Sunday, March 8, 2009

Keep Smiling


Keep Smiling. I needed to tell that to myself yesterday AND today. The Craft store I work at opened on Thursday. It was so suppose to be what they call in the retail world 'a soft opening'. The store was suppose to 'quietly open' allowing just a few customers 'to stroll in' so we could practise serving them. Well, it was more like a 'Grand Opening' with the droves of people we got! It was so crowded, like the day after Thanksgiving! We all felt so unprepared and inadequate. Nobody knew what they were doing. I could tell the customers were getting frustrated with us. And everyday, the crowds kept getting bigger and bigger. We doubled our projected sales on opening day, and each day after that we sold thousands and thousands of dollars more than the day before. So, that is good news. And the customers all seemed to love the new store and were so happy the company came to Eau Claire. So that's good news too. But I just feel like 'a total loser'. My first day I was on the Cutting Table. I did fairly well in that area because I am a sewer, and I really enjoyed helping the customers with their projects. But the second day I was on the cash register, and I was awful. I kept making mistake after mistake, and with every mistake I made, I became more flustered and stressed out causing me to make more mistakes. Then to make it worse, I had a customer who was so fed up with me, he actually said to me 'WHAT school did you graduate from?' I had to fight back the welling up of tears in my eyes and just humbly apologize. I just felt so stupid. Here I am, a college educated woman who can't even run a cash register! How ridiculous is that? My self-esteem is really low right now, and I am even fighting back the tears as I write this. And then I think, 'How silly am I to be so upset about this? Its just a minimum wage job, it won't be the end of the world if I lose it?', but then I think 'Yes, but if I can't do a minimum wage job well, how can I do ANY job well? Isn't this the reason these jobs pay minimum wage in the first place, because any loser like me is suppose to be able to do them?" This whole 'working outside the home' for the first time in twenty years has just been such a frightening, new experience for me. Its really causing me to question my own self-worth. All I can do is pray, and ask all of you in blog land to keep me in your prayers, and KEEP SMILING, no matter what happens at work or whatever anyone says to me.
I made this card for a stamper's mom who has had some health problems and is getting discouraged because she is constantly in and out of the hospital. Her daughter said she had a great sense of humor and would appreciate a humorous card. The image is from the retired Stampin Up! set 'Wisecracks'. The card stock colors are from this week's Color Challenge on Splitcoaststampers. They are 'Kiwi Kiss', 'Pink Passion', and 'Chocolate Chip'. The designer paper is Basic Grey. I mounted the main image panel up on dimensionals and colored the image with Copic Markers. The sketch is from 'Sheetload of Cards'.
If I'm not fired today or tomorrow, my next day of work will be Wednesday, and guess what? I'm back on the cash register again! I'm determined not to give up and quit. I told another co-worker, "I'm here to stay, whether they like me or not. They'll have to fire me if they want to get rid of me!". LOL! So please pray for me on Wednesday, that I will do well and please my employers and customers. Thanks. Amy

3 comments:

  1. I'm surprised that they thought only a few shoppers would come the first weekend. I would have expected just the results you talked about. I'm sorry your cash register experience didn't go well. If it were me, I would talk to the manager and let them know that you are still learning on the register and don't feel comfortable working there on very busy days and ask if you can be re-assigned somewhere else temporarily and just work on the register when it's slower until you get the hang of it.

    I worked in a grocery store for quite some time. I got so fast at punching in numbers (way before scanners) that I don't even know how I did it. And no mistakes. You'll get there too.

    This is a nice card for your friends mom. I'm sure it will brighten her day.

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  2. Well, it's Wednesday and you are in my prayers!! Hang in there ... you will do better with a little more time & experience under your belt. As far as the RUDE MAN goes ... he's obviously forgotten what it feels like to be new in a job! Shame on him for being so mean!!
    Anxious to see your next posting and hear how things are going! Stay strong my friend and by all means ... KEEP SMILING!!

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  3. Amy, you are too hard on yourself! I train my staff at the clinic I work at and my motto is "one transaction at a time". The people that are rude to you are people that usually have a chip on their shoulder to start with. Take a deep breath and remember that you are awesome and you are in the training phase of your job. I am going to JoAnn's today and will be extra nice to a store clerk in honor of you :) Thanks for stopping by my blog. If you email me your addy, I would love to send you a version of the "Sew Nice Of You" card to perk you up! Hang in there!

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