From awhile back...April 15, 2015

Well, it's been two nights in a row at Michaels. Last night the wind was blowing over 50 MPH. When I got to work it was still possible to see the hotels downtown and "the strip." However, within half an hour you couldn't see across the street. This kid was running around in the parking lot trying to chase something; he never did get it, whatever it was, and I thought, why is his mother letting him run around, willy nillie, in a parking lot?! Who knows. I'm all for the sexy look, in the bedroom, out for the evening, etc. BUT at Michaels?! Um...no. See thru clothing leaves nothing to the imagination, and some of the customers faces are priceless. Another woman, mid 20's I'm guessing, wanted the "thing that makes the zipper open and shut." After explaining that no one sells "zipper parts," she told me "they must! How else would they make the zipper IF they didn't sell the parts?!" Hmmmm....let me thing?!?!?!? I explained that I have been sewing for over 50 years and companies make zippers, but they don't sell the individual parts. They make too many types of zippers with various sizes of teeth, etc. Then she asks, "well, if you have zippers here, I want to see them." Okay...so I take her to see the zippers. She wants to know how much they are. I explain that none of them are the type you would put in a back pack. She "doesn't care." She said she was going to take the "thingy" off the new one and put it on the zipper in the back pack. Hmmmm....okay. Another customer I'd like to go home with to see how this turns out. A woman with a dependent military ID, taking advantage of the nice military discount we offer...then her friend checks out and wants to know IF she can use the military discount. "Do you have a military ID?" "No...I want to use hers!" GEEZE people... I "usually" do my taxes in February or March...Jessica checks them over and sends them off. Well, she's been taking classes to graduate in May, and has been VERY busy with life. I've been busy as well; between 10:45 and just past midnight, we worked on my taxes. I slept from 12:45-5:20... And so my day begins with very little sleep, but I'm ready to go. AND my grass is coming up! THAT'S positive!!! I rarely, IN FACT never, have a bad day at work work. My real job. Not my Michaels part-time job. I love the music, enjoy the kids...most all of them, the banter, the fun, co-workers. It's just great. Today...an issue. It's resolved, but I felt bad that I wasn't able to get through to this Mom about what was going on. She just would NOT listen. BUT it's fixed...for the most part. She still doesn't get it, but it's okay. I wasn't at Michaels ten minutes when I was asked to come to help at the registers. We were hammered most of the night, and left the projected sales in the dust. My first customer...and older woman. She had some burlap trim, and some rolled burlap. Neither of which was on sale. BUT she insisted it was. So, I went over to see since it wasn't ringing up on sale. Nope. Neither of them were on sale. The stuff which was on sale was a different brand of "MESH," which is NOT burlap. I know the difference...oddly enough. SO, she doesn't want it, and takes her other things and goes. Next up...a woman who "called earlier and spoke with______"...the store mgr. So, I'm talking to him on the headset. Yes, the Cricut Expressions Air with the special "Bundle" is up there on hold with her name on it. Sure enough...there it is. She has since showed us the picture of it on her phone, and explains EVERYTHING that comes with it. Several times she says, yes, this is it. This is the one. These are the things it's supposed to come with. She is becoming irritating in her attitude about it, sure that we don't know what we are doing and she does. SO...I ring her up, and she leaves. Comes back about 15 minutes later with this tape gun. "It doesn't have the two tape cartridges it's supposed to come with." More issues...someone else is handling it. THANKFULLY! Burlap lady is back with the sale sign from the shelf. The sign I looked at before when she was buying the burlap. She slams the sign down on the counter. "There! I TOLD YOU IT WAS ON SALE!!!!" "Ma'am...this is for the plastic mesh...not the burlap." "Yes it is!!! I don't know why they hire people like you. You don't even know what the store has on sale, and you don't know what you are doing!!!" I ring up the burlap...less the 50%...thank you and have a nice evening....EGADS!!! Lovely Sandra is in the line. She brings her things up and starts putting them up on the counter..."I'll be good...I don't want you to write about me..." We laugh. I told her she couldn't do ANYTHING compared to what I'd been through already. We talked and it was WONDERFUL to have someone nice to ring up. Hi to Christopher! She said he reads all of the stories. Other nice people followed. Woman with a cart FULL of art supplies, who isn't familiar with simple math. She is nice, but half the cart was full...her total was over $45.00 and she only had $35.00. SO, her "guy" said, just get it. If you don't, I'll just come back and get it for you. I'm stunned...it isn't often we get guys like that. BUT she is picking out which Prismacolor Markers she wants. She brought up over a dozen, and only wanted 6. Fifteen minutes later we are almost done ringing up. So much for my "time" on sales. Corporate will understand...NOT!!! Got to help a nice woman who'd had a stroke. She was having some speech problems, but we were able to communicate and she was lovely. She was trying to find out IF she won the trip to Paris that Michaels was doing. I had no idea who won, or if they had even done the drawing. BUT we started talking about Postcrossing.com and is going to "travel" that way. It was nice to visit with her. AND guess who shows up?!?!?!? Cricut Expressions Air with the special Bundle woman. Yep....it's the wrong one and she wants to return it. OH MY GOSH!!!! I thought Chelsea (mgr. on duty tonight) was going to lose it!!! We had a Dachshund come in. He was a cutie. Bunch of cute kids...well behaved. A couple of non-well behaved children, who didn't get their way and I was impressed. That's pretty much a first. I remembered to get the meringue I've forgotten to get the last few times. Easter stuff is 80% off. I didn't succumb to any of it though. I've been pretty impressed with myself. Such is the life of those who work with kids and retail. I want a job holding down a lounge chair by the beach next to the cabana boy...with a virgin pina colada. Well, Archimedes is caterwauling at the back door. Must be time to go to bed.