Retail Hell Underground

Caught On Cell Phone: Senior Walmart Worker Racial Profiling On 6 Customers!? (Manager Puts Her In Place)

6 Black customers in Walmart late night were first approached by a manager saying that they couldn't have backpacks or satchels. They complied, and two went back to the car to put the bags up while the other 4 stayed in the store shopping. Then another Walmart worker approached the other four and rudely asked could she help them. They asked to speak to a manager, and the worker flips out.

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Hang on here, let me wrap my head around this.

1) The custys were fully well behaved, and even the manager freely admits that they had been polite and respectful when the request was made.

2) A retail slave completely new to the situation picks a fight.

3) The custys legitimately request a manager in light of her attitude

4) The retail slave pitches a fit forcing...

5) The manager to get involved yet again

6) The retail slave gets MOUTHY ON FUCKING CAMERA to her MANAGER

7) and threatening to go above the manager's head to get the manager in trouble!

8) What the fuck is wrong with you lady?! You don't take your bad day out on people who weren't causing problems!

Collection Agency Gets Bitchy, Terah And Coworker Get Creative

Foofy has a collection agency that KEEPS CALLING WORK looking for her. It’s to the point that if they call on the first shift, doesn’t matter who answers, they don’t know a Foofy Sparklepants.

One fine evening, the phone rings and I look down. It’s the collection agency calling. I pick it up with "[Smoke Shop], this is Terah speaking, how can I help you?’ and hear ‘I need to speak to Foofy Sparklepants."

I sigh to myself and tell her that I was very sorry, but I didn’t know anyone to work here by that name, please call first shift tomorrow. See, Foofy had gone for the day, and I’m not legally allowed to give out information on a coworker anyway. The woman thanks me, and we hang up.

TWO MINUTES LATER, the phone rings again and it’s the collection agency. I groan and answer AGAIN with "[Smoke Shop], this is Terah speaking, how can I help you?"

The SAME WOMAN lights in to me, demanding to speak to Foofy, and she wants to talk to a manager because, "The bitch who I just spoke to was rude and disrespectful!"

I let that sink in for a moment, utterly confused. "Uh… well, lady, since this is the same ‘bitch’ you just got off the phone with, no. No, I don’t think I’ll be getting anyone important to talk to you," and hung up.

I went to try and stock cigarettes when THEY FUCKING CALL AGAIN, WHAT THE HELL?! I answer with "[Smoke Shop]."

I hear a new woman say "I need to speak to a manager, please." I hung up on her, and not ten seconds later, the phone rings once more.

I looked at Tex who was working with me, and asked him to answer it with his whorehouse greeting. He smiled like a kid who was told Christmas was going to be every day from now on, and he grabbed the phone.

"Tex’s whorehouse, you got the dough, we got the hoe." He then blinks and looked at me. "They hung up."

They didn’t call for the rest of the day, and the next day when I asked the manager if I was in trouble, she had no idea what I was talking about. I explained the entire story to her, and she started laughing at it and said that they never called back.

--Terah The Gas Slave

Awesome Manager Bends Over Backwards For Worker

Hi RHU, it's Walking Wench coming back to the trenches after my first semester at college.

I just wanted to share a quick story about how awesome my boss at the camp is. You see normally before the camp season starts we have a few meetings and orientations so new counselors know what to do and old ones can get back in the swing of things.

So I'm waiting for the dates for these meetings and eventually call the camp because I never got the dates. After calling I find out they never received my contract I had sent back in September!! My boss isn't in then so I'm told they will call me back, the next day my boss calls me and tells me my spot has of course been filled by now.

But he finds me another spot in arts and crafts and says if a spot in nature opens I can have it back. So RHU not every boss is as ass, and hopefully I'll have some more fun stories for you.

--Walking Wench

Albertsons Employees Honored For Rescuing Boy From Rape Attempt

Back in September, I reported that some grocery store slaves in Burien WA saved an 11 year boy from an attempted rape when he went to the store bathroom.

This past Monday the Burien Police Department recognized the bravery of the employees that came to the boys aid.

--Heidi

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BURIEN, Wash. -- Citizen heroes were honored Monday for saving a little boy last September from an attempted rape suspect at a grocery store in Burien.

Police say the child did the right thing by screaming and yelling, and what the Albertsons store employees did next earned them high honors.

Teasha Ward and Terry Carlson rushed into a bathroom when they heard a boy screaming, then ran to get help.

Police say Andrew Dempsey had the 11-year-old boy in a headlock and tried to rape him in the bathroom.

In all, seven employees jumped into action that day -- they didn't hesitate to confront Dempsey and tackled him when he tried to flee, police said.

"They got this guy, they tackled this guy, and they held him until police arrived a short later and he's still in jail," said Burien Police Chief Steve Kimerer.

Employees did everything right from comforting the boy to communicating with police and holding down the suspect. And for their selfless actions, Kimerer recognized the employees-- represented by the store manager -- with the King County Sheriff's Meritorious Service award.

