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.