Hello dear readers. It's been too long. I have had a long hiatus from this here blog and I feel a return coming on. This post is going to be mainly about something I have been thinking about lately. Christmas shoppers.
I work in retail which everyone knows is a total nightmare this time of year. It's not the ideal job to be in right now. Hoards of semi-feral shoppers, crowding into shops, all pursuing the same end - the hunt for the perfect presents.
I am infuriated by people who show up in the shop with no clue what they want, take up loads of my time, then buy nothing, whilst holding up the queue of now huffing and puffing fellow customers. It would be a much better experience for all involved if these people could be more motivated and organised. Which I am aware is rather unlikely ;-)
The other thing I must mention in regards to Christmas shopping - those who treat the occasion as an excuse to throw as much money at it as possible. Working in jewellery has opened my eyes to a world I didn't realise existed. I have had people come in and choose things without asking the price of any of it. That simply wouldn't occur to me. I ask the price of everything! Now, if you have the money to spend and you do it in a quiet manner with no fuss, I have no problem. It's the ones who come in and make a fuss about things not being expensive enough. Seriously, we have people say that they want to spend, say, £50 on a gift. They pick something for £20 and when they find out the price, they appear variously horrified, disgusted or suspicious, demand to know why it's so 'cheap' and insist on seeing something more high-end. If I liked something and it was £20, I'd probably buy it, even if I had budgeted £50 for it. I'd see it as a bonus if it was cheaper! It's so bizarre.
It's an obsession we seem to have cultivated - having more 'things', and, increasingly, more expensive 'things'. Toddlers with ipads, the latest games consoles, and TVs in their bedrooms. We have created a generation of spoilt children who just 'want' all the time. And I think it has spilled over into the adults too. We have men coming in who say they must buy what they're told, even if it is horrendously expensive. Snobby women buying charm bracelets for 8 year old girls who will 'probably lose it' as one lady told us recently. Those things are not cheap costume jewellery, it's proper silver. Why buy it for a kid who is likely to lose it? By giving them these things, how are they learning the value of anything?
I'm becoming quite against buying useless crap for people at Christmas. There was a time for novelty gifts, but now I'd rather give what people have asked for instead of randomly buying 'things'. And it should never be the quantity of gifts we give, but the quality, and the thoughts and meanings attached to them. The BF and I have asked for money this year so we can buy some furniture for the bedroom. We don't need or want more stuff. The house is tiny and there is no more room for 'things'. What we need is some decent sized drawers and a bigger wardrobe!
Now I must go, dear readers. Willow (our cat) is attacking the Christmas tree again... every morning I have to redecorate it with the baubles she knocks off it overnight. Little scamp!
Tuesday, 17 December 2013
Saturday, 10 August 2013
Maybe it's time for a change...
Fed up. That is how I would describe myself today. It's a day off from work but I don't feel chilled out. At all. Stressed!
So you may be wondering (or not, your call), why all the angst? It's been an age since my last post and I can assure you that entire time as not been filled with stress. It's mostly the last couple of days. Our area manager visited. I was off that day but apparently she was in a Foul Mood. She picked holes in everything, then sent an email to my manager outlining all the things that were wrong. This included the dress code. Which is funny because we weren't aware there was one. When we started back on October, I had to ask twice for the email she promised me with details of the job, including the very important what to wear section. When I finally received it just a few days before starting, it said merely 'trendy office'. Having never worked in an office, I went off to look for something that fit the rather sketchy description. Now, 10 months down the line, she sends us the Dress Code. She claims, of course, we have seen it already. None of us has ever seen it. If we had, wouldn't we follow it? Then she blamed the fact we hadn't seen it on someone who had since left the company! How convenient! She is the area manager. Isn't it her job to make sure we know everything we need to know? We're all really annoyed. It doesn't help that the dress code itself is completely contradictory to what we do. It's a fashion jewellery company. We were told, when started, that as long as we were smart and fashionable, and didn't wear leggings, jeans, sportswear, flip-flops, ugg boots or trainers, we could wear anything. This dress code states that we should wear the following:
*Tailored skirts/dresses. Knee length in black, grey, navy or brown
*Tailored trousers. Black, grey, navy or brown
*Blouses/shirts. If white, must be crisp white. Tucked in.