"I am honored and humbled by the actions these people took," Kimerer said. "And behalf of Burien, we want to thank you very much."

Teasha's mom still can't believe what her daughter did to earn the honors.

"She told me she was grabbing at him and chasing him and stuff," said Tonya Ward. "But it's hard to imagine her being so tiny, so to see video it was wow, it was amazing what she did to save a little boy."

How an ordinary day turned on a dime, and good people stepped in and saved it.

"This could've happened anywhere," Kimerer said.

Dempsey remains behind bars on $1 million bail. His trial is scheduled to begin next month in Kent.

via www.komonews.com

Awesome Manager Puts His Foot Down To After Hours Dad

Hello RHU,

(Discovering RHU was like discovering a support group of other damned souls, condemned to wander the earth with "Do you work here?" echoing into eternity.)

Since several of my stories revolve around my years in an ice rink, I'll dub myself FrozenTerror.

I was hired near the end of the hockey season, so my training was done on the fly. Basically, I was a warm body who could do menial tasks, and if I could actually last, that was an added (and unexpected bonus).

With the hockey season tapering down, the rink was closing down earlier in the day than usual. On one Saturday, I was there with two others about 20 minutes after the last event came off the ice. Our Zamboni driver was doing a final resurfacing before closing up, I was out front putting rental skates away, and the manager on duty (MoD) was finalizing office work.

There was a table in the lobby that faced a TV, and a man and his son (about 10 years old) were watching a basketball game while eating pizza and drinking pop. I asked if they were going to be heading out soon since we were closing up, and the dad said, "Right as soon as the game ends."

I glanced up at the TV and saw that there were 11 minutes left in the 2nd quarter. Yeah, that wasn't going to fly.

MoD came out of the office to ask me something, and saw the guy and the kid sitting there. He asked me what they were doing, and I repeated the conversation that we'd just had.

MoD says, "Come with me," and we go over to where they were sitting.

MoD looks down at the kid and says, "Hey buddy, do you want a refill?"

The kid said, "Sure!", and MoD told me to take the kid and refill his cup. I take the kid over to the concession stand, refill the cup, and hand it to the kid.

No sooner is it in his hands than his dad grabs him and hustles him out the front door, muttering under his breath the whole time. The front doors slam, and MoD yells across the lobby that, "That took care of that!"

I asked him what had just happened, and he recounted the following conversation to me:

MoD: So how long are you staying?

Dad: Until the end of the game. Hey, can I get a refill too?

MoD: No.

Dad: Why not?

MoD: I'm not a waiter, and we're closed anyway.

Dad: Why'd you give my kid a refill?

MoD: Because I didn't want him standing right here while I tell you to get the fuck outta here!

That's when the dad stood up, grabbed the pizza and his kid, and left.

--FrozenTerror

A Toast In Celebration To Polo-Necked Strip Mall Monkey! Break Out The Lamp Shade Hats!

Miasma: Douchebag of 2012

Miasma And Dyslexa Team Up

Dyslexa The Mentally Ill

Attempted Sabotage

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Power Hungry Pet Store Psycho Cashier Dyslexa and her BFF Passive-Aggressive Manager Miasma BOTH FIRED BY OWNER! WOO HOO!

Those two were just too nuts to ignore this week. Miasma was supposed to be quitting 10 days from now, but Owner said, no thank you, you're out NOW!

My request for a transfer, in addition to the Incoming Manager experiencing their insanity and reporting back to the Owner caused him to fire them both. Dyslexa was refusing to take even simple instructions from Incoming Manager, and acting up in front of Incoming Manager, like when the 3 of us were standing by each other, "Tell Polo Neck Strip Mall Monkey that Miasma wants her to check her texts." - because she can't even stand to speak to me and wants the whole world to know it.

They were both trying to make the transition to Incoming Sane Manager difficult as possible. I was actually given instructions to be uncooperative, but I could not stand to behave in this unprofessional and discourteous manner and was cooperative.

After 3 days off, yesterday Miasma told me Owner fired her, wants her totally out that day. She was hurt and shocked - but you know - she brought this on her sorry ass self. Dyslexa was to work one more day, then out. A new schedule would have to be written. Miasma told store employees to refuse to cooperate and change their hours to fill in for Dyslexa and Miasma.

As if we will sabotage the store for you and your fucking psycho little bully buddy!

Dyslexa used her shift to write me a "J'accuse!" letter in pink pen, which Miasma refused to hand deliver to me, but which Dyslexa posted on the wall. I have not read it - who needs this shit? Dyslexa was supposed to work one final shift.

I thought, I just have to deal with that psycho bitch one last time, and my shift was with Incoming Manager, who would be supportive if she acted nuts. Dyslexa was a no show for store opening, so Superdoopervisor, who is pregnant and has health restrictions, on the busiest morning of the week, was in the store by herself - which was a tacky thing to do - but I am not surprised because Dyslexa is a vindictive type.

