Monday 14th September 2020
I am at Myer 11 am - 4.30 pm today. Caught the 144 bus connecting with the B Line bus which wass running a few minutes late. Arrived at the same time as the 280 bus from Chatswood although this bus takes you right to the entrance of Warringah Mall so you don't have to walk across the car park. Arrive by 10 am this morning.
Get a message from the customer service manager to check metrics and m com which I did not do yesterday but usually do. Unsure what's going on but my metrics and m com's has not updated since last Thursday.
It's still quite cold today and my allergies this morning were shocking itchy skin watery eyes runny nose and even a scratch throat. Took an antihistamine and it soon calmed my allergies down but still a bit scratchy.
The blog crashed again!!! Such a waste of my time to re enter everything.
Re received my roster for next week and it includes a late finish and an early start.
What a waste of my time on my last shift moving all the clearance from one set of shelves to another display island only to return to work today and see that it has been moved back to where it was originally and combined with remainder of stock from opposite shelves to make room for new stock merchandised.
F***ing Myer did it again. Last minute change of finishing time for today. Instead of finishing at 4.30 pm my finishing time was changed during my shift today to 5 pm and I didn't have my break today ( I am entitled to one as I worked from 11 am - 5 pm today) because it was so busy. This is the second time Myer has changed my finishing time on the day of my shift.
I'm turning my phone off tomorrow- no way I am going to work if called up at the last minute.
When I arrived the back counter was a mess - there was stuff everywhere! Mostly returns to departments that had not been put back, stuff that needed re labelling cushions as clearance stock, signs that had been printed to be put up at the end of today for tomorrow's daily deal , things to be written off by the manager eg faulty or broken etc. I did my best to clear some of the things off but told by the customer service manager that they were not a priority and can be done later.
My poor team mate had a huge problematic sale just as problematic as mine below but triple the amount for 1 customer. The customer service manager sees the back counter and there is a pile of stuff accumulated and says "Are you collecting stuff?" I had to tell her " No - That's actually a sale" ( and only part of the rest was on the trolley and on the floor in the corner). There was so much stuff that it was imposdible for it all to be put into one trolley so the operations manager and a few other managers had to be called in to assist to take it all to the dock or parcel pick up area ( I think that's where it went for the customer to pick up or have delivered to her new home). I think it took at least 5 Myer team members to complete that transaction for the customer ( including myself to ensure nothing was left on the back counter tgat was part of the purchase)
No one wanted to sign up for a Myer One membership today other then that 1 customer below and I asked every single customer - they are just not interested but a few did have very old Myer One memberships and I encouraged them to start using it again by advising them how many points they just learnt for the purchase they just made).
A customer was so excited today purchasing several items around different Myer departments. She says to me how Sales are addictive I think I want to buy a new coffee machine now but not a Nespresso, a proper coffee machine. Ok I'll take you over to the coffee machines and show you where they are. On the way we had a discussion on sales metrics at Myer - she bought it up not me and asks I suppose at Myer it's based on individual sales "commissions" ( as the customer knew all about it having worked in retail herself). My response was a yes and how Myer pays too much attention on individual sales figures rather then team sales figures and how it is taking me a while to get used to as my previous place of employment was a team sales effort and although there was a break up of individual sales figures nobody realy cared as long as budgets were met daily or monthly by the team. She totally agreed with my response as that's how it should be and added that if you reach your targets there are increased making it even difficult to achieve. I had to be honest with her and advised her that I don't actually drink coffee but will get someone from the electrical department that could assist her more. I also mentioned to her very briefly about the Myer careplan (although I did not know much about that as well) in the event she does decide to purchase a coffee machine. I go over and speak to the electricals departments manager and introduces her to him and advises the customer that I will leave her with him. I had already briefed the electricals manager on what the customer was looking for.
I was told off by the customer service manager for not acknowledging a customer who had just approached the counter. I was concentrating on looking up something for another customer I was serving. I usually do acknowledge customers but in this instant was not able to. I am sure the customer would have been happy to wait.
I also asked almost every single customer if they wanted to round up their purchases to the nearest dollar as a donation to the current charity which is The local women's shelter and a large percentage of people did today so that was quite encouraging.
Bloody iPad- the technology is so old I can't even put an order through. I had a pair of customers who spent over 1K today and signed up for a Myer One card only to not be able to process their order because the iPad crashed. Apparently it can't scan more then a certain number of items. I am so confused - I am getting pressured to do more orders but everytime I want to do one there is no stock available or the iPad can't process it. In the end I could not process the order on the iPad as others were also trying to process their orders without success so I had to leave it with the other team member to process for me tomorrow although it won't be under my sale but hers. I went down to the ground floor and grabbed a whole lot of bubble wrap from the fulfilment department (never been down there before and didn't realise how many people actually worked there! That's one department I would love to join as I would not have to be face to face with customers but still be involved in customer service) before heading back upstairs and spending the majority of my time wrapping up all the pieces of crockery and placing them in the single box I found in the dock. Was unsure if I should have grabbed 2 or so boxes from the fulfilment department - I'll let the other team mates deal with it tomorrow- no delivery slips printed out on the register when I entered all the customers deliver details for some reason. Again this sale took 4 team members to complete due to it's size, split sale type, home delivery and problems relating to stock available and online ordering .
