Something Has Got To Break
On January 3rd, 2018, I walked into my local Kroger grocery store for an interview. As you are probably aware at this point, As I've written many installments based at Kroger, I got the job. This past Wednesday, I woke up and got ready for the day. I worked my New Story shift and then spent the few hours between New Story and Kroger writing.
I got to Kroger, clocked in, said hi to a few co-workers as I walked to start bagging. There were only three checkouts opened and only one needed a bagger. Now, the software that Kroger uses for check-out is from the 90s. Don't ask me why we don't update it, I don't have the answer! About 30 mins into my shift a man came through my checkout lane with his baby daughter. The baby was crying and the man tried to soothe her as he put his groceries on the belt. Unfortunately in the middle of his order the computer that is connected to the scanner and cash register froze. To unfreeze it we had to tell one of our bosses and she had to reboot it. Now neither I nor the cashier I was working with, had ever been on a register when it needed to be rebooted. We just assumed it would take 2 to 3 minutes… It wasn't until later that we found out it takes about 15 to 20.
Ten minutes in the baby was still fussing and the cashier and I assumed that the man was getting annoyed, cuz who wouldn't be? To defuse the situation the cashier sincerely apologized for the wait. “No, you're fine I understand!” The man replied, “I used to work for Kroger.”
“Oh,” the cashier asked, “how long did you work for the company?”
“10 years.” The man replied.
As soon as he said it, my first thought was, Oh man, I'm a year away from being halfway there!
Kroger is an okay job, I know a lot of people who have worked their lifetimes there… I personally have two problems. Firstly, I got my job at Kroger at the beginning of the third quarter of my senior year in high school. The plan was for me to keep this job through college and then I would quit when I became a teacher. While I ended up dropping out of college, and I'm not technically a teacher, I still got a job that I love, working at a school!
Secondly, I'm stretching myself super thin. I work at New Story from 8-3(ish), come home and write as much as I can, work at Kroger from 6 to 10, come home go to bed, and repeat. I don't really have enough time to promote my book, or look for a house, not to mention have a social life! Something has got to break and honestly if I keep going the way I am, it's going to be me! So the next day, after 4 years, I quit Kroger. While I still have two weeks before I am officially done, I can't wait to see what happens next!
Have a Greattastic day and be safe!
J. Mitchie Ulibarri
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