*Tops should not be low cut. Vest tops only as layering piece.
*Clothes must not be too baggy. too tight or ill-fitting.
*Make sure your underwear is properly concealed.
*Look to your manager for guidance and inspiration on current trends for tucking-in of clothing. (Honestly, it actually says this!)
That's just the main points. How depressing. Those colours! Brown, ugh. So they want us to be fashionable - then lay out a bunch of restrictions! And to claim we knew all along is ridiculous. It should have been sent out with our contracts, or be part of the handbook. Except it's not. I am actually properly angry about it. I'm even wondering if it's worth taking up with HR as we feel we're being unfairly treated. My manager called the AM about it and told her we didn't know, and like I said, she shrugged off any responsibility. She was also informed that everyone had taken a pay cut to come and work there, and therefore could not afford to replace our entire wardrobes. Not sure what came of that. I just don't see what's wrong with what we wear now. My working wardrobe consists mainly of printed dresses which are quite smart. And I bought most of them specifically. What pisses me off the most I think, is that she's had 10 months to send us this and she leaves it until now. I've spent out a load of money on clothes for work which I'm now being -indirectly - told are not appropriate. It's so frustrating and if I speak to her and she mentions it, I might not be able to keep my mouth shut. Not that she would as we are convinced she doesn't like confrontation.
And while we're on the subject of the job, I may as well go ahead and say it - I'm looking for something else. Not because of the clothing thing. It's more to do with the money. It's absolute pants. We recently had to do a review and in the box marked 'what do you dislike about working for the company' I was dying to put 'the money sucks'. Except I didn't in the end. Wish I had. It made me think though and I've started looking online for visual merchandising roles. It's probably going to be further afield but if the money's good then it might be worth it.
Speaking of 'further afield', we are seriously considering moving to Edinburgh. BF spoke to my dad about it and he apparently said to go for it. So while we're there we may do a spot of hunting around. No time like the present right? Job opportunities are not great here, so maybe a move to Scotland is finally in order. I know BF hates living in this town and wants to go back up north. It would be a major upheaval but if it's right, then it's a good thing.
Apologies for the excessive rant but sometimes it's necessary!
So you may be wondering (or not, your call), why all the angst? It's been an age since my last post and I can assure you that entire time as not been filled with stress. It's mostly the last couple of days. Our area manager visited. I was off that day but apparently she was in a Foul Mood. She picked holes in everything, then sent an email to my manager outlining all the things that were wrong. This included the dress code. Which is funny because we weren't aware there was one. When we started back on October, I had to ask twice for the email she promised me with details of the job, including the very important what to wear section. When I finally received it just a few days before starting, it said merely 'trendy office'. Having never worked in an office, I went off to look for something that fit the rather sketchy description. Now, 10 months down the line, she sends us the Dress Code. She claims, of course, we have seen it already. None of us has ever seen it. If we had, wouldn't we follow it? Then she blamed the fact we hadn't seen it on someone who had since left the company! How convenient! She is the area manager. Isn't it her job to make sure we know everything we need to know? We're all really annoyed. It doesn't help that the dress code itself is completely contradictory to what we do. It's a fashion jewellery company. We were told, when started, that as long as we were smart and fashionable, and didn't wear leggings, jeans, sportswear, flip-flops, ugg boots or trainers, we could wear anything. This dress code states that we should wear the following:
*Tailored skirts/dresses. Knee length in black, grey, navy or brown
*Tailored trousers. Black, grey, navy or brown
*Blouses/shirts. If white, must be crisp white. Tucked in.
*Tops should not be low cut. Vest tops only as layering piece.