So much to do today. I tried to do a reconciliation of the till today and we were under $60. A team member and I liked underneath the till draw and found notes that had somehow fallen behind the till's draw so it should have balanced but we're told by the customer service manager that it was still under. The till was under from yesterday according to the customer service manager.
Loads of returns and exchanges today unfortunately but loads of sales too. Annoying last customers who decide to purchase 3 teapots after the electrical manager makes his announcement over the PA system " It's now 5 pm and the store is now closed" They purchase all 3 and I just put them through before one of the customers finds a mark on one of the teapots and there is no more left and decides to return it. I quickly process the sale and refund the cost of the returned teapot onto her card. We are advised to direct them to leave via the carpark door as all the other entrances and exits are now shut.
I grabbed the 3 iPads to be returned to the office and asked the other team member if we had forgotten anything before we left. As soon as we got to the lift and I handed her the iPads to return she remembered she had forgotten the keys ( don't ask me which ones) and had to run back to retrieve them. Other team members held the lift open for her and all 4 of us went in the lift to the staff floor.
After a massive day today the customer service manager complains how she didn't get anything she wanted to do some today ( I don't think any of us did!) but I also noticed that she was shaking quite badly.
Almost forgot to punch out. I used the machine at the staff entrance/exit instead of my phone so I don't forget to turn my location off. Really important that Myer do not know my whereabouts out of work hours. They subject everyone to a bag check and they track every move I make when I am in the store but there is one thing I will not let Myer find out and that is where I reside and where I am outside of work hours. They are already bordering on invasion of my privacy.
Home on the 280 bus to Chatswood with a quick stop at Woolworths for some snacks before home on the 144 bus.
For dinner I made a miso soup with udon noodles broccoli chicken shallots corriander and tofu. Yum.
Watched the finale of The Masked Singer, caught up on YouTube and Have You Been Paying Attention before going to sleep.
Tuesday 15th September 2020
Day off - must venture out today!!! Still overcast this morning.
Although I did not sleep in this morning. It's 10 am and I still have not ventured out.
I had a nice breakfast of strawberries, flavoured yoghart, spinach & rasberry vinegar . I followed this with some fish cakes on a grain bread and a glass of juice a yakault and a mug of green tea , omega 3 capsules and a cube of pana chocolate.
Bus to Chatswood the a train to Central and then lightrail to Haymarket ( Paddys Market) then a walk to get to the museum and returning with a walk to Haymarket ( George Street) lightrail to Townhall followed by a train to Chatswood and bus back home with a quick snack stop at both Woolworths Townhall and Chatswood.
This afternoon I revisited The Powerhouse Museum to view a few exhibitions that weren't open on my previous visits. Fantastical Worlds, Maton: Australia's Guitar and Hybrid: Objects For Future Homes.
I had the museum almost all to myself between 2.30 pm and 3.30 pm. I didn't stay long and did not intend to see Maton: Australia's Guitar but ended up spending the most time viewing it. It was so calming. Worth seeing if you like all things guitar.
Dinner and some tv - channel 7 news. Today is the 20th anniversiary of the 2000 Sydney Olympics lighting of the cauldron by Cathy Freeman.
Othe running related news. This year would have been the 50th anniversiary of the annual City to Surf 14 km fun run from Hyde Park to Bondi Beach via Heartbreak Hill ( past my old school and past the house where I grew up and lived) which is usually held early to mid August each year. It was scheduled to be held on Sunday 9th August 2020 but due to COVID the event is postponed until 18th October 2020 however the event is now a virtual run according to the latest news. I don't exactly know how this will work therefore I have not registeted to enter ( I am tempted to come out of retirement and run this virtual race because it is it's 50th anniverary race but maybe not and save it for the annual Blackmores Running Festival which I will write about next).
