Speaking of work, my store manager is such a martyr. I was at work yesterday with "S", who lives within easy walking distance of the store (probably only about 1/4 mile). SM was angry because "B" (Big Grandma Energy) was supposed to work with SM today but told SM yesterday before she left that she wasn't going to come in due to the weather. Reasonable, yes? Especially since we're averaging maybe 6 customers a day in part due to the bad weather and in part due to the usual post holiday slump (plus even the rich ladies are upset about rising prices and refusing to pay them sometimes). S generously offered to work for B today...SM told her no, she'll just work by herself. Which technically isn't illegal in Ohio but it's against company policy*. I've no doubt we had little to no business today and SM was more than able to handle it all by herself (if she made it in...which she's the type who would hitch dogs to a sled before she'd stay home due to bad weather, so I'm sure she did). But it kind of irked me the way SM sighed and sniped "No, no...I'll just work by myself. Won't be the first time.". Uh, you had the solution
right there but you chose not to employ it, literally.
* Dad and I had an interesting conversation about whether places should require there to be at least two employees on site at all times. There was a story a few years ago about a young woman working by herself in a furniture store in LA one afternoon and getting robbed and murdered by someone who just came in off the street. I don't know if having someone else there would've prevented her death or led to a second death but I know it sparked conversation about if it should be legal to work solo in a public place. I told Dad I didn't think it was a great idea to have employees at Chico's working by themselves only because the vast majority of employees are 50+ and I would worry about them having an accident or medical emergency while in the store alone.
