Personal Stuff: Drama, Pt. 2

Add "getting fired" to that list of personal drama issues.

It wasn't completely unexpected - I was sort of expecting it not to happen until shortly before BreyerFest, though. (I won't discuss the name of the store, but those of you who live in the area may be able to guess.)

It was explained up front as a "seasonal" position, with the potential to turn into a permanent one. A retail establishment opening a new store in the area: we were hired to build it, stock it, and open it. Everyone was going to get trained in all aspects of the store, blah blah blah, etc. No decisions on who was staying, for at least a month.

I was fine with the arrangement, until the rosters were announced for the store opening. I was dumped in the cashiering pool. Where my talents were ... least effective. I won't get into the details here, but I have a lot of experience with the products the store sells, and I brought in evidence of that. In the rare moments where I was allowed to work in the rest of the store, other employees - and customers - remarked on my talents and expertise.

It was pretty clear that, although promises had been made to rotate people throughout the store, and to train everyone equally, that was not the case. In fact, almost no one in the cashiering pool was getting much of any training anywhere else. We were the folks who, by sheer accident, didn't happen to have developed a close personal relationship with any of the other managers brought in to help build the store.

We were doomed before we even opened.

I bravely battled my fate: I repeatedly requested for more training, more rotation within the store, to work in areas that needed help. I was told that the decision to place people where they were was one of expedience, that no one should be comfortable in the positions they were, and once the grand opening was done, the actual training and placing would begin.

The next schedule came out. It was quite obvious that I was still in the cashiering pool. The "grand opening" cashiers weren't really being rotated into the rest of the store. Other people in other departments were getting more training in the areas they weren't supposed to be "getting comfortable with." And not only that, almost everyone in the cashiering pool had their hours cut.

It was pretty obvious, despite their reassurances to the contrary, what was happening. Decisions had already been made.

I shouldn't be this upset, but I am. I worked hard, I fought for myself, I kept trying to get the message out about my talents, but it was all for naught: my fate was determined almost purely and literally where I was standing the day before the store opened. Luck beat hard work and talent, again. And I've never had luck on my side, ever.

Story of my life, it seems.

Fresh, model-horsey post first thing tomorrow, after a not-so-good night's sleep.