http://jesusbeanlaiho.blogspot.com/2013/05/greenhouse-happenings.html
Well, it's probably time to do one about working inside the store!
- Being located where the ACE store is, we deal with a lot of animal life, both outside...
and in!
and of course, the animal in charge of it all...
- Like all places of business, our customers sometimes accidentally leave things behind: debit cards and reading glasses on the checkout counter, car keys on the shelves, coats in the restroom etc., etc. However, one day a rather unusual item was found left in the shovel/rake aisle: a large pair of women's pants! I wish I could explain, but we're still not quite sure what happened...
- It's not uncommon for customers to ask lots of questions about rental equipment or occasionally bicker over pricing, but several weeks ago I had a customer come in who tried to argue with me over what equipment we actually rent!
An older lady came in and asked to rent a chainsaw. I think many years ago we used to rent them, but we don't anymore so I told her, "I'm sorry ma'am, but we don't rent chainsaws."
She looked at me critically and said, "What do you mean, you don't rent chainsaws?"
Unsure of how exactly to answer that any more clearly, I reached over the counter and picked one of our rental brochures from the pile and handed it to her. "I'm sorry, ma'am, we don't rent chainsaws any more, but here's a list of all the equipment we do rent, with their prices."
With an annoyed sigh, she opened the brochure, then flipped it over. She then looked at me and gave me an odd smile. She slowly and clearly said, "All of this rental equipment and you don't rent chainsaws...?"
"I'm sorry, ma'am, no. We do sell them, though, and I can get one of the guys from the back to help you if you'd like to look at---" Here I was interrupted by a triumphant cackle.
"HA! CHAINSAW! Chainsaw! Right there!!" she exclaimed, with her finger jabbed at the word on the back of the brochure.
"Well, chainsaw sharpen---" I began timidly.
"Oh...Chainsaw sharpening, $5.00," she read. "Well, yeah, I guess, let me go look at what you've got for sale," she said, and took off towards the saws.
I'm still not exactly sure what she thought would happen: I would sigh in defeat, admit it was all a ruse, and rent her the saw? Hmm. - Every new year, ACE sends us a bunch of free calendars to hand out to customers that, in addition to lots of free advertising, provide a monthly bargain. They're really not very exciting, but hey, they're free! Several mornings ago, the phone rang, I answered it, and the caller asked to please speak to a manager. We were pretty busy so I transferred the call and promptly forgot about it. When lunch time came around, I went up front on the hardware side of the store to get some cokes from the machine for my dad and me. Samantha, one of our managers, saw me and grinned.
"Sarah, you remember the caller who wanted a manager? Do you know what she was calling about?"
"I have no idea," I admitted.
"She was calling to complain about our free calendar," she laughed. "Apparently it didn't include phases of the moon."
I just stared at her.
"Yep. Apparently last year's had them and she's pretty disappointed..."
"Damn free calendar" I muttered.
"Your uncle says he thinks something can be arranged..." she said with a chuckle.
So I will say here and now: the free ACE calendars are not very exciting and they don't have the damn phases of the moon! I work there and I didn't even want one... I have a Big Bang Theory calendar. And a Hobbit one. They both have the moon phases! I guess you get what you pay for... - The coke machine I just mentioned in the above paragraph is, at best, temperamental. Also, the Coke guy who is supposed to come all the time to fill it only comes when we beg him. We all get kind of desperate when all that's left in the machine is a few bottles of weird Powerade. But like I said, even when the machine is completely full it's iffy. In fact, when business is slow, the cashiers on the hardware side like to watch people when they try to buy drinks. Often, the machine will do this thing where you enter the money, hit the button and the machine starts to rumble promisingly.. but just as the bottle should roll down where you can grab it, the machine makes an unhealthy lurching sound and gives you the error message. When this happens, the employees all throw up their hands and groan comically.
- On my afternoon breaks, I sometimes sit at my dads computer at the parts counter and play Reversi online. Let me just say, I used to KICK ASS at that game. Anymore, well... eh, not so much. I was playing today and my dad came back, sat next to me and watched for a minute.
"Who are you playing?" he asked conversationally.
I consulted the screen. "A Portuguese beginner."
"Hmm...What color are you?"
I gave a barely perceptible pause. "White."
"Ouch," he offered cheerfully. I didn't dignify that with an answer.
A moment later, the game ended. Abysmally. I started a new game and turned to him. "Now I'm playing a Greek beginner. You know, I used to be great at this game!"
"Well the Portuguese guy sure kicked your butt," he commented. "How are you doing this time? Not so well, I'd say.."
"Well, you know, when you first start a game, sometimes it's good to have less pieces. So then you can get more. And it's really better in the long run. And. And. I'm just making this up. I'm already losing..." I admitted with a sigh.
My dad has this particular laugh he uses when I say something so completely idiotic or dorky that it couldn't possibly be funny, but it somehow still is. Like when I pull Betty's tail under my nose and say, "Dad, I 'mustache' you a question." Or when I tell him a joke like, "Past, present and future all walked into a room, and man, was it tense!" The laugh is somewhere between a chuckle and a snort of derision.
Anyway, he gave his laugh then, smacked me lightly on the head and went back to work in an aisle a few feet away. I then somehow managed to turn the game around and win. I excitedly raised my voice and hollered, "Dad! I beat the Greek guy!"
After a moment's pause, his voice floated over the shelves: "Sure you did...."
Thanks for that vote of confidence, Dad...
Please note: the photos of the deer, bear, and skunk came directly from Records ACE Hardware's Facebook page...
Hey! Why not like us on Facebook?
Haaaa! I've always wanted to say that!
Sarah
