so the bad news of 2008...
im losing my store. i have been put on an improvement plan, which is normal when numbers are down but usually they are achievable. my improvement plan... increase sales by 17%... and increase my stores (and individual employees) SOPs (standards). SOPs do-able. 17% increase in January and February.... not so do-able. and I'm not taking this very well. Sales are down... yes. Ive been aware of this every week. Do they seriously think I enjoy seeing paychecks like my last one? Do they think I am happy over looking at my books and seeing weeks that are thousands of dollars down? no. in fact seeing shit like that makes me sick to my stomach. Ask stores on the third floor at mall of america... hell ask the food court tenants... sales are down for us on the 3rd floor. sales are down this season on every floor but the third floor is suffering the most. its not just my store. I have 4 weeks to do this. well really i have two weeks to start showing improvement or else i give my notice, that way i leave on my terms and not them 'letting me go'. i was offered to transfer to the adult store on the first floor as an assistant, but im sorry i dont care for the daily slap in the face that i failed and watch some douche bag run my store. oh and about that... its a proven fact that women sell childrens stuff better then men. parents take to females better when it comes to knowledge on that shit. the guy they have ready to take over... to give you an idea... i like to think of him as an old guy trying to fit in with the scene kids. he's late 20s early 30s.. tattooed... on the heavier side... and wears clothes waaaaay too small for him. In our dress code for the kids store, we are not to have tattoos or piercings, but after a discussion with my DM and RM i was allowed to wear short sleeves and keep my lip piercing in.. simply because my lip piercing only has a tiny stud in it now that looks like glitter on my face. and my tattoos are kept minimal and 'fresh' (not faded and nasty looking). the only ink of mine that my customers see is on my arm, and they are usually quite nice and ask stories behind them... especially about my heart. the best thing a customer has ever told me about my ink is that im far too beautiful for some guy break my heart to the point of tattooing it on my body. and that the guy mustve been an idiot. now most would think it came from a male but no it came from an early probably 40's or so mom... it was super sweet. well the new guy, his ink probably hasnt been touched in years. and definately does not look approachable for a kids store. not to mention you say something to him and it takes like 15 seconds for it to register in his brain. he's an idiot. and it upsets me that they're replacing me with him. i wont go out without a fight though. I will do everything i can to turn my store around and save it and continue to have it. My DM wants me to stay with the company and just step down. I'm sorry Ive been with this damn company off and on for 4 years. i feel no need to step down and deal with the company any longer. this was my last run i told myself.
so besides that... things are good.
andy (the ex) and i... yea we are together. im sure those of you who keep up with my blogs and know what happened are probably staring at your screens shaking your head. he started texting me one night and just asked if we could have a fresh start. forget his stupid friends. forget the other girl. forget my other guy i had when i moved home. forget the stupid shit we both have done. and just start fresh remembering the good times. I told we both should sleep on it and decide the following morning if we could do it. That night.. it was so weird. I was laying in bed, upset for the first time in quite a while about him. i missed him. and i rolled over to grab my phone to see what time it was... and just as i grabbed it it vibrated with his text saying hello. the timing had to mean something. So far we have been doing really well. we are definately taking things slow. we dont see eachother that often, but often enough. i work so much and we do live a hour or so apart. we talk alot about everything. in all honesty things are like they were in the very beginning for us... which is a good thing. its a new year, which a fresh start for us. this time, i know things will be ok.
on another note, about 2 weeks ago my mom almost hit a puppy. when she stopped to check on the dog, it jumped in her car. she had to bring it home. the poor girl had ice on her ears and everything. luckily she was not injured. we put up posters all over the neighborhood and did not receive a single call. so now i am trying to rehome her. heres a little info on her. she is probably about 8 to 9 months old. stands at about my knees (im 5'2). she is a mix, and definately has Pit in her. Very sweet. not aggressive by any means. loves to play with my 2 year old nephew and other animals (we have dogs, cats and lizards). doesnt even have that puppy nipping side to her. shes white with a brown spot on her back and on her left eye (along with a little black by her eye) and a 'spotty' right ear. ive got pictures if you're interested. I just want to find a sweet home for her that will love her and give her tons of attention.
well i should get some sleep, i work in the morning.
