The Customer Is Always Right...Right?

Huge Disclaimer before I start. These are my opinions and not necessarily the opinions of those that I work with. Also, not everyone that shops retail acts in this manner, it just always seems to be those negative ones that stand out. I've had some awesome people come into the store that make working at lulu a terrific job.

So I've been working retail for quite a few months and there's been a few instances that have made me shake my head and lose faith in humanity. Not all of these are my own experiences, but hearing about them made me ponder at how building a 'brand' can scew expectations. That and how retail workers (in general) don't seem to be treated with the same amount of respect that other professions do.

One thing that really bothers me is that customers expect that we know everything that's going on in the company and the store. As a rule, staff are pretty well informed about the company events, policies and such, but when it comes to what product we will get we're all in the dark. I think it's brilliant from a business stand point, there's no insider information that we as store staff can pass on to family and friends. It makes it fair for everyone. But the amount of disbelieving looks I get when I answer 'no' to the question 'do you know when you're getting more in?' is more than annoying. We want happy customers, we want people using our product, why on Earth would we lie?

Keeping on this same topic, we as store employees do not always know what happened earlier in the day or on the phone. I had one guest get angry at me cause I didn't know what 'top', yes that's how it was described to me, they were picking up for Jane Smith. Things I wanted to say to this person "We have at least 50 'tops' in store right now, I need some more information. I started an hour ago, I have no idea what you're talking about. Those of us on the floor also don't answer the phone or know what is said on the phone, so don't bite my head off for not knowing exactly what you're talking about. The name you gave me doesn't match anything I have in the back and you have no idea what you're picking up. Just because it's thesame last name doesn't mean it belongs to you. Sorry for trying to do my job correctly, here's your freaking 'top'!" Key words 'wanted to say', but this person was making it really hard to act in a civil manner.

I have learnt while at this job that what people pay directly reflects what they receive from the it and the people that sold them it. I completely agree with this statement, if you paid a decent amount of money for something it should last an appropriate amount of time. And yet, even this idea has been skewed past the point of rational thought. This did not happen to me, it's a second hand story, but does not surprise me at all that someone thought this was acceptable. A person came into the store and wanted a pair of pants replaced for free, they did not fit anymore because they had lost a bunch of weight. Wait what? You're clothes don't fit anymore so you want us to replace them for free? It would be like buying a $500 suit or dress and returning to the store a year later and asking for a brand new one. Know what those sales people would do? Give you blank stares and send you to the nearest tailor. We have some awesome, reasonable priced tailors in Saskatoon that can fix and alter clothes for way less than the cost of new ones. Clearly you didn't love that one of a kind piece enough, you'd rather have it thrown out for something new. People.

Not all of us who work in the retail or customer service plan to work in that industry for the rest of our adult lives. For a good majority, we're working to help fund the other aspirations we have in this lifetime, higher education. Would you leave your change room a disaster or become irrationally angry with someone if you knew they may have your life in their hands some day? What if they were teaching your children? Flying you across the country? Designing the building you work in? This isn't a scapegoat for terrible service. If an employee doesn't lift a finger when you're looking for assistance then being cross is somewhat justified. If someone is genuinely trying to help solve your problem and you're beyond the point of listening, don't be surprised when someone ends up bitching you out on a blog.

 

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So Now What?

It's been way too long! I'd like to say that I was just too busy to write, but it was in fact just complete laziness and lack of enthusiam. I don't like writing in a bedroom or at a table. Although there are infinitely more distractions I find my creative juices flow better outside or in a public place. Case and point I'm currently sitting in the PAC Gym during the first game of the Canada West Men's Basketball Final 4. I haven't found my life has become any less interesting, in fact coming home has presented me with some interesting life decisions. Let me explain...

Something a lot of travellors deal with when returning home is the feeling that they have changed so much but everything at home has stayed exactly the same. This statement was almost the complete opposite for me, it seemed like everything was changing. Now I must stress none of these changes were in any way negative what-so-ever, I'm so happy for everyone, it was just a lot to take in all at once. While I was away I had numerous cousins and friends get engaged (6 weddings in 2015), both my parents decided they are going to retire (also in 2015), and a few friends have bought houses and are starting careers in different cities. If anything it felt like everyone had their life figured out and I was getting left behind.

That first little while I was home was rough. I had an interview with Shell but wasn't offered a position which was pretty devastating. Couple that with the slump in the oil and gas industry and full on panic mode ensued. What on Earth was I going to do? An already hard work force to get into just got exponentially more competetive. It really made me question coming home in the first place and I was almost considering leaving the country again.

