MLAARE -2.5 Gallons

I've had the same lady call three days in a row now.

And like the Turtle Guy....
It's been about the same subject, basically the same content!
With the exception of the creature.

You see this potential customer has been planning to get a Beta Fish.
And the other Starsmet has a 2.5 gallon tank that she wants.
(which we didn't have in stock in our store.)

She wanted to know about the tank, the types of betas we carried, the prices, if they could live with life plants...

And every conversation started about the same.
"Hi, I'm planning to get a Beta Fish and put in a 2.5 gallon tank---"

I'm totally fine answering people's questions. I love that they ask questions.
But when they ask me the same question three days in a row?
>.<
Not so much.

I know they're being overly cautious. Not wanting to kill their new pet. Wanting to do everything right.
And I applaud them for that.
Really I do, they're doing their research and such.

I would just warn to not call the store multiple times in a week with the same questions.
She got lucky in that it was me each time. (that I know of, she could have called more than that.)
As each person will say the same basic information to you.
But once you start getting into the nitty gritty details...
That's when it's a matter of opinion on what works, what is good, what is bad...you'll get conflicting information.

I hope that her Beta Fish does well when and if she does decide to get it though. :) She seems like a good caring pet person.

-Sarnic Dirchi

MLAARE -Candy Carry Out

I heard it over the intercom.
"Customer Service to the Front for a Carry Out"
So I went up to the front, to see a lady I had helped earlier lifting a heavy bag of cat litter waiting for help.
I'd figured it was her, so I was already prepared to help her out, and did so.

And then after I had placed her purchases in the trunk of her car.
She reaches into her pocket and hands me some sort of caramel candy in thanks stating "If I had cash I would have given you some instead of this."

O.o
Lol. It was a bit of surprise really.
I don't expect to get anything for helping people out to their cars.
It's just part of the job.
I don't even know if I could accept money if people tried to give it to me. O.o

So strange to have someone want to give me a 'tip' of sorts.... *shakes head*

I basically consider being able to leave the store for a short period to breathe in the fresh air to be my reward for volunteering to help with a carry out. lol.

-Sarnic Dirchi

MLAARE -Approval Needed

I had this customer come into the store with a couple of her kids.
Because they really wanted to have a fish as a pet.
More than one really, so that each child could have their own fish.

So I talked to the woman, trying to feel out what she needed,
I figured a fish bowl with a beta fish would have been her best bet.
Only she said that her kids wanted more than one fish...which betas don't do well with.

Eventually we figured out that there was a really good deal happening on a 15 gallon tank, that was less expensive than the other tanks that were slight smaller.

So she ended up buying it....

and ended up returning it a couple of hours later.
O.o

Why?
Because she hadn't been sure if her husband would approve.
But she bought it anyway....
and the husband hadn't approved.

O.o
Why?
Why not just confirm first with your spouse before you do something like that?
It would have saved a lot of hassle.
Or at least have a conversation with them first. Talking about the kids wanting a fish and what type of fish tank or fish they would like or if they'd even want to be responsible for things like that....
Research.
Impulse buys aren't good in a petstore...
At least she hadn't bought fish yet...

-Sarnic Dirchi

MLAARE -Kennel Talk

So my coworker was doing returns the other night at the store.
Where we place items back on the shelves that were returned throughout the day. (The ones we can sell again.)

When she came across two college students sitting in one of our large dog kennels.
You read that right.

O.o
Apparently they were just sitting in there talking.

And we hadn't noticed them until like 20 minutes after the store had closed.

I have no idea if they just got carried away with talking,
or if they were waiting for us to leave to do who knows what....

In any case.
If it was the first thing....
What in the world were they thinking?
It has to be the oddest place to just sit and chat.
I mean a petstore....in a dog kennel...chatting....
Maybe it reminded them of a fort??

Who knows....

-Sarnic Dirchi

MLAARE -The 6th Day

It's probably not a good thing to have two managers descend on you at about the same time.
And what they wanted?
Was the answer to a simple question.
"Sarnic, how do you feel about working 6 days next week?"
(usually I work 5)
There's not much time for thinking in such a situation, when they're both staring at you expectantly.
So I said the first thing that came to my mind. "As long as I have Sunday off..."
Was what I managed to say before they shared congratulatory smiles. "That's perfect!" Turk said. "Because I'd already given you Sunday off."
I.E. I planned for you to work on your other day off, so I'm glad you and I agreed on the same day.

