Retail continued....

So I am (mostly to vent my spleen) going to list any and all customer stupidities I can think of or that occur. No, I am not going to name names. Most of the time, I don't know the idgit's name or care to. I will also rate each one as to the likelihood of it happening during an average day at the store I work at. I happen to be a cashier. (Yes, I know. Being a cashier sucks. Watch Clerks sometime.) Because I was born under some loser star, I am always at the returns desk. (Thank you, folks. I can feel the sympathy from those of you who have worked returns.)

Customer tries to exit out entrance doors which has a large sign on it saying NO EXIT in two languages. Then turns to me and says, "Can I get out these doors?" -- Extremely Common. Happens several times a day.

Customer approaches returns desk and asks if I can check them out. (Which, BTW, is against most stores' company policy. I don't make the rules, folks.) -- Also Extremely Common. Happens a few times each day.

Customer feels a pressing need to talk about their life, choices they made when young that I should avoid, or about the last time they saw a pretty girl. -- Very Common. Happens a few times each day.

Customer attempts to return item without a reciept, then once the return is finished, wants to argue about how much they paid for said item. (Keep your receipts, please! Items with no proof of price WILL be returned at current price. Again, I don't make the rules. I am just the poor SOB that got stuck behind this desk.) -- Common. At least every other day.

Well, that's enough for right now. Stay tuned for more reasons why store clerks hate the general public. Trust me, these examples are just the tip of a very large iceberg.

Retail - the Horror of it all.....!

As the title implies, this rant will be about life in the retail world. A nasty little place, fit only for the innocent (fairly rare), the rich (as if! most of them order servants to shop for them), and the ignorant (rampant as usual). Let's face it, the only reason anyone works in retail is because they have no choice or have no idea what they are getting into. Suitable for first jobs and temporary financial havens (like my situation), no one with any brains stays longer than they have to. Buying and selling crap no one really needs is big business these days. Having worked at a certain store which shall remain nameless (since getting sued is not part of my plan in life) for over a year now, I have seen a lot. At a place where one thousand customers is considered a slow day, I see tons of people in one eight hour period. And, unfortunately, most of them are stupid.

Now, don't get me wrong. There is a difference between ignorant and stupid. When someone asks me which aisle an item is in, that's ignorance. When someone tries to walk in a door while you are locking it for the night, then argues with you about whether its really 7 o'clock yet, that's stupidity. Yes, that happened to me tonight. As anyone who has ever had to lock a door to a store knows, it's a fairly common occurance. FYI, I don't care what your watch says. I was told to lock the door, so I'm locking it. Argue with the management about what time our clocks are set at. I don't care.

The Rant Continues! News at eleven.....

Okay, so I suck at this journal type thing. Sue me.

My update reads as follows...

I have graduated from community college with great grades (thank you, please hold your applause!) and am suffering through another summer working in retail. This fall I will attend a huge university and will hopefully be unemployed so I can focus on homework.

All right, that's enough about me. Let's get on to the stupidty of the world!

Class is in session!

Yikes, it certainly is! I think my books weigh a modest 20 pounds . . . each! But seriously, why do they produce such huge tomes?! Most classes will go through maybe half the material in an average textbook. You lay out about $100 per book for something you will use only about 45% of, then when they buy it back they only want to give you $30. Sheesh. Someone's making money here; I only know it's not me!

Saints and gods preserve me; I'm in classes with teachers who believe in group work and class participation! Pet peeves of mine, those two, old enemies from the early days of elementary school. Group work means you have at least one person in your group who is A) incompetent or B) lazy. Therefore, someone gets stuck doing their work too. (Three guesses as to who that usually is!) Class participation can be a good thing. My problem is, as a general rule, once the teachers knows who is paying attention and understands, they will then call upon two people who they know do not care at all, then turn to the competent students and say things like, "I'm sure Lisa can tell us the answer." or "Bob, why don't you explain?" (Two guesses as to who got singled out the most in class as a 'right answer' student!)

At any rate, I have to go. Freaking work schedule is worse than ever and I somehow have to work in 6 lab hours of whatever before the semester ends. Yikes!

Yikes, what a long hiatus!

Ok, so I've been extremely busy all summer with my part (!) time job. One small digression, without naming names, but every place I've ever worked before believed that part-time was less than 30 hours per week. I spent all summer with 36 hour weeks. NOW corporate has handed down a memo that states all part time people must be less than 30 hours per week. Sheesh. Where were YOU at the beginning of the summer? Not that I didn't need the money, but still! Maybe I wouldn't be so ticked if I had some of the money left.

