2/23/11-2/24/11 WOW. Just WOW.

Well I can say that yesterday & today have both been very emotional in their own ways.

2/23/11~ I was unofficially accused of stealing. Here is what happened: I was scheduled to work 1pm-7:30pm (CST) so I got to work on time & was immediately put onto a register, because that is what I normally do. About 15-30 mins into my shift a customer walks in needing help with something. I go to see if I can help her< but she says someone else is already helping her. So I went back to my register. The next thing I know one of the ladies over me walks up to me and says "I need $27.35 from your drawer." I'm thinking "um...okay" but instead of questioning her I open my drawer and count out $27.35 to her which she then gives to the customer. No explanation to me about what is going on or anything and now my drawer is short & wont balance which I could get written up for. Before I get a chance to go up and ask we get a little mini rush. So as soon as there are no more customers at my register or waiting in the line I go up and ask why the money was taken from my drawer and the following is how the convo went:

her: "Did you recognize that lady?"
me: "No"
h: "She was in here on the 18th and went through your line. She said that her total came to $27.35 and she slide her TXU credit card and that you told her it was declined and she then gave you $30 and you gave her change back, but the receipt clearly shows that her credit card went through."
m: "...." (speechless & kinda babbling about how could that have happened)
h: "I've written this down because I have to, but you'll have to wait until Joan comes back to handle it ok?"
m: "ok" (I'm pretty sure I was in shock at that point)

So I walk back to my register and one of the employees who has known me for a long time because she knows my parents noticed the look on my face (and she saw the other lady take $ from my drawer) and asked what had happened. I gave her the short version of what happened which was a good thing because maybe 2 mins after I went back to my register (no time to get a customer or have to get into my drawer) another cashier came & took my place and I was sent to the back to work. While I was back there working my brain finally kicked back into gear & I began thinking. The day she came through my line my drawer balance wasn't over because if it was I would have been told. Which means the only way for what the customer claimed to have been true would be I had to have pocketed the money. Which I would never do. I've never stolen anything in my life, but if they believe I stole I could lose my job, which means the gov would no longer pay for my college classes & they might even demand the $ for the class I'm currently in, which I can't afford to pay and if I lost my job & put it on resumes for a new job (which would be almost impossible in today's economy) when they were called they would say why I was fired & the new job most likely wouldn't even consider hiring me. I also love my job. All of these thoughts are running through my head, but especially 1 that kept popping up over & over is "when will Joan be at work again?" So I asked one of the other managers that I've worked with on occasion. She wasn't over me & had no real say in my job but she had a copy of all the managers schedule. That's when I found out that Joan hasn't been at work because she's been calling in sick. Shortly after that was my 30 min lunch break. Of which I spent the entire time on my cell crying to my mom because this was 2 hours after I had gotten to work & I still had no clue what was going to happen to me & to make matters worse I had no clue as to when I would find out. Once my break was over I cleaned myself up to the best of my ability & went to find the manager I had been working with. She took one look at my face and asked if I was ok & before I could give myself a chance to think about it I asked if I could talk to her alone in her office. So we went to her office and I tried to explain the situation to her as calmly as possible, but of course since she isn't in anyway shape or form over me there was nothing she personally could do. She did call the manager over the entire store and asked her to come down and talk to me. By that time I was a bit calmer and able to explain the situation better. Once I told her what had happened she appeared to be shocked as well. Apparently they shouldn't have taken anything from my drawer without explaining the situation to me first and giving me a chance to defend myself & they should have also let me look at the receipt. So she took me to the front of the store and looked at the paper that was written and also at the receipt & let me look at the receipt as well. As soon as I saw the receipt I was able to recall the transaction perfectly. The lady's total had come to $127.35 (not $27.35) and she had swiped her TXU credit card, but because those cards are like gift cards with only a set amount of $ on them if the total was more than was on the card the card was declined. So yes the first time she swiped her card it was declined & I explained the whole gift card thing to her & told her that if she knew how much was on the card I could run the card through for that much and she could just pay the rest some other way. To which she said she didn't but that she would give me $100 in cash and try the card again. She did & it went through. I never gave her anything other than her receipt & the receipt showed this. So the store manager believed me & even said so to the lady who had taken the $ from me. And even told her that she shouldn't have taken the money from me because now the store has lost $27.35 and because it is a gov store there is literally no way for them to get that money back because by law they can only charge a customer the price they paid for the item. That is when the story came out that the lady had called the store after we had closed on Sunday (2/20/11) and spoke to Joan and that Joan had said that if the customer brought her receipt in they would give her her money back. And that the lady who took my $ was only doing what she was told. So the store manager said that she wanted to talk to Joan in her office the next time Joan was at work. She left and the lady who took my $ (& had sent me to the back to work) had then given me my drawer back & put me on a register. So while things have been cleared up for me & I'm no long accused of stealing I think I might have gotten my manager into trouble (the lady who makes my schedule and evaluation that has major input on if I get moved up to the next lvl when the time comes) so I'm a little worried about that.

I'm sure I don't have to point out where they went wrong in that story but here it is: 1) they didn't talk to me first 2) they didn't look closely at the receipt 3) they didn't explain to me what was happening or even what could happen to me.

Anyways after work I went to church to help my mom in her 3 & 4 year-old class that she has on Wednesday night. After church I spoke alone with mom and then went home & finally fell asleep around 1am.

2/24/11~ Today. At about 4:30am (CST) this morning my mom got a phone call from one of her sisters in Ca and was told that her father (my grandfather) was dead. She didn't want to wake anyone else up before she absolutely had to so she didn't wake us up & tell us until about 6am-6:15am (CST) so while my sister didn't go to school today. my parents and I still went to work, or so I thought. My parents only went to work long enough to get things in order there by telling the people they work with & their friends at work that my Poppy was now dead and to set things up so that they won't have to be there for while and then left & went home. I however by some miracle happened to make through all 6 & 1/2 hours that I was scheduled to be at work (probably because I offered & was allowed to work in the back instead of in the front with customers), but I knew I wouldn't be able to do it again tomorrow. So when I came back from my last break who should be at the window than the lady who had taken my $ yesterday & she noticed I was upset about something & she just assumed it was yesterday that I was upset and I then explained about my grandfather. She offered to let me go home then, but I explained that since I only had 2 hours left I would like to try to make it through the rest of the day but that I wouldn't be at work tomorrow. She then spoke to Mrs. Dumas, another manager, and got her to approve for me to take leave tomorrow. So now I don't have to go back to work until Mon, which the store happens to be closed that day and all I'll be doing is changing labels & not having to deal with other people. So I believe that by the time I do have to actually deal with people again I should be able to deal with them with the patience & respect that most of them deserve & without the risk of randomly breaking down & crying.

~Nina