At one point Owner phoned in, and asked me how things were. He said he had had enough of Dyslexa and Miasma, and that the fact they were fighting the Incoming Manager's transition was the final straw, and thanked me for being cooperative with her.

I said I was looking forward to a positive future for the store under her strong leadership. Incoming Manager didn't really speak of the dramatic events leading up to her installation as Manager, only to say that she knows people and problems and saw what was going on and refused to deal with it. She said, Monday, the bad part of the past is gone.

She gave me the honor of destroying Dyslexa's time card. Things sorted out. The Good Guys won. A disruptive employee, who sucked the oxygen out of the store, who had the manners of Great White Shark, and who did Crazy Things to hurt other employees - was fired and disgraced. The Passive Aggressive Manager who caused so much drama and pain to faithful, hardworking slaves was FIRED 10 days before she was supposed to stop working there.

Fuck 'em both. Dyslexa got a job with Pain-Near-Ya in our Strip Mall. Fuck her, fuck her, fuck her. She's their problem now if they were stupid enough to hire her.

I am happy it had a sane, rational ending. I thank the Gods of the Retail Underworld for doing their duty to the laws of Karma. I look forward to normal retail hell, which is a picnic after what our store has been through.

Love and kisses to all who followed this crazy story and offered advice and support. I am forever grateful. Will pay forward to all retail slaves forever - not that I didn't before! - but I will make life for all the souls who serve me as a customer Joy and Appreciation and a Pleasant Experience.

--Polo-Necked Strip Mall Monkey

Terah Recalls A Day When Beer Was Bought Faster Than It Could Be Stocked

This is just something I remembered today. It happened about 4 years ago, when our Sunday beer sales were worse than they are now.

It was SLAMMED in the store. Shift Leader 1 had to take over my register so I could stock beer. I don’t recall leaving the cooler that night unless it was for breaks.

At about 8, the now manager walked in. I don’t remember why she was there. I think she was in to get her cigarettes and some gas. When she saw Shift Leader 1 on register, she asked her who was supposed to be there. Shift Leader 1 told her that it was me, and the now manager got upset and wondered why I wasn’t helping.

Shift Leader 1 explained the situation to her. I couldn’t keep beer on the shelves. One thing I vividly remember about that night was stocking one entire door completely full and turned around to grab some 30 packs for the next door. I turned back around and in that 15 to 20 second window, half the display was gone.

The now manager was very upset over this, because we were obviously too short staffed at the time to deal with this, and on first shift, the shift she works, is NEVER this busy on its WORST days. So, she just assumed we were exaggerating about how bad it gets. She even asked Shift Leader 1 if this was just an abnormal day.

"No," she responded, "this is actually pretty mild."

The now manager then went to the back, clocked in, and came into the cooler with me and stayed for the rest of the shift, and I think for half of third shift and helped with the cooler.

The funniest thing about that night was when she picked up a flat of 2 12 packs, water had dripped onto the cardboard and it broke, sending one of the 12 packs to the floor. She suddenly screamed out "SON OF A B-" before stopping and looking to where I was standing.

I waved and smiled.

She then finished that off with "…bug gun."

I promised to not turn her in to the swear jar and she let me pick my 2 days off for the next schedule.

--Terah The Gas Slave

Random Act of Retail Kindness: Dry Cleaner Assists The Unemployed

 

Gordon Ramsay Argues with Awkward Customer

 

I laughed so hard I woke my husband up. I fucking love this man.
--KittyKatzchen

 

The Best, The Worst, And The Silliest

Hey RHU! The Worst here with an update and some snippets that I hope will give you a chuckle. I’ve been lurking/commenting, but haven’t had much to post since I sort of escaped from Call Center Hell. Allow me to explain.

I told my supervisor that I got into grad school and would be leaving, and she asked if I would consider working at the branch near school (well, about an hour away). Thinking of the wise advice you all gave me, I told her I appreciated the offer, but an hour was a very long drive considering I’d be working 10-hr days already. She said she understood and wished me luck.

On the Wednesday of my last week, I attended a meeting with the admissions team (including a conference call with the other branch) to introduce my replacement. There had been no formal announcement I was leaving, but everyone had been congratulating me so I figured they all knew. My supervisor had to step away to take a call, and while she was gone I introduced my replacement (let’s call her Quick Study because she picked up on everything really fast).

There was a moment of shocked exclamation from the other line, because apparently they had no clue I was leaving. Then the president of the school (!) who I didn’t even know was on the call, said, “But don’t worry everyone, The Worst is just taking a temporary leave before coming to work in the home office!”

The admissions team looked at me, everyone mouthing WTF?? I had no response. After a long discussion with my supervisor and the prez, it came to light that they really needed my help in the home office, in part due to the fact that the team there had all been trained remotely and was struggling to figure out our info systems.

They said they would take me off calls, so all my work would be behind-the-scenes projects and training, so I agreed. It turned out to be the perfect situation, because my winter break is five weeks long and I can go home and be with my parents and work out of my old office. Oh! And Bestie got a promotion and a raise, so life is good for both of us.

