Attention Customers,
Todays playlist on GFS Radio: the same 25 songs it has been playing all year long. If you are lucky enough like me, you get to listen to these same songs time after time until all of the lyrics are punched into your brain without your permission. But wait, there is a plus side to this. Starting the day after Thanksgiving, we all have the pleasure of enjoying the fine Christmas tunes of both the nineties and now. For eight...weeks...straight... I can't complain too much because I do like the kind of music played. It's anywhere from Jack Johnson, to some John Mayer and a little Colbie Caillat. Not terrible right? Let's just say anytime these songs come up on my ipod, my fingers go straight to the next button. Unfortunately for me and my fellow employees, this is not an option when we are stocking the fine aisles of the store.
One song in particular strikes me in the worst way. I have no explaination as to why I hate this song when it comes on, but je ne l'aime pas! [which is French for I don't like it hah] this beautiful song titled "I Never Told You" haunts me within the walls of my beloved place of employment. Let me give you a little taste of it if you've never heard it.
This is actually a good song, just one of those ruined by the repetition of it all. Perhaps it pains me to listen to it because it reminds me of my life. See, I am a military girlfriend. We met back at the pool, he was the life guard and I worked concessions. I guess you can say we have this fairytale thing going on. Upon leaving for the Coastguard, this song must have came on every.single.day. It just made me miss my boyfriend with the lyrics and all. Damn you Colbie. Ever since then, me and this song don't get along very well.
Let me share with you one more song that doesn't catch my fancy. Now I'm not dissing on Duffy, I actually like some of her stuff. But for the longest time, this next song just sounding like a bunch of screeching and unnecessary noise. This is one of those songs that never seem to leave your mind once you hear it if you catch my drift. It goes a little like this:
Don't get me wrong, Duffy is the kinda girl who could kick somebody's ass and I totally envy that of her, but like I said, me and this song just don't get along. So customers, next time you complain about the music we play, just know that we have no power over it what-so-ever. And trust me, our ears are bleeding just as much as yours are. Well, Well, Well, I Never Told You that we hate it just as much as you do. If there was a next button, there wouldn't be any music left to play. Stay young, stay beautiful, and happy.
Love,
Nikki
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Monday, May 2, 2011
"Man down..."
Attention customers,
So lucky me, I have the night off. So what do I do? School for seven hours, nap for two, then head to the boys volleyball game at my high school. Super fun night right? Not so much. Since I have no super cool events to tell you about, I will share with you a story from none other than my cherished place of employment. So here it goes.
Let me ask you this. What is the one item on the shelves of any grocery store that is the most fragile?
Thats right, eggs. Unlike most small grocery stores that sell eggs by the dozen, we have the pleasure of selling them by the two and a half dozen. That's right, more than double the amount to clean up if dropped. And you guessed it, that is exactly what I did.
If that was possible, I so would have done it. Life isn't fair, so now I had to deal with the mess all over the floor. It doesn't help that I was having bad day that day. F me right? It always seems like nothing ever goes my well. So customers, we have these rules for a reason. It would be super cool if you just leave your tow and a half dozen eggs in the cart, so i don't have to clean them up again. :) kaythanks.
As for my readers, you can't things like this ruin your entire day. Find a way to see the light in every situation and laugh about it. Laughing relieves so much more than just carbon dioxide. It'll put yourself, and the people around you in a better mood. Life will have dozens upon dozens of eggs cracked on the floor. They fall for reasons we can not control, like the customer putting them on the counter in the first place. All we can do is take a breath, crack a joke, clean them up, and move on with the other transactions in our lives.
Love,
Nikki
Sunday, May 1, 2011
"How Rude.."
I don't know about you, but I was always a kid who imagined. At times, me and my older sister would put our toys on display and create our own store. I always did want a job for reasons I still don't understand. It was about four years ago when I said hello to the working world. This world was, of course, much more carefree compared to the one I deal with now. I didn't have many complaints serving the screaming children of the YMCA pool their ice cream and goodies. In fact, I miss having a job with no rules, free use of a swimming pool, no dress code, and plenty of attractive lifeguards to look at from a distance (one of which I am currently dating). But let's get real, a college education can't be financed with a summer job at the local pool.
After realizing this, I was thrown into the real workforce by none other than my best friend. Okay, I'll stop boring you with the history of it all now. Needless to say, I am now a cashier/stocker/bitch of Gordon Food Service marketplace. By bitch I don't mean the stuck up employee who doesn't give a damn. This definition is more along the lines of "you do what I want, when I want, and how I want. Yes, everyones favorite definition. But of course, I suck it up and do the work. I said hello to my tan work pants that go great with my three color choices of polos to match. If the polos don't make me look hot, my bright red apron definitely does the trick. That's right, an apron. This apron separates us from the rest of the world who think that they are superior to us. After all, "customer is king". See, me and the customers get along great on the surface. Perhaps because I force myself to bite my tongue when I really want to say: "You couldn't take three more steps to put something back on the shelf that you didn't want?!? Instead you place it on the counter next to mine waiting to be put back in place by me."
Which brings me to the topic of the night. Rudeness. I believe some people are immune to it, some don't realize they do it, and other just don't give a damn. Now I don't know if I was raised wrong or something, because more times than none I come across people who are just plain old rude. Here's a tip for you; treat others the way you want to be treated. Cliche I know, but this expression we have been told for years is anything but false. It amazes me the audacity of some people these days and how dead chivalry really is. Wahh. If something isn't up to their standards, it's our fault. If we don't carry something in the store, we get blamed. We just smile and say, "I'm sorry we don't carry that in the store but I would be happy to make a suggestion to make that a product here". All of which is a complete lie. I'm not sorry we don't have it, I will not be making any suggestion, and settle for what we have and move on with your life.
