Worst Day of BTS, plus bonus sighting (VERY long, some language)

[Dave1982]

Today was by far my worst day of the BTS season, and not because it was busy, because it wasn't. Instead, I spent the whole first half my shift feeling spacey and disoriented, almost like I was drunk or stoned, but not in a good way (and for the record, I was neither). I felt like CRAP.

<Long Background>

I think what happened was the lunch I had before going in didn't agree with me and made me feel that way. I ate at China Buffet, which is always a mistake. I keep telling myself I'm never going there again, but apparently I'm a glutton for punishment. Their food is mediocre on their best day, and this wasn't their best day. It didn't taste very good, and I didn't eat all that much. Even the fortune cookie was stale as can be, which was like the icing on the cake. After what happened this time, I think I really WON'T be going there again, for real this time. Had a sighting while I was there, but I'll put that at the end.

First thing that happened when I left the restaurant, I had a sneezing fit that lasted more than five minutes. By the time I finished sneezing, I felt really out of it. So out of it that shifted from 3rd gear to 4th gear instead 3rd to 2nd while making a left turn (I've driven sticks almost exclusively and rarely miss a shift like that) and then had trouble even finding 2nd gear. Then I veered off the correct exit and onto the wrong one, which forced me to get on the highway going south instead of north. Had to turn around and come back, which caused me to arrive at work late.

When I got there, I was halfway from my car to the entrance when I realized I didn't have my box cutter. I got all the way to BACK to my car when I realized I DID have it; it'd been in my pocket the whole time.

Got in, went into the men's room to change from my t-shirt into my uniform shirt, then walked most of the way up to the front with my t-shirt still draped over my shoulder.

After finally getting punched in (late), it took a couple minutes of wandering around to figure out what I needed to do, which was put freight away. I fetched a boat of repack totes and almost immediately crashed it into some back-stocked cases of paper. Luckily I didn't knock anything over.

Before getting to put anything away though, I had to help two customers in furniture. The second customer wanted a small bookcase, and when I picked it up, I somehow managed to lose my grip on it in such a way that it swung around and hit me hard in the left ear.

First tote I got to had some handheld plastic pencil sharpeners in it, and I spent a full minute staring at the pegs trying to find where they went before i figured out that someone had retagged the peg with the WRONG tag.

Eventually it got so bad that I was having trouble speaking coherently, which got me some strange looks from the General Manager. Despite assurances to the contrary, at least two co-irkers thought I'd gone and smoked pot before coming in, which I most certainly did NOT do; I'm not THAT stupid.

Eventually it wore off, but it took a few hours. Being able to take a half hour break helped a LOT. Luckily, I was able to communicate to the GM and my co-irkers that I'd just eaten something that disagreed with me.......at least I think got the message across. At the very least, I'm sure the boss understood, because if he thought I was drunk or stoned, then he should have written me up (or fired me) and sent me home.

So, with all that in mind, you can imagine that was NOT in any mood to deal with any bullshit. But SCs never oblige your mood or physical condition.

</Long Background>


I KNOW what I saw!!

Anyway, while I'm still feeling screwed up, I was paged up to register 1.

Cashier: Dave, this is ringing up at $7.99, but SC says she saw it marked at $5.49.

(It was a five subject notebook)

SC: It's the stack of boxes in the middle of the aisle.

Me: OK, I'll check.

It runs out what happened was that someone had dropped two five subject notebooks on top of a floor stack of 1 subject notebooks. It was plainly obvious that the sign said 1-subject, and that the stack was 1-subject (all the boxes said "1 subject"). The one remaining 5 subject notebook wasn't even on the stack straight, and you could see that the rest were all 1-subjects. I put the 5 subject away and went back to register one.

Me: That price was for 1-subject notebooks.

SC: No, it's for 5 subject!!!

Me: Well, what happened was someone dropped a couple 5 subjects on the top. All the rest were 1-subject.

SC: NO!! I looked all through that stack and I KNOW what I saw! They were all FIVE subject.

Me: They're 1-subject.

I'm actually not sure what happened after that because the cashier at register 2 had a question for me as well, and when the SC didn't respond I wandered over to register 2. In my spaced-out state I forgot to follow up at register 1. Still, I hate it when customers argue with me, and I was certainly in no mood for that today.


Get With the Program, Lady

Again, still feeling fucked up, I had to open a register. This woman who knew I'd just been paged had bypasses the line and was waiting at register 2 when I got there (the other cashier was on break).

SC: I'm sorry, but I need to get out of here ASAP.

Me (ok, whatever): OK.

She handed me a Copy Center Courtesy Card. These can ONLY be redeemed at the Copy Center. I don't have the proper hardware OR the right sub-menu on my register to do that.

Me: I'm sorry, but you'll have to redeem this at the copy center; I don't have the right equipment to do it here.

SC: OK, this is just great...the guy over there - who was really unhelpful, stupid, and rude, by the way - sent me over HERE to take care of this!!!

