Passport Collage

Today seemed really long. Probably because my manager let us out late.

I helped a guy get the right prints for his girlfriend's collage. When he was struggling with getting our app to work I had to call one of my co-workers. And I showed him my phone, which is the AT&T flip phone. He looked at me like I was crazy and told me to "stop it". He ordered the 4x4s. About a half hour later he comes back and we discuss the difference between the passport size photo and the wallet size. We had to go through his photos, and I typed the passport code in each time. By the time we finished, he was really high strung.

I had a lot of other things to write, but now I'm exhausted because I spent too long on our website ordering a photo card. And it took way too long.

The Age Of Aquarius

I always find it eerie when it is warmer upon my exit from work, then it was when I got there.

"9. It's a perfect time for a new look. Revamp your haircut or style. Make creative changes. You're extra attractive. Handle a chore you've been avoiding, and free space for something new. Consider all possibilities." My horoscope, from Chicago Tribune.
I read this during my lunch break, after I had gone to the salon for a treatment and cut and style. A few of my co-workers complimented me.

The new guy recognized my tattoo, and could correctly name the religion the symbol corresponds to. I was impressed. But then he told me about his past activities, which are illegal, and it made me wonder what kind of sense he had. What if I was a snitch?

Personal Fiascos

We weren't actually running late. But it felt like it. And I did have a little freak-out in the office that delayed us considerably.

I purchased the Finish dishwashing packs and Jet-Dry becuase I found a 'free-after-rebate' coupon in the Sunday paper a little while ago. I hope my employee discount does not interfere with my receiving of my check.

Gossip.

We were running late because we were gossiping.

I talked with a customer for about twenty minutes about our kid(s), our husbands, (or baby daddies), work, baby books, child-raising techniques, and other things. She seems like a cool lady.

A younger woman bought several (maybe 24) Maybelline eyeshadows. They were buy-one-get-one-half-off, which normally isn't a good deal. But the eyeshadows were unusually cheap ($1.79 for one, 89 cents for the other). Then she had points she could use (which gave her $10 free dollars). She ended up paying $16 for an over-$66 purchase.

I paid  $6.24 for
two bottles of body wash
two full-size bags of M&Ms
three Snickers 'eggs'
four cans of Campbells tomato soup
Less than I expected. I was pleased.

Her Soap Was Gone

A customer came in and she said she was missing a bag with dish soap and a pack of gum. She had previously called to let us know that. Then she said she would be in tomorrow. But she couldn't wait, so she came in tonight. She located the bag; it was in the parking lot and someone had run over the soap. We gave her a new soap.

I like to chit-chat at work. And sometimes I think I over-share. And I think I over-shared today. Dang.

Printed or Emailed?

"Would you like your receipt printed or emailed?"

"Uhhh, yeah"

That is not a yes or no question. But many of my customers believe that it is. So I just print their receipt. 

I reluctantly took a visa photo for a very pretty woman. She was forgien and had all the paperwork she needed so I knew exactly what I needed to do. I took her photo four times before she saw one she kind of liked. Then I had to reprint it becuase the image was too large for the size requirements. When I showed her her photos, so was really disappointed. At first I thought I did poorly. But she was upset about her face. Luckily her man was there to tell her how great she looked. (Which was true). 

The Man With The Terrible Smell

Actually, it was me. Which I feel bad about. For the first part of my shift I was just gassy with no smell. But by the second part of my shift, things had taken a terribly smelly turn. I blame it on the pregnancy. Possibly the burrito I had for lunch.

While I was getting the milk crates out of the cooler, one fell on my face. My bruise should be darker than it is, for how much it hurts.

If my manager really wanted me to finish that U-boat, he should not have told me to do it right before I went on lunch. After lunch I start closing.

I punched in two minutes late and punched out eight minutes late.

$114

I accidentally let a customer walk out on her $114 photo print charge. I rung everything up, price modified almost everything, and then told her the total. She was alarmed, then asked me to make sure all her envelopes were there. So I double-checked her stubs with her envelopes. Then I moved on to placing a new order for her. After that, I put the battery from her beat-up 35 mm back in the right way.
Then I went to take a passport for a wealthy couple who had distinct and wrong ideas about their images.
I totally spazed out when I realized I didn't receive payment for those photos. I called the customer, and got a busy signal! Not only does she not have a digital camera or a computer, but she doesn't have call waiting! I told her what happened, and she agreed to come back in. She was sad she didn't have time to go out to eat before going to her friends' to cat-sit. This woman should be my friend.

Who Ate The Last Doughnut?

Yes. That is a legitimate question. I was thinking about them in the office and next thing I knew the box was in the trash. Dang.

I was lookin' real rough today because I think I scratched my eye, so it was watering a lot. And looking kind of swollen. And I was feeling under the weather but came to work anyway. Which was a mistake because I felt terrible for most of my shift. And I had that sick-face on...my mouth was open, my lips were dry, my eyes were blurry...I was struggling. If I am feeling under the weather tomorrow around 1 or 2pm, I am calling off.

