Saturday, June 05, 2004
A Very Long Update.
I suppose it's about time I elaborated on
My Life as a Shift Supervisor
which is a lot like my life as a barista, except I have to count the safe, close the store in the computer system, and turn on the alarm. I was nervous about nothing, really. I've only had to call for help once, though -- and it wasn't even a big deal: I was doing the right thing to resolve it, but my codes weren't in the manager's menu so I couldn't do things like void a transaction. In any case, I am everyone's favorite closing shift these days. I rock. I even get out on time -- none of the other shifts managed to get out on time when they were new. It's awesome.
Except for the Shift o' Doom. We'd really been getting along well lately... then, she evidently had mild "issues" with one of my closes. Not a complaint, she said: she was just trying to "help" me out since I'm "new" to the shiftly duties (right. Never mind the fact that I've been closing here at Starbucks South Lamar for almost two years, and she's only been around since December). She said I left some milk bullets and "four or five" whipped creams empty in the fridge. Here's the deal: when the milk bullets come out of the sanitizer, they're hot, so we put them in the fridge to cool down. At the end of the night there are ALWAYS three bullets in the fridge that are too warm to fill, so we leave them for the morning. And as far as whipped cream goes, I know for a FACT that I only left two empty -- same story; they were fresh out of the sanitizer and too hot to fill -- and besides, the entire front fridge was totally stocked with whip.
I don't know what her problem was. DiDi, the other shift on duty when she left her little note, said not to worry about any of it (meanwhile Shift o' Doom says "I don't care about little stuff like that, but I know DiDi really does" -- SO untrue; DiDi could care less). I swear she's like a pathological liar or something. Furthermore, her closes routinely suck. In any case, I'm just going to brush off her complaints and resolve not to worry about it: it's not worth it. Everyone else says my closes rock, and I know this is true.
This isn't meant to be egotistical, but now as a shift, I realise why people liked to work with me. I do things without being asked and I try to get things done as fast as possible: now, I'm still doing all of the above, but I have the other shiftly stuff to do as well, and it gets frustrating when some people don't carry their weight. There is one other person, David, who works like I do as a barista and completes the tasks in record time -- and also has that good sense of how to make customer service flow more quickly. Some people might be on drive-through window, and they'll just stand there waiting for the drink while the bar person is going crazy trying to make fifteen frappuccinos and bar drinks all at the same time. They really need to learn how to slide to different positions; if you're on the window or register, it's entirely possible for you to make a frappuccino or tea or iced coffee after you've completed the transaction, rather than set the cup down for the bar person to get to eventually, then stand around waiting for them to hand you the drink. David's really good about that kind of stuff, and I love him as my mid-shift or closer. I think a couple of the other newbies can be brought up to that level of awesomeness, so that's my goal for them.
The only other "new" responsibility I have with my promotion is
Dealing with the Crazies
when they wander in and torment employees or customers. This is probably the most difficult part of my job, really.
Take Michael, for example. Michael is a physically impaired young man who comes into the store on a regular basis; I'm not sure exactly what his condition is, but he has difficulty walking and speaks very slowly. But, while handicapped, his mind is in perfect working order. So, when he hits on female customers or partners, he definitely knows what he's doing. And it's not the cute and innocent sort of lines he gives, either. He once asked Celeste whether she was "too busy to have sex" and he's told me before that he wishes I was his girlfriend because I'm so "hot". He's also made comments to female customers about how nice their breasts are, and he has a humongous crush on Hope, one of our newer baristas, who flees to the back room every time he walks in. He's extremely irritating and a little bit creepy. He's had a little talking-to at least twice, and as far as I know, the next time he pulls anything that borders on harassment in the store, we're going to get him banned from the premises.
I desperately want to get him banned. Yes, I know it's mean, but I'm tired of his crap.
Anyway, so Hope comes back to warn me that Michael's here, and I let her do "dishes" while I go out to take care of his order. I've stopped being nice to Michael a long time ago; I'm civil, but barely. He gets his drink and his food, then proceeds to go over to a table. All is quiet for a while. Then I hear him chatting up two girls who are in their own corner studying for the bar. I go out to do a "spin" and he backs off. So, thinking all is well, I go back to the back room and finish fixing tills or whatever I was doing.
Ten minutes later, Hope comes back and says, "He's talking to those girls again."
Now, in the days when I was still a lowly barista (that is, last week), I also preferred to avoid Michael. I was the one doing "dishes" in the back. And I was the one going, "Jooooooon! He's bothering the customers again!" And Jon was the one who had to take the responsibility of having a little chat with him. Now, of course, I had to go out and deal with it. It's so hard being a woman and taking care of stuff like this.
