Today is my official "second escape" from the Depot. I got my letter from Sheridan offering me a placement in the Human Resource programme, starting in January! This means no more full time grunt work, just school work.... and lots of it. I just worry that I made the right choice, but at the same time, I couldn't just wait around for nothing to happen. The only downside to the entire event is that it's going to cost another $6000+ for one more year of school. That said, if $6000 will get me out of the Depot, I'll be more than willing to pay it.

What to do, What to do?? It's been raining here for 3 days, going on forever, and it's as cold as hell. (yes, hell has frozen over, FYI) I feel like going out to the mall, which I know is dangerous for my wallet... I want to pick up some stuff for my Hallowe'en costume, because I just know I'm going to be stuck working on Monday night. I might as well have fun while I'm there. My idea this year is to dress up as a vampire bat. Seeing as no place carries "bat ears", I'm going to use a set of cat ears instead.... I've only got to buy the vampire teeth and the ears. I already have the black wings.

That decided, I was hoping my shopping buddy would be available for this trip.... She's been gone since Friday, and I don't know if she was killed in T.O. or she sick, or missing...... jk. She's probably just at work, or is sleeping.... still.

Alrighty, so me being a shopaholic end up at the mall today, spending much more than I would've liked to.... Nevertheless, I come out rather unscathed with only a few unnecessary purchases like the purses I bought. I found two I really liked, one was kinda small and therefore a wee bit impractical, but it was the only one at the store and it's beyond gorgeous... the other one was larger, and was cute but there were sooooo many on the shelves. Me, also being the indecisive one, chooses to buy both bags. ~shrugs~ I just couldn't bring myself to make such a horrible decision. Lucky for me, it was buy one, get one half off.... which I didn't realise because like a typical consumer, I failed to read signage. SCORE for me, though! Now if I win the lottery, it will have been a truly perfect day.

Welcome to this fine city, and let me give a good example of how it's going downhill... FAST!

So the other night, I'm taking the "fabulous" HSR home from work. I'm sitting there, trying to listen to my music and mind my own business, but this loud-mouth is sitting behind me talking on her cell about everything, including her pending incarceration... Alrighty, I did say she was talking about incarceration.... so I decided to uncharicteristically keep my mouth shut and continued to be annoyed because I couldn't hear my own (very loud) music over the grating sound of her voice. I finally decided to give up on the music because I didn't want to waste my batteries.

For the majority of the trip, I had to listen to her whine about not being able to have any makeup, hair styling products, and not being able to get her nails done if she ended up in jail. (Biting my tongue at this point) I figure if you're stupid enough to do something that'll land you in jail, and you're convicted, then you deserve the punishment. I really wanted to turn around, slap her upside the head, and say what do you expect??? An all-inclusive vacation at a resort?!?!?!? Then she starts talking about getting off the bus and beating the snot out of some hookers she knows, because they owe her money for the drugs she gave them. Luckily for me, my stop was next and I could escape from the sound of her voice, and the stupidity that was leaking forth from her mouth.

ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!

Every single day, all I hear in snippets of conversation is "so & so just got sent to Barton (jail).... they're released tomorrow.... I don't want to get caught selling drugs, but I sell them anyways because I'm stupid & greedy..." My list could go on forever.

With stuff like this becoming the idea of what kind of place Hamilton actually is, no one wants to visit, let alone live here...

Ever notice how inconsiderate people can be?

So every single night, a certain someone waltzes into the house sometime between 1:30 am and 2:00 am. Each night, the front door is slammed as they come in, and then they proceed to bring the dog upstairs with them, as they head off for bed.... gee, I wonder who this is?!? For those of you who've never seen my house, the floors are all wood, same with the un-carpeted stairs, so the dog makes loads of noise getting up them. Of course, this wakes not only myself up, but also my parents. Then, like usual, comes the turning on of every available light in the upstairs vicinity, and the familiar slam of the bathroom door.... again, not fun when you're tired & trying to sleep. Usually once the bathroom door has slammed, and the lights get turned off one by one, it's quiet for the rest of the night...

Until last night!

Rudely, we were all woken up at 4:00 am by the same door-slamming, light turning on, noisy person, who decided to yell at the dog for no apparent reason. I thought I had managed to escape the "annoying room mate" bit when I decided to stay at home & go to school.

Now if ever any one else is loud, even by accident and wakes the inconsiderate one up, tempers flare, and an explosion beyond your wildest dreams occurs.

My only question is: When is it my turn to move out?!? I'll gladly leave as soon as my finances allow it!

So today, I find out I'm not stuck at "The Depot" forever! Finally! It's not "on paper" official yet, but as per the website, Sheridan will be sending me a firm offer of admission at some point in the near future. While I would really like to go to Humber for the Public Relations programme, Sheridan was my second choice for the Human Resource programme. All I know is that as of January 2006, I will be a student once again!

Okay, so I've noticed a few web-articles dealing expressly with how people are annoyed by retail and customer service employees. I really think it's unfair that no one else discusses the other side of the issue, which is how many consumers annoy the hell out of those who work in the service and retail industries. So, in an attempt to even out the scale, here goes my rant.

1. Mean customers SUCK! Honestly, if you treat everyone the way you've just treated me, then I'm amazed someone hasn't hauled off and KO'ed you yet. You play nice, and I'll play nice. It's that simple.

2. Don't act like I'm beneath you, and assume I'm stupid. You don't know my story, don't know why I'm working at a retail/service job. If you want to act like you're better than me/ more educated/ higher class, etc... then don't expect to be dazzled by my level of service. Again, courtesy and respect are two way streets.

3. Yelling at me gets you NOWHERE, fast! To be honest, it may delay whatever I'm doing for you. Make me mad, I work slower, take up more of your time, charge you for every little thing you're getting done.... There are ways in which we, the CSA's of the world exact our revenge (but only on the idiots who deserve it).

4. NEVER, ever tell me how to do my job! I'm the one who has trained for several years to be able to provide you with the BEST service I can provide. Unless you think you can do my job better, then I suggest you keep your mouth shut and respect my judgement. Also falling under this category is automatically assuming that a Male CSA, even if they're not in my department, knows more about my job than I do. WRONG! I'm specialized, and highly intelligent. Trust me to know how to fulfill the requirements of your order. Obviously if I didn't know what I was doing, I wouldn't be working in that department!

5. Please, don't make absurd or outlandish requests that you know would be impossible, such as discounts on merchandise and services just because you don't want to pay full price. I can understand if you're buying huge amounts of one product, or if you're requesting a donation for a non-profit organization, but keep in mind, companies do have a bottom line to meet too. Asking for a huge discount on every item you buy is stupid on your part... this just makes us angry because you don't value our products and services, and makes you look cheap.

These are just a few of the annoyances I've encountered during my 10+ years of working as a Customer Service/Sales Associate. Treat me how you want to be treated is all I ask. Value me, because I value you. Without your patronage, my job wouldn't exist. If I or anyone else from my team has done something that totally rocks your socks, then let our manager(s) know.... climb the highest mountain and yell it for all to hear! It's nice to hear good things from our customers!

That said, if you're courteous to an associate and they're just downright apathetic or rude, then yes, by all means, also let their manager know. Obviously they need an attitude adjustment, sometimes in the form of a pink slip. If the manager doesn't do anything, there are avenues such as the Head Office that will do something about it. Believe me, in a competitive market, every company needs to do whatever it can (within reason) to retain you, the customer. If they're not willing, they obviously don't deserve your business.

Okay, that's all I have for now... I'm sure something else will come to mind later.