A group of guys came in a two of them wanted to buy a carton of cigarettes. I talked to two of them while the other ones were probably stealing stuff.

Spring Forward

There are a few signs in the office reminding folks that tonight is the time change: spring forward. Myself and a few other employee mimed the springing forward when we talked about it.

I am exhausted.

I stopped by the pharmacy to ask about buying our store brand Benadryl for my 13-month old. We had spent a few hours in the ER due to a rash, and the nurse told me to get Benadryl. But the box said not to give it to children under four. The pharmacist said I could give it to my son with a baby syringe, and only very little. How nerve wracking!

There was a broken bottle of Tim McGraw cologne, broken, in the clearance aisle. When I picked it up, it got all over my hand. So I smelled like dude for the last half hour a shift. It gave me a headache.

Poster Princess

The 16x20 that I printed came out really magenta. And before I got a chance to call the customer, she came in. She spoke English, but with many Spanish words, so I called my bilingual co-worker. Evidently she felt very entitled. For some reason she showed him her ID so he knew her name. She let him know she couldn't stay long because her family was waiting in the Mercedes outside. She wanted to us to know that the girl in the photo was the girl of a very rich and well-known banker. This woman wanted to keep the very magenta photo, for free, because she didn't want the photo circulating around. So we ripped it up. That magenta print lead me to try to open a ticket so I could get someone to help me fix the printer.
Before I had a chance to think things through, other people came to my department and were mean and difficult and interfered with progress.
Eventually I got the problem fixed, am I am totally proud of myself.

We have a new feature: a prompt on the register that asks the customer if they want a printed receipt or a emailed receipt. We are getting mixed reviews. I like it because of the environmental aspect. But I don't like it because of the extra step we have to take to get people rung up.

I was able to explain most, if not all, of our coupon policy to the new guy.

Lunch Time!

As it turns out, when I don't ask (or tell) my co-workers when I (or they) am (are) going on lunch, we have a cluster-fuck and people went on lunch late and threw off our whole evening schedule. If I don't ask people when they're going, no one has a conversation about their schedule, which affects everyone else's schedule. I give myself permission to schedule lunches within the first hour of my shift.

The woman in Cosmetics is irritaing me more and more. I hope our schedule changes soon so I don't have to deal with her as much. Or I'll just keep ignoring her like I am.

A unfortuante-looking couple came in and wanted new passport photos. I had just taken their photos last week, and they really liked them then. Today they decided that they couldn't see their eyes. And they decided that they didn't want to wear their glasses. Even though I told them that if they always wear them, they should be wearing them in the photo. But they didn't want to.

Germy Socks

Yes, I did take my shoes off. And I wasn't wearing them when I gave the girl at One her lunch. I didn't wear them during my lunch. And I took them off for a minute while I was facing. Because I need to get that shot in my foot.

I just realized I forgot to make the "Out of Order" sign for the stall in the women's bathroom. I will clean them, but I will not de-clog them. Plus, there was some yucky stuff in the garbage in the stall.

The Portrait People

There is husband/wife team who submit 11x14s of portraits. The portraits are sitting shots...the subject is obviously aware of the photographer. Some of these portaits need further color correction. The ones today were magenta. These portaits are of the staff and residents of a nursing home. If these are professional portraits, I can't understand why they are printing them at our store. And I always want to tell them that their images are either slightly out of focus or need more color correction.

I got four free items today.
The Kelloggs breakfast diet drink- free after in-store coupon.
A probiotic vitamin box- free after in-store coupon.
Nivea shaveing cream: buy one get one free, $3.22 for two and I had a $2-off-two coupon.
Nivea Men's Face stuff: buy one get one free, $6.99 for two, a $2 coupon off each.

I got almost $3 in PMs tonight. Every little bit helps.

Short (Sighted)

Good thing I don't put all my self-worth in my job. It seems that my co-workers don't think I'm lazy...but they know that I have a hard time getting certain jobs done. And they can see that I putter extensively. I get away with this behavior, for now, because I am pregnant. But I'm pretty sure I do work. I wonder if I could get another job that I'd be better at.

We were short tonight so I went to the Register for a few hours. Friday night is poppin' at our store. Sort of.

A guy came in and asked if my lip piercing hurt. He had the look of somone who injests a lot of chemicals. His fingers were stained with nicotine/tabacco. His face looked weathered from alcohol use and heavy drug dabbling.

An Assyrian noticed my eyes and wanted to know if they were real. They are. And apparently he thought they were breath-taking beautiful.

We have chocolate-covered marshmallow eggs (in a dozen egg carton) on a display. Some stoner guy thought they were normal eggs for a second.

I spent some time telling my co-workers about my coupon usage and deal-getting at a nearby grocery store. They were not as excited as they should have been.