was hassling him, because my thought was to apologize for the incident. He says: 'no. . . . . . . . .he's my friend.'

Okay, so I process the order, all is fine, he leaves and I move to the next customer. I also notice that the employees and security people are watching out the front door to see that he leaves and doesn't 'do' anything 'wrong' on the lot.

A couple minutes later the noise outside changed a bit and we have the 'friend' outside our other door getting louder by the minute. He's trying to re-enter the store! By now, I have to punch out as I'm done, but they also need support on the front door. I saw two of our new employees, who just happened to be males of a decent size. Both over six feet tall and imposing looking. I asked them to go stand behind the head cashier to give her more weight in the situation. To make it a little more imposing. I go and punch out and then for some reason went back over to give moral support or to be of assistance or just to be nosy. I don't know, I just thought I could help.

Well, the guy is inside the doors and just keeps asking, loudly, "What did I do?"

It was explained to him several times that he needed to leave the store. They did not want him in there, he had paid for his items and he was upsetting the other customers. He at one point wanted to know why there were 'hassling' his friend and was again told that the 'friend' wasn't even here anymore. He kept up with the "What DID I do?" and then started to move towards the one employee. NOT the one you really want to mess with. Employee puts his hand on the guys shoulder to try to move him towards the door and the kid swings at him. Missed of course, but now he's got his back up. I suggested to head cashier that she get our guy to back off a little, which he did, just to give this guy his space.

He was told numerous times that the police had been called and that now was the time to leave before they got here. Finally, the policeman comes in the store, takes him by the arm and walks him to the edge of the property. He promptly sits down with his feet in the parking lot as his way of protesting, I guess.

Then the policeman walks back to his car. We wondered if that was it, but no. Another police car shows up and they meet between their cars and start getting gloves and hats on. Over to the kid they go (I say kid because my impression of him had been that he was a young college student). They each take an arm and head across the road with him but he immediately turned it into a dragging situation. They try to get him to stand, but he goes limp and falls down. They leave him there and start to walk back to the store when he gets up, grabs his shoes etc and goes back over and sits down in the same spot.  This was where we thought something was going to happen.

Well it sure did. The police come over and say something to him, he gets belligerent with them and they pick him up and start to walk him towards their cars.

HE ACTUALLY TURNED AND SPAT ON THE COP ! ! ! ! ! !

Well, down to the ground he goes, two cops on top, he's fighting them, they have to subdue him, he's cursing, and grabbing, and they have to get a little physical. They get the cuffs on him, pick him up and at first we thought they had a glove over his face. Turned out it was his turtle neck sweater that they pulled up to prevent further spitting. They get him to the car, he's somehow getting this sweater off his face, they keep putting it back, he's bent over the rear of the car and still bitching. The cops are pretty calm and another car with two more cops show up. The kid is taken to the back of the other car, searched and then they try to put him in the back seat of the police car.

I never saw anyone goes so straight and rigid before ! ! ! ! There are three policemen trying to get him in the car and they can't do it. I mean he might as well have been a concrete post. Took them probably 30 seconds to get him bent enough to get in the car.

We thought he'd be the kind to bang his head on the glass etc., but he settled right down as soon as he was in the car. not another peep out of him. Hopefully that was when it hit him what he had just done. It went from a mere trespass sort of thing to a full on  ASSAULT OF A POLICE OFFICER.

Only a couple of us actually saw the spitting incident so we were asked to give eye witness statements. I shouldn't have punched out. I could have been paid for all that time.

* * * * * 

And, that's why I'm home late, dear.