*Clothes must not be too baggy. too tight or ill-fitting.
*Make sure your underwear is properly concealed.
*Look to your manager for guidance and inspiration on current trends for tucking-in of clothing. (Honestly, it actually says this!)
That's just the main points. How depressing. Those colours! Brown, ugh. So they want us to be fashionable - then lay out a bunch of restrictions! And to claim we knew all along is ridiculous. It should have been sent out with our contracts, or be part of the handbook. Except it's not. I am actually properly angry about it. I'm even wondering if it's worth taking up with HR as we feel we're being unfairly treated. My manager called the AM about it and told her we didn't know, and like I said, she shrugged off any responsibility. She was also informed that everyone had taken a pay cut to come and work there, and therefore could not afford to replace our entire wardrobes. Not sure what came of that. I just don't see what's wrong with what we wear now. My working wardrobe consists mainly of printed dresses which are quite smart. And I bought most of them specifically. What pisses me off the most I think, is that she's had 10 months to send us this and she leaves it until now. I've spent out a load of money on clothes for work which I'm now being -indirectly - told are not appropriate. It's so frustrating and if I speak to her and she mentions it, I might not be able to keep my mouth shut. Not that she would as we are convinced she doesn't like confrontation.
And while we're on the subject of the job, I may as well go ahead and say it - I'm looking for something else. Not because of the clothing thing. It's more to do with the money. It's absolute pants. We recently had to do a review and in the box marked 'what do you dislike about working for the company' I was dying to put 'the money sucks'. Except I didn't in the end. Wish I had. It made me think though and I've started looking online for visual merchandising roles. It's probably going to be further afield but if the money's good then it might be worth it.
Speaking of 'further afield', we are seriously considering moving to Edinburgh. BF spoke to my dad about it and he apparently said to go for it. So while we're there we may do a spot of hunting around. No time like the present right? Job opportunities are not great here, so maybe a move to Scotland is finally in order. I know BF hates living in this town and wants to go back up north. It would be a major upheaval but if it's right, then it's a good thing.
Apologies for the excessive rant but sometimes it's necessary!
Sunday, 5 May 2013
Long Overdue Update!
Now I know what you're thinking. 'She said she's going to post more often...' blah blah. Yes I did say that. It didn't happen. Boo hoo. It's pretty much down to 'I'll do it when I get the chance' now. So do not fear, I have not abandoned the blog. I just need to find the time to fit it in.
One of the things taking up more of my time is our new kitty. Yes, we did it! We have a black Bengal called Willow and she is luscious :-) Nearly a year old now, as we got her at 10 months old. She is very cute, very mischievous and sometimes very naughty! Like now, she is scratching a cardboard box, when she has a perfectly good scratching tower thingy that she actually does like and use! Silly kitty. We just had her neutered and microchipped this week too, so she currently has a big chunk of fur missing :-( We hadn't let her out at all as we didn't want her meeting a boy kitty...! Also we live near a main road and BF is worried she will get hit by a car. So it's under debate whether she will be let out at all. I think we should get some cat reins and take her for a walk! :-)
We are off to Edinburgh again. I know, predictable. But we are going for the Military Tattoo this time in August so it will be nice not to have to pack winter clothing for a change. We're not staying at the hostel this time either. Had enough of noisy students singing in the shower room next door and everyone banging doors all the bloody time. Hmmm, must be getting old if youngsters are starting to bug me...! So anyway, we have booked into a very reasonably priced B and B so that'll be a nice change too. I hope.
