Things I like about my job:
1. I get to be creative.
2. Seeing people smile when they pick up their cakes.
3. The smell of the Bakery -OH GOD THE SMELLS!
4. People who will only buy doughnuts when I make them -Queen of Doughnuts here.
Things I hate about my job:
1. I have to be creative. "You draw really well! Can you draw -insert radically complicated image here- on a cake for me? And I need it at four!"
2. Seeing people smile as they pick up their cake...until the front end manager comes back a little while later with the cake saying "They said it was ugly and didn't want it."
3.The smell of the Bakery...which after a while I cannot distinguish one smell from the other. "What is that heavenly smell?" "Uh...well, we just took out some pies and the Cinnamon rolls are cooking and..." "No no no, it smells like...well, it smells like...well it smells good! What is it?" "Uhhh..."
4.People who will only buy doughnuts when I make them - which averages about once a week. No one buys doughnuts and we toss a good 60% of them.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
This is why we can't have nice things!
Believe it or not, I do in fact love my job. Anxiety attacks and nervous breakdowns aside... The people who work there are nice and I really like decorating cakes. And a lot of the customers are REALLY nice. I've gotten a $20 tip before.
But there are some things that peeve me.
Like people who tear off the markdown stickers from their products to try and attach them to other, more fresh, products. (And the fact the cashiers don't seem to notice it).
Or how people in a hurry will spend all of five seconds looking over the cake case, choose a cake, have me write on it, and leave only to come back a little while later saying they had chosen the wrong flavor of cake. FFFFFFFFFUUUUUU-
Or how people will take a donut from the self serve donut case, bite into it, and realize they had grabbed the wrong flavor Bismark and end up leaving it stashed somewhere to mold.
Or people who think they're sneaky by opening a package of fudge to take ONE square and leave the obviously meddled with package on our counter as if it belongs there...(You'd lose faith in humanity to know how much fudge we've had to dispose of because of this behavior...)
And the ever present irritation of never seeming to have the right combination of cake flavor, icing type, and decoration for walk in customers. It really does pay to call ahead.
And this is why we can't have nice things...
Money, money, money, money, money...MONEY!
But there are some things that peeve me.
Like people who tear off the markdown stickers from their products to try and attach them to other, more fresh, products. (And the fact the cashiers don't seem to notice it).
Or how people in a hurry will spend all of five seconds looking over the cake case, choose a cake, have me write on it, and leave only to come back a little while later saying they had chosen the wrong flavor of cake. FFFFFFFFFUUUUUU-
Or how people will take a donut from the self serve donut case, bite into it, and realize they had grabbed the wrong flavor Bismark and end up leaving it stashed somewhere to mold.
Or people who think they're sneaky by opening a package of fudge to take ONE square and leave the obviously meddled with package on our counter as if it belongs there...(You'd lose faith in humanity to know how much fudge we've had to dispose of because of this behavior...)
And the ever present irritation of never seeming to have the right combination of cake flavor, icing type, and decoration for walk in customers. It really does pay to call ahead.
And this is why we can't have nice things...
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Not So Common Curtesy
We have all encountered people who are utterly oblivious to those around them and are generally frowned upon by society. We call them rude.
And as I am in the business of a glorified servant, I find myself on the reviving end of many of these peoples' actions. The most common manifestation of this is the "I need it NAO" effect. When a customer wants something such as a cake or specific desert, it is generally considered a good idea to call ahead. However, we also get the browsing crowd who just walk in without any idea of what they want.
EX.
A rather large lady riding an electric cart was browsing through our parfaits and asked if we had any Strawberry. I informed her we were currently sold out. She asked me how long it would take for me to make one. Because of the manner in which we make parfaits - you can't just make one, but have to make several at a time - it takes generally close to an half hour or more to make them. In a very snide and offronted tone of voice, she snipped "Well, I'm not waiting that long!"
I did not mean to offend you lady but if you want Strawberry cake so badly we do carry Strawberry bars. We are not set up in a way that we can operate like a fast food restaurant, so PA-ARDON ME! This is a Bakery, NOT BURGER KING.
Another way in which people express their sense of self importance is through samples. It has become a rule at the bakery that we do not leave samples overnight because it has been promoting theft. We leave a box of cookies out for samples over night and we come into the department to see that box empty - as expected - but also to find three other boxes have been ripped open and cookies taken. So we take them down. People coming in as I am leaving ask "Where are the samples?" And I explain they're taken down at night. I had one such encounter with a person who asked "Well, what's from stopping me from just waiting till you're gone and opening a box up?"
"Security cameras?"
Also there was one lady who saw me put out fresh samples and asked "Are these free?" And I said "Yes." She walked off with six cookies. FFFFFFFFFFFFF-
But by far the worst was last Friday before Fathers Day. I had a stack of orders to do and have three people come into the store to pick up cakes they had orders for the next day. They all thought they could "...just come and pick it up early."
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!
Coincidentally, that was the very day I have a nervous break down. In front of customers no less!
And as I am in the business of a glorified servant, I find myself on the reviving end of many of these peoples' actions. The most common manifestation of this is the "I need it NAO" effect. When a customer wants something such as a cake or specific desert, it is generally considered a good idea to call ahead. However, we also get the browsing crowd who just walk in without any idea of what they want.
