Choices!

I don't normally use my blog to help me make decisions. I have a difficult decision ahead of me and I'm still torn on what to do. I may have to make the choice in a couple hours.

So a little background. Circuit City went out of business in March and I've been without a job since then. I have applied to so many jobs, I can't even keep track. Being on unemployment allowed me time and I'm very thankful for it. But it has run out and I must have a job.

So last week ShopKo responded to application. I had an interview with a manager and it was all right. The interview was very impersonal. He asked maybe eight "If you were in this situation" questions. I answered them easily. Then yesterday I had my second interview with the manager of the store. He was nice and friendly. We talked about available positions. CSS (customer service?) and supervisor were suggested by the first interviewer. The store manager basically picked CSS for me. The position is part time and seasonal and only $8.25/hr. I accepted the job and they said I'll probably come in on Friday.

I also got a phone call from an unknown number and remarked to Aaron and Dan that "I bet you this is another job offer. They always come in at least twos." I answered and it was PC Laptops. For those who don't know, PC Laptops is a computer and repair store with about seven locations in Utah and Nevada.

So after my final interview at ShopKo I went to an interview at PC Laptops which turned into two interviews. Both went rather well. So today I have the third part of the hiring process, "The Test". I'll be at their Murray store for two hours today. They'll get a feel for me and I for them. My first interviewer should be there. I think he's the district manager or higher. The second interviewer told me a little about it. He said, "We'll see if you greet the customers or if you hang out at the back of the store. Or if you answer the phones." I'm not worried about greeting customers at all. I did that all the time at Sharper Image. I'm more worried about what I do when there's nothing for me to do. It's been recommended that I have someone show me the computers and teach me about them. *deep breath*.

So I'm nervous. But that's just part of it. PC Laptops is partially commission. I've never worked in an commission atmosphere. If I make the goal (which I have no idea how achievable it is) I'll make pretty good money. Base pay is only a quarter less than ShopKo is. PC Laptops is also full-time. I don't know which job to take!

I figured it out this morning. PC Laptops intimidates me. ShopKo only needs mediocrity. I'll shine easily there. PCL demands a lot more and it demands things I have only some experience in. If I take the safe job, I'll barely have enough money to pay the bills.

Grr. I wish the choices were easier to make. The positive side is that either way I have a job!

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So more news. PC Laptops called today. They chose someone else for the job. *sigh* So I guess that makes my choice easy. I'll settle with mediocrity at ShopKo. I have orientation tomorrow morning. This means cutting back big time. It's only temporary and part-time and the pay is the lowest I've ever been paid since returning home from my mission. I had hoped by getting the PCL job, I'd get rid of our money woes. No such luck. I am very disappointed and down.

Circuit City Lowdown

Yep, yet another job of mine has gone under. First, The Sharper Image and now Circuit City. I still miss Sharper Image. I had it really good there and if they hadn't bankrupted I would still be there. I will miss the people I work with at CCity, but I won't miss the job. I have no benefits, only part-time hours, and it's not as inviting an environment as Sharper Image was. However, here in our store, there is a lot "family". For those of my non-gay readers, "family" is code for gay. We had some of them over last night for our soup potluck. It went really well.

So I've been reading a lot of articles and blogs about Circuit City's liquidation deals. As I have managed a store going through liquidation, I have more experience then those writers and bloggers. So here's the lowdown: Sales start at 10% off and will get larger incrementally. So yeah, 10% is not a great deal! It barely pays for sales tax. But patience! If we could all wait 2-3 weeks before purchasing stuff we could probably get 50% off. I guess most customers have no experience with liquidation either. I have customers asking me all the time, "so when do the good deals start?"

It doesn't help that the liquidators haven't even shown up at our store yet. They should have giant signs listing the percentage off. The registers should show the current discount as well. Right now the Customer Service Associates, Supervisors, and Managers are the only people who can do the price change. The rest of us associates just stand around and answer questions or point people towards products. I hear that come tomorrow the prices will be in the registers. So I'll finally be able to ring people up and lessen the work load of my associates.

So finding good prices at Circuit City or any other liquidating store will always be a gamble. You can wait till the discounts are worth it and risk the product you want not being there, or you can buy at the micro-discount of 10-20% and be sure to get what you want. As for the claims that liquidators raise the prices before they "discount", that may be true, but not at Circuit City or Sharper Image. If they wanted to do that, they'd have to remove and replace tens of thousands of price tags. Neither they nor we have time for that.

So, I have at least 60 days of pay. I using that time to find myself a job. If you know of any jobs available, I have retail and retail management experience. I can certainly give you my resume.

