I do have to say that my least favorite thing about work is when I end up feeling like I'm being pulled twelve directions at once. Especially when I know that I have no backup to help me out if things get busy so it stresses me out more as I'm trying to help customers out as quickly as possible so I can go to the next customer and gah.
I hate it.
And like.....in a way it's kinda of expected on a Saturday. Like it's the busiest day of the week for us. So of coures I'm going to be helping a ton of customers in a row.
But today was different because of just how much back and forth I ended up having to do today.
So. My store is set up that we have like all the animals in one corner of the store. The fish along the wall. The reptiles, birds, and rodents on endcaps along the center aisle. It's all nearby each other.
With the exception of Cat Adoptions.
As the adoption center is on the opposite side of the store from the rest of the animals we sell.
Which I suppose, in a way, makes sense to keep the 'adoptable' animals separate from the 'sellable' animals.
And like normally it's not that big of a deal. Regular days see us going to cat adoptions like two or three times to show cats to people who are interested.
But today...*exhales* today was one of those days.
Like. It's a well known fact that when it comes to trying to open the department....the customers will decide to be needy right when I'm trying to feed the reptiles and take care of them in the morning tasks.
There have been days when I literally open one reptile cage, have to go help a customer, open another reptile cage, have to go help a customer, open another reptile cage, have to go help a customer. And the 15 minute process ends up taking like 2 hours because customers keep interrupting me needing things.
The 'adventure' of today started about the point I reached reptiles. Which timewise was a bit after 10ish this morning.
As I got a call that someone was interested in adopting a cat.
So I go over to adoptions to find a gentleman wanting to adopt another kitty to be a companion to the kitten he and his wife already have.
And he's set on this one grey 6 month old kitten....only the problem is....is that i noticed the tag on the cage, when I was cleaning the cage this morning, mentioned that the other orange kitten in with the grey one is the grey kitty's 'best friend' as they 'grew up together' in the same house.
So I took that to mean that we should try to adopt them out together.
And the guy was like :S :S :S because having Two cats is fine. But Three??
But he was willing to try it...except when I got both kitties out of the cage, the orange one -a male- was too energetic for his tastes. The orange kitty would barely sit still in the arms and would much prefer to explore and such. While the grey one was more mellow.
In any case. He was video calling his wife at the same time and was like "I don't know."
Like he was trying to get a kitty the same age. But I told him that so long as they were kittens they should be fine together even if one was slightly younger. And we had received in a bunch of kittens -2-3 months old- from the adoption group the day before. So there were a few as options.
So he was looking at another grey and white kitten and an orange kitten.
And somehow still had it in his head that he should be getting two...but like the dude already had two so he only needed one.
He finally decided that he wanted the grey and white kitten.
But wanted to go grab his wife and bring her in so she could meet the kitten and see if it liked her.
In the meantime while he was running to grab his wife....I got called over to the fish wall because a customer needed help there.
And that conversation took long enough for the dude to grab his wife and come back. So as I was finishing up with that customer I got called back to the Adoption center for the wife to look at the kitty.
And needless to say....she fell in love with a different kitten. The orange kitten that was in with the grey and white one.
But the dude was still really smitten with the original grey kitten who should be adopted with her orange friend.
And the wife was like "We can't separate them!! But our apartment isn't big enough for the orange one too because he's so rambunctious."
And they kept dithering over the various kitties. As he liked the grey female and the grey and white male while she liked a little orange male....
I ended up stepping away to call the adoption group to double check and see if the original 6 month old kittens needed to be adopted together...and the adoption partner was like "Oh no, they don't have to be."
And the dude seemed really happy at that news, but the wife was still like "No!! We can't separate them!!"
I ended up getting called back to the fish wall while they were dithering....and so I left them to figure out if they wanted the little orange kitten or the grey and white kitten or both....
