Beer Suits
The Great Shiftin' has begun at work. He wasn't fired, but he was swapped out with the general manager of another store where things are much, much slower paced. The new GM, Crystal, is very well trained, and seems friendly, albeit disoriented from the move. She's brought along a new co-manager, a pretty young black girl named Courtney who has a mouth like a trucker when she's irritated. I like her already, but what really made me appreciate her was during my lunch break, she was talking to Blake and I, and brought up, out of the blue, the idea of taking a still suit from Frank Herbert's Dune and converting it into a microbrewery. A beer suit. I wanted to hug her, but I restrained myself. "The bubbles are collected in the chest pads, fermentation is in the thighs, and your drinking tube is here."
Both of the new managers are very driven and know what's what about policy and procedure, so Blake and I have been grinning at each other a lot lately, imagining the sparks that will fly once these Forces of Order meet up with the Champions of Sloth and Ignorance that have caused my workplace so much disarray and hindrance. I've already been told a number of things that, if we can weather through the rough ride ahead, will make my job soooooooooo much easier and pleasant to perform. Oh, man, is it ever good to find out I haven't been asking for too much out of my coworkers. The number of times I've been given incredulous looks from people when I'd say, "Hey could you put these on the shelf?" or "There's these boxes here, they need to go out, please." and "I have to do my stuff here, I can't do that." is endless, but now I have been told that, no, I was right in saying things like that, that my job is this and this, and theirs is that and that, and I shouldn't have to do both.
At first, I had some trepidation that Crystal brought Courtney in as a new manager; someone is going to have to go from my store, manager-wise (I'm hoping it's not Blake; he doesn't deserve that). Tina has been preaching that she wants to promote me, so I was confused as to why I didn't get moved into training yet, but I realize now (not just false rationalising, mind you) that if the store is to be straightened out and put to rights, Tina would want well-trained and hard-driving managers on the spot immediately, and not a new guy who is confused and learning the ropes. The holiday shopping season is approaching, and our store needs to be uprighted rather quickly.
As for myself, I have inside tips that, between the three stores in the area, there will be at least four managerial vacancies (mostly through angry, petulant attrition). This means there will be a great deal of personnel-swapping. And also, more information of a new store opening here is coming in, so that seems like more of a reallity than a possibility. On top of this, the Budget Gods will be throwing wide their coffers soon. Previously, I'd been told that one of the reasons my store does not have a training manager in addition to the usual crew is because of budget constraints. When Crystal and Courtney smooth wrinkles and tighten things up, and the holiday budget loosens even more, it would be conceivably be extremely easy to find funds for a new manager in store, and Tina did drop hints that I could expect something to happen soon...
I'm no fool, though. My resume is up-to-date.
Both of the new managers are very driven and know what's what about policy and procedure, so Blake and I have been grinning at each other a lot lately, imagining the sparks that will fly once these Forces of Order meet up with the Champions of Sloth and Ignorance that have caused my workplace so much disarray and hindrance. I've already been told a number of things that, if we can weather through the rough ride ahead, will make my job soooooooooo much easier and pleasant to perform. Oh, man, is it ever good to find out I haven't been asking for too much out of my coworkers. The number of times I've been given incredulous looks from people when I'd say, "Hey could you put these on the shelf?" or "There's these boxes here, they need to go out, please." and "I have to do my stuff here, I can't do that." is endless, but now I have been told that, no, I was right in saying things like that, that my job is this and this, and theirs is that and that, and I shouldn't have to do both.
At first, I had some trepidation that Crystal brought Courtney in as a new manager; someone is going to have to go from my store, manager-wise (I'm hoping it's not Blake; he doesn't deserve that). Tina has been preaching that she wants to promote me, so I was confused as to why I didn't get moved into training yet, but I realize now (not just false rationalising, mind you) that if the store is to be straightened out and put to rights, Tina would want well-trained and hard-driving managers on the spot immediately, and not a new guy who is confused and learning the ropes. The holiday shopping season is approaching, and our store needs to be uprighted rather quickly.
As for myself, I have inside tips that, between the three stores in the area, there will be at least four managerial vacancies (mostly through angry, petulant attrition). This means there will be a great deal of personnel-swapping. And also, more information of a new store opening here is coming in, so that seems like more of a reallity than a possibility. On top of this, the Budget Gods will be throwing wide their coffers soon. Previously, I'd been told that one of the reasons my store does not have a training manager in addition to the usual crew is because of budget constraints. When Crystal and Courtney smooth wrinkles and tighten things up, and the holiday budget loosens even more, it would be conceivably be extremely easy to find funds for a new manager in store, and Tina did drop hints that I could expect something to happen soon...
I'm no fool, though. My resume is up-to-date.