As most of you know, I start last month working as a greeter at Walmart, and I must say, this is the perfect job for someone like me who loves to people watch. There are so many different and interesting people who come through my door everyday, and I have accumulated so many stories so far, so I decided to create a new blog series about my daily greeter tales. Enjoy!
~I'm in a power chair, obvious to anyone who knows me, and even if you have just met me, it really isn't hard to miss that. Sure, it may not be a manual chair, but it has wheels and a joystick controller, and it is pretty clear it is not a regular chair or recliner. Yet, for some reason, a few times a week someone, mainly really old guys who can't barely walk into the store themselves, have to make some sort of comment to the effect of "Just sitting around here", or "Taking it easy", to "Hardly working eh?". The best had to be yesterday though, when a cranky old man asked me if I was "Loafing on the job?". Yeah buddy, I'm loafing around...give me a break! When I told him no, that I was in a wheelchair and unable to walk, he actually had the audacity to say "Ya right" as he walked out of the store.
~(This from another greeter) - A man comes through the door to leave the store with a big flat screen TV in his cart, with a cashier in tow. The greeter tells the man he needs to see his receipt for the TV, to which the man replies, "Oh, I haven't bought it yet, I am just going to take it to my car to see if it will fit, and if so then I will come back in and buy it". The cashier looked shocked, as he was just told by a supervisor to help them man, and had no idea he hadn't paid for it yet. So the greeter calls for a supervisor to come over, and the guys tells his same story and the supervisors says OK, until the cashier pipes up and informs that he hasn't paid for it yet. He was then promptly told he needed to pay for the TV, and if it didn't fit in his car he could come right back in and return it. Good try buddy, that's like taking a cart full of groceries through the door and saying, "I just want to see if these will fit in my trunk...."
~Guy spills garden soil all over the entrance, then looks at me and says, "Well, aren't you going to clean it up?"
~Another guy spill ice all over the floor and says "Hey look, now I gave you something to do today" as he runs out of the store.
~A woman has a return and I stop her so I can scan it and give it a return sticker. She is on the phone, and when she approaches me, she throws the bag on my lap and tells the person on the phone, "Yeah, I'm at Walmart, you know how when you have a return you have to take it to the dumb ass greeter so they can give you a sticker...yeah what a total waste of my time, guess they have to give the old people and retards something to do".
About Me
- Kimbo Central
- San Tan Valley, AZ, United States
- A wife and mommy to a beautiful three year old son, blogging about being a mommy, and taking care of my family.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Getting settled in
I'm back online! Phil and I finally moved into our new apartment on Sunday, and although we still have things left at the house to bring over, and lots of unpacking and settling in to do, it is nice to be back on our own again.
This apartment is so nice, first off, it is brand new, no one has ever lived in here before. The entire apartment has hardwood floors except for the bedroom, which has Berber carpet. The cabinetry is like a dark sort of cherry wood and there is black granite counter tops and brand new whirlpool appliances and Moen sinks and fixtures. It is so nice, I just love it here, and we plan to stay here for awhile, so it is going to be so nice to get settled in and know we are going anywhere for awhile.
The Walmart job is going well, they have me work my first night shift last night, from 2pm-10pm, which I didn't like because I rather get up in the morning and get work over with and have the night to myself. But I have so many stories from working there, being a greeter is a people watchers dream. I think I am going to have to start blogging some of these great stories..but alas, I must use my day off wisely and try to get settled into our new home.
This apartment is so nice, first off, it is brand new, no one has ever lived in here before. The entire apartment has hardwood floors except for the bedroom, which has Berber carpet. The cabinetry is like a dark sort of cherry wood and there is black granite counter tops and brand new whirlpool appliances and Moen sinks and fixtures. It is so nice, I just love it here, and we plan to stay here for awhile, so it is going to be so nice to get settled in and know we are going anywhere for awhile.
The Walmart job is going well, they have me work my first night shift last night, from 2pm-10pm, which I didn't like because I rather get up in the morning and get work over with and have the night to myself. But I have so many stories from working there, being a greeter is a people watchers dream. I think I am going to have to start blogging some of these great stories..but alas, I must use my day off wisely and try to get settled into our new home.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Hard Workin Girl
I've completed my first full week at Wal-Mart, and I have to say the job really isn't that bad.
Orientation was on the 25th, with just me and two other people who were hired on as cashiers. We watched movies about the company, surprisingly with a lot of references to the fact that union workers try to get Wal-Mart to join a union, and how Wal-Mart is against that. I never realized what a problem they had with people trying to unionize them, but I suppose since the unions are losing money, getting a big company like Wal-Mart in and having every employee pay dues would help a lot. I am glad they are against that though, I don't need some union guy speaking for me over everything.
