Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Ridiculous Ramblings in Retail: Part 5 I'll Have Your jobs!

Retail gives you more than experience in work. It gives you extra patience, a better outlook on your own intelligence level, and humorous stories to relive over and over. I've been witness to all sorts of things. I've seen a child burst into tears and tell his mother that she was "breaking" his heart because she wouldn't get the candy he wanted. I've had little girls want high fives on their way out.
Sometimes though, you come across people who are out to ruin the night with their bad attitudes. We have some of those that are regulars. Known for making trouble and being verbally abusive. Like the one that stopped by last night. First time I've ever encountered her.

She came and loaded a cart with various items she wanted. Most of which were clearance. Then she remembered that she left her payment method at home. To the Guest Service desk she goes. "I want to leave this here while I run home to get my card. I'll be right back!" This was about 8 PM or a little before.
What's wrong with this scene? First, we don't hold clearance for anyone. Against Target policy don't you know! But we were trying to provide excellent customer service and doing her a favor. She did say she'd be right back... right? Secondly, 9/10 people who say "hold this for me" won't come back at all. Do you know how much food we throw out? How much merchandise we have to rush to put back out on the floor before closing time? All because someone didn't bring their money. Well, guess what happens next.
9:45 rolls around and that cart is still there. We have 15 minutes to get everything set up for closing and hope we get out on time. So I made the choice to reshop everything. I figured she was just like the other 9/10 people that says they will be back but never do. Clothing was picked up by the team members in that department immediately. Everything else went into the carts. 9:55 comes up and we are feeling great because closing time is almost here and we have everything ready so we can walk out as soon as we verify no one is in the store. But here walks in Trouble... Yep. She came back in. 5 MINUTES BEFORE CLOSING!
"Where is my cart?!"
"Well, ma'am, we returned everything to their rightful areas."
"WHY?"
"We are preparing for closing and you hadn't returned to the store."
"I said I was coming back, didn't I? Don't assume I'm like the 98% who say they will, but never do. That's wrong of you."
Then comes a long rant about wanting to call our store manager and how the security guard (me) will be escorting out this employee come tomorrow with a "Have a nice day and you're fired." She claims to have worked for a Target store before and knows company policy. She says we shouldn't have re-shopped everything until right at closing as that's the rules. There's a lot of things I wanted to say... But I was trying too hard not to laugh to open my mouth. And then she brought back a return to top it off! 5 minutes before closing?! What store did you work for, honey? Because I can tell you that 5 minutes before closing, all but 1 register is closed, all the reshop is put away and we are clearing the building of
guests. We plan to go home ON TIME! We don't want to hear about your store. We don't care who you worked for or what region you came from. We are on a mission and nothing you say or do is going to change that. If anything, its going to make our resolve stronger. So zip it and move along.
I have to commend the incredible poise and dignity displayed by my coworker who was dealing with this piece of work. He didn't raise his voice, referred to her as Miss, kept a polite tone, and provided the best Vibe possible as if there weren't any issues at all. Then when her words didn't rattle him as she wanted, she turned to the rest of us and apologized for us having to work with "such a guy". My answer? "I LOVE working with him! He's a really great guy." Another coworker chimes in, "He's a great guy to work with." Another, "Oh, I like working with him! Don't apologize for us." The look on the lady's face was PRICELESS! I'd love to have a copy of it hung in the break room. She mumbled something about not understanding how we can stand it when half his coworkers and most of the guests she's met say how much they hate him. Sweetheart, we all know you are lying. He's one of the top performing employees of our store with some of the highest guest compliments given. I've worked with him for over a year and never heard a guest complain about him unless they were upset that he wouldn't bend the rules to fit their fancy. So shut the pie-hole and get out of my store. While she's ranting, I gathered what was left of her cart items and we rang them up for her. She freaks out at this and tells us no, because we are all going to be in trouble and she wasn't buying anything until she talks to the store manager. Then she grabs a bag that was on the counter and acts as though she's going to walk out with it. At this point I say, um, no! "Did she pay for that?" She stops and turns around then brings the unpaid for merchandise back. "Now I'm getting so upset that I forgot I didn't pay. Keep it!" And she throws it down. "Do you want us to hold these items for you to get tomorrow?"
"Yes, I do. You ruined my trip and now I have to start over."
"I remember your name started with a C but can you tell me the name again please, miss?"
"No! I already told you my name today and if you can't remember it, then you are out of luck."
"Well, miss I can't hold them if I don't have a name."