And now for some snippets, one from the days when I was still taking calls and another from the custy side of things. So back when I was taking calls on our instant messaging program Chat, one of our currently enrolled students came on to ask about geometry. I helped him out and then asked my customary “Do you have any other questions I can help you with?”

Now, I can see what people are typing as they’re typing it, but they can’t see what I’m typing – or if I’m typing – until I send it. That way we can anticipate people’s questions, and if it requires a long response, get started typing it all up. So I see what he’s typing, and I can’t help but laugh. Here is how the conversation went (yes, I saved the transcript).

Student: How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

The Worst: He'd chuck all the wood that a woodchuck could if a wood chuck could chuck wood.

Student: ……

Student: Well played. Can we be Facebook friends so I can tag you in that? Because quite honestly you are a genius.

I told him I don’t add students on Facebook, but he was cool about it. I was a little worried I’d get in trouble for being a smart-ass, but my supervisor IM’d me to say that kid had corrected her grammar and then made some snarky comment about it, so she was glad I’d done it.

After the chat ends a comments box appears for the caller, and here is what he wrote: I'm asking The Worst to Prom. She's my hero. Give her a raise. (Oh and she answered all my questions about geometry I guess....but no one really cares about geometry).

Okay, I swear I’ve almost gone on long enough – one more snippet from the custy side that I hope will make you laugh like it did me. Karebear’s post about the SLUTress (to borrow the term from MahiMahi) reminded me of this.

One of my best friends is my dad’s best friend from college’s son. His parents are divorced and he grew up in the UK, so in addition to being ridiculously attractive, he has an English accent. The first summer he came to visit that I had my driver’s license and we could hang out on our own, we went to get pizza at CPK. The waitress was a really cute blonde girl who focused entirely on him, chatting him up and ignoring me.

When she came to refill our waters, she refilled mine from the pitcher and then took his water to the kitchen and was gone for kind of a while. We joked that she was going to roofie him (obviously she didn’t, just a joke, please don’t hate me).

When she was within earshot I loudly remarked that I thought the Englishman would get along really well with my boyfriend. After that the waitress addressed me, and was perfectly polite.

The next day we got Sushi for dinner, and our waitress wasn’t snobby, but she seemed down and a bit sulky. As an experiment, I told her the Englishman was my cousin. She perked right up, and flirted with him all night, and treated us both like royalty. Now whenever we go out to eat, we always tell our waitress we’re cousins. He loves the attention, and I love feeling like the best wingman ever.

That’s it RHU! I hope you got a good laugh out of this post, and that you make it through hell unscathed. Hugs and Hershey Kisses,

--The Worst

UK "Next" Retailer CEO Lord Wolfson Gives His $3.7 Million Bonus To Employees

From Huff Po: He could’ve bought a sweet vacation home or at least started saving up for a $52 million cake draped in diamonds, but a British CEO decided instead to give his hefty bonus back to his employees.

Lord Wolfson, CEO of clothing retailer Next, announced in an email that he was giving his 2.4 million pound, or $3.7 million, bonus to his employees, the Telegraph reports. He told his workers that it was a “gesture of thanks and appreciation from the company for the hard work and commitment you have given to Next over the past three years and through some very tough times.”

The 45-year-old businessman had earned the money through a share matching plan, which began in 2010.

But this isn’t the mogul’s first foray into charitable giving.

Wolfson, who became CEO of the company at 33, serves as trustee of the Charles Wolfson Charitable Trust, an organization that supports a number of initatives, including the Meningitis Research Foundation and the National Osteoporosis Society, according to the Week.

Some have praised the generous move and say they hope other CEOs will follow suit, but some say it’s not enough to curb excessive executive pay.

“We need to see employees elected to boards and remuneration committees to break up the cosy club of directors who set each others' pay,” Deborah Hargreaves wrote in the Guardian on Wednesday. “This is the only way to turn Wolfson's gift into more than a one-off gesture.”

We can think of other a number of other ways Wolfson can raise the charitable bar even further, though. Perhaps by following the examples of some very giving politicians out there.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the 13th richest man in the world, opts to just take home an annual salary of $1. He’s also donated $2.4 billion over the years to a number of causes.

Jose Mujica, President of Uruguay is also on a pretty steady giving spree considering that he donates 90 percent of his salary to charity. He earns $12,500 a month, but only keeps $1, 250 for himself, according to a translation by Univision.

“I do fine with that amount,” Mujica told the paper. “I have to do fine because there are many Uruguayans who live with much less.”

via www.huffingtonpost.com

Discount Rats Demand Coupon Discount On Sale Items

Hello all, you can call me... er... ChocNightmare! :D And unfortunately this happened this afternoon.

We have this voucher at the minute that s £3 off when you spend £10. It can't be used on items on offer. A man and a women, both in the 40's come and ring up £11.03 but 2 of their items are on offer. Without the items on offer it came to £7.40. So in my nicest polite voice I say...

Me: Sorry I can't accept this cause you have only spent £7.40 on eligible items.

