Smartie's Bar & Grill #75

Sorry to hear that.

 

May be for the best. Some people rally once they are in a care home with more social interactions, better nutrition, etc.

 

so sorry

 

I cared for her 24/7 since the summer of 2017, after the stroke. She has been an above knee amputee over 20 years. The stroke robbed her ability to move from any chair, bed ...toilet without me picking her up. She got where she could not put weight on her leg and help me.

I feel terrible about this but I have to also consider my future, way things were, if she died I would not have a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out. So I got a job, been working full time about 4 months now. It aint anything glamorous, overnights from 10 pm to 6 am at a family owned gas station.

They are great folks to work for and I'm paid well. The night goes pretty fast. There is only about an hour and a half with not much to do. I clean the outside, blow off the parking lot, change the trash, put water in the windshield wash and towels, clean up behind the mechanics (who have gone for the night) Then it's midnight and it's inside to run the register and store, I clean from top to bottom, make a ton of sweet tea (we sell huge amounts of it) Stock the store, make boiled peanuts, clean the bathrooms.....really is more to it than some think, they think I just sit there all night and run the register. I mix very strong bleach water and wipe pretty much any surface I can see people touching.

We take pride in our store being the cleanest in town. I make it a point to be curteous and thankful to every customer, even the jerks. I'm alone from midnight to 5 am but that does not worry me. The only thing happening between about midnight and 3 am is typically drug using types but even they behave. I am given blessings by the owner to tell anyone who needs to, to haul ass if need be. So far I only needed to do that once and it was well deserved.

It aint much but it gives me a reason to get out of bed and pay the bills. Even when it's expected I will be sitting on my phone, I just cant sit to long on my ass, does not feel right. Always something else can be cleaned. When the day shift arrives, I have the store sparkling, well stocked and ready to go. When I'm not working I'm sleeping or fishing, most of the time. I can't just sit in this empty house too long.

 

Why do so many people come in a gas station between midnight and 3:00 a.m. with $100 bills and $50 bills don't you people have twenties tens fives ones. I'll break it because we often have the change but a lot of stores won't do it and you're damn right I look for counterfeit

 

You sound like the perfect employee, treating the business like your own. I'm glad your employer recognises this. We can't get enough folks like you..

 

Thank you kindly. I like tent camping on the river....for a night or two....lol.
Twas I evicted, there I would be.

The guy I replaced still comes in often on good terms, he left to drive a truck. He was there over 5 years. I suppose the day will come where I will seek a higher paying job but I have no plans to leave anytime soon. I actually have the ideal rent to income ratio, one third of my income goes to rent. Far to many have to pay 50-65% of their monthly income on rent.

I'm just thankful to have the job. I dont mind nights, less people to deal with. I'm pretty good at being patient with difficult customers.

One "summoned" me the other night....I'm over yonder using the walk behind blower, she flags me from her car and ask if I work there....(kinda a silly question) "yes mam I do"

Well, I need air....she says

Now we do provide free air.....however, the general policy is we give YOU the air chuck and you fill it (liability crap, somewhat)
Sign right there says....."minimum charge for ANY service is 3$"...the exception is the elderly and disabled and (the important one...POLITE people)

So I tell her, "I can give you the air chuck but if I fill it, it will be 3$"

Well, she did not care for that at all but she paid but was real ... "nasty"...about it.

I told the boss, lest she return to complain, he said he'd back me 100% that I'm no servant. Hell, the air is already free and there was nothing wrong with her young self.

People expect things for free and will bitch about even that. What's wrong with "excuse me Sir, if you have a moment can you please check my tires"?

Hell, I'da settled for a simple "I need air please"...

What's wrong with folks these days? So demanding, yet cant even have a bit of courtesy. I bet it never even crossed her mind the 3$ was a result of being demanding and rude. She's actually the only one I ever charged the service fee. Bet she thought I was the rude one.

