Indeed it is not merely the customers who can prove annoying.
Annoying workmates may be found in varying forms, the first of which is endless questions... "Gemma what do I do if..." "Gemma this isn't working" "Gemma can you help me?"
I like it though. I like feeling needed and I feel like the people in question look up to me. One did indeed call me the "bearer of all knowledge" today; however I did not know the answer to the question I was asked shortly after :P
The second is endless teasing; let me enlighten you...
"Gemma where's your name badge... Oh that's right, you don't have one"
"At least my badge says my name... not 'Gift cards'"
*poke*! grrrr
You know I luv ya really :D
Saturday, 17 November 2007
Thursday, 1 November 2007
Chapter Fifteen: Overcoming those Crappy Weeks
Occasionally one enters the workplace with their only thought being, "When am I going to get home, away from this ruddy place" It is bad news for the employee in question and their customers if several of these days happen in succession.
Maybe you didn't get enough sleep.
Maybe you realise you aren't going to get a lunch break.
Maybe you have other things on your mind.
Maybe you're just overwhelmed by something; the amount of hours you managed to work for such little pay, the amount of things you won't get done that night to name a few.
Frustration can be taken out on the till and this is a much better way than losing one's temper with customers now, isn't it? A short break (toilet break, finding a dvd, phoning someone) may be all you need to cool off. Good. Because you know it'll only get worse before it gets better.
Maybe you didn't get enough sleep.
Maybe you realise you aren't going to get a lunch break.
Maybe you have other things on your mind.
Maybe you're just overwhelmed by something; the amount of hours you managed to work for such little pay, the amount of things you won't get done that night to name a few.
Frustration can be taken out on the till and this is a much better way than losing one's temper with customers now, isn't it? A short break (toilet break, finding a dvd, phoning someone) may be all you need to cool off. Good. Because you know it'll only get worse before it gets better.
Friday, 19 October 2007
Chapter Fourteen: "Must-Have" Accessories to take to Work
3) A biro. Comes in handy when signing returns receipts and suchlike. Also seems to give the bearer a certain air of authority. Don't ask; just don't go there.
2) A small red elastic band. Yes, it needs to be red.
"Why, exactly" I hear you ask? Nobody knows.
1) The most important item that any temporary sales assistant will need is a small calculator. Small enough to fit in one's blouse pocket, it will definately help when mistakes are made regarding, well, money. Mistakes such as these...
The customer hands over £21.36 but, by sheer lack of concentration, one keys in £26.31. *Gasp*!
One happens to be working too fast for the till, so instead of keying in £2.50, the till thinks the customer is trying to pay for a £2.35 item with only 25pence.
2) A small red elastic band. Yes, it needs to be red.
"Why, exactly" I hear you ask? Nobody knows.
1) The most important item that any temporary sales assistant will need is a small calculator. Small enough to fit in one's blouse pocket, it will definately help when mistakes are made regarding, well, money. Mistakes such as these...
The customer hands over £21.36 but, by sheer lack of concentration, one keys in £26.31. *Gasp*!
One happens to be working too fast for the till, so instead of keying in £2.50, the till thinks the customer is trying to pay for a £2.35 item with only 25pence.
Chapter Thirteen: Injuries in the Workplace; They come with the Territory
The most minor of injuries seem to be the worst. They happen every day. They sting so badly that one's immediate reaction is to scream and put one's finger in one's mouth. One has to fight the urge though; it's not good hygiene.
What am I talking about?
The PAPERCUT
Small but definately not insignificant.
My hands are covered with them.
Other injuries include:
1) The squished/smooshed finger. This occurs mainly in books. The customer hands over a pile of dictionaries or encyclopoedias which will inevitably be rested upon one's finger. It can also occur in stationery with such things as those big metal boxes people keep buying. Or laminators. I actually don't think we sell laminators; there is something though; paper cutter maybe? Paper shredding machines are another thing to be wary of.
2) The stapled finger. This can happen on a daily basis. Ouch.
