The reason I'm sticking this here in Sucky Customers is because Orange Apron is considered our customers. Of course their customers are also our customers as well. Lovely no? If the mods think this needs to be mood elsewhere feel free. Anyways, on to the stories...
Soooo I got a new job, about three months ago, as some of you may know. I am now an inventory taker for REGIS. My team specializes in counting the Orange Apron. Its not a great job, but its not a bad job, pays pretty well, too. (Even better now that I've gotten a raise, yays!) But there are aspects of it that I hate.
A little help here?
While counting just this week, I was stuck on weedeaters and chainsaws. OA is pretty good about putting tags on their displays, so I don't have to pick them up or anything. But this store, well... sucked. It had a shelving unit with weedeatters and their extensions/extras that didn't have tags, and didn't have boxes. And to make matters worse, they were hung up so I had to get on a stepstool to even get one down. (I'm under 5' so this isn't toooo unusual).
Now one thing you should know, when we count we have OA associates near by, who will look over to make sure we don't miss anything (which makes me a bit nervous), and they are supposed to help, with whatever. There were two OAs in the aisle with me. They weren't too helpful, and were rather slow to get SKUs, but they were there, which is more then I can say for some of the store associates I've had.
So I was grabbing a weedeatter, to try and get the barcode, and instead of just getting one... I got two. I was rather stuck, cause if I moved up, they would have fallen on me, if I moved down I would have fallen, and they would have fallen with me. The OA associates were right behind me, chattering.... and I was trying to stay balanced while saying, "Help... HelP... HElP... HELP!" It took another counter (Big C
) to get them to help.
I made them grab the rest of the weedeaters after that. Specially when two heavy hedgetrimmer extensions were in the wrong spot and they had to use the ladder to get one down.
SKU check PLEASE!!
I'm polite and I'm quiet. I don't like being loud or rude. But when I need something, be it an actual sku check, someone to just tell me I can type in the six-diget number, (you'd be surprised how many people won't resort to the easiest option first...), or just some help getting something, if they're not hovering, I have to yell for it. But I'm the only one who will yell sku check please. Everyone else calls/yells/shouts "SKU CHECK!!!". Most of the time, I get faster results, cause I am polite about it. But when I have called for a sku three times I stop saying please, and start getting a lot louder. I will NOT stop counting while you're taking your time getting over to me. I know its busy, I know its confusing, I know sometimes there's more auditors then there are associates. But don't glare and grumble at me because I'm already three areas away from when I first called sku check, and will have to add in the sku or whatever cause you didn't want to move. I saw you at the end of the aisle, I saw you chatting with four other associates. None of you were doing anything! (Really, this one OA gave me the dirtiest look, when he finally came over. He and his friends were standing at the end of the aisle, just talking and laughing. Cause they're on inventory detail, they don't have normal duties, they're just our helpers/watchers. I was almost done with the third area when he finally came to find out what I was needing. After I had yelled several times. And after he had looked right at me several times. Yeah, you're not on my happy list.)
Do you work here?
This isn't too sucky, but has been getting on my nerves. I'm always polite to the OA's customers, but I'm not supposed to help them. And I'm not supposed to talk to anyone for any length of time. (Havetocounthavetocounthavetocount....) I don't even look like an OA employee. I have a maroon and gray work shirt, with white REGIS letters on the cuffs. I have a namebadge. I have a heavy machine on my hip. I have ugly knee pads. I'm either on a ladder, kneeling on the floor, or reaching in the middle of a shelf to make sure to count something... And I'll get someone asking if I work here.... Well I'm work-ing, here... I don't WORK here... I tell them politely, "I'm sorry, sir/ma'am, I don't work here.." Most of the time they apologize and we get on with our lives.
But I have gotten the couple that don't believe me or want to be snarky;
"Not working, but still getting paid, right?"
"But I just need this one thing!"
"Are you sure?"
"Well where's someone who does?"
"But you're here?!"
"Then what'er you doing???"
You get the picture. It gets annoying. If I have to (ie they won't leave me alone so I can count), I will find them someone who isn't helping with the inventory to take care of them. I'm sure OA loves me....
Now I'm not ragging on OA, I love OA, I get tired of seeing it three times a week, but I do enjoy working with most of the OA team. I have had some great helpers. I had one helper literally climb into the blinds and precount the large ones for me after he saw how much I was struggling with them. I've had a helper go on the ladder and grab one item per facing and helped me get all the barcodes for some really heavy items. I've had a lot of helpful OA members, there's just some that see being inventory helpers as just a time to stand around, talk, get free food (which the inventory team isn't allowed to share, grrrr!), and make money.
