Squeaky Hinges And Conditioned Responses

It's kind of muggy where I live. I'm not really used to it, so it's been a little unpleasant recently. I have a hard time complaining about it though, because I know many other people have it much worse, so that's all I'm going to say about it. I kind of got today off on a whim. I was supposed to work until 7:30 pm, but then I reminded my Manager that I prefer my Wednesday evenings free for band practice. I found someone to switch with me so I could get off at 5 pm, leaving plenty of time for practice. Then a few days ago, my Manager said he had assigned too many hours to people this week, and I could have today off completely. I was a little bummed to lose hours, but I was glad to have time to myself. It was a little strange because around 11 am, I was called by my “assistant” manager asking if I wanted extra hours in a different location. I really don't like turning down work, but I also don't like cancelling band practice, especially after I just confirmed yesterday. I went to a little bit of trouble to have practice today, so I figured I'd stick with it. Whereas next week, I was only scheduled for two days! I put in for the 6^th - 8^th off for our annual camping trip. And because we can only have 3 people on staff for Labor Day, due to Holiday pay, he only gave me Tuesday and Thursday! I was a bit amiss, because I had just had a conversation with him about the hours I thought I'd be getting. I told him that in this situation, especially with a weeks notice, I'd gladly trade practice for work. We have to eat!

I ended up getting hours next Wednesday. Not as many as I would have liked, but I got some. And I get to have band practice, so I can't really complain. I hope my band mates are available. If not maybe I can get more hours. I'm still not sure about this whole retail thing. This is my first endeavor into the realm of retail. I find it interesting, but odd at the same time, so I should probably fit right in. I'm still not exactly sure how “okay” it is that I keep voicing my opinion. But I'm not going to stop. I'm a grown man, and my Manager is only a few months older than me, so I have trouble thinking of him as a “boss.” But he is definitely the Manager, and I like him enough, so it should all work out fine. But retail is a fickle business. There aren't many people who've been there a long time. I'm not sure whose choice that was. I imagine most people, like myself, see themselves eventually moving on to something better. Although I will say, the younger people seem to have a much better idea what that thing might be for themselves, than I do. I can't imagine anyone really wanting to stay doing retail for a long time. But I suppose if the hours were right, the pay was right, the location was right, and a person got satisfaction from it, then it would be fine for them. I feel more like I'm doing research. Research for what? I still don't know. I just want to learn this right now. I feel like I'm starting to gain some new level of understanding on how the whole concept works. So it's good for now.

There are funny things about it though. Things you wouldn't necessarily learn about yourself, in other situations. I'm sure we'll get to more of that later. Our Manager is new too. He's only been there a month and a half. We just had this meeting on how it's very important that the customer be greeted right away, so they know we care. Greet the customer right away, got it! Well our door squeaks just a little, when it's being opened. When I first started, with the old Manager, she said you could tell if someone was coming in, or leaving, depending on when you heard the squeak, before or after the bell. I finally know what she was talking about. Now when I hear the squeak, I look towards the door. I can basically see over everything, so it works pretty well. However, the other day, I kept hearing this squeak, but every time I looked towards the door, it wasn't moving. It was starting to drive me nuts. I kept hearing it over and over, and every time, I would direct my attention towards the door, and every time it was nothing. I was getting a sore neck. I started to think that someone, or something, was gnikcuf with me. After all, I thought I had just figured out the squeaky door trick. It was really starting to irritate me, then I turned down one of our aisles. There was a guy who was “just looking” while his friend was “shopping.” He was wearing a knee brace. Then I noticed every time he took a step his knee brace would squeak, and it sounded just like our door! Now I know how Pavlov's dogs felt.

Daughn