I went out and did another "spin", and asked one of the girls whether he was bothering them. She said, no, not really, and I told her to let me know if he said anything offensive or untoward. Meanwhile, he was bothering the other girl, and trying to sit at her table. I heard her saying, uncomfortably, "I really have to get back to studying..." so I walked over and said, "Studying for the bar, huh?"
"Yeah," she said, looking relieved, "it's really tough."
"Well, good luck; I'll let you get back to the books," I replied. Then I turned to him and said, "SEE YOU LATER, Michael."
Fortunately, he took the hint, and I didn't have to have a little talk with him.
I think that was the only time, in my three nights of closing, that I wished Jon was around. Though had he been there, I might not have asked him to do anything because until Wednesday, we weren't exactly speaking to each other. You see,
Jon Can Really Be a Loser Sometimes
and he was avoiding me because he thought I was still mad at him about the party. At that point, I was simply frustrated that he hadn't given me a decent apology and had chosen instead to not speak to me. It bothered me -- a lot -- because I felt guilty for being angry, but I didn't think it was my responsibility to be the one to break the ice, as it were. After a couple of nights of insomniac dwelling on the situation, however, I finally broke down on Tuesday and left a couple of messages on his voicemail, since he wasn't answering his phone; at the time I thought he was ignoring my calls, which only bothered me more, but in actuality he didn't have his phone with him. He dropped in on Wednesday during my shift and talked to me though, and we resolved everything. He claimed he wasn't avoiding me intentionally, but I know it's not true: the fact that he didn't even drop in to make fun of me on my first shifts was very odd indeed. In any case, we're back on good terms now. He makes cracks at my sheer geekiness, I make fun of his pathetic growth of facial hair (I hesitate to call it a beard -- it looks more like mange), and all is normal again. I have a glimmering bit of hope that he has learned something from this experience, though, since he is fairly notorious for pulling stunts like this on other people. I mean, yeah, it was just a party, but it's the principle of the thing. One of these days it's not going to be just a party, and it's not going to be just Teri Krenek; instead, it's going to be something important, and someone important, and he's going to be in deep trouble for his carelessness.
I think Micki's also on OK terms with most of her friends who ditched us at the party. This is good since
Tomorrow, I Will Become the Cat-Sitter
and my best friend will fly across an ocean. She lands in Germany on Monday, and I won't see her again until I go on my little Eurotrip next June. I'm excited for her, though I don't think it has entirely hit either of us that she's really going and will be in another country for the next thirteen months. Her pseudo-boyfriend is coming up tonight, and we're going to see her off at the airport tomorrow afternoon. I'm sure there will be much crying and freaking out. I've instructed her to e-mail me immediately upon arriving at her destination in Garmisch. I can't wait to hear about her reaction and see the pictures she takes. I know she's going to have the most wonderful time there, and next June, I'm sure we'll have a blast. Recently an old high school friend of hers got in touch -- it's a girl I was fairly well acquainted with, too, as we shared an art class for a couple years -- and she's currently attending school in England. She's already extended invitations for Micki (and me, when I fly over next year) to stay with her, which is really cool. And, I bet if I get in touch with the folks at Santa Chiara in Castiglion Fiorentino, they'd let us stay there for a couple of nights since I'm a former student. OK, so maybe I'm planning ahead a bit too much, here... but I'm already looking forward to partying in Europe after I graduate.
Speaking of graduation, it's hard to believe I've only got two semesters yet. Well, that and
Summer School
which I've technically started this week. I'm taking history and biology though distance learning at Austin Community College, which basically means I do almost nothing to prepare and take tests by a certain deadline. I've done rather well so far. I need to watch the cheesy nature video that comprises my biology class, and then take the first test on that. It ought to be simple enough. I'll be done with school at the end of the month, and will then do nothing but work, write, read, and get hyped up about the Canadian Potter Con at the end of July.
The one disappointing thing about summer school is that I wasn't able to take government there, according to UT's residency requirements, which means now I'll have to shell out UT tuition for this ever so lame class. Well, you win some, you lose some, I suppose.
The other thing I should blog about is my opinion on
The Brief Glimpse of Squid
in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Er, that is, I should give a review of the film. Overall, I loved it. That is saying something, since PoA is without question my favourite of the books, and I've read it at least ten times, and I had my worries about its on-screen realisation. You know, I always gush enthusiastically about these movies immediately after I seem them, and then think about all the quibbles later. That's more or less what I did this time, too, which is why I am endeavouring to hold off on the gush and compose a more thoughtful review. I will say, though, that this film sent little shivers up my spine in certain places, even though I knew what was going to happen; and if a movie adaptation of a book I'm so familiar with can still manage to do that... well, it's impressive. Also, Gary Oldman's and David Thewlis' performances as Sirius Black and Remus Lupin were So. Amazing. And the kids have come a long, long way with their acting skills.
But I'll write up a more cohesive review later. This blog is long enough as it is.
| 4:47 PM |
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