I went back to my regular job yesterday, and I already was dreading it. I know what it’s like, since it never changes. Then again, it never does in customer service. I loved working at Rave’s so much better, and I’ll be glad to go there again on my next day that I have a chance. Notice that I am not saying which company I work for, so they can’t say jack about it. My friend Murdock was just as careful, but they called him on the carpet for inducing a “negative environment”. Gee….maybe you think he might have been telling the TRUTH, HUH? It’s so hard to tell someone “no” in a politically-correct way that has any impact. They can be as sucky to you as they can, but you have to sugar-coat your words…or you get in trouble. It’s just so not fair. I would rather read them the riot act than listen to one more 50-year-old whine like a 3-year old – AGH!
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All posts for the month August, 2002
One thing I was reminded of last night is just how unpredictable retail is – no matter where you are. I had a slow day for the most part, but the last 60 minutes made up for it – in SPADES! Ended up on a really good note, which made the store owner quite happy. She’s coming back today, so it should be interesting to hear the tales she has to tell when she returns to the fold. Keeping watch on an independent store is much different than working in a chain store for a lot of reasons, but I think one of the best is that you know how your manager/owner will react to certain situations, so you can pick up off that vibration, and thusly deal with like problems in a manner that is consistent. It was a great test to see if I could actually do it, and it went better than I thought. I guess I haven’t lost my retail touch after all, so that’s good in case I need something to fall back on in case the I.T. field goes straight into the toilet.
I do love my immune system – when I get sick, it hits hard & fast, and then goes away quickly. The only problem is that during the time I AM sick, I feel like the scum on the bottom of a shoe during a rainstorm. I’m feeling a bit better today, so at least I’ll be able to open the store on time and make it through the day. Yeah, I can see me tanking up on OJ and Vanilla Coke today boyo. I know she appreciates me doing this while she’s gone, and that makes me feel good. Heck…the experience will look good on a resume too in case my regular job tanks out. The van is in the shop (again!) getting the engine and brakes looked over. They say they check these vehicles when they come in, but I think this one got “glossed over” and put out without a real in-depth inspection. I just hope the sales manager is as good as his word, otherwise I may be bussing it for a while. I’m not too happy about as many things that have gone wrong with it as it has, but it is a good ride when it does work properly.
The past three days I’ve been filling in for my friend Raven as the “dude in charge” while she’s away, and I tell you – she’s got some huge boots to fill. Sometimes I don’t know how she keeps it all straight, but she does wonders. During the busy times, I usually have some people there helping me out while keeping an eye on the masses, but there have been a lot of slow times as well. I keep busy doing the things that she would be doing normally….well, OK, maybe not as MANY things as she does, but I think I’m doing OK. I’ve not gone crazy yet, and things have been on pretty much an even keel. I won’t say I know it all, but I know enough to stay out of trouble, let’s put it that way. Would I do it again? Heck yeah!
Well, today ended on a bit of a shocker. I found out one of my close friends had to leave town suddenly due to a family emergency, so that kind of throws my week into a bit of a spin, but it’s OK – we do have a firm grip on the wheel, and will pull out of the dive – not a problem. Just means some slight alterations to the weekend plans, but heck…I can deal with that pretty easily. The work week is almost over, and I’m looking forward to some of that extra green I’ll be a-seeing on that checkaroo – makes for a nice breakfast anyways. The weather is cooling off a bit, so that’s a relief. Time to roll up the sleeves and hit the trenches running…the weekend is fast approaching!
