Mother's Day & Stuff

If you're a Mom -- whether it's to kids or pets! -- Happy Mother's Day!


This year was another quiet Mother's Day.  My son thought home made stew sounded like a great dinner to cook up, we shopped and bought some cheesecake to top it off.  Then he left to "go help someone" .... I ended up eating stew alone.  Most times, I don't mind.  But if I knew I was going to be eating dinner alone, I wouldn't have gone to the trouble of making stew --- which simmers on the stove all day when I make it!   Either way, it was delish!





Today was the first day for all the changes in my job description.  It was a chaotic day, because there hasn't been a way to teach the new processes until it all downloads into the app.  Today was that day, and it all started out with folks scrambling, trying to figure out what needs to be done.  I can honestly say that while I'm not a fan of how this is all shaking down, it was nice not to have to be the one who throws away a heaping pile of trash!






Here's hoping that my tomorrow isn't like Alexander's!!!

This was one of my fav books to read to my son after he had a bad day at school.  And being visually impaired, he always had plenty of bad days!  School work was a struggle and because he needed to be up close to see things well, he often invaded people's "personal space" ... not to be rude, but just to be part of things.  Kids in general aren't very tolerant of someone who's "different". 

Set up to fail??

It's been a week now, and changes are happening left and right.  It seems like every time I turned around, there was someone else with something new.  By noon each day, I couldn't seem to make a decision when someone asked me a question.  I think it's truly unfair of my BigBox Store to make changes that haven't been tried out, and worse, implemented with no input from people who actually DO the tasks we are asked to do.  Adding something else to my plate:  well, hell, they do that all the time.  Usually it's a slow gradual, adding one or two simple changes at a time.  This one is drastic.  And I swear, they must have only tested it in a "model" store, that doesn't do a lot of volume.  Or it's tested without using real shoppers who leave a store a mess as they shop, opening packages, dropping off cold items in the hardware dept ..... you get the idea.  If you don't have to spend all of your working hours cleaning up after lousy shoppers, you have a great deal more time on your hands to do what *really* needs to be done.

Yes, I'm venting, and I'm grouchy over the recent changes.  They announced the changes to begin on May 13th (such a lucky number, right???)  however, in the madness of retail management everywhere -- not just my store, it happens in every store -- when something new comes along, they want to be "ahead of the game" and have things ready so when upper management asks, they can be "positive" about the change. 

Well, I for one am kind of tired of this kind of thinking.  I cannot train anyone on the new processes put in place when they aren't even downloaded to our computers yet!  So why am I being forced to do something that just can't happen yet?!?!?  Too many questions, and all I can say is "we do it this way for now, but come Monday, it will all change."  Why does upper management in all walks of life think this is the way to keep good employees??  If something new is coming, then *management* should know how to do it first!  And yet I am left to train them as well.  (They have a shock coming on Monday, because I "saved up" a bunch of things that I am going to make each of them process, so they know how to teach others.) 

I can't be a teacher all day, and also get my two functions done in a day.  I will be processing claims as usual, but I am also in charge of the "clearance area", making sure all the necessary processes are done in a timely and correct manner.  The really bad part of being in charge of this means I am dependent on every other department in the store to be up to speed in their own departmental functions.  And THAT hasn't happened in my store in over six months.





Am I being set up to fail???

Right now, it feels like it.