Thursday, June 30, 2011

Hitchin' a Ride (Part II)

It was a nice day in the summer and I had made plans to hang out with my sister.  She lives in the city and we planned for me to meet her at the train station in the city and from there were gonna head to A.C to sit on the beach for a bit, soak up some sun and cruise along the boardwalk.  Whenever I go into the city I take the train for a few reasons.

1) I don't want to fight traffic and pay for parking.  (and I figure by the time I pay for gas and parking a train ticket is cheaper)
2) It's green!  I feel like I'm being more environmentally friendly when I use public transportation
3) As you read yesterday my car is not in the best shape right now.

By the time we got back from A.C I caught the 10:30 (something) train in the city and was headed back home.  The train ride lasts about an hour.  It had been a fun but long day so as the train rolled along I found I could barely keep my eyes open--they felt superglued shut.

After a while the train came to a stop and I managed to open my eyes just enough to squint out the window and I saw that I am almost at my stop.  The station where I parked my car is close to my house and close to the grocery store, too.  As I tried to wake my self up I glanced across the isle and saw someone looking at me.  I realized it was Miguel, one of the guys from the night crew at the grocery store.  He is from Mexico and barely speaks English.  He smiled, pointed at me and "Philadelphia."  I nodded.  I glanced at my watch--by now it was close to 11:30--I'm pretty sure he should have been an work about an hour and half ago (but I'm not really sure).  The train was quickly coming up to my stop and my mind started racing.  I know that his train stop is a few stops after mine and there is a side of me that knows the decent, "right" thing to do is to offer this guy a ride to the grocery store so that he won't have to walk from the train station to work.  It's what I have been taught by my dad and grandparents to do--help people out when they need help.  They have shown me, by example, the importance of doing whatever you can to help people.  So it should have been a no-brainer--but it wasn't.

All I kept thinking about was having to get in through the passenger's side door and climb over to the driver's side.  My logic told him he probably wouldn't have cared--he would have just been grateful for the ride, but it was really, really embarrassing.  I pictured him laughing as I climbed into the drivers seat.  (This is really shallow of me--because it is really funny and if he was laughing I should have been laughing my ass off right along with him!)  I'm really fortunate to have a car and the bottom line is it's a pretty funny situation to have a car that you have to climb in and out of (it could have been worse, I guess--it could have been 'Dukes of Hazzard' style).  My other (very flimsy) excuse is that I was just so tired--I felt like I could barely stay awake long enough to drive myself home let alone drive Miguel to the grocery store.

Like I said, it should have a been a no-brainer, but it wasn't.  The train came to my stop.  I gave Miguel a small smile, waved and got off the train.  I have felt really bad about it ever since.  In my defense he is a slightly creepy and definitely annoying guy but I should have helped him out.  It was a situation that had a simple solution but I made it awkward by not doing the right thing.  Miguel sometimes still points at me, smiles and says, 'Philadelphia'.   Which I'm pretty sure translates to something like, "You are the bitch that wouldn't give me a ride to work when we were both on the same train."

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Hitchin' a Ride (Part I)


I love driving.  The freedom of the open road.  Cruising along the highway at 80 miles per hour with a good song playing on the radio.  The wind in my hair.  Actually, scratch the wind in my hair because the driver's side window of the car is broken--it goes down but it won't go back up again.

Ahhh--but the freedom of the open road comes with a hefty price tag.  Gas money.  Car insurance.  Vehicle Registration.  And once a year the state inspection and emissions test.  So when it was time for my annual car inspection I decided the cheapest option was Pep Boys.  But apparently my car was so old (it's a 1995) that they didn't have the equipment in their shop to do the emissions test there.  The guy at the shop told me they could do the state inspection but I would have to get the emissions test done somewhere else.  So I found a small local auto mechanic that had the right machine to do the emissions test on my "ancient" car.  I dropped the car off off, came back about 1/2 an hour later, paid for the emissions test, picked up the car and drove away.

As I was driving down the street I noticed the drivers side window was down (see note above about broken driver's side window).  When I got home I tried to put the window back up but it was off the track and I could only get it 3/4 of the way back up.

Well the window had been broken before and my dad had fixed it so I asked him if he would mind taking a look at it again.  He said sure.  Well, to make a long story short (I know--too late) my dad got the window to go back up but in order to fix it he had to take the car door off the track--I'm not really sure why but that's what happened.  When he was done working on it the door didn't line up with the track so it wouldn't close properly.  So now every time I get into the car I have to get in front passenger side and climb over to the driver's seat.  If anyone ever sees me climbing across the front of the car they must wonder what the hell I'm doing.