I'm a little frustrated right now. I found yesterday that not only is Circuit open New Year's Day, I will be working that morning. Yes, I work New Years eve and day. Add that on top of working the day before and after Christmas and that I only have 17 hours next week and you can see why I'm frustrated. Circuit has stolen my holidays. Before *anyone* says, 'that's the nature of retail', I will cut you off. It may be the nature of retail at Circuit, but not everywhere.

I always compare my job to Sharper Image, but it really was the best I've experienced. There, if you worked before a holiday, you wouldn't be scheduled the day after. We weren't open New Year's Day at all. I'm sure that if we were, we'd get holiday pay. Now I will bet you two to one that we will *not* get holiday pay at Circuit.

If I am scheduled less than 30 hours the next week, I will begin looking for another job. I have yet to have 40 hours. I need a full time job. I made goals to make my 30s the best. That includes getting a car, finishing my degree and having a good job. Circuit City seems to be hindering those goals, not advancing them.

There is a supervisor position open at the Fort Union store. I had a co-worker say that I should apply for the position. However it said in the e-mail that they would judge on firedog and circuit city advantage add-ons. I'm not that good at adding those on, though I have improved a lot. If I were good at the add-ons for computers, I'd be set.

I still have my eyes on achieving supervisor. I entered the job with that position in my sights. *sigh* I hate change, I hate changing jobs. I want to advance in this job.

Happy Human Rights Day

"The date was chosen to honor the United Nations General Assembly's adoption and proclamation, on 10 December 1948, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the first global enunciation of human rights. The commemoration was established in 1950, when the General Assembly invited all states and interested organizations to celebrate the day as they saw fit."
--Wikipedia.org, Human Rights Day

This year is also the 60th anniversary of the day's anniversary. The gay community chose this day for the Day Without a Gay. Basically gay men and women are supposed to call in sick today and use the day to do community service. It will help America see how much of an impact we have on everyday life. If every single gay person didn't show up for work today, it would have a *huge* impact. I'm sure every field of work would be affected and some would shut down all together.

I had considered asking for the day off, but I will be going in to work today. I haven't been at Circuit City long enough to just call in sick. If I were still at Sharper Image, I bet my boss would have given himself, Aaron and I the day off (as we are all gay). So today, I figured my contribution would be blogging about the day.

I'm not one to be a political activist. I'd just like to say that we gay people are full citizens of the United States and deserve all rights, privileges, and responsibilities of being a full citizen. This includes the right to marry, the right to serve in the military and the right to pursue our own happiness.

Black (as night) Friday

My day began at 3 AM today. I had to be to work at 4 AM. I have to say that I am not very tired. I went to be at 10 last night so I got five hours of sleep. Oh and I took a Tylenol PM to help me get to sleep right away.

So right now I'm on my first break. It has been busy today, but nothing compared to last year or so I'm told. Last year the line was six deep and wrapped half-way around the store. This morning there were around 50 people waiting. I've been stationed at the registers in cameras and imaging. I'd thought I would be crowded and pressed by people and ringing them up frantically. I haven't been crowded at all, just pleasantly busy.

All of this is probably bad overall for the store. I'm hoping that we are selling good gross margin on products. But I wonder if it's this way just for our store or for other Circuit Cities or even the same in other chains too. I guess we'll know in a few days.

Things Are Improving

Yesterday was my last day at Staples. For those that don't know about it, I'll update you quickly. I started looking for a job in August. I applied everywhere and it seemed that no one was hiring. After all, no one called me for an interview. Then I got a call from Staples and I took the job. I really needed the money. One week later I had a call from Circuit City for an interview. I took a job there. I went to Staples and let them know that I needed to quit. I had hoped they would let me go without having to put in my two weeks. After all, I had only worked there three days. The manager wanted me to stay the remaining two weeks because I was already on the schedule.

So a few days ago the manger offered me a quarter more pay than Circuit City if I would stay. I really considered it. Staples is closer and within walking distance than CCity. I like the people at Staples better as well. But the position was only head cashier and I'd just be standing behind a register all day. I can do much better than that.

So yesterday I turned down the promotion and said that I would not be able to work there any longer. It is a relief to be done with two jobs. I was working every day and with alternating hours.

It also feels great to have money in the bank and a steady income. Now the downside is that at CCity you have to earn full-time hours. So I can expect 30+ hours every week, but I won't know how many until the week comes. That means there will be variation in my paycheck. I like to have reliable income. I am not the most financially inclined so reliability helps me out a lot.

On another note, aren't you loving this weather? It's 80 degrees out right now and today's high is 85! I was walking outside in shorts and it was heaven. I wish this cold would go away and I'd be enjoying it even more!