I realize that these past two weeks of not writing in my blog have probably left you, loyal readers, feeling dejected, depressed, and desperate for more tales from the pawn shop. I apologize deeply for my negligence, but there has been good reason for my abense.
Over the past few months, I had been helping plan a Halloween party for my church. And as the past two weeks were the final two weeks before the party, I was busy beyond busy making sure everything was ready. Halloween is my favorite holiday and there is no accurate way of conveying my obsession with making the party as elaborate and memorable as possible.
The party itself was called ZOMBIE PROM and catered to young single adults of my faith, meaning those who were not married and between the ages of 18 to 30, providing a nice way for us to meet other young people who share the same beliefs. And, of course, we invited those not of our faith, because what horrible Christians we would have been if we tried to keep such a wonderful event such as a ZOMBIE PROM all to ourselves! My other main planner and I did a lot of promotional work, recieved a lot of interest in the event, and found ourselves overwhelmed with the actual planning of the event. Luckily, we know lots of great people and were able to recruit volunteers to help with music, photography, snacks, decorating, and general planning. Approximately 150 people attended, a goodly number of which drove several hours to attend.
Some of the highlights of ZOMBIE PROM :
1) Voodoo Doll : We had an oversized voodoo doll to which people pinned their names on pieces of paper. The person closest to the hidden mark on the voodoo doll won the doll.
2) The Tunnels : The dance itself took place in a gym of one of our church's buildings, but we extended the party to three different rooms by connecting the gym to said rooms by creating a series of tunnels constructed out of oversized cardboard boxes. The rooms were then littered with crumbled newspapers and all kinds of broken things such as smashed televisions, computer monitors, vacuums, and etc (items that the pawn shop was going to throw away but I took instead in preparation for this). The idea was to make the party-goers feel like they had crawled into the aftermath of the Zombie Apocalypse. My favorite room had hundreds of blank sheets of paper taped to the walls. On these pieces of paper were messages or drawings written in ink that only showed up in black lighting. Each room was supposed to have a different theme, but this room's theme was that children had been locked in it for an extended period of time in an attempt to escape the Zombie Apocalypse and had written on the walls out of boredom and cabin fever. We had three blacklights in the room and the primitive, glowing messages combined with the carnage, trash, and random pitched tent combined to create a very eerie feeling.
3) The Thriller Tutorial : A friend of mine volunteered to teach everyone a simplified version of The Thriller dance--a very appropriate activity for a ZOMBIE PROM. The tutorial itself went very well and most people seemed to have a lot of fun with it, even when we almost smashed into each other.
4) The Zombie King and Queen Coronation : Early on in the night, we presented five men and five women who my fellow planner and I felt had the best costumes to the rest of the party. The attendees then voted for which male and female costumes they liked the best. The best female costume went to a Zombie Mary Poppins and the best male costume went to two brothers who had turned themselves into Zombie Siamese Twins. During the coronation, the Queen was given a sash, a bouquet of dead flowers, and a burned Barbie doll as a scepter. The King was given a sash and a severed foot as his scepter. They were both, however, given "crowns" that had been made by stuffing bloody looking spaghetti into pig stomach lining to create what looked like real human intestines. But the coolest part of having these crowns was when I pulled them from my shirt, making it look like I had yanked out my own intestines, and then draped them over the heads of the Zombie King and Zombie Queen.
Overall, the party was a success, and the best part was that there were so many people willing to help clean up afterwards that I hardly had to do anything, which is saying a lot since the decorations were very elaborate. It was great fun planning the event and seeing it through, but, boy, am I glad that it's done and over with. But now my next big project is graduate applications. But, never fear, loyal reader, I will be more diligent in my blogging. I have even been jotting down notes of stories I knew I'd want to share after ZOMBIE PROM had stopped consuming my life, so, prepare yourself.