*shakes head*
Apparently, the two of them Sirch and Turk had spent much of last evening hammering out the details of next week's work schedules. (even though they were already posted.)
Messing around mostly with my department's times. Figuring out when people could and could not come in and to try and get two people in my department in the morning. (Finally!)
And the only way they could make it work....was to bring me in on a sixth day.
Meaning that next week...I'm going to be working six days in a row.

I hope it's not too bad.
If I wanted to, it would mean that I could work a full 8 hour shift that 6th day. Which would mean more money in my paycheck for sure.

But they gave me the option to leave early, once the opening tasks of the department were finished with.

So I guess we'll see how it goes...

At least I hadn't made any plans for that day... it would have been rather hard to say "Sorry, I have plans on my day off...."
(Go figure really if I had....I mean, the schedule had been posted already for most of the week....before they messed with it....)

-Sarnic Dirchi

MLAARE -Nearly Called In

I should learn to recognize the signs by now.
As they often point towards things not going well.

You see, more often than not, I like to stay up late.
Really late.
Because the next day I can afford to sleep in right?

Well....
It seems like if I actually plan for it. "I'm going to stay up this late, and then I'll sleep in..."
It doesn't happen.

I did that last night.
I stayed up way later than I usually do.
Because I knew I could sleep in....

And what happened?
a couple of hours later (a normal wake up time for me really)
I woke up to the sound of buzzing.
To the sound of my phone.
It took me very little time to realize that it was a phone call and not some sort of alarm.
So I shot out of sleep to answer it.
For...
It was work calling.
(It happens way more often than you think it would)

My first thought was that I had somehow miswrote down when I was supposed to be into work.
But no.
Another coworker of mine was having trouble getting into work that early,
so one of my mangers was calling to see if I could come in.
Though after a bit of talking,
it was decided that I really didn't need to come in.
(Which is unexpected, most of the time I do end up going into work early)

And so...
I could fall back asleep.
And sleep I did, late into the morning.
And it was great. ^^

-Sarnic Dirchi

MLAARE -Baggies Afloat

There I was,
busy trying to open my department for the day,
when I happened to walk past our fish tanks.
And noticed....something clear sticking out the top.
That clear thing?
A baggy.
A baggy with fish in it. ()_()
A baggy that hadn't been there when I left the day before, and as I was the first person in the store that morning...had to have been left out overnight!
Yikes!
To the rescue!
Quick as a flash I opened the bag releasing the two fish in there back to their tank.
I turned away, relieved that I'd come to their rescue.
Only to see a SECOND baggy poking out of a different tank a foot away!! ()_()
Again, I raced to the rescue, releasing the two fish trapped there.

I'm glad that the fish survived!

Note to self: Inform closing people to release fish immediately!

I have no idea where these guys came from,
but I'm guessing they were fish a customer no longer wanted.
And so they brought them back.....

*shakes head*
At least they survived their overnight stay in the baggies. :)

-Sarnic Dirchi

MRS -Not the Cheapest Stuff Please

I can understand why public places end up going for the less expensive toilet paper. I mean, those bathrooms can see a ton of traffic. So they should make the rolls last as long as possible.

What I don't understand....
Is why anyone would willingly buy that useless stuff for their own personal use.

Yet....my roommate has. The one I share a bathroom with.
She has bought the cheapest of the cheap stuff. The stuff that's so thin it's hardly better than that decorative tissue paper put in gift bags.
I don't get it.
I mean...it will probably last longer...probably.

But why? Why use it in your own home?
*shakes head*
I'll probably never understand.

-Sarnic Dirchi

MLAARE -Mice Problems

Mice.
Mice have to be the most....annoying creatures I deal with right now.

There just seems to be something....up with them. >.<

The current batch I just got in, have cemented it for me.
Most annoying.

I get them in and they seem to all be fine, healthy, active, all getting along...
and not even a day later, they're trying to kill each other!
Seriously.
I come in and half of them have wounds on their backs!
It's like they blinked and suddenly decided that they couldn't live with each other anymore.

