What Happened During My Craziest Day At Work So Far

My hopes for a smooth day were dashed by an accident mixed with a side of attempted murder.

Insanity

I felt quite unhappy during my last two workdays. I was already tired. But the ball started rolling with feeling down about some small mistakes.

Mixing in interpersonal issues and 1-2 bizarre/unsavory customer interactions, I fell into the feedback loop of frustration.

Inclement feelings sparked more inclement feelings. More mistakes happened as I cursed under my breath. This was a much worse week than others before.

Then came this Saturday. I was scheduled for a closing shift from 2:00 to 10:30 pm. I only wished for an uneventful, problem-free day.

That calm ride did not come to fruition.

I received my briefing that it would be an easy day, but stuff had gone down before I even arrived.

I only heard the story second-hand from my co-workers, but just before I arrived, a woman came in sniffing and looking like she was crying.

All signs pointed to domestic violence. Other customers dragged her out of the car when she was coerced to return to the abuser, and the police were called.

I saw the authorities interrogating the guy across the street literally as I was walking to work. I thought it was just for trespassing at worst. Or they were just conversing casually.

But no, he was going to kill her. I kept glancing out the window. Eventually, I saw him kneeling on the ground and handcuffed.

More conversations were happening right on the other side of the front desk windows. Eventually, all the squad cars rolled away with the suspect.

So yeah, what a crazy, terrible situation. It must've been a once-in-a-blue-moon occurrence.

But the craziness didn't end there.

Another incident came up. Hardly one hour passed after the first was resolved. Only 90 minutes since I walked and clocked in.

I was about to ring up a pair of customers for cosmetic items when the store went dark and an alarm pierced the air. My immediate thought was a false fire, but then I realized my terminal was blank.

The power was out. I had to tell the current patrons to return later – unfortunate luck with the timing. We then got all the customers out and closed the store.

I then learned from another co-worker a car crash happened at the intersection almost exactly when the power went out. What the hell was going on today?

The first responders conveyed that the crash wiped out a transformer box and cut electricity for the entire block, which made sense. Meanwhile, the siren from the freezer made my ears peak like a microphone.

We had to figure out the procedure and contact the right people, but there were difficulties and it took an hour or two. Finally, we were instructed to dump the perishables from the freezer section and insurance would cover losses.

So much delicious food gone to waste.

I couldn't eat my frozen teriyaki bowl because no power means no microwave. So we had no options but to survive on sweet cookies and sodium-packed chips from the shelves.

Corporate-approved looting. Fun.

I was probably at 300% of the recommended daily value for sugar by now. No proper meal for me – just hunkered down in the break room as the light faded.

An empty store, a tiny room, no windows, and only junk food to make it through the evening. I felt like I was in a fallout shelter after a nuclear war.

The power wasn't expected to return until after 8 PM. There was still work to do though after this paltry lunch break.

It was time to dump everything from the refrigerated section. The darkness had crept in, so we were instructed to take flashlights from the home goods section.

More zombie-movie vibes. Fun.

At least the ice cream freezer's alarm was running low on juice, so the whoops were slower and less painful... relatively speaking. I probably had hearing damage from listening to those whines for hours.

I entered the fridge and freezer room in the dark to place the battery-powered lights – like a mineshaft deep underground. The air was cold – frankly, a respite from the summer heat.

But not a few minutes into piling Hot Pockets, pizzas, and other meals onto carts to toss in the dumpster, the lights and fans reactivated with a whir.

The power was back at 6 PM. The food was safe. We'd need to put everything back.

To fix the infrastructure in only 3 hours, after a car smashed the box, is impressive. Modern technology sure is efficient. But of course, that meant we had to stay and possibly reopen.

From there, I faced, mopped, and waited for the systems to reboot. It was too late when the screens turned on, so the doors remained shut. I had no luck troubleshooting the last computer, so I just printed photos until 10 PM.

So yeah, so much for the routine day I was hoping for.

Another Side

So, I've encountered some "internet story-level" craziness. These accounts I read threw me into fear over retail. But strangely, I don't feel much other than tiredness having experienced it myself.

I've had a string of rough days. Anger, depression, and discomfort from unpleasant interactions. These events are true but don't comprise the full story of my first job either.

I answered a phone call on Monday from a customer who urgently needed photo prints. They asked if they could submit the order and have it printed and ready before we closed at 10 PM.

The situation was a time-sensitive challenge – I replied I'd keep an eye out. I was told I could expect the order within 5 minutes, but the entry didn't appear for another 30.

I processed the media as fast as I could.
A few button clicks, a quick check, and into the envelope it went.

Closing time drew closer. 20 minutes were left. Then 10. I hoped they would make it to the store in time.

Finally, I saw a woman and her daughter queue behind the sole other customer at 9:56 PM. I could tell from how she looked at me – she was the one I had spoken to on the phone.

I'd set the packet ready to grab from my side, so I quickly confirmed and scanned it. A looping page caused the delayed order, and they needed the photos by tomorrow morning.

I received no less than 10 thank-yous as she repeated this to me and others in line – she sounded relieved and grateful.

Interactions like these reinforce to me that there's another side to the coin. I feel how the down days suck in the present, even a bit in the future, but they recede into the past quite fast.

This is remarkable considering the months and years I agonized over past events when I was younger. My negativity bias will always exist. Bad stuff happens. However, there are positives to counteract an imbalanced scale.

I feel an inner warmth when I can assist others who need help. When I have a pleasant conversation with a customer.

Simple fun reminiscent of childhood – like holding a near-empty receipt roll over a fan to make it levitate and flap around. Making co-workers laugh and sharing common ground.

There's been a few crazy days. Some pretty bad.
But it's not all insanity. There's been nuance too.