I Hate Having Bad Days

 Dear BigBoxStore Management:

With the changes you made two years ago in restructuring the folks who work on the floor, you didn't do them, or yourselves, any big favors.  In fact, let me point out some of the things this has created.  

One:  Because there isn't any real "ownership" in having their own department, you've gotten away from the "store within a store" concept.  Now you just have bodies doing tasks with no real interest in doing better, doing a great job, creating excitement over sales.  Every day is like another in the tasks that they run.  Department Leads have become lazy - they depend on a system to pick items out of the back room to stock to the floor. But it only picks items that are stocked in an aisle.  What about filling features?   If a store is sent a Qty of 100 of the same item, and only 50 will fit out on the selected sales floor position, and the rest are put in a back room bin, who is supposed to pick those items and fill those features?   I'll tell you who -- NO ONE.  The item sits until it goes to clearance, and the *minute* it goes clearance, the item is pulled and sent to the back room to process into your clearance location.  However, what doesn't seem to happen is no one is communicating about the amount of stuff that is accumulating , waiting to go to the clearance location.  

And yes, in case it isn't clear, the person doing all of the clearance location stuff is me.  And today, they totally knocked me down and ran me over with the amount of stuff.   By the end of the day, I was tired and crabby, combative even.  There are a set of "rules" for how things are to be placed in that clearance location (not MY rules, BigBoxStore rules) , but one manager seems to think the rules don't apply to him.  I told him in very clear terms that next time he doesn't follow the rules, I will pull the items and return them to him.  What I really wanted to say was "I'm going to pull the items off the shelves and shove them up his ass" just to get his attention because this is not my first run-in with him on the rules of clearance. 

I was finally able to wind it down, remembering that old kids book "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day".   Yep That's what I had.  Sorry.  Rant Over.

But seriously, the changes that employers are making to how things operate because of the new generation of workers who have no work ethic and want big bucks for a routine job with no thinking required means that we have a whole generation of laziness and I know for a fact that I don't want to be around 10 years from now.  Or even 5 years from now.  In fact, retirement at 65 sounds awesome to me!  Even if I do nothing but take walks and read books every day!  But I'm sad for the whole retail industry and what's coming next.  When I started 20 years ago, even though every BigBoxStore sold the same basic stuff, every store appeared to be different because we had the ability to manage and showcase our department items in fun, creative ways.  Now?  Every store is the same, no one can order in something special, every display is built identical because that's how the directive is given.  It's no longer fun to go over to the next store over and see how *they* are doing things.  It's all the same. Each and every store.  I used to take vacations and no matter what city I was in, I had to stop in to the local BigBoxStore to look around.  My son and I did that so often!!! 

Man.  I miss the old days.  And that wasn't that long ago.

CEO?  I'm calling you out.  It just isn't the same any longer.  And eventually you will pay the price, reap what you've sown.  I'm glad I sold my stock already. 

Inventory and Memories

 In our crazy retail Big Box Store we have inventory once a year.  It's a huge process when it comes to preparation. And no matter how prepared you think you are, you're never really prepared.  We had high hopes for a good outcome... our hopes were dashed.  But that's how it is in retail.  But it means that we're going to be under close scrutiny from the higher-ups in the coming year. 

As for the preparation, I worked 7 days in a row, mostly 9 -10 hour days each.  When it was all over, as of yesterday, today it's a do-nothing, rest all day kind of day.  But I can't seem to sit still.  The bad part about it is that I can't seem focus on just one thing and complete the task.  I did manage to load and start the dishwasher, and to wash the bedding and remake the bed.  

We had rain move through the Valley, and I slipped out during all our preps to snap a quick pic. There's nothing like the smell of a fresh wet desert!

Then yesterday, as I walked out to get the mai, this little truck was parked outside of Wendy's.  It reminded me of the days back in the 80s when I worked in the service dept of a local forklift dealership.  After hours, we would work on a truck just like this one.  It was a blast!  Sometimes little things bring back the best memories! 

It was also my sister's heavenly birthday.  I painted a rock to bring with me on my next visit home to leave on her headstone.  

Lots of little things going on, and yet now that inventory is over, work will be more pleasant now.  I hope. 