Man (speaking with attitude now and being rude): Well the till says I've spent £11.03

Me: Yes but 2 of the items are on offer so it can't be used.

Man: Well have you even tried scanning the voucher?

Me: No cau-

Man: Well scan it and see if it works!!

Me (now speaking in a slightly more blunt and annoyed tone): I can't cause you're not eligible for the offer.

Man: (Grabs voucher and points as he reads it as if I'm 5) It says nothing about offers on the back at all "(reads first 2 lines off back of voucher)"

Me: (Gets voucher back): "Voucher can not be used in conjunction with any other offer."

Man: I'M NOT USING IT IN CONJUNCTION!

At this point the women gives a £20 note to be done with it. I give them the change, but he ordered an ice cream so I go to scoop it.

Man: Admit it, you should have given me the discount.

Me: No I shouldn't.

Man: Well I'll remember and ask next time I'm in cause I've had it at this store before.

Me (finally snaps): You do that.

Man: Well there's no need to get snippy with me!!

Me: Excuuuuuuuuuuse me!!

Man: What's your name?

Me: (Smiles and shows badge) ChocNightmare.

How obnoxious can you get!!! Grrrr.

He was clearly using the fact that I look and sound younger than my actual age of 18 and was tying to intimidate me!

I mean, that happens quite a lot really and it's so annoying cause I'm actually a trained keyholder and Senior Sales Assistant, so no matter my age, I know what I'm talking about. Well afterwards I felt bad for my manager cause if he complains the store gets £100 knocked off our takings.

So I tell my manager and when I got to "You do that," she burst out laughing and goes, "Oh ChocNightmare, I can't leave you for 2 minutes." Then I told her that he had told me not to get snippy with him, and she goes "He actually said that to you?! After the way he spoke to you!"

We had a good laugh afterwards and said that I can deal with the District Manager if he phones while she's not there, and try not to upset anyone else, but my faith in humanity has decreased a little.

May all your customers be able to read,

--ChocNightmare

Science Ninja Experiences Useless Coworker Hell

Hello it's Science Ninja, with another story for you guys :)

This is about another co-worker of mine, one who I have refrained from talking about for ages because he seriously makes my blood boil, and as I knew him outside of work (he's my ex's best friend), I wasn't sure if it was my personal feelings messing with my work ones. But now I realise, if anyone was doing this, I would hate them with a vengeance.

A bit of background, I recently became a training supervisor, which means I have to tell people what to do, but have no authority to do so. Anyone who sees a problem with this - feel free to put your hands up.

Now this kid, who I shall call Sparrow just cause I am awful at names and right now there is a sparrow on my windowsill, is notorious for not doing anything. And I mean anything. Whatever you tell him to do, he will put all of his effort into thinking of things NOT to do.

At first, as I only told him when he needed to go on Fitting Room, I thought it was because he hated fitting room. But no, when I ask him to go on the till, he finds a reason why he HAS to be on the fitting room because, well I don't know because fuck you that's why.

Oh and the amount of times I have this fucking conversation with him:

Science Ninja: Sparrow! <department> (His favourite one, the one he will recover even if he is told to recover somewhere else) need's recovering, would you like to go and do it for me?

Sparrow: Yeah, sure.

*5 minutes later he is still standing at the till doing nothing, I have been in the path between him and the department, and haven't seen him go past. I have this conversation just to check if he has been busy with a customer, and that's why he hasn't gone over*

Science Ninja: Sparrow, did you finish <department>?

Sparrow: Yeah, its all done.

Science Ninja: It's 100% recovered, nothing out of place at all?

Sparrow: Everything's exactly in the right place, it's 100% done.

*Goes over to check, and there are literally things on the floor*

Science Ninja: Sparrow, you haven't touched this at all. In fact, I didn't see you go past to look at it. Could you please go and do it now?

Sparrow: But recovery is BOORRRINNG...

YES I FUCKING KNOW IT'S BORING!!! But guess what. It's YOUR JOB to do it. And to add insult to injury, he was stood at the till, playing with a coat hanger. Now, how the fuck that is more intellectually stimulating than actually doing something I don't fucking know.

But this time takes the fucking cake.

He was on till with me, and there were some deconstructed cardboard boxes there for some reason I still don't quite know. There was a huge line of customers, I kept asking him to jump on the free till, but he just replied, "No, I'm busy."

So, I was trying to check people out as quickly as possible on our ancient tills, not noticing what he was doing, and periodically telling him to help. Then I hear this:

Sparrow: Hey, Science Ninja! I hope you don't need any hangers!

I turn round, and he had fucking boxed me in with cardboard boxes, so I couldn't move out of the area around my till. As in, the boxes were up to my chest height. I knew he had been doing something with them, but I didn't think he would be this fucking childish. He had taped them to the fucking walls too so I couldn't move them.

I took a deep breath, apologised to my customer for the delay and carried on working.

After I had served a couple more customers, and Sparrow was still adding to his "box fort" as he called it, our store manager came past.