If we leave the air chucks out (like they used to for years) they either dissapear (digital ones are 80$) or get tossed on the ground and broke or left in the path of cars. OK, my bedtime rant over....

I realize not everyone is so thoughtless and rude. It takes all kinds.

 

I own several leisure outlets and employ about 108 people, so I am very familiar with entitled people like your lady. Many times I have phoned a complainant and they expect me to sympathise and berate my staff, but mostly its me inviting them to never come back to our premises.
They always exaggerate what went wrong, claim rude comments from my staff I know they would never say (I can tell because I know my staffs idioms and how they speak. I also know the things they would not have offered or claimed.
Like you my staff are there to help and if they cannot help explain why. They are very good and they all have my number if they need to ask my opinion.

 

I'm this far behind...

Anyone can have enough money to do what they want.
The trick is not wanting too much.

 

Reminds me of one morning a couple regulars complained the tea tasted faintly of bleach (we soak all containers in mild bleach water for 15 minutes and rinse and scrub with soap, every shift)

I immediately dumped it and made more. The next day one of them asked me if anyone else mentioned it (he purchased one that morning but left before tasting) I was distracted by a truck delivery and said yes and charged him for that day's tea. I thought about it later and felt bad.

The next morning I told him it was a replacement, no charge and I apologized for not providing it the previous morning.

Evidently, I did not rinse well enough.

I once worked at the Salvation Army, at the jewelry counter (upscale flagship store in Tampa) A customer asked me to give her an item for less than half price, I told her that half price day was...(whatever day it was)

A few minutes later she returns with my manager in tow...."FatBack, did you cuss this lady, she says you did"

Another customer spoke up and said "no mam, I was standing here the entire exchange, he said no such thing".....I just looked at her and said "Thank you"......

What kind of fecal matter thinks it's OK to try and get you fired because you would not help them steal from the Sally? Do we ALL need body cameras now? Well, I'm off to bed. One more shift, two "days" off!!!! Think I feel a Boca Grande fishing trip coming on!

 

Indeed, some people seem to have no morals. Mind you we've had dismissed staff do the same as well. Claims on Trip advisor the the building is rat infested or that the kitchens were closed by environmental health.
That second one was from a staff member we caught stealing from us. Funny thing was, I felt sorry for her and sacked her but didn't report it to the police.
How folks minds work I'll never know.
Hope your fishing goes well!

 

Contentment is a great treasure.

 

Finally got some spare time today to look out my art work, we are preparing to open our centres back up and we can go and see friends again so I have had very little spare time for a while.
Here is my provisional sketch for the steam train I talked of doing months back.

 

Greetings earthlings... U2 Foolie. Another brand new week in paradise. (Not me but somebody must be.)

Who knows something GOOD?

 

New cig machine going in near the pool tables. Let me know if we need to stock your brand.

 

Here's what I'm working on with my painting buddy. I'm not very good at animals, but she likes doing them, so I'll have a go.

 

Now thats a cigarette...

 

I think so, I smoke a pack in 24 hours! Sometimes PaulMall filterless..."wherever particular people congregate".....expensive!

 

Far too expensive now. Time to grow your own or quit - everything.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/quit-smoking/in-depth/nicotine-craving/art-20045454

 

That movie is a classic, and so is that line, lol. I'm sure that it has been judged racist and insensitive by someone.

I quit smoking (again) about 5 years ago. There are days I think about it, but don't. I need a new bad habit.

 

There are things that are more addictive than cigarettes and drugs.



And even more expensive.

 

I dunno.This place { pop stand } has been suckin' pretty good
of late.I don't know how much more suckin' it can bear.
I guess a little more.Or less.

 

Like Mom and Apple pie.
The small of a womans back.
Baseball cards. Doritos and Beer.
Doritos and beer while in one's skivves in the basement
and no one the wiser.

 

Got the worst of the roof finished finally. It was a little over 1200 sq. ft. Still got a bedroom to finish but ran out of money. We had some pretty good rains and winds. No leaks so far.