Retail Hell Underground

Decent Custy Encounter

Got a short one for you guys.

So, I was in WalFart the other night with Foofy Sparklepants. We got our shit and headed up to the registers, and in front of us was this girl who was buying what looked like DVDs and some computer games. But one of those games wasn’t ringing up, and she looked devastated, like she really wanted the thing.

The cashier said it wasn’t in the system, they weren’t even supposed to have them on the shelves.

OF COURSE the girl said something like ‘There’s a lot of them back there, though!’ I saw a shit storm on the horizon and tried to change lanes to avoid the screaming, when she really surprised me.

All she said was ‘Whatever. I’m not gonna throw a tantrum over a darn video game. I ain’t two.’

I think there might be some decent custy’s left, after all!

--Terah

Gas Station Hell: Terah's Nightmare Tuesday

Tuesday night was the WORST FUCKING NIGHT I HAVE EVER HAD!

So I’m cleaner, I get to work, and I hear Sha-nay-nay is gonna be late. Oh, but she didn’t call in, like she was supposed to. She tells Shift Leader 2 that she ‘might be late’ the day before. Yeah, at our store, you call and you tell the MANAGER this. I’ve gotten in trouble for that before, it’s a known rule.

So I get stuck in the window. In the pouring rain. For those who don’t know, or don’t remember, I have a little OCD problem, and rain hitting me sets me off. But I’m a good worker. I work where I’m told. Then we get a phone call from PinkGirl, who says that SOMEHOW my idiot self FORGOT TO TURN OFF MY CAR HOLY SHIT IT IS RUNNING IN THE LOT!

So guess who gets to run out, in the fucking RAIN to turn it off?

We don’t have employee parking, so I get to go out across the street to the overflow lot, freaking the FUCK out the entire time, running, and when I go to walk back (I had to WALK because I was exhausted from the run) one of the busses that is supposed to stop and pick me up JUST DRIVES THE FUCK PAST ME, I KNOW YOU SAW ME, FUCKER! I get in and I freak out, crying, I can’t stand to be touched because of the freak out, and I’m having to breathe in a fucking paper bag to keep from passing out.  This is when I find out from Whore (I like her now, but the name will stay because I name people based on how I feel about them the first time I write about them) that her mother, Sha-nay-nay’s aunt, called her to tell her Sha-nay-nay hadn’t gone to her appointment.

And I’m back in the damn window. Nearly an hour after my freak out, I go to get a drink for my dry mouth, and I hear the cage girl say "Well, Terah’s in the window, and I know she isn’t going to trade with you."

And around the corner, holding her side was the little liar herself, with a sob story and Shift Leader 1 walking after her.

Sha-Nay-Nay: ‘Oh, Terah, can you run the window today and let me clean? Ow, my side hurts so much from the procedure.’

Terah: Uh… no. Shift Leader 1, what’s going on, am I cleaning or in the window?

Shift leader 1, who is as sarcastic as me, takes one look at her, knowing she’s faking because if she HAD, she wouldn’t be able to stand, and said "Oh dear! If you’re in this much pain, you HAVE to take the window, Terah is going to have to do a lot of heavy work!"

After one more plea, I told her she has a customer and I take off.

As I am on the floor of the women’s room, scrubbing the grout with a toothbrush (being assisted by Foofy), it seems Sha-nay-nay found out that she was found out, but instead of owning up, she decides she’s pissed at Whore, for what Whore’s mother said. She comes into the women’s room, as the employee bathroom is broke, and we hear her say ‘I’m gonna stomp her fucking ass!’

This isn’t anything bad, so I go about my business, until lunch, when Sha-nay-nay comes in, on the phone, and I hear her say "I don’t talk to her outside of work; I don’t socialize with her outside of work! I should have [husband] come in and kick her fucking ass for her!"

I know she’s more than capable of following through with it, so we told Shift Leader 1, and she called security.

My night went to shit after that. Having to run BACK out to my car for my ID because I had to fill out two statements over it, Sha-nay-nay gets sent home, and I have to go wash dishes. And let me tell you, they were nasty. How nasty?

I had to clean out the drain catcher, and I ended up having to run outside, to the dumpsters, to puke.

So, yeah, that was my night from fucking hell.

--Terah

 

Gas Station Hell: Custy Has Tantrum Over Change Machine Breaking Down

I hate people. Especially those of the stupid variety.

I was stuck in the gas station today (I hate the smell of that crap food we serve) so this day was already on the slippery slope to ‘shit’ from the outset.

It wasn’t THAT bad, in all. Until 9:30 rolled around. I was checking the coffee machine, when I hear the rhythmic ‘Clink-Clink-Clink-Clink’ of the change machine giving out quarters. As I went back up to the front to let Pete (Pete is a woman, I don’t know why on earth Foofy started calling her that, but it stuck and she doesn’t have a problem with being called that) go to break, this guy storms over, saying the machine ate a $20 bill, and we needed to open it up and get it out.

This is when we got to the bottom of the slippery slope.

Terah: That machine isn’t ours, it belongs to a guy out of state. He comes in once a month and should be in to check in a few days. Lemme have your contact information so we can give it to him.

Guy: There isn’t a number on the machine for me to call. It’s in your store, it’s your responsibility!

Terah: I’m not allowed NEAR that machine, sir. All I can do is take your contact information. He will be down in a couple of days, and he’s a cool guy, he’ll get it out for you with no problem.

Guy: It is in YOUR STORE. It is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to get it out for me!

I went and got Shift Leader 1, because I was scared to open my mouth again to him, because I was going to say something to get me fired, I knew it. Shift Leader 1 tells him EXACTLY WHAT I DID, almost the same wording, so obviously this guy said ‘Oh, okay. Here’s my name and number, and I’ll check back in a couple of days’, right?

He called the cops on us.

And, luckily, was told they couldn’t do anything on our property, they would have to call our Tribal Police. So he did. We have 3 kinds of security guards. The Bananas (they wear yellow), the Rent-a-Cops (they find this name hilarious) and the Suits. 2 Suits came down and began talking to this guy.

I was stuck up front and refused to open my mouth to this guy and got the story from one of the Suits. He had put in $40 in the machine and it had only given him $20 worth of quarters. So, naturally, he was mad.

I can understand that. It’s frustrating, the number to call isn’t on the machine, we don’t know where to find it, and because we don’t own the machine, we are NOT allowed to open it up. That’s cool, getting angry over that is understandable.

But when you start screaming at me that it’s my responsibility, after I’m telling you the only thing I know to do and you refuse to listen to me, you enter my little mental ‘StupidAss Fucker’ list. And to make things worse, the suits were doing everything but telling this guy ‘Keep screaming at her, maybe she’ll cave in’.