Numbered Days

Every day there seems to be something in the news about my BigBoxStore.  And lately, it's never been good news.  There's another part of the company being "out sourced" - which means more of the staff being laid off.  I just sit here shaking my head, wondering when it will slow down - or stop, even!  But it won't, and I don't really get it.  I feel bad for this sector of our company who will be losing their positions.  And I feel like mine isn't too far behind.

Two weeks from now, my schedule has changed. After more than 10 years of being a M-F gal, I now have Saturdays and Wednesdays off.  Plus my shifts have been shortened by an hour, which means 10 hours less pay each pay period.  That's a significant amount!!  Then there's the worry about having short shifts, will I still carry my "full time" standing so that I don't lose my health insurance?

I can remember being unhappy at one of my first jobs and thinking "wow, I really need to start looking into working for one of these Fortune 500 companies".   And now that I'm older, I take it BACK!  It's not what it's cracked up to be!  Companies become so overblown that employees are just a body with a number attached.  What makes me even madder, however, is when I started it was all talk about "growing your career" with the company, building yourself a good future.  And now?  Because of the length of time I've invested with them, my wages are considered "too high" and they can pull just any body off the street to do my job.   And that's pretty much what's been happening.

My daily tasks are being reallocated to other positions within the store, and soon, my job will be gone.  Oh sure, they'll incorporate or morph it into being some kind of "team lead", and I'll have to re-apply for the position --- if I even want it.  When I think of all the things I've been doing -- tasks that aren't mine but I do them because it helps the success of my store -- frankly, I just want to shut down and say "Nope! No More!  Go find out how to do it yourself."   And I should be that way more often than not.   But it goes against my grain, my way of doing things and helping others succeed.

Like today, I was scheduled the day off, but because of another scheduling conflict, I volunteered to work today so that the rest of the week would be cohesive for the others on "my team".  Also, the tasks that are being reallocated to others in the store, they can't seem to get it together and actually DO them and keep bringing them back to my work area to be processed.  Today, I had a full shopping buggy of things that others were supposed to do and hadn't done.  So I did them, because it was in the overall greater good for my store.  What I should have done was take it back to the people who are now responsible for these tasks.  But when it comes to the greater good for ME? 
Ha! I won't hold my breath, because it won't be there.





This keeps popping up in my feeds,
or maybe it's on my mind and I notice it more,
but it's SO true. 

And I need to pay attention.

R&R

Another work week behind me, and I'm happy to say that my lifestyle changes have made a bit of improvements.  I think my blood pressure has dropped a bit, and so have five pounds.  Not a whole lot, but every little thing makes a difference these days!  I'm still eating well, reaching for "nutrient points" when I log my meals.  Most days, I reach my goal of 80 or better.  Today ... not so much.

After a grueling session working in the back of the store, going through old boxes of retention paperwork, we nearly completed the task set before us.  The powers that be have changed how and what can be shredded after certain dates.  I knew there were "several pallets" in the back that needed to be disposed of, but how they are disposed has changed.  We counted 13 pallets, with an average of 30 cases per pallet, of things that had to be resorted by the category they belonged in:  "Daily Reports" vs Accounting Records, etc.  In the past, we sorted them by the destroy date, mixing the cases on each pallet.  Then they changed, and said nope, they need to be sorted another way.  After three hours of hard work, heavy lifting and many clouds of dust, we are getting rid of 8 pallets -- 240 cases -- of old records, and have only 3 more to go through.  But that's for another day!   I'm ready for a long hot shower!

And now it's Saturday evening; Friday and today being two very relaxing days of nothing but sunshine, reading a good book, taking long walks, and watching a bit of Netflix. 

Nothing gets more relaxing, however, than watching an Arizona sunset:

Ch-Ch-Changes

I've been thinking a lot about change - and changes.   I used to go by the saying "If you want something to change, you have to change something."  Like, driving a different way to work, or walking a different path through the park, having a meal someplace new or different.  When you make a change, the universe is forced to change around you.  Or something like that.

Sometimes, this is very true.

But the other changes I've been pondering have to do with change just for the sake of change.  Or, forcing a change that hasn't been tried out yet.  I'm talking about the stuff that happens in a BigBox store.  And being I've been part of that for nearly 18 years, I understand the need for change. 
Shoppers change, and with that, what services are provided need to change as well. 
Toss in the whole e-commerce thing, and there are many, many changes happening. 