26 October 2010
12 October 2010
The Danger of the Telephone
Answering the phone at the pawn shop can be a dangerous thing. Most of the time, people are calling in to ask questions that hardly seem worth our time--"Do you buy insert random item here?"--"What time do you close?"--but they often ask things we cannot tell them over the phone--"How much would you give me for my insert random item here?"--or inform us that they will be late on paying the monthly interest on their loan(s) and ask if we could hold their item(s) just a little bit longer. In short, there are many phone calls which require little thought and could be put into script form and read off by a fifth grader, but, every now and again, you pick up the phone and get thrown for a loop. Some loops are more pleasant than others, and I had two of them today--one pleasant and the other not so pleasant.
Call #1 : The Pleasant Loop
There are some phone calls that make me thankful I was the one who answered the phone and this is one of those. A man called into the pawn shop and the first thing he did was ask to speak to a manager, mentioning one of them specifically by name. This happens a lot, people asking to speak with this or that manager, but in most circumstances they don't actually need to talk to a manager. Thus, I have been trained to first offer my assistance and find out the situation before interrupting whatever the managers are doing for something that could easily be solved without their help.
In this instance, the man did need to speak to a manager and there was a justifiable reason why he had asked for a specific one. Two months previously, this man had separated from his wife, during which time he had somehow obtained her wedding ring and then sold it at our pawn shop. The manager he had asked for had been the one who had rang up the transaction, and he was hoping the manager would remember what the ring looked like because the man now wanted the ring back because he was rekindling the flame and reuniting with his wife. Fortunately, finding out if the ring is in our inventory is fairly simple--if you have the correct level of authorization on the computer--but, unfortunately, the manager was very busy. It seems that most people with legitimate needs call during the biggest rush of the day.
Here's hoping we still have your wife's ring with the heart-shaped diamond, sir.
Call #2 : The Not So Pleasant Loop
After someone has been put on hold for a while, the phone will begin to beep very loudly to remind everyone that the customer is still holding. This annoying beeping ripped through the air at one point today and I went to answer the phone to just tell whoever was holding to hold on just a little bit longer for whoever was helping them. However, when I answered, the woman on the other end gruffly began telling me about her situation.
Upon recognizing the woman's voice, which was instantaneous, I was stricken with that horrible hollow feeling you get in your gut when you know you've fallen into a bad situation. This woman is very strange and so large that she is unable to move about independent of a wheelchair, and everytime she comes into the pawn shop, she and her male companion (friend, relative, significant other?) ask for a print out of all of their pawn loans so they can pour over a convenient, condensed summary of their thirty-something loans. They spend at least twenty minutes going through the loans and marking the ones they want to renew and the ones they want to redeem by coding them with either a check mark or circle. Yes, they have been doing this so long and have so many loans that it has become a necessary and second-nature practice to code their loans.
Well, this woman called in to tell us that she 1) could not remember when a specific loan was due, 2) that she would probably be late on paying it, and 3) that she had better not lose her item. I tried to explain that we could not disperse information about anyone's loan over the phone because we are required by law to only give out information to the loan holder. This requires that we verify their identity with them being physically present with a state issued ID in the pawn shop. I can see how it could be annoying to have to come into the pawn shop every time you are irresponsible and forget when your loan is due, but it is a precaution we take to protect the privacy of our customers. As you could imagine, this woman very passionately expressed her displeasure, telling me that I needed to get into the computer and just tell her when he loan was due because she couldn't come down because she was sick and on bedrest.
At this point, a manager realized that I had answered the phone call with the irate woman and whispered for me to put her on hold again. I nodded that I understood and interrupted the woman to tell her I'd be putting her on hold and then did so. My manager told me to just leave her on hold until she gave up on waiting for someone to get back to her. It made me feel a little guilt to just leave her hanging, but she was not being rational whatsoever and there was no better option. For the next few minutes, I kept glancing at the phone. We have several lines and when someone is on hold on any of them, the line will flash a red light. To my relief, the flashing light indicating the angry woman disappeared very quickly.
