Avert Tragedy... Plan Ahead

I'm struggling with a title for this blog to really indicate the subject matter of this blog. So, I'll write the blog and maybe it'll come to me.

For those of you that don't know, I work part-time at Albertson's as both a cashier and a night-time manager. Last night, I was the manager. This week, I don't want to be there at all because Smith's is closed all week.

The information that we have is that Smith's is remodeling and was to be partially open during the remodeling. Well, rumor has it that someone did something that caused a part of the roof to collapse and so, they have been closed all week as of last Saturday. They will re-open this Saturday but in the mean time, we are getting a lot of thier shoppers during their crisis.

Add to that problem that we are understaffed to begin with because we cannot find any qualified candidates to work as cashiers. So, we are able to be just busy enough for our normal shopping business but with the Smith's closure, we are just frantic.

Anyway, I'm not going to go into a lot of the supervisorial details but needless to say, at the end of the night, I have a LOT of work still to do. We are usually very excited to close and lock the doors right at midnight and last night was no exception. Exhausted, I hurriedly locked the door at midnight and then about 10 after, walked out the last customer. So, now we get to the reason for the blog......

Standing outside is this girl who tells me that she needs to buy bird seed. First of all, who buys bird seed at midnight? Duh!!! I told her we will re-open tomorrow morning at 6am. (It's actually the same morning because its after midnight but that's more of a technicality.) Anyway, her comment was, "Well, you just lost my business."

Oh my goodness!!!!! I'm so freakin' heartbroken... Woe is us!!!!!!!! Ok, now that there is a bit of dramatic sarcasm, I'm over that. I just found it very funny that someone would be so conceited that to think we are just going to say, "Oh, so sorry miss... I know we closed 10 minutes ago and our hours are posted on a BIG freakin' sign on the front of our building but we can't have your birds go starving, now can we... Let me rush you right in and help you get that right away!!!! Albertson's paying me overtime is so worth the purchase of BIRD SEED!!!" Sorry, that was more sarcasm again, right?

What gets me is she probably feels we owe her something because she came to shop at our store. I'll bet 10-to-1 that if the roles were reversed, she would have no problem telling someone that they were closed under the same circumstances. Not to mention, I'M NOT ALBERTSON'S! I only work there and they pay me a small wage to do so. Just as you work some where and they pay you a wage. You don't own the company and neither do I. I work for a living just the same as you and you don't get that we are all trying to work together. Be kind enough to acknowledge that the posted hours are when we are going to be open.

The only time I have ever made exception or will make exception is for medicine for a small child. Everything else can wait until morning. Better yet, PLAN AHEAD! Got pets? Make sure that when you fill their little food tray, that if you use the last, go to the store at a reasonable time within the next 24-hours and life is great? Don't have 24-hours worth? Shoulda thought about that when you did have 24-hours worth. Hello?!?!?! Doesn't take much.

So, now that I got that off my chest..... Back to the title.