Unreliable

 So...the last few months.....the last semester's worth of months...has been a trial at work when it comes to Tuesdays.

Because literally NO ONE could work Tuesday Nights due to how everyone's school schedules worked out.

It would basically just be me and two other managers closing the store.

Because none of our regular workers could work Tuesday nights. 

Which, I've been holding out for the new year because it means a new semester. And that hopefully means that people's work schedules will change enough that we'll be able to get someone able to close Tuesday nights.

Because it's stressful knowing how screwed you are if one of your other managers ends up calling out sick because there's literally NO ONE else who can come in.

*exhales*

And we'd thought we'd found the solution to this problem when we hired our Newest Cashier for the holidays.

As They were able to work Tuesday nights.

Which was great!

Even better was that they had a bunch of Cashiering experience which we figured would mean that they'd excel at the register. Right?

...

...

...

Right???

...

...

...

Wrong. 

No...

This particular Cashier has been rather...unreliable. 

Like. They've shown up late. They've left early. They've called out literally right as their shift is supposed to be starting and not giving us any advanced notice whatsoever that they couldn't make it in.

And it happens like at least every other shift it feels like.

And really, the only reason why they're still working with us is because we've needed them for the Tuesday Night shift. 

But like...even with all their cashiering experience...this cashier struggles with anything semi-complicated. And it feels like they forget how to do half the stuff we've taught them if they end up having a day or two in between shifts.

It's...frustrating. So frustrating.

And this Cashier didn't even grace us with a call tonight. They just...never showed up. We called them but they didn't answer. Texted. They didn't answer.

And because it's a freaking Tuesday....we couldn't get anyone else to come in either.

My mid manager ended up staying an hour later and thankfully our Dog Trainer was willing to be at the register the last hour we were open, else my mid manager would have had to stay until we closed just so that we had coverage in the store.

And like....

I don't get it.

If you need MONEY then WHY are you NOT COMING IN for YOUR SHIFTS?!?! 

If we Can't Rely on a person....we're not going to schedule them or keep them.

And at this point. It's all but confirmed that we're not keeping this Cashier. 

But at the same time...we're still trying to get Tuesday Night coverage because school schedules didn't shift enough to allow us an evening Cashier...we may be able to make it work with petcare and such...but the rest?? Not likely.

So more than likely we'll be searching for another Cashier that can work Tuesday Nights and letting go of the current one.

Because if you don't show up to 80% of your shifts for a variety of reasons....there's no point in keeping someone we can't depend on.

Until you next find these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

Accidentally Taken

 It was probably a bad idea to go food shopping today.

Like. Besides the fact today is a Monday and it almost always feels like there's less product on the shelves after a weekend...this is also the First Monday after the holiday break. 

And being in a college town....the roads were definitely much much busier as everyone who went home for Christmas is coming back in.

And all those college students will need to get food after like two weeks away. 

So yah.

Shopping today was probably a bad idea.

But with snow in the forecast for like the entire week....and with it actually being pretty clear if cloudy when I got off work.

I decided it'd be best to go shopping today rather than risking having to go in the middle of an actual snowstorm or something.

Especially since I'm still borrowing a car. I definitely don't want to drive in bad weather more than I have to. 

In any case.

I tend to get...tense when there's a bunch of people around. 

A leftover from the social distancing we had to do through the main COVID pandemic. Where if there are too many people around me it...stresses me out.

In any case.

I was trying to get in and out as quickly as possible. 

....

And as I was putting groceries into my car...noticed a box of snacks that wasn't in a bag.

Which I usually put those in bags.

So to have it not in the bag....

Made me think I hadn't paid for it.

Part of me thought about just letting it alone. 

I mean no one stopped me on my way outside for 'stealing' this $5 box of fruit snacks. 

So therefore. Mine!!

Like the big old corporate won't miss $5 especially in an honest mistake sort of fashion.

But at the same time...I didn't want to feel guilty for taking something I didn't pay for. Even if it was an accident.

And despite my misgivings about having to go back into a crowded grocery store....

I went back in --after checking my receipt to make sure I had actually not paid for the snacks- and went in and paid for them. 

So yay me being honest I suppose.

lol. 

Though the part of me who's watched too many crime shows wonders what the cameras would think of me if they ever look at that. See me leave, come back in, go straight to the check out, pay again, and then leave again. *shakes head*

Until you next find these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

Resting?

 Sometimes I wonder if rest days are detrimental to my health.

Like...it shouldn't be a thing where one gets a headache when they finally get a moment to relax.

And yet it seems to happen to me all too frequently.

Day Off?

Headache.

Like 9/10 times it feels like.

Part of me thinks this particular one may just be because of how much I was lifting and moving things at work this past week.

