YOU'RE FIRED!

Sooo, yeah. I got fired yesterday.
BY TEXT.
(Technology, what have you done? People don't even have the decency to call anymore.)

I could rant about how bad the management was there, how they are technically breaking laws, and how that job was close to being slave labor... but I would end up ranting for ages.

Let's just sum up everything to some life lessons I have learned...

1) Ask more questions about a job before you sign anything.
If I had known that I would be mopping floors until 1am whenever I had the closing shift, I wouldn't have taken the job. Heck, I wish they would have at least told me I was going to be a janitor. Looking back now, I probably should have asked what exactly the job entailed before signing all the necessary papers. Because I didn't ask, I got stuck doing backbreaking work nearly nonstop for 7-9 hour shifts for minimum wage... I could have just been sitting on my butt and managing phone calls and appointments as a receptionist somewhere, to the sweet tune of $12 an hour. Instead I was on my feet all day, cleaning sticky yogurt and toppings.

2) Stupid people don't like it when you make them look stupid... especially when that person is your manager.
I'm going to be blunt... my manager was an idiot. The very first weekend I worked, he changed my shift without notifying me, and proceeded to blame me when I didn't show up. This led to him being scolded at our employee meeting by the owner himself. You see, the manager was supposed to email us the schedule every single time there was an edit made. He didn't do that, and the owner embarrassed him in front of all of us by telling us it was "his mistake" and to do that next time. I believe this was the beginning of his grudge against me. When I tried to take a sick day and he accused me of all these crazy things, like not working for two days the previous week, and calling "every day" to take a day off (neither of which were true at all), I emailed the owner to clear up any problems. That must have embarrassed him again, seeing that he probably was getting his own employees mixed up. Pointing out discrepancies between what he said about breaks and the Employee Handbook was probably the last straw. People just don't like being wrong, and I guess being upstaged by someone more than ten years younger than you AND someone lower on the employee ladder probably led to some anger.

3) Customer service is the key to success, and good tips.
During my short employment, I was astounded how much a good attitude could affect the behavior of your customers. If you took the time to explain how the shop worked to new customers, greet them as they approached the register, and told them to "have a nice day" after their transaction, they were a lot more likely to leave tips. They also were more likely to return, recognize you the next time, and even talk to you while you were getting them their change. Incredibly enough, neither the owner or manager cared about customer service. They were more focused on cleanliness and how much money they made. After a lot of observation though, it was easy to see the difference in behavior between the customers who interacted with a bored cashier, and those that I was tending to. Making the kids happy was the most important part. Kids are sometimes intimidated by people who are older than them. If you can break down that barrier by asking them what flavor they got, commenting on their stack of gummi worm toppings, or just being nice, they start gaining an attachment to the store. One kid whose family I had spoken to on a few occasions exclaimed to me that he was at the store 4 times already, and it was his favorite place. Customer service really is where the money lies, not in having the store spot-free.

At least I learned something from being fired, haha.

Back to looking for jobs... and hey, at least I have cashiering experience now. That'll hopefully open up some more avenues of employment.

In other news, I'm going to Delaware to visit Jon tomorrow!
Hey, it's not like I have to worry about a work schedule anymore, right?
This is exactly what I needed... a nice, relaxing break with my favorite person in the world! <3
Definitely looking forward to it.

Until next time!

Tweeter, Twitter, Twatter, FRO-YO!

I'll start by saying that I have added my Twitter feed to the top of the page, so you guys can be updated on the latest events that happen in my crazy, yet still generally uneventful life! Aren't you all so lucky?
I'll also take this time to tell you all that the reason why I have been inactive in updating the blog lately is because...
-drumroll-....
....
I GOT A JOB!!!

Yes, I am now an employee of a new self-serve frozen yogurt chain!
Minimum wage and a 35 hour workweek, but the tips you get for working the PM shift can sometimes bring in an extra two hours of wages.
I cashier, clean the store, and slice up fruit.

Cashiering is fun because it makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside when you see people enjoying themselves. Some people are extremely nice and even joke around with you while they pay. I've only had one grumpy customer, a guy who brought his cup to the register not saying a thing, shook his head angrily when I told him the price, (he filled up the giant cup to the top, what the heck did he expect?) and then left without a word. He was fat and had a mustache though, so I wasn't offended.

Cleaning is for lack of a better word, a bitch. There are so many things to clean.
There's the feature wall, which is basically one wall that is carved to look like waves... dozens of waves that kids can't resist rubbing their greasy, sticky fingers all over.
You have to keep the front room swept and mopped.
The toppings bar needs to be neat and constantly filled with each topping.
One of the machines needs to be cleaned each morning, which means that you need to pour six buckets of water through it, one sanitized bucket of water, disassemble the front, and scrub the heck out of all the components. Then you have to refill it.
The windows need to be cleaned, the tables and chairs need to be wiped down, the doors, the window, the door's window...
IT ALL MUST BE CLEANED. AGAIN. AND AGAIN.

And slicing fruit makes me feel like a ninja.
Especially cutting pineapples.
I take out a big, sharp knife, and slice that thing up like a warm, not-so-sharp-knife through butter.
And then I put it in a bin and put it in the toppings bar, and go back to being a cashier/janitor.

It's really a lot of work for minimum wage, but when you see how much the money adds up at the end of the week, it's all worthwhile... especially in this economy, where 9% of people are unemployed... crazy stuff.
Plus you get a free cup each shift, with no weight limit.

And THAT, is sweet. Pun totally intended.