"Too bad. You hold them and remember my name." At this point she begins to walk towards the door. Before she even gets there I tell them to reshop everything. "If we don't have a name, we don't hold the items. Put everything in their carts." She stops at the door and starts yelling something about how we will remember her name tomorrow when we get fired for being such poor Target employees. Everyone was ignoring her though. Why give her the benefit of an audience when the performance was such a poor one? As soon as she was gone, there were high fives and cheers all around. Why? Because we are Target's finest. We don't let people bully us and heavens to Betsy, she wasn't going to ruin our night with anything she had!
The previous night we had a known trouble maker who tries repeatedly to fraud the system with coupons. Well, ma'am, the gig is up. We know your face and MO and its not happening. As a matter of fact, everyone has been warned. You might want to take your business out of town from now on. She always comes in at closing. She doesn't get to the checkout lanes until 5 minutes before closing. She has a stack of coupons, most of which don't match or aren't able to be processed without managers approval. We deny them because of her reputation. She's cursed at least half of the managers out. She is verbally abusive to the cashiers. She hates my guts as I won't leave the front until she does and will have no problem returning her icy stare. She promised to have us fired too. It didn't happen. She claimed Target gave her a $100 gift card. But she didn't spend it, so that's probably bogus too.
Then we have people who think its okay to solicit in the stores. Target is a privately owned company. Target stores are private property. They have a strict No Solicitation policy. You get caught doing it, you will be asked to cease or leave. Get caught a second time, you will most likely be asked to leave. A third time will result in trespass warnings or calling the police to trespass you. Step foot in that store again and you get arrested for violating a trespass warning. This particular guest thinks she should be exempt from that because she's promoting her book and no other guests asked her to stop. She has since screamed at another security guard, yelled at a manager, and now has added the front lanes leader to her "get fired" list. I've got news for you, its not going to happen!

A lesson from the wise... Don't come to Target with your attitude, people! Most especially not at closing time. Don't try to sell other guests something, we don't need your health food books. Don't use and abuse your coupons and you won't make it on our black list. You won't run us down. We just "ain't gonna take it!"

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Oh those cravings....

Ever have a craving for something that you couldn't explain? And no, I don't mean when you are pregnant. I came home one night with the thought of fresh brownies. Or chocolate cake. I really wanted some. My husband had the Freshly Picked Strawberries candle burning and instant ramen in the microwave. Now don't ask me why, because I still haven't been able to wrap my head around it, but I thought the smell was too close to that of freshly baked brownies. Suddenly I wanted to bake. But being that I'm moving, I don't have much in the way of baking supplies piled up like normal. I had a cake mix though. So I went online to do some research. I found a recipe that used a cake mix, 1 egg, and 1/2 a cup of butter to make cake mix cookies. On top of that, I had Hershey kisses and M&M's.
They came out so well (yes, I'm so proud!).
Have a recipe to share? Email it to me at texanmama08 at gmail dot com. I'll share it and possibly try to make it as well.  

Friday, January 17, 2014

It's moving time again....

May I just start by saying... I HATE moving! It's miserable, time consuming and seems to be a strong supporter of holding me back.  In the little over 6 years I've been married we have moved about... 7 or 8 times? Including one very long and draining move across the country from Texas to Florida... with 3 small children in a Buick LeSabre with a trailer about the size of or slightly larger than my car trailing behind us. Besides the few hilarious moments when my deaf husband would do the fist pump so that truckers would honk as we went by, it was tiring. My back and legs ached and on parts of the drive I almost went off the highway when extreme exhaustion hit me like a sledgehammer. You see, I'm the only driver. And that's about 20 hours of driving with minimum stops. Plus I get to listen to the children complaining in the backseat, worry about the trailer dragging behind and wish I was alone on a sandy beach listening to anything besides the kids soundtrack CDs that I now have just about memorized. I've moved during pregnancies in the hottest parts of summers. I've packed entire apartments very nearly on my own while my husband slept during the day and worked overnight.
I hate moving. With a burning passion.
And yet, here I am again. Packing. Cleaning out. And preparing for another long move. 
 This time I'm transferring my job to another store so we won't have to end up living in a hotel while I scramble for work. And my husband is disabled. So there's some comfort. I've made friends here who are joining my other friends as online buddies. I feel like I'm abandoning my amazing coworkers here for the unknown folks of another store.
Housing arrangements are still in the air. My apartment here looks frightfully desolate as half of everything is in boxes already. And being OCD is driving me insane! I can't stand clutter, so having boxes stacked along the walls makes me feel like a freak from Hoarders.
Once again my children are showing signs of being unsettled as we have yet to firmly set roots anywhere.
So many questions swirling in my head. So many fears. Are my children ever going to have a good solid place to grow up? I sometimes feel like we go from apartment to apartment and they are like the puppies growing up in a pet store. They don't have room to run and play. To be free. For most of my childhood, my parents had houses. I went bike riding, roller blading, running, climbed trees... I had adventures. I want the same for my kids. But I'm always struggling. We can only afford so much. And time is quickly passing us by. Between work and getting daily chores done, we seem to miss the times of taking the boys fishing, going to the park, or visiting family and friends.
To make matters worse, my husband spends at least 2-3 hours (broken up in intervals between his gaming) to "talk" about what sort of housing situation I want. All the while knowing that I'm going to give the exact same answer I have been giving for the past month because we both know where we will end up in the end despite our best efforts for the ideal home. A house would be amazing. But at this point I'd settle for a 2 bedroom apartment so long as we get to where we are going and have a place to rest after the move. And so long as the one sided "discussions" finally end.
There are still the daily activities that come with being a working mother. Preparing and cleaning up after 2 meals a day, organizing the packing scene and de-cluttering, home schooling two highly active boys who get ants in their pants when told to sit still, working part time 3 days a week, and then trying to get enough sleep to keep me out of the zombie zone.
Some mornings I hear the "Mom" alarm and want to hit the snooze button (if only there was one). But the voices get louder. And they multiply.
I've been working on getting them ready for the move. I made up a backpack of toys, bought some fun packs from the Dollar Spot at Target, and tried telling them what's happening. They look forward to seeing their Oma and Papa. I got them in on "helping" me pack the toys...
 Finally there is the "Going Away" project. You know when you are going far enough away that you won't see the people you are close to for quite some time. So you plan shindigs and soirĂ©es to see everyone to say goodbye. Only it's hard to find those times. Most of them are later at night. Then comes writing those heartfelt goodbyes. I believe that when you truly mean it, you write it. Not just say it.
All of this leads to the choice of curling up  in the fetal position whilst growling at any who dare approach... Or rolling with the punches and taking it one step at a time. I'm still fighting the urge to take the first option.
I know that the next few months will be a completely different nightmare. On top of being in a new place, I'll be starting over in a new store as the new girl all over again. Let's be honest, I don't make friends well. I hide in my shell until someone forces me out. Ask my best friend. She literally scared the friendship into life. Then she dragged me into her circle of friends of our workplace adding two other besties to my life long pals list. I think that's sorta how it worked out in my latest job as well. The outgoing, friendly people pulled me in and one of them even gave me a run down on everyone else so I didn't come out feeling like a total stranger around everyone. Now I'm starting over...
School is going to be put on hold. Again. 6 years is a long time to put college on hold. Especially when you had so few classes left towards your degree.