We're also hopefully going to Brighton to this burlesque cabaret night with GBF and his hubby and my best friend. She's not bringing her boyfriend, I think it was something to do with the fact he has lots planned with his friends for the summer and she deserves time with her friends! I digress. It's a big dress-up affair, with dinner, a show and dancing after, so we need to plan outfits. I have a few ideas in mind, but the club does different themed nights and we don't know which one we're booking yet, so clothing choices are slightly on hold. They do a masquerade ball night which I think might be the favourite... :-)
Speaking of my best pal, we are celebrating our 10 year anniversary this year. Yes, it's ten whole years since that fateful day that we met - I threw my pen lid at her and the rest is history... Through our train journey across Europe, to dodgy dates and doomed relationships, from big nights out drinking Cosmo's to cosy afternoons drinking tea, we've stayed intact. And more importantly, so has our friendship. It's rare to meet a person you immediately feel comfortable with straight away. We became friends from the beginning and it's only become stronger over time, when jobs and life stuff get in the way and you see each other less, it's the time you make that becomes important. It was her birthday this week and I bought her perfume with green tea and jasmine. As soon as I smelled it, I knew she would love it. Sometimes that's an instinctive thing, but she's easy to buy for. I either think, 'well I love it, so she will too', or 'this is not me, but so her'. Funny how that works. Having so much in common, a similar way of thinking and the same values, we are two peas in a pod. (Which is funny, because I'm three years older and she actually has a twin sister!) So, to celebrate our 'friend-versary', as I have decided to call it, we are having a weekend away to do stuff we like that the BF's don't. Like cultural stuff. Not that they don't like cultural stuff, but we love it :-) arty, literary stuff that our boys are not into. Can't wait :-)
Job stuff - I've been given the title of 'unofficial merchandiser' at work, which is nice I suppose. Our supervisor is currently on and off sick so me and one of the other girls have ended up basically doing her job. It's not her fault and I don't mind really, it's just a bit annoying not to be paid for doing it. I still think the tax code is wrong too, I'm on about the fourth one now in six months which to me sounds ridiculous! I'm considering finding out how one becomes a visual merchandiser as I would rather make displays to promote the sales than actually sell stuff!
As for the other things I mentioned last time, I'm still keeping them under wraps :-p
Until next time folks... :-)
One of the things taking up more of my time is our new kitty. Yes, we did it! We have a black Bengal called Willow and she is luscious :-) Nearly a year old now, as we got her at 10 months old. She is very cute, very mischievous and sometimes very naughty! Like now, she is scratching a cardboard box, when she has a perfectly good scratching tower thingy that she actually does like and use! Silly kitty. We just had her neutered and microchipped this week too, so she currently has a big chunk of fur missing :-( We hadn't let her out at all as we didn't want her meeting a boy kitty...! Also we live near a main road and BF is worried she will get hit by a car. So it's under debate whether she will be let out at all. I think we should get some cat reins and take her for a walk! :-)
We are off to Edinburgh again. I know, predictable. But we are going for the Military Tattoo this time in August so it will be nice not to have to pack winter clothing for a change. We're not staying at the hostel this time either. Had enough of noisy students singing in the shower room next door and everyone banging doors all the bloody time. Hmmm, must be getting old if youngsters are starting to bug me...! So anyway, we have booked into a very reasonably priced B and B so that'll be a nice change too. I hope.