EX.
A rather large lady riding an electric cart was browsing through our parfaits and asked if we had any Strawberry. I informed her we were currently sold out. She asked me how long it would take for me to make one. Because of the manner in which we make parfaits - you can't just make one, but have to make several at a time - it takes generally close to an half hour or more to make them. In a very snide and offronted tone of voice, she snipped "Well, I'm not waiting that long!"
I did not mean to offend you lady but if you want Strawberry cake so badly we do carry Strawberry bars. We are not set up in a way that we can operate like a fast food restaurant, so PA-ARDON ME! This is a Bakery, NOT BURGER KING.
Another way in which people express their sense of self importance is through samples. It has become a rule at the bakery that we do not leave samples overnight because it has been promoting theft. We leave a box of cookies out for samples over night and we come into the department to see that box empty - as expected - but also to find three other boxes have been ripped open and cookies taken. So we take them down. People coming in as I am leaving ask "Where are the samples?" And I explain they're taken down at night. I had one such encounter with a person who asked "Well, what's from stopping me from just waiting till you're gone and opening a box up?"
"Security cameras?"
Also there was one lady who saw me put out fresh samples and asked "Are these free?" And I said "Yes." She walked off with six cookies. FFFFFFFFFFFFF-
But by far the worst was last Friday before Fathers Day. I had a stack of orders to do and have three people come into the store to pick up cakes they had orders for the next day. They all thought they could "...just come and pick it up early."
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!
Coincidentally, that was the very day I have a nervous break down. In front of customers no less!
I hope they feel really bad.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
As hard as describing cornbread...
Have you ever stumbled upon a situation where you were required to explain in simple terms what something was? Now, with you being who you are, you know very well what said thing is and immediately think to yourself "HA! You poor fool, not knowing what that simple thing is! Your ignorance tickles my fancy in the most inappropriate way! Hardy-har-har!"
Just as you open your mouth to begin on your passive aggressive lecture to show this pitiful person just pitifully stupid they are, you pause...and realize you lack the proper vocabulary or thought process to adequately explain the object and instead you end up sounding like a doofus.
Rambling on with half eaten sentences and malformed thoughts peppered with many a "...um", "...huh", and the occasional "Wait, wait, let me rephrase that..."
Congratulations my young Padawan, you just tried to describe cornbread!
While at work the other day, I was approached by a regular customer who hails from that bizarre and fanciful place known as France. Y'know, the place where they eat snails, smoke, drink wine, and are general assholes. Now, it must said in defense of my French Lady, she is quite nice. But she does have a habit of...well...being snarky. But that's not exclusively French so I don't count it.
Anyway, she came across a table with her beloved French bread. After gushing over the still warm loaves, she noticed our small pans of ready to eat cornbread.
Lady: What is this, cake?
Me: It's actually cornbread.
Lady: What is cornbread? It looks like cake.
Me: It's called cornbread, but...
Lady: It's sweet?
Me: Well, our cornbread is sweet but you can make cornbread that isn't sweet. We make some with jalapenos and cheese too.
Lady: Jalapenos and cheese on a cake?
Me: It's very popular around here.
Lady: It's a lunch or dinner food?
Me: Yeah, mostly a dinner thing though. You serve it with butter like a roll.
Lady: Oh! Like a roll! I understand. Is it good?
Me: I think so. Personally, I like the sweet cornbread.
Lady: But it isn't sweet like cake, right?
Just as you open your mouth to begin on your passive aggressive lecture to show this pitiful person just pitifully stupid they are, you pause...and realize you lack the proper vocabulary or thought process to adequately explain the object and instead you end up sounding like a doofus.
Rambling on with half eaten sentences and malformed thoughts peppered with many a "...um", "...huh", and the occasional "Wait, wait, let me rephrase that..."
Congratulations my young Padawan, you just tried to describe cornbread!
Mmmm...corny goodness...
While at work the other day, I was approached by a regular customer who hails from that bizarre and fanciful place known as France. Y'know, the place where they eat snails, smoke, drink wine, and are general assholes. Now, it must said in defense of my French Lady, she is quite nice. But she does have a habit of...well...being snarky. But that's not exclusively French so I don't count it.
Anyway, she came across a table with her beloved French bread. After gushing over the still warm loaves, she noticed our small pans of ready to eat cornbread.
Lady: What is this, cake?
Me: It's actually cornbread.
Lady: What is cornbread? It looks like cake.
Me: It's called cornbread, but...
...some people make corn muffins which are kind of like muffins, but...
...cornbread isn't a cake. Well...it's kind of a cake. There are sometimes called corn cakes, but...
...they're not really... It's not a dessert food....
Lady: It's sweet?
Me: Well, our cornbread is sweet but you can make cornbread that isn't sweet. We make some with jalapenos and cheese too.
Lady: Jalapenos and cheese on a cake?
Me: It's very popular around here.
Lady: It's a lunch or dinner food?
Me: Yeah, mostly a dinner thing though. You serve it with butter like a roll.
Lady: Oh! Like a roll! I understand. Is it good?
Me: I think so. Personally, I like the sweet cornbread.
Lady: But it isn't sweet like cake, right?
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