To make it worse, one of these apparently healthy mice, ended up having more than just wounds, he had to be taken to the vet, due to a prolapsed something...

It was crazy!
Not even a day later.
Not EVEN A DAY.

And now, I have to keep the mice separated from each other. >.< Which takes up space we can't afford to take up. Which means I can't bring them all out to be sold at once, (especially not until the ones with wounds heal.)
Which means that it will take longer to sell them... *sighs*
Yah...

Not my favorite pet for sure right now.
>.<
They couldn't just get along and play nice....

-Sarnic Dirchi

MRS -Notes I Hate

I really need to move into a place where I don't have roommates.
Where I can leave dishes out,
Make messes,
Hang out on the couch all day.

And not have anyone leave little annoying notes about the state of 'tidiness' of the apartment. >.<

The worst part, now, about the leaving of those notes to 'keep the kitchen clean' to 'clean up the dishes.'
Is that my coconspirator in not doing the dishes....moved out.
So it's just me.

So I know it's directed directly at me. >.<
Which doesn't help.
As I LOATHE doing dishes.
And it's not like I make that many of them. >.<
Grrrr
I placed them in the sink and everything. Shouldn't that be enough? It's not like they're smelling up the place either.

But I just need to tolerate it for another couple of months,
and then the writer of the notes will be gone.

Still, every time she leaves a note.
I consider leaving a not so nice note back.

I haven't done it yet, but I'm getting closer to doing it every time.

For now.
I'm going to put off doing dishes like I planned, until tomorrow. And do them then when I have to clean up the place for a cleaning check anyways.

-Sarnic Dirchi

MLAARE -Return These?

It's not often that I see suspicious people at work.
Sure you get the crazy ones,
the smelly ones,
the funny ones,
the angry ones....

But the suspicious ones...not so much.

Yet, I got one of those ones the other day.

A woman came up to the counter wanting to return three items.
I asked if she had a receipt.
She said no.
I said that I could possibly look it up, and asked her when she bought it.
She said that she hadn't bought it, her sister had right after thanksgiving, but they had searched all over the house for the receipt and couldn't find it anywhere, and she didn't know what her sister had paid with or anything.
Meaning...even though it was in the time frame where we could look it up...we couldn't look it up because we didn't have the components needed to help us out.

(Really....why wait until JANUARY to return something you bought in NOVEMBER? Surely you could have come sooner, especially if it was items you weren't going to use.)

She asked if she could get store credit for the items.

I said I would have to double check.
Because to me....she was acting suspicious.
Three items, all shiny and brand new.
No receipt.
Wanting money/store credit for them?

It's suspicious. She looked suspicious with how she was dressed, the way she was acting.

So I called a manager over.
Explained the situation, to see if we could do the store credit.
He scanned one of the items....
and it was nearly $100
()_()
Uhh....
Even more suspicious!

We ended up only returning one of the three,
because the other two....were more pricey, and definitely on the "This can be stolen easily and attempted to return for money" category. One of those "You need to keep the receipt" situations because of the higher theft rate.

But yah....
Suspicious. Really suspicious to me.
*shakes head*

-Sarnic Dirchi

MLAARE -Which Cleaning?

There I was,
In the middle of cleaning out the bird cages.
Bedding spilling all over the floor like usual.
And my manager comes up to me, toes some of the bedding with his foot and asks "Is this clean or dirty."
and I was like "Dirty."
Because not all the bedding makes it in the garbage can when I dump it out.

But then.
O.o
My manager proceeded to ask me.
"So, what cages are we cleaning today? Reptiles?"

*blink blink blink*
O.o
Uhhhh...

There I was.
In the middle of cleaning out the BIRD cages.
And he was asking me if we were doing Reptiles today???
O.o
wha?
 "Birds..." I said confused, wondering if he hadn't seen what I was doing, or if he was assuming that I was going to do more than one cage cleaning today. (which we never do...)

"I thought it was Reptiles today."
"No...Birds has always been today, Reptiles isn't for a couple more days."

O.o
Yah...
I'm still a bit...
O.o about it.

I mean...he was standing there, I was in the middle of cleaning the birds! And he asked that?!?!
So confused.

