Patrick is Famous!

Patrick was on CNN yesterday! They were interviewing soldiers about spending Christmas in Iraq. It was an amazing gift to get to see him- even if for only a few seconds!

Check it out on the internet!
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2007/12/24/van.marsh.christmas.in.iraq.cnn?iref=videosearch

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Aw!

Look how cute my little girl is in her gingerbread overalls!

Christmas Retail Mystery #3

Now this one really pisses me off. Retail mystery #1 and #2 are just kind of quirky, interesting things people do in stores- funny, annoying- but not really harmful. Retail mystery #3, however, really shows how selfish and dishonest people can be. Picture this: A lady goes into a grocery store and sees that a gallon of milk cost $2.98. She then goes up to the cashier and says "I bought a gallon of milk here three months ago and I paid $3.14 so I need you to adjust my receipt because it's on sale now." Now that's just crazy right? Now what about this one- same lady goes up to the cashier and says "I have a coupon at home for this toothpaste I promise for .50 off, can't you just give me that price?" Yeah, pretty ridiculous right? So you would never do this at the grocery store, so why do people think they can do it at a regular shop? I have had people try to bring in merchandise that they bought months ago because they have a coupon NOW and they really want me to adjust it and give them the difference. If they had bought it yesterday and its on sale today that's one thing, but buying something in June and wanting the cheaper price in December after you have worn it several times is a totally different thing! Are you serious people??!! As if it isn't poor character enough to ask for exceptions, some people even have the nerve to try to justify it by saying "come on it doesn't come out of your pocket." IT DOESN'T???? No, I guess it doesn't LITERALLY come out of my pocket, but you cheating the system hurts me plenty. If 4 customers did that a day for an average of a $30 loss per customer x 400 stores x 365 days that is $17,520,000 in a year that's lost to the company. Yes I am serious! Don't you think that if the company had an extra 17mil I might get a better raise? Don't you think that would keep people from being laid off? Don't you think that would allow for more payroll and supplies to run stores with? So how exactly does you cheating the system not affect me? I know that all the good honest people out there reading my blog don't steal. I'm not friends with people of poor character. I just had to get this out there because it really bothers me. This is not the spirit of Christmas! It really isn't all about the gifts and the good deals! It is about humanity, love, and the savior baby Jesus. Is that so easy to forget? Christmas should bring out the best in people not the worst! So-in order to restore my faith that the Christmas spirit isn't lost, I need you to please leave me a comment and tell me how you have blessed someone else's life this Christmas season. I want to see that people are really keeping the spirit of the season in their hearts and not just fussing with the trivial things. (Like coupons- that they don't have!)
Please share your story- I think we all need to hear it!

Here's one from me- Today I had a good one. I was waiting on one person who had a 30% off coupon that she printed from her email. The lady next to her (which I had already given a 15% off coupon to by the way because she was whining) then started insisting that she had a 30% off one at home too and wanted the 30% off instead. I told her she was really taking advantage of me and that she should feel bad about being dishonest. She then demanded several boxes- and then set off the door alarm. Good thing? I didn't kill her.

White Christmas

I had a really fun evening tonight. I had a long day at work and was pretty tired by the time I got home. I wasn't really feeling up for much- so my roomate and I decided to have a fun night in- so we got some Taco Bell and rented White Christmas. I thought I had seen it before, but it wasn't the movie I was remembering-I think the movie I was thinking of was "Holiday Inn". Anyway, it was a great movie and we had a great time. I reccommend it for anyone needing to get in the Christmas spirit!

