Inventory madness!

 Inventory was 2 days ago. I worked from 6:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.. it was such a beautiful disaster... 

By Beautiful Disaster I mean it was organized but just a mess. We weren't ready for it again and there were so many rolling racks of no tickets that had to be done men's had one rack I was able to keep up with that no problem ladies ended up with two racks of no tickets. 

The worst area for no tickets I would have to say was Linens because there was a lot of Linens stuff that had no tickets on it. Another problem was that we started inventory prep too late we should have started at the beginning of the previous month instead of a week before inventory showed up that's when we started a week before inventory day. 

In a way it's not the manager's fault because our budget was cut so we really didn't have a lot of people who could do inventory prep at all. Hopefully January's inventory will be better and will be more prepared for it. We have inventory twice a year once in January and then again in June. 

Who let the crazies out????

Nothing for the past two days well yesterday and today is there has been so much customer drama at work it's not even funny. It's like seriously someone let the loonies out of the loony bin or something.

Yesterday I was waiting for my bus to come and I was sitting in the break room and I heard yelling on the floor. So I grabbed my stuff and went out to the floor to find two customers yelling at my boss who was trying to ring customers out. It was all over a shopping cart and a pair of pants. A pair of pants. Mall security ended up coming with the police and they ended up a squirting amount.

Then today a guy came in and started flipping out because he was not happy at the customer service he was receiving. No one was available to do his personal shopping from home so he got upset and also because we have no open fitting rooms. Which is not our fault we haven't had open fitting rooms in months. He flipped out on the bus and started calling her names and stuff like that. We did call the police officer who works at the mall and by the time she got there he had left, but it was so bad that a male customer who actually does security hung around to make sure that the guy didn't get violent.

Shop early and not at the last minute!

 Absolutely amazes me as to how many people wait until the very last minute to get clothes for Easter. 

 Then when they can't find what they're looking for and the size they need, they complain.

 Because they're picking through the leftovers that nobody wanted.

Sorry but if you wait to the last minute to buy clothes for Easter then that's all on you it's not on the employees at the store. 

I can't tell you how many times I've had people complain because we didn't have anything in their size or in the color they're looking for. 

#notmyfaultyouwaiteduntilthelastminutelady

Inventory Chaos 1/12 thru 1/13

 

1/12/23: Inventory day 1 went by smoothly not a whole lot of make tags from what I saw. While we usually have at least 3 gray shelves full of them while scanning linens, we had at least 1. The youth and baby apparel had a few, half a rack combined. I have to be to work at 6am and here it is 2:38am and I'm wide awake! I'm making my coffee and eating some breakfast before day 2 begins. 

#imsoexhausted #itsrainingagain #iloverainydays

1/13/23: Inventory day 2 went by without very few issues. I was able to work it on about 2 hours sleep.. my 5am bus never showed up, the ride was cancelled because the driver was unable to find me.. I ended up scheduling a Lyft and got to work 15 minutes late, but I arrived. 
The day went by so much smoother than last year in June. There was literally NO stress to be found and we were out earlier than last June. It was great. 

#thankgoodnessthatsover #untilnexttime

You you just can't make this stuff up....

 Michael Myers came into the store and scared the crap out of Sue, one of our SCA's. All she saw was a man with white and gray face wearing all black and carrying a butcher knife. She wasn't sure if it was a real knife but it sure looked real to her.
Sorry, but I just can't stop laughing it's just so funny.... I wrote the report up as a "possible theft" but it's just some guy dressed as Michael Myers is shopping for children shoes. She has no idea who a bunch of the horror monsters are so it threw her. 

There were so many folks in the mall dressed in costumes, children as well. Another guy came into the store and was dressed as Freddy Krueger. He had on the outfit, claws and a mask so I made sure to let our Sue know that it's just a guy in the Halloween costume so she didn't get scared.

 
Then we received a visit from a woman who kind of has a reputation around the mall as the mall hooker. Yes I did say hooker. I watched her for 2 hours, she was in the store for 6 hours straight. One of the guys who works with us is mall security so he called his buddies and they came and escorted her out of the store. Turns out she has a lifetime ban and isn't allowed in the mall at all.

Let me tell you you just can't make this stuff up.... Happy Halloween folks!

Last weekend of the haunted house!

 

Coffee and lunch are out of the way and now I need to get ready for work. I'm 2 to 10 tonight so I'll be Lyfting home from work.

There is a haunted house upstairs over our store and it only ran on weekends. Tomorrow is the last day of the haunted house and I'm elated!

 I'm so glad the haunted house is leaving and we won't have to deal with it next year. 

Unwatched teenagers running, yes running, around the store, stealing and filming tik toks. 

Yeah they're just kids, I can deal with the tik toks, but not the running and stealing.

