One of my supervisors reminds me a lot of my mom, and anyone who reads my blog posts oughta know that's not a good thing. Maybe i'm just reading her wrong but she always seems strict mood-wise, never friendly, just to the point. Her only other mood seems to be an annoyed one - again, i could be just reading her wrong, but she's the only one with an apparent habit of stating things in what comes off to me as a rude manner.
Example, todays' incident. I'm a cashier, and i was on the self checkout machines. One of them, its card reader was malfunctioning so i went to the main register (on the self checkouts obviously) to punch in an action code. The action codes go straight to the supervisors' handhelds, telling them depending on what number you punched in if you need more money, if you need a carry out for your customer, or so on. The only one that applies directly to the register is an outdated one we used to use to call a supervisor to change the receipt tape on the self checkout machines. Now, the top half where the printer paper is is kept unlocked so that cashiers can replace it themselves right then and there.
Going back to the machine with the card reader issue, i typed in the only action code that corresponded to the machines themselves just so the supervisor coming over would have some idea that it was a machine issue not a customer issue. Now, the supervisor in question thought i actually wanted her to change the receipt paper even though we cashiers have for months been doing it on our own, even the newbies know how to do it. So for her to ask me if i knew we were supposed to replace the receipt paper ourselves - and not in a friendly helpful voice, borderline rude voice - was, well, rude. So i looked away from her, feeling nervous and a bit hurt at her response, and told her that no that's not what this is about, and then cause i could not get the right words out i showed her over to the machine in question and told her the reader wasn't working, pointing to it. Her response was, more or less, "You know you can reboot them too, right?" in that same borderline rude voice. Like, duh i didn't know that! Nobody ever told anyone, let alone me, that we could reboot them ourselves! There's multiple ways how, too, i know that much.
I asked the front end manager about it when he happened to check out at my self checkout machines, if that was a new expectation or not, cause (as i told him) i hadn't been made aware that it was. He seemed hesitant, like sure if it needs it you can, and then went on to say about how us doing it is more convenient for the customer. He didn't directly answer my question of if it was a new policy or not...but i was also fumbling over my words trying to ask him about it and not throw the supervisor in question under the bus. I did end up mentioning her by name though, just saying that she was the one who had mentioned it and i wasnt sure if it was a new policy or not. Honestly im not comfortable with making the decision to reboot a self check otu machine...they take forever to reboot (which creates a line which creates upset customers and a lot of stress for me). Plus sometimes all it needs is a few minutes to unfreeze and its fine. Or a supervisor to put in their numbers and do exactly what i just did but because its a supervisor it will listen and they can override it if it does not listen.
Example, todays' incident. I'm a cashier, and i was on the self checkout machines. One of them, its card reader was malfunctioning so i went to the main register (on the self checkouts obviously) to punch in an action code. The action codes go straight to the supervisors' handhelds, telling them depending on what number you punched in if you need more money, if you need a carry out for your customer, or so on. The only one that applies directly to the register is an outdated one we used to use to call a supervisor to change the receipt tape on the self checkout machines. Now, the top half where the printer paper is is kept unlocked so that cashiers can replace it themselves right then and there.
Going back to the machine with the card reader issue, i typed in the only action code that corresponded to the machines themselves just so the supervisor coming over would have some idea that it was a machine issue not a customer issue. Now, the supervisor in question thought i actually wanted her to change the receipt paper even though we cashiers have for months been doing it on our own, even the newbies know how to do it. So for her to ask me if i knew we were supposed to replace the receipt paper ourselves - and not in a friendly helpful voice, borderline rude voice - was, well, rude. So i looked away from her, feeling nervous and a bit hurt at her response, and told her that no that's not what this is about, and then cause i could not get the right words out i showed her over to the machine in question and told her the reader wasn't working, pointing to it. Her response was, more or less, "You know you can reboot them too, right?" in that same borderline rude voice. Like, duh i didn't know that! Nobody ever told anyone, let alone me, that we could reboot them ourselves! There's multiple ways how, too, i know that much.
I asked the front end manager about it when he happened to check out at my self checkout machines, if that was a new expectation or not, cause (as i told him) i hadn't been made aware that it was. He seemed hesitant, like sure if it needs it you can, and then went on to say about how us doing it is more convenient for the customer. He didn't directly answer my question of if it was a new policy or not...but i was also fumbling over my words trying to ask him about it and not throw the supervisor in question under the bus. I did end up mentioning her by name though, just saying that she was the one who had mentioned it and i wasnt sure if it was a new policy or not. Honestly im not comfortable with making the decision to reboot a self check otu machine...they take forever to reboot (which creates a line which creates upset customers and a lot of stress for me). Plus sometimes all it needs is a few minutes to unfreeze and its fine. Or a supervisor to put in their numbers and do exactly what i just did but because its a supervisor it will listen and they can override it if it does not listen.