Luckily, the shift leader for the night crew came in and had the guy’s number. After one more round of the ‘responsibility’ lecture, he left.

I couldn’t speak to him, because I was terrified I would scream ‘So, if I break into your house, murder someone and write in their blood that I was the killer, it would be YOUR responsibility because it was in YOUR house?!’

And I’m wanting to know why the FUCKING FUCKITY FUCK would anyone need $40 in fucking QUARTERS!

--Terah

Tale of the Cancer Lady

There’s this bitch that comes in all the time. We call her ‘The Cancer Lady’, and I hate her.

Let me say I understand. My grandmother died of cancer, my aunt died of cancer, my stepmother’s mother is dying of it, I UNDERSTAND HOW TERRIBLE HAVING CANCER OF ANY KIND IS, PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DO NOT FLAME ME FOR HATING THIS BITCH!

She comes in, all the fucking time, to the gas station and will order a bunch of cartons of cigarettes that we DO NOT KEEP on that side! But if you ask her to go next door for them, she will get in your face and say ‘I have ‘The Cancer’ in my leg and can’t walk. Go get them for me now.’

Yes, that’s how she says it. She has ‘The Cancer’. And she breaks ‘cancer’ up, so it sounds like she’s saying ‘I have The Can’t-cer’.

We used to feel bad for her. I means, yes, we made fun of the way she said it, because it was a little funny, but other than that we were nice. We’d leave our coworkers alone with huge lines to get this woman her cigarettes.

Until someone on First Shift told us this today.

She’s in full remission. She has NO sign of ‘The Cancer’ in her. And she straight up told them ‘Everyone on Second Shift is completely stupid for thinking I still have it, I can get them to do anything I want. I’m going to keep using this to my advantage.’

So, yeah. We can’t tell her ‘no’, because that’s ‘Bad customer service’, and I can’t tell her ‘Walk your fucking ass over and get them, fucking bitch!’ because that’d get me fired.

I hate people sometimes.

--Terah

Awesome Manager Puts Life Before Store

Let me tell you guys how cool and understanding my boss is.

I’m gonna start off and explain that I have a menstrual bleeding disorder. I can lose WAY too much blood at once and on Tuesday, that happened. I got to my mom’s, like I always do before work, and I collapsed on the couch. The room was spinning. But, being the good little worker I am, I just asked for a ride to work because I knew I was too dizzy to drive.

Yes, RHU, I was still going to go to work while possibly bleeding to death. (Yes, I know I’m exaggerating, I wasn’t to the ‘death’ part yet)

Mom said to call in, and just stay home and recover, but I was terrified I’d get in trouble, because it was 2:30. I was supposed to be there and be clocking in right that moment. That’s BEYOND a late call-in, and an automatic write-up. I mean, I can AFFORD a write-up, but I hate getting them. So she snags my phone from me and calls in for me. Manager answered and I guess mom explained the situation, that I wasn’t coming in.

Then she wanted to speak to me.

I was crying, I said I was so sorry I wasn’t there right then, if they needed me, I’d still go in, and all I was told was ‘You listen to me Terah, and you listen good. STOP WORRYING about the store. You get your butt to the E.R RIGHT NOW, okay?’

I meekly said ‘Okay’ and hung up. I had to wait for mom to get dressed, and I fell asleep at some point, but we made it to the E.R. They got me in and out in 3 hours, and down here, that’s pretty damn fast.

I was on Birth Control to straighten out my periods, and turns out the Birth Control I was on was causing it. We switched it out and I went home with a couple holes in my arm and still a little dizzy but walking.

Yesterday, I had to call the Manager and let her know I was okay, because she was worried. When I went to roll over and get up OH MY FUCKING GOD THE PAIN IN MY LUMBAR REGION WAS SO BAD YOU HAVE NO IDEA! I couldn’t even stand STRAIGHT! I hobbled to get my phone, called, and was crying from it. Told her I just couldn’t come in because of the pain, but if they needed me, I’d load up on Excedrin and haul my ass up there.

Again she told me to stop worrying about the store and lay down and rest.

I DID tell her, though, if they needed me today to call me in, because it’s my normal day off, and I’d missed two anyway. As I’m writing this, it’s 1:10, and still no call. But I’m wondering if it’s because no one has called in sick (or, in Whore’s case, because she wants to go party and get high) or if it’s because my Manager wants to give me another day to rest.

We’ll see.

--Terah

 

Terah The Gas Slave: Dangerous Shelves and Lesbian Lovers

So, RHUers, I came in to work one day about two years ago, and noticed something… different about the Smoke Shop.

We’d had shelves sitting in the middle of the worker area, holding dip and chew and cigarettes. They went nearly to the ceiling, and I liked them because when I was in the window, I didn’t have to put up with bitchy coworkers because you couldn’t see up front. This was a problem for third shift, but that’s a story for another day.

I came in this day, and stopped in my tracks to look behind the counter. The shelves were all gone.

I asked what was up, and someone told me what happened, and it was a ‘Holy fucking shit!’ moment, to be sure.

OldTimer (I have no other way to describe her; she’s been there longer than my manager) had been cleaning hardcore, getting EVERYTHING scrubbed. This meant moving one of the shelves to get a stain off the floor and scooting it back. She moved off to another one, and something happened. Something bad.

The shelf fell over. On to SuperWorker. And slammed her into the register and pinned her head there.

I was told the man she’d been waiting on jumped over the counter into the worker-only area to lift it off of her and let her get free. To this day, SuperWorker STILL has back problems from it. Security had to come in, and they threw everything off the shelves and dragged them out one at a time.

 But, shit, we didn’t even close for that! Either way, SuperWorker is still working with us after it, and we still don’t mention this around OldTimer who went into depression over it. 

Those things were rickety, anyway, and a stiff breeze would have toppled them.

Another story, as well.

So it seems that real life works very much like High school. Everyone is interested in ‘why Bobby dumped Susie for Vicky, and are they sleeping together?’ You know what I mean, right?

Foofy Sparklepants and Stumpy the Ghost Hunter have a little Paranormal Investigation business in the area, of which I am a member. Their secretary. Ever since they’ve made me a member, I hang out with Foofy when we’re both off and we discuss the business (non-profit, and obviously we keep our real jobs, which come first and foremost) and such.

One day, we were heading to the Easy Button store for a new planner and I wanted some new notebooks, when she busts out this gem:

Foofy- So, there’s a rumor going around work that you and I are lesbian lovers.