Call #1 : The Pleasant Loop
There are some phone calls that make me thankful I was the one who answered the phone and this is one of those. A man called into the pawn shop and the first thing he did was ask to speak to a manager, mentioning one of them specifically by name. This happens a lot, people asking to speak with this or that manager, but in most circumstances they don't actually need to talk to a manager. Thus, I have been trained to first offer my assistance and find out the situation before interrupting whatever the managers are doing for something that could easily be solved without their help.
In this instance, the man did need to speak to a manager and there was a justifiable reason why he had asked for a specific one. Two months previously, this man had separated from his wife, during which time he had somehow obtained her wedding ring and then sold it at our pawn shop. The manager he had asked for had been the one who had rang up the transaction, and he was hoping the manager would remember what the ring looked like because the man now wanted the ring back because he was rekindling the flame and reuniting with his wife. Fortunately, finding out if the ring is in our inventory is fairly simple--if you have the correct level of authorization on the computer--but, unfortunately, the manager was very busy. It seems that most people with legitimate needs call during the biggest rush of the day.
Here's hoping we still have your wife's ring with the heart-shaped diamond, sir.
Call #2 : The Not So Pleasant Loop
After someone has been put on hold for a while, the phone will begin to beep very loudly to remind everyone that the customer is still holding. This annoying beeping ripped through the air at one point today and I went to answer the phone to just tell whoever was holding to hold on just a little bit longer for whoever was helping them. However, when I answered, the woman on the other end gruffly began telling me about her situation.
Upon recognizing the woman's voice, which was instantaneous, I was stricken with that horrible hollow feeling you get in your gut when you know you've fallen into a bad situation. This woman is very strange and so large that she is unable to move about independent of a wheelchair, and everytime she comes into the pawn shop, she and her male companion (friend, relative, significant other?) ask for a print out of all of their pawn loans so they can pour over a convenient, condensed summary of their thirty-something loans. They spend at least twenty minutes going through the loans and marking the ones they want to renew and the ones they want to redeem by coding them with either a check mark or circle. Yes, they have been doing this so long and have so many loans that it has become a necessary and second-nature practice to code their loans.
Well, this woman called in to tell us that she 1) could not remember when a specific loan was due, 2) that she would probably be late on paying it, and 3) that she had better not lose her item. I tried to explain that we could not disperse information about anyone's loan over the phone because we are required by law to only give out information to the loan holder. This requires that we verify their identity with them being physically present with a state issued ID in the pawn shop. I can see how it could be annoying to have to come into the pawn shop every time you are irresponsible and forget when your loan is due, but it is a precaution we take to protect the privacy of our customers. As you could imagine, this woman very passionately expressed her displeasure, telling me that I needed to get into the computer and just tell her when he loan was due because she couldn't come down because she was sick and on bedrest.
At this point, a manager realized that I had answered the phone call with the irate woman and whispered for me to put her on hold again. I nodded that I understood and interrupted the woman to tell her I'd be putting her on hold and then did so. My manager told me to just leave her on hold until she gave up on waiting for someone to get back to her. It made me feel a little guilt to just leave her hanging, but she was not being rational whatsoever and there was no better option. For the next few minutes, I kept glancing at the phone. We have several lines and when someone is on hold on any of them, the line will flash a red light. To my relief, the flashing light indicating the angry woman disappeared very quickly.
06 October 2010
All Aboard The Ass Train
When placing an item out on display on the pawn shop floor, there are several things that need to be done. The item needs to be 1) cleaned off, 2) tested to make sure it still works, and 3) the price and important details about the item need to be displayed by attaching a colorful burst-shaped piece of paper--called starbursts--to it.
When I first started this job, everytime someone would say starburst, my mouth would water as I thought of the fruity goodness of the similarly named candy. Now, however, I often cringe at the thought of the tedious nature of the starburst. Correctly labeling a starburst requires putting a description of the item along with the price and a list of any accessories that it may include on the front while putting the item number and location of where the included accessories are being stored on the back. For example, a starburst for an Ipod may say something like "32 GB Ipod Touch w/ charger $249.99" on the front with "12847389, charger in small e's drawer" on the back. But just correcting filling out a starburst is not the end. There is also the task of taping the starburst onto the front of the item in a location that will leave it visible to customers when placed a shelf, display, or inside one of our generously stocked glass cases.
