Filed under: Doses of Cynicism, Triumphs & Heartbreaks, Work Life | Tags: boss, co-workers, confrontation, manager, retail, selfishness, work
What a day.
This morning I received a card from the FFL group, and attached with it the postcard I designed for them, thanking me for the work I’ve done for them.
I thought that was really nice of them, and it made my day.
Work was a different story though.
We were extremely understaffed, and the people I worked with were complete slackers. (Ie. hour long breaks, mysterious absences, etc.)
So about 45 mins after my scheduled break, and I was still the only person manning the floor, I page my co-worker. Twice.
No reply.
I page my manager. And normally I don’t page them unless it was absolutely necessary because I assume they have more important things to do. But I figure, I don’t get paid nearly enough to be worrying about my managers feelings.
So my manager calls back and tells me to page for co-worker B in this duh-you-should’ve-thought-of-doing-this-yourself tone. And I sort of just brushed it off because this particular manager is known for being a pseudo-bitch.
I page co-worker B. Twice.
No reply.
So I page my manager again because it is now 40mins before closing.
She calls back and tells me that I’m just going to have to wait. She doesn’t know where anybody is. She’s helping a customer, and I’m just going to have to be more patient.
And that really ticked me off in a bad way.
I’m about the only employee here doing my job, letting people know when I go on breaks, being responsible, and you’re telling me to be patient?
Patient was 8:30pm when I noticed that I’m the only person on the floor and thought that half an hour later I would go on my break.
It is now an hour later, and no one’s come back. And I know for a fact that this person has gone on another extended break earlier.
And don’t tell me you’re helping a customer because I help customers and I’ve had to manage multiple tasks while helping them, and I don’t lose it.
I hate confrontations, but I will not avoid them.
So I went up to my manager after I finally had my break, and just as I was about to give her a piece of my mind, she starts to apologize.
And it really threw me off, because I was expecting her to be an ultra-bitch about it.
She said that she was really overwhelmed earlier, and she was looking for my co-workers as soon as she was done with the customer. And within that exchange, she said “sorry” at least 5 times.
I was quite grateful that she understood where I was coming from. And if she wasn’t genuine, she was really good at pretending she was. And that’s good enough for me.
I thanked her, and told her I really appreciated her talking to me about it.
And I realized maybe underneath the ultra-bitch facade, is just a slightly insensitive but kind person. And it made me a little bit happier.
Filed under: Doses of Cynicism, Work Life | Tags: consumer, customer, retail, retail hell, shopping, store
“Segments” is often mistaken for the library. People would sit down with a bunch of books/magazines and read to their hearts’ content. And afterwards, they would leave their piles of books/magazine behind, along with their finished Starbucks beverage containers/pop cans/bottles. I guess they mistake the whole store for a garbage can too.
I mean, would you go into a grocery store, pick out a whole bunch of groceries, decide not to buy them, and then just randomly leave them where you wish?
Losing battle, but we still fight it
The are 2 policies that “Segments” do have and try to enforce. The first is with its newspapers. Due to their short life spans, the store requires newspapers to be purchased before reading. And even though we have signs all over the newspaper stands, customers still take them, read them, and disregard them when they’re done.
So when I see people reading newspapers, I would politely tell them that the newspapers are for sale, and they have to be purchased before reading. And about 90% of the time, the customers are cooperative. (I’ve had customers go hiding on me and continue reading the newspaper elsewhere in the store.)
The second policy is with people photographing or taking notes from books. We are NOT the library. And the real library is only a couple blocks away. This is a book store, so when you take photographs or notes from books, you are stealing content.
Again, when I inform customers about not photographing books and such, about 90% of the time, they willingly stop.
The only times when I’ve had resistance are with people who have a bloated sense of entitlement. Some customers have said to me:
“I’m an adult, I can do whatever I want.”
“I’m not taking notes, I’m just having thoughts and writing them down.”
“I spend thousands of dollars each year at ‘Segments.’”
“I know Heather Reisman.”
Guess what? The customer isn’t always right.
I don’t put the blame entirely on the customer just because you wouldn’t blame an unruly child if their parents have been encouraging their unruly behaviour.
The customer has been conditioned to think that they’re always right, but bring some common courteousness when you walk into a store next time and act like a civilized person.
Filed under: Doses of Cynicism, Photography, Work Life | Tags: babies, gay, gay couple, puppies
Pillz and I met up with his friends at David Lam Park for the Jazz Fest Concert. They brought their puppies along, and they were just cuteness overload.