Let me repeat that. Store Manager. The only one in our store with the power to fire people on the spot. Store manager. I shall call her the Dragon, as she's as fucking hard as one. She noticed us and then this conversation occurred...  And I know this may seem hard to fathom, but on the life of Thrognar, this is what he fucking said,

Dragon: Sparrow, what are you doing?

Sparrow: Making a box fort.

Dragon: Get on the till and start helping customers.

Sparrow: No, My box fort is more important than these stupid customers.

Calm, Science Ninja, Calm. Oh Fuck this. HOW STUPID CAN YOU FUCKING BE!!! Fair enough, Dick around on the job, but at least have the common fucking sense to stop when a fucking STORE MANAGER walks past.

Fuck me sideways with a blunt pickaxe.

Anywho, I got asked why I didn't stop him/ask him to go on the tills, and majestically, the customer I was serving responded with this:

"What did you expect her to do, duck tape him down? She asked him multiple times, and he just shrugged her off. Yes, she could have come and found you, but then we would have been waiting even longer. She did everything she possibly could when she has to work with such cock bites."

I am so thankful for this old woman. She is magical and wondrous, and I love her to bits. She even asked how she could make a formal complaint about Sparrow, and a compliment to me. So, I love this customer!

Dragon escorted Sparrow off, and my shift ended before I saw him again. Hopefully he's gone for good.

And, as a final note, guess who had to dismantle the box fort when the queue of customers die down. Well done, you win fuck all.

Until next time, my wondrous RHU-ers.

May all your stupid coworkers come down with sudden, incurable, small-pox,

--The Science Ninja

Grocery Store Steps Up After iPad Is Stolen From Customer

 

RIVERTON — A grocery store recently went above and beyond its usual perks for loyal customers to help a family in need.

Penny Tucker has four children, all of whom have Down syndrome. Each child has an iPad to help them with learning and other functions.

"For kids with special needs, (the iPads are) a learning tool," Tucker said. "They're how they can function. ... They learn their ABCs and they can do puzzles and play games, which is good hand-eye coordination."

On Monday, the family was shopping at Fresh Market in Riverton, where they are regular customers. When they got to their car, they discovered one of the iPads, which belonged to her son, Raddy, was gone.

When she asked her daughter, Abby, 12, what happened to the iPad, the girl answered, "The blonde lady took it."

Unfortunately, that's all the information that could be gathered on the thief. Surveillance video did not capture the heist.

Abby was very upset, according to Tucker, and kept blaming herself and apologizing to her brother for losing the iPad. Tucker said she reassured her daughter that it was not her fault.

"I don't understand how someone can take something from a child, let alone a child with disabilities," Tucker said.

What further upset the mother was the fact that many memories her kids created and recorded on the devices are now gone with it.

“It’ll just show my three older kids turning on the music and dancing and laughing and playing and wrestling," she said. "They know how to make their own movies.”

Those memories may or may not be returned to the family, but staff at the store where the theft took place stepped up to help the Tuckers by purchasing them a new iPad.

Store director Brian Simons said it was the least Fresh Market could do for the family.

"Penny is one of our greatest customers. She comes in all the time. We love her kids. They're all friendly," Simons said. "We just feel very sad for what happened. … It's very disappointing that someone would … do this to such a great lady with such great kids."

Tucker was moved and grateful for the gesture.

"I'm touched, just can't say thanks enough," she said. "I really appreciate it."

via www.ksl.com

Retail Balls Award: Chicago Store Owner Fends Off Armed N.A.T.s With Baseball Bat

Random Act of Retail Kindness: Fatburger CEO Does 'Undercover Boss' and Rewards Hard Working Single Mom With $40,000

From Huff Po:

LOS ANGELES -- Now in its fourth season, "Undercover Boss'" formula is familiar.

The CBS show disguises a CEO and places him or her at the lowest rungs of the company. The CEO gets an unvarnished look at daily operations, is humbled by the employees' often backbreaking work and eventually showers a few deserving staffers with money and other rewards to recognize them for their integrity on the job.

Such was Friday night's episode, in which Fatburger CEO Andy Wiederhorn leaves his Beverly Hills mansion and corporate headquarters to infiltrate three franchised restaurants and one third-party supplier. At one store in Reno, Nev., he meets a Fatburger shift leader and mother of three named Lisa who is buried in health care debt following her husband's death.

Lisa explains that she had separated from her husband in January 2012 because of his drug use (video above, at minute 2:40). A few months later, they discovered that his drug addiction was eating away at his heart. He eventually died, only one day after their baby turned 1. Lisa lost her house and car. To make ends meet, she moved her family in with her sister.

"His medical bills alone -- because we didn't have health insurance -- $250,000," Lisa cries to the man she thinks is trainee Myron Leeds. By the end of the episode, Wiederhorn reveals his true identity to Lisa and gifts her three sums of money: $15,000 to cover rent for a year, $10,000 to buy a new car and $15,000 to hire a financial adviser.