Like I had to go pick and lift and pack and move a good 60 boxes for the stupid ship from store thing work does on Thursday. And then did like another 15 on Friday. And then had Petcare related cleaning tasks on both Friday and Saturday so like....if I didn't properly relax those muscles....I could see myself growing tense and stiff and the muscles getting all sore and achy and of course traveling up to my head and causing the stupid headache.

Perhaps it's also caused from trying to sleep a bit longer than normal.

Perhaps it's also caused by me reading all day long on the computer.

It could be all three. Who knows.

But yah. Kinda frustrating that the migraine just kinda....hangs out you know? Like i should be resting because I want to and not like locked in a dark room with a headache trying to get it to go away.

*exhales*

Until you next find these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

In This Weather?

 It's been snowing off and on this past week. 

Which I'm rather mixed feelings about.

Usually I love the snow. And with the absolutely winterless winter we've been having here. (No white Christmas, how disappointing) I've been looking forward to finally having snow on the ground even if it's falling after December. 

However.

That was before my car broke down. 

Which I suppose it's good that we didn't have a wintery winter because who knows if that would have...well made things more problematic on my end driving in the snow.

In any case. My car ended up having weird steering issues Christmas Night. On the literal home stretch before I got home from spending the day from family.

And what should have just been a weird alignment issue turned into both CV Axels needing to be replaced. 

Which ouch.

Glad those didn't fully break apart on the freeway or something but oof. I feel like I dodged a bullet there by near centimeters. I was afraid one of the wheels was going to fall off moving it from one mechanic place (that was $$$ to fix my car) to a different mechanic place (that's $$ to fix my car) 

In any case.

Thankfully, I have wonderful family who were willing to let me borrow their car until mine can get fixed. (Sometime next week is the timeline.) 

But that means I'm driving a car that I...well I'd only driven once before a couple of years ago.

And that was in GOOD weather.

And thankfully for the first little while of borrowing this car, we've had good weather here. It's been cold. But no storms to worry about driving in.

Of course that changed this week with actual snow falling here in the valley. 

And that....that was concerning.

Because I'm used to a car that can switch into 4WD if needed. But the car I'm borrowing? Doesn't have that. It's just front wheel drive.

So understandably I've been nervous this entire week about getting stuck on snow/ice slick roads.

Hasn't happened yet *knock on wood* But the past couple of days of snow have had the roads turning...rather icy.

But it's definitely made me miss my car. Like I'm cautious in bad weather regardless. But I do miss that extra insurance of 4WD helping me out if the roads get worse. 

*fingers crossed* that the snow fall remains light enough here in the valley until I can get my car back.

Until you next find these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

Don't Answer

 People have the weirdest ideas of managers.

Like you get those people who just assume that managers are the ones who 'know everything' and therefore if they 'want all the answers' they just need to speak to the manager.

Like I've had multiple people demand a manager for tasks that could have easily been solved by one of my fellow associates.

Like when they have questions about pets. Or want help picking out a pet. Or want to know if there's a certain time frame for returns. Like...all these questions can be answered by anyone in the store. You don't need a manager to get the answers. 

And like, before I became a manager, I was the "Go to person" for my managers because I had twice the experience working in the petstore than the rest of them did. So I knew the most answers about animal care. 

In any case. 

Today I got an ... odd phone call.

Where when I answered the call the customer on the other end said that they needed to speak to a manager.

Which. Lookie there. I am a manager. 

So I was like "I'm a manager, how can I help you?" 

And the lady legit was like "oh no, don't give me that. Managers don't answer phones! Let me talk to a manager." 

Like she did not believe that I was a manager...simply because I answered the phone.

Like yes. In many places its the 'grunt' workers that will answer the phones and take calls.

But at my job it's the opposite. Most of the time its ONLY the managers who have phones. With the exception of our PetCare department. The worker there usually has a phone as well since we get a lot of pet care questions. 

In any case I had to be like "I am a manager, ma'am. How can I help you?" 

Though I did have that brief moment of being like "Oh, no, you're right. I lied to you, I'm not a manager hold on let me go get the real manager." 

*shakes head* But no. I took offense to it. Like lady. "I AM a MANAGER. What can I help you with?"

And wouldn't you know it?

It was a stupid question that could have been answered by ANYONE.

And of course the lady had to do a stupid long explanation story of how she has a service dog and her son wanted to get the dog a toy for her birthday which was just a couple of days ago but we bought this toy that was recommended by the service dog agency back around Thanksgiving, but the toy was only given a couple of days ago and the dog has already DESTROYED it despite it being recommended as a good brand for chewing dogs. 

-The brand she mentioned wasn't the brand the brand she said she was getting. Like Playology is a much different brand than the KONG brand you said you were wanting. But whatever. 

