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OmNom posted:Sound advice, are you still up in the bay area. I'm heading up there this week. Still am.
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Nov 15, 2011 23:52
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I have a casual job in a piercing shop located in a shopping mall. I don't do the actual piercings, but work behind the counter just keeping everything clean, suggesting jewellery and aftercare tips, etc etc. We also sell band merch and body jewellery. Did I mention this shop is in a really low income area, and directly opposite a pharmacy which operates a methodone clinic? As you've probably guessed by now, we get a lot of 'interesting' people come into the shop. My favourite horror stories include: - Teenage girl who has had her navel piercing reject, which is reasonably common in teenagers. Instead of just leaving it the hell alone to heal up and try again when she's older, she's re-pierced it herself. And it's rejected, again. So she's re-pierced it, again. And it's rejected, again. She shows me how the top arch of skin above her navel has completely separated into two separate bits of flappy skin and scar tissue, then asks me whether we'll re-pierce it for her. Not sure how she expects this to work, since there's nothing left to pierce. - Middle aged somewhat dorky looking men who come into the shop wanting to discuss their junk piercings with me. We don't do genital piercings in the shop, nor do we sell suitable jewellery for that kind of piercing. This however does not seem to discourage them from wanting to ask me questions about it. I want to punch them in the face, loving creepy arseholes. - Crazy dude who comes into the shop at least once a week who smells like a mix of urine and stray dog. He attempts to order 3 XL Ozzy Osbourne teeshirts, then yells at me when I tell him that he needs to pay a $20 deposit per shirt because the last 3 Ozzy shirts he ordered are still sitting in the cupboard waiting to be paid for. He then runs away, only to return a few days later and repeat the routine. - Skanky teenage chicks with nose/navel piercings who come into the shop and ask about why their piercing is infected and oozing pus and won't heal. Hmmm, I'm unsure but it might have something to do with the fact you won't stop touching it with your obviously filthy dirty hands while you're talking to me? No, I don't want to look at it any closer, I can see from over here that it's disgusting rotting away there. 
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Nov 17, 2011 02:56
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drat Bananas posted:Just picked up my mail, got a flyer for Kohl's: "WANT ONE GOOD REASON TO COME IN AT MIDNIGHT ON THURSDAY, NOV. 24? WE'LL GIVE YOU 500! HAPPY THANKSAVING DAYS [insert of 2 coupons]" (Kohl's is my 6-year retail alma-mater, but now that I have work elsewhere I don't mind calling them out) We don't have cool electronics or the hot new toys. We don't belong on the Black Friday bandwagon, especially at midnight. I work for one of the stores very similar to Kohl's and we're opening at 3am. When I first started working there (back in '05, a fact that depresses me greatly) we opened at 5 on Black Friday. We do not sell anything of the electronic sort in the store aside from a few (very cheaply made) knick knacks and remote controlled airplanes/cars. Last year we were supposed to open at 4 but the district manager decided to open all of the stores in the area at 3. Freaking hell. And of course the openers had to come in at 2am to prepare, and the doors were opened at 2:30. So we opened an hour and a half before we were supposed to. I forgot what I worked last year but it was something like 8-5 or 9-6, which was okay. A good portion of the store worked 12 hour shifts, though, with only one half hour break. I lucked out ... EDIT: Looked it up. I worked 6am-4pm. Crappy, but not as crappy as 6-6. But this year I work 6am-6pm. With one half hour break. I'm going to take two, because gently caress that. I just won't clock out for one. Celes fucked around with this message at 20:39 on Nov 17, 2011 |
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Nov 17, 2011 20:28
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Last year I was still on the sales floor so I had to work Thanksgiving day and open Black Friday. I was scheduled to work from 8 to 3 I think, but since nobody is rushing to an arts & crafts store for the deals, especially since we have our best deals on Thanksgiving, I was actually sent home because our sales were too low to warrant my being there. This year I work Thanksgiving, but have Black Friday off. I am going to get drunk and not purchase anything.