All in all, writing out and putting starbursts on almost every item in the store is time consuming, but they do prove to be very handy. For example, they keep customers from bothering me and my fellow employees with such simple questions like "How much does this cost?" And as they often also state what accessories are included with them, they keep a lot of people from asking us "Does that come with a charger?" So, yes, the time put into writing out starbursts does earn itself back, but lately we have come across a problem with the starbursts.
The other day, one of my managers was helping a customer pick out a digital camera. The customer asked what was included with the camera and my manager began to read the starburst to him. It came with a "charger, memory card, and ass." Luckily my manager caught himself before he read the final word on the starburst. It was very clear what had happened--someone had been abbreviated accessories as "ass" instead of "acc". What a glorious mistake, and I half wish that we would adopt the new abbreviation as it is much more entertaining than the correct one. Oh, the fun I would have telling a customer that "Yes, this camera comes with ass. I'll go get that for you."
Several instances of this have been popping up around the store, and it has been a pleasure discovering each and every one of them. My favorite item has been a train set labeled as "Toy Train Set w/ ass". I have no idea what that would mean if it were to be taken literally, but it doesn't matter because all I want to do is bellow a warning of "All aboard! All aboard the train with ass! The train with ass is boarding! All aboard!"
To my great dismay, as well as the displeasure of several of my co-workers, the incorrect abbreviation has been addressed and stifled. There will be no more items showing up on the pawn shop floor with starbursts declaring that they also come with ass. What a sad thought.
When I first started this job, everytime someone would say starburst, my mouth would water as I thought of the fruity goodness of the similarly named candy. Now, however, I often cringe at the thought of the tedious nature of the starburst. Correctly labeling a starburst requires putting a description of the item along with the price and a list of any accessories that it may include on the front while putting the item number and location of where the included accessories are being stored on the back. For example, a starburst for an Ipod may say something like "32 GB Ipod Touch w/ charger $249.99" on the front with "12847389, charger in small e's drawer" on the back. But just correcting filling out a starburst is not the end. There is also the task of taping the starburst onto the front of the item in a location that will leave it visible to customers when placed a shelf, display, or inside one of our generously stocked glass cases.
All in all, writing out and putting starbursts on almost every item in the store is time consuming, but they do prove to be very handy. For example, they keep customers from bothering me and my fellow employees with such simple questions like "How much does this cost?" And as they often also state what accessories are included with them, they keep a lot of people from asking us "Does that come with a charger?" So, yes, the time put into writing out starbursts does earn itself back, but lately we have come across a problem with the starbursts.
The other day, one of my managers was helping a customer pick out a digital camera. The customer asked what was included with the camera and my manager began to read the starburst to him. It came with a "charger, memory card, and ass." Luckily my manager caught himself before he read the final word on the starburst. It was very clear what had happened--someone had been abbreviated accessories as "ass" instead of "acc". What a glorious mistake, and I half wish that we would adopt the new abbreviation as it is much more entertaining than the correct one. Oh, the fun I would have telling a customer that "Yes, this camera comes with ass. I'll go get that for you."
Several instances of this have been popping up around the store, and it has been a pleasure discovering each and every one of them. My favorite item has been a train set labeled as "Toy Train Set w/ ass". I have no idea what that would mean if it were to be taken literally, but it doesn't matter because all I want to do is bellow a warning of "All aboard! All aboard the train with ass! The train with ass is boarding! All aboard!"
To my great dismay, as well as the displeasure of several of my co-workers, the incorrect abbreviation has been addressed and stifled. There will be no more items showing up on the pawn shop floor with starbursts declaring that they also come with ass. What a sad thought.
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