LastRifleMan, that was a nice story... I half expected some holiday horror story, but it's nice to know that you have "clean" "nice" customers, as opposed to some of your previous stories... Which were not nearly as nice, even if they were funnier... (sorry

)
allofthemonkeys; I remember my time in convenience stores; I got burned out towing, and found a temp job on the graveyard at a local gas station/convenience store. About a year and a half later, I cut back to part time to drive a limo, and make some extra money. Within six months, they asked me to come back full time and replace an assistant manager who had gotten fired for selling booze to an underage kid running a small local sting for the Va ABC. A month later, I was promoted, 2 months after that, I had my own store, and within a year, I was running three. (well, one was a booth, and the other had a dedicated assistant)
Now... I ain't the smartest brick in the egg basket, and I was about as Gung Ho as an (insert appropriate metaphor meaning not at all, as my own involved anarchists and a political rally. Figured self editing was best

) but apparently I was good at managing...
Despite the fact that I hated it with an all consuming passion.
You ever have a job where you simply didn't care, and they take it as a calm, confident demeanor instead?
Company policy to me, was more along the lines of suggestions... But my point was (and they agreed, or well, they didn't know any better) that as long as there was no problems with the vendors, product was on the shelf, gas was in the tanks, and money made it to the bank, with no shortages... They could leave me to run the stores as a I saw fit.
For example, I had one guy, he was a big fellow, probably 450 pounds plus, and barely capable of getting into the cooler to stock, and spent the majority of the night listening to music and talking on his phone... However, never had a complaint (his shift was after we locked the doors) and his money was always straight.
I got the distinct impression that his "other" businesses, were just sly of shady, but at work, he was solid.
Had a girl who would run second shift, but often lock the doors... When i confronted her about the security and the fact that we had to keep the store open, she agreed.
I began keeping an eye on her, nice girl, always on time, and money always straight, but she was hiding something...
Yep. Turns out instead of slipping out the doors, she would go into the cooler for about 15 20 minutes, once or twice a shift. Now, the office was around the side, and the bathrooms were behind the building. So I called her into the office and asked her point blank, why the hell was she slipping off for extended times, I had gone back and watched her shifts for roughly two weeks, and every shift, as soon as it got slow, she'd disappear, then 20 minutes later, she's doing her job, cleaning, stocking, etc.
Let me point out that her shifts were phenominal, her money was right, the safe counts were never off, the product was fronted, she'd dust... In many ways she was a model employee...
Anyway, watching her on camera, if a customer came up and banged on the door, she'd rush out of the cooler, then take care of the customer, and go right back into the cooler.
Long story short... I asked her, pointedly, mentioned the security cameras, at which point she fessed up.
She was taking the time to "rub one out"... Apparently this was something she did a half dozen times of the day.
Yeah, I let her go back to her routine...
Working in a convenience store was a strange contrast to towing, in towing, people are hurt, they are drunk and they are a good bet to be in court over the matter. In a convenience store, they will rant, rave, and scream obscenities because their favorite pack of smokes went up 10 cents...
In a convenience store, you find out that people will spend 10 bucks in gas driving around to save a few pennies a gallon.
At the same time, it was a chain, not a franchise, so when the corporation started to have financial troubles (they got bought out, 's why I no longer work for them... Aside from the iffy pay, the long commute, the idiot customers, and the general retardation of those in charge, that is.) Suddenly, the answer was; like all corporations in trouble, lets spend lotsa money to repaint, resign, refresh, everyone needs a new look.... Um... I don't see the impact.
And I said so at one of our "team building" exercises.
Why is it that corporations always have to gather people for large meetings, to say something that could be read on a memo in under 5 minutes??
We had these regional meetings. Stores sent a manager and a cashier each to a rented room at a hotel, so that we could sit down and brainstorm over how to make the stores more efficient. I had a friend who worked in a hotel, and know that this little shindig cost the company quite a few pennies, along with paying us all travel time, plus our pay (4 hours.....FOUR HOURS OF THIS SHIT!!!) plus food and drink, PLUS the fact that not being at the store, meant your were paying someone else to mind it while you were here, paid mileage and travel time, at a rented convention room, with audio visual gear, and hired "consultants" who make everyone do "team building" exercises, and in the end, announce that there was a contest for our customers to win one of 4 all expense paid vacations to Hawaii...
We had to turn in all those stupid name and company shirts that we didn't wear half the time, and exchange them for these gaudy hawaiian shirts, (which were thrown away after 4 months, and we got all new shirts... With a new look, same uncomfortable polyester...
At the end of each one of those meetings, they had the whole, write down what you think "we" could do to improve the public image and cut costs in the company budget without affecting service...
I wrote my stock answer, which I had done from the first meeting, all the way thru the last meeting (which was to let us know that we were stopping the meetings, as the company was in dire straights...)
"hmmm... How about..... wait for it...... NO MORE STUPID MEETINGS???"
Anyway, the company was bought out, and my pay was cut in half, so out the door I went...
No stories about my current job, which I'll not name, but it might rhyme with Gnome Repo...
Um... That's about it... Sorta a rant, but as true as my memory is reliable...
Which is debatable...