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Nov 17, 2011 21:09
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Working in the back of the room the other day, I hear one of my employees greet someone. A moment later, he dashes past me to the break area. "I'm not handling her" he says. Weird. That employee is an overly cheerful social butterfly, I've never seen him not want to work with a customer. But whatever. I head past the bathroom, and pause. Great, I think. The sewage system is acting up again. I'd have to call someone before the smell heads through the store. A few steps away from the bathroom, and I realise the smell is growing stronger towards the front. About the time I realise its from the customer, I hear the back door slam. My employee has actually fled the store out into the back alley to get away from her. She was a large, older woman, and disgustingly filthy. On her waxy, wrinkled face, she wore smudged mascara all around her eyes, and fire engine red lipstick. Her thinning, greasy white hair had a huge matching colored Minnie Mouse style bow. Inexplicably, she had a shopping cart. My store is fairly small, there's no room for carts, so she had gotten it so far into the store, and then it was just sort of wedged between fixures. Furthermore, it wasn't a cart from the nearby grocery store. It was a giant, oversized cart from a lumber store. I checked. The closest store is over 50 miles away. As I walk up to greet her she says "He's on his way in." As I'm trying to figure out how a human can smell this bad, the rest of the crowd appears. Her son, a lard tub of a man with a greasy ponytail and beard, his massive stomach dangling out from under his stained shirt. His wife, who was inexplicably missing an eyebrow. And two filthy children under the age of five, who proceed to start dashing around the store and moving around the product. The third child was older, maybe eight, and seemed embarrased and almost apologetic for her family. Rounding out the group was a senile old man almost doubled over a walker. "My son's gun' make art!" the old woman announces. "Git him stuff fer it" "Ma! Leave her alone! I know what I need" announces the neckbeard son, and he starts to lumber his way around the store. Around this time my other employee comes back from the bank, walks in, and takes a step back, aghast. The smell by this point was stifling. I shoot her a look and she busies herself making sure the two kids don't break anything too valuable. Meanwhile, the old woman and her son yell back and forth across the store about whether he should just draw on copier paper from his job, which was "free". As I take this all in, I hear the old woman's nasally voice "Hey ma'am! Miss!" the whines. I walk over "Git me a chair, I can't stand, I'm tired of leanin' on this cart". I don't have chairs, so I fetch a stool, and set it to the side, near our demo pottery station. As my back is turned she moves it so it is halfway behind the counter and parks her cart in front of her, effectively blocking my most direct path to the register. So now, I have to walk around the far way to get to the register. Fine. I have work to do at the register which will keep me tied up there for a while. I don't plan on leaving the counter. I block out the screaming of the kids and the bickering between the old woman and her son and get to work. Halfway through a transaction, I realise that the old woman, her back turned to me, is yelling forward "Miss! Ma'am! Aren't you gonna help me miss!" I walk the long way around the counter, down to her and ask what she wants. She has somehow found a sales flyer. "Do you have this?" Yes "How about this?" Yes, I will have everything in the flyer, shall I get them for you "Nah, just wanna see if you have them". She then shoots me the most stupid look, and I walk off, the long way around the counter. A moment later the wife appears at my elbow. She is obviously trying to be friendly. She smiles, and she is completely missing teeth, but the roots are still dangling down out of inflamed, red gums. She starts telling me how her husband can draw all sorts of characters! Pikachu, anime characters, Simpsons, Sonic. He's going to buy art supplies and make his pictures right instead of just drawing on notebook paper, and he's going to sell them at flea markets. I nod and cringe. Meanwhile, the old woman has started calling for me again. I walk around the long counter to her. First she goes on a diatribe about how she used to "make art" in the 60s, and thing were so much cheaper. Which, honestly seems like a given. I can't think of many things that had their price deflated over the past 50 years. After ranting for a bit, she says that she needs "some paint". "Sure, what kind of paint can I get you" "I dunno, just paint" "Okay, are you looking for tempura, oil, watercolors, acrylics..." "What are you stupid? Just paint. Acrylics, I guess" "Okay, any preference on brand? Or were you looking for a certain price?" "You're a smart rear end you know it? You know what I want, just some goddman paint. I ain't answerin any more goddamn questions." I walk away past my employee, who is standing there wide eyed. As I walk past she goes "what size are you going to get her? What color?" I shrug and come back with a quart, teacher sized bottle of the most god awful shade of orange, walk back to the woman, and offer it to her. She lets loose a string of insults, which makes her son break out into laughter. Turns out she wanted little 1 oz assortment pack of colored acryllic paint, but by the time I got that out of her, she wasn't exactly happy with me. I get them checked out after more bickering and yelling and stenching, and they walk out into the parking lot to make their copyright damaging artwork and turn it into fortune. I watch them as the woman shoves the cart away from her, and it rolls down the parking lot and across the traffic lane before colliding with the side of the grocery store. A week later, it's still there. A minute or two later, the first employee wanders back into the store with a bag from the grocery store. It's two bottles of Lysol air freshener as an apology for running out on us. Turns out he knew the family from his previous job, and just couldn't take it. We went through both bottles, and the stench still lingered.