We nearly had a car crash. I’ve been a loner since I started working at the store, and everyone knows it. But now I have friends there with my same interests and am working with them towards that, so it MUST mean we’re having sex! …uh, no.

We’re not sure who started this rumor, and we think it’s Stumpy’s mother who did. Also, I was told that everyone thinks that they only hang around me because I have money to spare.

After the initial shock settled, I announced ‘Sweet! I’m the rich girlfriend in the relationship!’ and said it was a load, to not worry about it.

Among other things, Foofy is ALSO giving me ‘secret sex lessons’. …Just because I’m coming out of my shell and talking shit like the rest of my coworkers, doesn’t mean any of this bullshit is happening.

We told the manager about it, we decided that anger towards the rumors is validation of them and I’m doing my best to not get pissed when it gets brought up.

No one’s mentioned it in a month, so we’ll see how this goes.

--Terah

 

Custy Bitch Expects To Be Thanked After Asking to Complain to Management

It’s official, RHUers. Terah is goin’ a-murderin’.

‘Why?’ you may ask. My answer is two-fold. 1- There is a political fight going on within my store and it’s just got me pissed off.

And 2- Some dumb cunt is about to call in and try to get me fired.

Let’s start with the political situation. We have a worker, she is Princess Sha-nay-nay’s cousin, and I call her Whore, because that’s pretty much what she is. And right now, Sha-nay-nay doesn’t disagree. I don’t know what the fuck has started it, because I stay over in my quiet little Smoke Shop and try my hardest to not give a flying fuck. But Cuz was our shift leader tonight (something ELSE that pisses me off, but it’s more personal, and, thus, irrelevant to the story) and he was being sweet on Whore tonight, letting her have extra breaks and just playing favorites.

Sha-nay-nay wanted me to tell Cuz I thought he was playing favorites, because with as long as I’ve been there, my word has some weight behind it. Possibly, if I said he was playing favorites, and told the office workers, they’d look in to it more. I calmly explained that this is political and doesn’t need to involve me. I don’t DO office politics, I do my eight hours and I leave.

She asked a couple more times and then respected my decision to stay out of it and we left it at that.

NOW! On to the cunt! The following is a transcribe of the conversation-

Around 9:15 or so, I answer the phone with ‘[Store], how may I help you?’

Cunt- I have a complaint against one of your workers, I demand the number to your District Manager.

Terah- Well, ma’am, the only manager I know of is [Manager]. Her name is [name] and she can be reached here during [First Shift Hours]. She should be in tomorrow.

Cunt- Okay. And your name is?

Terah- [Terah]. (I spell it out for her)

Cunt- And you said she’ll definitely be in tomorrow?

Terah- (Red flag this is going to bite my ass) Well, I’m not sure and can’t say 100%, but she should be.

Cunt- Okay. Thank you.

Terah- Okay. Have a good evening, ma’am.

And I hung up. Less than five minutes later, the Cunt calls back in.

Terah- [Store], how may I help you?

Cunt- Are you [Terah]?

Terah- Yes’m, I am. How may I help you?

Cunt- I just finished talking with you! If I say ‘thank you’ to you, you need to have enough fucking respect for me to say ‘thank you’ back!

Terah- Okay. Have a good evening, ma’am.

And I hung up. Didn’t give a shit if she was gone or not, first curse out her mouth to me and I was finished with her ass.

I went to break and sent a text to PinkGirl and told her what happened. She responded with ‘Good Girl’, so I’m sure I’m not gonna get in trouble, but it just fucking pissed me off.

 What, I’m supposed to THANK you for potentially calling to get ME in trouble initially, or maybe a worker who did nothing more to piss you off than what I just did by saying ‘Have a good day’ or some shit like that? Get over yourself, bitch, if you get my ass fired, I hope you enjoy the knowledge that your taxes will help pay my unemployement!

Gonna go kill things in WoW, now. Maybe this way I won’t take it out on my customers

--Terah

 

Terah: Attack of The Coworkers From Hell

Well, RHU, I never thought these words would come from me, but here it is.

I have a coworker who is EXACTLY like HoneyBee. She thinks she runs the fucking store.

Slow Ass was hired a few weeks ago and has yet to pick up the pace. For every 6 or 7 customers we can get out, she’s still on ONE. You have to tell her everything at LEAST three times, and she always has to have help finding the most commonly asked for cigarettes.

I’m serious when I say five customers in a row can ask for the SAME FUCKING THING and EVERY GODDAMN TIME she’ll say ‘Where do I find that?’

Oh, but she’s not ‘still learning’. No, she KNOWS where it is, she just knows that if she takes long enough, someone’s gonna do it FOR her. As proven last Friday when she was being ignored by everyone during a rush and was getting people out on par with the more experienced workers (I saw the tapes).

She has a problem with authority, and she’s 58. How she survived that long with that attitude, I’ll never know.

And now she’s pissed at me over the other day (Not saying much, a lot of new workers start out hating my guts… the ones who learn to ‘tolerate me’ or realize I don’t make friends until I know you’re staying learn to like me). See, I was on break eating my usual sandwich and having my icecream bar for lunch, when I decide I want a soda. About this time, Slow Ass is dumping the mop water, and I guess the bucket wasn’t doing what she wanted? Either way, I heard a BANG and she cussed.

I don’t even remember what she said! I remember it was two words, something like ‘Well, shit’ or ‘God damn’… and as you should all well know, I cuss all the fucking time. No big. I went to go get my soda, and she yells after me.

S.A: OH! Are you going to go tattle on me for swearing!?

Terah: You’re not worth the effort of ‘tattling’ on. 

Yes, RHUers, I straight up told her that. A lapse, I assure, normally I’d have said something like, ‘Why would I go get you in trouble for something I do all the time?’ but it was the way she said it… like she was treating me like I was a little kid. Either way, she didn’t hear my answer.

I got my soda and went back to break, but she ran to Shift Leader 1, announcing to her I was going to go up there and ‘tell on [her] for swearing… which [she] DIDN’T do!’

We all laughed over it.

Also, another ‘newish’ worker, whom we call ‘Princess Shanaynay’ was working with Slow Ass that same night. Slow Ass left her with a line of about 7 or 8 people to go mop and got told by Shift Leader 1 to not do that, to get the people out before going off like that, so for the rest of the day we had to hear about how she got screamed at.

Princess Shanaynay went on her last break, 15 minutes, but was one 20... because of a diesel spill, which she was asked to clean up. When she goes back in, Slow Ass jumps her, in front of CUSTOMERS no less, about how Shanaynay HAS to tell Slow Ass what she’s doing, how DARE she be gone for 20 minutes, doesn’t she UNDERSTAND she can’t do that?! … this woman is a pain in my ass.

