I'm Still Here!
Still here. Still alive. and heaven help me, I had to get a retail job in order to pay for pesky little things like rent, so once again I am thrust into the retail world during the most blood thirs-*test*-('") season. I went back to JoAnn Fabrics which I worked for about 5 years ago, before the store closed. So during the weeks proceeding Halloween and Thanksgiving the store looked as though the Goths, Visigoths, Mongols, Scyths, Franks, Vikings, Saxons, Juts joined up with some throughly drunk Spartan usurpers and joined the Magyars as they followed Miracle Stag into our store, looking not for their new homeland, but on a quest for sparkly fairy princess fabric and Home decorator fabrics in order to totally redecorate for ungrateful in-laws. The carnage. Oh...the carnage. Heap upon heap of mangled bolts of fabric littered the store. The feather boas never had a chance. I won't mention the condition of the pirate costume displays. The pattern research table and file drawers looked like Troy. I blame the Spartans on that one. The Christopher Lowel line of fabrics was totally ravaged. I blame the Spartans on that too. Now we settle into the time of spuratic raid for holiday fabric and things for sew classes and other school projects that the offending offspring tells the parent of the night before its due. Father: I need syrofoam balls Sheri: Here is all of our syrofoam. Now, you know NOT to spray paint syrofoam -- right. Father: (with the look of 'you are an idiot peion') Yes. Sheri: Okay then. ......later that evening just as we are about to close. Father: running though the store, rounding the craft corner and finding -- to his horror -- me. Sheri: You spray painted it didn't you? Father: ...yes. Sheri: Did you get it on the carpet? Father. ...yes. Sheri: Bet your wife's mad. Father:...oh..yeah. There is some really heinious looking holiday fabric out there. Really. Blindingly hidious. ...and there are people making clothing for children out it and festive holiday purses. I really think there is somehting wrong with the water here.

I'm glad to hear you're still alive and still here, Mim, with updates about what's going on in your life. Honestly, I don't envy people working in retail, especially in this period of the year when Xmas shopping season is about to start or has already started like now; I think I could only work in a bookshop, if I had to work in retail.

:rotf: You had me at blaming the Spartans and really got me at spray painting styrofoam over carpet. Another humorous, unique look at life. Mim, It's nice to hear from you again.

:rotf: :rotf: :rotf: :rotf: There are just no words Mim!!!! But I do sympathize as I was once a retail employee. For Bath & Body Works no less. Thems good times them is!

:rotf: :rotf: Good to see you back. Ioanzone is not the same without you.

I worked at a bookshop for 3 1/3 years.... Trust me. its harder because people have NO clue about books. At least with the fabric store, 89% of the people we are getting in know what they need. Booksstore: "I need that book that whats-his-face had on his show 2 weeks ago. Its about that guy that did this thing..." and the store was just as ransacked. It looked like the huns had come for Clive Cusslar and why the hell isn't dan brown's The Solomon Key out yet and would flay us alive until ol' Dan Brown released his damn sequil to The da Vinci code. Books are heavy. They hurt when thrown at you. A full bolt (18 yards) of fleece heaved at you isn't going to hurt. You'll just be coved in fuzz for a while. JoAnns: I need 5/8 of a yard of Duck Cloth, boning, pins, and bias tape. 4 ply yarn. My kid needs 4 ply yarn. What the **** is 4 ply yarn. (lesson about the plys of yard ensues) I have to sew my kid a costum. He's being a lion. I can't sew on a button. where's your fake fur? (introduces the customer to the magic of 72 inch fleece, flelt and heat 'n bond) heat n' bond, stitch witchery, and fabric glue are the duck tape of the sewing universe. I made one mom's night when her 14 year old son sent her forth (without him) to pick fabric cuz he needed to make an apron in sewing class. Oh the horror. an apron. LookLook! Fabric with skulls on them! Lookit the pretty Skull material. Flaming skulls, metalic skulls, white on white skulls, black on black skulls, red on orange skulls! Skull motifs are THE thing! you have 14 bolts to choose from. We also have John Deere, Nascar and Sports team logo fabric. Knock yourself out.

