And the ceiling falls in

[Dark Psion]

The last two weeks here have been a nightmare. I could probably post this in almost every section because it has been an "All Of the Above" two weeks.

Inventory
Now I have my way of doing inventory, you write down the SKU# and the quantity and move to the next item, next row, next shelf and next location.

Our manager has a different way, he prints out sheets of SKU#s sorted by Department and Location. The Problem? Well take our squeegees, we have about 12 SKU#, but they are in 4 departments (Cleaning, Commercial, Auto & Plumbing). So they would be on 4 different sheets. And the sheets are not in the same order as the shelves, so in a department with lots of SKU# like Drill bits, it is a scavenger hunt to match them up.

The manager does not understand why I would prefer to do it my way over his way, despite that I can count everything, enter it and then use his sheets to verify my numbers in less time than it takes the others to just use his sheets (not counting entering them).

Raise the Roof!!
The bulbs in our store light fixtures will no longer be made after this year due to government rules. So at first we were just going to replace the fixtures, but then the bosses decided to remove the hanging ceiling and go to the original ceiling (AKA the roof). And of course we can't close while this destruction is going on, so we have had half the contractors in town on scissor lifts and scaffolding tearing down the old ceiling, the old fixtures, the central heat/ AC vents and conduits and whatever else is up there. (They found some gal jugs that once had "Hair Tonic" in them) The store is filthy, debris is everywhere and it is like a ever-shifting maze as you can't use the same path twice thru the store with all the work going on.

All of this while we try to finish inventory, stock the shelves and wait on customers. It is amazing we haven't had anyone hurt yet considering how many customers ignore the signs, caution tape and heavy machinery to get what they want. And this is further complicated by the dreaded "coupon book" which brings in all the little old ladies who want you to shop for them.

One of the electricians was telling me that when they re-did the lights at one of our supermarkets, people would reach thru his ladder to get stuff while he was 12 feet in the air.

Winter Wonderland
Wednesday it was 64 degrees here in Oklahoma and we were under a Winter Weather Warning! It arrived overnight, glazing everything with 3/4 inch of ice before dropping 4-6 inches of snow.

As some of you may remember, my dad had a fall on Christmas Eve, and while he is much better (despite his doctor dropping him and almost keeping him from finding a new one in town), I was not going to leave him here alone during this storm. Every ice storm we have had these last few years had knocked out electricity out and I could tell he was bothered by this storm after his fall and being alone for almost a hour. Imagine that and having your power off and the only working phone being in the kitchen.

So you can also imagine how my bosses took me calling off to watch over my dad for two days. They didn't say anything today, but I could tell the manager was mad at me. And of course it meant they had to deal directly with the SCs who traveled out into the storm to get emergency supplies that they should have got the day before and won't need after tomorrow.

[mattm04]

Raise the Roof!!
The bulbs in our store light fixtures will no longer be made after this year due to government rules. So at first we were just going to replace the fixtures, but then the bosses decided to remove the hanging ceiling and go to the original ceiling (AKA the roof). And of course we can't close while this destruction is going on, so we have had half the contractors in town on scissor lifts and scaffolding tearing down the old ceiling, the old fixtures, the central heat/ AC vents and conduits and whatever else is up there. (They found some gal jugs that once had "Hair Tonic" in them) The store is filthy, debris is everywhere and it is like a ever-shifting maze as you can't use the same path twice thru the store with all the work going on.

All of this while we try to finish inventory, stock the shelves and wait on customers. It is amazing we haven't had anyone hurt yet considering how many customers ignore the signs, caution tape and heavy machinery to get what they want. And this is further complicated by the dreaded "coupon book" which brings in all the little old ladies who want you to shop for them.

One of the electricians was telling me that when they re-did the lights at one of our supermarkets, people would reach thru his ladder to get stuff while he was 12 feet in the air.

A few years ago they replaced the metal-halide (the round or square "white" lights that are used for for stadiums, big box stores, etc as opposed to the High pressure sodium lights that are "orange" in color) and replaced them with rows of fluorescent lights that now hang about 4-5 feet down from the ceiling. It supposedly produces a "softer" light as it is mostly a up light and reflects off the white ceiling.

Seemed good but one of the LP people said the hated it because it mad it harder to follow people with rows of bright lights below the cameras in addition to the signs that hang from the ceiling.

[Dark Psion]

And that reminds me, they are also looking at a new security system. The electrician told us about a job he had where a company had put in a very expensive security system and then they were broken into. The company had spent all their money on cameras and nothing on new lighting. All you could see were shadows moving around in the dark.

I suggested something like Logitech's WiLife cameras. They are wireless, so you can relocate them as you wish. You can access them thru any computer or your iPhone and you can set "zones" that trigger the recording. If any one reaches into the power tool display, it records!