Shanaynay got her in the back at the end of the night, clocked out, and told her to never yell at her in front of customers again, to bring it to the break room. And Slow Ass kept saying ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ The whole thing ended with Shanaynay yelling at her for playing stupid and poor Foofy Sparklepants in the literal middle of the argument by virtue of where she was seated to count her money down.

A few nights before THAT, hell, this break thing is an ISSUE with Slow Ass. I was Cleaner, and she was being so fucking slow, we wouldn’t get last breaks because of the work load. This isn’t bad, honestly… we are only promised our lunch breaks, which are NOT paid. First and Last breaks ARE paid, and thus, not a guarantee. They’re a reward. Shift Leader 1 told Slow Ass no last breaks because chores weren’t done.

Slow Ass BLEW THE FUCK UP! She started talking back to Shift Leader 1, saying ‘Labor Laws state we HAVE to have a break every 4 hours! You can’t make us keep working without one! I’m TAKING my break!’

SL1: You had a break two hours ago. You aren’t getting a last one. Go back to work.

SA: Well… people need to TELL me these things! You can’t expect me to just KNOW it!

…and took one anyway.

She didn’t get written up, though, because last time Shift Leader 1 tried, the office workers yelled at her for ‘picking’ on Slow Ass.

PinkGirl comes back this Monday, and Slow Ass will be GONE a week later, I can PROMISE that.

--Terah

 

Haunted House Wars: Douchebag Promoter Screws Over St. Jude's Childrens Hospital And Gets Comeuppance

It never ends.

Do you wonder why I have so much to post, all the time? I submit so much, RHUers, because if I waited to do a weekly thing or so, it would be HUGE!

Today, a tale that could qualify as retail, over karma not just being a bitch, but full out PMSing!

Foofy has two brothers. One who is known to me as ‘Crackhead’ (how she describes him) and one whom I shall call ‘Daniel’, for that is his name. They run a haunted house every weekend in October and they go ALL OUT in trying to make people piss themselves. Seriously, the actors get a bonus if they manage to make a patron actually piss their pants. And they do AMAZING.

Their FIRST EVER FORAY into this little section of the business world, opened only 8 days out of the entire month of October, they pulled in $2600. It might not sound like much, but keeping in mind they had no advertisement besides word of mouth, that was amazing. Their next year, they pulled in $28k.

Now, there’s this asshole who does this for a living in the area. Well, he DID… anyway, he’d been in business for 8 years when Daniel started, and by their second year, they were cutting into his profits.

Daniel is a nice guy from what I understand. He’s a sarcastic dick, but he’s a good guy at heart. He did a charity last year for a small church, and donated half his profits to them. No big, right? Good publicity in our area, as I live in the Bible Belt. Asshole decided to do a BIGGER charity. ONLY because he wanted to out-do Daniel, and so he goes to the St. Jude’s Children Hospital, and promises them, PROMISES THEM that he WILL earn WELL OVER $168k and WILL DONATE to them half of it. $84k.

He manages to scrape up maybe 6 grand that year.

He was due to donate in November, but by FEBRUARY of THIS YEAR, he hadn’t, and St. Jude’s called him demanding the money he owed them, as they had paid for his advertising. He just gave the bill collector excuses, shit like ‘Oh, well, some unexpected expenses came up, and I don’t have it anymore.’

Heh heh, yeah, fucker, that dog don’t hunt.  They told him that they WOULD have their money, he threatened to hire a lawyer, and from what I understand St. Jude’s cleaned his ass OUT for him.

They took EVERYTHING. His house, which he was making nearly $1000/month payments on, a 2012 imported car that he got back in ’10, AND he is BANNED from running a Haunted House until 2017, and unfortunately for this asshole, that is his ONLY source of income.

See, that’s what you get for fucking with a hospital designed to help children. You fuck the children over, fucker, and you PAY.

--Terah

Terah's Gas Station Hell 2FER: Dumbasss N.A.T.S and Being Passed Up For Promotion

Two stories. First one happened in the little Casino, which I found out about from the security guards and my own being nosy.

Dumbass McFuck asks a lady to watch his machine while he runs to the restroom. Dumbass McFuck is so named because he asked a stranger to watch his machine which had $600 on it.

Can you guess what happened?

If you guessed that she cashed it out and left, you get a cookie!

So, there’s a whole fiasco, Security is telling us this guy was an idiot, the Cage Girl is telling us he’s an idiot, Terah coins his new name, and we go on. They reprint his ticket after cameras verify it was stolen, he gets his money, all’s good. (Though I think they should have not done that to teach the fucker a lesson…)

WELL GUESS WHAT HAPPENS! OUR N.A.T. COMES BACK NOT FOUR FUCKING HOURS LATER! WITH THE TICKET TO CASH IT OUT!

I would think, at LEAST, she’d wait until next shift to try, but she’s just as stupid as Dumbass. The Cage Girl tries to, and it comes up that the ticket was already paid, so she realizes who the bitch is, and we call Tribal Police, and this woman’s picture is up in every casino owned by the nation, and she is no longer a ‘valued guest’.

Simple terms? She’s banned from our casinos FOR LIFE.

*    *    *    *

Other story- Shift Leader 2 is in the hospital. I can’t spell what she has, and autocorrect doesn’t recognize it, but she’s not being released until December. DECEMBER!

So, they pass the ‘honor’ of being a ‘Key Holder’ to a woman on my shift, who shall be called Shift Leader Substitute, because once Shift Leader 2 comes back, she’s back to being a slave like us.

Now, see, I thought all the office workers were acting strange around me today, and I was worried they were going to take away my weekend off to work, due to us not having enough people on shift. The Manager tries being nice about shit like that, so I figured she didn’t know how to tell me I was going to work another 8 straight days.

Reality? She was afraid to tell me I wasn’t being made the Key Holder. They were AFRAID TO TELL ME I WASN’T GETTING THE NEAR PROMOTION!

WTF do I care?

Here’s how it goes, RHUers, on September 22, 2011, I will have been working there 5 years. Only job I have EVER had. In the time I have been there, I have seen my Shift Leaders have so much crap piled on them. N.A.Ts, rude fuckers, whining employees, stress… I honestly feel bad for them, putting up with it.

Maybe I SHOULD be upset that they made my coworker, who has been there about 5 or 6 months, Key Holder over me… but I really don’t care. I’m still an unofficial leader of my shift, I’m not getting knocked down a peg, and when shit gets bad, I can still slink off and let them deal with it. I’m not worried over benefits, I still have my full health, dental, and vision insurance, I still have my 401k plan, I work the same 39 hours a week I’ve been pulling for the past 3 years, she’s not getting anything better than I am.