"You need to have a fresh start ... to help you resolve all this debt so that you're debt-free," Wiederhorn tells her. "Whether that's bankruptcy or whether that's working it out, I want you to start over debt free."

In a follow-up email to HuffPost, Wiederhorn added this additional take on Lisa's situation: "Medical debt shouldn't require a bankruptcy filing, as it forces a person to go through such a drastic process to shed a very specific debt, which is almost always beyond your control unlike credit card debt."

As a shift leader, it's estimated that Lisa could be earning about $21,000 a year, according to salary aggregator site careerbliss.com. The show doesn't make clear whether Lisa was employed by Fatburger at the time of her husband's death.

Lisa's life may well be transformed by Weiderhorn's generosity. But due to Fatburger's franchise system, Weiderhorn probably won't be able to address health care access problems on a wider scale in his company, he explained in a phone interview with The Huffington Post.

Fatburger, which he described as a "99% franchise model," operates only a handful of restaurants directly. Wiederhorn said he was committed to providing health benefits as Obamacare mandates to the half-dozen or so hamburger stands he controls, but access to benefits for the rest of the company's workers is mostly a franchise responsibility.

"The franchise partners have different health programs for their employees," Wiederhorn told HuffPost. "Generally the managers get coverage automatically, the full-time employees get some sort of coverage and they co-pay for it and the part-time employees can pay for it if they want it."

"We want all of our employees to have [health insurance]," continued Wiederhorn. "And it's a really challenging process to figure out how small business can afford it."

Fatburger isn't the only fast food chain that will be affected by the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, which will require all small businesses to provide health care to employees working 30 hours or more. Like Fatburger, the changes will have to be implemented at the franchise level by franchise partners.

via www.huffingtonpost.com

Random Act of Retail Kindness: Custy Proposes To His Girlfriend and Krispy Kreme Workers Give Them a Thousand Free Doughnuts

From Huff Po: Krispy Kreme has made one couple's special day even sweeter.

On Sunday, 25-year-old David Lewis of Centennial, Colo., proposed to his girlfriend of three and a half years, Elly Steinmetz, 24. The pair started dating in 2009. One memorable day together, they ate Krispy Kreme donuts at a scenic overlook near Denver, Steinmetz told The Huffington Post.

The proposal took place at the same spot, so when Steinmetz said "yes," Krispy Kreme seemed like a fitting place to celebrate. The couple asked an employee to take a photo and ordered five donuts. But workers behind the counter surprised them with more -- way more.

"Krispy Kreme gave us a THOUSAND doughnuts for getting engaged and coming here!" Steinmetz wrote on Facebook Sunday.

On Monday, Steinmetz told The Huffington Post that she doesn't know exactly how many donuts they received, but it was more than she's ever seen at one time.

"They came with just bags and bags. And these boxes and boxes of donuts," Steinmetz said.

At the time, employees were cleaning up for the night, she said. Still, they stopped to personally offer their congratulations.

"It was really cool to see how happy they were for us," she said.

The couple posed for a few more photos and stopped by Steinmetz's parents' home in Littleton, where they ate what they could, drank champagne and brainstormed ways to get rid of the remaining donuts. Steinmetz joked that her father ate an entire box.

The others would go to coworkers, friends and lucky neighbors.

“I was going up and down my street giving donuts away,” Steinmetz said.

via www.huffingtonpost.com

Greenhouse Gal's Awesome Manager Springs Happy Surprise

From: Greenhouse Gal

Particularly in light of all the stories of hellish employers cutting hours to avoid having to offer health insurance to employees under the Affordable Care Act, I thought I'd share this bit of happy news with y'all.

Over a year ago, I applied for, and took, my part-time retail hell job, mostly because it offered cheap health insurance to part-timers starting from the date of hire. It's not particularly *good* insurance--it maxes out at $10,000 a year--but at least it has given me some basic health coverage, which I hadn't had for a couple of years. Folks who work more at my employer get much better coverage, but I've at least been able to go in for a physical, etc.

Today, the store manager took me aside to tell me, "Hey, just so you know--you need to have a rolling average of [x] hours a week to get [the good insurance], as well as [a certain number of total hours worked]--and you're really, really close to both. If this is something that you want/need, we can probably make this happen by scheduling you for more hours. Think about it, and let me know what you want to do, ok?"

This? This is why, while there are tough days at work, I really do love my retail job--my employer is offering me *more* hours to bump me up into the category where I would not only get the good health insurance, but also things like a retirement plan, paid time off, and earned sick time--instead of cutting my hours to make sure I *don't* get there. Yes, Virginia, there are good retail employers out there.

The dilemma (and it's a happy one) is that my other job, which pays more than my retail job, has recently offered me a small subsidy to reimburse me for health insurance that I buy privately, out-of-pocket (they're a very small employer and can't afford a group plan). I need to sit down, do some math, figure out how many hours I can work for each while still keeping my sanity, and decide which offer makes more financial sense--which is a dilemma that I'm happy to deal with.