Me: Well I'm sorry, but I can't do it. That card uses a special reader that I don't have on this register.

SC's male companion: What kind of store is this?!

SC (to companion): Come here....

They both headed toward the foyer.

C: We're just gonna go to Kinko's from now on.

They had an argument in the foyer (which I couldnt' hear) and then they just walked out! Without having paid for their copies, or for the fax they'd sent (I saw the fax report in her hand).

And because I was still out of it, I didn't even realize what they were doing - let alone think to say something about it - until it was too late.


I didn't know Jackass was filming here today.

The GM left a hand truck (two wheeled dolly) on the sales floor by mistake. I meant to put it away, but since I was out of it, I forgot.

Later, I saw two high school upperclassmen, one of them standing ramrod straight on the dolly, the other wheeling his buddy around.

Me: HEY! Guys! Come on! DON'T DO THAT!

They stopped immediately, but seriously, . This isn't the set of Jackass, it's a retail store. If I had the authority, I'd have thrown them out for that.

I found the GM.

Me: Hey, do you know who left that hand truck out over by the notebook end-stack? (I already knew it was him)

GM: Yeah, why?

Me: Because I just caught two jackasses wheeling each other around on it.

GM: Oh.....I think the Manager on Duty left it there.....

Me: *looks at the Manager on Duty baton in his shirt pocket* Ah....well, that's a safety violation, but I think I'll let it slide this time.

GM: OK.

Bonus Sighting - Bogarting the Buffet

While I was eating at the restaurant, I suddenly became aware of an argument that had erupted two tables down between the waitstaff and three SCs. I couldn't quite tell what was going on, but when I walked past to get some dessert (the only part of the meal that was any good), I saw what the problem was.

These SCs had helped themselves to a METRIC FUCKTON of seafood. I'm talking DOZENS AND DOZENS of Mussels and plates heaped about a foot high with crab legs. It looked as though they'd pretty much taken ALL of them, and that wasn't all they were eating, either.

By this time, they'd already eaten all the mussels, and the waitress was trying to explain that they'd have to be charged the dinner rate and not the lunch rate. There is a sign over the mussels and crab legs that says "For Dinner Only" which apparently means if you take any, you are charged the dinner price. I'd always wondered about that sign, but since I don't eat seafood, I didn't care all that much.

Frankly, I think they should have been charged a LOT more. Even at the dinner price, they probably still caused the restaurant to lose money.

And the ringleader was playing the "I no understand" card on the waitress, too

The argument eventually got so loud that it attracted the attention of the manager. When she came over, the SC could suddenly speak English!

It was like the SC did a complete 180. She was more calm (but still loud) and agreed to pay the higher price for all the seafood they'd taken and eaten.

You know, considering how bad I felt after eating there, I shudder to think about the safety of the seafood. Maybe the SCs got sick as well.....

[MsCrankypants]

I know that "Chinese restaurant syndrome" isn't scientifically proven, but it sounds like you might have had a reaction to MSG. I'm pretty picky where I get my Chinese food from, because if they go overboard on the MSG, I get that way - disoriented and almost like I'm stoned. I've always had kind of a sensitive stomach, too, so I'll get pretty nauseous on top of it. Not fun. I'm not a doctor and I can't prove that it's directly related to MSG, but I never feel that way when I eat other places - just certain Chinese restaurants.

And maybe I'm getting old, but $5.49 for a single-subject notebook? Or was it like a multi-pack of 1-subject notebooks? Either way, boo on the SC for not reading the sign, but of course, they're speshul and don't need to read signs.

Is it mean to hope that maybe, just maybe, the restaurant SCs will suffer at least a mild case of food poisoning for their greedy piggishness?

[Dave1982]

It was a "high-end" Mead Five-Star notebook. We also have cheap generic ones on sale for $0.33.

You may be right about what happened to me, but I've never had this problem when I've eaten there in the past, or at any other Chinese restaurant. I hope this doesn't mean I'm developing an MSG allergy or something, because I LOVE Chinese food (and am part Chinese myself). That would suck.

[MsCrankypants]

Hopefully, it was a one-time thing and you just happened to go there on a particularly bad day.

But I'm still hoping the seafood hogs got struck with food poisoning. OK, I'm mean.

[tropicsgoddess]

Hopefully, it was a one-time thing and you just happened to go there on a particularly bad day.

But I'm still hoping the seafood hogs got struck with food poisoning. OK, I'm mean.

Or rather a horrible case of the shits, which would be highly likely since the OP stated how shitty the restaurant is numerous times. Buffets sure bring out the gluttons in us all.

[Stormraven]

Well, wrt to MSG, Food Network's Food Detectives did a piece on that, where they split two groups up, and gave them the exact same food. One group got MSG, the other didn't - that was the only difference. Some people on both sides indicated the 'MSG reaction', while people who had previously indicated a reaction to MSG who got MSG didn't have the reaction.