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Nov 18, 2011 04:25
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bee posted:- Middle aged somewhat dorky looking men who come into the shop wanting to discuss their junk piercings with me. We don't do genital piercings in the shop, nor do we sell suitable jewellery for that kind of piercing. This however does not seem to discourage them from wanting to ask me questions about it. I want to punch them in the face, loving creepy arseholes. You're a woman, I'm guessing? Are the dudes sporting wood as they verbally masturbate in front of you?
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Nov 18, 2011 04:54
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I love days when interesting things happen! Most days I just stock clothes, help people in layaway/jewelry and go home. Yesterday I get called to the shoe department to help a customer, okay, no problem. I make my way there, looking down each aisle for someone who apparently needs help, I'm about to give up and go back to folding clothes when a Hispanic guy appears looking very frightened.  : Hello, did you need help? : Come look... *points at a boot*: What's wrong? : Look *shows me the inside*: Uhhh... (at this point I just nod and agree): No! No! Knife! See!? *shows a blood gushing finger*There was a razor blade in the boot. I panic and run up to the front for them to page a manager to do an accident report. At first I thought it was probably a malicious customer that put a razor blade in the shoe, I wouldn't doubt that for a second. I've found razor blades hidden inside piles of folded jeans before. Nope, that's not the case at all! There wasn't any blood inside or on the boot. The guy, according to my managers, sliced himself while trying to remove the security tag. I guess they thought that cutting yourself was bad enough punishment, and let him go. And he also refused to go to the doctor to see if he needed stitches. I know it's bad, but I wish I had more exciting days like this. Crossing fingers for Black Friday! edit-Also, not my story but an obese man was once sitting on an accent table and it fell over. Then complained to my co-worker and my manager that they should make signs saying "Not a chair". Dead Pikachu fucked around with this message at 05:15 on Nov 18, 2011 |
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Nov 18, 2011 05:09
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Dead Pikachu posted:At first I thought it was probably a malicious customer that put a razor blade in the shoe, I wouldn't doubt that for a second. I've found razor blades hidden inside piles of folded jeans before.  What the gently caress? Where do you work that this isn't a thing that surprises you?
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Nov 18, 2011 05:49
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It's not like that, it's just I've found opened packs of razorblades hidden inside jeans probably twice in the 10 months I've worked there. People steal them so that they can steal other things...like boots apparently. Jeans are a common hiding spot for stolen things and I'm just not surprised someone would "hide" one in a shoe either.
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Nov 18, 2011 13:02
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Dead Pikachu posted:It's not like that, it's just I've found opened packs of razorblades hidden inside jeans probably twice in the 10 months I've worked there. People steal them so that they can steal other things...like boots apparently. Jeans are a common hiding spot for stolen things and I'm just not surprised someone would "hide" one in a shoe either. And here I thought the evil candy men from the 80s that hid razorblades in candy had moved to retail clothing. Oh well. Guacamole, you said you were working at Starbucks - how is it going?
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Nov 18, 2011 17:34
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Got fired from my office job after only 3 weeks*, so I'm back to retail. Good ol' Kohl's ignored my availability again so the ONLY day I work next week is Black Friday, 8:30-5:00. Pretty much the most reasonable shift you can expect, though I'm bummed that I thought I was out of the woods after 6 Black Fridays but no such luck  *My boss had a temper like you wouldn't believe, it should've been a red flag that the only other person that works at his company is his wife. Glad I'm out of there but not glad to be considering retail again. Maybe I'll apply at my bank.
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Nov 18, 2011 17:47
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Linear Ouroboros posted:His wife, who was inexplicably missing an eyebrow. You are a really good writer but this, especially, made me laugh.
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Nov 18, 2011 19:46
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Been on suspension since Monday, have yet to hear a single word from work. I am starting to get the feeling I am hosed.
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Nov 18, 2011 20:50
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Darth Freddy posted:Been on suspension since Monday, have yet to hear a single word from work. I am starting to get the feeling I am hosed. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but you are hosed. They are just checking with HR to make sure you don't have a legal leg to stand on for being fired. If they haven't called you for any reason, you can be assured that you are done.
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Nov 18, 2011 23:00
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Linear Ouroboros posted:repulsive family invading art store Jesus.  VideoTapir posted:You're a woman, I'm guessing? Are the dudes sporting wood as they verbally masturbate in front of you? You guess correctly. I don't know, I don't look, I try not to think about it 
bee fucked around with this message at 23:12 on Nov 18, 2011 |
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Nov 18, 2011 23:10
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Darth Freddy posted:Been on suspension since Monday, have yet to hear a single word from work. I am starting to get the feeling I am hosed. I mostly agree with nocheez but it could still go either way - HR dude could just be crossing the Ts and dotting the Is, but it's also possible he's running around trying to sort out if they even should have suspended you and shouting at a lot of people for loving it up. All depends on what occurred really, which I can understand you being reticent to go into any detail about.