I wanted to take them home.
I think this is definitely the way to go if I ever wanted to play house with my gay husband.
Ugly Babies
Earlier that day, a gay man came into “Segments” pushing a stroller and carrying a toddler in his arm.
This toddler (at least 3 years old) was probably the most obnoxious I’ve seen in a while. He screamed and threw books around whenever he was put on the ground. And he cried that manipulative baby cry that only works on the most deluded of mothers.
The man wanted to put together a purchase of around $100, so he gave me all his books and a toy to scan.
The child starts to scream when his toy was taken away from him, so the man asks me to scan his toy first so he could have it back immediately.
During my transaction with this man which involved about 10 minutes of pulling out different items to make it $100, his boyfriend came.
The man pays for the purchase with a gift card, and his boyfriend says, “you bought $100 dollars worth of kids books?”
The man proudly explains that he spends all his money on his sister’s baby.
Gag.
Filed under: Books, Doses of Cynicism, Graphic Design, Work Life | Tags: Broken, CEO, Choke, Chuck Palahniuk, Daniel Clay, gym, gym etiquette, Snuff, work
Starting this week, I only work 4 days/week. I’m really excited about it. Although I really need the money, I felt my soul could only take so much abuse per week. And this way, I get to do more of the things I want to do: not going to work.
Lately my managers have been freaking out because the big H aka CEO of “segment of a book, synonym of purple” is coming to visit this Saturday morning. All the displays and merchandising have to be up to standards.
And guess what, I’ll be working that morning. FML.
I met the H once, about a year ago. She seemed plastically nice enough. What more could I ask for?
So along with my shortened workweek, I’ve decided that there are things that I’d like to start doing again, like reading and going to the gym.
I like pretty covers
The last book I read was Broken by Daniel Clay. It was a somewhat depressing, but very gripping book that made me cry at the very end while I was having my back tanned at the pool in Bali. No one knew because I had big dark sunglasses on, and the tears running down my face could’ve easily been mistaken for sweat.
I enjoyed it.
I’ve been meaning to re-start reading Choke by Chuck Palahniuk. The thing about reading his books is that I have to space them out because while his stories are always interesting, he has a really distinctive voice that really stays with you. So if you read his books one after another too soon, characters across different novels start to meld together.
And ever since Snuff came out in paperback, I’ve been wanting to read it too.
And he obviously knows the importance of graphic design because his book covers never disappoint.
I like hot bods
The last time I went to the gym was, well I don’t remember the last time I went to the gym. Except that when I went there was this group of teenaged boys (16-19ish) that thought they owned the gym.
They were loud, and one of them had the most annoying laugh. And really, no one cares which girl in school you would “definitely do because she has a fine ass.”
So I’ve decided to go back tonight. And I will update if I run into those adolescent boys again.
Sometimes my co-workers confuse me. While I think most of them are very nice people, and I don’t know how I would make it through my shifts without their company, I reveal very little of myself to them. And like most my relationships with other people, I know more about the other person than the other person does about me.
I’m selfish with my information. In my own twisted logic, I feel that what I know is more precious if I was the only person who holds that information. I have only recently started to feel otherwise.
Nobody hears a whisper.
And I’ve become less exclusive with my feelings and opinions. I’ve decided to put myself out there a bit more. And instead of always adjusting my own behaviour to accommodate other people, other people can react to me for a change.
So when my co-workers and I are talking, and they haven’t shut up for 10 minutes, I hold a mirror to them and shamelessly talk about myself for as long as I can. And I’m surprised when they pay attention, and remember tiny details that I have only briefly mentioned.
And sometimes slightly more meaningful connections are made. And it’s unexpected, but nice.
Filed under: Doses of Cynicism, Work Life | Tags: crazy customer, retail
I don’t know what to think of my shifts at Chapters being reduced down to a sad once a week occurrence. On the one hand, I immensely enjoy the amount of free time that has suddenly bestowed upon me. On the other, I feel like I could be earning money instead of taking mid-afternoon naps and have marathon sessions with HBO’s Big Love.
Meat and Tea Bags
At work today, a Chinese lady in her late 30’s/early 40’s came to me and asked for the lost and found.
So I go down with her to the lost and found. She tells me that she left behind a London Drugs plastic bag with some “meat” and tea bags in it.
I check the lost and found, and the manager’s office.