Christmas Retail Mystery #2

THE FACINATION OF THE SENSOR ALARM

Imagine the most annonying sound you have ever heard- a loud EH EH EH sound that stops your blood in your veins and makes your head instantly feel like there is a man jack hammering in your ear drums. That is the sound that goes off at the store when a sensor is not removed from garment that passes through the door. It is supposed to be a theft deterrant, but really, I think it's sole purpose is just to make me insane. Now the sensor alarms are magnet activated, so many things can set them off- cell phones, digital cameras, sensors not removed from other retailers, strollers- you name it. Now, maybe I am de-sensitized from working in retail so long, but when I walk out of a store and set off the alarm- I know I am not stealing, so I just keep on walking. Unfortunately, the rest of society does not do this, and they are absolutely stunned, dumbfound, and FACINATED, with the reason behind the alarm going off. People will walk in the store and the awful EHEHEHEH alarm will go off. Instead of ignoring it and continuing to shop, or going to an associate to ask for help in solving the alarm mystery they will stand there a second- then turn around and walk out to see if it will go off again. EHEHEHEHE- of course it goes off when they go out as well as in. Then EHEHEHEHE they come back trying to see if it will continue doing this. This is the point I start to get annoyed. Not only is the sound horrible, but we have customer counters on the doors. You might not know this, but most shops are judged on something called conversion- which is the amount of people who buy vs. the amount of people who come in your store. The more you walk in out in out the more you are HURTHING our results- thus, my raise!
After several in out in out in out EHEHEHEHE- this is the point when people will then hand someone else their shopping bags and ask them to walk through to see if it is the bags, and then walk through again themselves- EHEHEHEHE. "Maybe it's this bag" "or maybe it's this bag" "maybe it's my purse" "I don't just don't understand why it keeps going off" EHEHEHEHEHE all the time as they walk in and out in and out in and out in and out- thinking that magically it will stop if they keep doing it. Now all this time every customer in the store has stoped to stare. Every employee is derperately running to try to get them to stop- because we can usually figure it out and get it fixed if they will just stop walking in and out in and out EHEHEHEHEHE!!!! Why? Why do people do this? Are you trying to prove you didn't steal? Do you like the noise and all the attention? Are you trying to send us all to a horrible sensor alarm filled hell??? My message to you- STOP IT!!! If the alarm goes off- ignore it or go right to an associate and get them to help you, or for the love of God STAND STILL!!! If it does it once it will do it the first, second, thrid, TENTH time! Stop the in out in out in out EHEHEHEHEHE!!!!! Please make the mall a better place for us all!

Sassy Chauffer

I am teaching Sassy to drive. She does alright with the stearing, but she can't reach the pedals.

Gift box mystery solved

Christmas Retail mystery #1:
THE OBSESSION OF THE GIFT BOX

This is my third Christmas working in specialty retail and one thing continues to perplex me- Why are people so OBSESSED with gift boxes? You know the ones I am talking about- the complimentary shirt/coat/jewelry box that comes with purchasing something in a store at the holidays. Now if people just asked for one box it wouldn't be a big deal- that makes sense. But customers will make a big purchase and want a BOX FOR EVERY ITEM. Are you really going to wrap those sox in a giant coat box? Are you really going to wrap those 12 tank tops you bought each in a SEPARATE BOX? I don't really think so. Customers will begin asking for gift boxes before they have even made a purchase! Like, they can't shop until they are assured that there will be a gift box at the end. I have even had people DRIVE BACK TO THE STORE because they forgot to ask for them. Now with gas prices the way they are is that really economical? Especially since you can buy a whole pack at Target for $2.99? There are also those really special people who try to cheat you out of them saying things like "I made a purchase last month and you didn't have any so I need to get 10 now" when you very well know they have never made a purchase in their lives at Banana Republic. Gift boxes, as I see it, are a priveledge not a right!
Now that it is getting closer to Christmas you will see the desperation for the boxes begin. As we begin to run out people will get LIVID because you cannot give them the boxes that they so desire. They will being to insist that you take apart store displays so they can pillage the boxes off of them. I always want to tell these people "hey that's what happens when you wait until the last minute- your box greedy friends have already taken all of them, and a lack of planning on your part does not constitute and emergency on mine!"
If people would just take the boxes that they are actually going to use then we wouldn't have this box shortage at the end. I tried to limit the amount of boxes a lady got the other day- telling her she could only have 3 for the items she purchased not the 8 she was asking for. Fearing for my life as I watched her color rise I decided it wasn't worth risking my life over and I gave her 8. She looked like a druggie just getting her fix ans she clutched them to her chest and quickly left the store.
So what causes this? Why is there such a desperation and obsession with the holiday gift box? Most people don't even wrap gifts anymore! Everyone puts them in those gift bags! WHAT ARE PEOPLE DOING WITH ALL THE BOXES!!!!
Well, I may have figured it out. EBAY. Yes, I found Banana Republic boxes for sale on EBAY. (Click on Blog title to link to the boxes on Ebay.) At .99 for 3 I can see why people need a large supply if they are going to get rich this way. Gift boxes=get rich scheme. Mystery solved.
Ah yes, the holidays bring out the CRAZY in everyone!

Opryland Christmas

Last night my friend Nicole and I went to see the lights at the Opryland Hotel. It was really beautiful and much more spectacular than I remember it being last year. Blogger is having issues, so it won't upload the pictures I took. I found this one off the internet so you all could see how pretty it was.

New Sheets

Where's Sassy?
There she is!

Sassy loves to help me change the sheets. It is one of her favorite games. We put Christmas ones on yesterday- Oooh Festive!

What's your speed?

My roommate Nicole is a staffing manager for an admin company. She hires people for temp jobs. She was telling me today that the average person types only 38 words per minute. I am a pretty quick typer so I wanted to see what my WPM was. There is a website www.typingtest.com where you can take a 1 minute test to see how vast you type. I then spent the rest of the evening trying to beat my time. The fastest I goat was 74 gross words per minute. How fast are you? I encourage you to try it- but I warn you it is addicting!