Now what does this have to do with work?  Stay tuned.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

It's a mystery to me



We have started having mystery shopping come into the store.  I'm sure 99% of you are familiar with the concept of the mystery shopper--they basically walk through the entire store with a sort of checklist they are given.  They give the store a total number of points out of 100 based on how many things on the checklist that were done while they were shopping.


Monday, June 27, 2011

Why is my boss a douchebag?



Does anyone else every ask themselves, 'Why is my boss such a tremendous douchebag?'  It's not just me is it?  I have talked a little about the customer service manager Scott--he's a cool, chill, funny guy and we generally get along pretty well.

Then, on the other end of the spectrum is the store manager--Arnold.  And he is a jerk--not to mention that I think he looks like Chief Wigum from the Simpsons.  I'm sorry I typed that before I could stop myself--it was like writers touretts.

Anyway,  luckily I don't have to work with him much because he works during the day and I work nights so by the time I get there Arnold is long gone.  So I really haven't had too much interaction with him but the few times I have worked with him on the weekends it hasn't been pleasant.

Like one Sunday I was coming into work and I went to the time clock to punch in for work--you know like every employee is supposed to before they start working (duh).  Hank, another cashier, was right in front of me punching in and I was standing right behind him waiting for him to finish (just to give you an idea this whole process of punching in or punching out when you're leaving takes like 2 seconds).  When Arnold walks up to me and goes (while I am standing right in front of the time clock), "Can you punch in, like right now, because the front end is really busy."  in a kind of tone like he is exasperated that he has to explain such a simple concept to me.

In my head I went on rant.  I was having a whole conversation in my head about what I would say to Arnold if he wasn't me boss.  It went something like this--"Ohhhhh is that what you do you when you are standing in front of the time clock?  You punch in for work?  No effing way!  I mean really asshole--when I'm standing right in front of the time clock at the beginning of my shift--what the hell else would I be doing if I wasn't getting ready to punch in for work?  I was simply waiting those 2 whole seconds until Hank was finished punching in."  Not to mention the fact that I started work at 12:00 and was punching in at 11:55.  I was punching in early anyway you douchebag.  And in my imagination he just stood there staring at my--his mouth opening and closing like a goldfish but no real words coming out.

But I just took a deep breath, and said, "sure." and went downstairs and went to work.  Sigh.  

Thursday, June 23, 2011

It's not a purse


This may be a slightly dated reference but are there any Seinfeld fans out there?

There was a man who came through my line the other day.  It was a normal order and at the end of his order I gave him the total and I watched as he picked up a bag and took his wallet out it.  I don't know what else I can call it but a man purse--it wasn't a shoulder bag, it wasn't a manly satchel bag, it wasn't even a fanny pack--it was a legitimate purse.  I sort of glanced around to see if there was a woman with him to see if maybe he was holding the purse for a wife or girlfriend.  Nope, he was solo.

I thought of the Seinfeld episode where Jerry gets tired or carrying his wallet and all sorts of other stuff in his pockets so Elaine gets him a "man bag" from J-Peterman.  Elaine insists it's not a purse, it's a 'European carry-all'.  Jerry starts carrying this bag around which looks like a purse.  His girlfriend even convinces him to carry around her lipstick in the bag because she doesn't have any pockets.

Don't get me wrong--I don't mind the whole metrosexual thing and I like guys who are comfortable in their masculinity but I really think there's no need for guys to carry a purse.  Do you agree?

Anyway, so as he put his wallet back into his man purse, I thought to myself, I not a purse it's a European carry-all.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

