Sometimes,
a Thursday Diary entry will just pop up out of nowhere. In this
case, a temporary transplant to a different department inspired this
post. Don't worry though...it's going to be “mostly” positive.
May
2, 2013
Can
I just say that my shift at work yesterday was one of those shifts
that left me absolutely confused? I felt as though I was on an
episode of Doctor Who, or an extra in that lame movie “Hot Tub Time
Machine”, and had warped back in time exactly eight years ago, to
May 2005.
Now,
May 2005 was one of those months in which my life was not exactly
where I wanted it to be. I was just about to turn 24 years old, I
was probably at what was my heaviest weight ever, and I had been at
my current workplace for a grand total of seven months.
In
short, I was a retail newbie.
Now,
here's the deal. I never actually worked inside the store when I
started my job at my current place of employment. For the first year
or so, I was sort of the player behind the scenes, so to speak.
The
perks were that I got to spend a lot of time in the great outdoors
(sort of similar to the job that I currently hold), and that I got to
stay in my own little world most of the time. Truth be told, it was
sort of nice to be away from all the hubbub of the business of the
store every now and then.
But
there were a ton of cons in addition to the pros.
I'm
talking about the thirteen months that I worked as a store standards
associate. Thirteen months that began with a Christmas season, and
ended with a Christmas season. And, let me tell you, it was by far
one of the worst positions that I have ever worked!
I
began that job in December 2004, two weeks before Christmas. And, I
won't sugarcoat it, it probably would not have been my first choice
at a job.
Now,
some of you are wondering “what exactly does a store standards
associate do?”
Well,
if you are asking that question, allow me to enlighten you.
A
store standards associate...
- Goes out into the parking lot to bring in all of the shopping carts that have been either left behind in shopping cart corrals, or scattered all over the lot...regardless of whether it is sunny, rainy, windy, snowy, hot, cold, or lukewarm. I'm pretty sure that the workplace draws the line at collecting carts in a hurricane, though. That would be unsafe.
- Inspects the washrooms on a semi-regular basis each day to make sure that they are at their height of cleanliness. Easily the WORST part of the job.
- Responds with a mop and bucket whenever they hear a page for a clean-up. But, just to get this out of the way, a clean-up means that you have spilled an entire case of juice, or spilled a bottle of motor oil at the cash register, or heaven forbid, cleaning up vomit or worse. A clean-up does NOT include a splash of Tim Horton's coffee that could easily be cleaned up with a single piece of paper towel.
- Having to help customers load heavy, awkward, and expensive purchases into their cars, trucks, vans, or trailers. These include but are not limited to curio cabinets, futons, flat screen television sets, gazebos, patio sets, mattresses, pool tables, treadmills, trampolines, barbecues, etc...
So,
as you can see, store standards is not one of those jobs where you
can take the time to sit back and smell the roses. You worked, and
you worked damn hard.
Or,
at least that was the idea.
You
see, part of the main frustration with the store standards position
was not so much the work that was associated with it. Sure, the work
was tiring and monotonous, but the way I looked at it, it was a job,
and I had the belief that if I gave it my all, people would
eventually take notice. And, the work itself was nothing that I
couldn't handle.
Some
of my co-workers on the other hand...well...let's put it this way.
Their general apathy towards the whole job made me want to lie down
in the middle of the parking lot, set the cart pusher to radio
control, and arrange it so that it would run over me.
(Well,
okay, it never got THAT bad. That was merely a gross exaggeration on
my part.)
Just
to get this out of the way (and just to prove to you that my disdain
for store standards was somewhat justifiable), I will tell you that
there was one incident in which I had stayed out for nearly four
hours on a day where the mercury was right around 35 Celsius, and I
was almost passing out from dehydration (which admittedly was my own
fault for not drinking enough water prior to my shift beginning).
And, when I came in, the store standards guy who was supposed to be
working with me (who had called in sick the last few days) not only
was found shopping inside the store, but had the audacity to send
someone else to ask me if I would take his extra shifts for him!!!
CONFESSION:
I'll be the first one to admit that had I not been feeling so poorly
at the time, I likely would have done something to him that would
have gotten me fired. Thankfully, it turned out to be a one time
thing, as I completely ignored him after that incident.
And,
can I just say that sometimes, those carry-outs that I had to partake
in were more frustrating then they really should have been, depending
on the circumstances behind them?
Sure,
most of them were easy-peasy, and they slid right into the vehicles
with little to no difficulty whatsoever. But, let me ask you this.
Have you ever tried to squeeze a barbecue inside the back of a
Pontiac Sunfire? It can't be done unless you remove it from the box!
And, that's frustrating.
Or,
have you ever tried to load up a package that is 50 x 45, and the
space that you have to work with is significantly less than that? It
can't be done unless there is a rope handy to tie it to the roof, or
use the rope to tie down the trunk.
Or,
have you ever tried to cram an entire patio set inside a Mitsubishi?
It can't be done. Ever. Even if you take it out of the box,
disassemble all of the pieces that make up the table, chairs, and
umbrella, and stuff the bits and pieces inside the car. You can't do
it. Take it from someone who knows.
Let's
put it this way. When I got the chance to move into the food
department in January 2006, I literally jumped at the chance to move
on from that job. And, I thought that once I had left that position,
there would be no way that I would ever go back...
...well,
that is until yesterday when staffing issues forced me to fill in for
a day.
But,
you know, a job is a job, no matter what it is. It may not have been
my ideal work position, but I got it done without “much”
complaining.
Hey,
we're only human, right?
If
anything though, going back to the department I started in (and
didn't have the most positive memories of, honestly speaking) was a
wake-up call of sorts. It kind of reminded me how far I have come
over the last few years, and how much I have grown since then. I'm
not the same person I was eight years ago. At the same time, going
back to how it used to be has taught me that I should never forget
where I came from. I suppose for some people, they would have
pitched a fit over having to go back to the one place they hated the
most...and, honestly, five years ago I would have likely been one of
them.
To be completely honest, I think everyone in the world should, at some point in their lives have to go back to the one job that they hated the most, and work at least one shift in that job, just so people can have more appreciation for the work that they do now. I know that after working store standards for a day, I value my current position in the store a lot more than I used to...
...well, my current position for about two weeks, anyway.
I'm not going to lie
to you, I wasn't the most thrilled person last night...but it would
have made me look even worse had I refused. And, sometimes it takes
that perspective to realize that maybe gathering shopping carts every
once in a while isn't as bad as it is made out to be.
Though,
let's make it clear, I don't want to do it again. :D
Again,
we're only human, right?
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