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Nov 18, 2011 23:28
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All I know is what they told me and that's "Suspension due to a lack of respect, we will be doing a investigation and big name HR person from higher up will be running it". I have heard from a few friends that they are talking to a lot of people but none of them are talking because that's their own jobs on the line for talking. Do not know who it is but have a idea of who it could be. I am keeping my hopes up I don't get fired but I already have a few applications filled out and looking for more. Who knows maybe some how this will get me out of retail and into a real job that's slightly less soul crushing.
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Nov 18, 2011 23:54
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Maybe they'll keep you on suspension until precisely next Saturday so you can skip Black Friday? v v
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Nov 19, 2011 01:57
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miscellaneous14 posted:Maybe they'll keep you on suspension until precisely next Saturday so you can skip Black Friday? v I'm almost hoping for this. According to my manager IF I don't get fired I will be paid for the hours I was suppose to work. I would be the smuggest person ever if that was to happen.
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Nov 19, 2011 02:23
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Rick_Hunter posted:Guacamole, you said you were working at Starbucks - how is it going? loving awesome, actually. One problem coworker who's either going to get fired or get better, otherwise everyone I work with is great. Near zero problem customers, too. I've actually managed to have no stories for the thread whatsoever outside of my pills for bipolar disorder not working and me having a sad one night. Free wifi on my mandatory as hell lunch break, even. I'm posting on said break right now.
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Nov 19, 2011 02:55
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Angry Guacamole posted:loving awesome, actually. One problem coworker who's either going to get fired or get better, otherwise everyone I work with is great. Near zero problem customers, too. I've actually managed to have no stories for the thread whatsoever outside of my pills for bipolar disorder not working and me having a sad one night. Free wifi on my mandatory as hell lunch break, even. I'm posting on said break right now. Glad to hear this, I don't get how people are mean to starbucks baristas, they're always so friendly. Also I want to ask, is the passion tea presweetened at all? I get it without syrup and it tastes way too good to not possibly have some kind of sugar in it. I'm suspicious of this magic tea.
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Nov 19, 2011 03:09
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Kerfuffle posted:Glad to hear this, I don't get how people are mean to starbucks baristas, they're always so friendly.
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Nov 19, 2011 03:38
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Man, I love how Thanksgiving week turns a store into a military operation. I'm going from 15-19 hours average to a week of 32 hours. Oh well, can't complain. I do kinda want Skyrim, and the Steam sale's going to start soon. Also, who has the story for "Craziest hours in December"? We're fairly resonable, being open till 10 or 11 most weeks, but midnight the last week or so before Christmas. Still better than last year, when we opened from 7 AM the 23rd to 7 PM christmas eve. v v
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Nov 19, 2011 04:56
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Neito posted:Man, I love how Thanksgiving week turns a store into a military operation. I'm going from 15-19 hours average to a week of 32 hours. Oh well, can't complain. I do kinda want Skyrim, and the Steam sale's going to start soon. Not super crazy, but last year for the weekend I think the mall was open 7am to 11pm over the weekend, and i literally worked all day Thursday through Saturday. I got sick and had to leave early saturday, spent the night puking, but stumbled in for 30 minutes Sunday to finish paperwork in shipping two phone sales. Then I thankfully had Sunday, Monday off, and normal 8 hour Tuesday.
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Nov 19, 2011 07:11
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I got to spend every Saturday and/or Sunday of December last year working 11 hour shifts at a busy, cramped theater. 
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Nov 19, 2011 07:17
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Kerfuffle posted:Glad to hear this, I don't get how people are mean to starbucks baristas, they're always so friendly. In my region, it is not. I have heard things that in the south (Georgia, Mississip, Alabama, etc.) it is sweetened regardless. The standard is to sweeten it, but I always ask the customer because we have a lot of customers that do not want it sweetened (kind of like the Korean students that don't want whip cream. I've seen you in the store 30 times and you say it after I've put the friggin' whip cream on it every time. Tell the person at the register so I don't have to waste MY AND YOUR time.)