I don’t do well with responsibility; I’d be terrified of messing with the safe and all that money, and I am well aware of that. I’m quite happy they haven’t asked me.

Now, if they’d tell me I’d be getting full time (corporate shit keeps me from getting it, not the store) for it, I’d be on my hands and knees begging.

But, until then, I’m quite happy.

--Terah

 

 

Returning To Hell From Three Day Vacay: Fires and Hot Checks

HOLY FUCK IT NEVER ENDS!

So, I get back in after a three day vacation and ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE WHILE I WAS AWAY!

Pink got into a car wreck on her way to work Friday, her car was TOTALED. She had a green light, and as she went to go straight, some little whorecunt made a left turn on a red light, and Pink smashed into her. Cops said it was the whorecunt’s fault, and Pink managed to make it out with a fractured arm, so at least she’s okay.

I mean, she WORKED with her arm broken and didn’t even find out it WAS until the next day, so, props to her for toughing it out.

Then the store almost burned down. But I can’t get that lucky, can I?

One of the outside ashtrays was on fire, which isn’t anything major. He was told to just empty it into the dumpster, because it was just emptied out earlier. No big.

Seems that later on, someone came in screaming the dumpster was ON FUCKING FIRE and was GETTING HUGE! They called the fire department, who ACTUALLY GOT THERE QUICKLY THIS TIME, and they put it out.

I didn’t even KNOW until I got to work and made the comment of ‘Well, gee, I feel safe… no fire extinguisher.’

Then they tell me.

And we have a regular scammer who comes through. She WAS ‘mild annoyance’, she has progressed to ‘scam artist’

She has a long name. It’s pretty unique, too, and she writes it out on everything as [First Name] [Middle Initial] [Maiden name]-[Last Name]. So, it’s a hard name to duplicate.

Scam bitch pulls up in the window and had a debit card. We have a policy that we need identification for all card transactions. I card my own mother under this, we don’t care WHO the fuck you are. If Jesus Christ walked in with a card, I’d ask for ID. No ID, no using the card, please pay cash or go get your fucking ID, we’ve been scammed too fucking much.

She tells Foofy Sparklepants it’s her son’s card, and that’s cool… we accept same last names. She pulls out her ID and LO AND BEHOLD IT IS THE SCAM BITCH!!!

And the names don’t even match! Foofy says ‘Ma’am, I can’t take this card, your names don’t match up.’

ScamBitch: Oh, it’s my stepson’s card.

Foofy: …I can’t take it.

So, ScamBitch decides she wants to write a check. OH HELL FUCKING NO! This bitch is on our Hot Check list. She has BEEN on this list for the past YEAR! We have been told if we take one of her checks, we will get a write up, we will have the amount removed from our pockets, and we will generally get the shit chewed out of us, because we have been told for so long not to.

Foofy: I can’t take a check from you, ma’am. You’re on our hot check list.

ScamBitch: Oh! Well, there’s a reason for that! That’s my sister-in-law’s account, we have the exact same name, and everyone confuses me for her, so you can take it!

Foofy: No. I can’t.

ScamBitch: THIS IS SO FUCKING INCONVIENT! You’ve ALWAYS taken my checks!

Foofy explains about the having it taken from her own pay, and all, and the bitch keeps it up.

Now, see, I could see maybe having an in-law with the same name, because Lil’Mama’s sister-in-law has the exact same name, but it’s only first and last… not some long, hyphenated shit. We told her we wouldn’t take it; if it was her sis-in-law’s account, take it up with her. She demanded the manager, and we wrote the number down and told her to call in the morning.

The Manager could use a laugh.

--Terah

 

Gas Station Hell: Lying Coworkers Busted Big Brother Style

A couple years ago, I had some coworkers I didn’t really like. I mean, I tolerated them, but we just didn’t get along. LouWho and Gem shall be their names for this story.

I was working with both of them, in the Smoke Shop. Now, this was back before the bad accident, when we still had shelves in the middle of the floor. It blocked view of the window and the person in it. This day, I had a line OUT THE DOOR. It is RARE to get a line like that if it isn’t the first of the month, or a Friday.

I called for Gem to come help me, but what was her response?

Gem: I have to help LouWho. Her cigarettes need to be stocked.

Terah: Yes, well, I need you up front! Get up here and HELP ME. Line! Door! OUT OF!

She just repeated she had to help LouWho stock her single packs of cigarettes. I was close to going around the shelf and dragging her back up by her hair. I didn’t, but I just made a motion with my hands and looked to my customers who were getting mad. Not mad at ME, but at Gem for not coming up to help me, even though I asked  her to.

Terah: I’m done. I’m done with her. I’m just done.

For the rest of the day, I ignored her. Everyone could tell I was mad, and I told Shift Leader 1 what happened.

Terah: …and if Gem wants to stock so bad that she leaves me with a line out that freaking door, she can. I’m not stocking, it’s her responsibility, not mine.

I remember later in the evening, seeing her tape receipt paper on to a carton of cigarettes to write a list on. She had to go get something and I pulled the list off, sat it on her register and hid the carton. It took her a half hour to find it.

She finally complained to my first manager, saying ‘Terah is just lazy, she didn’t do anything all day, and made ME do all the work and help all the customers.’

The manager made her sit down and watch the tapes of the line I was begging her to help me with.

The wonderful bit of it all?

It caught her, and LouWho, stealing.

I never saw them again.

--Terah

 

New Breed of Gast Station Custy

We have a breed of Customers that we call ‘Terah’s Customers’.

It’s a name we use to describe someone who gets pissed at us because of their own stupidity.

Case:  

Two women pull up to my window. Lady in the passenger seat wants 3 packs of something. I ring them up, tell her the total, she says ‘No! I wanted cartons!’

Honest mistake, I do this a lot and decide I just misheard, or she’s one of the few customers who say ‘pack’ and means ‘Carton’. I void it, log it, and ring up her cartons and give her the new total.

She gives me her card and I swipe it. As I hand her the receipt to sign, she goes fucking batshit loco.

TC: NO! ARE YOU STUPID! I WANTED PACKS! PACKS!! PACKS!!!!

Well, back then, I didn’t know how to do voids, so I ran and got Shift Leader 1, back when we had Shit Leader. She came up and did the refund and spent fifteen minutes, 15 FUCKING MINUTES, trying to explain to the lady that we hadn’t charged her twice, we just needed her to sign a receipt stating I had made a mistake and had corrected it. Y’know, so she can’t come back in claiming I had never done the refund.