Annnnnd... there's more but I don't remember them and this is rather long as it is!
Soooo I got a new job, about three months ago, as some of you may know. I am now an inventory taker for REGIS. My team specializes in counting the Orange Apron. Its not a great job, but its not a bad job, pays pretty well, too. (Even better now that I've gotten a raise, yays!) But there are aspects of it that I hate.
A little help here?
While counting just this week, I was stuck on weedeaters and chainsaws. OA is pretty good about putting tags on their displays, so I don't have to pick them up or anything. But this store, well... sucked. It had a shelving unit with weedeatters and their extensions/extras that didn't have tags, and didn't have boxes. And to make matters worse, they were hung up so I had to get on a stepstool to even get one down. (I'm under 5' so this isn't toooo unusual).
Now one thing you should know, when we count we have OA associates near by, who will look over to make sure we don't miss anything (which makes me a bit nervous), and they are supposed to help, with whatever. There were two OAs in the aisle with me. They weren't too helpful, and were rather slow to get SKUs, but they were there, which is more then I can say for some of the store associates I've had.
So I was grabbing a weedeatter, to try and get the barcode, and instead of just getting one... I got two. I was rather stuck, cause if I moved up, they would have fallen on me, if I moved down I would have fallen, and they would have fallen with me. The OA associates were right behind me, chattering.... and I was trying to stay balanced while saying, "Help... HelP... HElP... HELP!" It took another counter (Big C

I made them grab the rest of the weedeaters after that. Specially when two heavy hedgetrimmer extensions were in the wrong spot and they had to use the ladder to get one down.
SKU check PLEASE!!
I'm polite and I'm quiet. I don't like being loud or rude. But when I need something, be it an actual sku check, someone to just tell me I can type in the six-diget number, (you'd be surprised how many people won't resort to the easiest option first...), or just some help getting something, if they're not hovering, I have to yell for it. But I'm the only one who will yell sku check please. Everyone else calls/yells/shouts "SKU CHECK!!!". Most of the time, I get faster results, cause I am polite about it. But when I have called for a sku three times I stop saying please, and start getting a lot louder. I will NOT stop counting while you're taking your time getting over to me. I know its busy, I know its confusing, I know sometimes there's more auditors then there are associates. But don't glare and grumble at me because I'm already three areas away from when I first called sku check, and will have to add in the sku or whatever cause you didn't want to move. I saw you at the end of the aisle, I saw you chatting with four other associates. None of you were doing anything! (Really, this one OA gave me the dirtiest look, when he finally came over. He and his friends were standing at the end of the aisle, just talking and laughing. Cause they're on inventory detail, they don't have normal duties, they're just our helpers/watchers. I was almost done with the third area when he finally came to find out what I was needing. After I had yelled several times. And after he had looked right at me several times. Yeah, you're not on my happy list.)
Do you work here?
This isn't too sucky, but has been getting on my nerves. I'm always polite to the OA's customers, but I'm not supposed to help them. And I'm not supposed to talk to anyone for any length of time. (Havetocounthavetocounthavetocount....) I don't even look like an OA employee. I have a maroon and gray work shirt, with white REGIS letters on the cuffs. I have a namebadge. I have a heavy machine on my hip. I have ugly knee pads. I'm either on a ladder, kneeling on the floor, or reaching in the middle of a shelf to make sure to count something... And I'll get someone asking if I work here.... Well I'm work-ing, here... I don't WORK here... I tell them politely, "I'm sorry, sir/ma'am, I don't work here.." Most of the time they apologize and we get on with our lives.
But I have gotten the couple that don't believe me or want to be snarky;
"Not working, but still getting paid, right?"
"But I just need this one thing!"
"Are you sure?"
"Well where's someone who does?"
"But you're here?!"
"Then what'er you doing???"
You get the picture. It gets annoying. If I have to (ie they won't leave me alone so I can count), I will find them someone who isn't helping with the inventory to take care of them. I'm sure OA loves me....
Now I'm not ragging on OA, I love OA, I get tired of seeing it three times a week, but I do enjoy working with most of the OA team. I have had some great helpers. I had one helper literally climb into the blinds and precount the large ones for me after he saw how much I was struggling with them. I've had a helper go on the ladder and grab one item per facing and helped me get all the barcodes for some really heavy items. I've had a lot of helpful OA members, there's just some that see being inventory helpers as just a time to stand around, talk, get free food (which the inventory team isn't allowed to share, grrrr!), and make money.
Annnnnd... there's more but I don't remember them and this is rather long as it is!
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