The high cost of higher education


Now I don't want to beat a dead horse but for those of you who have been following my blog for a while you might remember that I have mentioned (or bitterly dwelled on all the money I owe) that I went to law school.  Right now I am (very close to six figures) in student loan debt and working a job that pays $8.55 an hour so if you do the math you will see that my life is obviously right on track!   I will call my law school the Lautener School of Law (in an attempt to protect the innocent) but I will mention that the school has a campus in Delaware and a campus in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania so if you are curious you should be able to use superior detective skills to figure it out what school I'm talking about.  On my way out to work a few weeks ago I noticed the Lautener School of  Law magazine had arrived in the mail and the issue had a cover story called 'The Many Faces of a J.D"--the basic idea of the story was discussing the many different career options that are available to law school graduates and touting the idea that "a law degree is still worth it."--even if you decide not to be a practicing attorney.  First off--in an effort to be fair and objective--let me just say that the article made some interesting and valid points about the value of a legal education...but as I was walking out the door on my way to work, glancing down at my cashier uniform and dreading having to work another midnight shift I also couldn't help thinking that the article was incredibly one-sided and obviously self-serving.  Of course, the Lautener Law School magazine would want to convince (or assure) its readers that having a J.D would create new and exciting job opportunities.  It basically says to alumni, "Hey guys--even if you aren't working as a lawyer or even if you graduated and you haven't been able to find a job because the job market is flooded with lawyers aren't you glad you gave us all that money?"  And it says to potential students considering law school who are reading the article, "Hey guys--law school is totally worth it!  (even if you're not a lawyer when you're done).  The article was one-sided because it talked about the success stories of Lautener graduates who have never practiced law.  I think it's great that the people featured in this article have achieved such success and it's obvious they have worked really hard for everything they earned...but what the article doesn't talk about is that this path can be difficult and it makes no mention of the financial cost of law school (three years of law school can cost $100,000).  There's a whole class of graduates coming out of school (either college or graduate school) with student loan debt and if they can't find a job in their chosen profession that pays enough to support themselves that debt can be absolutely crippling!  What the hell are they/I supposed to do?  Also, as a read the article I had an incredible sense of way too little, way too late.  I graduated years ago and now you want offer me employment advice?  And now you are concerned about graduates getting job?  Because let me tell you--your Career Development office sure as hell didn't care while I was a student there!  As I was entering my second year of law school I actually went to the career services office.  I scheduled an appointment to meet with Karen, the Director of Career Development because I had been working to draft my first legal resume and was hoping to get feedback about the format and possibly some general advice about ways to improve the content.  When I asked her about my resume she glanced at it for literally a total of 2 seconds handed it right back to me and said, "Oh, it's fine."  That was it!  Wow!  Holy shit!  What a brilliant professional analysis!  Maybe she looked at the resume and thought it was hopeless or that I didn't have nearly enough experience.  And that's fine--just say something so that I can do something about it.  Well I wanted the meeting to be as productive as possible so at that point I thought it might be best to change topics.  I took a deep breath and mentioned that I also wanted to discuss the what types of resources might be best to use when you were looking for a job in the legal field.  I asked her where I might be able to start looking for legal jobs that I might be qualified for.  She said, (and I quote) "Oh well, I don't know.  I mean most law firms don't advertise in the paper."  What?  Seriously?  You get paid for this type of career guidance and advice?  At this point I was trying hard to maintain my composure and hold on to what was left of my patience because I was about to lose it.  I didn't expect this woman to find me a job but at least point me in the right direction...I mean that is what she was there for, isn't it?  So now when Lautener writes articles about its concern for finding students jobs after graduation it all seems very disingenuous to me. 

Of course I don't necessarily mean to single out law school or the legal profession--I just chose to talk about that because that's what I have personal experience with but it's a problem in higher education in general.  Higher education has become big business--a highly lucrative industry and it's done at the expense of the students who have all been told if you want to go be successful going to college is the thing to do.  Also I don't want to sound like a bitter and disgruntled Lautener Alum--whining, "Oh I can't find a job and it's all the schools fault."  There's still a part of me that believes my law school education was a valuable experience.  I just think the system of going into tremendous debt to pay for higher education for kids just starting out seems to be unethical.  Families and students all across the country are facing the consequences of student loan debt and if newly graduated students are unable to find a job after graduating that can seem insurmountable--right from the start these graduates are placed in a hole they can't dig out of.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

A Twist of Fate


Last week I hurt my ankle--(I couldn't tell if I was seriously injured or if I was just being a drama queen--because I have absolutely no tolerance for pain).  I'm not sure if I twisted it or sprained it but no matter what you call it, it definitely hurt.  When I was sitting in bed with my foot elevated and a pack of frozen peas plastered on my ankle I felt fine but actually walking on it or having to go up and down stairs felt like I might as well have been trying to scale Mt. Everest.  I was scheduled to work on Monday night but when I woke up on Monday morning I could barely hobble the few steps from my bed to the bathroom--I thought there was noooo way I would be able to work (I mean I could barely even stand).  Trying to do the responsible thing I texted some of the people I work with to see if they would be able to switch shifts with me for some time later in the week...but no luck.  I decided I needed the money and didn't want to leave them high and dry at work trying to find someone to work until midnight on such short notice.  So I just sucked it up and went to work with my sprained/twisted ankle.  The first hour or so wasn't so bad but as the night went on my foot and ankle were both throbbing and for some reason my foot had swollen up like a grapefruit.  I considered asking if I could go home early but I glanced at the clock and it was already 10:30.  Since I had made it to 10:30 I figured I could make it until 11:00 and once I made it until 11:00 I could make it to 12:00.  So that was how I did it--one small step (or one small limp) at a time.  Finally, finally, finally it was 11:59 and there were no customers left in the store and I was outta there!  My bed (and late night t.v.--like reruns of Fraiser and the Golden Girls) were calling my name.  When I got home I put on my pajamas, put a bag of frozen peas back on my ankle and crawled into bed. 

