As The Station Turns 11/01

It was going to rain so I took my car As I pulled to the end of my driveway I looked down the street, there were two trucks and a horse trailer blocking all the lanes and even the side of the street, so I was going to have to go around. I pulled into the Haunted Station through the back way and went to park but some guy was walking his dog, so I stopped to wait for him, and he stopped and held on to the dog. OK, so I started pulling forward and he started walking towards me again, so I stopped again, and he stopped again. So I started pulling forward again and this time I didn't stop, I pulled forward and started backing up and here he came again, planning on walking behind me. Well I had enough of this guy so I kept going and forced him to stop. When I got out I slammed the door extra hard and ignored him. He didn't come inside the station. So that's how my day started.

The Late Guy was in a hurry so as I was walking in he was already counting down his drawer. Instead of going back to the office and trying to open the safe, and having to count through the Part Time Woman's crappily done drawer I just counted in his, which was correct and had a reasonable spread of bills and coins. So the actual start of the day wasn't as bad as the getting to work part.

When the Late Guy did his last order he got a new brand of cigarettes and they didn't scan in the register, he didn't even have the price written down on the paperwork. Thankfully I have the inventory sheet for the Truck Stop and I wrote that price down on my paperwork. However this wasn't the end, when I worked at the Haunted Station the first time around I had access to the Manager level on the register, that way I could change prices or add new stuff to the barcode scanner. Well, it turns out they never took me off so I can still get into the Manager Mode. I tried to enter them in but it kept giving me error messages like "this is already in the system" or "code not recognized". So I did a deeper search and discovered that they had been in the register, in the wrong category so I had to delete that out. Then I found the brand name and a lot of scan codes for when they were originally sold at the station, but not the new codes, so I deleted all the old codes and entered the new ones plus the new price. Success! Naturally during that time I kept getting customers so I'd have to exit the Manager Mode, go back to the regular screen and do the transaction and then back to the Manager Mode again. I'm not going to tell the Late Guy I did all that because he'd probably turn off my access to the Manager Mode and I wouldn't be able to fix future problems. If he asks I'll say I didn't sell any of the cigarette packs so I never looked at them. If they turned up in the system I have no idea how it happened, perhaps that is what the Big Boss was messing with when he came by.

It started to get cloudy and the Graveyard Shift Guy (who is working Sunday afternoons) turned on the canopy lights at the Truck Stop. As far as I was concerned it was still light enough that we didn't need them. And then I got busy, like the majority of the pumps and a line at the restroom busy. And across the street, with the lights on? Nobody. Maybe I just attract people, a ha!

The crowd cleared out and I went to check the restrooms and the mens room was backed up again, enough so that it back flowed into the utility room again, so I had to shut them down. The pissers were all angry again but I didn't mind. I was trying to put a Knock Before Entering sign on the ladies room but I got lingerers, get your stuff and get out so I can finish! They left and I finished.

Then it rained, it pored, the wind ripped and rain went everywhere. And everyone who came in left the front door open so I had to keep going and closing it. Seriously? You don't know how to close a door?Sheesh.

It was around this time that the Federal Homeless woman showed up. I didn't want to deal with this again so I went out to tell her to leave, and considering what I've heard I took Buddy with me. Buddy is a wooden club with a steel core, truck drivers call them "tire buddies" and use them to pound on their tires to test the bounce, but they're really for if you get attacked and need to smack someone in the head. I told her to roll on and she started shouting about how she was "federal" and again I told her to leave. She demanded to know what my name was so I told her "Puddintane" she demanded my name a second time and I said "Ask me again and I'll tell you the same". That is when she fired me and told me I was going to be working at McDonalds. I told her great. At least she was walking away, but it didn't stay that way. She came back and stated tapping on the window with her mace sprayer. Well, that was it, that was enough, I called the cops. I figured she would have wandered off before they got there but I still wanted to file a report, however she hung out, just past the canopy where she thought I couldn't see her. The first cop that showed up was the chaplain, yes my local police department has a chaplain. He's a short guy so I was kind of worried about him dealing with her but as he was talking to her Frankie the Cop showed up and he's a big guy, he's nice and all but I wouldn't get on his bad side. They were out there talking to her and she pulled out her mace again, oh boy, here comes the show! The chaplain talked her down and she left. Frankie came in and told me when the mace came out he was ready for a serious confrontation that would have resulted in an arrest. They also said if she came back to give them a call. She's on their radar now and if she threatens people somewhere else they will probably have to do something. Thank goodness I have Monday off.

