Dress Code Woes

Is it sad that the only thing I dislike about the new dress code is that I no longer get to wear red?

The Drama Llama

There's been a lot of Drama at my store as of late, most of which I haven't blogged about because it would give away the location of my store. I really wish I could more about it, because it would be nice to talk about it, but by sheer chance that someone finds this blog, I really don't need it getting back to management. Especially not since all that MySpace drama that happened at another store. The one thing I will say, however, was that it was tragic and my store is still reeling from it.

That being said, there are a lot of raw emotions running loose among all of the employees at my store, so as a CSM team, we've been treading on thin ice with most people about most issues. There have been a lot of tears and a lot of misunderstandings among us as a team, so this makes work about ten thousand times more stressful than usual.

Now, on top of the emotional roller-coaster, I did have these gem the other day:

Right after coming back from lunch, I got waved up to the service counter , which had both a long line and a customer demanding a manager. So, I step in to help my girls with the customer, and am briefed of the problem: She just bought (as in six minutes ago) a Sony PSP with one of those Visa prepaid cards and wants the cash money back. She first attempted to get the cash using a gift receipt that she requested from her cashier, but when we receive gift receipts, we give store credit, which is store policy (company policy too, I'm pretty sure).

This was unacceptable for her, and she's swearing up a storm. She then thrusts the original receipt at me and demands cash. I look down at the payment and see she used credit, so no dice.

I attempt to explain to this ... woman why we can't give her cash, and really, its simple. She didn't pay with cash. Then she whips out her Visa and waves it in my face saying its a gift card, so she should be able to get the cash. When you turn those cards over, it says right on the other side that they're not good for cash.

I show this to her, and what do I get? A sob story. She insists she needs the cash to get gas. Um, you can use the Visa to pay at the pump, or the giftcard to at the gas station my store has. Well, whatever gas station she apparently visits doesn't do that. Damn liar. I seriously doubt one of those even exists anymore, unless its in a primitive town, and my walmart is one of those super 500m+ metros, or however they're classifying them on the Wire (Walmarts Intranet) now.

She argued with me, and attempted to go over me to an Assistant, but I wasn't having it. Our Assistant team hates to visit the desk, so I offer her the 1-800-Walmart number instead, as well as my name. She then started screaming that her sister/brother (I don't remember which) worked for Walmart as an Assistant manager at another store, that she'd be going over to the other store to return it to get her cash, and complaining about me to the company. That's nice. Have a nice day lady.

Now, my other gem is quite a bit more dramatic. I was counting the podium while talking to one of the male members of management on duty. He's a tall guy, ex Military, seriously built, and not the sort of guy you'd want to be caught in a fight with. He's got a really good sense of humor though, and I consider him one of my friends.

Anyway, I finish counting cash, lock the drawer, and we part to go our separate ways when this guy comes around the corner who's larger than I (but I'm pretty dainty and easy to take out) who's pissed about something. He starts screaming at me, so I apologize to attempt to calm him down so we can get to the root of the problem. I guess he came off of our cigarette register, so he must not have had his ID or something. Now, he reaches out with his hand to grab at me, so I take a step back and he ends up seizing one side of the collar of my snazzy new polo and yanking on it so hard that I heard it rip. I dropped everything I was holding at the time because, hello! I'm trying to get the hell away here!

I grabbed the dude's hand and attempted to wrestle his shirt away when out of nowhere, the manager I'd previously been joking around with comes charging between us. Thank GOD he lagged behind and saw what was going on! He grabbed the dude by his throat and slammed him up against the wall by the service desk while screaming into his face "I fucking dare you to try and touch that girl again motherfucker! I dare you to try!"

I fled the scene and never did get around to asking the girl managing smoke shop what the hell his problem was. I spent the rest of the night in the back office crying in the company of Hero the Manager.

Now, as if that wasn't bad enough? I came in the next day to rumors that Manager and I had been doing not so tame things in the office.

Effing work!

of schedules and sleep

I haven't deserted this blog yet. I've just been covering a plethora of shifts on both days and nights, so my schedule is completely out of whack. Hooray for overtime!

Ugh. I'll be back when I have the energy.

Code 500 to the grocery entrance!

The first weekend of the month is always the worst. To top things off, I got to close, which just makes me all extra kinds of cheerful, because the closer usually clocks about forty five minutes of overtime a night on the first weekend of the month since it is just plain ass crazy in there. I had this fleeting hope that the white out condition weather would keep people home, but oh no! You'd think that bridge card money expired today or something.

We managed to keep the lines down, and for a while all of the registers were open. I was astonished that we didn't have any huge customer complaints or anything. For a Walmart on the first Saturday of the month, this is very, very unusual. What we did have, though, made me all kinds of cranky.

As a CSM, I supervise the stock man, which you probably know as cart pushers. I don't know about your stock men, but ours do not get along at all. Everything is always the fault of the others that they are working with, and you just plain cannot trust them with anything. For instance, back in December, they lost the keys to the propane cages. The fix to this situation? One of our Assistant Mangers got ticked off enough to go out and snap the locks off with this huge pair of cutters. We replaced the lock to that part of the cage, and I gave the stock man one copy of the key, and kept the other in the podium.

Now, the stock men keys are hard to lose. They are attached to these HUGE pieces of wood, by HUGE, I mean like a foot long, and four to six inches wide with this huge chain running through a hole that is drilled into the wood. They contain copies of the propane keys, and the bottle room keys. Both sets are on these huge blocks of wood. How they can go missing is BEYOND me, but they have, twice now.

