I'm 21 years old, I have a great girlfriend, two best friends who always have my back, and just started a job with steady hours, the best pay I've recieved at any job I've held thus far and after only a month I already have insurance that coveres medical, dental and vision. So why do I feel like life sucks right now?
Let me run you through my day. I wake up at around 4:30a and lay in bed till around 5-5:30 when I finally get my ass outta bed and shower then try to rush out of the house by 6 so I can be at work by 6:30. That means i have to turn a normal 30min trip into a 20 min one by speeding but the danger is more in the fact that im still sleepy and not the speed. So i make it to work on time or late (i really dont care either way, no ones said anything yet) and have to say "hello/good morning!" to all these people i now work with in a really fake manner which just brings my mood down even more, then count out my register and make a log of car keys i have in our lock-box. Oh yeah, i'm a service cashier at a BMW dealership. Once i log these keys i have to go to my computer and right down the customer information of the owners, then call them to let them know their cars are ready to be picked up. Easy right? well this usually happens at 7am or so and half the time the customer is angry that:
A. they were already called the night before by the Advisor that overlooked the work done on their car.
B. its too early for me to be calling and demand to speak to my boss. (or both).
You'd think that when a customer doesnt pick up, its easier cuz im in the clear; NO. Either they call back later to complain about calling so early or to say they were already called, and on top of that if my boss sees to many "Left Message" notes on the key-log/call list he tells me to try calling more than just one number per person because "WE DONT HAVE SPACE ON THE LOT FOR ALL THESE CARS, GET THOSE PEOPLE TO PICK UP NOW!"
Now the other part of my job is filing tons of invoices that get printed up for when the customers do come pick up. So while I'm calling these people I'm also filing and I might even have some customers coming to pick up so I have to juggle all three or have angry customers. I cant leave the invoices sitting on the printer because when someone comes to pick up the second their invoice hits that printer, and i dont see their name in my inbox they get mad at me because "my advisor told me the car was ready!" so every second i spend checking my computer to see if it was invoiced at all, or calling the advisors directly, or looking thru the tons of papers on my printer to find their name is more time the customer wastes just standing there and the angrier they get at me. this goes on for the rest of the day really.
then i'll get the customers that are angry that something cost so much and they refuse to pay, so i get yelled at some more as if i'm the one who fixed their car. then if i answer a phone call that comes to me at my desk (instead of the call center which it should go thru first) they get even more pissed because im not givin them my undevided attention. then i'll get paged on my company nextel asking me to send a page thru-out the buildling for someone and the customers think its my personal phone and that im unproffesional for answering my cell phone while on the job.
When im not dealing with customers and filing, im trying to close out invoices that were paid for then reciept them on my computer. its really easy but tedious at the same time becuase if you get one little number wrong you screw yourself over and i cant void anything because i dont have the authority, only my manager can and she's too scatter-brained to come help when i really need her. when thats all done i have to settle my credit card machine by matching it up to my totals on my computer and its the most annoying thing in the world becuase while im checking my work to make sure theres no money missing, i'll get a customer who picks up, pays with a c/card which throws off my totals until i close/reciept their invoice and wait for accounting to update my edit sheet information so i never close out my c/card machine and cash register before lunch like im supposed to. That means my manager has to do it while she covers me and i just know she thinks im either an idiot for not being able to do it or a prick for making her do it. I have an hour to do whatever the hell i please then come back and do it all again.
usually after lunch theres a really dead period of time where im just literally sitting there. nothings printing for me to file, no ones picking up and i dont have to worry about the register or credit machine. i yearn to go online and check up on these forums or something just to pass the time but theres a camera directly behind me and i KNOW its being checked constantly on a dedicated monitor by not one but TWO people so i cant go online, i just sit there doing nothing. every other day a second cashier will come in around 3 or 4 and she'll stay till close, i love those days becuase i actually have someone to talk to that isnt another emplyee just passing by saying "how are you?" and nothing else or stupid comments like "working hard? ;-)" (the worst are the guys in sales, they dont ever say hi, they just wink). 5pm comes (or if its friday, 6p) and i get to leave. then im stuck in traffic and dont make it home for an hour and i know that part of my day is just going to get worse the closer we get to xmas because the area i work in is near a ton of shopping centers.