“Unfortunately, it’s not there.” I tell her.
She takes 2 steps back and says “oh my god!”
She looked completely distraught, and asked if she should call the police.
Over “meat” and tea bags? She didn’t look crazy and was fairly coherent other than her medium-heavy Chinese accent.
So I was thinking there must be something else in that bag that she wasn’t telling me about. Like gold.
So I ask, “Is there any valuables in it?”
She snaps, “of course!”
I tell her she could leave her name and number and we’ll give her a call if anything turns up. She mulls that over for a couple seconds and demands to see the lost and found for herself. I comply.
Just when I thought she couldn’t get more strange…
I unlock the lost and found door for her. She looks in, and a look of disgust swept over her face. She was so revolted that she had to take a step back and cover her nose.
Now, the lost and found room is actually a washroom that is no longer in use. The room is filled with boxes of toques, umbrellas, gloves, glass cases, hats and what have you. So yes, it is quite messy, but I can quite honestly say that it does not smell.
She walks away and agrees to leave her information with me. So I ask her for her name and number. She hesitates for several seconds and demands I give her my pen and paper and she would write it down for me.
She writes down London Drugs bag, the date, and her e-mail address.
That’s right, no name, no number. She walks away, and obviously no thanks or anything.
So I gave the piece of paper to the manager and went on about my day.
The mystery is solved
A couple of hours go by, and I tell my co-worker of this strange encounter. He says, “oh yeah, David found a bag of groceries and it’s in the magazines back room.”
We rush over and inspect the bag of groceries. It was a can of Spam and some tea bags. I bring it to the manager’s office.
In Conclusion
I think a lot of us take our sanity for granted. And we shouldn’t.
Filed under: Books, Glitter & Sparkles, Graphic Design, School Life, Work Life | Tags: Brian Francis, brunch, fiction, Fruit, Gastown, gay, gay fiction, Graphic Design, radio
This Sunday, my sleeping-in session was cut short due to a brunch appointment at Two Chefs and a Table with Pillows’ friends. It’s a charming little place that feels surprisingly roomy when you’re inside. Food was alright. I mostly enjoyed its open kitchen format, floor to ceiling windows, and large tables.
It’s sometimes strange and perhaps a little bit awkward to hang out with Pillows’ friends. Even though I’ve known them now for three years, I’ve never had a real conversation with any of them. Their topics of conversation (real estate and bad movies) never seem to pique my interest.
I first met Pillows’ friends, herein after referred to as the 3 musketeers, about 3 years ago when they used to go to bars to watch hockey games. Suffice to say, there was little or no proper introduction. And after a couple of games, I think we sort of just accepted each other’s presence. Before we knew it, it’s been 3 years, and we know nothing about each other.
It’s too bad because at least 2 out of the 3 of them seem like people whose company I would enjoy. But I will never know.
My fictional radio station
I got home in the afternoon yesterday to find out that the creative brief and signature for my fictional radio were due the next day. It was a nasty little surprise.
Fortunately I was able to whip something up without too much difficulty. I love the conceptual part of any design process. One of the reasons is the amount of possibility and freedom to exercise my imagination.
For my first iteration, I’ve decided to call my radio station that plays an eclectic mix of music Rare FM. Initially it was going to be Radio Mosaic, but I felt that it lacked in personality and edge.
So I settled on Rare FM for now. And no, I’m not in love with the colour red. It was just appropriate.
Yet another moment of weakness
Over the weekend, I was unable to resist buying yet another book largely for its aesthetically pleasing cover.
Fruit, by Brian Francis, is about a 13 year-old gay boy who is going through puberty and thinks his nipples are talking to him. It’s by a Canadian author, and it was one of the selections for Canada Reads 2009.
Sold.
Filed under: Glitter & Sparkles, My Friends, Resolutions, Triumphs & Heartbreaks, Work Life | Tags: cynic, dancing, drinking, gay bar, new year's eve, Odyssey Vancouver, retail
My last day of 2008 was not spent in vain. I’m usually not one to immerse myself into the drunken crowds of new year’s eve. The streets are packed. The clubs are packed. And what’s worse is they jack up the cover charges and prices of drinks for no good reason. And I often feel I’m far too cynical to be caught up in a collective joyous occasion.
But I would be proven wrong.