Most people don't adapt to change overnight.  There's a process, there's teaching and training, and there's leaving a little room for trial and error.  But when there are changes that occur in one procedure, or area, of a BigBox store and no one's on board with the changes .... and there's yet another change, folks get fed up.  They can't do a good job when they don't have a clue what's expected any longer. 

Which also adds fuel to the rumor mill that surrounds most work places, and especially retail.  ((Maybe that's because retails employs more women than men??? *smirk* ))  Ok, joking aside, the rumors that fly around because a corporation wants to "try something" in a certain part of the country, or in a certain kind of store ... frankly, I'd rather they be up front about it, and let us add our own thoughts, creative solutions and/or criticisms about the changes.  Because a desk jockey who might know the steps of a certain job function in a retail setting doesn't know the reality of what takes place in the real work place.

For example, someone behind a desk decides that it takes a certain number of hours to unload a trailer full of merchandise; ie, there might be "2500 pieces" on a trailer, which calculates into 2.25 hours with 7 employees unloading it.  There isn't any time built in for the slippery box of paint, which comes 4 gallons to a box and gets heavy; it falls to the floor and breaks open.  Who cleans it?  it most certainly disturbs the flow of unloading the trailer.  When you force people to work in time constraints, where is the give and take when it comes to doing something outside the "usual routine"?

An employee doesn't feel appreciated for what IS accomplished when all that is noticed is that the end time of unloading a trailer isn't met at the specified time.  In order for the crew of 7 employees to unload on time, they have to hustle.  In a world of too much hustle, mistakes are made, or worse, not only product is sacrificed, maybe someone slips in the paint and it becomes an industrial accident.

Do I have a point to all this?  Other than the obvious:  "change is difficult", changes ARE coming, and most likely will affect me in a job security way, along with my job satisfaction.  I'm all for change that makes improvements to the way we work, but not when the changes I foresee eliminate positions.

Those are the changes that scare the hell outta me!

It's January!

I haven't posted in a while. Here I am, blogging from my new laptop.  Nothing fancy about it, just another way to get things done, with a little mobility.

The holi-daze is behind us all, and I'm certainly glad for it.  It becomes more of a chore than a pleasure at times because in retail, we've been looking at holiday "gear" for months now. Finally it's over!  The last of it will be cleared out of my store in a week, and I couldn't be happier!! Back to some normal work flow again *fingers crossed*

An update on my "Elvis saga" :  He's back at my store, but my understanding was he would be working as an associate until his papers for pharmacy tech comes through, then he would be transferring stores.  Doesn't look like that's gonna happen, since we're still stuck with him.  But he's an amazing piece of work.  I walked into the lounge for my lunch break around 2:30pm and there he was, taking his afternoon break.  I sat there for my entire 30 minute lunch period, and he was still there when I left.  So, still up to his old tricks. 

The next day, I was in the lounge again for another meal, and he waltzed in, grabbed the remote to the TV and proceeded to change the channel to his liking.  A woman at a ping pong table was prancing around wearing shorty shorts and a bikini top.  She turned this way and that, dropping a shoulder strap, turned her back to the screen, untied her top and spun toward the camera again, using the ping pong paddles to block the view of her bare breasts.  She turned and spun again, bending over with her butt facing the camera.  Of course, with shorty shorts, not much was covered, and proceeded to use the paddles to spank herself in a seductive way. I slammed my book closed and walked out, going to find a member of management, but didn't find one in time.

Today, he did it again in a room full of other women.  One was upset, came down the hall and I was able to flag down a member of management to go in and see what was going on.  The manager asked what he was watching and why?  That it was offensive to women.  Of course, in his Elvis way, he chuckles as if he's a teenager being caught red handed with a Penthouse and that he didn't see anything wrong with it.

Now, mind you, I'm not offended by soft porn; but there's a time and place ..... and I certainly do NOT want to know how a 65+ year old co-worker gets his jollies.  It gives me the willies!!   Personally, I think it was inappropriate for the workplace.  And I'm crossing my fingers that people who were offended today will write a statement.  From what I gathered, this wasn't the first time he's played this particular channel in front of other co-workers.

Why is it one thing after another with some people?  I know the real answer has to do with the other person more than it does with me, but when I'm pulled into his orbit, it really bothers me, and I do everything I can to stay away.