So much to do. So little time. Sadness, frustration, anxiety... all tugging away at what's left of this moms sanity. I certainly hope for the best, fear the worse and will do everything I can to make it the best transition possible! Thanks for listening to my craziness. Feel free to tell me what you think about it in a comment below.

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Jewelry Candle review

I finally received my replacement candle for the broken one that was ordered before Christmas from Jewelry Candle. And I have to admit, I'm a little more impressed.
So I wrote about the previous experience. My biggest complaint was the customer service. I still think they can improve their service ratings with a little more attention to customer service skills. However, that being said, they do provide a great product. One that seems worth the money.
About the candles...
They are a rather large size with a double wick. Made from 100% natural soy and using premium quality fragrances, they offer so much more than a candle. They are natural, hand poured, and the double wick technique means they burn evenly so you aren't wasting anything. The rings are exquisite as well. You can check out others reviews and reveals on their website. So many variations! They also put in necklaces and earrings that I've seen.
My husband ordered the Freshly Picked Strawberries ring candle. He originally wanted it here by our anniversary on December 15th. When it was late, he said it would be my Christmas gift. It came just in time! December 21st, I received the first candle. It was broken inside the box despite being firmly wrapped and sealed.
They do package their candles very carefully though. Even before I opened the box, the scent coming from the package was divine! I was enjoying the rich aroma and certainly in no hurry to get the ring yet. It burned for several hours before the ring foil could be seen. And the smell of strawberries was evident throughout the entire apartment! We did manage to get the first ring out. It was really pretty.

We contacted Jewelry Candle and were answered much quicker this time around. Of course their Christmas rush was over by this time. We sent pictures of the unwrapping and damage to show proof of it and they immediately answered that they would get another candle out to replace it. We waited a couple weeks but didn't hear anything else. I finally posted on their Facebook page about it and someone answered quickly that they would have the new candle in the mail the next day. True to their word, they did. And in a couple days following, our candle arrived at our door.

Opening this box, I didn't smell the candle as strongly as I did before.
Its not as overwhelming as that first one. However, it still smells amazing and the scent travels down the halls around the apartment. It burned a little weaker this time as well. A couple times the wicks snuffed themselves out. It burned about a third of the way down before the ring foil was seen.
My husband was impatient though and decided to try tugging it out as soon as it would budge a little. Its perfect!
It came the month of my birthday and was a garnet (my birthstone) ring. There are tiny green (peridot?), pink, and purple stones on the sides as well. I love it! He wants to order another one maybe in a month or so and I already have a few ideas of which one I might like to try... Just remember to order BEFORE the Christmas rush. Like August or September maybe? They have Ring Candles as well as Jewelry Candles. I also like that they have Greeting Candles. Want to add a message such as congratulations, your love for soldiers, new baby, etc.? They have so many to choose from. They also have Jewelry Tarts, Soaps, Wax Roses, and host Giveaways. You can also become a consultant. So check them out and let me know what your thoughts about them are.