A few days later my ankle was feeling better but it got me thinking that I was pretty lucky in was just a minor thing.  My budget is really, really tight and I plan out when I'm going to pay bills based on my pay check each week.  If something serious ever happened were I wasn't able to work for even just a few days that would be like the iceberg hitting the Titanic (or in this case my bank account) and creating financial disaster--let alone if there any medical bills or any other expenses!  There are so many people with serious or chronic health problems who frequently have to miss work--imagine the stress and anxiety and fear of being sick and then on top of that having to worry about the financial difficulties associated with missing work.  I, as a person am fortunate and we, as citizens, are fortunate to live in a country where we have access to excellent medical care and facilities, but many people are just a few paychecks away from being in serious financial trouble if they have to miss work because of illness or family emergency.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Pretty fishy

Recently our manager, Scott, decided to go on a diet.  Scott is very determined and has demonstrated very strong willpower.  He cut out soda, sugar, candy and he started going to the gym--you know all of the things that you're supposed to do when you want to life a healthy lifestyle.  I really admire this because(especially working at a grocery store) the candy aisle and ice cream and doughnuts and chips can all be pretty tempting--I should also note (being totally honest) that I am scarfing down a bowl of ice cream as I write this so I really do wish I could be as committed as Scott is to being healthier. 

So you may be asking why I care about his diet and you may be wondering how his eating habits effect me personally.  Well, here's the thing--there's a George Foreman grill upstairs in the breakroom and Scott has started grilling everything he eats (you know because grilling is the healthier way to eat).  Please don't get me wrong I think it's great that he's doing this but he has started grilling fish on the Foreman grill--treating the upstairs breakroom like it's his own personal kitchen.  And you know that fishy smell that lingers in a room for days and days.  That nauseating and disgusting old fish smell?

So that is how Scott's eating habits are effecting me personally and why every time he grills fish in the breakroom I have to hold me breath. 

Dear Scott,

While I fully support your healthy and active lifestyle--have a little consideration for the people who are inhaling day old fish odor!

Sincerely,

All the employees who have to use the breakroom after you have cooked your grilled fish on the George Foreman grill.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

10 Questions


On Sunday morning when I am too lazy to get my ass out of bed I like to watch reruns of Inside the Actors Studio.  Sometimes it's sort of fun to image I'm one of the actors being interviewed so here's how I would answer the 10 questions.  How about you?

The Bernard Pivot Questionnaire:

The 10 Questions from Inside the Actors Studio

1) What is your favorite word?
  • Ubiquitous.  I just think it's a fun word to say and I don't get to use it often enough in daily conversation.
2) What is your least favorite word?
  • Failure.  "We regret to inform you" is a close second but I know that's a phrase not a word
3) What turns you on?
  • Creativity, intelligence kindness, and a sense of humor.
4) What turns you off?
  • People who are mean for no reason, leopard print and for some reason fuzzy dice hanging on rearview mirrors.
5) What sound or noise to you love?
  • The ocean.
6) What sound or noise do you hate?
  • Fingers nails or squeaky chalk on a chalk board.
7) What is your favorite curse word?
  • I think fuck is always a classic or motherfucker.
8) What profession other than yours would you like to attempt?
  • Writer (hence writng a blog) or photographer.
9)What profession would you not like to do?
  • Working at a sweage treatment plant or garbage (wo)man.
10) If heaven exists what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
  • "Nice to meet you.  Your grandfather, your cats and your guinea pig from when you were a kid are all right over there."

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Where has all the money gone? (Part II)

It seems to me that the grocery store has a vested interest in raising money for these charities.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Where has all the money gone? (Part I)

I have sort of talked about this briefly before but I think it's worth talking about it just one more time (in a little bit more detail). About every three months the grocery store collects donations for local organizations or charities. They raise money by making all of the cashiers ask every single customer to donate a dollar. In fact, technically, a cashier can be "written up" if they don't ask each and every single customer who comes through their line if they would like to donate a dollar. They play it up as being a caring, charitable business--a corporation that really cares and is giving back to the community. The organizations they have raised money for are the local food bank, the local children's hospital, they collect money to "support our troops" (I'm still not really sure where the money goes when it "supports our troops")...Now you may say to yourself, "The grocery store is raising money to help support local food banks or to fight cancer--that sounds like wonderful thing! This grocery store must really care about the community! In theory these charitable contributions being made by a corporation sound like a nice thing and you may ask yourself, "who on earth would object to something like that?" As a cashier who is supposed to/forced to ask for money, I object to that. Here's why...