You might be wondering what inspired my anger this evening, and you're lucky because I am going to tell you exactly why. Our store supports many businesses around the area. From the local Applebee's, to the self owned, self managed, family restaurant. We learn to build relationships with these customers and have some appreciation for them as they do for us. I was checking out one of these customers and like always, we create small talk. She always comments on my Pandora bracelet and how she makes her own beads, so of course I appreciate that. haha. Anyway, she was done with her purchase and fumbling through her purse to get organized to leave. It was only two seconds after the receipt printed that the customer behind her proceeded to shove her armful of turkey in front of the lady who was organizing her purse. We'll call her Impatient Turkey. Impatient Turkey gave me a look like, "Can you believe this lady, why won't she move out of my way." Surprised by her action, the lady in front of her turned to her, then turned to me with a disgusted look on her face. Impatient Turkey responded, in a very rude tone, "Oh no no, you just take your gooood oldd time." As a result of this, I did not scan this lady's turkey until my counter was clear. She proceeded to ramble complaints through the entire purchase, rolled her eyes when I asked if she wanted to make a donation for the March of Dimes, and didn't even thank me after the purchase. She left, with her ignorance, out the door without one word or a thanks. Lesson number 2: Cashiers get treatment like this all the time and all we ask is a little respect.
So that's the story. I'll leave you with this...
Attention Customers,
We do the best we can being cashiers and stockers of your local grocery store. We clean your messes when you leave them unattended and we put things back that you were too lazy to put back yourself. We ask you this, put stuff back. Have respect. Be polite. We do get paid to stand there and complete every transaction, but it's our choice to be nice to you. You are the people that make or break our days. So smile, make conversation, or hell, just fake it. It's enough that we have to listen to the same 25 songs on "GFS radio", so do us a favor and have a little r.e.s.p.e.c.t.
love,
Nikki
After realizing this, I was thrown into the real workforce by none other than my best friend. Okay, I'll stop boring you with the history of it all now. Needless to say, I am now a cashier/stocker/bitch of Gordon Food Service marketplace. By bitch I don't mean the stuck up employee who doesn't give a damn. This definition is more along the lines of "you do what I want, when I want, and how I want. Yes, everyones favorite definition. But of course, I suck it up and do the work. I said hello to my tan work pants that go great with my three color choices of polos to match. If the polos don't make me look hot, my bright red apron definitely does the trick. That's right, an apron. This apron separates us from the rest of the world who think that they are superior to us. After all, "customer is king". See, me and the customers get along great on the surface. Perhaps because I force myself to bite my tongue when I really want to say: "You couldn't take three more steps to put something back on the shelf that you didn't want?!? Instead you place it on the counter next to mine waiting to be put back in place by me."
Which brings me to the topic of the night. Rudeness. I believe some people are immune to it, some don't realize they do it, and other just don't give a damn. Now I don't know if I was raised wrong or something, because more times than none I come across people who are just plain old rude. Here's a tip for you; treat others the way you want to be treated. Cliche I know, but this expression we have been told for years is anything but false. It amazes me the audacity of some people these days and how dead chivalry really is. Wahh. If something isn't up to their standards, it's our fault. If we don't carry something in the store, we get blamed. We just smile and say, "I'm sorry we don't carry that in the store but I would be happy to make a suggestion to make that a product here". All of which is a complete lie. I'm not sorry we don't have it, I will not be making any suggestion, and settle for what we have and move on with your life.
You might be wondering what inspired my anger this evening, and you're lucky because I am going to tell you exactly why. Our store supports many businesses around the area. From the local Applebee's, to the self owned, self managed, family restaurant. We learn to build relationships with these customers and have some appreciation for them as they do for us. I was checking out one of these customers and like always, we create small talk. She always comments on my Pandora bracelet and how she makes her own beads, so of course I appreciate that. haha. Anyway, she was done with her purchase and fumbling through her purse to get organized to leave. It was only two seconds after the receipt printed that the customer behind her proceeded to shove her armful of turkey in front of the lady who was organizing her purse. We'll call her Impatient Turkey. Impatient Turkey gave me a look like, "Can you believe this lady, why won't she move out of my way." Surprised by her action, the lady in front of her turned to her, then turned to me with a disgusted look on her face. Impatient Turkey responded, in a very rude tone, "Oh no no, you just take your gooood oldd time." As a result of this, I did not scan this lady's turkey until my counter was clear. She proceeded to ramble complaints through the entire purchase, rolled her eyes when I asked if she wanted to make a donation for the March of Dimes, and didn't even thank me after the purchase. She left, with her ignorance, out the door without one word or a thanks. Lesson number 2: Cashiers get treatment like this all the time and all we ask is a little respect.
So that's the story. I'll leave you with this...
Attention Customers,
We do the best we can being cashiers and stockers of your local grocery store. We clean your messes when you leave them unattended and we put things back that you were too lazy to put back yourself. We ask you this, put stuff back. Have respect. Be polite. We do get paid to stand there and complete every transaction, but it's our choice to be nice to you. You are the people that make or break our days. So smile, make conversation, or hell, just fake it. It's enough that we have to listen to the same 25 songs on "GFS radio", so do us a favor and have a little r.e.s.p.e.c.t.
love,
Nikki
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