Is that a tiny cat?

At this point, I’ve worked at Dollar Tree for seven weeks and find myself surprised at the dirty little treasures I find or the bulk trash from someone clearing out our stock of varying glues. Our most asked-for items are lighters, super glue, and batteries; which seem like a deal at $1.25 for an 8-pk. Some customers want to know when we’re going to add the 25 cents to our logo, but they are hesitant because the price could increase further. We do sell some $3 to $5 items in the freezer section, so we have found those boxes open, with one item missing, or left to melt on the shelf. 

bored floor emoji

I would prefer that people just take the whole item, container and all, when they steal instead of feeling the need to eat half a Snickers and leave the rest to melt on a shelf of other products. There was a squeeze tube of blue icing used as decoration in another section that has yet to be cleaned up. Don’t think I want to leave the store in this sad state of affairs, but my main job is to help the cashiers (check large bills, deal with customers and other issues), back them up when their line gets long, and write off all the damaged goods, which varies every day. 

the “return to shelf” collection

I also have to restock shelves, put things back where they belong, remove empty boxes, sweep, mop, take out the trash, clean the bathrooms (when the keys are available), and take the cash to the bank when it’s my turn, among my many other tasks. I’ve stocked some ice, though the women seem to think it ok to relegate it to the one man who works in the store. He also brings up the helium tank when it needs to be replaced. There’s a woman at Advance Auto that thinks it’s ok to leave batteries for men to carry, but that’s what the carts are for. I also ran into this issue with moving food around on a ship from a pallet to the freezer to the kitchen. 

I could start on a feminist tangent but there are cashiers of the gender spectrum who don’t want to do anything else and will just stand around when they could be cleaning or stocking because they believe they don’t get paid enough. My neighbor was telling me she had to work for years to get up to $15/hr, such is the hassle of starting at the bottom, and now people are being handed that to start and don’t think it’s good enough; then they should be doing something else. I can think of two places that pay you to exist and give you a bed and three warm meals a day until your contract expires.

took me a second cart to get this section semi-reorganized

My boss had denied the two hours I asked off for in the morning to go to my dentist, even though I hadn’t worked that early in the store yet. Luckily, instead of me having to show up an hour late, she pushed my schedule back to accommodate a request I had put in over a month ago. Her inability to respect people’s schedules has cost her cashiers, but now the remaining ones will be able to get more hours, especially since some live so close and don’t want to work elsewhere. Oh how grateful I am for Caleb having a career and giving us so much security over the last 17 years.

customer craft skills

These pictures are just a glimpse into what my job entails, so it’s no wonder why my husband and dad want me to use my scholarly brain (that they both helped pay for) to do something more. I understand people need access to cheap food and toiletries, but I won’t always be the one here to help provide them with these necessities as I mentioned the temporariness of my position when I was hired. I can enjoy my time while I’m here though.

a beautiful arrangement of autumn in the trees