Rules

Life has rules people, deal with it. I have noticed a trend in people lately, they don't like to follow the rules. For example, during our back-to-school season my company runs items for a penny. This is a great deal, no doubt. There are rules attached to this sale, limit 12. Not a single hour went by without this question, "Can I have more than 12?" I just don't get it. Why ask the question? The "rules" are clearly stated. There is no need for questions. You would not believe the way some people acted when I reiterated the rules. You would have thought I shot a puppy or something. "well I'm a teacher", "I work for a major university with low academic standards, so I should get whatever I want!"(the person actually named the university, I chose not too, but I think you can figure out to which one I'm referring) It was amazing! It kills me that people, such as teachers, who are responsible for instilling rules into the lives of our children, are the ones who want to break the rules. I had a lady call our customer care center because we were following the rules. There was an item on sale. It plainly stated "while supplies last, no rain checks." Seems pretty simple huh? Well she spoke to one of the other managers in our store who pointed out that there was no sub and no rain checks. She went nuts! She demanded that we do something for her. Why should I? The "rules" were in plain English, get over it lady!

When any of you go shopping you get a receipt. I would encourage you to read the back of that receipt, it has rules on it. It tells you "computers, once opened are not returnable", "14 days to return unopened electronic items" and so on. Here is a news flash, NO ONE READS THE BACK OF RECEIPTS! People seem so surprised when you point out the rules on the back of the receipt. I always ask people "did you read the back of your receipt? It explains our return policy." This usually incites a rather profanity laced monologue from the customer. I don't get it. Why don't you follow the rules? What is so hard about reading and following direction. I understand why you would be upset about a product not working or breaking down. When you buy a car, if it has a problem you take it to the dealer. The dealer fixes it. You don't get a new car. You sure as hell don't get a refund do you?

My favorite line from people after I explain the rules is "rules were made to be broken." Agreed. Sometimes you need to make a good decision and bend the rules in the interest of fairness. There are always extraordinary circumstances that present themselves and those need to be dealt with on a case by case basis. With that being said, it is an exception. The rules can not be broken for everyone. Quit asking!

I would be remiss if I did not speak about one specific rule. The Golden Rule. "Do unto others as you would have done unto you" This is the greatest of all. I find it amazing that when people do not follow the rules and you point that out to them, they start screaming! Who hasn't seen a video of a cop giving a ticket and that person is screaming like it was the officers fault they were caught breaking the rules. I would love it if I was able to treat customers exactly the way some of them treat me. Well, I guess I do. The majority of people are very nice and they are treated equally the same by me. I'm talking the rude jerks who whistle at you and demand your presence in front of them like I was their dog. Or my favorite: you are in the middle if a conversation with one customer and another walks right in between the two of you and asks his question. That person should be slapped! Do unto others people! Its not that hard is it? If you are nice and explain your issue in a calm, professional manner, guess what? You are going to be treated exactly the same way! If you are a raging lunatic, do not expect positive results.

In closing, please follow the rules. If you chose to not follow the rules, don't be surprised when it bites you in the butt, most rules tell you that's going to happen if you don't follow them.

Therapy

Working retail at the holidays is stressful at best. Most people are in good moods, but the stress of the season is apparent. The other day a particularly mean spirited person had just finished telling me about my stores shortcomings and pretty much unloaded all of their days frustrations on me. At this point in time I must have had a rather unusual tint to my skin tone. One of the stores regular customers walked up to me, shook my hand, and offered a bit of advice. He said:

"Son, if you don't learn how to get rid of your stress, your gonna drop dead real soon!"

"How do you suppose I get rid of my stress?" I asked.

"Well, since its probably not a good idea for you to tell people what your thinking, I'm guessing you could go on quite a tirade, maybe you might want to take up a hobby. Perhaps boxing? Martial Arts? I personally like to write"

Now, I have been told plenty of times in my life that I tend to stress out a bit and that I don't always deal with it in the best possible way. For some reason, I have always been a "shoot first, apologize later" kind of person. Lately, I have been trying to change that behavior, and on this particular day, his words sunk in and made sense. So here I am, writing. (I tried boxing, well Wii boxing, and was rather winded quite quickly.)

From now on, when people or events stress me out, I am going to start thinking of how to write that down and vent through a keyboard. I'm thinking its a good thing I work at a place that sells keyboards. I'm guessing the first couple of entries might be somewhat intense on the poor, unsuspecting keyboard.