She spent 15 minutes saying the part about correcting the mistake (not the ‘so you can’t steal from us’ bit.) and the woman would NOT have it.

TC: WELL I KNOW [1^st shift shift leader] AND SHE WILL BE APPALLED AT HOW I’VE BEEN TREATED! I’M NOT SIGNING THAT, YOU’VE CHARGED ME AGAIN, YOU’RE ALL THIEVES!’

Not that it matters if she knew her or not, as the Shift Leader on 1^st couldn’t do a damn thing. I wasn’t paying attention, I was stocking, and I’d forgotten my name tag in the break room after lunch, which hadn’t been 10 minutes before this shit-storm started. Shift Leader 1 looked at me.

ShiftLeader1: [My Name], she wants your name. Should I give it to her?

Terah: ....no.

ShiftLeader1: Her name’s Terah! (Yes, actually used the name ‘Terah’)

I don’t remember how we got the bitch to leave, but she did, with her 3 packs. We later asked the shift leader on 1^st who she was, and she had no clue.

--Terah

 

Terah The Gas Slave: Kleptos, Assholes, and No More Honey Bee

We have a new joke going around the store:

Foofy Sparklepants is a klepto.

Phone Cards, money, wallets, souls… you name it, she swipes it. (not really)

She WAS accused of stealing a phone card (she got out of it because I verified a customer had purchased the damn thing) and a wallet.

Some fucker comes in the other day and starts screaming he’s bringing the police in, HE wants to watch the tapes, because either Foofy or Stumpy stole his step-son’s wallet after he left it on the counter. There was $400 in it.

…uh, what? He loses a wallet with a lot of cash in it and you wait TWO FUCKING DAYS to come in?

We inform him that local police cannot be brought in, as it is Tribal Land, land that does not officially belong to the U.S, and only Tribal Police can look.

They looked. No one left a wallet behind that day. I haven’t heard about it since.

OH! Then we had ANOTHER ASSHOLE!

WTF is it about the heat? When it rises, the general I.Q of the local population drops.

Someone calls in, and Stumpy answers. I’m standing there as both Shift Leaders were in the middle of something, and I’m just there in case things get ugly. Apparently, he left his gas card behind earlier, but said ‘put it in an envelope, I’ll be in later to gas up.’

I guess the fucker got it, because then we’re told ‘I told the guy at the counter I was gonna gas up, and to turn the pump on’. Please keep in mind, he’s cussing poor Stumpy out the entire time, though I don’t know which choice of words he used with her.

No one turned the pump on for him, rawr rawr rawr, if we don’t ‘get [our] fucking shit together we will have LOST a customer who comes and gets $300 worth of diesel EVERY DAY!’

I took the phone, introduced myself, and explained to him that there was no ‘guy’ at the counter when he went in on First Shift. Oh, how do I know this? Well, sir, there is only ONE male worker on first shift, and he was in the window in the Smoke Shop all day. I’m sorry, you must have mistaken someone for one of our workers, though if you made contact, it IS no excuse on our workers. (my shift can’t stand first shift, the ‘perfect’ shift whose shit don’t stink…)

‘Yes, sir, I understand that you purchase quite a bit of diesel from our location.’

I’m getting called everything in the book, from ‘stupid bitch’ to ‘dumb cunt’ and others.

I don’t have a lot of patience and in the heat, it’s just not there. I told him ‘Sir, I’m sorry, but if you keep verbally abusing me like this, I will put you on speaker phone so the camera’s audio can hear that I will be totally justified in hanging up on you. For that matter, whose business will we be losing? [Charter Bus Tours], they get around 7 grand worth of diesel a week from us. [Local towing company], he comes in every other day to fill up both trucks, for about 400 each. Or are you with [Landfill], they do about the same. I’m sorry, we really do so much business in large diesel sales, I’m afraid your 300 a day kind of gets lost in the numbers running in my head.’

He hung up on me.

AND MY SUPER AWESOME GOOD NEWS THAT OH MY FUCKING GOD I NEED TO THROW A PARTY!!!

HONEY BEE IS GONE!!

She quit! She’s GONE! She is no longer eligible for rehire in the tribe!

Don’t know where she’s gone, and I don’t CARE! As long as she’s not at the store anymore!

Let me explain this- Nothing my shift did was good enough for her. The entire wall of cigarettes could be stocked, but we sold one carton right before she came up. Apparently, we did NOTHING all night, so why should SHE stock ANY cigarettes? I’m not exaggerating when I say that, either.

She actually would get in the face of one of the first shift shift leaders, put her finger in her face and call her a ‘fucking bitch’. We are ALL happy to see her ass GO!

That alone has made my week.

--Terah

 

Custy Upset at Having To Show I.D. For Cigarettes After 30 Years

From Terah:

So, who here remembers my post about Mrs. Mertz and the knife? Anyone?

(CLICK HERE IF YOU DIDN'T READ OR DON'T REMEMBER CRAZY MRS. MERTZ)

So, I’m going in to work today, and Shift Leader 1 walks from the parking lot with me and asks me about the incident, asking if I remembered. Sure did! I remember because I submitted the story here! (Didn’t mention that)

Guess what?

She’s trying to get unemployment out of us for quitting (turns out she quit this time, I couldn’t remember) and is saying ‘I had to quit! I was afraid for my life!’ and SPECIFICIALLY mentioned the knife incident.

I’m not in any kind of trouble, but I did have to fill out a report over the incident. Shift Leader 1 told the Manager that I would remember it perfectly, which I pretty much did. Filled it out and handed it in. Also, we have the entire day on tape to back it up if it didn’t run exactly as I remember it, so we’re good!

And now, an asshat:

Fucker walks in and looks at my coworker (whom I shall call HP!Girl, as we are both huge fans of the boy wizard) saying ‘I put a dollar in the air machine’. Please note, he was rude from the beginning of this exchange.

HP!Girl: …congratulations?

Asshat: It didn’t come on.

Terah: I’m sorry, it does that some times. It’s not our air machine, though, so regrettably, there’s nothing we can do.

Asshat: So I’m just OUT a dollar?!

Terah: Yes, sir. It’s not our machine, there’s nothing I can do.

Asshat: It’s on YOUR property!

Terah: First, sir, it’s not MY property. It is TRIBAL property, and I’m not a tribe member. Second, it’s just like that quarter machine over there. Just because it’s sitting here doesn’t mean we have anything to do with it. I apologize, but there is nothing that can be done about that air machine. If you go to [another gas station a few miles down], their air machine is free to use, and it always works. Again, I apologize.

Asshat: Oh! Well, at least you APOLOGIZE for this bullshit!