We're also hopefully going to Brighton to this burlesque cabaret night with GBF and his hubby and my best friend. She's not bringing her boyfriend, I think it was something to do with the fact he has lots planned with his friends for the summer and she deserves time with her friends! I digress. It's a big dress-up affair, with dinner, a show and dancing after, so we need to plan outfits. I have a few ideas in mind, but the club does different themed nights and we don't know which one we're booking yet, so clothing choices are slightly on hold. They do a masquerade ball night which I think might be the favourite... :-)
Speaking of my best pal, we are celebrating our 10 year anniversary this year. Yes, it's ten whole years since that fateful day that we met - I threw my pen lid at her and the rest is history... Through our train journey across Europe, to dodgy dates and doomed relationships, from big nights out drinking Cosmo's to cosy afternoons drinking tea, we've stayed intact. And more importantly, so has our friendship. It's rare to meet a person you immediately feel comfortable with straight away. We became friends from the beginning and it's only become stronger over time, when jobs and life stuff get in the way and you see each other less, it's the time you make that becomes important. It was her birthday this week and I bought her perfume with green tea and jasmine. As soon as I smelled it, I knew she would love it. Sometimes that's an instinctive thing, but she's easy to buy for. I either think, 'well I love it, so she will too', or 'this is not me, but so her'. Funny how that works. Having so much in common, a similar way of thinking and the same values, we are two peas in a pod. (Which is funny, because I'm three years older and she actually has a twin sister!) So, to celebrate our 'friend-versary', as I have decided to call it, we are having a weekend away to do stuff we like that the BF's don't. Like cultural stuff. Not that they don't like cultural stuff, but we love it :-) arty, literary stuff that our boys are not into. Can't wait :-)
Job stuff - I've been given the title of 'unofficial merchandiser' at work, which is nice I suppose. Our supervisor is currently on and off sick so me and one of the other girls have ended up basically doing her job. It's not her fault and I don't mind really, it's just a bit annoying not to be paid for doing it. I still think the tax code is wrong too, I'm on about the fourth one now in six months which to me sounds ridiculous! I'm considering finding out how one becomes a visual merchandiser as I would rather make displays to promote the sales than actually sell stuff!
As for the other things I mentioned last time, I'm still keeping them under wraps :-p
Until next time folks... :-)
Sunday, 13 January 2013
New Year, New Plan
So I know it's been ages since my last post. I have no excuse for it really... I just thought though that I'd like to start up again and also jot down some of the things that have occured since I last wrote.
We went to Edinburgh for Hogmanay. Needless to say, it was epic and my not-so-secret love affair with Auld Reekie continues :-) The street party was so good, we spent the night at the Scottish Stage dancing to traditional folk-pop-rock fusion type music which was great. The fireworks also did not disappoint, they really were amazing! I feel another trip to Edinburgh coming, maybe the film festival or the military tattoo. Maybe both.
We are settling into the new place quite nicely. More decorating must be done and we really must buy a washing machine. Soon. It's very annoying to keep having to take washing round to my mum's. We do really need to think about the storage situation too, as there's not much space. Loft boards are required methinks as we have a teeny loft space currently not in use. The neighbours with the horrible dog have moved out and we now have new people living next door. I haven't even seen them yet! We're hoping to get our cats soon too :-)
The job. Now, I'm having a conflict in my head about this. I only really realised it when I was talking to one of the other girls at work about it. I like what we sell, some of it I absolutely love and now we are entitled to full discount I intend to take advantage of it! Some of the problem is with the company itself. They have managed to mess up my tax code so I'm not being paid correctly, so obviously I'm not impressed with that. Before we went away, my days off for that week got missed off as my manager counted holiday as days off, so I'm now owed an extra day, and because of other people taking holiday this week and next week, I've ended up with a seven day stretch with no days off at all :-s Not happy. But I think my real problem is that I don't particularly like serving customers. And unfortunately this job is very customer focussed. On a good day, I can manage fine and be nice to people. On a bad day, I do my very best to offload customers onto the other girls so I can do something else, like rearrange a display. I like that side of things, and I think I'm ok at it. I'm getting that niggly feeling that retail is not for me. At all. I thought that getting out of the cafe was the key, and it kind of was. It has worked; I'd rather be where I am now than be back there! I just think that I'm meant to do something else. The girl I was talking to at work is the only other member of staff who has been to university and I think she understands my issue - that I didn't spend three years in higher education to stay in retail. I told her that my ideal job is to stay at home, writing on my laptop. Then I'd never have to deal with customers again :-) So on that note...
I am starting to re-write my novel that got lost when my old laptop died and I realised I hadn't saved the last draft to my USB stick. I have an older draft to work from, then I'm going to modify, edit and continue it until it's bloody finished this time instead of arsing about saying I'm going to do it then doing a bit and leaving it for months without touching it. This is a Plan. I'm also going to look for an agent. I am going to make my 'sit at home with laptop' plan a reality.