Then I had some luck! I'd had enough of trying to browse for jobs on the internet that I found myself doing some online shopping at lululemon. On a bit of a whim I decided to apply for a position at the store here in Saskatoon and a couple weeks later I started working there full-time. It wasn't 'ideal' at the time, but bills needed to be paid, and it's turned into an opportunity I'm extremely grateful for. Say what you will about the company, I have felt nothing but genuine support from all the staff that work there, especially now that I've decided I'm going to pursue Graduate Studies and have a Master's Degree in a few years. In my ideal world I will balance both working and being a student but there are a lot of unknowns I still need to figure out. It terrifies me that I will be defending a thesis in 2 years time, but that's a good thing right?

I went snowboarding for a week and saw some of my favourite Canadian wildlife!

The most successful blogging session I've had in months.

 

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Marine Life

Helloooo Saskatchewan!! The craziness is over and a new form of craziness begins soon (more on that later!). The end of my time with Haka Tours was phenominal and for those of you who are friends with me on Facebook you've probably already seen some of the pictures. What an adventure.

I have a hard time picking a favourite place in New Zealand, every place had it's own personality and something that made it special. As far as time spent near the ocean Kaikoura had to be my favourite for 2 reasons, the seals and the dolphins! I have seen these animals multiple times in my life, but never like this!

Kaikoura was our first stop on the south island of New Zealand and my God it did not disappoint. Hanging all around the coast near this town is a huge colony of fur seals! At first I didn't notice them as they blend in very well with the rocks, but once I knew what to look for they were everywhere! We got out to have a closer look and there must have been close to 100 just in that one small area. I thought this was super cool until about 10 minutes later I had my mind blown.

I don't remember any specifics about this place because Si, our tour guide, told us to not read any of the signs along the path as we walked up to the waterfall. I'm glad I refrained, the surprise at the end of the trail was worth it! In the pool at the base of the waterfall were 3 seal pups! The seal colony uses this sheltered place as a nursery for the young pups to learn how to socialize and swim! We were there at the end of the pupping season so we only saw the 3 but at times there can be hundreds of the little guys playing around in the pool. The best part was that they didn't even care that we were there, they kept swimming and playing the entire time. One did stop to take a quick look at us, but then he was right back to splashing around with his buddies. Our group even got the pleasure of watching one make the journey down the stream back to the ocean.

The next morning I was signed up to swim with the dolphins. I was extremely excited for this but I didn't want to get my hopes up too high as they are wild animals and who knows what they'll do on any given day. That day the stars aligned and my expectations were exceeded by a thousand times. Dolphin Encounter was great, they had people searching from land and the air to try and find a pod for us to swim with. It did take a decent amount of time to find them but there were enough big albatross around to occupy that time I barely noticed it. Then all of a sudden the crew is telling us to put on our gear as the pod was headed directly towards us, and straight into the water I went. BOOM! Dusky dolphins in every direction I can look! Luckily for us they were feeling playful that day and they stuck around our boat for so long, I was in the water for at least half an hour. They made me so dizzy, they loved to swim circles around you, your goal was to try and keep up! Then they would break off and another one would swim up from below your feet, right in front of your face. They got close enough that I probably could have touched one (the crew did ask that we not do this, wild animal, fear, yea it makes sense not to). It was such an awesome experience, I'd love to do it again. My friend, Dustin, had a GoPro on while we were doing this so if you want an idea of what it looked like in the water, have a look here.

Even once we got out of the water the show didn't stop with this pod. We were able to sit on the bow of the boat for close to 45 minutes taking pictures and videos. They did backflips, barrel rolls, slapped their tails on the surface, and jumped out of the water just because they could. If the boat started up, 4 or 5 of them would swarm to the front of the boat and ride in the wave. It was quite spectacular to see, although it was interesting to note that no one exactly knows why they do all these crazy aerials. To me it sort of looked like they were just having fun showing off what they could do.

I have some videos uploaded to Facebook, but if were not Facebook friends or you don't have it click here, here, and here!

Dolphins, ocean, and mountains. A girl couldn't ask for more.

Waterfall nursery

Oh hey guys!

 

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Under Appreciated No More Part 4

Possibly the last instalment in this series, although I'm sure there are things at home I've completely forgotten about that will rapidly get a big ole hug once I'm there.

#16 Local Knowledge: Although learning is part of the fun of travelling, having some specific knowledge is always handy. Knowing what areas of a town to avoid as a solo female is number one on that list. Luckily for me I had friends with me 99.9% of the time. I do like some alone time every now and then though, and even walking down the street after dinner could potentially be sketchy. Some of the supermarket practices in Bocas would have been nice to know right away (unplugged freezers overnight, raw meat, +40 C heat, you do the math). Knowing that tipping isn't expected in Australia was also a nice tid bit of information to learn, especially when food prices are ridiculous in the first place.