The next day I came in and spent the entire money on the computer doing computer based learning, such as how to clean up a chemical spill, and other policy stuff. I finished those around lunchtime and after lunch they sent me out on the floor for the first time. They put me with another greeter, a really nice man, who showed me the ropes, and then the next day, I was out there by myself manning the door.
The job really isn't hard at all, and didn't take long to learn. Basically, people come in and you welcome them, people leave and you say goodbye, if someone has a return you scan their item and give them their printed receipt to take to customer service, if someone has items underneath their cart you need to look at their receipt to make sure it is on there, and then make sure the area is clean. I do this for 8 hrs a day, from 7am-4pm. But after this next week my hours will be from 7am-3pm.
The best part of my job is giving out stickers to the little ones. They are so cute and their face lights up when you ask if they would like a sticker. The bad part is that is can get boring, especially in the mornings. They have me at what they call the general merchandise door, because the other door is for the grocery side. That side is always the busiest, my side isn't, but it is a bigger area, and the radio to call for a supervisor or for carts is right at my level because they have another guy in a chair who works nights. It is just easier for me to get around over there, because on the grocery side I would be bumping into people, especially if I need to stop someone to look at their receipt. Also, it gets so cold on my side, with the big fans blowing cool air all day long, so I bring a sweater, but I am just hoping I am not getting a cold, because I feel that way, but it also might be allergies.
I've also made some nice friends there, and the job isn't that stressful for, just more mentally tiring since sitting there saying hello and have a good day gets repetitive. But it is a good job and I am having fun with it, and it is bringing in the extra money we need, so that's great.
We've also decided, due to our schedules and the fact that I won't be getting my first real check from them until the 16th, that we push the move in date for getting into our new apartment for the 19th. This way we have extra time to pack, because things are still all over the place, and it will allows us to have the money we need to get settled in. We were supposed to move this Sunday, which would have meant spending these past two days off packing up all these odds and ends, but now I can just relax since I am still getting used to working.
Well, that's about all the news I have on this front. I definitely deal with some very interesting customers during the day, I might have to blog about some of the people I have seen come through the store.
Orientation was on the 25th, with just me and two other people who were hired on as cashiers. We watched movies about the company, surprisingly with a lot of references to the fact that union workers try to get Wal-Mart to join a union, and how Wal-Mart is against that. I never realized what a problem they had with people trying to unionize them, but I suppose since the unions are losing money, getting a big company like Wal-Mart in and having every employee pay dues would help a lot. I am glad they are against that though, I don't need some union guy speaking for me over everything.
The next day I came in and spent the entire money on the computer doing computer based learning, such as how to clean up a chemical spill, and other policy stuff. I finished those around lunchtime and after lunch they sent me out on the floor for the first time. They put me with another greeter, a really nice man, who showed me the ropes, and then the next day, I was out there by myself manning the door.
The job really isn't hard at all, and didn't take long to learn. Basically, people come in and you welcome them, people leave and you say goodbye, if someone has a return you scan their item and give them their printed receipt to take to customer service, if someone has items underneath their cart you need to look at their receipt to make sure it is on there, and then make sure the area is clean. I do this for 8 hrs a day, from 7am-4pm. But after this next week my hours will be from 7am-3pm.
The best part of my job is giving out stickers to the little ones. They are so cute and their face lights up when you ask if they would like a sticker. The bad part is that is can get boring, especially in the mornings. They have me at what they call the general merchandise door, because the other door is for the grocery side. That side is always the busiest, my side isn't, but it is a bigger area, and the radio to call for a supervisor or for carts is right at my level because they have another guy in a chair who works nights. It is just easier for me to get around over there, because on the grocery side I would be bumping into people, especially if I need to stop someone to look at their receipt. Also, it gets so cold on my side, with the big fans blowing cool air all day long, so I bring a sweater, but I am just hoping I am not getting a cold, because I feel that way, but it also might be allergies.
I've also made some nice friends there, and the job isn't that stressful for, just more mentally tiring since sitting there saying hello and have a good day gets repetitive. But it is a good job and I am having fun with it, and it is bringing in the extra money we need, so that's great.
We've also decided, due to our schedules and the fact that I won't be getting my first real check from them until the 16th, that we push the move in date for getting into our new apartment for the 19th. This way we have extra time to pack, because things are still all over the place, and it will allows us to have the money we need to get settled in. We were supposed to move this Sunday, which would have meant spending these past two days off packing up all these odds and ends, but now I can just relax since I am still getting used to working.
Well, that's about all the news I have on this front. I definitely deal with some very interesting customers during the day, I might have to blog about some of the people I have seen come through the store.
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