Day Thirty One

There’s a rumor going around at we won’t be given ten days notice after all (even though we have the signs sitting in the hallway in the office area) but only five. I’ve talked to my SM and I know why it’s a rumor, but really it wouldn’t surprise me at this point.

We were also audited today, which ended up not being too big of a deal, at least to our faces. The auditor was pretty cool as far as I saw, but then I just met her. I didn’t get lectured by her or anything.

Also our regional manager came in today and I didn’t recognize him at first because he was, like, smiling, and joking and laughing with us. It’s amazing how much a few smiles and actually addressing the grunts instead of leading the managers around like nervous nans can change a person. Really he should smile more often.

Sometimes things trigger every rage vein you have in you, and sometimes they come off so absurd you can’t help just laughing. Like the people coming in asking about applications. We get a lot because being downtown it’s easy for people to walk around, hit a lot of places and fill up their sheets for unemployment or halfway house requirements. Many of the people asking aren’t serious about it at all, they just ask so they can try to get us to sign their sheets.

One guy last week got mad at us. “Are you all hiring?” “No, we’re closing.” “Well will you sign my sheet?” “No, we can’t. And people would laugh at you anyway if they saw you were asking a closing store for a job.” At which point he got real mad and snapped “Well I am looking and I did ask, so you should sign it.”

Today’s applicant was, I don’t know. He asked to talk to someone about his application and didn’t see how us being on a hiring freeze, the store closing and us all losing our jobs meant that he didn’t stand a chance. Two hours later a customer simply could not believe we still have people asking us about hiring when we’re all losing our jobs, at some unnamed point. Also the messages of support have began to change from “Why are you closing? I’m so sorry.” to “You’ll find out there’s something better out there, and clearly they aren’t treating you right anyway.”

I ended up parodying the classic Borders BR/BR+ ad name badge into “Hire me! Ask how today!” and it seems to be getting a lot of positive reaction. No jobs, but more people wishing me luck and sympathizing rather than just assuming we’ll all be transfered. And a woman visiting from Norway who just so happens to own an employment agency took a picture of it and complimented my initiative. Too bad I’m not looking for a job in Norway, though.

Now if I can find a way to hold on to this tired, resolved, almost-positive feeling (and better yet, pass it on to the people around me as well) I might be able to convince myelf that everything really will be okay and I won’t end up spending another few years job hunting.