Work, Work, Work All Day Long!

When I started my current job, I was excited, mostly because I got a job and it didn't take nearly as long as I anticipated (thank God!). When I actually started working, I started to not like it. I think part of it was because I wasn't sure of what I was doing. When I was an RA, I was confident. I knew how to go about things and even though there were some strange cases (a kitten in a room, a kid thinking a fog machine was okay to have, and loud fornicating among those) and I wasn't sure exactly how to go about it, I had a pretty good idea of what to do. With my new job, I quickly became tired of complaining and ungrateful customers, messy floors and fitting rooms, and co-workers who did jack squat. I wasn't happy; I didn't think I was doing a good job and I kept my eyes peeled for anything new. I felt like I was doing a lot and people just weren't noticing. That's my biggest thing, I just want my manager to tell me I am doing a good job and that I am doing things right.

Now that I have been here for awhile, it's still a far from ideal job. I don't plan on having it long term and there are still days where I want to cry (like that day I got called racist), but I am way more confident. I have learned to appreciate the good customers and not dwell so much on the bad ones. Everyone deals with people they don't get along with. I have learned that I can let off some steam with my co-workers if needed.

This last week I got four huge confident boosters. 2 from my own manager and 2 from managers of other departments. The first came one night when I was closing. At the end of the night we have to bring envelopes with retained coupons, gift cards, etc to a little cart and check off our registers once we close them. Someone is usually there to ask us which register and checks it off. Well, this night that I was closing it was one of the managers. She always asks us for a story about how we provided excellent customer service. I told her about this little girl who was looking for a birthday outfit for her party the following week. She told me that that was awesome and that I was really good in the kid's department. I left with a good feeling that night.

The second and third came from my own manager. While I was working one day he came to basically give me a quick evaluation of how I was doing. He told me I was one of his top 2 associates and that I was really good with the customer and attentive to them as well. The only thing I need to work on for the most part is opening accounts (which is way easier said than done). The next day he came down again to just check on how things were going. I didn't even notice him and was putting clothes away. There were about 4 customers shopping and I just did what I normally do, ask them if they are finding everything okay or need help with anything. My manager saw and told me that that was excellent and he challenged me to ask more open ended questions (again easier said than done in some cases). That was what I needed to hear; I needed him to tell me that I was doing a good job, even though I still have doubts, I feel a lot more comfortable.

The last one came today. I was working in the shoe department, something I am definitely not familiar with. The associates there also work on commission so my main job was ringing up customers and making sure I knew who helped them with their shoes so they can get paid for it. It was hectic to say the least. Saturday was definitely the worst day to work. The manager of the shoe department came by and told me he appreciated my help and that I was doing a good job with being honest with the customers about not knowing the department very well and getting them the proper help. We did have one incident of a lady who wanted to return shoes that broke (she claimed her second of the same pair that broke), but she didn't have a receipt or a UPC. Now, normally I can look up the item with the UPC and the credit card or something like that, but without a UPC, it's pretty much useless. She didn't understand what the problem was and didn't understand the concept of a UPC  I explained to her what it was and that I can't possibly look it up without it. I ended up calling the manager and it was reveled that she bought it at the same store and a different location. We didn't have this style of shoe. The manager told her she could go back to the original store or he could mess around with it and go to the manufacturer, but that would take a couple weeks. She got angry and blah, blah, blah and he ended up fixing it and bypassing it. He might get in some trouble, but it might be less than the other options. She was a crabby customer. BUT, I digress.

My main point is that I am finally glad that I am getting noticed. I don't want to make it seem like I am the hardest worker in the store or anything like that, but I just want someone (my manager to be specific) to notice that I am doing something and that's finally happening and I am a lot happier at work than I was before. It's finally making some stuff seem worth it (ie my feet constantly hurting)