3) When walking around behind the express tills (for example, on the way to the lottery machine), be afraid. Be very afraid. Just watch your step. Occasionally, without warning, a fellow employee will suddenly crouch down on the floor. Not to be random, there is always a good reason. Refilling the plastic bags under each till. Refilling the tobacco drawer. Trying to find a dvd/computer software box in the filing cabinet. Looking for receipt rolls. Stamps. If you should happen to trip over the person in question, this means that there are now two injured people. It's never usually more than a little trip; a banged knee and sore head; a trodden on hand. One may well ask, "Well, what happens if you should happen to actually fall?!" Hopefully we shall never know.
Another point about the "Behind-the-Till" area is *shivers* ~The Pillar~ behind till six. Don't run near it; it will injure your shoulders.
4) When taking a step backwards, be sure to check one's rear-view mirror. Failing that, looking over the shoulder helps. The last time I stepped backwards without looking I was run into and sent flying into the wall. Laughter ensued. Enough said.
5) Beware, the COUNTER-CACHE... Small but not insignificant! Little finger injuries; one's tiny little finger gets in the way and becomes trapped, bursting a few blood vessels under the skin. Goes numb for a while. Funny. Not.
What am I talking about?
The PAPERCUT
Small but definately not insignificant.
My hands are covered with them.
Other injuries include:
1) The squished/smooshed finger. This occurs mainly in books. The customer hands over a pile of dictionaries or encyclopoedias which will inevitably be rested upon one's finger. It can also occur in stationery with such things as those big metal boxes people keep buying. Or laminators. I actually don't think we sell laminators; there is something though; paper cutter maybe? Paper shredding machines are another thing to be wary of.
2) The stapled finger. This can happen on a daily basis. Ouch.
3) When walking around behind the express tills (for example, on the way to the lottery machine), be afraid. Be very afraid. Just watch your step. Occasionally, without warning, a fellow employee will suddenly crouch down on the floor. Not to be random, there is always a good reason. Refilling the plastic bags under each till. Refilling the tobacco drawer. Trying to find a dvd/computer software box in the filing cabinet. Looking for receipt rolls. Stamps. If you should happen to trip over the person in question, this means that there are now two injured people. It's never usually more than a little trip; a banged knee and sore head; a trodden on hand. One may well ask, "Well, what happens if you should happen to actually fall?!" Hopefully we shall never know.
Another point about the "Behind-the-Till" area is *shivers* ~The Pillar~ behind till six. Don't run near it; it will injure your shoulders.
4) When taking a step backwards, be sure to check one's rear-view mirror. Failing that, looking over the shoulder helps. The last time I stepped backwards without looking I was run into and sent flying into the wall. Laughter ensued. Enough said.
5) Beware, the COUNTER-CACHE... Small but not insignificant! Little finger injuries; one's tiny little finger gets in the way and becomes trapped, bursting a few blood vessels under the skin. Goes numb for a while. Funny. Not.
Chapter Twelve: Those Annoying Customers...
I have to say, annoying customers are few and far between. Therefore they are highly unexpected and one can become quite taken aback at serving them.
There was one annoying gentleman who I happened to serve. He did not realise that we charge extortionate rates for the our drinks and was not willing to pay 90p for a can of Coke. Our conversation went something like this;
Gemma: That's £2.48 please
Man (we'll call him Barry): I don't think that's right.
(Gemma checks the till screen to see if anything has scanned twice. Everything is in order)
Gemma: No, it's definately coming to £2.48
Barry: That can't be right... How much was the coke?
G: 90p
B: I think that's wrong. Cans of coke are normally about 55p
(Gemma turns till screen round to show him)
G: It definately says 90p
B: I don't think that's right.
etc etc. He paid for it in the end. I ended up saying to him, "Different shops charge different prices"
It is also highly annoying when a customer is so imptient that literally two seconds is too long to stand to open a bag. One particular lady reached over the counter and grabbed it off me.
IF ONE MORE PERSON COMPLAINS TO MY FACE ABOUT THE FACT THAT I DON'T KNOW WHERE EXACTLY EVERY BOOK IS, PRICES OF BOOKS OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, OR WHETHER WE EVEN STOCK THE BOOK THEY'RE LOOKING FOR... AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!
I DON'T EVEN WORK IN BOOKS!
This is what usually happens when I come out from my break...
Customer: Hi could you tell me if you have {title} by {author}?
Gemma: I'm sorry, I don't work in books but -
Customer: Well can ye not ask someone who does?
