Yes, it's been a VERY long day! I helped my cousin move some things into his new house...in the heat of the day no less....North Carolina summer is upon us. Yes, folks, North Carolina gets the jump on summer...here it starts in May instead of June! We've had umpteen days in a row of 90 degrees or more!! Yuck! Anyway, we barely made a dent in all of the stuff that has to be moved to the new place...in my cousin's defense, he's got a LOT of stuff to move...when cousin's dad died a couple of years ago, his things were packed away and never really gone through. On top of that, there's a LOT of things that belonged to my grandmother that are going to have to be moved. The sad thing is that a few years after my grandmother died, a lot of her things were given away or sold...and there was STILL an entire house full of things after that!!

TOMORROW IS THE BIG DAY!!!! My interview!!!! Remember...I need for everyone out there to pray that I get this job....even though I bitch a lot about my current job, I do like it...however, the pay is FAR less than what I'm used to making..and it's having a pretty negative effect on my surviving lately. The new job will put me back almost at where I was before...and then life can go on as usual. I'm a little apprehensive because the last time that I got this excited about an interview, it turned out to be a complete disaster! Those of you who may have missed that entry, let me briefly catch you up:
I'd gotten an interview to be a merchandising representative for a major tobacco company...the perks were UNbelievable...company car, expense account, laptop computer, and a Monday thru Friday ONLY schedule. I went to the interview and even though the guy doing the interview struck me as being somewhat abrupt with me, he was apparently impressed enough (or so I thought!) to ask me to spend a half day with one of his reps to see if I liked the job well enough to actually WANT to do it. So I rearranged my schedule to do this 1/2 day ride along deal...and I really LIKED the type of work that was going to be involved. The only thing that struck me as odd was a conversation that he had with an employee in one of the stores we visited...one of the former employees of the store had been up for the job I was interviewing for, but hadn't gotten the official decision yet. Apparently she was a good friend of the guy who'd interviewed me. Aside from that, I actually did let down my guard and let myself believe that I had a chance of getting the job....so after the ride along thing, I went home and kept my fingers crossed...the guy called me later on in the evening to tell me that I hadn't gotten the job...the "other" applicant had gotten it....and just take a wild guess WHO the "other" applicant was...YEP...the former employee of the store we'd visited. Apparently she was already aware that the job was hers, but other interviews had to be done to make it look on the up and up. I was so MAD that I literally couldn't see straight for hours afterwards!

So...as you can see, I've got good reason to be a little nervous about letting myself get too excited. I do realize that this company I'm talking to tomorrow is a HUGE company and I doubt very seriously that ONE person alone will make the decision as to whether or not I get the job....but we'll see how it goes. Naturally, I'll post as soon as I hear something!

Well, that's about it for tonight...I've got to do some catching up before I head to bed! G'nite!

This is going to be a short one tonight folks...I got this little diddy in my email today:

Last year I replaced all the windows in my house with those expensive, double-pane, energy-efficient kind. Yesterday, I got a call from the
contractor who installed them. He was complaining that the windows had
been installed a whole year ago and I hadn't paid for them yet.

Helllooooo? Now just because I'm blonde doesn't mean that I am
automatically stupid. So I told him just exactly what his fast-talking
sales guy had told ME last year...namely, that in just ONE YEAR these
windows would pay for themselves.

"Helllooooo?" (I told him). "It's been a year!"

There was only silence at the other end of the line, so I finally just
hung up. He hasn't called back, probably too embarrassed about
forgetting the guarantee they made me.

Bet he won't underestimate a blonde anymore.



G'nite!

It's true. I have officially banned all holidays....at least until I find a job that in no way deals with the public face to face. This proclamation has become necessary because there are just too many people out there ruining it for the rest of us. Like the old saying goes, "one bad apple spoils the bunch". So those of you who are making plans for July 4th...cancel them. The holiday doesn't exist...unless of course the interview that I have in a couple of days pans out.

I'm sure you're all anxious for my stories, so here goes...I had planned on separating them by day, but after this weekend, it's all been just one BIG annoying day to me, so I'll just condense them!

70% of all calls Friday, Saturday, Sunday, & Monday:
"Will you be open Memorial Day?"
Alright...let me explain....Memorial Day is NOT a religious holiday, so guess what..the only things closed are the banks, post offices, and every other place of employment except for mine. Yes, we are open.

And, I've come up with the following.....

Rules of Dealing With Customer Service Desk Personnel:

1. If it was not on sale when you bought it, and you bought it recently (recently being defined as within the last 30 days, NOT a year ago), and it's currently on sale, yes, we will give you the difference. Do not, however invade our personal space and whine or DEMAND that we personally will make it right. This will result in our taking double the time to process the transaction just to annoy you.

2. If a really popular item, say a GRILL, is advertised at a dirt cheap price, do not yell at us because you waited until 5pm on the last day of the sale and now the item is sold out. Any retail store is only going to order a certain amount of those items, and if you miss out...too bad.

3. If you have a problem with your credit card..whatever that problem may be...here's a hint: we're not the ones who gave you the card, and we can not do anything about your problem, no matter how much you bitch, moan, and whine. Call the people who gave you the card..and yes, their number is on your statement.

4. If you ask us to check you out because the lines are long at the regular registers, yes, we have the ability to do it, but if you piss us off with your complaints and rudeness, we will send you to the regular registers just to piss you off.

Now, for more stories from the "Weekend of Hell".....

