Last night was the last night at World Market.  Having fallen in love with the low prices and unique items, I applied for a part time seasonal position 3 years ago and have been working there until last night.  Ultimately I needed more time to enjoy life and with Uncle Sam taking so much in taxes over the past 3 years, it was time.

I still love the store and will be in to shop :)

When you work in Retail…

When you work in the retail market, you earn a respect for what goes on and tend to sympathize with the current working folk of a similar function.

Wegmans Sub Shop

For example, having worked in a Wegmans Sub Shop part time when living in Rochester NY I realize how annoying cell phones can be and rude customers are and try to not be that way myself.  I do admit when a customer was on their phone, I skipped them and asked the following person in line if I could help them since a hand signal with a number only seems to work in Asian restaurants :)

Shampoo Factory

The Shampoo Factory was a full time job between semesters during college and gave me a new appreciation for those bottled products and you recognize all of those funny alignment marks for labels.  I sat for days monitoring sealing of various salon tubed products and testing bottle cap tension,which by the way should be automated and not done by anyone for that is surely going to give you carpal tunnel!

While it was relatively mindless, just what I needed after 2 semesters at college, I would think if I were to do it on a regular basis I would probably become a zombie.  Not that I think anyone is really cut out for this kind of work, but we do what we need to in order to get the bills paid and this job probably just barely serves that purpose for the full time staff there.

Waiting Tables

Granted it was a restaurant I was co-owner of, but nonetheless, when I go out to eat now and if the restaurant is busy, I don’t get frustrated if service is slow and I always pile up my dishes with food scraps on the top plate for the wait staff :)

Funny how I was introverted and still am to a degree, but when waiting tables, you do need to provide great customer service if you want to get a tip and I really did open up during this chapter of my life.

World Market

I have learned that some customers always are out to get a good deal and will in some cases “break” an item in order to get a discount.  I recall one time when a customer showed me what seemed to be a problem with glue on a wreath.  She said, they are all like that and wanted a discount.  After we talked a bit more, it turned out that she had pulled off the supposedly loose flowers!  She was like, “I can glue them when I am home.”  I was thinking to myself, well, if you had not pulled them off in the first place…..  Anyway, I did not give her a discount and proceeded to fix them with our own hot glue gun.

There are others that walk around the clearance section each time they are in, or offer to “buy it all” at a discount.  Another funny time was when a customer came back to the wine dept and asked me for the bottle with the most savings and I showed them a $50 bottle which happened to be $13 off :)  That is what they asked for, but certainly they were looking for the Rene Barbier which normally $4.99 is often on sale for $3.99, but only a savings of a $1.  Perhaps she should have asked for the largest savings percentage :)

There are so many stories to tell and not enough time in a day to tell them, but you get the idea…customers can really be a pain in the neck after that experience, I will do my best to not be in a bad mood, get impatient with long lines, or harassing management to give me a better deal.  :)  I cannot promise however that I will not trample you when the store opens and holiday clearance goes on sale 90% off!

http://www.microcarmuseum.com/tour/bmwisetta250.html

Click on the “Next Microcar” link next to the picture to see many variations which seem to have led to the BMW Beetle. It claims to be a cross between a motorcycle and car which is quite apparent when you look at the 3 wheel model :)

Perhaps at retirement, assuming I don’t need to actually drive on a road due to speed limitations and also with a front opening door, not so confident in a 5 star crash test rating! A Mini Cooper is my other option. Though by the time I am able to retire, around 79 at the rate the government is going, I may need to get a scooter with a shopping basket instead.

So…tonight, I heard a flyer come under the door.  Normally I am at work and see it when I get home.  I opened the door, walked over to the kid (would not had they been built or older as I have never been in a fight), Adrenaline pumping, and told him that he is not allowed to hand out the flyers.  He looked a little shocked and took out his earbuds.  I took the flyers from him and walked back into my apartment and locked the door.  He walked around a bit and then I heard him get into the elevator.  I took the stack of 500 flyers, he probably covered the floors above or below me already, and presented them to the concierge.  I recycled them and pointed out the kid who was just outside the front entrance.  She walked out, asked him if he was handing out flyers, and then was told that if he ever did it again, they would not be able to deliver.  He ran off scared.