Welp I'm done for the night and it's been eventful, but I survived. I took the bus home as I was able to get a ride.  The line for the haunted house went almost up to JC Penny's, lol the store located next to us. We had a few calls from people asking if we were open because of the line and police cars in the parking lot. They thought there was a riot happening outside the store.

Back to work I go.

I have been sick the past 3 days and while I still don't feel 100% better I'm going to work later. My brother has been sick for around a week now and he refuses to get a covid test. He has a sinus infection. I bought one and did it for myself.

My results came up covid free so it's all good with me. I knew that I didn;t have it, but wanted to be safe than sorry considering my job is centered around being with people almost daily.

I immediately started taking cold medicine and sinus medication in hope that if I got what he had then it wouldn't be as bad as his. Luckily it wasn't. 

My head still feels like it's full of fluff and my nose is running like a stream, but its stuff that I can manage while at work. It was the pounding headache that felt like my head was being slammed into the wall that was unbearable.

The above photo is my results. The instructions are in Spanish since I never received any in English.  lol if there was a pink line then that meant that I had covid.  No pink line means I'm good to go! 

Its been so long and I wouldn't change it for the world... 10 million dollars maybe....

 

Workin the night shift!

Tonight was my first night shift at work in over 10 years and it was a doozey. Also Burlington has been running strong for 50 years! Woot!

A guy came in and was looking at luggage. He was upset that all of the ones he liked had women's names on them. He said he couldn't get them because he didn't want his girl to think he was cheating on her with someone named "Juicy" or "Nicole". I just stood there with a confused look on my face and had to walk away. I seriously just don't understand people these days.

We had two people come in 5 minutes before the store closed to shop. We were all literally ready to leave and they wanted to shop! The guy comes in every night and does this. Every night. We ended up not getting out until 10:15 because of them. You would think that if the doors are locked then the store is closed.

Nothing like eating a dinner of ramen noodles at 11pm. I had a pepperoni pretzel at work around 4:30 so it was considered more of a snack.

Active Shooter training tips

 

As the full time person on the asset protection team I have had to do some training. Well we all did it to be honest, but I tend to do a wee bit more. There have been quite a few active shooters as of late in stores and I will admit that it scares me.

Personally I carry pepper spray on me at all times. I need to get new spray because what I have is over 10 years old, but for now it will do. 

The thought of it happening at my work to coworkers and really scary and I will admit to having nightmares about it. During the training that I watched they gave some great instructions and I'm going to share them here.

In case of an active shooter the first thing you need to do is RUN! If you can get to an exit or emergency exit then do so. Grab everyone you can and go! Once you're outside then call the police. 

If you can't run then you need to HIDE! Do not hide in large groups because you will be spotted easier that way. Hide in breakrooms, bathrooms, offices. Hide in clothing racks and anywhere else you can find a spot. 

If there is a large group of you then you can FIGHT! Grab anything you can get your hands on, slam into them hard with shopping carts, grab fixtures and hit them. Do what you can to get the weapon away from them. 

When the police do come into the building then put your hands up and follow their instructions. 

There are flaws in every plan, but with everything that's happening here in NY as of late it's better to know what to do than to not and be sorry.

Cha cha changes are in the airrrr!

I have officially gone from part time to full time at work and I'm over the moon about it. I'll be doing asset protection and will be working with a great group of guys and gals. When I'm not on the door I'll be walking around the store or doing other things. My training will be either sometime this week or next week.

I will also be the one who is training new asset protection people and ensuring that they are doing what they are supposed to be doing. The guys we have now are normally on their phones except for one who takes his job very seriously. He's done security for years and is kind of a pro at it. I look forward to learning things from him, though he is a really big gossiper.

I'm looking forward to the changes that's coming my way. I do need to learn to be a leader so to speak as I'm expected to be a role model for those who do the same work I do. We are supposed to greet people as they come in and when they leave and we are expected to stand and not be on cell phones texting or watching video's. 

There are some at work who have very little faith in me doing the job and they had a good laugh at my expense today when they found out what some of my job requirements were. I will admit that it bothered me a great deal because I have always considered these two laughers to be my friends. Oh well it is what it is. They aren't paying my bills, I am. I have been looking for the opportunity to better myself and I feel that this is it. 

Inventory was fun... said NO ONE EVER and if they did, they LIED!!!

 

I work in retail and boy do I love those special days of the year. 4 to be exact, when we have to do Inventory. No really, I hate it. I think loathe would actually be a better word for my feelings when it comes to this special event.

The winter event comes in January after Christmas... it's always after CHRISTMAS, the one time when we are never prepared! We are more geared to customer servicing the thieves... err... customers and the sales floor staff... all 2 of them are always on register!

We had Inventory on Sunday the 1oth and we worked 5am to 2pm with 1 15-minute break. Do you see something wrong with that or is it just me? I was under the assumption that when you work 6 hours or more you had to take a lunch. 