Stay strong, RHUers, and may all your employers be as awesome as mine are right now!

--Greenhouse Gal

Sexist Pig Insults The Last Archimedean's Female Coworker, Gets Thrown Out

The Last Archimedean with another tale of an insane custy...

I'm working today near a register where one of our best cashiers, "Tina", is assigned. There's a little bit of a lull, and I'm thinking today won't be any more insane than normal and looking forward to the end of my shift, when I hear, "Hey, YOU!"

Not knowing whom that remark was addressed to, I continue working. My attention is caught when I feel a tap on my shoulder. I'll refer to this crusty as Sexist Pig, for reasons that will become clear.

I turn around. "May I help you, sir?"

Sexist Pig: "I'm ready to be rung up."

The Last Archimedean: "No problem, sir! Tina here [gesturing to the register not 10 feet from me, at which there is absolutely no line, for once] will be happy to ring you up right away."

Sexist Pig: "I ain't being rung up by no girl! She'll screw things up."

The Last Archimedean: "She's actually our best cashier, sir."

Sexist Pig: "DIDN'T YOU HEAR ME, BOY? I ain't letting no dumb girl ring me through. Everyone knows girls should be at home cooking dinner, not out messing up people's shopping."

The Last Archimedean: "Tina has a degree in math, sir..." [Which she does.] "She's never once made a mistake on the register."

Sexist Pig: "GET ME A MANAGER NOW AND GET THAT DUMB BITCH AWAY FROM THAT REGISTER!"

[Luckily, "Smart" is the manager on duty. He's already come over, attracted by the shouting.]

Smart: "I am the manager. Is there a problem?"

Sexist Pig: "That stupid bitch is going to screw up my transaction. Get her off the register and fire her, Girls should be at home cooking and making babies, they have no business being in the workforce."

Smart: "That young lady is the best cashier we have, and you are no longer welcome in my store. I will escort you to the front door, and I don't ever want to see you in here again."

Sexist Pig: "Don't worry, I wasn't going to come back anyway! What kind of idiots have girls in the WORKPLACE?!"

May all your customers be sane...

--The Last Archimedean

Evie Encounters An Asshat Regular, Awesome Manager Defends Her

From: Evie

Hey guys! Happy Wino's story about wine retail hell made me think of this little gem from when I worked at a large wine and beer store.

A little back-story: I came in to that job as a cashier, but after making friends with the store manager and the wine manager, I got really interested in the culture. Since wine and beer were their passion, they taught me anything I wanted to know. After about a year I got promoted to the wine department.

Every two weeks the wine manager (let's call him Marcelle) would teach a master class in another town. He'd prep amazing gourmet food (he used to be a sommelier and a chef), and he and the manager of another store would choose a "theme" and an array of wines for customers to try out and learn about. They would provide amazing amounts of information about the individual wines, the regions they came from, who produced them, how they were grown, etc. I asked Marcelle how much it would be for me to come take the classes, and he told me he'd let me in for free as long as I helped him prepare.

So every other Saturday he'd come pick me up an hour or so before the class, I'd help him set out and arrange the menu, put out glasses and spit buckets and staple educational materials and decant and so forth, and then when the customers came I'd stand by and pour the wine. In return I got to listen to the class and taste the wines myself. As a poor student who could never have afforded Caymus or Dom on my own, I thought it was a great trade.

Anyways, one regular was particularly obnoxious. He never used the spit buckets, always asked for seconds, and gobbled down as much food as he could possibly fit in his gullet. One night when he was feeling particularly buzzed, he grabbed my wrist as I was pouring and tried to correct me.

"Sorry," he laughed loudly, "you just pour like you're at a movie theater and you've got a two liter bottle of soda."

I stared at him, a little shocked, and said, "Uh.. I'm sorry," in the most neutral tone I could muster, even though the SOB made my skin crawl.

I went back to empty a spit bucket, and one of the other employees, a sweet little old lady I'll call Doris, came back with me into the sink room. She turned me around and looked me in the eye and said, "Honey... fuck him. Seriously. What the hell?" That made me laugh, and I was able to go back out without feeling completely mortified.

After the class I came up to Marcelle and asked, "Hey, can you teach me to pour wine more prettily?"

So he throws a napkin over his arm and starts showing me how people in fancy restaurants do it. Lo and behold, SOB comes up during this transaction and starts laughing again.

"Thank God," he tells Marcelle, "she needs it."

Marcelle turns around and looks at SOB like he's a bug. "Just for your information, Evie comes in as a volunteer and gives up her Saturdays so she can learn more about wine; she's not getting paid for this. At this point I'd really just let her sit in for free, but she helps because she wants to. I've never had a problem with how she handles things."

SOB sobered up after that and muttered some kind of apology before slinking off. Then Marcelle handed me a half-bottle of blanc-de-noirs and a box of homemade lobster dip and told me to have a good weekend.

Speaking of Marcelle -- that guy really was the bomb.

Happy belated Easter!

--Evie