I had lunch today with a friend I used to work with. It was good to see her and catch up with what has happened at work since I left. With what she had told me, things have not changed. One of the leads only works the easy shift, Monday through Friday mornings, the manager doesn’t close on the weekends, and the employees have been slacking off. What was shocking was how the manager and another lead have been stealing money from the register. Also, one of the employees uses his laptop during work!

I thought about the manager when I used to work there. I did not like her management style. My manager would let employees get away with things. All the employees and leads did what they wanted to do because they knew they would not get in trouble for it. Sad to say, but it is true. I felt that some people needed to get reprimanded for their behaviors. Some of the these behaviors have hurt the company and have caused innocent workers to suffer through it all.

I am glad I left. There was no way I was going to put up with the way the store was being managed. I could not deal with workers getting angry with each other and everyone doing what they wanted to do while my manager would hide in the stockroom and giggle about the chaos that was going on in her store. Not to point the blame at anyone, but she was partly to blame.

There was also no way I was going to stay for another busy Halloween season. It is the busiest season of the year because everyone can celebrate it, including adults. After experiencing what it was like to work during the Halloween season for the past four years, I prefer to stay away from it—including from last minute shoppers. Some customers buy their Halloween costumes last minute hoping their size and style is still in stock but to their dismay, it isn’t. For a shopper’s convenience, the store carries Halloween decorations and costumes three months before Halloween. That is enough time for customers to plan ahead and avoid last minute shopping. However, it never works.

Two experiences I believed to be outrageous during the Halloween season were having customers fight over costumes or the manager yelling at customers and kicking them out of store. Although those were always fun to watch, it was stressful work. I have had customers dig through my basket of go-backs (products people decide not to buy during checkout and must be put back) looking for costumes or accessories they hope to find. Some have been lucky. Those that are lucky have realized that parts are missing or the costume is damaged. What I would find funny is hearing customers talk about wasting their time driving around in search of a particular costume. Once they have found what they have been looking for, they end up not liking it and rather look for something else instead. Good luck with that! I don’t understand what goes on in human heads.

I wonder if the new employees at my old work know what they are getting themselves into with this upcoming busy holiday. I feel sorry for them and for my friend who has to put up with it all over again. Here is a piece of advice, with only less than four weeks until Halloween, avoid the rush in the store. Instead, buy it online!