Cruze-in'

Nearly two years have gone by since I purchased my Chevy Cruze.  I have just over 13k miles on it, because I'm the proverbial "old lady who drives to work and back".  lol  Getting older has made traveling a little more difficult than I anticipated, so I don't drive as many places as I once did.  Traveling alone just doesn't make much sense, either.

Today, I took my Cruze into the dealership to have it's annual checkup and oil change.  While they were at it, I decided that a new air filter and wiper blades were in order.  I had no idea there was a separate air filter for the "cabin" of my car.  When the tech brought it out so I could see it, yuck!  It was dirty and yes, please replace that one too!  Turns out, it was nearly $70. lol  But after 2 years, (and a dog) that inside filter got plenty dirty as well.  

When buying cars, I have always went with something that had 6 cylinders, because every car I've ridden in with a 4-banger just didn't have the "get up and go" that I wanted in a car.  When I'm merging on a freeway, I want there to be power behind that pedal!  But I've changed my tune since then.

My little Cruze only has 4 cylinders.  Granted, I don't drive as many freeways as I used to.  Besides, now that I'm nearly 60, the impatient drivers can be a little patient with me if I need to merge these days -- perhaps a little slower than I used to, but not by much!  But the best thing I've enjoyed with my Cruze is the gas mileage.  I've always hated stopping for gas.  In my Impala, with a 6 cyl, I was stopping every other week ---- IF I didn't travel much more than back and forth to work.  With the Cruze?  every third week.  And it's costing a lot less to fill the tank as well!  

I purchased this at Earnhardt Chevrolet in Chandler, on my lunch hour.  They were easy to deal with, met my goals and my price; they even took care of turning in my rental car to Enterprise.  Their service has been excellent - on my new Cruze, and on my 2009 Impala (which I purchased from the same dealership)!   "Earnhardt:  It's a name you can trust and that ain't no bull. Tex Earnhardt"

We still need a car to get around, but we can change our thinking about our options.  I'm glad I changed my mind, I love to zip around town in my Chevy Cruze! 

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!