1) In my spare time I have volunteered at a local food bank. I have done walks for charity.  My grandmother has donated both time and money to charities she supports. My sister volunteers in her spare time. I have friends who do volunteer work. My point is that if someone wants to support a charity or an organization that they feel does good work they can certainly support those organizations on their own (whether they want to volunteer their time or make a financial contribution). Many people choose to support a charitable group or volunteer in their community but they certainly don't need a cashier at the grocery store asking them for money.

2). It's basically entrapment. These customers are a captive audience. They are forced to go through the checkout line. It's not like they can avoid the cashier asking them for money by walking away or going somewhere else. And so often there are parents who come through my line with young kids. They have just bought $100 dollars (or often more) worth of groceries. They have kids to clothe and feed, they have bills to pay and after they have just spent a large amount of money on groceries I'm supposed to ask them for more money? That makes me very uncomfortable...

3)It's the economy stupid! Money is tight for so many people right now. The cost of groceries and other basic necessities goes up exponentially every year. Now I know that a dollar isn't a lot of money--most people have an extra dollar or two to spare. But I know the feeling of living paycheck to paycheck and trying to balance a budget and make ends meet--then you have someone asking you to donate to what seems like a really worthy cause and you feel guilty having to say no. I think it puts the cashier and customer in an awkward situation.

4). And the final reason I have such a problem with this is that there's very little accountability in this process. The cashier collects the money for the grocery store to donate but then what? I have no idea where this money is going. Who gets the money? After we collect the donations how is the money being distributed within the organization? Does the organization get 100% of the money collected? Now I'm certainly not suggesting that funds are misappropriated or that the money collected doesn't go to the named charities but there are some unanswered questions that I have. So I decided to do a bit of investigation...stay tuned for what I found out...

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Leaving a mark

Now I just want to start off by saying that I have no problem with tattoos-I actually like many of them I have seen. I would even seriously consider getting one myself if I wasn't absolutely terrified of needles. It's just that they're so...well, permanent (duh). So my (totally unsolicited) advice is that you better make sure if you get one that you love it now and you will still love it when you're 85 years old and your grandkids are coming to visit you at the retirement community. I mean tattoos that kick ass when you're 23 can look ridiculous when you're older. I got to thinking about this a few weeks ago because summer is in full swing and that means everyone is showing some skin (and some ink). There was a lady who came through my line who seemed to be the epitome of a cute, preppy little pregnant lady. She spoke in a soft voice and her hair was tied back in a neat little bun, wearing glasses, dressed in a nice button up shirt and khaki shorts--my first impression was that she was a school teacher or a librarian. Then I glanced down as I was loading the groceries into her cart and saw that she had a barbed-wire tattoo around her ankle. Not that she couldn't have still been a teacher or librarian because she had a tattoo but it sort of changed the image I had of her. Carrie also recently got a tattoo and it's really, really cute! And she was also really smart about it because she got it on her foot so people can see it in the summer when she wears flip flops but she can always cover it up if she wants to and it's also something that has sentimental value to her--so it means something to her and she won't get sick of later on. I guess the moral of the story is think before you ink and make sure you consider all the relevant factors before you get a tattoo.  And don't judge a book by its cover.

Monday, June 13, 2011

Pay day pays off

Friday is pay day at the grocery store! I got paid bi-weekly at the law firm and I can tell you that often by the end of that second week money was streched pretty tight--so it's nice to get paid weekly. And on Friday after many, many years I paid off my credit card--that's right loyal readers, a $0 balance! And I know I have complained a lot about the pay at the grocery store but I do realize that it was partially those pay checks that have allowed me to stay afloat and finally finish making my credit card payments. I have to admit it's a small victory because I know the cell phone bill and the student loan bills are still on their way but for now I am just enjoying the feeling that I am one (small) step closer to being debt free. Yay! I'm sure tomorrow I will go back to hating it again but on Friday for one brief moment--as I made that last credit card payment--I was reminded that the grocery store has been a consistent paycheck at a time when there are some people who don't have a paycheck at all. So, for now I'll just keep plugging away and say thanks grocery store!

Friday, June 10, 2011

Here's a tip

I go out to eat often (actually in all honesty I go out to eat way, way, way too often--but I am trying to cut back on that)  Since I eat out often I got to thinking about the servers in the food service industry.  I have lots of respect for servers--they are on their feet for long hours, running around all over the place, juggling the demands of lots of different tables all at once and 99% of them are really hard-working and friendly.  That is why when I do out to eat I try to be friendly, considerate and very conscience of leaving a good tip.  Since I don't want to unintentionally stiff someone on a tip these are a few questions I have about tip etiquette--I hope someone out there reading this will be able to provide me with some answers or else just tune in tomorrow for the answers I found online.  Any other tipping questions I missed? 

