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February 17, 2006
Flotsam and Jetsam
- The people at The Department Store are really nice to work with. I really like being recognized and greeted cheerfully. It doesn't feel asinine and high-school and cliqey to me, which is a nice change.
- A man came by the registers today (during a big rush...four registers going with about 6 people in each line). He had an armload of dress shirts and whatnot and asked me if I would keep an eye on them. "Can I set these here?" he asked, pointing to the counter of an unused register. I told him he could set them there, but I was in the middle of ringing another customer, explaining the benefits of The Department Store Credit Card, and wasn't really paying attention to him.
(And it occurs to me, as I write this, that while this guy was asking if he could set his stuff down on his counter, the Security Guards had just called me and asked about my previous customer..."The girl that you just sold the white shirt to? What happened to her?"...and I was creeped out about my phone ringing and the person questioning me about my customer knew all the details about the transaction but weren't where I could see them.)
So we get the lines cleared out, I answer every customer's questions ("Returns are at Customer Service, over in that area of the store") and I'm talking to another associate, when This Guy comes back and asks where his clothes were. I told him I didn't know, and he said, "But I asked you to keep an eye on them," in that tone of voice that communicates in the subtext You dummy. It's not like you're busy or anything, and why can't you do this one simple thing for me? The men's associate who had taken them, assuming they had been abandoned and needed to be replaced on the shelves, heard this interchange, came out from behind her trousers-shelf and explained where she had put them. He stalked away, and I was about to let him get to me when she said "Why can't people use the carts we provide for them?" It's nice to get a littly sympathy.
- One of our Managers had an accident last Sunday. He was in his driveway going to get his paper and slipped, cracked his head, got a concussion, and fractured his skull. He was in the neurologic ICU for a few days, the normal ward at the hospital for a few days, and now he's at home. He's going to be out for a few weeks, and The Department Store staff ask after him all the time. Pray for him, for his healing, for his family, and for his salvation (if necessary...I don't know if he's saved or not). Pray that this shock to the camaraderie at The Department Store would be a cause to ask questions about life and death and longevity and eternal security. And pray that if there's a chance, that I would be bold in my words and evangelize whomever needs it.
Stories from Behind the Counter | By The Newest Worker | 07:34 PM
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