Also, I think I ought to mention that a little over a year has passed since I started this blog. I should probably comment about how the first year of the thirties has been for me...
1. People continue to disbelieve my age. For this I am grateful.
2. I put my lack of ageing down to early use of eye gel and a good cleansing routine. Never too early to start!
3. I have moments where I forget how old I am. Then moments spent with people under 20 who weren't even born when Take That split up bring me back to reality. It's slightly depressing.
4. Mostly, I don't think about it.
The thing I do think about is doing things I want to do before it's too late and I actually am too old! I have a couple of things I'm thinking about that may be discussed here in the future. Keeping it under wraps for now though...!
So, dear readers, expect more posts here and hopefully some good news :-)
We went to Edinburgh for Hogmanay. Needless to say, it was epic and my not-so-secret love affair with Auld Reekie continues :-) The street party was so good, we spent the night at the Scottish Stage dancing to traditional folk-pop-rock fusion type music which was great. The fireworks also did not disappoint, they really were amazing! I feel another trip to Edinburgh coming, maybe the film festival or the military tattoo. Maybe both.
We are settling into the new place quite nicely. More decorating must be done and we really must buy a washing machine. Soon. It's very annoying to keep having to take washing round to my mum's. We do really need to think about the storage situation too, as there's not much space. Loft boards are required methinks as we have a teeny loft space currently not in use. The neighbours with the horrible dog have moved out and we now have new people living next door. I haven't even seen them yet! We're hoping to get our cats soon too :-)
The job. Now, I'm having a conflict in my head about this. I only really realised it when I was talking to one of the other girls at work about it. I like what we sell, some of it I absolutely love and now we are entitled to full discount I intend to take advantage of it! Some of the problem is with the company itself. They have managed to mess up my tax code so I'm not being paid correctly, so obviously I'm not impressed with that. Before we went away, my days off for that week got missed off as my manager counted holiday as days off, so I'm now owed an extra day, and because of other people taking holiday this week and next week, I've ended up with a seven day stretch with no days off at all :-s Not happy. But I think my real problem is that I don't particularly like serving customers. And unfortunately this job is very customer focussed. On a good day, I can manage fine and be nice to people. On a bad day, I do my very best to offload customers onto the other girls so I can do something else, like rearrange a display. I like that side of things, and I think I'm ok at it. I'm getting that niggly feeling that retail is not for me. At all. I thought that getting out of the cafe was the key, and it kind of was. It has worked; I'd rather be where I am now than be back there! I just think that I'm meant to do something else. The girl I was talking to at work is the only other member of staff who has been to university and I think she understands my issue - that I didn't spend three years in higher education to stay in retail. I told her that my ideal job is to stay at home, writing on my laptop. Then I'd never have to deal with customers again :-) So on that note...
I am starting to re-write my novel that got lost when my old laptop died and I realised I hadn't saved the last draft to my USB stick. I have an older draft to work from, then I'm going to modify, edit and continue it until it's bloody finished this time instead of arsing about saying I'm going to do it then doing a bit and leaving it for months without touching it. This is a Plan. I'm also going to look for an agent. I am going to make my 'sit at home with laptop' plan a reality.
Also, I think I ought to mention that a little over a year has passed since I started this blog. I should probably comment about how the first year of the thirties has been for me...
1. People continue to disbelieve my age. For this I am grateful.
2. I put my lack of ageing down to early use of eye gel and a good cleansing routine. Never too early to start!
3. I have moments where I forget how old I am. Then moments spent with people under 20 who weren't even born when Take That split up bring me back to reality. It's slightly depressing.
4. Mostly, I don't think about it.
The thing I do think about is doing things I want to do before it's too late and I actually am too old! I have a couple of things I'm thinking about that may be discussed here in the future. Keeping it under wraps for now though...!
So, dear readers, expect more posts here and hopefully some good news :-)
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