Meanwhile I was looking for a flashlight and found my bill checker marker. I made sure to put that back in my bag.

There was a break in the rain so I ran to do the trash. I also got a piss break in and then the next crowd showed up. Ha ha, I beat you.

I was waiting on a guy when an A-hole went by the cones into the lights out restrooms. I rushed the customer and then went running back, tripped over the cones, hit the floor, jumped up and pounded on the door. The guy answered and I told him the restrooms were out of order and if he flushed it was going to back up all over the floor. He came out and apologized and then noticed the cones blocking the hall, I think he was too embarrassed to go to the ladies room but he left instead. And I limped around because I had injured my foot and knee. People, if the lights are out, the cones are blocking the entrance and there is a sign that says "Restroom Closed" the restroom is closed!

I wanted a snack break.Thanks to the time my eating schedule has been thrown off and I needed something to tide me over until I got home, but there were two guys outside chatting. I had to wait because I knew the minute I stepped away from the register they would come in. I waited and waited and waited, then I stepped away from the register and here they came. Every time.

The guys cleared out, the crowd cleared out and I finally got my snack. Along with access to the Manager Mode on the register I also still have access to the ordering app and I tacked on a cake I like onto the last order. The Late Guy won't notice because the shipment shows up on his day off and other people stock the shelves. I grabbed my snack, walked around to ring it out and the Big Boss showed up, so I quickly shoved it next to the cash drawer and planned on waiting until they left. The Big Boss wandered around while Skippy did the inventory. I told him that the restrooms were down again so now I don't have to worry about that. They got their stuff done and here came a crowd, my snack would have to wait.

The crowd cleared out and I was going to buy my snack but first I wanted to do the ice because it was getting close to the end of the shift and I didn't know if I would get busy again, I got the bagged stuff done and then went to fill up the soda machine. The Late Guy tells me all about how he gets everything done but it was nearly empty so I stared on that. I only needed one more bucket when a family came in, they were driving two cars and wanted to fill up both so I authorized the pumps and waited for them to finish in the restroom. And waited, and waited, and waited. The son filled up one car but not the second, so I waited. The kids grabbed stuff and hovered around the register. I got tired of waiting and by the time they were actually done I was going to get busy again so I went to put the bucket and the step stool away and the woman, rudely, said "we're ready". So I went back to the register, after putting the stuff away, and they had only filled up one car, so I rang it out along with their stuff. When I gave the woman her receipt she said "you only rang up one car" I pointed out that they only filled up one car. She called the son on her phone and told him to fill up the second car, again. I insisted on hanging on to her card again, she didn't like that. Then I had to tell a guy who was stuck behind them, as they blocked the counter, that he could come up and pay. They finally got their fuel and left. You just want to smack some people. Nearly an hour later, because a crowd showed up, I got the ice done. 

It was close enough to the end of the night that I locked the door a little early. This gave me time to do a once over on the restrooms, mop the floor and rinse out the coffee pot, then close my drawer. The floor was messy enough that it probably needed a second mopping but I wasn't going to do it. I put the cones away so the Late Guy gets an unpleasant surprised in the morning. Hey, I told the Big Boss and fully meant to leave a note, I just "forgot". I double checked all the regular closing stuff and then almost forgot to clock out. I went out just as someone was pulling in but I was closed. I got out to my car and suddenly I couldn't remember if I locked the front door, if the people went in they were going to set off the alarm and I'd have to stick around until the cops showed up, for the second time. Then I remembered that I locked it when I closed up earlier, d'uh. The people at the pump weren't happy but they went across the street. Then I went home.

I was making my dinner when remembered I left my snack sitting next to the cash drawer and never took the Knock sign off the ladies room door. That's gonna confuse the Late Guy. I'm not going back for it on my day off, Monday. I'll deal with it on Tuesday.