1. When you get food from a curb-side takeaway service are you supposed to tip the person who brings the food to your car?
    As some of you might already know, a prime example of this is going to Outback Steakhouse.  There are a few other places that have started doing this as well (because heaven forbid someone have to get out of their car and walk the 15 to 20 steps from the parking lot to the restaurant--but I digress)  They have a curb-side takeaway service where you pull your car up to the side of the restaurant and someone brings your bag of food out to the car.  I am more then willing to tip for services that are provided but in this case I'm not sure if I should tip.  And to be honest I'm not sure that I should have to tip especially if there's not another option for picking up take-out.  This is how you have to pick up your food.

2.  What do you tip when you have a coupons for a free meal?
      The other day I went out to lunch because I had a coupons for a free lunch.  So I got my free lunch (yaa hoo!) and ordered an iced tea.  When I got my bill I was only charged for the iced tea.  A tip is supposed to be a percentage of the bill but when you have a coupon or discount for a free meal the server is (obviously) bringing the same amount of food but the bill is much cheaper.  How do you tip? 

3.  What do you tip when the server is the owner of the restaurant?
      I often go to a small Chinese restaurant.  They don't have a wait staff--there are a few cooks in the back and the owners serve the food.  The standard tip for a server is 15%-20%.  It's pretty common knowledge that servers gets paid below minimum wage and the tips they make during a shift are the primary portion of their income.  And of course, the owners work very hard and I always tip them but if you look at the purpose of tipping servers it doesn't seem like the logic of supplementing servers income applies in the same way when an owner is the one bringing your food.  But I tip because regardless of whether they're owners or not they still serve the food, pour the water and clear the dishes.  Maybe you tip them but not the full 20%?  What do you think?

4. What do you tip at a buffet?

What I love about buffets is that there's lots of food and you get to try a little of everything.  It seems to me that the servers who work at buffets work very hard.  They are constantly running around filling water glasses, bringing bread baskets and clearing numerous plates from the table.  Even though they run around like crazy I was always under the impression that servers at a buffet get tipped less then servers at other restaurants.  I figured this was because the customers were serving their own food.  I heard somewhere that servers at buffet get tipped 10%.  Is that right?

I hope these questions don't make be sound cheap or like I'm trying to avoid tipping...just want to make sure I'm doing the right thing.


Thursday, June 9, 2011

If you give a mouse a cookie...

As I've mentioned on previous occasions 95% of the time I work nights as the closing cashier. The other 5% of the time I work weekends and lately I have been working until 10:00 on Friday nights. The closing cashier is supposed to clean all the registers, collect the loose hand baskets, empty the trash cans at the front end and pretty much just make sure that the front end is cleaned up and organized for the morning. Normally there's a bit of a rush around 10:00 or 10:30 but for the most part it's pretty slow for the last 2 hours so there's plenty of time to get all that stuff done (with time to spare to read People and Us Weekly).

There are a few other people who are closing cashiers but the guy who does it most nights of the week is Ben. Ben is a nice guy ( alitttle creppy, but nice) but more then that he is extremely hardworking. He never stands still for a minute--if he's not with customers he's cleaning or stocking shelves or making sure that each register has a stock of plastic bags. There's a part or me that really admires this work ethic and the fact that he takes his job so seriously--there's another part of me that's like calm down, dude! This isn't working at NASA! Most of the time Ben and I don't work together because the nights I work until 12:00 are his nights off but I do work with him when I'm there until 10:00 on Friday night. One night a while ago it was Friday night and I was getting ready to leave pretty soon when Ben asked if I would mind cleaning my register before I left. Well (as I mentioned) Ben is a nice guy and he had really been busting his ass most of the night, cleaning all of the other registers and emptying the trash so I didn't mind helping him out a little by cleaning my register before I left--plus I'm normally there until midnight so I'm used to cleaning the registers anyway. So for the next few weeks every time I worked with him he would ask if I would clean my register before I left and I would say sure. Then recently he started asking if I would clean some of the other registers. He would say something like, "I didn't get register 5 yet would you do that one after you get yours?"

Now, I'm happy to help out a co-worker and I do get paid to work--but there's a small part of me that thinks, 'Hey when you are the closing cashier part of the gig is cleaning the registers. It's what I have to do every time I am the closing cashier. If he was the one leaving at 10:00 I would definitely appreciate it if cleaned his register before he left but I certainly wouldn't expect it.  In fact, Ben used to work in the morning but he specifically asked to be moved to the night shift--he says he prefers the night shift. Well, buddy part of night shift is doing the work that goes along with being there until close. Plus (and he has acknowledged this) there's plenty of time for him to get all of his work done from the time the 10:00 cashier leaves until the store closes at midnight.

And what started out as doing this kid a small favor by cleaning gradually becomes more and more. It's a bit like if you give a mouse a cookie, he'll ask for a glass of milk to wash it down. If you give him the glass of milk to wash down the cookie he'll ask for a straw to drink the milk and it just goes on and on...