Today was much better, being in the chats rather than on the phones. I love the release that we get in chat, since we can basically tell customers off/what we think of them/etc., and then be “p.c.” while typing – what fun! I’m excited, and admittedly a little nervous about this weekend, since a lot of responsibility is falling on my shoulders, but I’ll bear it well, and do my friends proud. I figure what I’m doing will see if I can ever handle being a manager of a facility on my own, and see how it goes. The van hasn’t died on me this week, so maybe it was an issue with the heat and such, but I don’t know….I just don’t want the same thing happening next summer, so I’ll still have it checked out. It’s 3 days left until payday, so I think I’ll be OK, and then next week will be even better. I’m working on some new design ideas for my next site revision, so that ought to be tons of fun! I’ve finally accepted that I have a sort of fetish when it comes to my passion for accenting my outfits with a nice pair of high heels, so I guess that’s a good thing. I never really considered myself a ‘fetishy’ person, so hey…I guess this is a label I can live with. After all, if the shoe fits……
I am SO freakin’ glad today was the last day for our team to take voice calls today, and then tomorrow we get to do our usual chat routine! I am SO tired of these people just whining, barking, bitching, and moaning at how bad they have it, and it’s all OUR fault! OK shit-for-brain people…no one is holding a gun to your farking heads and demanding that you spend your drug money on super-fast internet (which PROVES you have very little to NO life), and then bitch about how it sucks so bad, it’s the worst, etc. I would love to know the thinking behind some of these twits that believe that we’re just gonna bend over and kiss their assets. At least next weekend is gonna be better since I’m working at the store instead of hearing people bitch all the time at my regular job. I think I’ve done enough farking customer service jobs to know the definition, so don’t even tell me how to think, OK? At least working in a chat center is a great release – you can tell customers off to no discernable end, and yet still be P.C. on the screen. Isn’t justice grand?
Well, I made it through another week without anything incredibly bad happening to me, so I guess that makes it a good week. The car place said they’d continue to work on my issue for me and have it “taken care of”, so that made me very happy. I try to watch out for my friends whenever I can, because Heaven knows that I’d love to have my friends around me when I need them, so it all works out in the end. I’m worried about some of my friends with all the stuff that is going on in their lives, but that’s just my nature. They know I care about them, so that provides some comfort. A wise person once told me “your family is what you make of it”, and isn’t that the truth! I think in the past few years, I’ve added a few more people to my “family”, so I feel more comfortable here than I have in some time.
Remember when we thought 2400 baud modems were cool? Remember when 8MB of RAM was blazing fast? Geez…I’m dating myself here, but it’s all to prove a point – trust me. I think people are SPOILED rotten little mewling brats on the internet these days. It’s amazing how they want a break when it’s time to pay their bill, but if their service is not working 150% of the time, they want 6 free months of service, a gold-plated modem delivered by the CEO of the company…and then have the CEO kiss his ass! High-speed internet? It’s WORSE! They say “I hate your company”, “You guys suck so bad!”, and so on and so forth. Y’know…if it’s so bloody bad, then don’t let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya! No one is holding a gun to your head saying you HAVE to have it. If you don’t like it -LEAVE!
Oh wait….then they say they have NO choice. Gee….what was around before high-speed? Yep, you guessed it kiddies – DIAL UP! Oh NOOOO….we can’t have that! It’s like a slow death, and my business will suffer if my connection isn’t working, and it’s ALL YOUR FAULT!
Waitaminit….BUSINESS? OK…my respect for you just got flushed down the toilet with that other stale leftover fruitcake that was sent last Christmas. Geez, I get sick of suck-ass customers that all they do is whine whine bark bark bicker bicker bitch bitch moan moan complain complain complain! I’ll be so glad when this week is over!
We just received an E-mail today stating that we would be on rotations for 1 day of chat during this week, the rest being on the phones. I minded it at first, having been on the phones for 2 years now, but heck……it’s keeping me busy, and making the day go by a little more painlessly. They don’t gripe about my fashion, and I don’t gripe about the work – I guess that’s reasonable. Week after next begins a 12-day run for me, but this is by my choice. I’m working two places during that time, so there will be some change in the routine.
I’m working on building up to wearing 5″ heels, but it’s an uphill battle (no pun intended). I can wear them for short jaunts, and then have to stay still, or sit down for a bit. I’m sure pretty soon I’ll get proficient at wearing higher heels, and then watch out! Tomorrow I go back to “private transportation” (as opposed to bussing it & shoe-leather express), so that’ll be cool until the kidlets are in school….then it’s back to the RTD thing for me. Hey….I’ve done it before, and I can do it again! I’ll just be sure to pack a pair of heels in my carry-all for when at work like most gals that work in offices do, along with my sketchbook and some reading material.