Hardly a full on scientific study, but interesting.

[Can I Help Your A$$?]

Karma seems to happen, strangely, to people who eat lots of shellfish at a buffet.

'Tis a mystery for the ages.

[Hyena Dandy]

It was a "high-end" Mead Five-Star notebook. We also have cheap generic ones on sale for $0.33.

Okay, I gotta ask. What's so high-end about a notebook? Does it, like, do magic? Cure cancer?

If you can get five for less at half the price of one of those... Doesn't seem that good of a deal.

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

I'm reminded of that Simpsons episode where Homer gets cut off at the seafood buffet and then hires Lionel Hutz to sue the restuarant.

[Kaylyn]

Okay, I gotta ask. What's so high-end about a notebook? Does it, like, do magic? Cure cancer?

If you can get five for less at half the price of one of those... Doesn't seem that good of a deal.

Actually, all I use anymore is Five-Star notebooks for my writing. Granted, I don't drop $5 on a single-subject, I usually get the five-subject which is about that price in my area (singles are around $3 here). They've got a nice heavy-duty cover made of plastic that keeps the pages safe from the abuse my notebooks tend to go through. They're sturdier; when I get a cheap one it seems to want to flop around on me as I'm trying to write in it rather than stay straight; the Five-Star ones tend to provide their own level writing surface if you're balancing the thing on your knee.

Maybe I'm a bit silly for forking over so much for a simple notebook, but hey, all writers have their quirks and special tools they can't write without. Mine is a specific kind of notebook, as well as pen. :P

[MsCrankypants]

Okay, I gotta ask. What's so high-end about a notebook? Does it, like, do magic? Cure cancer?

If I'm paying nearly 6 bucks for a notebook, it better be because it does my math homework for me.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Okay, I gotta ask. What's so high-end about a notebook? Does it, like, do magic? Cure cancer?

If you can get five for less at half the price of one of those... Doesn't seem that good of a deal.

I have to admit to buying those higher-end notebooks for college.

They could take more punishment than the cheapy ones because they had plastic covers that didn't fall off. Plus they had little pockets inside so I didn't need a folder for each course.

Of course, if I were in college now, I wouldn't need any notebooks at all, except the one I'm currently typing on.

[Can I have a cheeseburger]

I have to say I'm slightly guilty of what the SC did, but I had a point. I recently bought some blank business cards. There was only one slot on the shelf with business cards, and all the packages of business cards (about three of them) were the same one. The price marked there was about $7. There were no empty places on the shelves where other products were. At the cash register, it came up as $12, so I went and grabbed the price tag and showed it to them, and it turned out it was a different SKU number, despite the product description on tag corresponding with the product. There was no price tag anywhere nearby that had the $12 price. I still got the item for the $7 price.

It serves as a lesson to retailers - if you change products, make sure you update the price tags!

[wordboy]

Actually, all I use anymore is Five-Star notebooks for my writing. Granted, I don't drop $5 on a single-subject, I usually get the five-subject which is about that price in my area (singles are around $3 here). They've got a nice heavy-duty cover made of plastic that keeps the pages safe from the abuse my notebooks tend to go through. They're sturdier; when I get a cheap one it seems to want to flop around on me as I'm trying to write in it rather than stay straight; the Five-Star ones tend to provide their own level writing surface if you're balancing the thing on your knee.

Maybe I'm a bit silly for forking over so much for a simple notebook, but hey, all writers have their quirks and special tools they can't write without. Mine is a specific kind of notebook, as well as pen. :P

I'm the same way. I like using five subject notebooks for novels. My one criteria is that the dividers have pockets; I usually keep notes and assorted other reference materials that pertain to the project with me.

I'm picky about my pens, too. For original writing I use a silver Cross pen, black ink, fine point. For rewriting and editing, I use gel ink; black for rewriting, red for editing.

Of course, I know how much my supplies cost.

[simplyanother]

Shoot, my 4th grader--his supply list called for a 5 subject notebook, and I got him one of the plastic cover notebooks. Because I know that otherwise, the cover will come off in about a week or two. Also got the plastic folders, because I know that the paper ones will disintegrate in three weeks.

(School doesn't start until Tuesday here, so right now, his stuff is still in excellent condition. This will last a day or so).

I'm sorry you were ill, it isn't any fun to deal with customers when you feel like ass. Not that it's fun otherwise, but it's a special sort of hell when your body is working against you.


We get people who bring up items that they claim they found stacks of... and often they're right. Sometimes it's other customers who find something similar to what they're already carrying--but cheaper, and they dump the more expensive items and grab up the cheap ones, or it's new (or lazy) co-workers, who instead of making sure they are putting shit in the correct spout, just dump it. Pisses me off either way. Most of the time, the customer ends up getting it for the price they thought it was, regardless of whose mistake it was. The times the don't, it's usually something really obvious, like a 50 dollar item stuck in the 5 dollar items spot.