I don't mind helping Ben out but he also needs to recognize that some of that stuff is just part of the job when you work at night.  So I'm trying to balance helping him out and doing my job with not getting stuck with all of his responsibilities.  Am I just being petty?  Should I just shut help and help this kid by cleaning some of the registers before I leave?

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Come out, come out where ever you are...

Someone I work with "came out" a few weeks ago--generally there is nothing so unusual about this...I know lots of gay people and people come out to their family, friends and coworkers every day. What was a little unusual about it this time is that the person who came out was one of the store managers who is 38 years old with a wife (or soon-to-be ex-wife) and 2 kids.

My first reaction was, "I knew it!" I remember when I first met him. He said hello, introduced himself and I thought to myself, "This guy is gay." (Not that there's anything wrong with that). Not that he's flaming gay or anything but let's just say that he definitely has certain "mannerisms". Then I was there for a few weeks and got to know him. I noticed his wedding ring and learned that he was married with two young kids--so I just figured I was wrong.

I don't know him very well beyond working with him once or twice a week but his situation got me thinking. On one hand I felt sort of sad for him that he went on that long feeling like he couldn't truly be himself.  One the other hand I'm happy for him. He told someone he has known he was gay since he was 16. For whatever reason he felt like he couldn't let people know about that part of himself. So I feel like he did what he thought was expected of him--he met a girl, got married to her, had a few kids and lived in the suburbs with a minivan. He lived that life for a long time and finally decided it was time to be honest with himself and the other people in his life. Now he says he feels like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders and that he's much happier. He's out there now (pun sort of intended) and dating and going out with friends prowling for cute guys.  So I'm really glad that everything worked out for him.

On the other hand marrying someone and starting a family with someone is one of the biggest commitments you can make. Marrying someone when you know you are gay seems sort of selfish to me--not to mention delusional. I really believe being gay isn't a choice it's a part of you who you are--like your height or your eye color. It's a part of your genetic makeup. So if he knew he was gay when he was 16 did he honestly think getting married would make those feelings just magically go away? And once he did decide to get married his decisions didn't just effect him anymore. Now they effected his wife and his young kids. And then I thought about his wife for a minute. I felt bad for her--of course I did. But come on lady--I shook hands with your husband the first time I met him and I knew he was gay. You were with him for how long and it never crossed your mind that your man might like other men? Really?

I'm glad he found his happiness and I hope this story has a happy ending for everyone involved.  I'm sure there are a lot of hurt feelings and confusion right now but I hope things get easier for him, his wife and his kids.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

The customer is (not) always right

They say the 'customer is always right'...I have a feeling that almost anyone who has worked in customer service would disagree with this statement. And here are some things that customers do that make me seriously question that philosophy! Some of these are my own personal irrational pet peeves but I think some of these things would be enough to drive Mother Teresa or the Dali Lama crazy:

1. Asking for a plastic bag for a whole watermelon. 'Tis the season for watermelons. Can someone please explain to me why on earth you would need a bag for a watermelon? Some customers say it's easier to carry with a bag but the watermelon always rolls all over the place and then when you finally wrangle it into a bag the handles (inevitable) break (because plastic bags weren't really designed to hold watermelons), so you have to put the watermelon in a second plastic bag and most of the time the handles on that bag break--so it takes three plastic bags to hold one watermelon when it would be so much easier to just carry the damn thing!

2. People who talk to me like I'm an idiot. Please don't be condescending. A prime example of this is when people bring in their own insulated grocery bag and they shove the bag at you and say, 'Can you put all of the cold stuff together in this bag?' This (logically) happens a lot in the summer when people buy ice cream or other cold items that they want to keep cold on their way home. Now, wait a minute--do you mean to tell me that if I put the cold things all together in the insulated bag that will keep things cold longer? Is that why there is a picture of ice cubes on the side of the bag? Duh! Look, I'm certainly not a genius but I'm also not a total moron so please don't feel like you to explain the concept of keeping all the cold groceries together.

3. When a customer comes up to my line and says something like, "You looked bored so I thought I would give you something to do." Now, logically I know they are just trying to be friendly and make a little joke--and I always smile or laugh. But I recently started to realize that it bothered me a few Sundays ago. Generally, Sundays at the grocery store are a mob scene--everyone coming in to shop after church or coming in to shop before the work week or the school week starts. I had already worked 4 1/2 hours of a 6 hour shift. It was sort of late in the afternoon and things had slowed down for the first time all day--that lull when people are starting to get ready for dinner and before things pick up again alittle after dinner. It was the first chance all day I had to take a breather and a customer comes up with a smile on his face and says, "You look bored so I thought I'd give you something to do." I smiled and said hello. But what bothered me about the comment was that I had been on my feet all day, with lines of customers all day and I was tired...but here was this person who was standing there implying that I wasn't doing anything.