The Blackmores Running Festival is probably the second largest annual fun run held following the City To Surf usually held mid to late September each year. This race too was scheduled to be run on Sunday 20th September 2020 and celebrating it's 20th anniversiary this year with its 4 races over staggered starting times which includes a Marathon, Half Marathon, 10 km Bridge Run and 3.5 - 4 km Family Fun Run all running ( or walking) over the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge. It was announced quite a while ago like the City To Surf that due to COVID that the race date would be postponed to a later date however at the time the postponed date the event organisers were working on was for the 8th November 2020. Unfortunately it was announced yesterday 14th September 2020 that the event organisers were unable to secure that date therefore the event was announced that it too will be a virtual run. Am I excited or disappointed? I am unsure. I had already registered and prepared my myself to participate in this annual event. Just like in previous years I had already registered however a little later then usual and due to the uncertain current situation only for the 3.5 - 4 km Family Fun Run and not for the usual 10 km Bridge Run in case of cancellation. If people haven't been reading my blogs from the start - this race is a special race for me and I will participate in it for as long as I can. I run or walk in this annual race in memory of my mother who passed away suddenly quite a few years ago now whilst I was away running it. I used to return home every year from it and show my mother the medals and tell her all about the race but that year when I returned home she was not there. So this year all participants that have registered for the original Blackmores Running Festival will automatically have their entry registration carried forward to next year's event announced to be held on Sunday 19th September 2021 and gain free entry into this year's virtual run between 20th September and 8th November 2020 for which I have already registered for. It won't be the same and I have nominated that I will be running around the Chatswood area but it is unlikely that I will be as I have yet to decide and calculate the distance of a suitable route and was thinking of a more scenic running or walking route like Narabeen Lagoon ( maybe if I had registered for the 10 km Bridge Run as the entire lagoon loop is around that distance to and from the nearest bus stop) or Barrenjoey Lighthouse possibly with a few steeps to choose from as well. So when it comes closer to the September date I will have selected a route by then. I am trying to complete the virtual run as earliest as possible as Christmas is approaching fast although it could be a nice birthday run in early November for me as a possibility . TBC as I have not read the instructions or downloaded the app for how the virtual run works yet.
Upload of first video Maton: Australia's Guitar onto YouTube. One view with 1 like already.
Upload second video Fantastical Worlds onto YouTube.
Upload third & Fourth videos Hybrid : Objects of Future Homes.
I read the team group chat and one of the team members I worked with finished my customer order for me from yesterday ( due to the stupid iPad crashing I was unable to process the customer's order). I sent a thank you message to her.
Wednesday 16th September 2020
Today I am working at Myer 11 am - 2 pm. What a waste of my day , a 3 hour only shift in the middle of the day where I can't do anything - it takes me at least 1.5 hours each way to get to work and another 1.5 hours to get home.
Below is a very good reason for keeping a daily diary of things that happen during my employment at Myer.
I leave home at 8.50 am in order to catch the 144 bus to Neutral Bay Junction to connect with the B Line bus to Warringah Mall. I just miss a connecting B Line bus so have to wait for the next one. On the B Line I am stuck in rather heavy peak hour traffic along the Spit towards Manly Vale. I arrive at Warringah Mall around 10 am but don't start my 1st of 3 hour shifts until 11 am today. All the way on the bus I am thinking so much about resigning from Myer ( and totally given up on Myer by selling my Myer shares which I have had from when they first became a publically listed company) as it is just to much of a hassle to get to and from work and will become even worse towards Christmas and how I really want to work closer to home. My other reasons for wanting to resign is no matter how hard I try I am never good enough. I get a text message from the customer service manager which asks me to read Metrics and m coms as "I am on the naughty list" Gee thanks another put down - what have I done wrong now? I have trouble even logging onto Metrics and it took me several attempts to do so as it kept asking me to change my password. As soon as I am able to log in I look at my sales figures and they seem to be getting worse. Is there something wrong with them? Probably not as I have been giving away my sales to other team members as I don't really care about them - I know already that I am a great sales person and am more concerned about providing the best customer service possible as well as the best product information and suggestions. So what was suppose to be reading instead of all the negative figures highlighted in red that puts me on the naughty list? I has no idea so I looked and saw I was one of 3 or 4 so called "Superstars". Do I care not really. Did I ever care? Not really. I don't even know what this means. Do I care what this means. No because since starting this was my 5th positive customer service feedback with 4 of them being 10/10 and 1 being a 9/10 ( which I was a little disappointed with). I Don't need metrics to measure my customer service and selling skills. My metrics have always been measured by customers giving me cakes and chocolates as gifts or tokens of appreciation.
10.35 am time to make my way to the staff lockers to start work. TBC.
How can a 3 hour shift have so much drama. It didn't do that many sales today as much of my time was spent putting stuff away.
I am getting a bit sick of the customer service manager thinking I don't have a brain of my own. Today I had to take 2 trolleys full of excess stock back down to the homewares reserves. I was told I could use the normal passenger lift if I didn't use the cages in the passenger lift to the reserves and to do 2 runs if needed. So I did one run and bought up some extra stock I did need to fill up empty shelves on my way back. In between I had to leave the second run to serve customers. When I had finished serving customers I had my phone with me on a charger in my hand. The customer service manager asked why I had my phone with me as I didn't need it. How stupid could she be I needed my phone because I don't have the codes to the reserves as I was never given any of them and she was the one who forwarded them to me by mms when I asked her for them on my last shift and I had taken photos of any stock I needed. On my way down to the Homewares Reserves I bumped into the operations ma eager and other managers who were coming out of a meeting. They told me not to stack the boxes of stock too high on the trolley. I was fine as I've pushed trolleys way bigger heavier and taller then this wossey little trolley! What wasn't fine was all the tops of the security tags falling off the boxes leaving the backing pins exposed and sticking out from the cardboard of the boxes. Very dangerous. They should not have used these types of security tags and instead used the wire wrap around ones.
Back in the homewares department I was wrapping a customers plates up and saw a customer waiting to be served and acknowledged him with a "I will be with you in a minute" however before I could even serve him the customer service manager pounces and asked if he was waiting to be served. I had already acknowledged that the customer nd he was approaching me to be served.
I asked ever single customer if they had a Myer One membership and whether they wanted to join if they didn't. All of them said no they didn't want to join. I continued to asked people that had really old Myer One cards if they wanted me to look them up and encouraging them to use them again.
As for rounding up of purchases - although I didn't ask everyone ( as I had some non English speaking customers) a large portion of customers were happy to donate to the current charity that is the local womens' shelter.
I tried to do an order for a customer today for a cotton summer weight quilt however again could not do one as the item was out of stock.
Today I had a customer who decided to purchase a whole heap of plates and bowls that were being put out for $3 or under each. Unfortunately she had walked to the mall and therefore did not bring her car as she had not intended to go shopping. So it was decided that we would do a drop and shop or parcel pick up for her where we would store the paid goods for her in a locked stage room until she could return to pick the purchases up. After giving her her receipts ( which i forgot to get her to sign) for her purchases she advised us that she could not return until tomorrow with her car. I spent quite a bit of time wrapping and packing her bowls and plates into 2 large doubled up Myer bags with a receipt on each of them with her name and number. Whilst I was taking her purchases to the locked room ( the former cluck and collect room) I noticed the room was already full of stuff when it is uaually empty now tgat click and collect has been moved downstairs. I also bumped into the operations manager again who was in there. He asked me what was in the bags , whether the customer had paid for it all and if they had customer contact details on them and when the customer was returning to pick them up etc. He told me not to do any parcel pick ups as Myer does not have insurance to cover customer's purchases damaged by fire or floods for example and tell everyone not to do any more parcel pick ups and that the only goods are goods to be taken to the dock for customers. He then asked me if I was working tomorrow. Of course I am. What the? Does Myer have any insurance coverage? I mean it was big news when their creditors insurance was pulled by QBE from them. The operations manager said he would talk to the customer service manager about this. I told tge customer service manager what the operations manager had told me - no more parcel pick ups. She was unimpressed and said it was not a parcel pick it was a drop and shop ( same thing as there is no parcel pick up any more and has not been for a while now!) Yep biggest conflict if today. What else was i suppose to say to the operations ma nager who asked me all sorts of wuestions about the 2 bags of customer's purchases - the customer service manager said i should have said nothing. Now I understand on my very first day of work what a team member told me of how I will be told different information from different people.
I had trouble punching out this afternoon but managed to do so after 15 minutes trying.
I did not go straight home after work but after having a toilet stop and washing my hands purchased something to eat - chicken spare ribs . I sat down and ate a few of them whilst catching up with YouTube and some blogging.
Home on the 280 bus to Chatswood and then the 144 bus.
As soon as I arrive home I wash my hands and wash my mask along with the 2 new ones I purchased from Smiggle at Warringah mall before work this morning along with a puzzle book that was on sale from Dymocks.
A sandwich, juice and a few mugs of green tea before watching some tv including the news and completing my blog
Thurdsay 17th September 2020
Today I am working at Myer 11 am - 2 pm again. A repeat of above.
I maybe lucky to have a job and should not complain as there are thousands of people out there that are still unemployed but it doesn't mean due to the current economic situation and the COVID pandemic thst employers should take advantage of employees. It's already bad enough with ( if statistics are actually correct) for every 12 - 13 people there is only 1 job and how employers have been and still are "rorting" the JobKeeper scheme and how the ATO has not done much to penalise employers that have been rorting the Government's scheme not to mention in addition how after Christmas the JobSeeker supplement will cease which is very poor timing as employers are now hiring temporary staff for the Christmas period and more people will be employed in temporary casual jobs however after Christmas all these casuals will become unemployed again and reliant on the original fortnightly JobSeeker payment without the additional Corona supplement which still has not increased and barely livable on. In the mean time those on JobKeeper will still get a reduced payment from their employer until the March date extension. If my previous employer had done the right thing and included me on JobKeeper I think I may have been in a better situation. Who knows what will happen to my current casual position after Christmas? Myer even as a public company isn't exactly in a great financial position. Should I sell my shares? I have been and still am looking for alternative employment but so far have been very unsucessful over the past 6 -7 months. My Gumtree advertisement is still up and I have been applying to at least 4 jobs a month ( probably more but I Don't kerp track of them all job the minimum of 4 per month as required by Centrelink on the JobActive site) . I must mention how useless these so called approved Centrelink employment service providers are in assisting you to find a job. I only managed to find my job by using the " It's not what you know but who you know" strategy. What about all those people out there that don't have any "contacts" to get their foot in the door - any doors?
I left a little later today and It's 9.15 am. I just missed a 144 bus so have to wait for the next one. Will I still get to work on time by 11 am? If the traffic over the Spit is as bad as yesterday maybe not. I managed to get to work in time today. There is another training session planned for 8.30 am on Wednesday 30th for care plans which I really wanted to learn about but I would have to leave home at 6.30 am in order to get to it on time and it would be a hassle if I wasn't rostered to work that day just to attend it so I haven't said yes to attending yet.
Today was a day of serving customers that were a little strange and quite forgetful. One customer was dressed in all shades of purple and only liked purple and dusty pink hued products and was very OCD about the things she purchased and admitted quite openly that she liked her purchases to be perfect. She puchased a purple velveteen textured quilt cover set and was trying to match a European pillow cover to go with it but she didn't want anything in whites, greys, navys or blacks. The closest thing I find for her and I quite liked it (although not the colour as it was a little dark for me) was an oversized maroon textured cushion which went perfectly with the quilt cover the customer just purchased however it wasn't quite a European pillow just an oversized square cushion therefore not quite what she was after. I suggested she took some photos of it and another dusty pink velvet cushion so she could put it up against what she currently has to get an idea of what tgey would look like together. She took my advice and even commented how she forgot about how good technology is today as a tool to enable us to do things like taking photos of products.
I had a second elderly customer with (I believe) her daughter who I suspect had dementia judging by her rather agressive behaviour towards me when I served her and gave her some information about a specific product she wanted to look at. She purchased a throw and was trying to pay for it but seemed to have trouble distinguishing between scanning her Myer One card and payment card. She asked where the MW dinner sets and i indicated to her and her daughter where they were and said they ciuld head in that direction and i will join them as soon as I finish putting her thrown in a bag. So they made their way over to the MW dinner sets and i went over to them, explained a little about the why there was a difference between the old and new crockery ranges as they mentioned that they did not look the same colour. As I was explaining the elderly customer was just not following the information and was little aggressive. I had handed her the thrown in a Myer bag and she had it around her arm. I left them to browse and went back to the register to continue serving other customers and finish packing and wrapping up 2 bags of bowls and plates along with a large photo frame for a customer who I did a naughty drop and shop ( parcel pick up for which I should not be doing after yesterday's interrogations by the operations manager) who was just going to the Kidswear department and would only be 15 - 30 minutes or so. As I was wrapping the final few bowls and plates, the elderly lady who had previously purchased the throw comes back to the counter and is served by another team member and mumbles something about coming back to pick up a parcel. I interrupt her and when the team member asks at she was coming back to pick up, I advised her that she doesn't have anything to pick up and that her thrown was already given to her and that she was carrying it over her arm in her Myer bag. she was obviously confused when she saw me wrapping up the bowls and plates for someone else with a parcel pick up of 2 bags. This elderly customer definitely had dementia.
Then there was the customer who came upstairs to the counter ( the counter where I am stationed at in Homewares used to be The Hub but was moved downstairs a few days after I started at Myer) after going downstairs insisting that there was no one at The Hub and it had a sign up that it was temporarily closed. I did not believe her as The Hub is always open and there is always at least 1 person maning it as this is now the Amazon collection point as well as all click and collects as well as the wedding registry, gift wrapping service etc etc. I asked her if she was sure she went to the correct counter and she said yes. So not knowing the extension of The Hub , I phoned the customer service manager and was advised to send the customer down and that she would meet her down thre. I advised the customer of this. The customer came back up after afterwards to make a purchase and is served by another team member. The customer advised me that she did go to the wrong counter downstairs but was served in the end. When I saw the customer service manager afterwards I told her that the customer actually did go to the wrong counter. She said why did you call me I was about to smack the team members for not being at there - The customer went to the wrong counter - She went to the miss shop counter - did you tell her where it was ( of course I did - I tell every customer were The Hub is and how to get there). Not my problem if the customer insist she went to the right counter and only tells me afterwards that she actually went to the wrong cpunter after I send her back down again to meet the customer service manager.
There is one team member I find out that doesn't write things down even when we do a till cash reconciliation. Everone else does as the POS times out if you don't enter everything within a certain amount of time. This team member just counts and enters straight onto system so what hapoens if someone wants to pay by cash? She can't just stop and process the sale(s) because she would have lost everything and have to start again. What happens if she miss counts and has to recount if over or under? So i could not leave her until she had finished counting. Whereas we can close the till and continue counting again after a sale(s).
Just before the end of my shift today my customer came back to collect her plates and bowls that were held for her as a parcel pick up in 2 large Myer bags in the former click and collect holding room. They were so heavy but she had her car with her today so she didn't have to walk far. I told her the story of my interrogation by the operations manager yesterday. There is always someone working in that storage room if not something stored in there. A team member was using that room today to do signage today. I think she was a lite surprised that I remembered the code to it. Even the customer service manager had to ask another team member what the code was for that storage room was yesterday. I had no idea that tgat roo. had a latch to hold the door open - everytime I used it the doir would slam shut behind me so I never looked for one. Now I know ( at least I didn't have trouble opening it unlike the homewares reserve door. It's really strange that all the doors open inwards probably for safety reasons however all the handles are not downwards in a clockwise direction but upwards or turn to the left in an anticlockwise direction - It's so unnatural to me - must be a lefty that installed the locks)
I was still serving customers to the last minute of my shift again. I don't even get to have a break. In all my shifts I have had that were over 4 hours each I have only had a proper break once as there is never any time to have a break.
I went for a good shop around Warringah Mall today and purchased a few groceries and non grocery items. From Myer I found some oil free diffuser sticks to replace the ones I found at Ikea which were grey and slightly thicker but paid full price of $13 from them as I had not linked my Myer One card to my wss profile yet so could not get a staff discount. It still was a little cheaper then the Glasshouse equivalent. I also purchased a benchtop foldable ironing board from The reject shop for $5 which was a clearance item reduced down from $15 and it was the last one. At Woolworths I purchased a few items tisdues, toilet paper rolls, juice, Cobs popcorn, raw almonds and some dried tropical fruit before heading home on the 280 bus to Chatswood where I stopped to top up my Opal card yet again ( this job is using more money travelling to and from work then I earn per 3 hour shift!) as I am unsure where I can top up my opal card at Warringah Mall without being charged a surcharge.
Home, a quick dinner of salad and salmon with a bit of a curry puff made from left over filo pastry and Japanese vegetable curry, a little bit of the news watched on tv and a little YouTube before blogging and sleeping
Friday 18th September 2020
Centrelink fortnightly reporting due today. Done and out of the way at 2 am in the morning.
I am working again at Myer 11 am - 4 .30 pm today and I am absolutely exhausted by today.
As soon as I arrive I am solving customer after customer phone enquiries. Most of the first half of my shift was running around trying to solve customer enquires. Still no non Myer One customers wanting to sign up for Myer One cards. I even told one customer I'm giving up on asking every one. Still quite a few customers willing to round up their purchases to give a donation to the current charity which is The local women's shelter. Still no orders as the items customers want are out of stock. One customer needed to think about the item that was available to order. No time to do a till reconciliation today ( certainly not in front of some very annoying and aggressive Asian customers trying to return batches of Lego sets purchased back in June and repurchase them at the sale price and trying to get Myer to price match other retailers who are out of stock of the same item. After I saw the customer service manager being abused verbally by the first Asian customer and reject a return exchange/refund , a second Asian customer tried to return and get an exchange on similar items - as soon as I saw this being processed by a team member I stopped her by call out "no" and she called the customer service manager back. This went on with several transactions for at least an hour and ended up involving the assistant store manager as well to the end of my shift.
Customer # 1 phone enquiry I need a Vue champagne tub no item number I want to know if you have it in store and I would like it for today and will come in to pick it up. Found it first go and is the one she described from ipad search of item. I leave 2 messages no redonse by 4.30 pm. Left on back counter and tell team member to put it back COB today if customer does not show up. Customer did not show up.
Customer # 2 It took me 1 phone call and finally forwarding this customer's details to team member that works in the cosmetics department to deal with this customer's phone enquiry. She wanted a particular brand and type of diffuser (again no item number only a name and description Devanti diffuser all in 1) which I managed to find on the iPad and which Myer does sell but when I found it and rang her back she wanted to know if Myer had anything else similar to it and I asked the customer service manager and she said no. I rang the customer back to advise her of this but she found an alternative in the Natio range. I advised her that she had rung the Homewares department and her enquiry was actually for the cosmetics department downstairs therefore advised her that I will forward her enquiry to someone in cosmetics to call her back with her enquiry. I ran downstairs and gave her contact details to the team member working in cosmetics downstairs and left it at that.
Customer # 3 The "bowl lady" - basically this customer made a very last minute COB order with a team member previously and what she ordered was not what she received. I spent quite a bit of time looking for the correct bowl for her but could not find the bowl that she wanted. I rang her back and grabbed 1 of each of the only 4 types of bowls available in the diamond range and rang her back as well as keeping them aside for her on the back counter for her to take a look at as she was coming in to return or replace them bowls. There was also 1 broken bowl received. I showed her the 4 bowls but in the end another team member and the customer service manager had to get involved as the bowl she wanted was not actually available althought it was still up on the website and did not look like the ones she was trying to match and wanted. I think a refund was given in the end and i just put all the bowls and plates in a basket to be put back on the shelf.
There is always the gift card or eftpos catd that fails to work and today thete was a customer who wanted to use her Westfield card to play for her purchase but it just would not show an available balance with a gift card enquiry, it failed to accept it as a gift card or eftpos payment type and declined with an insufficient funds amount of $20 and $20 even though it had a $60 value written on the back of it.
Loads of returns, exchanges and refunds today. Even a returns card issue as sale items and payment by CBA reward points returns can't be refunded as part of terms conditions and policies of CBA card usage and items on sale.
So busy we hardly had enough time to put up all the super weekend sale signs . The back counter was ridiculously messy again piled up with things to put back. The team member I worked with today said why can't Myer just hire someone just to put up all the signs and I agreed just for 3 hours and they can put up all the signs for all departments - I added maybe it's not in their budget.
I see they are hiring casuals just for Christmas and inviting team members to put forward friends that would like to apply. The one requirement in the team group chat was "be able to work 4 days a week and be able to do the job!" I am sure thete are heaps of people out there who are looking for a job but again It's not what you know but who you know.
It is a not a really nice day today overcast and beginning to rain forecast to be even worse over the weekend. After work I stopped to buy some brocoli and bananas from a green grocers at Warringah Mall as fruit and vegetables are about 50% cheaper then at Chatswood and just as good in quality. I was really hungry and haven't eaten anything all day except for 2 potato croquettes and a quick sip of water all day ( for once I managed to have a 15 minute break during my shift) so stopped at Coles for a chicken salad sandwich a bottle of lime infused sparkling VOS water and some dark chocolate tim tams ( not to eat now just to add to my pantry) and some Japanese curry ( which I really enjoyed making and putting into follow pastry to make vegetable curry puffs with).
I catch the next 280 back to Chatswood eating my sandwich whilst waiting for the bus. By the time I arrived at Chatswood and alight the bus there is this smell in the air which is like a outdoor Asian bbq . It is not unpleasant and smokey or choking. As I walk to the bus stop on the other side of the train station it is still present and because it is Friday night I thought it was just the smell of restaurants and Friday night market food stalls cooking their food on their outdoor bbq or gas grill/cook tops. I board the next bus home which was a 200 bus stopping at the wrong bustops ( it's meant to be an express or limited stops bus but the driver let me get off at any stop I pressed the buzzer for). Alighting the bus 1 stop before the stop closest to where I reside, the bbq smell is still present - that's when I realised it was not food cooking on a bbq but back burning which started a few days ago but only now noticeable in the Northern suburbs. It is now dark and raining. I stop and see the blanket of haze in the far distance and stop to take a photo ( or try to anyway). No wonder my allergies have been so bad - the coughing had returned just a little ( wearing a mask has really minimised it) but my skin is really itchy , my eyes water and nose runs. Combined with rain this is not going to be a fun spring for me. It wasn't a fun winter.
photo below
Home wash my hands and wash my mask in disinfectant and hot water.
Catch up with watching YouTube, tv ( news and The Living Room) and my diary of daily Myer doings.
My only weekend off and I have nothing planned and it is a wet weekend. I just wish I could get out of Sydney without having to think and be careful of where I can travel to. There are nit many interesting places to travel to that have things that have events that are actually on and not postponed or cancelled.
This is the only season I haven't seen snow and a customer recently told me that when they went there it wasn't too good and to save my money and thst Perisher was better then Thredbo. Yep the snow is usually melted in Thredbo earlier then Perisher.
Saturday 19th September 2020
Day off. I slept most of today - so lazy as it was not a nice day to go out at all. I really need to clean and tidy the apartment but can't be bothered.
I spent today wtching the foid chanbel and YouTube videos. I also checked my diary for all the cancelled and postponed events this year that have been reschefulled for next year or become virtual events later this year. I am also looking at travel restrictions.
I also cut up and soaked my mixture of dried fruits in preparation for my annual Christmas pudding making. A mixture of glace cherries, 2 types of pitted dates, apricots, coconut pieces, mixed candied peel, figs, kiwi fruit & paw paw in a mixture of cinnamon, vanilla, cloves, ice wine syrup and Cointreau. I may add more dried fruits as I don't know if I have enough dried fruit. Can't wait in a few months it will be so aromatic!
I am making dinner a tomato basil mushroom sausage and pasta bake.
I also made a blueberry and almond brownie. I haven't baked a brownie in ages!
Sunday 20th September 2020
Day off - Today would have been the annual Blackmores Running Festival ( 20th Anniversary run) which was postponed until 8th November 2020 now cancelled until September 2021 and replaced with a virtual run between now and the 8th november 2020.. I am hoping to try and do the 3.5 km walk run today although it is not the best day to go for a walk or run. I downloaded the Run Keeper app last night although I was having problems with it. I am hoping it works today if I do decide to go for the 3.5 km walk or run. I still don't know where I am going to do the walk or run but hopefully I will start at Milsons Point and walk across the Sydney Harbour Bridge and around the block towards The Opera House and onto the Royal Botanic Gardens. It will be a solo walk or run and there will be no recovery village no entertainment no snacks or water stations - it will be all byo this year. There will be no medals given out no baggage collection and no pre run registration expo. I am really scared of heights and have only walked across the Harbour Bridge via the pedestrian pathway once and remember I was not very confident walking along it. I wonder if I can take photos from the Pylons Lookouts along the way?I have not been up the Pylon Lookouts up to the observation deck and museum before. I would like to view it if it is open. Scrap that the Pylon Lookouts they are still temporarily closed according to the website. TBC.
It is almost 8 am and by this time the races would have started. It is a wet miserable day and I've just woken up. Very unmotivated to do the walk or run and I do have until November 8th 2020 to complete it ( by the way there was a boo boo on one of the pages of the Blackmores Running Festival website which said early bird registration for the September 2021 Blackmores Running Festival ends on 8th November 2021 - the actual race is on in September 2021 so I think that should have read 8th November 2020 not 2021) You can't run a race before registration closes!