At whatever point, another CSM loaned out our copy to one of the stock men, and it was never turned in. Between December and today, both copies have gotten lost. They still have one of their blocks of wood with keys on it, but it is only the keys for the bottle machine. I get annoyed and start snarking at the stock man who's asking for the keys, and as usual, they all start playing the blame game. So, the wild search for they keys begins. In the end, we cut all the locks off, replaced them, and I took all the keys and put them in my big drawer o' keys. The stockmen will not be getting a copy of this key. Forget that, we will not be losing any more sales because of them.

So my day goes on with only a few minor incidents, and when we get a little bit of time, my fellow CSM and I make our way up to count the drawers. Around this time, we're laughing and generally making the best of the stress when people start yelling down by the grocery entrance. Now, its been loud in the store, so I don't think too much of it just yet, and recount my quarters. By the time I move on to my ones, the yelling has dramatically increased to the point that its overpowering the front end. I slam my drawer shut and lock it, and bark to my other CSM to start getting customers the hell away from that end, and I sprint off to the grocery entrance.

I've been in this situation before, when I was just a sales associate. This situation tries to happen at least once a month with the same two groups of people. I don't know what their deal is, but they hate each other, and how they end up in my store at the same time is beyond me. I arrive at the doors and quickly asses the situation that already has a group forming around the self scans. Sure enough, these assholes are about to throw down. I practically scream over the walkie talkie a Code 500, which is Walmart for "People are beating the shit out of each other, get here now." I also send a very pointed glare to the associates who have left their registers to come and stare. Get back to work, others are dealing with this.

By the time management arrives, I've pulled enough authority to make these girls realize that they are no longer welcome in my store, and that I don't care if they beat the snot out of each other, they just won't be doing it here. Apparently, someone looked at someones kid wrong. Who knows. I just wish this wasn't the biggest headache of the night.

The biggest headache, you ask? One of our door greeters attempted to quit because she decided there were too many door greeters. Apparently, she has a problem having company at one door when the midshifter is there. The solution? Just send the midshifter down to the other door if you'd rather be alone! I could not wrap my mind around that, I still can't. Why would you quit over being overstaffed? I've never heard of such a thing.

PS: If you show up wearing sweatpants to work, and we've talked about it before, then no, I am not kidding when I tell you to go home. Come to work dressed to work, not looking like you just rolled out of bed. That is all.

PPS: Welcome to my new reader! Yay!

Oh shit, its the first weekend of the month!

CSMs written up for long lines, CSMs stepping down over this kind of bologna. CSM's leaving in ambulances, and a conspiracy to get me fired! Things have been more then eventful since February 1st hit, and in short, I think the lot of us need some very long vacations.

I'd elaborate more on the few things I have mentioned up there, but most of it is personal, and the last thing that I need is for the wrong people to find this blog. That would be very bad for me, considering that at this point in my life, I do need this job. My money is going towards my college education. Without this job, I cannot go further in life.

On the customer front, we've had an amazing amount of theft lately, and the people have the balls to come back to our Walmart and attempt to return the merchandise they stole! Luckily, our Desk team is awesome, and we recognize most of the merch. exchanging hands and coming back in. No refunds or exchanges, sorry!

I'm sure I'll have the patience for more substantial stories on my next day off, we'll see. In the meantime, I'm still alive!

Thanks to Behind the Counter for linking me! I wish you worked at my store, sometimes!

No, I am not kidding with you.

You know, I can't help but wonder sometimes if the people I know are attempting to get me fired. Its a question that comes to mind when your own aunt attempts to scam your store, and then the next door neighbor? Honestly, I am under the firm belief that you never really know someones morals until you go with them into a store or restaurant and see how they treat the people that are there to serve them. Those people do not have to be there, and they have the right to turn away and refuse you service. If my cashiers choose to do this, I will back them up (unless it was completely uncalled for).

My handheld starts going off like crazy on a moment when I am the only CSM over the front end while the other is off on her lunch. I look down and see that one of my Service desk associates has thrown in about eight training questions, all within three seconds of each other. Now, when this happens, it usually means that the associate is being faced with a very difficult customer, so I hurry up there to run interference to resolve the situation.

When I round the corner, though, I am greeted with a surprise: My neighbor Juan is up there, and he's less than pleased. He calms slightly when he sees me around the corner, and says something to the man at the desk to the effect of: I watched her grow up, she will understand. I hate it when they do that, my own family has attempted it once.

So, my SD man gives me the low down on the situation: My neighbor is attempting to return an 80 dollar microwave, no box, no receipt, heavily used without a receipt. Why, oh why do people attempt to do this? We have a store policy that we try to enforce, which works sometimes, where we will not make a return over fifty dollars without a receipt. We offer exchanges in this case.

My neighbor explains that the microwave is throwing sparks. That's fine. He's going to need a new one, so I offer for him to exchange the microwave for another one. Something is up with him. His wife works over at the other Walmart in town, why isn't he returning the microwave there? He doesn't want to exchange the microwave, so I explain to him that is the only thing we can do for it.

It becomes apparent that he just wants cash when he asks if he can just have fifty dollars then, since we'll only do up to that. I explain that we can't do that. I end up talking him into exchanging for a new microwave, and leave the desk after handling the situation. When the call for an override comes over the handheld, I sent the other CSM up there, since the man is my neighbor, to turn the key.

Its pretty sad when your own neighbor tries to scam the store.

an LOL for a cranky day. hooray!