So i get home, i eat something and watch tv, shower and have about and hour or two to myself. i usually just sit in bed watching tv cuz if i play a video game i won't go to bed on time, same goes for online. I might check my mail real quick but i know i'd be too tempted to come here or some other site and not get to sleep on top. I usually try to fall asleep by 10 but even thats not enough time cuz i hate waking up so early, especially knowing im going to have to do it again.
Then i have the weekends off which sounds nice but saturdays are filled with me doing tons of backed up chores and errands i couldnt get to during the week and spending the rest of the time out with my gf while one of my best friends begs me to go out drinking becuase thats the only way he knows how to have fun now... and all i want is some time to myself to rest. Then come sundays, like today where i turn my phone off and stay in bed to try to prepare myself for the next five days. My friend is annoyed we dont hang out as much as we used to (even though we work together now and i see him more than my gf) and my gf, although she wont say it, i know she's upset we dont see eachother as much.
So i'm making good money, get paid every wed and i can afford all those games i missed out on the psat few months. im currently trying to play thru metroid prime 3, manhunt, lost vikings (1 for gba), links awakening (re- bought it after so many years or not knowing where my copy is) and once im done with that one i'm going to start on Oracle of Seasons which i've never actually played, then once thats done (unless i find 'Ages) i'll get started on Phantom Hourglass... oh and i have Mario Galaxy to look forward to this week... but i really dont have time to play any of these games anymore. It sucks, it really really does..
Now, if you were nice enough to read thru all that.. im asking you, especially you older forum goers that have your own house and wives and kids, etc.. is this a nomral part of life? should i really feel like this is the end of the fun era of my life and prepare myself for working all the time and not doing the things i want to do? I'm only 21, i thought this was the time when i should be going out and partying with my friends and drinking and having nothing but fun. It just feels like im being forced to settle down all of a sudden and i dont want to. I dont know if its just this job and the fact that i work 11-hour days or that i was unemployed so long and had lots of extra free time that i forgot what its like to have to work the next day is like.
I've only been at this new job a month now, and before that i took and finished a bartending course becuase i thought it would be something i could do as well as something i liked doing. working with people in a fun environment, making drinks and laughign at drunks.. i was looking forward to giving bartending a shot but.. this job came along, it was offering 14/hour, mon-fri with weekends off, and benifits after only a month.. it was too tempting to pass up. I've pretty much been unemployed since i was laid off from Nintendo World Store last jan. I had a few small temp jobs in that period and they both only paid 10/hour.. the retail management position i held before Nintendo was only paying me 9.48/hour and nintendo paid 12/hour.. so the 14/hour (plus time and a half overtime) i'm making now is HUGE for me. I'm making more in one week then i made in two weeks as a manager in that retail job with MUCH less responsibility but... I dont think i can deal with getting yelled at so f*cking much. On top of that i have jerks (employees and customers) making me feel like im doing a chicks job when they say things like "Oh what happened? they used to have so many cute girls at this desk?" wtf? thanks for killing my self esteem...
I dont know what to do. I dont want to lose these health benifits but i cant deal with the stress of this job. I'm the first to call myself the biggest slacker ever and even though this job is easy i can't help but hating the fact that i have to get up so early and theres no spontinaity (sp?). Im used to having a changing schedule and being able to switch shifts.. now im stuck in this schedule and its killing me. i refuse to go to bed at 8pm just so i dont feel cranky in the morning. i hate not being able to just go out on a monday night and have fun with my girl... its just not in me. i just dont think im cut out for the "9-5" life.. but i dont want to regret throwing it all away to TRY and bartend. i only have a license, i dont have exp behind a real bar.. theres no promise that i'll make $300 a night which is "minimum" for a bartender according to everyone i've talked to (former bartender friends or friends of friends as well as the bartending school).
everything just sucks right now. I dont know if any advice could help but feel free to give it a shot. And if you read all of this... wow, congrats!
Topic: Is this it, or should I keep complaining? (a LONG rant) (Read 4575 times)