Terah: Okay, what do you WANT me to do?!

The asshat left without another word. I wanted to scream at him so bad, I almost did. I told Shift Leader 1 she almost got to see a ‘Good, old-fashioned ass-kicking’, and she laughed when I told her what happened.

Also!

This happened to Foofy Sparklepants, who was in the window last night. Some idiot drove up and ordered cigarettes, used a debit card, and Foofy asked him for ID, as is store policy.

Idiot: You don’t need my ID. Just swipe it

Foofy: No, sir, I have to check the ID before I can swipe it [Motions to the sign, clearly visible to customers in the window that ID is needed for all uses of Credit or Debit cards]

Idiot: WELL I’VE BEEN COMING HERE FOR THIRTY FUCKING YEARS, AND THEY’VE NEVER ASKED ME FOR IT BEFORE!

Foofy: Sir, I’m sorry, I am told to ask for ID.

Idiot: I’m going in, they won’t card me in there!

And he sped off and came inside. Shift Leader 1 confronted him when he came in, demanding his cancer sticks and that he wasn’t showing his ID, that he’d been coming in there for 30 fucking years and never once has he had to show his ID.

ShiftLeader1: Sir, you are aware that this store has been here for only fifteen years, right?

He ran out.

--Terah

 

Gas Station Hell: Cleaning The Parking Lot In Summer Heat

‘When shit happens at the store, call for Terah. Terah can fix ANYTHING.’

I’m pretty sure this is told to the shift leaders where I work, because I’m always being called by them to go fix something, figure out how it broke, move something heavy, cure cancer… y’know, the usual.

This part isn’t a rant at all, I actually LIKE doing this stuff because it means getting away from the custy’s for a few minutes, and out of that hot smoke shop (our temperatures were about 90 inside, 107 outside).

Here’s my story, followed by a rant about management.

About a year ago, I was in the Smoke Shop when Shit Leader called me over, saying M’s register was acting up, please come check on it. I bounce on over and get the story: The register battery, the one that keeps it turned on in the event of a power outage, has died and IncompetentFuck manager had replaced it, but it wasn’t working. They think it’s dead, too, but would I check to make sure?

No problem. I peek around and explain that I’m scared to try, because I’d have to unhook a LOT of shit, and I don’t want to crash the register on accident. Shit Leader said not to worry about it, do whatever I thought was necessary.

Details of the incident aside, I realize these batteries are the same as my phone/computer router at home. They need to be plugged in at all times, at least until it’s charged up. That’s the problem, maybe IncompetentFuck Manager didn’t get it plugged in all the way. I find the power cord and tug.

…and I didn’t like what I felt. I tugged several times, pulled EVERYTHING out from the shelf it was on, and found the problem.

He had plugged the battery into itself.

I fixed it up and went back to where I was stationed. M came up about $2000 over, but it was entirely the fault of the battery, so she didn’t get a write up.

And now, a rant.

Where I live, it’s hot. I mean, it’s fucking HOT. I’d rather live in Arizona with its 115 degree summer temperatures, because where I live, it’s about 50% humidity out, making it feel much worse. I’ve had a heat related episode once, when I was 15 (Extreme heat exhaustion/mild heat stroke) so I just don’t tolerate high temperatures very well. I get disoriented, I literally canNOT keep a train of thought, it’s an ordeal.

Work starts at 3, when the sun is UP and BOILING THE BLOOD IN YOUR VEINS, and my manager has announced that we have to go OUTSIDE and SWEEP THE ENTIRE PARKING LOT CLEAN before first break, which is at 5. The only excuse to not do this is a massive rush at the registers that the shift leaders can’t handle.

We’re under a constant Heat Stroke Warning.

That’s my rant, and this is what the shift leaders and I have decided to do:

I’ll go out and sweep the parking lot. Why would I do this, when I have the problems I’ve just listed? The only way we can force our manager to change anything is to prove to her why it needs to be changed. Sometimes, protecting the workers just makes it worse, it seems, and I’ll take one for the team. The Security on our shift knows we’re doing it and that it’s me going out, so I’m being watched, don’t worry about that, but if I can make her change the times to cooler parts of the evening, then it’s worth it.

And, failing that and I get massively sick, it’s her policy and it’s her head.

--Terah

 

Management Hell: Written Up For Doing What Your Told

Long, long ago at my gas station (Okay, 3 years ago) when Shit Leader was on my shift, I had an incident so bad, I nearly quit because of how she treated me.

We make burgers and fried shit and the like, and one day, Shift Leader 1 (at that time, the backup shift leader) told me she had been told, by the Manager (Then the Assistant Manager) that we were to close down the grill at 9. No more food orders after 9 o'clock. Dunno why, didn't care.

One day, several months later, a couple of regulars wanted burgers, and it was 9:30, I told them I was sorry, but we closed the grill at 9. They demanded the Shit Leader, who came out, and got in my face.

SL: WHY DID YOU TELL THEM THE GRILL IS CLOSED?! IT NEVER CLOSES! ARE YOU STUPID?! WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU TELL THEM IT CLOSES!

Terah: (near tears from being yelled at) Shift Leader 1 said Manager told us to!

SL: YOU ARE A GODDAMN LIAR! She would NEVER tell you that! I'm writing your ass up, and you're getting suspended for this!

Oh god, I about hyperventilated right fucking THEN. I kept insisting that I had been told to do it and was just following orders, but she wouldn't have it. I finished the night out, broke down crying and ran to my car and left, and considered quitting. I didn't, though.

The next day was a Wednesday, and I was off, and the Shit Leader was off, and Shift Leader 1 went in and saw the write up I had been given, and that I was to be suspended for 'insubordination' via my 'lying' to Shit Leader.

Thursday, I got to work and wasn't looking forward to it, but Shift Leader 1 ran in (she doesn't run, either, so wow) and pulled me into the office with her. She spoke to IncompetentFuck Manager, and said that YES. She HAD told me to close the grill at 9. Why did I get wrote up when I was following orders?

Turns out SHE had misunderstood them! They had meant close the hotbox at 9, but we would still make to order. When IncompetentFuck Manager was told this, he ripped the writeup to pieces in front of me and threw it away.

--Terah

 

Rude Bitch Encounter At Gas Station

I got called ‘annoying’ the other day. That was a new one.

In the fucking window, AGAIN, and we’re out of EVERYTHING! They’ve cut WAY back on ordering, and on all of our most popular cigarettes, we only got 2 cases of each in on Friday, which was the third of the month. We went through those cases in a few hours, and were back to having nothing on the shelves.