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Nov 19, 2011 08:45
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SpartanIV posted:Other than what is in the teabag, there's no other sweetener added to the pitcher What this person said. It's pretty sweet, though, all things considered. Also, look up at my last post and laugh at me. Tonight was living proof that mentioning something will curse it. The manager and I ended up staying until crap o'clock because someone didn't do things they said they were going to do, leaving us to take care of all our closing stuff plus their closing stuff. My hands are currently sliced up, I feel like vomiting, and I'm afraid I'll oversleep if I go to bed.
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Nov 19, 2011 12:41
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Rick_Hunter posted:In my region, it is not. I have heard things that in the south (Georgia, Mississip, Alabama, etc.) it is sweetened regardless. The standard is to sweeten it, but I always ask the customer because we have a lot of customers that do not want it sweetened (kind of like the Korean students that don't want whip cream. I've seen you in the store 30 times and you say it after I've put the friggin' whip cream on it every time. Tell the person at the register so I don't have to waste MY AND YOUR time.) This used to happen all the time in my store (not just Korean people though). This one woman always wanted a no foam latte which was no big deal if I saw it was her and remembered. But in the 7-8 a.m. morning rush? No loving way. Starbucks had this boner that expected us to know every customer's drink before they ordered it. But even so, would it have KILLED her to just say "no foam" when we were busy? And she'd ALWAYS want to talk to a manager while we remade her drink. She's ask for the manager by name And what is with no foam lattes? Why is foam bad?
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Nov 19, 2011 14:38
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mystery at hog island posted:This used to happen all the time in my store (not just Korean people though). I think she thinks she's getting more coffee if she doesn't have foam. A shocking number of people don't understand how a latte is made.
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Nov 19, 2011 15:02
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It's way better than the "no foam cappuccino" people. Sometimes you just want to strangle someone with a headpiece cord.
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Nov 19, 2011 15:25
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cobalt impurity posted:It's way better than the "no foam cappuccino" people. Sometimes you just want to strangle someone with a headpiece cord. "I want a no foam, decaf, no milk, hot iced one-shot cappuccino".
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Nov 19, 2011 16:08
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Neito posted:"I want a no foam, decaf, no milk, hot iced one-shot cappuccino". I want to believe so badly that you're joking. Surely no one's so loving stupid as to order something like this... right? 
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Nov 19, 2011 16:16
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I had requests for no foam frappachinos
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Nov 19, 2011 16:42
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Malachite_Dragon posted:I want to believe so badly that you're joking. Surely no one's so loving stupid as to order something like this... right? I saw it on Not Always Right, or at least the "hot iced" part. So, as many grains of salt/bottles of cheap whiskey you need to believe that it's true....
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Nov 19, 2011 16:45
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mystery at hog island posted:And what is with no foam lattes? Why is foam bad? I don't drink lattes, but I always get my hot chocolate with "no whip, no foam" because all I want is the goddamn hot chocolate. I hate the texture and taste of the foam.
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Nov 19, 2011 18:31
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mystery at hog island posted:And what is with no foam lattes? Why is foam bad? It's kind of like asking for a steak, but you just want it cooked in the oven. No browning whatsoever. And it's also hard (not that hard) on the barista because they have to steam extra milk to waste to make that drink. Unless you'd rather have a screaming pitcher on the steam wand for 30 seconds. I know I don't. I once heard a story about some woman who asked for a soy latte and as the barista started steaming the milk, she ordered her very rudely to not aerate the milk because you're not supposed to. After some back and forth, the barista relented and redid the drink with no aeration. Listening to soy milk steam is like listening to a 5 year old who found out that they can scream really loud. I'm sure she was pleased with her difficult drink 
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Nov 19, 2011 19:34
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I had a guy continually tell me that I wasn't making his mocha latte correctly because it "wasn't sweet". I specifically told him that can't add sugar to it, and I saw him walk away with it without bothering to add any sugar at the condiment station. There's just no helping some people.
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Nov 19, 2011 19:35
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Neito posted:I saw it on Not Always Right, or at least the "hot iced" part. So, as many grains of salt/bottles of cheap whiskey you need to believe that it's true.... Yeah, "Not Always Right" is an amusing read but it has to be 90% made up. I know customers can be rude and stupid, but most of the stories on there sound so fake.
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Nov 19, 2011 21:27
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Eh. I would say most of each story is true, but that there's a definite amount of spirit d'esclair with the endings.
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Nov 19, 2011 23:36
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| # ? Jun 7, 2024 19:12 |
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After 7 Christmas Holiday's working at the same retail place, this one will be my first not working at retail and I kind of miss it. The chaos was kind of fun when you have good co workers on your side.
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Nov 20, 2011 00:04
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