i hope everything is going well with the new year and everyone. let me know how everyone is doing
im losing my store. i have been put on an improvement plan, which is normal when numbers are down but usually they are achievable. my improvement plan... increase sales by 17%... and increase my stores (and individual employees) SOPs (standards). SOPs do-able. 17% increase in January and February.... not so do-able. and I'm not taking this very well. Sales are down... yes. Ive been aware of this every week. Do they seriously think I enjoy seeing paychecks like my last one? Do they think I am happy over looking at my books and seeing weeks that are thousands of dollars down? no. in fact seeing shit like that makes me sick to my stomach. Ask stores on the third floor at mall of america... hell ask the food court tenants... sales are down for us on the 3rd floor. sales are down this season on every floor but the third floor is suffering the most. its not just my store. I have 4 weeks to do this. well really i have two weeks to start showing improvement or else i give my notice, that way i leave on my terms and not them 'letting me go'. i was offered to transfer to the adult store on the first floor as an assistant, but im sorry i dont care for the daily slap in the face that i failed and watch some douche bag run my store. oh and about that... its a proven fact that women sell childrens stuff better then men. parents take to females better when it comes to knowledge on that shit. the guy they have ready to take over... to give you an idea... i like to think of him as an old guy trying to fit in with the scene kids. he's late 20s early 30s.. tattooed... on the heavier side... and wears clothes waaaaay too small for him. In our dress code for the kids store, we are not to have tattoos or piercings, but after a discussion with my DM and RM i was allowed to wear short sleeves and keep my lip piercing in.. simply because my lip piercing only has a tiny stud in it now that looks like glitter on my face. and my tattoos are kept minimal and 'fresh' (not faded and nasty looking). the only ink of mine that my customers see is on my arm, and they are usually quite nice and ask stories behind them... especially about my heart. the best thing a customer has ever told me about my ink is that im far too beautiful for some guy break my heart to the point of tattooing it on my body. and that the guy mustve been an idiot. now most would think it came from a male but no it came from an early probably 40's or so mom... it was super sweet. well the new guy, his ink probably hasnt been touched in years. and definately does not look approachable for a kids store. not to mention you say something to him and it takes like 15 seconds for it to register in his brain. he's an idiot. and it upsets me that they're replacing me with him. i wont go out without a fight though. I will do everything i can to turn my store around and save it and continue to have it. My DM wants me to stay with the company and just step down. I'm sorry Ive been with this damn company off and on for 4 years. i feel no need to step down and deal with the company any longer. this was my last run i told myself.
so besides that... things are good.
andy (the ex) and i... yea we are together. im sure those of you who keep up with my blogs and know what happened are probably staring at your screens shaking your head. he started texting me one night and just asked if we could have a fresh start. forget his stupid friends. forget the other girl. forget my other guy i had when i moved home. forget the stupid shit we both have done. and just start fresh remembering the good times. I told we both should sleep on it and decide the following morning if we could do it. That night.. it was so weird. I was laying in bed, upset for the first time in quite a while about him. i missed him. and i rolled over to grab my phone to see what time it was... and just as i grabbed it it vibrated with his text saying hello. the timing had to mean something. So far we have been doing really well. we are definately taking things slow. we dont see eachother that often, but often enough. i work so much and we do live a hour or so apart. we talk alot about everything. in all honesty things are like they were in the very beginning for us... which is a good thing. its a new year, which a fresh start for us. this time, i know things will be ok.
on another note, about 2 weeks ago my mom almost hit a puppy. when she stopped to check on the dog, it jumped in her car. she had to bring it home. the poor girl had ice on her ears and everything. luckily she was not injured. we put up posters all over the neighborhood and did not receive a single call. so now i am trying to rehome her. heres a little info on her. she is probably about 8 to 9 months old. stands at about my knees (im 5'2). she is a mix, and definately has Pit in her. Very sweet. not aggressive by any means. loves to play with my 2 year old nephew and other animals (we have dogs, cats and lizards). doesnt even have that puppy nipping side to her. shes white with a brown spot on her back and on her left eye (along with a little black by her eye) and a 'spotty' right ear. ive got pictures if you're interested. I just want to find a sweet home for her that will love her and give her tons of attention.
well i should get some sleep, i work in the morning.
i hope everything is going well with the new year and everyone. let me know how everyone is doing
VIEW 6 of 6 COMMENTS
good luck!