-Sarnic Dirchi

MRS -Lights

So my new roomie's room,
Is annoying.
Why?
Because, as she informed me a little earlier, if she leaves her curtains open, it looks like there is a light in her room, when her light isn't on.

I'd noticed this. Noticed that it always looked like her light was on,
But she wasn't home.

And it bugs me.
I know my roommates are anti social. They like to hide in their rooms.
But at least I like glancing at the cracks in the door to see if their home.
If their lights are on.

But with her room...
I never know.
Is she there?
Is she not?
It just looks like the light is on,
but that doesn't mean she's there.

In many ways I think it's worse than having them gone all the time.
Because seeing that light, gives a bit of hope that they're there to 'run into' should they venture out.
To know that that isn't going to always be the case.

:( Not fun.

-Sarnic Dirchi

MLAARE -I'm Here

So I had work this morning,
One of those mornings where I really wanted to just sleep another hour or so when I heard my alarm go off.
Yet, I got up, ready, and went to work,
feeling like my normal self.
Already in the mindset of what I would be needing to do today.

And then....
When my coworker let me inside,
They commented,
Not even 5 seconds after seeing me.
"You look like you don't want to be here."

O.o
Totally threw me for a loop.

I looked like I didn't want to be here?

I thought I looked like I did everyday...
If anything I was in a bit of a hurry and forgot to put my hair up, so it was down...
but what would make me want to not be here?

I'd been fine, looking forward to the day actually.
I basically responded. "I'm tired."

Which I was, I was still waking up,
but that's how I've been the past few morning shifts.
Waking up for the next hour or so while I do my morning tasks.
Warming up really.

No....
I think instead, that instead of me not wanting to be there.
It was my coworker.
They didn't want to be here.
They were just putting their thoughts and feelings onto me as a way to vent it out I suppose.

-Sarnic Dirchi

MLAARE - Eating Habits

So there was this older couple, grandparent age, looking into the reptile tanks.
So I went up to them to ask if they needed help.

And the woman pointed to a rather large cricket inside the cage and asked.
"Why is this cricket kept in a cage with the lizard?"

I'm not sure if she thought the cricket was supposed to be a pet,
or was worried for it's welfare....

But I told her. "Yes, the lizards eat them, it's their food."

She gave me a look and a response that confirmed that she hadn't considered it was food.

Yep, so it goes. Lizards eat insects. :)

-Sarnic Dirchi

MLAARE -Goldfish Woes

To continue from my last post.

A few hours later, towards the end of my shift or so.
This couple walks into the store.
The gentleman immediately has me thinking "Oh no, this is a crazy customer."
He just had that....way about him.
It's a look I saw back when I first started my job and a guy brought in his friend to get him into fishtanks, which he did. Totally go overboard and overzealous and everything crazy about the fish.
Which was great for us!
Only...he then hounded us for the next two weeks, exchanging items, switching out from salt to fresh to salt water fish, returning decorations, replacing filters, basically a nightmare for us.

This gentleman....gave off the same vibe.
The "I'm so excited I'm not listening to anything you say just give me my fish so I can be more excited!"

