Surrounded By Shady Seasonals

From

Star Associate:

Can I take a moment please and bring up a before now unmentioned aspect of retail hell?

Besides idiotic customers who do not realize that a name tag and an overloaded arm full of clothes does indeed mean I work there, (our managers are actually pretty great, so I can’t complain there) I would like to rant for a moment about another hellish aspect of this ‘holy’ season.

 

Seasonal help. 

Short-term associates who don’t know WTF is going on. 

I work in a big name department store and here are a few samples of this years’ pick of the crop.

 

There’s the woman in her 50’s who showed up for her first day and before clocking in asked when her break from her THREE-HOUR SHIFT was. 

Then there is the young gansta who, either by unfortunate DNA or by laziness, holds his mouth quite like Bubba of (the fictional) Babba-Gump Shrimp who’s job description must have read: Stand and have a look around for eight hours. 

And let’s not forget the almost entirely bald 50ish man who wears Buddy Holy glasses and who’s voice I’ve heard exactly once in an entire week. Buddy actually does what he’s being paid to do, folding and refolding the clothes piggy customers have torn asunder. But his silence, rather than golden is a bit alarming, and I can only hope there’s not a shotgun and surprised neighbors in the near future.

Oh, and the dressing room attendant in a high theft area who was told she needed to pay attention to what people were bringing in and out, to you know, catch a thief. She said she was going to need paper and a pencil to do that.  

 

I also have a co-worker (unfortunately for me, she’s full time and not going away at the end of the season) who stands at the register and rings customers for her entire shift. I and one other associate do most of the grunt work, recovery and putting back the unwanted items stupid ass people bring up to the counter and then decide it’s not cheap enough for them to buy.  (I’m sorry, but finding a $10 Polo item is akin to finding a forgotten copy of the Declaration of Independence in a garage sale painting, NOT GONNA HAPPEN)  We call her Quiet Contrary because not only will she just stand there, but she will but into your conversation with a customer (always disagreeing with what you’re saying) She will steal your customer faster than you can say ‘fuck off bitch’ and we’re not even on commission.

So, I found out the other day that QC doesn’t bother to do the half of her job of recovery because… wait for it….her feet hurt.  

Who’s fucking feet DON’T fucking hurt??? 

 

Thanks for letting me rant. 

 

Star Associate

 

Comments

[Burger Bitch]

Holy Christ, you're are more retarded than mine.
Although we hired about three people to help over the holidays, two of them are actually alright.
The third, however, refused to clean the washrooms because he had a hang nail on his toe and he was limping.
=/
Then he whined when he had to work a four hour shift because it was SO LONG.
When everyone else had been there for seven plus hours.

[FormerStarAssociate]

Hey Star Associate, if you give me her name and your store name and I'll write a bad "Tell Us What You Think" about her. =)

[Kit]

Out of the 20 or so seasonals we've hired, only a few of them are the odd pegs. Most of them that we've hired are just to man the registers, though one of them with every five transactions, she mucks up four of them, forcing a manager or a head cashier to come over and fix it.

Another keeps on invading my department to butt in with conversations I'm having with my customers, which turns them off because not only does he not know what he's talking about, he kind of looks like the kind of guy that when you were little, your parents told you to stay away from.

[Maddie]

Her feet might hurt less if she was moving around instead of just standing still! That's how it works for me, at least.

[StarAssociate]

@Maddie - Yes! I completely agree. Not only do your feet hurt less (or at least your mind is on other things) but time (and therefore your shift) passes faster if you’re actually doing something!

@Kit - They have hired a few seasonals who are good workers, caught on fast and I wouldn't mind keeping, if it weren't for the fact that we have few enough hours to go around as it is.

[Liz]

I was hired as seasonal help, the only one hired at that, worked at the store five years ago when the POS system was completely different and there weren't numerous technological breakthroughs in the world of big box bookselling, and I think I'm pretty much on top of all of my shit when it comes to "knowing what the fuck is going on."

For the record. And I think they are keeping me on full-time when the holidays are over.

[Cake Bitch]

Thank anything holy that I work in the bakery and we don't hire seasonal people... cashiers are hired seasonal but the turn-around is so fast I don't know anyone besides the ones who have been working for us for practically ever anyways...

Although there's something to be said for stupid associates... I feel your pain. >.<

[chaoticidealism]

Hey, don't worry about the mostly-mute guy; he's probably just a shy introvert. That type takes a while to warm up to new people and new places, and they are actually less likely to be violent than extroverts are. They generally just prefer to have their people in small doses. How do I know? I'm an introvert, and I do not plan on any axe-murders in the forseeable future. :)

[CheerfulChirps]

chaoticidealism

I admit that I'm also an introvert. At work however, I'm outgoing because it's a turn off to customers that you aren't even engaging in them. Some co-workers might also feel you are being hostile.

My boyfriend's brother worked at a fast food restaurant that made calzones, and since he was quiet around another employee because he was being a jerk the female employees said they felt uncomfortable working with him and he was fired. Simply for being quiet.