Work was crazy today. We had a serious thunderstorm and we actually lost power a few times (back up generator kicked in but the store was still only partially lit). Outside was down right scary, Lightening was RIGHT on top of us. In this atmosphere there were 3 of the best examples of each generation one right after the other.
Some of our baggers belong to the old school baby boomer catagory. They are the best workers hands down. They do their job with class and work very hard with NO attitude.
During the storm one of them was outside gathering carts!!!!! In the middle of a freaking thunderstorm!!! I happen to be quite fond of him and I actually asked another older bagger to go out there and tell him I threaten great bodily harm if he didnt come back inside out of harms way.
He went out there and instead of bringing the first bagger in he helped him finish up the carts so the job would get done faster and everyone could come inside. He said to me "if you cant beat them join them" with a sly wink.
During this whole incident a Generation X manager (over the baggers and cashiers) was standing outside in the enclosure soberly watching them put their life at risk for a few carts and did nothing. Just kind of stood there but didnt have the balls to go out there himself (or the smarts to tell them we didnt need carts THAT badly).
So basically you have old school workers, Gen X without the same work ethic but still lacking the fervent fairness defending traits that Y has. I personally believe (however silly it may be) that if you are a manager you are a leader. A leader doesnt send his/her people out to do something he/she would not be willing to do themself. If I were that manager I would have either told everyone to come in or gone out there myself and helped.
And of course we have generation Y. The other half of the baggers/cashiers make up this catagory. While all of this was going on one of the baggers was carelessly handling the groceries. Almost like she was throwing a hissy fit for having to do something "degrading" as bagging groceries.
Well she managed to puncture a hole in a gallon of half and half. It went EVERYWHERE. She kinda slinked off and went to another register just leaving the mess. I asked her to find a mop (lawsuit waiting to happen to have a spill on the floor unattended in a high traffic area)
she looked at me and just kinda ignored it. I ended up needing to hold up the entire line while I cleaned up enough of the mess to continue at least checking people out. I told her that she needed to clean up the rest and she cant just leave it there. After painstakingly walking her through EVERY step of the way I told her to bring the open container to the back where the damaged dairy items go. She refused saying "but I dont know where it is". I gave her specific instructions and even said any employee who is back there would be glad to point you in the right direction. *grrrr*
While everything above was happening another Y cashier was going through my line on her break. She bought a piece of cake, potatoe chips, fried chicken, and a sub sandwhich. I gently teased her about it and said that she may be slender now but just wait till she is my age (24) and has to pay for it. She looked me right in the eye and said "Oh I dont eat all of it, I just take a bite or two of each thing AND THROW THE REST AWAY". I couldnt even speak. I still cant believe it. WTF
I am ashamed of my generation. *sighs* spoiled rotten whiny brats.
Some of our baggers belong to the old school baby boomer catagory. They are the best workers hands down. They do their job with class and work very hard with NO attitude.
During the storm one of them was outside gathering carts!!!!! In the middle of a freaking thunderstorm!!! I happen to be quite fond of him and I actually asked another older bagger to go out there and tell him I threaten great bodily harm if he didnt come back inside out of harms way.
He went out there and instead of bringing the first bagger in he helped him finish up the carts so the job would get done faster and everyone could come inside. He said to me "if you cant beat them join them" with a sly wink.
During this whole incident a Generation X manager (over the baggers and cashiers) was standing outside in the enclosure soberly watching them put their life at risk for a few carts and did nothing. Just kind of stood there but didnt have the balls to go out there himself (or the smarts to tell them we didnt need carts THAT badly).
So basically you have old school workers, Gen X without the same work ethic but still lacking the fervent fairness defending traits that Y has. I personally believe (however silly it may be) that if you are a manager you are a leader. A leader doesnt send his/her people out to do something he/she would not be willing to do themself. If I were that manager I would have either told everyone to come in or gone out there myself and helped.
And of course we have generation Y. The other half of the baggers/cashiers make up this catagory. While all of this was going on one of the baggers was carelessly handling the groceries. Almost like she was throwing a hissy fit for having to do something "degrading" as bagging groceries.
Well she managed to puncture a hole in a gallon of half and half. It went EVERYWHERE. She kinda slinked off and went to another register just leaving the mess. I asked her to find a mop (lawsuit waiting to happen to have a spill on the floor unattended in a high traffic area)
she looked at me and just kinda ignored it. I ended up needing to hold up the entire line while I cleaned up enough of the mess to continue at least checking people out. I told her that she needed to clean up the rest and she cant just leave it there. After painstakingly walking her through EVERY step of the way I told her to bring the open container to the back where the damaged dairy items go. She refused saying "but I dont know where it is". I gave her specific instructions and even said any employee who is back there would be glad to point you in the right direction. *grrrr*
While everything above was happening another Y cashier was going through my line on her break. She bought a piece of cake, potatoe chips, fried chicken, and a sub sandwhich. I gently teased her about it and said that she may be slender now but just wait till she is my age (24) and has to pay for it. She looked me right in the eye and said "Oh I dont eat all of it, I just take a bite or two of each thing AND THROW THE REST AWAY". I couldnt even speak. I still cant believe it. WTF
I am ashamed of my generation. *sighs* spoiled rotten whiny brats.
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