He looked at all the fish, soo excited about everything he didn't really sit still or listen long enough to hear what I was telling him. Basically he wanted "Big fish" to go in his tank.
Which meant, our goldfish as they were the biggest fish we had currently.
So he ended up getting our two largest gold fish and our 3 biggest medium goldfish, plus like 6 of our larger feeder goldfish. Then he decided he wanted plecos and catfish. (can you see where this is going? I'm pretty sure this guy was the one who was on the phone earlier in the day.)
But decided to just get three catfish.
And then finally left me to bag them all up.
Since I was just bagging, when the phone rang, I didn't mind answering it.
But the customer did.
I was talking to a woman on the line, trying to multitask as the customer I was helping said he wanted to get snails.
So I grabbed him one.
He said he wanted more snails.
So I nodded trying to finish up the conversation of the woman (who was asking about how the online order/store pickup thing worked)
And the customer was like "Hang up the phone and get me my snails! I'm in a hurry!"
The way he said it, it sounded like he thought I was just chatting for fun. >.< No sir, I was DOING MY JOB!! BE PATIENT! >.<
And he definitely wasn't IN A HURRY because he'd already spent like 20 minutes in the store!
So I asked him how many snails he needed, grabbed them and finished my conversation with the customer on the phone. (I feel bad for her, she was just trying to be thorough, and I wasn't able to answer her question because the customer with the goldfish was distracting me. >.< Geeeezzzzz. Hopefully it was sorted out...)
In any case,
I bagged up (as they were finally ready to stop picking out fish) all their fish.
I made special care
-As this customer was the sort I recognized would think all his fish could be returned -as I told him he did have a guarantee to bring them back within a certain time period.-
To show him, tell him, be all Vanna White to him,
that the 6 feeder goldfish he was getting COULD NOT BE RETURNED!  
Because they were feeders (aka they are bred to be fed to other animals as a food) there would be no guarantee on them.
I showed him the bag. Showed him the numbers. Showed him the fish. Told him. They Cannot be Returned.
Showed him the other three bags of fish.
Told him those ones did have a guarantee, that they could be returned for any reason. He just needed the receipt and the fish.
But again told him that the feeders could not be returned.

I thought he understood it.
I told him like seven times, and I think even got verbal confirmation that he understood.

Yet it must have gone in one ear and out the other,
or been erased from his short term memory once he left the store.

Because like an hour later.
Guess which fish were RETURNED?!

THE FEEDER GOLDFISH!!

GAH!!
>.< And my cashier returned them because they hadn't known that I said they couldn't be returned. (though I thought everyone knew that.)

REALLY?
REAAAAALLLLLLYYY?!?!
I basically wasted a ton of breath and my voice for NOTHING.
I hate it when people manage to skirt the rules. >.<

And why did he return the fish?!
"They didn't go with the tank."
Seriously?!?!
If I hadn't been distracted with a ton of customers at that point in time....grrrrrrr I would have reminded him that those fish were NOT RETURNABLE!!!
He'd had plenty of time to look at them when I caught them! What made him change his mind then?!

Grrrrrr, yes.
This customer is going to be one of 'those' customers.
A monster created and unleashed and unable to be tamed for who knows how long....
I really hope this does not turn out to be the case, but I will have to see. It is only in the beginning stages anyways.

>.<
-And the feeders were put back in their tank, since they'd only been gone like an hour, it wasn't a big deal, I'm just frustrated I wasn't listened to.

-Sarnic Dirchi

MLAARE -Heater Woes

Peeved is what I am now.
Seriously, peeved.

A customer earlier today summed it up just right. "Work is great! Only, it would be better if there were no customers."
Oh touche to that. I totally agree.
Work would be loads better if I didn't have to deal with customers, and I could just play with the animals all day.

My cause of irritation today is this.

I got a call today, one where I was on speaker phone. (I hate those calls, it's hard to hear the other person.)
Customer: Do tropical fish need a heater?
Me: Yes, tropical fish are freshwater fish and need a heater.
Customer: So which fish do you have that need a heater?
Me: All fish but Goldfish.
Customer: What about those zebra fish?
Me: Zebra Danios? Yes, they need a heater.
Customer: Oh, what about angel fish.
Me: Yes, they need a heater too.
Customer: do neon tetras need a heater.
Me:(Wondering how they could not comprehend what I meant by "All Fish, But Goldfish.".)
Yes, the neons need a heater, them moreso, they are more likely to die in a cold tank.
Customer: Are you sure the zebra fish need a heater?
Me: Yes.
Customer: Because I had some in my tank, and I don't have a heater.
Me: Are you sure they were the zebra danios?
Customer; Maybe it was the angelfish? What fish have stripes.
Me: Were they horizontal or vertical?
Customer: They were flat.
Me: So horizontal?
Customer: Yah.
Me: Than those are Danios, they need a heater, if your tank is naturally warm enough they could do alright without it, but for the most part they need a heater.
Customer: Do those pleco fish or catfish need a heater? Can they go with goldfish.
Me: Yes.....they can go with goldfish, and they can do alright without a heater.

On and on it went. For like another 5 minutes!! How did they not comprehend this?! I hate it when customers keep asking questions. >.< Because then eventually I get into the grey zones of "maybes" and no definites at all.