Monday was bad. We had no Grand Prix 100s period. No hard pack, no soft pack. Only King Size. We had hardly anything else, but the Grands are what brought this shit up.

I was working with Stumpy the Ghost Hunter and Spiky-Dude, and Spiky was out cleaning the pumps by hand, so it was me and Stumpy all day. She was telling me about her pygmy cat when this lady pulled up, and I had a fan running on me all night, so I could barely hear (we have NO AIRCONDITIONING! AGAIN!).

RudeBitch: I need Grand 100s, full flavor, in the box.

Terah: Oh, I’m sorry. [explains about being out]. I have shorts. We’re also out of the Light 100s.

Now, why did I mention the lights, when she said Full Flavor? Everyone up to that point would say ‘well, do you have Light 100s? I’ll take those.’ I’m just going by history here, bitch.

RudeBitch: I didn’t SAY I wanted Lights. I TOLD you I wanted Full Flavor!

Terah: I’m sorry. We’re out. [Stumpy was going to say something, so I said ‘one sec’ and THOUGHT I heard her ask for one pack of short, soft pack.] Okay, is this right?

RudeBitch: YOU NEVER LISTEN! I TOLD YOU I wanted TWO packs!

Terah: Stumpy, finish waiting on her, if she wants me to, she’ll be waiting the rest of the night.

And I stormed off. Stumpy came back up, laughing. Apparently, the woman THANKED her for taking over and told her ‘OMG that girl is SO FUCKING ANNOYING!’ and drove off.

I restrained myself from running to the window, leaning out, and flipping her off.

--Terah

  

Bad Retail Slave's Mouth Catches Up To her

Hello all!

Terah has a story that just made her SO FREAKING HAPPY! I simply MUST share it with you!

This happened on Saturday, the 28^th, but I didn’t get to write in because I was camping out at one of my mom’s rent houses with her because the air at my grandparents’ house was broke, and her bathroom is being re-built. No internet.

ANYWAY! Does anyone remember my story about Honey Bee? The one that I caught some hell from in the comments, because we were trying to get her to quit? My manager had enough of her shit and told her off! Trust me when I say this is a HUGE step in the right direction! The manager lady said that if Honey Bee did this again, she was FIRED!

The Casino had been having concerts for all of Memorial Weekend, so we were fucking busy as all hell, but Cuz managed to be cheery all day. Honey Bee and Braton (He’s not really a brat, it’s just our cute nickname for him) showed up around 10ish or so, and the Manager was there all night because of the concerts, and the worry of people showing up drunk at the store. Honey Bee was pissed over something, and I heard this story from Cuz.

Every other word out of her mouth that night was just ‘Damn’ or ‘hell’ or ‘shit’. She wasn’t happy over something, and Cuz was in the back and just asked ‘Dang. What’s with all the negativity here, cuz?’

With the Manager right there, Honey Bee looked at him at said ‘Shut the fuck up.’

Cuz: …what did you just say?

HoneyBee: YOU are interrupting my conversation with Braton. I didn’t invite you in, so shut the fuck up.

Cuz: So that gives you the right to say that to me?!

HoneyBee: Yes, it does.

It’s not like she didn’t know the manager was there, either. She KNEW she was there and said it anyway! The manager had some words with her, I don’t know what all was said, because Cuz was back up front with me, but Braton and the Night Crew Shift Leader came up and had us all pull, closing the Smoke Shop down.

The manager ended up telling her, in no uncertain terms, to clock out RIGHT THEN, to GO HOME, and if she EVER heard that Honey Bee pulled ANYTHING like that again, she wouldn’t have a job with us anymore.

That was awesome.

--Terah

 

Coworker Hell: The Tale of Mrs. Mertz

From Terah:

 

I had a coworker who left a while back, who we couldn’t stand.

 

I swore to Shift Leader 1 I wouldn’t speak this woman’s name anymore, so how about we call her Mrs. Mertz? Anyone ever watch ‘I Love Lucy’?

 

She worked at the store once before and was a damn awful kiss-ass, and got away with anything she wanted. She ended up quitting, and about a year ago, re-applied. Shift Leader 1 told IncompetentFuck Manager to not rehire her, but he did anyway. Even my current Manager (Then the Assistant Manager) to not re-hire this woman, but he did anyway. Like the Incompetent Fuck he was.

 

Mrs. Mertz is black, and she LOVED to play the race card. I could have said ‘Hey, Mrs. Mertz, I just finished REPAVING THE PARKING LOT and FIXED THE ROOF. I’m off to make water to mop, will you see if the napkin dispenser sitting right next to you needs to be refilled, so I can do that real quick?’ and her response would be ‘You’re just asking me to do that because I’m black! You’re racist!’

 

She tried to get me fired. She seemed to think her word was all that was needed. She could snap her fingers and she expected you to do it. Never mind that in the chain of command on my shift I’m third in line. I’m right under the Shift Leaders. No power, but god forbid something happen to either of them, I’m in control. Meaning she was under me.

 

I was filling the hot chocolate machine, and had to use a large knife to open the bags. She called me over to help her because OMG THERE WERE TWO CUSTOMERS THERE AND IT WAS TOO FUCKING MUCH! …really? I ran over to help her and just wanted away from her, so I told Shift Leader 1 and IncompetentFuck Manager I was going to sweep the parking lot. Came back in about ten minutes later and Mrs. Mertz was in my face.

 

Mrs. Mertz: YOU LEFT A KNIFE OVER THERE!

 

Terah: Huh? Oh! Crap. Sorry, your ‘huge line’ caught me off guard.

 

Mrs. Mertz: DON’T YOU KNOW HOW DANGEROUS THAT IS?!

 

Terah: Uh… yeah. I do. I forgot it, I don’t do that often. Thanks for getting it for me.

 

Not good enough, it seems. She stormed into the back and came back up a little bit later. I went to get cigarettes, and was stopped by Shift Leader 1 and IncompetentFuck. They asked me if I left a knife on the counter. I said yes. They asked why. I explained about the ‘huge line’, said I was sorry, I would try to not do it again. That was it. I went back up, and Mrs. Mertz had this smile like she was watching Scott Peterson getting stabbed in the testicles with a rusted garden rake.

 

Mrs. Mertz.: So. What’d they say about that knife?

 

Terah: …’no. Bad Terah. Bad, bad. Don’t do that again.’ *Smack on my own wrist*.

 

She stormed off again and I could hear her yelling at them through the door! She said I should be FIRED for it. Just on and on, I had customers asking what the hell was going on. She never came back up that night, she was told to clock out and leave.

 

She was fired a few months later, for insubordination.

 

--Terah