(which is exactly what I was about to do)
G: Yes I'll go and check for you now
(a few mins later)
G: I'm sorry, I can't actually find anyone at the minute who would know
C: Well that's not very good is it? Tell your manager you need more staff, (smugly adds) if somebody doesn't say it now, nobody will! The service in here is terrible, I've already asked three people and none of them "work in books"
Fair play to the customer if they've asked a lot of people; however these customers are usually the ones who then complain about the "incompetance" of the new people. One simply cannot have it both ways... "hire more people... somebody tell that new girl how to do her job!" We're actually overrun with staff at the minute, but most people are new so it takes a bit of time for them to actually feel confident enough about what they're doing. People simply don't realise that nobody keeps a log in their head of everything that we sell, and that only people in the books department are trained in how to use the computer to look for a book.
Any time this happens I'm usually coming out from my break. The last time, I was 10mins late for going back on the tills which not only kept back the stationery guy who was covering me but also had a knock-on effect on everyone else's break for the rest of the day.
Recently, the girl on the till beside me had a rather annoying customer... I am so glad he wasn't one of mine:
Mr Man: Can I do the lottery here?
Clare: Yeah, yeah, sure
M: Ok, I want the normal lottery draw, but for just the bonus ball
C: Is it the normal lottery draw with the dream number you want?
M: No, just the bonus ball
C: (Very confused, and to be honest so was I)
So, is it just the dream number?
M: No, the bonus ball. The bonus ball.
Me: (Finally realising what he's after)
You can't get just the bonus ball on its own; it comes as part of the draw.
He finally settled for a normal lottery draw, went away but I saw him scrutinising his ticket for a while. Then (oh dear) he came back...
M: Clare, I don't think this is what I asked for. I don't think this is the normal lottery draw.
C: Let me see... no no, that is the normal lottery draw
M: But it says thunderball at the bottom; I asked for a normal lottery... you know the way there's about a hundred and one different things now; I wanted just the original one but I think this is a thunderball.
C: No no, that's just promoting the thunderball. It is a normal lottery draw.
M: No it's not, it says thunderball right there
C: Yes but it's just advertising the thunderball
M: Ok, but if my numbers come up in the normal lottery draw tonight I won't win because this is a thunderball ticket.
Long story short he went away believing he got a thunderball instead of the normal lottery. I hope his numbers didn't come up in the thunderball... :P
All I will say about "Customer X" on Wednesday 21st November 2007 is that he started yelling the f word all over the place. With children present :( He said that one person was "no f'ing use" She was actually the most experienced person on the tills at the time. He wanted to order a magazine but the news team were as elusive as ever and the queue was nearly at the door so all we had time to do was check the news store for them and they weren't there. Till staff aren't allowed to to orders, so aren't trained in that particular area.
There was one annoying gentleman who I happened to serve. He did not realise that we charge extortionate rates for the our drinks and was not willing to pay 90p for a can of Coke. Our conversation went something like this;
Gemma: That's £2.48 please
Man (we'll call him Barry): I don't think that's right.
(Gemma checks the till screen to see if anything has scanned twice. Everything is in order)
Gemma: No, it's definately coming to £2.48
Barry: That can't be right... How much was the coke?
G: 90p
B: I think that's wrong. Cans of coke are normally about 55p
(Gemma turns till screen round to show him)
G: It definately says 90p
B: I don't think that's right.
etc etc. He paid for it in the end. I ended up saying to him, "Different shops charge different prices"
It is also highly annoying when a customer is so imptient that literally two seconds is too long to stand to open a bag. One particular lady reached over the counter and grabbed it off me.
IF ONE MORE PERSON COMPLAINS TO MY FACE ABOUT THE FACT THAT I DON'T KNOW WHERE EXACTLY EVERY BOOK IS, PRICES OF BOOKS OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, OR WHETHER WE EVEN STOCK THE BOOK THEY'RE LOOKING FOR... AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!
I DON'T EVEN WORK IN BOOKS!
This is what usually happens when I come out from my break...
Customer: Hi could you tell me if you have {title} by {author}?
Gemma: I'm sorry, I don't work in books but -
Customer: Well can ye not ask someone who does?