.....so I look up from my computer to see a huge black garbage bag flung up onto the counter. Inside this bag is some sort of grass that the customer wishes to return for a refund. She hands me a contract that was drawn up at a different store. A contract, that I may add, clearly states "Special Order Merchandise may only be returned for refund from the store at which it was purchased." I pointed out to this lady that she must go back to the store where she purchased the grass to get a refund. She snatched up the bag and tore the contract out of my hand and exclaimed, "I'll NEVER shop THIS store again"....to which I replied, "you didn't shop THIS store in the first place...." As she turned and stomped out of the store, I told her "have a nice day....." It turns out that this witch was no stranger to our store...she tries this on a weekly basis, and the story always ends the same way.

.....as I was getting ready to leave, a lady approaches me with fire in her eyes:

Me: "Can I help you?"

SheBitch: "My truck broke down in YOUR parking lot, and my husband and I had to push it into a handicapped parking space. I want a sticker from your store to put on it that shows it's broken down because I damn well better NOT get a ticket. If you don't have a sticker, then I want some of YOUR employees to come and push my truck into a different space!"

Me:

Me:" We do not issue handicapped stickers, and we can not make our employees push your vehicle into a different space...it's a liability issue, not to mention possible OSHA violations."

SheBitch: "You mean to tell me that NO ONE in this store is going to come out there and move my truck for me?!"

Me: "That's about the size of it."

SheBitch: "Look, I can't help that my damn truck broke down in YOUR parking lot, so if I get a ticket, I'm coming in tomorrow and making YOU pay ME the money for it...how's THAT, smart ass?!"

Me: "First of all, it's not MY parking lot. Secondly, you are the one who chose to push it into a handicapped space instead of somewhere else, so that's your responsibility, not mine. Third, if you get a ticket, you will be the only one in this conversation to pay for it, and lastly, that will be MR. SMARTASS to you."

SheBitch: "Well, I'll tell you this, fuck you and fuck (insert store name here)!"

Me: Ok, buh-bye now. Buh-bye!

At this point, I'm sure that SheBitch contemplated coming across the counter at me, but thought better of it when her husband grabbed her by the arm and proceeded to pull her out of the store...still cussing and starting to kick.

Needless to say, once this episode was over, the people behind the woman in line started to laugh. Not one of theme was rude to me, however. I'm guessing that they figured they'd be "buh byed" too?

That's it for tonight folks!

Ok, buh-bye now, BUH-BYE!

Sheesh! I completely forgot that I hadn't made an installment tonight! I'm sure you're all on pins and needles, huh?

Anyway....

Work wasn't TOO awful today...we were very well staffed for a change. Of course, the shoppers were their usual selves, although the really annoying ones didn't arrive until it was almost time to leave for the day. Apparently, my home improvement big box store has not one, not two, but THREE different ad circulars floating around out there this weekend...which would be fine, except for the fact that one of them doesn't take effect until Monday. Naturally, there had to be that ONE couple that came in wanting the prices in the circular that hasn't taken effect yet:

Mrs. Bitch: (yelling at the top of her lungs to me from across the aisle) Sir! SIR!! This grill rang up at the wrong price! Your ad says it's only $79, but it rang up at $99!

Me: The prices in the ad don't take effect until Monday. It's written in the small print at the bottom of the circular.

Mrs. Bitch: Well, that's just ridiculous! I demand that this grill be sold to me for $79!

Me: You can speak to a manager about that.

Mrs. Bitch: Well, I'm talking to YOU!

Me: You can speak to a manager about that. I can not honor a price that doesn't exist yet.

Mrs. Bitch: Well why CAN'T you honor the price?

Me: Because I'm not a manager. Only they can over ride the price. You will need to speak to one of the managers to have the price reduced.

Mrs. Bitch: You don't understand. I don't want to talk to a manager! I'm talking to YOU!

Me: You are the one who isn't understanding...I've told you twice that you will need to speak to a manager. I'll call one down for you.

Mrs. Bitch: Well, it's about TIME!



Y'all keep praying for me on that interview next week! I don't know how much longer I can keep my head from exploding!

Ok, I'm determined that I'm not going to talk about work in today's post. I absolutely refuse to. I've had too many posts lately about the subject, and I'm sure that everyone who stops by is tired of hearing about it, and quite frankly, so am I.



Hmmm.....so what do I talk about?

Ok, here's something completely off the subject of work....

I'm very excited about a tv ad I saw the other night. Hey, stop laughing...I have no life, so it doesn't take much to get me excited these days! Anyway, it appears that The Bionic Woman is coming back to television as a weekly series this fall on FOX. Or NBC. I can't remember which. Now, while my FAVORITE bionic show was the Six Million Dollar Man when I was little, I also liked the bionic woman because she had the same sound effects as the bionic man. Hey, I was a kid, it didn't take much to make me happy back THEN either!

Naturally, the show is being updated, and it isn't going to include Lindsay Wagner, but that's ok. She's old now and I'm sure that her bionics have cobwebs anyway. Of course, if the show does well in the ratings, then of course there can't be a Bionic Man series far behind it...obviously Lee Majors wouldn't be in that one, because he's old too.

Maybe they could do a THIRD series called, "The Bionic Grandparents" with Lee Majors and Lindsay Wagner?

WHEW!! I actually managed to get through an entire post without mentioning work today! I'm so proud of myself...kinda the same feeling when I caught this moron trying to walk out of the store without paying for a $300 grill!

Damn!