O.M.G. --- I'd die if I had to work at a place like JoAnn's! What a brave woman you are! You must not be a hobbyist ... otherwise how could you get an actual paycheck? :lol: I once worked at a quilt fabric shop. I earned a yard an hour (hey ... it was quality fabric!) *wink*

Yes, there are some people out there that still don't know what happens when you attempt to spray paint syrofoam. for those of you who don't know, the propellant in the aerosol cans of spray paint turns the syrofoam into a noxious chemical goo with fumes. So if your holding it when you try, and many people are, you now have a dripping icky puddle that is now dribbling down your arm, into your lap and onto the floor. This usually takes place with in .10 of a second.

Many years ago, I worked in the Food Hall at Marks and Spencers one Xmas and watched two genteel middle class ladies (M&S stock-in-trade) ripping the last turkey in half on Xmas Eve.....

Our town has a lot of retired people, so the biggest fights are not over books or turkeys, but over who gets the last working electric shopping cart. Whoever wields the biggest cane wins!

I've seen this happening in my town, too. Over here, I've also noticed that retired people tend to go to the sales or checkout clerks that look the most talkative so they can chat with them when they need advice or have to pay.

Well as I said before I worked for Bath & Body Works - which is, if you don't already know, a store with all the pretty smelling lotions, body sprays and shower soaps. You want to smell like a magnolia? How about a cucumber? No? Grass? Yeah we had it all. Needless to say Christmas brings out the best in the people who were our clients. Fortunately I worked at a smaller store so we weren't as crazy busy - but definitely saw an increase in traffic from our normal time of year. I think the best Christmas memory I have from working there was the last one I worked. It was just me and my friend (who was the supervisor for the evening) and we had this great surge of people come in at the same time. I had been helping a lady who was spending $200 on gifts for coworkers. She bought about 20 or 30 little miniature bottles of bath soap and lotion. She asked if I could gift wrap them for her. Now, around Christmas we never offered to gift wrap using the celophane (just took up too much time). HOWEVER, if a customer requested it, we'd have to oblige them. Well she did, and I had to. But she wanted them all each wrapped individually of course. Ok fine. Problem was was at that moment I got a line of about 10 people at the register - and my supervisor/friend was helping a customer who didn't know what she wanted to buy. In fact, I don't think she'd ever stepped foot in a BBW store in her life. So my customer, who was very patient and understanding, waited for me to take care of the line at the register. In this line, however, was a girl who spent a whopping $20 on a gift and asked if I would gift wrap it for her. Sure. So I pull out a BBW bag (cute and festive enough) and the tissue paper - bodda boom present wrapped. I give it to her and she says "Is this mine?" "Yes" "Oh well, I thought you were going to wrap it like hers" (pointing to the items I had started to celophane wrap for my customer) "No, you didn't ask for that. You asked me to gift wrap and this is how we gift wrap unless we're asked specifically to use the celophane." "Oh well that's what I want" GRRR. "Ok well you're going to have to wait while I take care of the rest of this line of customers at my register." At this point it was like running water - the flow just didn't stop. And I couldn't get my supervisor's attention to ask her for her help. So I continue ringing, trying to get these people out of the store. Finally the girl (with the $20 gift) says to me "You know what? I don't want it gift wrapped." She starts to leave and that's when my supe comes over - FINALLY. The girl was actually upset with me because I wasn't stopping all other production to wrap her damn gift (even thought I already had so she wasted more of time already). So my supe says she'll do it. I continue ringing everybody up and then turn to my original customer to finish her stuff. As I walk away I see this girl (the b*tchy one) try to give my supe A TIP!!!! And she made sure that I was watching because as she's handing the money over, she's looking dead in my eyes. I'm like :shock ! WHAT??!!!! My supe refused the tip and then asked me what I had done. I told her the whole thing and she just laughed and rolled her eyes. I'm like "Yeah Merry Christmas sister." Whatever. I did, however, learn to giftwrap using tissue paper and gift bags because of that store. I'm the best at it and try to get gifts that only need a gift bag. :lol:

I'm a gift bag girl. I could never make it as a gift wrapper. They'd all return their presents based on the outside. Though I do my part in trying to be a courteous customer and not demanding.