To go help a family at the fish wall who wanted 8 goldfish and the Father wanted his kids to pick out the goldfish. Which okay. No big deal. Except the youngest child kept pointing to one of the dead fish in the tank and saying that she wanted "the floating one." which obviously I can't sell a dead fish to a child. Like. That's a big NOOOO on so many levels. But the stubborn child was refusing to pick any other fish and the father was being unhelpful and not paying attention at all so I finally ended up just catching a couple fish for the child because GAH.
And by the time I finish that up, I get notified that the couple at adoptions had finally decided on their cat. They wanted the little orange one. So I go back over there to help them fill out their paperwork and such, only they don't have the adoption fee with them (as we need cash or venmo no cards) so they ended up needing to do some shopping first so they could buy things at register and get the cash needed back there.
Which was 'good' timing in that I finished with that to get called to the fish wall again to help a customer pick out a good dozen fish for her tank.
Finish that in time to help the couple grab their kitty as they were finally ready. And as the kitten is being placed in the carrier the wife is like "Oh! We want a second one!"
And like by this point I hadn't touched reptiles at all and was already sick of this couple so I gently but firmly put my foot down and was like "How about you take the orange kitten home first and see if your other kitty likes him before you bring home a second kitty. As it won't be good if your originally kitty ends up hating 2 cats and introducing one might be better to get a feel for it."
Thankfully they were like "Oh! That's a good idea!!" though they did have me put the kitty they were interested in on hold for a few hours just in case they decided to come back. -they didn't come back before the hold expired.
And I figured. Great! That's the end of adoptions as I head back to the fish wall because I've just been called there again to help a customer with fish.
As a reminder. Adoptions and the Fish wall are on opposite sides of the store. And like my store is either the largest or the second largest store in the state. Like most other sister stores are a half to a quarter of the size of my store. So it takes time to walk from one side of the store to the other.
And I'm just finishing catching fish when what do you know? A different customer wants to adopt a cat.
*exhales*
So I go back over to adoptions and thankfully the customers are set on which kitty they want after holding it. So I was able to fill out their paperwork and such quick enough and send them to finish shopping before I give them their cat.
Because I just got called to fish.
And as I'm finishing with yet another fish customer....
i get called back to adoptions to give the kitty to the new pet parent.
head back to fish because I've been called there again.
Only to get called back to adoptions for like what...the 12th time today? Because ANOTHER pet parent is is interested in adopting a cat.
So third cat adoption goes much like the second. The people are quick to decide their kitty and do the paperwork and finish that in time for me to get called to fish AGAIN.
So Off to fish I go.
Only to get called back to adoptions as soon as I'm done so that the 3rd adoptee can pick up their cat as they've finished shopping.
And like....I think somewhere in there I had enough breathing room to finish opening reptiles and to actually take a lunch break.
But it felt like I literally spent a good 3 hours in a row just walking back and forth between the fish wall and cats.
Like my closing mangaer came in at 2pm and literally 5 minutes after she walks in she's likey "Hey people want to adopt a cat." and that's my FOURTH one of the day. And I do the exact same song and dance of the 2nd and 3rd one where I get them their paperwork filled out and sent them out to gather their kitty supplies before picking up the cat TO GET CALLED BACK TO THE FREAKING FISH WALL.
And literally as I'm at the Fish Wall I GET CALLED BACK TO ADOPTIONS to give the 4th adoptee their cat.
Like it was literally a *tear my hair out* sort of day.
Becuase from like 1030-230 all I did was walk back and forth between adoptions and fish to help customers with brief, very brief, breaks to finish opening the department and finish feeding the animals and get a break in myself.
Like even my head manager noticed how much back and forthing I was doing today.
THERE WAS SO MUCH OF IT.
It was ridiculus!! So ridiculus!!
My head manager told my closing manager 'Yah, Sarnic hasn't been able to get much done today as all she's done has been going between the fish wall and cats."
Like you know it's stupid crazy when the head manager notices how much freaking back and forthing you're doing.
*shakes head*
So I was quite estatic to get off soon after that point because I was literally done with helping people. I didn't want to have to deal with the back and forthing anymore. I just wanted a break to breathe and relax and chat with my work friends.
Until you next find these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
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