In any case, I knew as soon as she mentioned that the toy was broken that she would be wanting to return it and was seeing if she still could but this lady kept talking and talking and talking and TALKING and like LADY SHUT UP so I can TELL YOU THE ANSWER.

Because she was like "And I know it's only a 30 day return policy"

and I had to be like "No, we have a 60 day return policy. You still have time to return the toy to us."

Which ANY worker in the store could have told you that.

And I didn't need to know the whole background. Just be like "Hey I bought this toy around Thanksgiving and it broke. Can I return it?" 

YES.

YES.

You have 60 days. Bring it in and we'll exchange it out or get you or money back.

*exhales*

Customers are weird.

Especially when it comes to managers.

Like...I get if it were a call center or something, you wouldn't expect the manager to be answering the phone. But like...it's a RETAIL store. Most of the time the managers are working just as hard as the main associates and are OUT ON THE FLOOR doing things instead of sitting in a back office waiting for Karens to demand their attention.

*shakes head*

I don't get people some days.

"Managers don't answer the phones." Ha. HA. WRONGO.

Until you next find these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

Cash Only

 The fun of the new year continues with work related shenanigans...stressors??? Whatever.

So. Like...idk 30ish minutes after I got into work this morning my cashier comes over the radio and is like "Hey, Transactions with Cards aren't working currently."

To which my Head Manager responds going "Oh, I just got an email asking if we were struggling with our Card Transactions. Huh." 

Well.

Turns out...the inability to accept any Card Transactions. Whether they be Debit or Credit....ended up being a NATIONWIDE issue for all our stores.

Do we know why the system went down? Nope. 

But there was a good hourish where we had to turn away customers and be like "Hey, we're only accepting Cash right now because our Card Payments are down."

That...was fun. Like luckily it actually was rather quiet when they went down. Barely any customers in the store and such.

But we had to post signs all over the doors being like "CASH ONLY!! CARDS NOT WORKING" and I gotta tell you. Customers were NOT happy about that. 

"How am I supposed to pay for my Dog!?!!?" 

Because of course it's the grooming customers who all decided to come in at the same time. *shakes head*

"...you either pay in cash or you go to the bank and grab cash and still pay in cash."

Thankfully, again, the system was only down for like an hour and a halfish? Somewhere in there.

But it continued to be glitchy for like...another hour or two afterwards.

Where sometimes the card transactions STILL wouldn't go through. And the system was being SUPER SLOW in reading the cards so the lines kept getting long because it was taking an age....

And it was also stupid things like "Oh, cards won't work if they're purchases over $75" or "If you pay with a credit card you'll be fine but if it's a Debit card who knows." 

Buying something that costs more than $75?? (like half the giant bags of Dog Food cost?) Yah no...we would have to split the payment into smaller payments so the customer would have to use their card twice to spend like $50 and then spend another $40 to get their $90 purchase to go through.

It was a nightmare honestly. So. So. So. Frustrating.

But at least the system finally kicked itself back into high gear and we were able to eventually process all transactions normally. 

But still.

It was a rather stressful couple of hours.

Until you next find these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

It's Only Been Three Days

 You know....how I mentioned...oh it seems like I get into the groove of starting to write and blog again and then something happens....and it all vanishes?

Yah.

Guess what just happened?

But this time, I'm aiming to not let it get to me. Because I'm really tired of just like....letting the bad things get me down.

Am I ready to process things yet? Who knows.

But I don't want to have Bad News keep me silent anymore. I don't want stress to keep me from attempting to rekindle joy in the things I used to enjoy doing. 

But ugh.

It's so frustrating that it feels like I'm not getting an emotional break.

Like we're only THREE days into 2024. 

Could I not have gotten like a FULL MONTH of stressfree 2024 first?

But noooooo

I hope this is just a one off. That Stress won't continue in my life.

Because I honestly don't know how I'll cope if January ends up being like my last October or December. 

In any case.

I received some concerning news today about a Family member.

Medically concerning news.

In the "This could be a Tumor or it could be Cancer" sort of news though the actual diagnoses is still pending until Doctors can get a better look at the issue.

And like...I honestly don't know how to feel about it.

Like I am sad. I'm worried. But I'm also just....feeling so apathetic about how much stressful information I've been having to take in the past couple of months and I just honestly need an emotional break.

I hope the news turns out more benign and treatable. I hope it turns out well.

Because I'm also worried about the future. The mental and emotional health of my other family members because of this news. 

I'm worried about how current plans for life to change...are...well....going to change. Because with this unknown it's unknown if plans are going to stay as they are or will shift to account for potential treatments for this medical thing.

....The main thing I do know...Is I'm going to try to be better this year about not bottling things up. To express them. To not let things get me down and to push through it.

Today I've managed it. Writing this out. Continuing blogging despite past stressful situations causing me to stop.

We'll see if I can keep it up. 

Until you next find these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi