This blog still isn't quite finished yet - still having problems uploading photos after 2 weeks - more photos still to be uploaded sorry.
Monday 28th September 2020
I am now rostered to work at Myer 12 noon - 3 pm today (this extra shift was added after original rostered shifts confirmed on Kronos)
Just as well I checked Kronos again this morning my start and finish times for the above shift has changed again.
My shift is now from 10.30 am - 5 pm today! I was awake from 6 am this morning and only checked Kronos again at 7.30 am when I noticed as I was trying to forward plan my diary ( which I can never do due to ever changing shifts and times at the last minute). Luckily the latest I can leave home in order to get to work by 10.30 am is 8.30 am which leaves me enough time to have a shower brush my teeth and get dressed for work. I had already prepared what I was going to wear and packed my bag the night before and had already eaten breakfast by 7.30 am so I was ready to go. I was also keeping an eye on the time by watching the morning news which I had planned to leave home at 10 am had my shift start time not changed from 1st shift addition.
On the 144 bus now connecting onto the B Line in the event the connection is missed another will follow in about 10 minutes time hopefully.
At least I took the rubbish out on my way to the bus stop so I don't have to worry about it tomorrow.
Managed to connect with the B Line with only 1 minute to spare today which was just luck. Next hurdle is crossing The Spit ( Spit Bridge) - one accident or breakdown along this stretch connecting Spit Junction to Manly Vale and the Northern Beaches would mean never getting to work with the best senario being delayed by a few hours if there is very heavy traffic. Same with going in the opposite direction via connecting onto the 280 bus at Chatswood along the Roseville Bridge (I think).
I get to work by 10 am and managed to even find Casey's Toys and buy a Fuzzy Felt set. This toy shop was difficult to find.
Today I finally managed to sign up 2 customers for Myer One cards but had to ask for help with the first one . A team member I knew from the Menswear department came over to help me as it was not very busy at that time of the day. She even knows how difficult it is asking customers if they want to sign up for one. Finally after 2 full months of almost asking every single customer who did not have a Myer One card if they wanted one and always getting a " No Not today" answer I finally got 2 to join today. I still don't understand why it is so important to pressure customers to join the Myer One membership. I mean what happens if Myer goes into administration and shuts down if not partially, completely? There would be millions of Myer One customers with useless Myer One cards!
I had a customer who asked me if there were Myer stores in Adelaide as she wanted to purchase a gift card to send to her friend. I wasn't sure and thought Harris Scarfe was their department store. I could not look it up as the ipad was not working again at the time - apparently there is one in Rundle Mall. Let's hope that store doesn't close down before they get to use it! The customer should be ok since South Australia recently reopened up their border to NSW residents and are doing far better then their VIC neighbour who is still in partial lockdown and state borders between them both are still closed.
The team member I was working with today had a customer who purchased the same pair of Industrie shorts I sold poreviously with a security tag that could not be removed so had to get assistance from the Menswear department.
The team member I was working with today also said it was going to be a long slow day today and she was right in the morning - Monday morning was so quiet but in the afternoon it became busier. Why was my shift changed from not rostered on to a 12 noon - 3 pm then to a 10.30 - 5 pm? Oh there are tickets had to be put up again for the next "Daily Deal" for tomorrow. What is a daily Deal? It is a selected brand or item(s) which is on sale for 1 day only on a random day. The team member I was working with today asked again why can't the customer service manager just put someone on for 3 hours to put any signs up that needs to be put up? That would be their dedicated job and would free up time for us to concentrate on customer service. I totally agree with her and added cheekily - maybe the new Christmas casuals we are going to get! That can be their job! Makes sense to me.
Speaking of putting signs up. I was told off by the customer service manager again. What did I do wrong this time? I was putting a sign up in a stand and after putting one up realised there was not a matching one so put another sign up on the other side of the stand that was as close as possible to the other one until another sign could be printed off to replace it. Meanwhile I had to stop what I was doing and serve a customer waiting. I did not have time to print and put a replacement sign up and the customer service manager saw it and made sure I knew about my mistake. The team member I was working with was also told to let me know that both sides of the stand had to have the same sign on it. I said to her the customer service manager has already told me this - does she ( the customer service manager) think I am dumb? after explaining what happened. The customer service manager was the one who printed out all the signs. Did she not think that all signs to go up in stands had to be in pairs? Derrrr! Who is the one that is not so smart!
Speaking of which after leaving me off the leave schedule planner after advising me about it and falsely accusing me of processing a refund without a receipt to a customer, she posted a message on the whatsapp team group chat on how she still had not heard an RSVP from me and another team member as to whether or not we were attending the Care Plan training session when I had already responded to and so had he. Another team member confirmed this to the customer service manager for me on my day off. This really pisses me off as I get messages constantly on my days off to check my metrics and the customer service manager doesn't even check her facts and messages before accusing me of things in general.
I helped a ream member from the electricals department today with a customer looking for a spralizer and another customer looking for a mortar and pestle. We were out of stock of mortar and pestle but I was able to find 2 different spiralisers for the other customer. After looking at the 2 different types they went with the Zylizz one which is the closest to my Betty Bossie which only uses 2 blades noodles and rosettes. I gave the customer suggestions on what you can use a spiralisers for and even what is not recommended to use a spiraliser for.
The pillow lady I served on Saturday rang in the morning advising me how her memory foam pillows she purchased were as hard as a brick and I totally agree with her from experience. She obviously found out the way I found out - never again will I buy a $200 top of the range firm memory foam pillow which I thought I needed to support my neck and I advised this customer how it was the most uncomfortable pillow I had purchased and how it has been in storage since the first use and only useful as a foot rest now. I knew she would not be able to return the pillows she had purchased as they had been taken out of the packages due to NSW health regulations. I said I would check with my customer service manager about it anyway ( of course the customer service manager said no and even accuses the customer of calling previously - check your facts she had not called previously). The customer was OK about it and I advised her to maybe spend a bit more time in making a more informed decision about an alternative pillow. She said she would be in today and I suggested I get a few pillows out and place some paper over them so she can test them out on one of our display beds. She came in and purchased a quilted pillow case protector but looked at 2 different types of pillow a medium firm latex one and the wool cotton one. She ended up wanting to purchase 3 wool cotton ones and I kept asking her a if she was sure - suggesting she just take one home to try out and put the other 2 on hold just in case they are not the right ones. She insisted she take the 3 of them before deciding on only taking 2 for herself and her husband and not her son. I said to her I hope I don't see her again for pillows. I think she hopes so too. The wool cotyon ones were definitely softer and more comfy then the latex ones which still felt too high and firm.
So much happened today, I had a customer past 5 pm today. It was quite a large purchase and could have been much larger if Myer had the stock on hand. The doors were all locked and she had to exit out of the side door to the car park. The customer purchased the last MW cashmere Resort Dinner set , 5 large stainless steel tongs, 4 mini coloured silicon tipped stainless steel tongs, 1 salad spoon, one matching salad fork, 4 rice spoons, 4 boxes of glasses & 2 Kitchen Aid brand white plastic laddles . She also wanted an additional 19 boxes of MW cashmere Resort Dinner sets to be ordered however it had to be done tomorrow as the home delivery option on the ipad was not working ( AGAIN!) . She also wanted a 4 slot toaster and jaffle maker which were still unavailable as well as more boxes of glasses if there were any more available in store. She was a nice customer who was buying all this stuff for a new office fitout at Macquarie Park. I advised her to grab a trolley from the car park to transport all her stuff in - she came back but went to the wrong counter in the Electricals Department so I had to find her and guide her back to the registers in Homewares - why am I always losing my customers? This purchase was so big it took not just me but the other team member I was working with and the customer service manager to help me with the order. I see the customer out through the side door and thanked her. Making sure the sliding doors closed behind her
By the time I finished with the customer and the customer service manager ( who just doesn't stop talking) , the team member and I make our way upto the staff offices to return the keys and ipads ( including the one I borrowed from the electrical deoartment) and signed them back in as well as placing them in the charging stations before getting our stuff and punching out it was almost 5.30 pm and being the last staff members to leave, the staff entrance/exit was already locked therefore we had to walk all the way to the staff office to get a manager to let us out then we had to walk all the way back down to the bus stop to catch the B Line bus in the opposite directions ( don't know why we took the scenic route). I have to stop here and mention that I made a rude gesture towards the customer service manager as I was walking towards the lift to the staff office and I hope the store cameras did not catch what I did - if they did then I have a real case against my accusation of invasion of privacy concerns. By the time we got there it was probably 5.45 pm and I had missed the 280 bus by 15 minutes direct to Chatswood. I had to walk a little further up and across the pedestrian overpass to get to the B Line bus stop which had a huge queue of people waiting. I decided not to wait for the next B Line and catch the first bus to Manly which is suppose to take 10 minutes ( but that depends on which bus you catch) I think I just caught the scenic bus again as it was definitely not an express bus althought it did seem to take less time then the last Manly bus I accidently caught the other night. Getting off at Manly at this time of the night is not a bad thing as you get to see the sunset and you can't really miss your transfer stop if you fall asleep as it is the last bus stop at Manly. The connecting 144 bus just across the road at the wharf may be a few minutes walk but should be running quite regularly as it is still semi peak hours and will take me straight home. With the B Line it maybe a little faster but I have a much greater risk of missing my transfer stop and connecting buses at Neutral Bay Junction especially if I am distracted or fall alseep! I arrived home before 7 pm tonight as a result. By the time I got home I didn't want to cook dinner and didn't have to as I had prepared a lunch pack which was originally for Tuesday or Wednesday and could have been for today if I had known in advanced of the 2nd change to my shift today!
Sleep after watching Have You Been Paying Attention. End of a very busy day in the end.
Tuesday 29th September 2020
Day off today and I am so tired I am still in bed at 10 am. The sun is trying to peep out but it just can't outside a bit like me today.
I must finish my blog from yesterday. It has taken me a lot of time to do so as I am just not motivated but I must keep a detailed diary of everything that happens as evidence. Eg if I get a message to check My Metrics I do so but recently I have noticed that there are a few things that are not appearing on them. The first thing I've noticed in the past few days at least is the donation amount from my customers' round up of purchases has disappeared altogether therefore I am no longer able to see the donation target or how much I have collected in donations to date. I am hoping Myer is doing the right thing and actually giving every cent collected to the Women's shelter and not pocketing it themselves which I have a suspicion they may be doing ie not passing the donation on. I think I will stop asking customers if they want to round up their purchases anymore. The second thing I've noticed is I can't see my customer orders appearing . I have been trying to do them but they are not appearing and I seem to have a lot of read zones appearing on My Metrics. The 3rd thing I noticed is I may have scored and other 10 from customer feed back but only scored a 9 overall. Does that mean that I may have provided excellent customer service but Myer didn't. I should be scoring 10's all the time. so far all 10 but 2 x 9's for overall is not good enough and if my theory is correct working at Myer is actually pulling my exceptional customer service reputation down. The third thing I noticed was my 2 Myer One sign ups were not showing up on My Metrics and I know 100% that I scanned the barcode both times I signed the customers up!!!!
Just received a message via the team group chat on what's app from the team member I was working with yesterday she is just organising the 5 pm customer's order for 19 cashmere resort dinner sets she wanted from yesterday that could not be put through the ipad at the time. I also texted her to ask the customer about a particular 4 slice toaster and jaffle maker or kettle she was also mentioned but was not back in stock at the time. I could not remember exactly which appliances she was after and we didn't go into a discussion of brands or models.
I will never finish this blog it just crashed everything I wrote!
In the end I receive a message on the team group chat that my customer from yesterday was only able to get 5 dinner sets via an order before it advised that the dinner sets were out of stock and that the balance of 14 sets will be purchased from Myer Castle Hill where apparently they had stock. How does that work out? No mention of toasters or any other appliances. I think that previous rude customer was spot on Myer does need to get their SHIT together! I will find out tomorrow. Not looking forward to a 6.30 am to 6.30 pm day tomorrow!
Today was a stay at home day - a lot of cooking ( I made an omlette and a rich lamb Bolognese with ravioli and loads of vegetables, blogging watching the food channel watching the news ( I had to switch of the news as I was being bombarded with too much Corona virus news) drinking cups of tea planning my days off and napping.
I also caught up on watching YouTube channels I subscribe to.
Shower wash dishes and prepare for a very early start tomorrow.
My lunch is packed my bag is packed my clothes are ready so hopefully I get to Warringah by 8.30 am tomorrow unless I forget and sleep in.
Wednesday 30th September 2020
8.30 am - 10 am Care Plan training session ( I told the customer service manager that I would try and make it)
To get to the training session on time I leave home at 6.30 am. I would then had a half an hour break ( unpaid between 10 am and 10.30 am before starting work at 10.30 am and finishing at 4.30 pm and arriving home around 6.30 pm ie a 12 hour day. Training sessions are unpaid as they don't appear on Kronos and are not suppose to be compulsory as not everyone can attend them. I just wish there was some other way using technology to attend these sessions so I don't have to attend them in person
I am working at Myer from 10.30 am - 4.30 pm today AND I am ensuring that I leave as close as possible on the dot at 4.30 pm today.
Does the B line bus not run past Warringah Mall at 7 am in the morning? I managed to connect onto the B line bus with 1 minute to spare again however the bus terminates at Warringah Mall and does not continue onto Mona Vale. Before the the Care Plan training session I was talking to the team member that also catches the B Line to work but from the opposite direction and told her how tbis morning the B Line bus does not travel to and from Mona Vale before 7 am only terminates at Warringah Mall - she found that out too one weekend. Another team member said it does but only certain B line buses do.
Arrive at Warringah Mall by 7.30 am get some breakfast before walking to the staff entrance. Message on team group chat says doors open for 5 minutes. 5 minutes from now or 5 minutes before 8.30 am or 5 minutes after 8.30 am? who knows but pretty scummy of Myer to only allow a 5 minute window for team members attending the Care Plan training session if you ask me. What are we suppose to do stand and wait around until the doors open?
The doors were open at 8 am ( for management staff) and I put my stuff in the staff locker and see other team members so just chat in the training room until the training session starts. What a waste of my time. The meeting was cancelled at the last minute as the person running the meeting was at the hospital with his wife who just had a baby and now I have 1 hour between now and starting work at 10.30 am as we still had an informal training session on Care Plans. What can I do not eat or maybe I should as I may not get a break again.
Blogging outside of Myer in case there are cameras watching my every move including what I write on my blog. Speaking of cameras watching my every move today started off quite slow but started to get busy then died down again in the afternoon. Sometime in the afternoon during a quiet time , a rather big group of teenagers walks into Myer and make their way towards the Homewares department past the counter and towards the electric blankets, towels, quilts, pillows , bath mats, scales, matress & pillow protectors and bathroom accessories area. I am behind the counter wondering what they are doing. Were they trying to make a Tiktok as they all had their phones with them? The team leader approaches them and speaks to them. They are there for quite a while looking around not at the products on the shelves but around the ceiling above them. I approach the team leader and ask why is going on. Today was the group interviews for the recruitment of Christmas Casuals so I asked her "They are not our new Christmas casuals are they?". No they were not thank goodness! The story is there is a gym upstairs and someone found a hole in Myer's ceiling so when they look down through it from the gym above they can see the whole of Myer below so they were searching to see where the hole is in the Myer ceiling. The team leader asked me to keep an eye on what they were doing. They were still there when the team leader returned who then decided it was time to ask them to move on as they were there for quite a while. Another team member on the floor performing some VM duties thought the same thing as soon as he saw the team leader talking to the group of teenagers he also thought that they were the new Christmas casuals having an orientation session.
No Myer One sign ups today. No orders either just as well as the Ipads were still playing up today. My sales figure was not as high as my previous shifts. It is the first day or so of school holidays so it is usually quieter. I spent half of my time in the electricals department as I was there just passing messages on but customers kept approaching me with purchases and enquiries. I had lots of returns refunds and exchanges today including a guy I served who returned a matress protector citing his wife did not like it. Why do people buy stuff then just return it all. It's ok if it's the wrong size and they just want to exchange for the correct size but the amount of linen towels pillows quilts etc people are trying to return is just rediculous - they have been explained about the no exchange no return no refund policy except if faulty for bedding and towels due to NSW Health Regulations and if not it's on the printed Myer policy. Some customers even return clearance or sale items which are not usually permitted. If there is a discounted or clearance item due to missing pieces or slightly damaged I explain this to the customer even writing on the receipt no exchange no return no refund.
I am a little annoyed by this but it was my fault for not putting my team ID # on the customer's hold of a Delonghi bronze toaster on the back counter of the electricals department before returning to the Homewares department counter. I served the customer who wanted me to hold the very last toaster for an hour for her as she wanted to shop around the centre and asked me if Myer price matched. I explained to her yes but only within the centre and the exact same product had to be in stock. She came back and purchased it after it was price matched and another team member took my sale unfortunately. I only saw this when I was passing by.
People are still generous with rounding up their purchases to give a donation to Myer's current charity which is still the local women's shelter. I had one customer with 2 very impatient kids who were a bit hyped up and one their first days of the school holidays. I asked if she would like to make a donation for charity or if she was the charity when I saw her 2 kids. She was purchasing a box of champagne flutes and she joked that she was the charity and said to me that's why I'm purchasing these indicating the champagne flutes I was now checking for her.
There was an Asian guy who rung up about a convection steam combo Cuisinart benchtop oven and wanted to know if the store had one as he had seen it on the website and I suggested he come in to have a look at it. He asked how much it was and I told him that it was the last one and it's a display one and the price would be exactly the same as it is online. I also suggested to him an extended warranty care plan and advised him that this was a few more dollars but would give him an extended warranty however he could only purchase it in store not online as it is unavailable with online purchases. He said to hold it for him and he would be in today to look at it. By 4.30 pm he still had not turned up. I had left his details with the electricals department and my team member ID # in case he does purchase it.
Last duties of the day was putting up yet more signs and just before I was about to finish my shift answer a phone call from the electricals manager to do a 2nd cash clearance. How do managers know how much to clear? They are told by another manager so it's customer service manager to departmental manager to team member to another team member - Chinese Whispers just another example of how Myer communications work.
4.35 pm and I punch out using the digital time clock near the staff entrance/exit instead of using my phone ( so I don't forget to turn my location on and off again).
A quick shop at Woolworths Metro Chatswood before a bus home. Home before 7 pm. Rather tired I could not be bothered to cook and there was nothing really intetesting on tv so ate some vegetable chips ( oh dear not very healthy) before going to sleep.
Thursday 1st October 2020
Big news It's the first day of October today, the second month of Spring and everyone has or is starting to put their Christmas decorations and stock out. Myer is behind as Big W and David Jones has already it theirs out and it is complete or almost complete. Even The Reject Shop had put half of their Christmas stock out. Myer has just started today although they did have a small stand of Christmas cards and wrapping out for a few days now.
Day off today and again I don't plan to venture out. The sun is out but it is the type of day where at any time there could be a sun shower.
I slept in this morning until about 7 am and really deserve it after yesterday's fiasco.
I am starting today's blog again as it crashed earlier this morning again and didn't save it in time.
I still have to catch up on yesterday's blog but before I do so I check and record my wages in my diary ( I do this every pay for Centrelink fornightly reporting and as evidence in the event of Myer wage theft incidences as I still haven't worked out how their fortnightly payslip information is calculated) , pay any bills and transfer any money. Next is breakfast the most important meal of the day ( of a crumbed fish, homemade tartare sauce, thin slice of tasty cheese, lettuce & slices of mini cucumber on wholemeal soughdough with a green juice with a cup of tea and maybe a snack later) which I don't get to have often due to having to leave for work 2 hours before starting work. I miss having my Saturday sleep ins and nice home made breakfasts and going to the markets - I almost never get a full weekend off as I always have to work on a Saturday.
Next was a catch up on news Channel 10 not Channel 7 as I don't want to be bombarded constantly with COVID news and catch up on YouTube watching as well as shifting through my 100's of emails half of which are just junk and need to be deleted!
Lunch time and my third attempt at trying to finish yesterday's blog! 3 pm and finally completed!
Upon researching events and places of interest to visit. I find more annual events held during October have been cancelled. One of these is the annual Chatswood Spring Festival which is a series of stalls food drink clothing accessories services activities exhibitions etc that attracts thousands of people each year at the beginning of Spring and closes ofc the main streets of Chatswood to traffic. It is as big as the annual VIVID event in Chatswood but not this year , most of the festival events have gone virtual and spread over a number of weeks.
Just checked Metrics again and Kronos and team group chat. Not happy my shift on the Tuesday 6th October 20 has changed to a 9 am start on Kronos. This means I have to leave home at 7 am to get to work! And I am working the day before.
Friday 2nd October 2020
Centrelink fortnightly reporting done & 1 job search updated under job active another 3 to record before 27th October 20.
I am working at Myer 10.30 am - 5 pm today ( last minute change to finishing time ( originally 4.30 pm) of shift after original rostered shifts confirmed on Kronos)
I check Myer Metrics regularly and just realised a few things. 1. why are there no orders showing up against my order figures when I have made some customer orders. I just realised because everytime I do a customer order and the customer order system crashes and someone else has to try again and process my customer order they can't process it under my team ID # because they don't have my password to process it with. They only have my team ID #. 2. still no donation information. 3 for my customer feedback I have mainly scored mainly 10s but do have 1 pair of 9's which is ok however one score of 10 for customer satisfaction but only a 9 overall which means the customer was satisfied with my service but not totally satisfied with Myer's overall service hence pulling my personal exceptional customer service reputation down.
I signed up another customer for a Myer One card today and people are still rounding up their purchases to the nearest dollar for the local charity. I have stopped asking everyone for donations now because I can't see the results on Myer Metrics. I also did one order sucessfully today Yay! I almost did a second one however I suggested to the customer not to continue with her order because due to NSW Health regulations she would not be able to return the pillow and she had to be sure it was the correct one she wanted. The photo looked as if the pillow was not a standard size as it looked longer in the photo and without mentioning dimensions of the pillow we could not be sure it was the correct one.
A few customers have been told by the guys in the electricals department that Myer did not have certain products only to find out that we did - guys someone told a customer Myer did not have any trifle bowls - there were lots of them in 2 sizes and styles - 1 of which was exactly what the customer wanted! I had to explain to the customer how the guys in electricals specialise in electricals and not in homewares. Electricals should stick to electricals and homewares to homewares. The guys in Electricals are also accepting returns of items Myer should not be accepting such as women's underwear without it's original tag
I could not get away and only had lunch after 3 pm today. I just made a trip to the a cafe across from Gourmet Meats ( never going to Gourmet Meats again after charging me $6 for a single sausage on a roll where there was 1 single sausage left on sale along with all their other left over hot food in their bain marie for just $2 as advertised on a white sandwich bag handwritten sign at 3 pm in the afternoon - how dare they charge me $4 just extra for crappy bread roll that cost $1 or so at Woolworths next door! I was totally ripped off) that sells decent sandwiches and managed to get the last chicken and lettuce sandwich which was around $6 which I quite like and have had before. I actually sat down and ate it taking my almost full hour of a lunch break today ( it was so late in the afternoon I actually had time to have a lunch which was more an afternoon tea)
I managed to put some stock away in between serving customers throughout the day ( and trying to work out who is leaving little half finished piles of stock around that should be on shelves). One very pesky pair Chinese customers wanted to know if every style of Ted Baker and Private Collection linen sets were on sale. Some were and some were not but they were all lumped together so I had to scan each one they selected to find out. They ended up purchasing the cheapest set but to be fair it was a Queen or King Sized Private Collection brand set for $100. I did emphasize to them due to health regulations and sale price that there was no exchange no return and no refund on the linen they purchased.
In between the chaos today a customer on her phone reading the news declares out loud breaking news Donald Trump and his wife Melania have both tested positive to Corona virus! Conspiracy theory did he deliberately contract it in order to delay the up and coming election in 33 days time? or was it just bad timing straight after a presidental debate? Can't imagine the contact tracing involved!
The team member I was working with today was the team member who processed the order for my customer the other week wanting the 19 dinners sets for me the following day when the order system was not working on the ipad. She had my team member ID # but I wondered how she could have processed my order without my password to log in on the Ipad and then processing the payment onto the POS system. I asked her and she realised she must have processed it with her team member ID # and password. So I got her back ( well not really) - her customer came back to pick up a mattress protector on hold on the back counter whilst she was on her lunch break. I put it through my team ID # - by mistake ( I didn't see her team member ID # written on the hold slip). I told her about it afterwards - I don't think she minded especially when she took my large order by mistake. Anyway I was joking with this customer when I asked him if he had a Myer One card - he didn't. Did he want one? No - he was not local then I was joking and guessing about where he was from and I asked "You're not from Victoria are you?" His response "No but if I was you would probably dob me in wouldn't you?" "Yep!" Somehow the conversation ended with the subject of shoplifting - oh that's right I pretended to call the security code with hand gestures to dob him in for illegally crossing the NSW border due to COVID travel restrictions when a funny thing happened as he was checking he had the correct sized mattress protector, another customer approaches me at the counter with a Myer shopping bag and declares to me that she almost shoplifted a bottle of water as she was so thirsty and needed a drink of water, she forgot to pay for it. So she came running back to pay for it and I turned to the other customer and did the the pretend hand gesture again to ring security as if to say that we had a real shoplifting incident happening. We had a bit of a giggle about it. Just goes to show that we do have some honest customers.
The customer service manager broke a bowl today whilst she was doing some VM. I asked if she wanted me to suspend her breakage so she could write it off . She wanted me to call the cleaner and I called him and gave him directions of where to go but when he arrived still needed directions. There was also a trail of liquid so the cleaner had a bit of work to do. I notified the customer service manager of the trail of liquid as well - she was more interested in getting her breakage cleaned up first. She asks me again if I had called a cleaner - Of course I did! and then asked me if I gave him directions? Of course I did! She really does think I don't have a brain of my own doesn't she! I think she's a bit of an airhead herself!
A relief Sheridan rep was working today but she could not do much as she had injured her wrist. She had a go at serving my customer today but needed my help putting the payment through as the customer wanted to split her payment up and pay with 2 different types of gift cards with 2 different amounts on them. She thought I had been here much longer then my 2 months from my confidence in using the POS system. Not the simplest transaction to do as some customers want to pay with 3 different types of gift cards and the balance on eftpos.
Loads of exchanges and refunds today. Mostly clothing and bedding or linen ( in their packets - mainly wrong sizes and colours or unable to find or order matching ones). A customer returned 2 bags of Sherdeian towels which were on sale and the Sheridan rep served her and when I spotted them returned I advised the Sheridan rep that I'm sure I was the one who originally served this customer when she purchased them. How dare the customer return towels and those that were on sale. I don't think this is actually allowed due to not only NSW health regulations but Myer's sale item returms policies.
The team member I was working with was not walking to the bus stop today as her little brother was picking her up to take her home. I was still serving a customer as always right up until and after the 5 pm the store is now closed announcement has been made over the PA system. Don't leave me I said to her. So she waited. She was looking for the 3rd ipad which I was looking for since before I went for lunch, it was the one without a pproective cover and the one that had not been charged up so could not be used. Not found so we think maybe someone lsuch as tge customer service manager took it to be recharged.
The team member was luck to have a full weekend off. I haven't had one for ages. Always working a Saturday except for 1 weekend since starting which is annoying as I can't go away at all. Anyway she has an 8 am start early next week and I have a 9 am start next Tuesday. What's going on - what is this royal visit the customer service manager talks about? - I asked Not from Melbourne is it? No it's the regional managers visiting - big deal who cares! - it's not the big wigs from HO in Victoria. It's a really big deal when if they come to visit but they can't as they are in total lockdown.
I am asked if I could come in tomorrow by the customer service manager as I exit at 10 am 2 hours before my rostered start time just to help out with putting stock on the shelves. I said " I don't really want to come in but I will if I need to" That's not the response the customer service manager wanted to hear but it was last minute and she did say I wasn't there for the 2 hours to serve but just put stock out onto the floor from the dock. She then sent me a txt afterwards and said "All good just start at the normal time." ie back to working 12 noon - 5 pm I assume.
So glad it is the end of another day at Myer. Must keep job hunting more seriously. Did not get to removing and relabelling all MW single cutlery pieces on the back counter today. Someone will have to do this tomorrow before I get in. The team member I was working with today mentioned to me how her sales only reached $1500 but I reached $2000. Really - how did I manage that AND how did she know? I know I was busy all day today but I didn't think I was that busy!
I managed to catch the 5.30 pm 280 bus to Chatswood but it was at least a 10 minute wait for the bus as I think I missed a 5 pm bus. No toilet stop this afternoon as I had a late lunch. Home before 7 pm tonight. Watched The Living room but fell asleep through it. No blogging or watching YouTube tonight ate and straight to sleep .
Saturday 3rd October 2020
I am working at Myer 12 noon - 5 pm . My blog crashed again. What a co incidence - something pops up on the news about if you think there is someone listening in on your private conversations on your phone and you had just been discussing planning a holiday and you suddenly you get bombarded with travel ads foe example, you are correct. The news segment goes on to explain how apps you download are actually capturing information from your every word and storing or passing it on without your knowledge and to prevent this you can go to your privacy settings to deny this permission ( which I did as soon as this news segment was over). I am starting to wonder if it's crashing more regularly as someone or something is watching my every pen stroke the same way - everytime I write a nasty comment about Myer it crashes. What I write is the truth and is the reason I keep my diary. It's like the audit trails I used to keep working in accounts payroll HR and general administration. My blog would not be called Dulcineasdiarycontinued if it wasn't a diary ( for those readers that are new to reading my blog soneone unfortunately has already taken the name Dulcineasdiary and I couldn't use my own name in short or full because someone else had already used those as well - How many Dulcinea(s) yes pural are there in the world? )
I only have to survive work today then I can enjoy a whole day tomorrow visiting new exhibitions that just opened less then a week ago ( before a week of hell at work starts - more in next blog).
Today I texted an old bus buddy to ask her if she wanted to catch up with me on my birthday as I had asked for the day off work. I know she won't respond for a while but I still plan to go ahead and do what I had planned ie to see Van Gough Alive if tickets are still at a reasonable price.
Speaking of old bus buddies. There was this young couple with a box of mushrooms next to them standing under a nook in a building near the 144 bus stop at the back of Chatswood station hugging each other for quite a while. Oh how cute I thought as I waited for the 144 bus. The bus arrives I hop on and sit facing the window looking out to the bus stop. The female half of the couple also boards the bus and waves goodbye to her male half of the couple. As she waves I started to wave to him as well from inside the bus - as I just realised who the loved up couple were, another one of my old ex St Ives bus buddies pre COVID - my other bus buddy and I used to nickname him "get a room you two" as he and his girlfriend were always all over each other at the bus stop whenever we spotted them - actually they were all over each other wherever we spotted them! Yes he did wave back as soon as he realised who I was even with my mask on.
A quick check of my blog's analytics today - a big thank you Portugal for reading my blogs! You now lead the countries reading my blogs twice the amount as the US & pushing Australia to the 3rd position! About time a country other then the US and Australia was the number 1 readers of my blogs!
I left home at 10 am this morning and took the 144 to Neutral Bay Junction. The bus was full and there was a driver swap one stop before I get off to connect with the B line. Should I walk? It would avoid the non adherence to social distancing rules on the bus. No I stayed on and managed to connect onto the next B Line in 2 minutes. The B line was full as well but the traffic was horrendous.
I signed up another customer to a Myer One card today ( damn it I just realised I forgot to scan the bar code a second time to include it on my Myer Metrics figures!) and stopped asking customers for purchase round ups as there is no point if I can't see the target amount and how much I have already collected towards donations to the current charity. I did ask a few customers and some still donated. No orders again today as we just did not have the stock customers wanted.
There was no one item customers were purchasing today. It was just mostly anything and everything that was on sale. A few customer refunds and returns today. Again the guys in electricals caused an issue. A customer purchased a set of gin glasses and they did not check them and one was chipped so the customer had to return them and get a refund as there was no more in stock to replace them for the customer.
A man came to the counter not just with his son but with his old pair of shorts over his shoulders and the wearing the pair of shorts he wanted to purchase. He asked me if I could cut the tag of his shorts he was wearing for him. I thought he was trying to shopshoplift but no after scanning the label from the shorts he was wearing and paying for them. I found a pair of scissors and cut the tag off for him. I was not going to check his shorts for any security tag that may be left on it. If he beeps he will have to change out of them before anyone will remove the tag. Absolutely no return no exchange no refund for those shorts now that they have been worn. I didn't even think to ask if he wanted a bag for his old yukky shorts he was carrying over his shoulders.
I had a customer today who basically demanded a refund on a quilt set she had a receipt for and purchased back in July. Yes July. She expected a refund as she said she purchases huge amounts of stuff from Myer and asked if the customer service manager was in today as she knew her. No she wasn't but decided to ask the team leader as she has been with Myer for a while and may also know the customer. I waited for her to return before giving a refund. Myer policy is usually 30 days for refund return or exchange extended recently to 60 days however we don't usually accept bedding back. In this instance it was allowed eventhough her purchase did not meet both policies and regulations. It was still in the packaging and she was a regular customer so it was approved on this occassion.
Other tasks performed today - removal of old MW cutlery labels and relabelling them all from yesterday's task that we did not get a chance to complete and still uncompleted today. Labelling MW $15 sale crockery on display with one problem, I was asked to label everything on that $15 sale stand $15 however a customer in the afternoon spotted the price of the spoon rests were $9.95 hence incorrectly labelled - they actually scanned up as $3 on the POS which was the correct price. I actually sold one to a customer after she saw it and asked how much they actually were. The yellow broken glass bin has been put back into the electricals reserve room so no more running to the dumpster in the dock or running around trying to find it or dumping it in the bin under the end counter in Homewares.
Today I just had to take photos of certain photoframes which had their plastic wrappings slashed and their wire hanging hooks and wire removed from most of them and report a suspected theft report. A customer spotted this when they wanted to purchase 3 of the large white photo frames. All 3 were slashed open and we managed to only find 1 wire and hook set for them so 2 were missing missing the set another white smaller one was also missing the set. The customer was happy to purchase all 3 large white frames ( oops I forgot to offer them a discount) without the sets and the small white photo frame I found without the set I discounted and put in the clearance section as instructed. Later in the afternoon another customer purchased an even larger white photo frame on the same range and I noticed it too had it's plastic wrap slightly slashed however the set was still inside the back of the photo frame so I sticky taped it back together so the customer would not lose the hook and wire set.
Quote a few customers wanted to partially pay for their purchases today with a digital Myer One reward card however the same message kept popping up on their phones as the digital voucher was not quite ready to use yet and was in the process converting it into a rewards voucher. I think this might be the new reach 1000 points = get a $10 rewards voucher staring on the 5th October rather then the old waiting for 2000 points accumulated before you get your $20 reward voucher.
I find this really creepy. I was by myself at the Homewares counter doing a cash reconciliation and the store manager walks by and sees( more like watches from a distance) me doing so and says something into his mouthpiece. Immediately after I hear another cash register start counting - must be the cafe. Last time the customer service manager asked if someone could go over to the cafe to remind them to do a cash reconciliation which I did. Maybe that's what the store manager was doing when he saw me performing one. Still creepy though. I didn't quite complete it as I was busy serving customers so let the team leader complete it and we did a cash clearance as well.
As usual customers to the very last minute 5 pm after the store is now closed announcement is made over the PA system.
Home on the 5.30 pm 280 Chatswood bus, On my way home I stopped at Chatswood Metro to purchase my dinner of a teriyaki chicken rice bowl & other grocery items of bananas mandarins yoghart and a cheesecake donut ( I was ratger surprised of how good this donut was when I took my first bite into it - it had a cheese cake filling in it but I wasn't keen on the white icing glace with the crimson sprinkles looked very titanium dioxide white to me) as I could not be bothered to cook and just wasted $5 purchasing the most disgusting over fried dried out 4 devil wings in a box to eat after work at Warringag Mall from the same chicken shop I usually get my breakfast croquettes from ( there was nothing much left by the time I ginished work and the customer in front of me bought the last box of marinated chicken wings and chicken fried rice I wanted) as I didn't have a break at work again. Again I wash my hands and my mask as soon as I get home before doing anything.
Sunday 4th October 2020
Daylight savings starts - 1 hour less sleep makes my early start on Tuesday even worse! I might as well leave for work at 6 am - actually am as 6 am becomes 7 am in order to get to work for a 9 am start! A VERY long day on Tuesday.
Day off today and I have 2 planned exhibitions to visit today. It's back to the Powerhouse Museum today to view the new Design For Life exhibition which I have a feeling won't be very good. I booked a ticket to attend all 3 sessions today in case I can't make one of them. I am more interested in seeing the Lindy Lee exhibition that also just opened at the MCA today.
I wish I could just have 1 full weekend off to get out of Sydney and not at the last minute notice.
I got up at 5am this morning but it was really 4 am due to the start of daylight savings but slept in until 6 am at least. I finally finished yesterday's blog and had breakfast and a cup of tea. Breakfast was a punnet of rasberries a few tablespoons of thick yoghart with caramelized pineapple, a museli bar some cheese and some left pasta bolognese & a few cups of tea whilst watching the Food channel.
A shower and sort out my dirty laundry to be washed then take my rubbish out to the dumpster before heading off before lunch to the museum(s) in town.
There was so much going on around circular Quay today I decided not to go and see the Design For Life exhibition at the Powerhouse Museum today but spend the entire afternoon in Circular Quay and The Rocks instead.
I took the train to Wynyard from Chatswood and walked to Circular Quay rather then take the Light Rail as it takes too long.
First stop at Circular Quay was First Fleet Park where every Sunday from 10 am is The Rocks Picnic. A small number of food and drink stalls are available for the purchase of light refreshments, picnic rugs as well as some chairs, live entertainment, free games areas for kids and the grassed area of the park marked out with circles for social distancing are set up. Not many people were interested in The Rocks Picnic so it was not crowded today. People were more interested in eating at the countless indoor and outdoor cafes and resaurants around Cicular Quay and The Rocks. There is certainly no shortage of food and drink for everyone.
Below are photos of the Anywhere But Here & Connected Exhibitions @ MCA
Outside on the MCA forecourt there was some doggie parade area set up. There sure were a lot of doggies around Cicular Quay today.
I had to walk back up the side footpath to the entrance of the MCA on George street as the forecourt entrance/exit was an exit only today. to see the Lindy Lee exhibition you needed to scan the QR code or provide your postcode manually to the museum officer.
Lindy Lee was on Level 3 of the MCA. Photos below
A treat of a salami and salad baguette from La Renaissance for $9.50. Hope it was worth lining up for it. No cakes today as the ones I want are already all sold out by 2 pm. I could not even get a chicken baguette only salami & salad or jamon & fromage left. After my purchase there was another queue forming outside the store again. I have blogged previously about this patisserie being one of my favourites located in The Rocks but usually I like to purchase sweet treats like almond croissants from them. Unfortunately there were only a limited variety of macaroon , some dry looking danishes, a limited variety of chocolate truffle or ganache balls and loads of calorific cream laden cakes left. No thanks - tried one tried them all - they all may look different but they all taste the same. So how was my salami and salad baguette? Mehr ( monotone and I hope I spelt it correctly). Nothing special about it. Photos below.
Onto Woolworths via The Rocks Markets also Mehr. The Rocks Markets sure aren't like they used to be. Not as many stalls and more spread out also lots of life entertainment ie buskers every few hundred meters there is one. I walk back to Circular Quay to catch the light rail to QVB one stop before Townhall , everyone else was getting of so I did as well - good exercise althoug it is only a few minutes walk.
I purchased a few grocery items however included a packet of biscuits I have been meaning to try for a while now but did not think they were worth the cost and after the last packet of not so tasty biscuits I tried was a little hesitant to try another limited edition biscuit creation by Arnotts. The Blackforest Monte Carlo biscuits by Arnotts were on special for $2 a packet. So what did I think of them? I grew up having the ocassional original Monte Carlo biscuit which was 2 crumbly buttery biscuit similar to what mum would make with a white mock cream and berry swirl filling. Really nice. This new Blackforest Monte Carlo biscuit was just awful and did not resemble the original Monte Carlo biscuits at all. It had the same chemical fake taste that the previous Arnotts Lamington Iced VoVo biscuits had. The filling was bright white with a berry swirl through it but I am sure it contained a large amount of titanium dioxide in it. Only titanium dioxide could make mock cream so white. There amount of mock cream and berry swirl filling has decreased - gone are the days where the amount of berry swirl to mock cream filling were substantial and tasted real. This titanium dioxide mock cream and berry jam swirl was just horrendous - although there was not much of it sandwiched between 2 rather artifical tasting chocolate biscuits, I am more then just tempted to scrap it all off bin it and just try to eat the rest of the artifical tasting chocolate biscuits. Rating 4/10 don't try them even if they are on sale try the original Monte Carlo biscuits or not. If you want biscuits with a bit of chocolate wait for my next product review when I open the packet.
After grocery shopping it was home to prepare for work tomorrow. There is nothing on tv so I watch my normal dose of the food channel and catch up on YouTube uploading another 2 videos of my adventures today.
End of another very long week!
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