How to survive working in a grocery store (teenager, owner, degree)
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I would not have said anything different then you're manager, even if you were right that you could make the key, you're comment was disrespectful. You could have simply said, "Could we just run it through the key maker?" and ended it there. You gave an attitude when you added in the "it's not that hard." There could also be a reason of liability concerns as to why it had to be from the manufacturer and not made on site.
OP: Please do not listen to the advice provided by this poster, there's plenty of other good advice you can take here.
I have a medical condition. I don't look like a monster or anything, it just causes people to second guess me and people go out of their way to stop me and ask me about it. It varies from annoying to depressing. I will just have to suffer through it.
There is probably information about your condition available online. You could devise a standard response (with appropriate variations) to have ready for people who are inquisitive. Something like: "I have ___________ syndrome (or whatever is accurate). I appreciate your concern. The ___________ Syndrome Foundation has a great website if you're interested in more information about it." Practice saying that or something along those lines that you are comfortable with and keeping your expression pleasant and your tone professional. Then when someone gets nosy, you have an appropriate response and won't need to feel hounded or cornered. Having a non-confrontational response always ready might ease some of the stress you feel in anticipating comments or questions from strangers.
Also, you might want to devise some tactics for disengaging from these conversations. If they persist after you have given them the response you have prepared for such occasions, you could have a repertoire of escape plans. "I'll have to ask you to excuse me. I need to: Help this customer. Go check on a delivery. Find a product for a customer. (Or whatever else you can devise from the scope of your duties or whatever might be reasonable in your environment). Again, having a prepared response when you need it can be a great stress reducer.
The key to dealing with nosy people is not to let them control the conversation. It takes practice and thought, and you'll stumble and feel weird at first as you try out responses and find your own way to take control of these encounters, but once you have a collection of professional, non-confrontational responses that you are happy with, there will probably be fewer encounters that you find depressing.
There have always been people that come across as rude. It could be that they just do have the manners to know any better than to ask questions or to stare, etc. Manners, is reflective of a well bred human, one that is confident in their own right. After being with this company, you have probably meet several people that were genuine and not judgmental or rude. Enjoy your position. It seems that you do enjoy your job, people rarely stay at a job that they dislike for 15 years. Continue to do so. Be happy. It is ultimately your choice.
Always do your best. Be a good employee. There are definite positives to grocery store employment. The biggest being the discount on groceries! I know people who are very content working at a grocery store, been there a long time. As a matter of fact there was a recent job opening for a military grocery store that pays $100K/yr. There are worse things!
Since you're a courtesy clerk I would imagine being courteous is important.
I personally don't think you'll last very long if your word use is any indication of your attitude. Forget about your medical condition.
Having said that, and I don't know if the grocery is a major chain or a local operation, an awful lot of people have worked their careers in the grocery business while growing, getting married, raising families, buying houses and cars, etc. while carving out a pretty decent lifestyle for themselves.
One of my former students has worked for Safeway since high school, over 10 years. Went to college but never really wanted to stay with the company. He finally decided to go the management route several months ago.
He's now asking himself why it took him so long to take my advice.
Always do your best. Be a good employee. There are definite positives to grocery store employment. The biggest being the discount on groceries! I know people who are very content working at a grocery store, been there a long time. As a matter of fact there was a recent job opening for a military grocery store that pays $100K/yr. There are worse things!
When I worked in a grocery store we did not get a discount of any of the items; however, the big plus for me was that if I did need something I didn't have to "stop at the store on the way home".
Plus the tips/tricks I learned about the grocery business that helps me with my shopping nowadays.
I am sure many of us had to begin working somewhere. If that start was in a grocery store, it was an opportunity to learn how to work and get paid doing it.
Be available and be willing to work extra shifts and additional hours. The more time you do work, the likelihood increases of you working more hours.
Be open to learning and taking up additional opportunities. Operating a register should be one of them.
Bag items properly. Categories that should be bagged separate: household chemicals, frozen and cold foods, different meats (beef, pork, poultry, fish), and eggs and bread.
Learn from successful co-workers and management members.
Congratulations on getting a job! How did you manage to actually land the job?
Luck?
Took me seven months. It was very hard, as I was still fighting my personal demons which caused me to under perform in interviews and miss opportunities. I decided to get over my pride and start working as a sign waver, which actually boosted my confidence during interviews, knowing that I had something to fall back on after unsuccessful interviews. Mostly what helped is going to interviews with the intention of having a good interview instead of actually getting the job. If I didn't get an offer I would always leave happy and confident knowing I did my best. The interview was the job itself. You have to really show interest, and luckily for me I actually did have an interest in the things I was asking about. By this time I always learned how to sell my self a little, something I have a hard time doing due to my low confidence. Use positive words and phrases that you know are true about yourself, and that you think about yourself. Like I could say I was "hardworking" but I don't actually consider myself hardworking, though I do have instances where I have worked hard. Do a lot of research on key words to say during interviews. One that always gets interviewers/employers happy for some reason is saying "I just like to keep my head down and do some honest work", or something like that. Luckily for me this is more or less true, because I am a private person who goes to work to work and not socialize or play games on his cell phone so I could say this with honesty and confidence. I found this phrase on reddit, when i was researching dishwashing jobs. I am not a good BS Artist so I have to keep everything I say about myself true. Plus its better that way, I want my employers to know exactly who they are dealing with. Honestly I could write so much about interviewing now but i'll just leave at this. This is what I did, and what I assume worked for me. I honestly feel incredibly lucky because I have had some terrible interviews even during this month.
Whether I do well at the job is another thing though.
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