Black Friday

Here's some thoughts as I am sitting here at lunch...

Yesterday was Black Friday. Ooooohh....it sounds so dark and brooding. Actually, it is the time of year when most retailers go from the red (loss) to the black (profit). Why? Because you are all nutballs who go out and buy things at 4 in the morning.

I am obviously a retail worker. Sorta. I don't really work in a retail store, I provide services external to the store with reference to computers and electronic devices. If you know who I am, you know what I am talking about. I won't, however, publicly post where I work just in case I decide to share some stupid customer stories. (any comments with names or references to where I work will be deleted)

I actually didn't have to be at my home store as a 'requirement' early in the morning. I could have just let my partner work it. I'm a sucker though, and a retail veteran, so I 'volunteered' to show up at 4:30 AM and do a few hours before I departed for my normal 10-hour field-work shift. Yeah...long day, eh? I'm sure my peeps, who I see as my family, appreciate all the help they could get.

First off, this year seemed to be much, much slower. Yes, we did a lot a business, but I don't think comptuers were as big as they were last year. Home theater componentry seemed to be the thing. Also, most people actually behaved themselves this year.

Last year I had people booing and throwing trash at me as I tried to meander up to the front of the line to get in the door to work. This was despite the fact that I was wearing a jacket with the company name plastered on it. I was not in the mood so I let loose a "if you want to buy something then get out of my way and let me in." This year, however, no such reinforcement was needed!

The first half hour I literally just stood there and grabbed computers for people. I really didn't feel as if I was being an asset for the company. They wanted to pay me to do it, but I still just see dollar signs and productivity going out the window.

All said and done, at about quarter to eight in the morning I bid my fellow peeps farewell and left their empty line-of-waiting (yep! Nobody in line in our section!). Karma, of course, came to bite me in the ass. Every single appointment I had for the day was screwed up by our lovely dispatch people in one form or another. That's what I get for a stress-free Black Friday morning.

Today wasn't much better. First appointment (which I sold yesterday actually) got mucked up by our dispatch people. Second appointment...drive 40 miles from my first appointment up to Greenfield, just to find out the client lied when we asked them if they had all of their CDs for their computer. Guess what? You still owe me money. Next time we come back and we ask "do you have your cds" it does not mean "say 'yes' but really think 'they wont need those'." We aren't asking for the hell of it, yaknow. Now you end up paying twice.

Do I feel bad about making someone pay twice? Usually, yes, and I will finagle something and meet the client in the middle. This time? No freakin way. First off, you drag my butt 45 minutes each way on the highway. Second, you made me call 4 times before you bothered to come back and confirm your time/date. Third, you told us you had the cds when you scheduled the appointment in the first place. Fourth, you again told me you had the CDs when I specifically asked you if you had such-and-such cd that was blue and white and said "Hewlett Packard" on it. Again, you lied. I show up and you say "I don't have any cds." What I really felt like saying to you at that point was "I asked you over the phone and gave you a description of them. Did you lie to me?" I'm supposed to be professional, though, so just gimme the money so I can leave. And no, I do not make a comission.

Hey, I just like to call it like I see it. I don't think you realize how you upset my day by leaving this giant hole in my schedule that would otherwise be occupied by me feeding your computer CDs. I don't have enough time for lunch, but I have too much time to show up at the next person's place early. ARGH.

Oh well. Carry on people, nothing to see here.