Retail Hell Memories: Clocking In To Help Busy Coworkers

I was out with my friends one night and we decided to stop by Awful Waffle (As it was the only thing open within 15 miles) to grab some noms.

Upon arriving, I see the parking lot is FLOODED and get that sinking feeling of "Oh, shit." Not even because I KNEW I was going to have to work, but because I knew the chaos my coworkers were in. (It was a weeknight, which means one cook, one all night waitress, and one half night waitress. Not the best situation for  a customer explosion)

So, we run inside and the place is trashed. Apparently there was a concert that night and everyone wanted to stop at our AW on the way home.

There was only a handful of clean dishes left and piles stacking up on tables, as my coworkers couldn't get there fast enough to pick them up. The cook (Who is, to this day, one of my most favorite people in the world) saw me and called out "Dishes!", so I ran to the back, clocked in, and grabbed an apron so I could start scrubbing dishes.

Now, this is the amusing part and I got a lot of chuckles out of customers because of it. Since I had been out that night, I was dressed like my little dark self: Black with white lace doll style dress, black makeup, funked out hair, and my favorite 3 inch heel fashion 'combat' boots.

Since the dress was spaghetti strapped, I had to steal my friend's hoodie to put on over it. The hoodie? A very detailed Cannibal Corpse hoodie. So, picture this 5'5 little gothed out girl in an over-sized hoodie featuring an alien baby bursting out of a human body running around in heeled boots frantically cleaning tables, scrubbing dishes, and restocking silverware. The customers were highly amused by this and even my coworkers and I had to giggle. I even made some tips! (Which I gave to my coworkers, of course, seeing as I wasn't the one serving)

Maybe it's one of those "You had to be there!" things, but it sort of amused me to remember it. Oh, and by the way, not ONCE did I slip in those heels! Cat balance, motherfuckers!

A rose has thorns, a cat has claws; certainly both are worth the risk,

--KittyKatzchen

 

Comments

[The Last Archimedean]

Wow! Good for you! That was very generous and kind.

[Greenhouse Gal]

I've done that (although not nearly as amusingly dressed!)!

I used to work 3rd shift at a gas station/convenience store, that got SLAMMED at night every year during a huge annual music festival (they are the only all-night gas station off the interstate once you got out of the city, and therefor get a LOT of night business during that 10-day stretch--also if there are major concerts in that city).

I stopped in one night when my friend/co-worker was working, saw the huge line wrapped literally around the store, saw her look of panic, said "fuck it," punched in and worked for six unauthorized hours.

3rd-shifters had been telling managment for years that they needed to schedule more than one 3rd-shifter during this particular festival...because (a) it was effing busy; (b) they were losing business from people just giving up and leaving; and (c) they were losing money from folks just shoplifting and leaving, because one 3rd-shifter on a crazy concert night wasn't enough to keep control of things.

After seeing the payroll for two folks versus income statement for that one night...they FINALLY started scheduling two 3-rd shifters for those festival nights, plust major concert nights--whew.

[Tanz]

Good on you! (I'm seriously jealous of your ability to work those heels BTW)

Best job I ever had was years ago in a call centre when I was at Uni; best co-workers and best boss *ever*. We had a CBD-wide power cut (due to a transformer fire) once right on 5:30pm... which was mayhem for us as we answered the phones for the local councils and electricity companies and we monitored thousands of security alarms as well. Not only did boss (who was just out the door when it happened turn around and come back in to work the phones with us he also sent his (teenage) son to buy us dinner (his treat). He was there for about 5 hours until things had totally settled down.

[KittyKatzchen]

@TLA: Why thank ya!

@Greenhouse Gal: Oh, my gods. Your coworker is brave. I would have fainted if I had been alone with all of them. Those managers need to be stuck in there one night during a concert. I bet that would freaking teach them.

@Tanz: I actually prefer them to Tennis Shoes. >.> They're easier for me, for some reason.

Also, that is one awesome as hell boss! My boss at AW was like that. She even thanked me for clocking in and helping my coworkers. I was so shocked I couldn't respond. Awesome bosses are few and far between.

[Fortune Cookie]

Very well done. I think people should be allowed to wear whatever they want at work, make up and all. And then just put on an apron/vest/name tag...to identify them as workers there. That would be a nice step into the general direction of equality, wouldn't you think?

[KittyKatzchen]

@Fortune Cookie: I completely agree. I got a lot more tips in that outfit than I ever did in that polyester nightmare of a uniform.

We were allowed to dress up on the days around Halloween. So. Many. Tips.

[Janice Cox]

Thanks for the cool story, KittyK. And I agree, it would be great if people could wear their own clothes and a vest or apron. When I worked fast food brown and orange polyester was the uniform of the day. Was Corporate TRYING to make us look as ugly as humanly possible??

[greenie]

We all know that if corporate allowed everyone to where what they want some asshole kid would come in wearing an offensive shirt like the one featured in a post on here "no hole is to deep or sloppy" shirt and blow it for the rest of us.

[KittyKatzchen]

Greenie, that's true, unfortunately. Still..it'd be nice.

[Lab Rat]

@Greenie, they could still have a dress code. My high school had one that was pretty lax, but there were a couple things they wouldn't tolerate. Mostly, the no-nos were anything offensive (aka t-shirts with obscenities or overly sexual material or references to drugs or alcohol) or gang-related. Other than that, it was mostly anything goes. A workplace could allow casual dress and still place some rules about professionalism. It's still a work environment, after all.

[Lab Rat]

Oh dear god, that actually reminds me of a story from my lab glass-washer days. Since working in a lab generally means you don't interact with the public, dress code is mostly common sense (nothing dangly, close-toed shoes, nothing super revealing, etc.). There wasn't really an enforced dress code per se. One day I was wearing a shirt I'd got recently at a thrift store. It had a cool day-of-the-dead-esque skull on it and I liked it a lot. Then, when I was in the bathroom, I looked at it properly in the mirror and discovered... Whoops. The design has pot leaves on it. Nobody said anything, but I was eternally embarrassed.