Hmmkay. So I work at Coles. Not a great place to work, but pays the bills none-the-less.
I spend about ten hours a week, placing groceries into plastic (or those OH SO FANTASTIC POLYPROPOLENE BAGS MADE JUST FOR THE ENVIRONMENT) bags, and taking money from you. Sometimes I give money back in the form of change, or "cash out".
Sometimes, I get to work in other departments, those times, just make my fucking Coles day.
But essentially, a job in a supermarket is not as glamorous as one might actually think.
For example, do you honestly think I really care about how you are? I mean, it's not like I've said "hi, I'm here to be your emotional punching bag for the evening, start whenever you are ready". I don't need to hear about how shit your kids are, how woe your money situation is (come on mister, I'm a Uni student, I know what money problems are, you're wearing an Amani suit, and complaining about how the interest rates on term deposits and such are SO affecting you right now, get a life, and if you're gonna bitch, gimme some of that money you have), and I REALLY don't need to hear about how shit your shopping experience has been in the past.
Why is this you may ask? Well, to be honest, kids shit me up the wall. All kids annoy the living shit out of me at most, and if I can handle them, I have no greater joy than handing them back to their parents after a couple of hours (albeit, when I do, said kids are riding a massive sugar high, covered in mud/paint/texta/flour/some other form of parent irritant, and have also possibly learned some really good methods for destroying the home. Parents: don't let your children near me.) So in essence, complaining about your children is really annoying TO ME, in fact, why have them if you're going to complain. It's why i WON'T have them, because really, I don't want to complain about something I brought on myself.
I also don't care how shit your life is, especially if you smell, REALLY BADLY... that could be WHY your life is shit, and maybe, if you'd have a shower (maybe several in a row to start with), it may get better. I also don't want to hear about how shit your life is if your a suit. Your a suit. Get over it, you made the choice stfu.
Now for the shopping experience. WHOA!!!! Complain about that chick back there whom I happen to have drinks with every Friday night arsehole. And what are you complaining about? Something she couldn't do something about more often than not. You're a fucking jerk, and abused the living daylights out of her for it. In fact, I really want to punch you square in the face right now, but the customer is always "right". It's a sad truth, but in actual fact. You're not.
Another thing. Messy customers. No I don't mean appearance. But just. Messy.
For example. I was put to facing the dairy case this evening. Not an easy job considering for most of it, you have your head in a fridge. Also not an easy job, when most dairy workers don't know about stock rotation and you find a bunch of almost out of date stuff at the back, and hiding behind the stuff thats nowhere near out of date.
In the general rule of facing, you bring two forward in each row, so even if someone buys something, there's not a HUGE gap making the place ugly. I try and bring three or four to the front, when its things like milk, butter, juice (your usual dairy case stuff) because people tend to buy it frequently.
So I'm happily facing away, rotating stock as I go, and a customer walks past me and says to her daughter "See, I told you they only emply lazy people here". Ok. Thanks lady, like to see you do this. Did you know that if I didn't do this, you'd be reaching to the far end of the top shelf for your milk? And now I know who you are, I won't help you when you have to one day.
What annoys me even more, is when you walk past the milk fridge at the end of your shift, and its worse than before you started. I don't mind the fact people BUY stuff, that doesn't bother me. But seriously, do you have to MOVE THE MILK AROUND? It's highly irritating, and makes me a little sad that I made it look so good for you, the customer.
Actually, I've decided, get out of my store, and leave it alone, I like it the way it is once I've faced.
