Who is the mug??

Ok, I am paid to do a job. The job is not brilliant but it pays money and that is what I am paid to do. However, my bone of contention is the fact that I have to work twice as hard because two people I work with spend all their time doing anything but work. Which I think is grossly unfair!

And the worst part is that you tell your manager who does nothing. You tell senior management who also does nothing - so who else is there?

Would you like to know what really gets my goat is when I am pulled into the office for stupid things like I took my tea break at the wrong time or I asked too many questions - but that is how you sell, by asking questions. So perhaps I am the mug by not milking the system like the women I work with do. Therefore, in future I will try to milk the system and do it better than them. At then, I won't feel like such a pratt!

Stealing time from your employer

I did think I was alone in my opinions about the queen of milking the sytem, but I found out that I was NOT alone and that more people than I first realised felt the same as I did i.e. that it had been going on for too long, that it wasn't fair on the rest of us, that she wa also bullying me. However, when I went to management, on three occasions to complain about the bullying nothing was ever done except that it got forgotten. So much for management helping resolve issues like this. But, I refused to go once again to management and be degraded into thinking it was my fault although this time it wasn't the issue. The issue was stealing from the company which to anyone else would have been instant dismissal but to her it was just another warning. Let's face it when you are suppose to be working and manage to do other things that take forever you are clearly milking the system and stealing from your employer. Trouble is that management in these large supermarket superstores don't see things like that they seem to see things in front of their face.
I'm not hoping for miracles just for this to be resolved for once and for all but I am not holding out a lot of hope on that front either - I am realistic.

Celebrity Spotting

Working in a supermarket superstore you get to meet a lot of celebrities. All kinds of celebrities, TV, sportsmen and women, radio, famous people, successful business people and many American Express Black Card members but I think the highlight of my day is getting the chance to meet "normal" people who have achieved astonishing feats.

No one could make up the takes that Joe Public tell you. For instance, in the course of serving a customer - who looked pretty ordinary - I found by making a comment about the contents of their shopping that they had started a business dealing in organic baby food - making everything from raw materials and not mass producing it. It is the kind of idea that you think "I should have thought of that" because the concept is so simple - just put in pure indegrients, organic foods, no colourings etc.. and this woman has gone from strength to strength because her idea has captured a niche market.

Someone once said to me, how do you do it? I replied, I just have a sincere interest in people and am a good listener.

Some people are just evil

Yesterday, I had the worst day of my life on the checkouts - and it wasn't with a customer. I find customers are generally very nice and undersatanding.
My day started off as normal. Although I am only able to use one hand, the supermarket where I work still insist on putting me on tills where I find packing extremely difficult. However, I agreed with my manager that I would work on a less busy till and she was happy with that. The problem then came when another member of staff came in.
Orginally she was going to help the mamager do something on the shop floor but another colleague came and the manager then asked her instead which upset shall I call her the "fat blond" because she wanted a skive, like they all do. whereas I am happy to plod on. An hour into the shift and this "fat blond" wanted to do something else and this time the manager asked me to do it - bearing in mind this job was "no big deal" although it did mean that I would get off the tills for 15 minutes - which is what she wanted to do. So that upset her!
Then she starts on me saying why do I have to sit on this particular till; why can't I go on another? I told her thait my medical conditions were none of her business and told her to speak to the manager if she wasn't happy with what I did. Two fingers to her I thought.
I am normally a very placid person and would not entertain such pettiest but this "fat blond" seems to have a problem with everything.
I do the job to the best of my ability. My manager is happy with me and my work and leaves me to get on with things, so it is none of her business what I do and who is she to tell me what I can do and can't do.
I should have learned by now that most people who work on supermarket superstores do it because of a variety of reasons however, there are a few, like the "fat blond" who are not capable of working anywhere else and you can see why.

NB. I emphathise that this is not anit-fat people, I use the term "fat blond" simply as a way of describing her and nothing else. Fortunately, fat people like her are rare - just like people like her are rare. And unfortunately, we all need bad people to make us appreciate the good people in this life.