Mishap of the Day
I started off my day by going to work at 9 in the morning. The wet snow and below freezing temperature had resulted in a very slippery sidewalk. I slipped and fell on my ass not one block away from home. Yes, people saw. Yes, it was embarrassing. And yes, I made a yelping noise. But what’s important is that I got up, and walked the rest of the way with thrice the caution and dignity. I finally succeeded in arriving at work without touching grounds with my ass.
I had a whole shift on cash, which I was not thrilled about. I was surprised at how busy we still were. Psychiatric patient escape count was 2 during my shift. Both suffered from the case of over self-importance, loneliness, and sad or non-existent life.
1st Crazy Customer
The first escaped psychiatric patient came up to the counter with a bottle of soap that had soap on it (probably from a leaking bottle within the shipment). She comes to me and asks, “is there soap on the bottle?”
I say, “it seems like there is. Was this the last bottle?”
“No, but all the other ones were worse.”
“It looks like it’s soap from another bottle, because this bottle doesn’t seem like it’s leaking. Did you still want it?”
“No.”
“Alright.” I put away the soapy bottle, and rings up her remaining purchases.
“Do I have to go get another bottle?”
Slightly confused, I say “sure, if you wanted another bottle.”
She sighs exasperatedly, turns around and goes to get another bottle. She then returns with another soapy bottle.
I say to her, “if you wanted to get it, I could check with a manager to see if we could give you any sort of damage discount.”
She gives no response.
I talk to my manager and she says we could give her a 10% discount.
Patient then proceeds to tell us how we shouldn’t put out products that are damaged, or otherwise wipe down the bottles before we put them on display. And she went on about how it’s unprofessional, and so on.
I smile at her, and she says, “I don’t see how this is funny, I’m glad you find it humourous though.”
“Oh thanks,” I say to her. I thought to myself, dealing with people like you makes me feel grateful that my life is about more than spilt soap.
2nd Crazy Customer
The second escaped psychiatric patient was much more theatrical and made a much more elaborate scene. She marches to the counter and demands that more cashiers are needed because there’s a long line up. We had 4 cashiers as 1 just went on break.
Just to entertain her, we paged for any available cashier to come to the front cash desk. About five minutes later, one shows up. At which point the patient was already at the counter being served.
So she starts screaming at one of my co-workers about how we weren’t being pro-active, and we didn’t call for another cashier until she demanded.
Lady, we didn’t call for someone because we’re in a 3-floor bookstore. Other staff is busy helping other customers. Having worked through Christmas Eve and Boxing Day, we are able to gauge our cash line, and 4 cashiers were sufficient since you only had to wait for at most 5 minutes.
She demanded to speak to a manager, and screamed at her for about 10 minutes.
Dear unhappy soul, I truly feel sorry for you.
But 2008 was slipping away, and I had no time for losers.
My night begins, or so I though…
I chased after the bus that would take me home so that I could get home earlier for a cat nap before my evening festivities. I got to the front of my apartment building only to find out I had forgotten my keys at home.
No worries, I thought, my parents would be home. I call home and after the third ring, trepidation was rising up in my stomach. It seems that their evening festivities had already started. I call their cell phone, and nobody answers. I finally had to call my cousin to get through to them. My aunt was kind enough to drive over and bring me the keys. However, plans of cat nap was no longer.
So my day, so far, had not been a pleasant or easy one. But I just absolutely refused to let that get me down.
I took a shower and jazzed myself up for the Crystal Ball Masquerade at the Majestic.
Ready to Countdown
My chariot came in the form of my lovely friend’s car. I advised against driving, but Pixie had her reasons to drive and I obliged.
We were lucky to find parking at a very central location. We got our tickets to the Masquerade and headed over to Blenz to mull over our hopes and dreams for the upcoming year.
We headed over to the Majestic at around 11pm and started our drinks and dancing, where one of my co-workers also was there. We were having an awesome time and before we knew it, it was midnight!
We hugged and kissed.
The night did not end there though. Pixie and I were dying for some top 40’s goodness, so we headed over to Odyssey and busted it out there.
What a way to start the new year. Pixie, you momentarily suffocated the cynic in me, and I truly had an amazing time. Thank you.