Basically, if you don't have a heater, you can only get goldfish.
If you do have a heater than only the size of your tank holds you back.

-Sarnic Dirchi

MRS -Cleaning

I just terrified my roommate with the state of my bedroom.
And come to think of it.
It does look like a hurricane hit the place.
To her she was like "You can't even move in here!"
Sure I can, I mostly just go to my bed anyways. lol.
Still, I can see her point.
My room is a mess.
Not anything that I can't clean up in like half an hour though.
Put the clothes away,
put away Christmas.
throw out all the Christmas wrapping.
Make the bed.
Walla!
It's all clean once again lol.

"You can't have cleaned in months!"
"Only a couple of weeks." -I lied.
It actually has been months,
Not since last year have I made a serious attempt to clean my room
and that is because I haven't had to.
Cleaning checks haven't happened since November.

And when I don't have to clean.
I really don't do so.

Plus, for the most part, it's a manageable mess.
It only really got bad in the last two weeks because I brought home Christmas lol.
I still haven't figured out where to put everything yet.
Nor had the energy to try and do so.

At least she doesn't have to look into my room unless she makes an effort to lol.
Out of sight,
out of mind,
though I will probably have to show her my room 'clean' just to wash away the hurricane image from her head. lol

-Sarnic Dirchi

MRS -A New Ghost

My sunshine roommate moved out the other day.
Taking with her the constantly opened blinds in every single room that left us in a constant fishbowl state because she would not close them when she left the room. It was up to the rest of us to do that task.
Now though, it remains nice, the blinds are shut unless someone else opens them.

Now the question is....who is my new roommate?
Would she too be a ghost like all the others?

So far....
I am undecided.
She is definitely a bubbly personality from the two minutes I talked to her.
But.....she disappeared into her room like the others have done too.
Shutting the door,

So far....
the results are not looking good.
She states she'll always be there....but always there isn't considered always there if the door is constantly shut is it?
What use is it having roommates if you could never talk to them?

For now though...
It's the wait and see game.
There is a slight adjustment period that has to happen after all.
So we'll see....

If she actually is another ghost....or not.

-Sarnic Dirchi

MLAARE -Releasing the Fish

When I don't find it exasperating, I do find a bit of amusement when coworkers of mine offer to help me out in a task that I'm doing.
 
One memorable experience happened a year or so ago, when one my coworkers offered to help me do a bedding change so that we could get things done quicker. I accepted because I did need the help, and four hands would be faster than two hands doing the work.
Only,
It wasn't.
I hadn't known that they were rather OCD about cleanliness.
In the time that they were helping me, this coworker managed to not really even do one cage (from what I remember)
Because they wanted to make sure every little speck was gone and the cage itself, in pristine condition.
I recall that they nearly emptied a bottle of our cleaner on that cage in their attempt.
Which wasn't successful.
*shakes head*
Some stains just don't come out.
 
But, more recently, I had a coworker offer to help me in a different task.
I was busy putting out the new fish that we had got in.
And a coworker, who has basically no experience working in my department, offered to help put out the fish with me.
I refused.
Why?
Because I've had experience with people who don't know the fish wall well.
I've trained people in our department to do so, and I know that it's not a 'quick and easy' task for the inexperience. Especially when you don't know where each fish is located.
No, I knew that I would be able to empty a box of our fish, with all of them in the right tanks, in the time it would take my coworker to place one set of fish in their new home.
-That is not an exaggeration by much.
Plus, it would probably end up that they would be asking me nearly every group of fish "where does this one go? I can't find this one? Where is this one?"
Definitely more of a hindrance than a help in that particular situation. :)
But I was grateful that they offered to help in any case, even if I didn't take it this go around. :)

-Sarnic Dirchi

MRS -Fishbowl

Dearest Roommate

Once again you insist on opening all the blinds in the house, but never feel the need to close them when it gets dark. Why?

Do you not realize how our apartment becomes a giant Fishbowl when this is done? Everyone in the neighborhood can see into our place if the lights are on. There is no escaping it in the main areas of the apartment.

As much as I like working with actual fish, I have no acute desire to experience their life style of hardly having a place that can't be seen to go to.

-Sarnic Dirchi