RANT ALERT: I understand that working in a retail environment means dealing with all different kinds of people and personalities. But today, I was pushed to a new limit.

A lady comes in, and apparently clueless about the process of standing in line and waiting your turn for the cashier, starts nudging her way next to the customer I'm checking out, and asks for clothesline. I overlook the fact that I have 3 people in line, and she has just walked in, hasn't even tried to look around our store. (It's not a huge store, you can cover it in 5 minutes easy) So I ask the other cashier, who is also busy with her own line of customers, and she says "I don't think we have it."

Then the customer I have just finished checking out (who has been nudged out of the way by Clothesline Lady) suggests that she try Walmart, which is not even 2 minutes away. To this, she huffs "You've GOT to be kidding me!"

As I hand the customer his change and the next customer starts to unload their purchases onto the counter, I tell the lady "We do have some string/rope right back there, you might be able to find something similar. It's right back there under those trashcans." I point in the direction of the trashcans.

A few minutes later, the lady checks out with the other cashier (there were only two of us, even though Saturdays are crazy busy) and I hear her get kind of rude. When the rush finally died down, I asked the other cashier what she had said, and it was "There WAS clothesline back there, and you were going to send me all the way to Walmart!"

Fast forward 20 more minutes - the store manager is at the front and the phone rings. She answers it, and there's alot of "No, go ahead" and "Absolutely, right..." and "I appreciate it".

She hangs up, turns around, and says to the cashier and myself "That was a lady that bought clothesline. She said that she felt like you guys were no help."

We both stare at her in disbelief. She goes on, "She said she asked about clothesline and one of you said we didn't have it, and a customer told her to go to Walmart"

I tell her that the customer I was checking out had suggested Walmart, and that I had told her we did have rope/string, and told her exactly where it was in case we did have something similar to what she wanted. Then the manager says "Oh, well she did say that one of you finally suggested where she could look, but SHE found it."

Awkward silence.

Needless to say, I was not in a good mood after that. The fact that we were still really busy and I wasn't able to blow off any steam really made matters worse. One of the assistant managers overheard the whole ordeal, and had happened into the lady on her way out, when she had given him a dirty look for stepping in her way as he came in the door. He tried to convince us to forget about it, that people like that don't deserve any extra thought.

But SERIOUSLY??? It KILLS me that some people can be so RUDE and OBNOXIOUS. First of all, is she more important than the rest of the customers who are waiting patiently in line to check out or ask questions? Secondly, is Clothesline our specialty or something, would it be so outlandish if we DIDN'T have it? Thirdly, was it really such a hardship on her that she felt the need to call back and complain?

Days like this make me wonder if I really want to be in this management development program at all. I do know one thing... when (if) I am a manager, and I get a complaint about two of my FRIENDLIEST and HARDEST WORKING employees, I will at least ask them about it before scolding them in public.

Eh. Rant over.

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Puppy Update:

I have decided to take some of the advice given in response to my last post, and also to update our house-training progress in this blog. If it works for financial accountability, why not training the pup?

Tonight when I got home, I took him out and he went, then praised him & gave him a treat. No #2 though. Then we came back in, I saw him sniffing a little later, so I took him out. After 15 minutes, nothing. I take him back in, and he pees. I crated him while I cleaned it, then let him out. Then I turn around, and it's #2 in the floor. Again with the crating & cleaning.

I'm not going to give him any more food/water tonight. I don't want any late night getting up and having a little wee in the bedroom floor.

So today - not so good, but we're working on it.

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And finally the financial stuff:

Spent $40 on gas tonight, and $4.24 on a pack of cigarettes. Had originally planned not to buy any more, but after today, I caved.