Monday, April 15, 2019

Life As A Red Vest, Pt 3

Day 26 (not sure where I lost count!): Lawn and Garden
Today was chilly, only in the high 50s, so I took my thick red hoodie with me, and was very thankful for it, when five minutes after being out there, had to put it on over my blue Cabellas hoodie!  We weren't super busy (Makayla was with me), but Kaylee, the girl I replaced, told me we were out of the black and brown mulch, and people weren't very happy.  Several asked about rain checks; I sent them to customer service.  M was sent to Lumber, to give Tiffany her break.  When she returned, it was my turn for a 15.  I first returned a walkie-talkie to HC Cindy, then went to the break room.  When I came out, I was waylaid by a customer asking about flooring.  Since I had just met the flooring guy (Benjamin), I went back to the break room to see how much longer he had on his break, and the customer's issue.  I then returned to the customer and told her B would be out in five minutes.

As I was walking back to L&;G, I ran into my friend Zach and his daughter Liloo, who were looking for plant wire.  We found it on the app, and I led him to the correct space.  We chatted while he picked out the ones he wanted, and L was excited to show me her cactus.  I checked them out, and told him about the upcoming releases and appearances.  He said he'd show up at least one of them, hugged me goodbye, and left.

I decided to take our overflowing trash to the dumpster, and learned where to do it in L&G!  Five minutes later, HC Cindy called me to come help Morgan in the front, and I very happily did so, for the sun was going down and my fingers were cold!

We were steady at the front; Morgan swept the floors while I checked out the few customers, then helped her wipe down the counters and check the register tape (I just remembered I forgot to change mine....oops!  See farther down for the reason...).  At 9 pm, I emptied my trash and relined the can, then took a flat cart back to Lumber.

When I arrived in Lumber, I noticed there were two rows of carts, so decided to help Tiffany out.

"Oh, I don't care."

"There's only supposed to be 5.  I can take a few for you..."

"If you want.  I really don't care."

Surprised by her attitude, I pushed 3 all the way back to the entrance, and when we were needing something to do, I volunteered to go back to Lumber for more carts, and C said sure.

This time, I pushed 6, two rows of 3, leaving 3 more for T to bring up when she was finished (think she only brought a broken one).  Discovered I'm the only one who really uses the checklist....but I don't care.  That's how Mel trained me; that's how I'll do it.

T was ready to clock out and leave; Aliscia told her to ask C if we could go.

T:  It's twenty til ten, for heaven's sake.  Time to get out of here!

M (privately to myself):  It's more $$ on your check....what's YOUR problem?

Maybe it's my work ethic, but I like to make sure everything's done first???  I've always been like this, if I have to close.  Betty and I were always the last ones to leave the country club; I was the last one to leave the baseball fields every night during tournament time....can I help it if I'm conscientous?

Day 27:  Back In Lumber!
Yeah, yeah, I know.....I thought I was supposed to be up front.  But when I arrived, Aliscia informed me of the switch.  I was thrilled!  Things went fairly smoothly; the soda count was already done; all I had to do was continue to keep track.  Went to my 15 min break and chatted with Erica over my son's asinine stunt (more on this later!), then returned and continued my closing procedures.  Discovered my dust mop, little broom, and dust pan were all on the missing list, so had the guilty pleasure of sweeping everything out the large door.  Ended up cleaning out the trash can by the coffee pot, since something was spilled into the bottom.  Even shut off the doors and cleaned them; will do the side windows next time.

A guy gave me his phone # for the military discount, but it wasn't his name.  Had to go under his name, and found him.

Another guy wanted out busted bags of Quickcrete, but when he found the discount was only 50% instead of $1, he said forget it.

A couple came in with the exact # of drywall sheets and dimensions, and all I had to do was look them up to find them.  They wanted 10' sheets, but we didn't have any, so they bought more 12' ones.

My only screw ups of the shift were:
    -I rang up a customer's drywall, then saw his nails before he could pay.
    -Not long after, I did the same thing, only didn't catch it.  He had to pay twice.
    -My final customer gave me a $20 and a quarter.  For whatever reason, I rang it up as $10.25, then gave him his $.06 and closed the drawer just as he reminded me he'd given me a twenty.  Called for Cindy....but before she arrived, I tried to get him to do another cash purchase....candy, soda, water, but he said no.  Chad arrived, and I asked if he needed his nightly Gatoraid.  He said no, but when I explained the issue, he bought one....and I was able to give the customer his $10, just as Cindy arrived!  I was the first one to get their drawer cleaned out!

I'd already set out my extra carts; one of the guys from Tools had taken all but three up to the front.  I needed one more in Lumber, so I returned one, then pushed the other two toward the front, dropping off my Hardware return and a 'left behind' item from last Friday.  Forgot to take bags and register tape back down to Lumber....oops.


Day 28:  Where Will I Be?  Lumber!
Arrived and checked the schedule; I'm now on there in Lumber for the next two weeks:)  But just to be sure, I double-checked with Mel...and she confirmed it.  Sweet!  Went down and relieved Rachel, then alternated ringing up customers and doing my closing procedures.  Mel came down at 7:15 to give me my break; I did my two returns, then got my charger after eating.  The last 90 minutes, I swept, emptied the trash, washed the counters and windows beside the doors, and loaded the soda cooler.

My only goof of the night was I had to give $1.91 in change, and I only did $1.81.  Mel was busy, and there was no one around to do another cash transaction, so the customer said not to worry and left.  I was worried about my drawer being $.10 over, so the next cash transaction, I took it out and slipped it into my pocket.  Hope it doesn't get me fired....

Mel asked me to come in at 3 on Thursday, so I arranged to go in for my hair appointment an hour earlier:)

Day 29:
Arrived at 3 and discovered what happens when you attempt to clock in earlier than the schedule calls....it asks you to explain!

Lumber went smoothly, all except a few hiccups:
-I accidentally didn't give enough change twice....once was a $5 instead of a $10 (Mel came down and opened the drawer) and the other time was supposed to be $2.12, only I pulled out one $1 instead.  Oops....see Day #28 for what I did next.  Again, hope it doesn't get me fired!

Update: 4/22:  My conscience was killing me over that $1, and after spending a weekend worried about my job, I decided to return it to the drawer!  Conscience has been assuaged, and I still have my job.

Three guys came over with several stuff off the '75%' off' bin, and by the time I was finished, I was so frustrated, I joked, "That took so long, it turned my hair blue!"  They laughed and went on their way, and I finished ringing everyone up.

It rained off and on all day, so we weren't that busy.  I'm off the next three days....heading to La Grange tomorrow, the signing on Sat, and Easter festivities on Sunday. Here's hoping everything continues to go smoothly this weekend, and I'll be back for another Week In Lumber:)

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