I felt like a hero today..but if he were older, probably would not have messed with him…and if he were experienced, would not have let me take the flyers and would have taken off running.

Hope you have all been enjoying the nice weather.  I did not need to wear a coat today! :) 

We all like surprises. Do something that makes another happily surprised. Just do it! Surprises are wonderful and unexpected. I am not suggesting buying a 20 Karat diamond ring, but rather something as little as a note in a loved ones backpack or lunch bag, or a book from the local book store that they would enjoy.I usually send text messages to my partner, but last night, I wrote a note and put it in his backpack. Unfortunately he found it in the AM before he left for work…mind you at 6:30 AM I am still in bed since I don’t have to be at work until 9. It was nice to see him look into his bag….notice a piece of paper that was not in there before, and open it up to find a note :)No pole today, but let me know if you do this and if you received a happy emotional response. I am sure you will.Keep cool. It felt like 104 degrees F in DC today.

In line with my earlier blog post about blogging my paradigm shifts..here is one that happened a few years back. This is one that if it has not happened to you, probably will not because it is just common sense :)

A little background…..Met her and her husband at an Allegheny College gathering at the Art Gallery in Rochester, NY. Her husband was a year ahead of me and I believe she was in my class, though I never actually met her there. So, we chatted then and then one random weekend, while I was working part time making subs at a local supermarket chain (Wegmans)I saw her and her husband enter the store. He came over and chatted with me while she went off shopping. I noticed that she had a bulge in her lower abdomen, and knowing how skinny she was just a few months before in the fall, it being the spring now, I said “Congratulations!” He replied “For what?” “For the baby” I replied. He said nothing and turned and walked away. His expression was rather a emotionless one, almost like a deer in headlights appearance.I thought to myself, man, I really screwed up. She gained weight over the winter and I just really insulted the husband. I was glad though that I did not say that to her!My ability to determine baby vs additional belly flesh was revealed to be flawed. I no longer mention pregnancy in any conversations. If they are pregnant and want to divulge, she will say so.I do like my polls…here is another one. Have you ever made this mistake before? Have you had any paradigm shifts in your life?   P.S. – I saw the 3 of them in the fall later that year. No, I was not referring to her as 2 people, they were pushing a baby stroller! While I was right, I think my decision to not presume is the best. I am not sure his expression to this day, but perhaps they were not ready to tell everyone, or he was not really all for the idea of a baby, I will never know.

I hope I am not the only one and I think this is the second time this has happened to me.

It was just a normal day volunteering at the National Air and Space Museum helping visitors locate the IMAX film schedule, closest bathroom and food court. Quite often there are those visitors that look completely lost, staring at the scrolling schedule on the plasma screen or at the countless brochures on the counter. Usually I cheerfully say “Sir, can I help you?” or “Maam, can I help you?.” So here I go, a visitor staring aimlessly at the countertop approaches from the east…..okay, so I am not being hunted, but you get the idea. Now is my chance…. “Sir, can I help you? SHE looks up and says “No thank you.” OUCH. Haircuts and visitors from all corners make it hard these days. Of course if she had asked for help or said hello before I adressed her, I could have figured it out, (well most of the time).My shift went from “men and women are easy to tell apart” to “when in doubt, leave out.” :) In other words, when not necessary, leave out the “sir” or “maam.”Have you ever made this mistake? Let me know.  

Over the years I have had various cracks at a journal. I do hope that this one will go on longer than my previous paper ones. I would think that would depend on the money making of this site and also my interest.Georgetown University has a number of traning classes, many of them are free for those who work there. One of these classes is based on Steven Covey’s best seller, “7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” For more information on the this and the training classes, visit Franklin Covey.With that said, I have always been efficient. While that is great for getting tasks done quickly, many of them routine, it does not relate at all to effectiveness. Should I be spending the time on a task even though it is completed efficiently? In the class we talk about Paradigm shifts, changes in your personal view of the world. In fact, Steven Covey goes sofar as to say that you react how you want to react to a situation. For example, if you get upset when your children don’t do something you ask and start yelling at them….that is your response to the situation. If you pause before responding, you can gather your thoughts and think about how not to get all worked up. In this case, you could simply “go to your room.” While this seems like a punishment, you have removed yourself from the situation, can calm down, and your children will likely calm down.Now that I have mentioned a little background, I am going to blog my paradigm shifts.