(which is exactly what I was about to do)
G: Yes I'll go and check for you now
(a few mins later)
G: I'm sorry, I can't actually find anyone at the minute who would know
C: Well that's not very good is it? Tell your manager you need more staff, (smugly adds) if somebody doesn't say it now, nobody will! The service in here is terrible, I've already asked three people and none of them "work in books"
Fair play to the customer if they've asked a lot of people; however these customers are usually the ones who then complain about the "incompetance" of the new people. One simply cannot have it both ways... "hire more people... somebody tell that new girl how to do her job!" We're actually overrun with staff at the minute, but most people are new so it takes a bit of time for them to actually feel confident enough about what they're doing. People simply don't realise that nobody keeps a log in their head of everything that we sell, and that only people in the books department are trained in how to use the computer to look for a book.
Any time this happens I'm usually coming out from my break. The last time, I was 10mins late for going back on the tills which not only kept back the stationery guy who was covering me but also had a knock-on effect on everyone else's break for the rest of the day.
Recently, the girl on the till beside me had a rather annoying customer... I am so glad he wasn't one of mine:
Mr Man: Can I do the lottery here?
Clare: Yeah, yeah, sure
M: Ok, I want the normal lottery draw, but for just the bonus ball
C: Is it the normal lottery draw with the dream number you want?
M: No, just the bonus ball
C: (Very confused, and to be honest so was I)
So, is it just the dream number?
M: No, the bonus ball. The bonus ball.
Me: (Finally realising what he's after)
You can't get just the bonus ball on its own; it comes as part of the draw.
He finally settled for a normal lottery draw, went away but I saw him scrutinising his ticket for a while. Then (oh dear) he came back...
M: Clare, I don't think this is what I asked for. I don't think this is the normal lottery draw.
C: Let me see... no no, that is the normal lottery draw
M: But it says thunderball at the bottom; I asked for a normal lottery... you know the way there's about a hundred and one different things now; I wanted just the original one but I think this is a thunderball.
C: No no, that's just promoting the thunderball. It is a normal lottery draw.
M: No it's not, it says thunderball right there
C: Yes but it's just advertising the thunderball
M: Ok, but if my numbers come up in the normal lottery draw tonight I won't win because this is a thunderball ticket.
Long story short he went away believing he got a thunderball instead of the normal lottery. I hope his numbers didn't come up in the thunderball... :P
All I will say about "Customer X" on Wednesday 21st November 2007 is that he started yelling the f word all over the place. With children present :( He said that one person was "no f'ing use" She was actually the most experienced person on the tills at the time. He wanted to order a magazine but the news team were as elusive as ever and the queue was nearly at the door so all we had time to do was check the news store for them and they weren't there. Till staff aren't allowed to to orders, so aren't trained in that particular area.
Tuesday, 16 October 2007
Chapter Eleven: Gemma comes with her own Rear Parking Sensors
The Loading Bay;
An area of boxes and boxes and boxes.
Deliveries.
Overstock.
Rubbish.
Lifter things.
Be careful not to get locked in. This happened to three of us on our first day; not even our first day, it was the training day hehe.
Don't reverse without checking the rearview mirror.
Make sure there is somebody there to go up the hill.
Very cryptic but those who work there know what I mean;
Don't get squashed.
An area of boxes and boxes and boxes.
Deliveries.
Overstock.
Rubbish.
Lifter things.
Be careful not to get locked in. This happened to three of us on our first day; not even our first day, it was the training day hehe.
Don't reverse without checking the rearview mirror.
Make sure there is somebody there to go up the hill.
Very cryptic but those who work there know what I mean;
Don't get squashed.
Chapter Ten: Ways to make me Freeze!
Occasionally I key the wrong thing into the till. Forexample, a customer gives me £12.84 but I accidentally key in £18.42... This is an example of when a pocket-sized calculator comes in rather handy.
Another "pocket-calculator-situation" would be when the customer gives me £15 but I accidentally key in £1.50
The number one way to make me freeze and sometimes gulp like a fish is when the customer says...
"DID I NOT GIVE YOU A £20??"
You see, we're not allowed to open the till to check.
Another "pocket-calculator-situation" would be when the customer gives me £15 but I accidentally key in £1.50
The number one way to make me freeze and sometimes gulp like a fish is when the customer says...
"DID I NOT GIVE YOU A £20??"
You see, we're not allowed to open the till to check.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)