Monday, June 6, 2011

Two weeks notice

As I have gotten to know Chuck he has become one of my favorite co-workers. He's fun and has this crazy, hyper sort of energy so when you work with him he makes things fun and you'll have a few laughs. He's unpredicatable so you never really know what he's going to do or say next--and while that character trait might make me a little nervous in "real life" I like it when I'm working as a cashier (one of the most boring jobs on the planet). It keeps things interesting. He's been working as a cashier since he was a freshman in high school and now he's getting ready to graduate. Since I am also quite a bit older (I won't do the math about exactly how many years older I am) then Chuck I have sort of gotten to have this big sisterly concern for him. As his tells me stories about wild nights and (excessive) underage drinking I smile or laugh but always tell him to be careful! For the past few months he has been talking about how much he hates working at the grocery store. I sort of got the feeling that this was more then just normal 'I hate my job' type venting. It sort of became a running joke that he was quitting. So every time we worked together he would say, 'Today's my last day'. And I would roll my eyes and laugh and say, 'You're not allowed to quit.' So when I came into work the other day and Chuck said, 'This is it--I'm leaving in two weeks' I laughed and said, 'You say that all time.' He said, 'No, I really mean it.' And this time he was serious. This time he had really given his two weeks notice. He says he'll come back in and visit but even if he does visit, it won't be quite the same. So I'll definitely miss him but I'm also really excited for him. He's a creative, energetic 18 year old kid with so many options and unlimited possibilities. It's really nice to see someone move on to something better. Good luck, Chuck!

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Just for laughs

"One morning I shot an elephant in pajamas. How he got in my pajamas I'll never know."

-Groucho Marx

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Just say no

A while back I wrote about how working nights had (negatively) impacted my eating habits (and honestly, they were not all that great to start with). So, I vowed to be healthier and thought if I wrote about it I would feel more accountable. Well, it's about 6 months later and I thought I would give you an update about my progress. ok--there has actually been very little progress. Why is it so hard to change my bad eating habits? I will say that this time of year I do tend to eat more vegetables and salads because produce is so readily available. But it is still the late night snacking that is a problem. What is it about peanut M & Ms? For some reason when you take an M & M and stick a peanut in the middle I consider it health food. Ok, not really but it seems easier to rationalize eating peanut M & Ms then some of those other candies on the candy rack. So anyway, it's a work in progress. Some days I will have the power to just say no to the potato chips and some days I buy a chocolate chip muffin. I guess the bottom line is I still have a lot of work to do. So here I am renewing my pledge to just say no to midnight snacks! And luckily the store just raised the prices of almost all of the candy on the rack which makes it easier to pass it up.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Three strikes and you're out

When you first start work at the grocery store you have an orientation and you get a handbook with all the company policies and rules. If you do something that violates company policy while you're at work you can get written up. Being written up is sort of a warning or a slap on the wrist to say 'Don't do this again.' The cashier supervisor is the one who monitors the cashiers and baggers and writes people up. So when a cashier or bagger does something wrong it is completely left up to the discretion of the cashier supervisor if they write someone up or not. If you get written up three times the manager can take further disciplinary action--which can be anything from suspension to termination. All in all I think this is a pretty fair policy--unless it is abused by power-hungry people who let just a little, tiny bit of authority go to their head. This is why I dislike Barbara so much. Barbara is a cashier supervisor who has taken the little bit of authority she has at the grocery store and run amuk! She is a petty, ridiculous person. She writes people up for the most minor infractions. I work with this kid who had just washed his work shirt and after it came out of the wash he forgot to put his name tag back on. He came into work without his name tag and Barbara wrote him up. Now, I understand that it is the job of the cashier supervisor to make sure that all the cashiers and baggers are doing their job and complying with company policy but I also think you have to be flexible and recognize when someone has just made an honest mistake. I feel justified in saying this because I was actually a cashier supervisor when I worked at the grocery store in high school so I have a general idea about how it works. As a cashier supervisor I made sure people did their work but I was never nasty or petty about it. And I feel like pointing out to Barbara that she gets a feeling of authority from a job that a high school student is qualified to do. Is running around and making everyone around you miserable worth that small rush you get from feeling like you're in charge? I don't think so. Barbara hasn't written me up...yet. It's probably because I don't work with her very often--in fact I deliberately do everything possible to make sure I don't work with her. I have actually given away shifts because I looked at the work schedule and noticed that I would be working with Barbara. I decided I would rather lose money and keep (what's left of) my sanity!