Filed under: Doses of Cynicism, Triumphs & Heartbreaks, Work Life | Tags: Chapters, customers, cynic, optimist, pessimist, retail, rudeness, snow
The snow has been most relentless. Even though I had to trek through it to get to work, I was grateful it kept the number of customers down and manageable. Still, customers were coming at me left, more left, right, and off-centred. I think my multi-tasking skill level had just risen about 3%. For some reason, I don’t feel as swamped last year as I do this year with the Christmas shoppers. Now that I think about it, it was largely due to resident 3rd floor CER goddess: Judith. She’s so much of a team player, and she takes the leading role without seeming like a big bitch, or any sort of bitch. 3rd floor just hasn’t been the same ever since she’s been moved to merchandising.
In other news, when I was getting my usual iced venti green tea lemonade at Starbucks, some guy rushed in and took my drink as soon as the barista called out my drink and put it on the counter. My initial rationalization was that he ordered the exact same drink, and he thought it was his. Therefore I asked the barista if there was another iced venti green tea lemonade coming up, and she said no.
I told her what happened, and she made me a replacement drink right away.
Sometimes I want to become a police officer just because there are so many people out there stealing and breaking rules.
Working at Chapters, and I think just paying attention in general, does not help with my world-weariness. So many people will take advantage wherever they can get it. Courtesy, manners, and generosity are rare phenomena.
In truth, I would say at least 82% of customers are pleasant/non-offensive. But you know what they say, people remember bad experiences and not the good ones. Humans are just spiteful like that, and I am no exception.
Filed under: Books, My Weekend Pillows, Work Life | Tags: Mucha, holiday, Chapters, retail, skiing, Mark Haddon, Daniel Clay, Justin Evans, Mary Swan, Richard Dawkins, Mitch Albom
As I’m settling into my holiday, the snow has been comfortably settling onto the ground. The temperature has dropped over night below o degrees celsius. Time to break out the big puffy jackets.
It was a circus as Chapters yesterday. Working at a retail environment, Christmas is a time I don’t look forward to. The overload shipment of books never fit properly on the shelves. Every customer thinks they are the most important priority in the world. Where have all the manners gone? I believe everyone should be required to work at a retail environment so they can realize that no, the world does not revolve around you. Wait your turn for question/service like everyone else.
The line up at cash, despite the eight tirelessly working cashiers, never ends or even lets up a little. I was placed on cash since we desperately needed help there. I nearly lost my voice after the 7-hour-straight predetermined dialogue. I definitely feel for the cash team.
This morning, I saw Pillows off on his annual ski-trip. I will miss him, but at the same time I’m really looking forward to my own quiet, perhaps solitary weekend. (Weekend in the sense that I don’t have work in the 2 upcoming days.)
Maybe I’ll curl up in bed with one of the eight books that I’ve purchased yesterday as a result of the Chapters employee discount day.
Alphonse Mucha Masterworks by Rosalind Ormiston
This is just something decadent that I decided to get. It is 200 pages of visually stunning paintings and illustrations with brief bouts of text chronicling Mucha’s life. Alphonse Mucha is one of my favorite illustrators of the late 18th century to early 19th century.
Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon
I read his debut novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. It was a charming little book about a boy with autism. The synopsis of this newer novel sounded intriguing, and I couldn’t resist the hardcover format for 5$, when its tradepaper contemporary is being sold at 30$.
Broken by Daniel Clay
I don’t know much about this book except that it’s supposed to be a modern To Kill a Mocking Bird on steroids, and it’s supposed to be somewhat similar to Heather O’neill’s Lullabies for Little Criminals which I enjoyed.
Little Book of Big Packaging Ideas by Catharine Fishel
I have his friend The Little Book of Big Promotions which I found to be quite inspiring. And I find the format of this series of books to be quite pleasing. At roughly 7″ by 8.5″, it is easy to handle.
The Good and Happy Child by Justin Evans
This is a horror novel, a genre I rarely venture into. Actually I rarely venture out of fiction. Anyway, I’m looking to change that, and expand my reading horizons. To be honest, I just thought the cover looked attractive.
The Boys in the Trees by Mary Swan
I’ve heard nothing but good things about this book. I’m quite excited to read it.
The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
I watched his documentaries The Root of All Evil? and The Enemies of Reason. I enjoyed both of these films and I would recommend everyone to watch them. But really it was the shiny cover and the die-cut circle that sold me.
Tuesdays with Morrie By Mitch Albom
I’ve always wanted to read this book just to see what the fuss was about, but being somewhat of a self-proclaimed non-conformist, I’ve resisted and wanted to explore novels with less hype. I finally purchased this book as Pillows says he’s interested to read it as well.
I think I’m done with book purchases for 2009, and it’s not even 2009 yet.
