ANOTHER DAY FROM HELL

Saturday, September 13, 2008

  

We all have had days we knew were going to be bad ones from the very start.  Today was one of mine.

 

I usually start the day by asking God to help me through the day & for me to be a shining example for Him throughout my waking hours.  For some reason, I didn’t do that this morning.  I awoke groggy, wanting to roll back over & snuggle, & go back to sleep.  I should have listened to my inner voice.  (No, not THOSE voices in my head, lol)

 

Today was going to be a busy & tiring one at work because 2 of my least favorite co-workers were working with me, as well as the newest co-worker whose elevator doesn’t go all the way to the top floor.  I felt better today than I had yesterday, but still felt like a cold was coming on, or my sinusitis was in full bloom.  I wasn’t on top of my game.  For some time now I have also had short-term memory loss.  I recently watched a TV special about how when you get less than 4 hours sleep a night, you lose short-term memory.  Today I was doomed to forget everything...I only slept 3.5 hours. 

 

The first part of the day went well.  When the newest employee came in, she showed the new community service girl what to do.  I was getting along well with the 2 employees I don’t care much for.  The new employee covered for me while I went on break, which was nice, since I usually have to BEG someone to give me a break. 

 

Right before I went to lunch, things got really busy in the store.  I had a line of customers waiting to be checked out, as well as numerous voices calling to me asking me questions about this & that, not to mention kids running amuck in the store, screaming, playing & tearing up things.

 

A regular customer came up while I was checking someone out & asked me how much a wooden toy box was.  I told her it should be priced since another co-worker & I had discussed it earlier.  I went back to checking my customer out when the other woman returned & said it didn’t have a price on it.  I finished with my customer at the register & went to the back to ask a co-worker what the price was on the toy box.  She told me & I went back to tell the customer.  Now this is where my memory gets mushy.  I vaguely remember the customer saying “OK, I will get it then, but I am not done shopping.”  Usually, we tell the customer if they want to avoid someone else attempting to purchase the item they want, go ahead & purchase it right then, & we can either place a sold sign on it, or we can have it taken out to their vehicle.  Well, for some reason, I didn’t say that to the customer.  I guess we “assume” that if someone is a regular customer they know the routine.  Well, once again, I made the wrong assumption.  I got busy again with a line of customers & totally forgot any conversation I had had with the toy box customer. 

 

Somewhere in the maze of people in my line, a woman came up & said she wanted to get the toy chest out front.  When she said “out front”, my mind automatically thought she meant the Little Tykes toy chest that was outside earlier in the morning.  I asked her how much it was & she said $8.99.  I rang it up, she paid, I called a guy from the back to come load it into the woman’s car & suddenly out of nowhere a voice yelled, “Where are they going with my toy box?”  I turned suddenly & saw the previous customer glaring at me.  She asked if I had just sold it to that woman.  I realized then what I had done.  Stupid me.  I told her I had forgotten she wanted it & apologized to her.  That wasn’t good enough.  She began yelling at me in front of my long line of customers, telling me that I was wrong in doing that.  I stopped what I was doing, turned to face her & told her I was terribly sorry, but there was nothing I could do but ask for her forgiveness & if another one came in I would let her have it for half price, even if I had to pay the difference.  That didn’t satisfy her.  Since she hadn’t paid for it yet, I COULDN’T give her any money back.  I couldn’t let her pick out anything in the store for free.  I just kept telling her I was sorry & to please forgive me.  She yelled she would forgive me, but it just wasn’t right.  I did her wrong.  She kept on & on about it.  I told her she obviously hadn’t forgiven me, as she was still screaming at me about it. 

 

As I finished with my customer at the register, I saw a co-worker in the aisle, excused myself from the register & went to ask her to take over for me since I was so rattled by the woman screaming at me.  I was trying to explain to her what had happened, starting by saying “IT WAS MY FAULT.”   The screaming customer followed me over to the other employee & said “Here you are talking about me & spreading it all over!”  My co-worker told the woman I was only explaining to her that I had made an error, asking her to try to rectify it with the customer.  I turned & walked off, knowing my mouth was about to get the best of me.

 

I was so angry, I went into the kitchen, grabbed a piece of ice from the freezer and slung it hard against the wall.  Fortunately, no one was injured in the assault.  Without explanation, I went outside, sat down in one of the chairs, gritting my teeth, while 5 CS guys tried to ask what was wrong.  One said I looked really angry. I nodded.  Then I saw there was a Rubbermaid tub in front of my foot, so I kicked it hard. It bounced into one of the guys.  He wasn’t hurt, but I apologized. He started laughing & said no harm done.  They begged me to tell the story, so I did.  I felt better. They all started telling stories about where they worked.  I went back inside to sit a couple more minutes, hoping the other co-worker had diffused the situation & the customer was gone.  Another co-worker told me I needed to go up front & help out since there was a long line.  I went, slowly, making sure the customer was gone. Then I noticed the girl who was going to relieve me for lunch was back from her break & working the register.  I asked what happened with the customer & was told the woman left mad, saying she would never come back again.  Good riddance.  I got my purse & went to lunch.  I hadn’t planned on eating out, but needed comfort food.  Fried chicken, here I come.

 

The rest of the day went well for me. The co-worker who had diffused the situation locked her keys in the building when we closed for the day & couldn’t get into her van, her house, or even the building to retrieve her keys.  She calmly asked me for my key.  HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!  I don’t have a set of keys, lol.  I never got a set because I am never scheduled to open.  I am the only one who lives close, so it would take anyone at least 45 minutes to get there to let her in.  She called the director……voicemail.  She called another co-worker…….answering machine.  Then she called her son, who lives 5 miles away, asking him to bring a spare key for her van.  He didn’t have one……lol.  But he came & picked her up to take her home.  We all have our forgetful moments…..

 

I was so stressed out by the time I did get home I was ready to sit down at my puter and put this entry in my journal.  No such luck.  No wifi signal.  I had one all night last night, but I had to go to bed and get up early for work today.  Sigh………………..

 

I am going to close now.  Hope everyone is well and happy and life is treating you with love and respect.