Well almost no turning back now. On the train towards Milsons Point . A quick toliet stop then find my way to the Harbour Bridge stairs. It is a miserable rainy day but I am determined to do the run I mean walk - hopefully the technology will work as this is my very first virtual walk/run ( It's too wet there will be no running today just a quick walk across the bridge). I find an arch under the Harbour Bridge as soon as I reach Milsons Point to seek refuge from the now pouring rain. I ask another runner how to use the run keeper app as I kept hitting start and it's not working. After turning the location on and the battery saver off I hot start and off I go. I hear this little voice from the app which sounds very much like the Google Maps GPS navigation voice in the car advising me every half a mile or so how I am doing but it is in miles not km so I had to Google a conversion and estimate the total distance when I reached the Opera House .
Made it across the bridge and to the Opera House forecourt. Soaked to the bone! My virtual print out of my race bib is soaked beyond saving. My back pack and clothes including my rain jacket are soaked. It is still pouring with rain. I check my Run Keeper app and it is all in miles so I did not actually make the 3.5 km mark and only made it to 3.35 km or so when I did a manual conversion calculation in 33 mins or so ( but I had to walk/run back although not recorded on Run Keeper (as I switched it off early as it was so wet and my phone camera was fogging up to Circular Quay so that would have made up for the shortfall). I had to stop at least 5 times along the route to do up my shoe laces - so annoying! and I stopped to take photos as evidence of my run today. Tram back to Townhall and home.
Along the way there was a lady that even cheered me on with a " You're nearly there!" and a couple with umbrellas on the way down the Cumberland Street stairs where the male half of the couple even offered to shelter me down the stairs with his umbrella from the rain. Yes it became that wet.
I felt so uncomfortable I changed into my spare set of clothes and mask in the toilets at Townhall Station. My hoodie socks and sneakers are soaked so I am wearing tongs all the way home ( unless I stop at Chatswood to buy a pair of shoes.) At least I don't feel icky and itchy anymore. On the train back to Chatswood now almost all dry except for my rain jacket.
Photos below and videos have been uploaded onto my YouTube channel
Must get laundry money ( DONE at Woolworths Metro Chatswood although the checkout operator did not understand my request for $20 cash out in coins) and do laundry when I get home. 11.15 am and the train has jus arrived at Milsons Point and now it decides to clear up!!!! Damn you weather!!!!
By 1.50 pm after doing a bit of grocery and shoe shopping ( I spotted a pair of black & white Windsor Smiths sneakers that were on sale at Myer that happened to be my size and used my staff discount of an extra 15% to purchase them and changed into them straight away as my thongs I was wearing were a little uncomfortable for shopping in), the sun decides to come out but I'm on the bus on my way home to have some lunch.
Arriving home lunch is a chicken salad sandwich yummy that I made and left over pasta. The weather for the rest of the day is perfect a huge contrast to the weather in the morning. The sun is out but I wasn't feeling the best so watched tv and slept for the rest of the afternoon with a bit of a head ache.
My day started off soaking wet and ended off nice and dry. Today's virtual run was in memory of my mum.
I must remember to confirm my disastrous run results tomorrow. Email sent to blackmores running festival organisers re my technical problems on virtual run app.
Final estimated finishing time posted 35 minutes.
End of another day and end of another week.
I posted the following on FACEBOOK
"It is Sunday morning.
It's pouring with rain.
It's the 20th September 2020.
It's the annual Blackmores Running Festival's 20th anniversary run today.
It's now been postponed until the 8th November 2020.
It's now been cancelled until September 2021.
AND
It's now replaced with the Blackmores Running Festival Virtual Run.
Today I run alone with my Run Keeper app, in the rain, in memory of my mum, from Milsons Point across the Sydney Harbour Bridge down through Circular Quay and across to the Opera House forecourt.
On my run I have technical difficulties with my app starting it.
My shoe laces keep coming undone and I have to keep stopping to do them up.
I find that I am not alone with my idea of recreating my virtual run as close as possible to the original race course.
I am sheltered from the rain running down an open flight of stairs by a gentleman with his umbrella.
I am even cheered on from a random runner heading back in the opposite direction with a "You're nearly there!" on my final km or so towards the Opera House forecourt.
However when I arrive in front of the Opera House forecourt it is still pouring with rain and this year there are no crowds of runners or cheers, there are no portaloos, there are no water stations, there are no finish lines with arches, there are no timing gates, there are no medal distributions, and there is no Recovery Village in the Royal Botanic Gardens with giveaways, entertainment, food and drink, selfie stations, merchandise or massages etc.
The Opera House forecourt is deserted. Not a single sole in sight except a walker in the distance heading towards the Royal Botanic Gardens.
Today I finish the run alone with a click (more like three as I was having trouble stopping the Run Keeper app as much as trying to start it) of a button I self time my run of approximately 33 minutes. It's far from my personal best from a previous Blackmores Running Festival run. My home printed virtual race bib is soaking wet - my only memento of completing the run this year."
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