Well, the big news is I start school Monday. Five, count 'em, FIVE college classes. Am I worried? You bet. I haven't seen the inside of a classroom since 1999. I have to say, though, that working all summer has definately stiffened my resolve to finish school and make something of myself. Exactly what I'll make, I don't know, but it's got to be better than this. Catch you in class, friends.

I'm Baaack!!

I have been away from my blog for so long! I got a new job and I swear it's devouring all my time. But I'm back now and ready to comment on the sad state of the world in general.

We had a bit of a scare earlier around here. Some fuitloop freaked out and killed his wife and kids and the cops couldn't find him. Anybody with a police scanner was calling all their friends and warning them. Word travels fast about something like that. Fortunately, they caught the guy.

In the paper today, there was a story about some moron who was driving while intoxicated and hit an Amish horse and buggy. The buggy contained one entire Amish family. The mother was killed and four of the children have been hospitalized. Boy, you'd think you'd be safe in a horse and buggy, but NOOO! Some moron has to drink too much and then wander around hitting innocent people. I was in an accident a few years ago where some stupid woman had too much to drink and nearly knocked me into the path of a moving train. It's not the sort of thing you forget.

Rant About Something I Can't Let Go

Ok, so for some reason this particular incident keeps popping up in my mind. I don't know why but maybe if I jot it down here it will quit interrupting my peaceful game playing. There is a festival called Native American Days in the neighboring state. I enjoy it very much. This last year, I was sick with some god-awful mono-like virus and missed all the fairs I usually go to. The state fair, the county fair, the Fall Festival in Evansville, I was too sick for all of them. When Native American Days cam around, I was really looking forward to it.

It rained, of course. No big deal, I thought. The first one I attended was held in a downpour. Of course, when we arrived, it looked like everything was shut down. The event is held at Angel Mounds and there is an interpretive center there. We went inside to see if they were simply postponing everything until later or if it had been canceled. That's when it happened. The center really has nothing to do with the festival. The center is run by volunteers, I guess; at any rate they are all white haired old ladies. The group in front of us had obviously never been to Native American Days before. When they asked about it, the lady behind the desk lied to them. She told them that it was inside and charged them to go in. Yes, there is a fee involved with the interpretive center, but not with Native American Days. I have never been so outraged in all my life. If I had been paying close attention, I would have called her on it before they payed their money. Our turn was next, and probably the look in my eye told her that I knew what she had done. She told us the festival had been called off. Smarter than she looked. If she had worn a name tag, I would have reported the evil old bat. Stupid to still be so upset about it months later, but there it is. Maybe if I had reported it, I wouldn't still be getting angry right now.

Procrastination and Irritation

Ok, so winter makes me want to lay in bed with the covers pulled over my head. So sue me. I feel so lazy, even typing seems like work. But I digress . . . or I'm about to.

I saw something truly appalling yesterday. Some overly crude person had a giant rubber ballsac hanging from his truck's hitch. Frightening and disgusting. I'll admit that it's a new one on me, but yikes! Scraping the bottom of the barrel on stupidity are we? Every time he hit a bump, it wobbled back and forth. Truly sickening. It makes me wonder just what is wrong with someone that they think putting that on their truck is a good idea. In case you're wondering, Mr. Icky Idea, most females think the male body is ugly and/or funny-looking down there. You're revolting a large percent of the population. Sheesh. If it isn't illeagal, it should be.

How Do You Know When You're In Love?

Seriously. I've met a certain guy only three times now, but each time I meet him I cannot stop thinking about him for days. I don't think I'm in love . . . or am I? Would I even know if I was? I barely know this person, but he has been on my mind for the last two days. Every friend I have is practically screaming at me to date him, but I just don't know. I don't think we have enough in common, etc. etc. Yet I'm still thinking about him. And how am I supposed to know if he's interested in me? I think he is, but then he does something which makes me think he isn't. I'm bad at small talk and flirting. I hate talking about myself. At parties, unless I know everyone there, I'm likely to sit and listen to everyone and only speak when directly addressed. And between the two of us, we have enough issues to keep psychologist happy for years. And I can't stop thinking about him. Damn being single anyway. Most of the time I enjoy it, but sometimes I think it would be nice to have someone to hold me in the middle of the night. And that's another thing. What if I'm only interested because I'm lonely and he's the only single, not-gay male I know right now? Sheesh.