I had a reset to do in scrapbooking at work that was MAJOR. I would have worried about it but I concluded that there really wasn't anything I could do more than I was doing.
With cut hours and fewer people, I was not being given the time IN MY DEPARTMENT to do the work. It wasn't that I wasn't working. I was having to work elsewhere or I wasn't there at all-- because of the cut hours.
Finally, I told my boss, "I'm not the one that's going to get hollered at if this set isn't done. If you don't give me the time to do it, YOU ARE THE ONE that the axe will fall on."
Guess what. The axe fell!
The set had to be finished LAST WEEK. That meant he had to not only let me stay in my department and work, he had to figure out how to get other people over there to HELP ME. That wouldn't have been necessary if I would have just been given time in my department before "the axe fell."
But, you know what? That seems to be the nature of retail. It's no wonder people talk about it being so stressful. Higher ups are always hollering at the managers. The managers get stressed out and ...... and so it goes.
By working longer days last week and by having SEVERAL people help me I was able to get the set done. I also had to get a lot of freight out because, in addition to having to get the set done, we had a stock test on Friday.
Oh, by the way, they've also started really making a huge issue out of us NOT having more on hand than they have decided we need, so instead of ordering more of what I know sells, I have been holding back on my ordering to stay within their guidelines and I MISSED ONE on the stock test because I was sold out. (I rarely miss any on stock tests and it's NOT because I'm way overstocked on everything. I just like to have on hand what I know sells well, even if that means having more than the designated one or two items the guidelines tell me to keep.)
They have this new "rule" that if we make below a 95 on the stock test, our manager has to call the REGIONAL manager (not the District Manager, the Regional Manager) and explain to him WHY!!!
I'd hate to be a manager!!!!!
So, much of my week was filled up with trying to get that set finished up. On Tuesday, my off day, I had FINALLY scheduled the physical exam that I had promised my brother I would get (as his Christmas present). I couldn't just call up my doctor and schedule because the company had dropped my doctor as one of the ones they "allow" for the best coverage. So, I had to find another doctor--one that was accepting new patients and who would schedule me around my work times-- and that became somewhat of a mountain in my mind. When I finally started working on it, it didn't turn out to be as hard as I had imagined it would be. (Aren't a lot of things like that?)
On top of all of that, there has been a very special issue that is at the forefront of my mind that has been a burden to me all week and I kept praying things would work out regarding that issue. I thought I'd know the end result of that last week, but I don't.
["a stock test"--- In case you don't remember how I explained this in the past. We are not set up on a computer system, therefore, corporate does not know by computer how well we are staying stocked with what they want us to have on hand. In order for them to be sure that we are keeping the merchandise in stock that they have determined we should have, they have come up with a "stock test". Every month , a supervisor comes to our store with a list of 100 "randomly selected" items of the several thousand that we are supposed to have on hand. These "random" items are spread throughout the stores eleven departments: floral, fabrics, needlework, frames, art and hobbies, wearables, jewelry, crafts, scrapbooking, party and candles, and home accents. It is considered "failing" if we are out of more than five of those 100 items. I put "random" in quotes because considering the number of items we stock, it just doesn't seem to me to be randomly possible to have so many repeats on the stock test on some of our best selling items.)
I'm hoping for a more normal week starting tomorrow.
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