I just went into the work app and noticed that I was listed as having a half hour lunch when in fact I had none. None of the employees there for Inventory had been given a lunch. I asked numerous times after the 6-hour mark when our lunch was going to be, and I was constantly blown off.

I've never been part of the IN Crowd

One of the ladies at work has decided that three of us employees are going to go get a drink and toast 2021 goodbye. The three of us have been there at that store the longest out of everyone there. I've been there 14 years and they both have been at the store for 20+ years each.

I actually started at the store with the intention of only being there for a year or two until I got back into daycare. Alas before I knew it, I was celebrating 14 years there and ya know what?

I wouldn't change it for the world. The two ladies are great. Yeah, we've had our issues at times, but through everything I would be there for them in a heartbeat if needed.

 

Some of the coworkers would go out to dinner and drinks at time's and I would find out via their Facebook feeds. I'm not upset mind you because I have always considered myself a bit antisocial out of work. I literally go to work and come home and I'm in for the rest of the time until I have to go to work again. If this outing comes to fruitation then I'm actually looking forward to it. My goal for 2022 is to get out with friends more.

I don't mind having a glass of wine here and there, but I'm really not a huge drinker to be honest. I am an occasional drinker and I only drink wine. The taste of alcohol really makes me feel eh afterwards, so I tend to only drink one glass.

I read that January is actually considered Dry January where people don't drink for the whole month. I can do that actually. Though I do know folks who will not only drink on New Year's Eve, but they also drink long into January 1st as well... and NO it's not Me! LOL So, wouldn't Dry January be a waste of time? Time not wine! 

What Is Dry January? All the Facts to Know About Taking a Sober Month

I really need to trust my intuition more.

 Today I had an odd feeling, and my intuition was poking at me to listen up. I will admit that I am my own worst critic when it comes to trusting my intuition.

While pulling into the parking lot at my work I noticed that there were no cars in the parking lot. I got out and watched my ride pull away. I was wondering if my manager was there, but then noticed the parking lot door open a jar.

The first thing that came to my head was that the manager on duty took a taxi or Uber to work. It's been done before so I really thought nothing of it. One of our security guys always leaves the door open as well so employees can get inside. As I usually do, I pulled the door closed behind me because I saw no one standing at the door.

I went in and straight to the office and saw no one in there. I usually drop my bag on the floor in the office and just go straight to work. I printed my markdown papers and grabbed the equipment that I needed to do the markdowns. This is what I always do when I'm on my own doing the markdowns, grab my stuff and go to work.

Now there are time's where I will get to work and not see a manager or supervisor until about an hour or so after I arrive. Not a big deal to be honest because we are both busy and once the store opens and things settle then they will be walking around the store, and I'll see them.

I was still dealing with the intuition telling me that something was off there, so I was about to go into the receiving area to see if the manager was in there, but then I looked up and literally saw her walk into the store! She looked at me and said, "How did you get into the store???"

The long and the short of it. I was in the store for about 5 minutes alone and the closing manager didn't completely lock the parking lot door last night, which meant that the door was OPEN all night!

As I was leaving this afternoon the manager yelled at me from the accounting office "Don't come into work on your own anymore Lisa!" I yelled back to her that I didn't mean to do it. LOL

On a brighter note the mall put up the Christmas tree in the mall in front of our store along with the train! 

I had some great deals today.

No work for the rest of the week.

I bought my sister a pair of Mickey Mouse flip flops for $2.99 and some Mickey socks for $3.99 for a pack of 10 pairs.

I also bought some brush on gel perfume by Jo Loves for $4.99.

Because of Inventory, folks were just putting random prices on the no ticket stuff and those were ticketed at $9.99, but were marked down, one to $6.99 and the other to $4.99.

There were a lot of markdown in the ladies accessories, purses, cosmetics and skin care.

I even marked a few items down to a penny again. My citrus lotion was a penny and it smells absolutely amazing! 

Inventory chaos

Welp, I came home from work, ate something and then went to bed. I fell asleep and still heard the sound of the markdown machine that I used to make 10+ over flowing carts and grey shelves of make tags. Hardly any no tickets, just MAKE TAGS!

See our printers are so old that when you print tickets the alignment goes out of whack and you end up with half the barcode missing. So you have to realign your tickets after you print 10 or so tags to get the entire bar code. We need new printers. Our area manager says we need to clean them which we do all the time. The cleaning only ensures that the printers are printing the tickets, it doesn't help with the alignment at all.

After this escapade I can honestly understand as to why we lost so many good managers and assistant managers. We currently have a great store manager and assistant manager, I pray every day that we don't ever loose them due to the stress that tends to live in the store.

They did an excellent job during this inventory. They were on the ball making sure everything was done and best of all they understand about the printer mishap that we deal with because they used the printers themselves and experienced it first hand!

There is no photo for this because I really don't want any reminders of it. So I'm using a random photo of Dean. His words express how I feel about Inventory to a T!
LOL