#17 Home Grown Feminine Products: Sorrys boys, I know how squeamish this subject makes most of you. As I was going to be gone for 5 months, it did not make sense to pack that much supply, it would take up too much space. I figured I'd just buy as I go. Now I don't know about other women, but I have a brand and style I like, in an emergency I'll use whatever, but if given the choice I'd use what I know. It's hard to explain without going into great detail. There were a few times in Bocas I had a tough time even locating them in the supermarket, I wasn't sure they'd even work, and Australia is just on a whole different level of products. It's weird I know but I think there are some women out there who would agree with me.

#18 Domestic Travel in Australia: Easy, headache free, awesome, and comfortable. My main source of transit in Australia was Greyhound and Qantas and I was fairly pleased with both services. My Greyhound pass was stupid easy. I bought a one-way pass from Cairns to Sydney that lasted 90 days, had as many stops as I wished, and the only rule was no backtracking. Great plus most hostels had a free shuttle pickup and dropoff which made carrying my bags super simple. I only had to share a seat once for half an hour. The coaches had leather seats, reclining seat backs, and if you were lucky free wifi (which worked better than some of the hostels I stayed at). Flying was also extremely simple. No need to show a passport and zero restrictions on your carryon luggage. Well not zero but I could take as much food, water, and liquids on board as I wanted. After flying internationally that made packing so painless.

#19 Movie Night In/Out: I have had a couple movie nights while abroad but not nearly as many as I would at home. For the most part you can't pick which movie you want to watch, and sometimes the DVD you really want to watch is so scratched up the player can't read it. Summer is the time for the big Hollywood blockbusters and I haven't seen a single one. If anyone has/wants to go see How to Train Your Dragon 2, Guardians of the Galaxy, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, or any other movie that was great this summer, please let me know as I will have tons of time on my hands once I'm home!

#20 Travelling Within Canada: I talked to so many Australians that had never travelled within their own country. People don't explore their own country, they go abroad first and then stick to their own towns or cities. I thought this was incredibly sad as I know so many people back home who have been all over our nation. I can't imagine not having been to the mountains, lakes, and cities with friends and family, it just seems like a no brainer. I know I still have many places in this big world to explore but sometimes finding new spots in your own backyard is the best.

 

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Stairway of Hell... to Heaven!

New Zealand, WOW! I've only really been here a short time and I've seen and done so many things. Everyday is a new and awesome adventure. My time in New Zealand will be quite different than in Australia as I'm being chauffeured around by Haka Tours. If you want a stress free vacation in New Zealand book on with these guys. You have a 'set' itinerary and can do any number of activities based on where you are in the country. It's phenominal as they arrange all of your transportation, accomodation, organize and book your activities, and recommend great places to eat. Groups are small, ours started at 6, will be the biggest at 11, and ends at 3. So much flexibility with what can be done in a day with groups this size.

Oh the things I've seen! Our first day of tour was raining, so we went to the craziest wine (more like liquor) tasting I will probably ever have. It was at the Purangi Winery and if you ever get the chance to go, DO IT! As this is an adventure tour I started off my thrill seeking by going blackwater rafting. It was more like floating through caves with a few jumps off waterfalls, but the whole purpose of the trip was to see the glow worms! Looked like stars in the sky, really neat to see.

New Zealand wouldn't have been a trip for me if I didnt go to a couple of The Lord of the Rings sites. First up, Hobbiton! Was exactly as you would expect it, tiny houses built into the side of the hill. It was interesting to see how they used props and differing house sizes to manipulate size and how much work it was to make everything seem true to life. The magic of movies is crazy. Finishing of the tour with a beer at the Green Dragon was a nice touch, no dancing on tables however.

So far my favourite and most hated adventure was the Tongariro Crossing. It was the hardest 21km I've ever hiked in my life. 2 of the 7 hours were terrible, the other 5 were definitely worth the pain. Two things made this hike very difficult. Because of the volatile weather that can come in at any moment in the mountains, each person had to be properly equipped for the hike. This included carrying food, water, hiking boots (I had to use theirs, they were a size and a half to big), crampons, ice axe, and extra clothing. The last 2 km my feet and knees were in so much pain from the big shoes and carrying all that extra weight, I couldn't wait to get back to the car park. Thank God they had beer waiting for us at the bottom! The true test was at the Devil's Staircase however. Stairs and upslopes for 1 hour to the summit. There was much cursing during this time but in the end it was completely worth it as a close up view of Mount Doom was waiting for us at the top of the stairs. The weather was absolutely perfect, barely a cloud in the sky, and the view from the mountain top was absolutely stunning.

The crazy thing is that was all in 4 days of my 24 day tour and it only gets better from here!

Bag End!

Mount Doom!

Just one of the many beautiful views on the crossing

 

 

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Wandering Feet

'The afternoon has surprises the morning never expected.'

I've alluded to this before with my city/ town walks but I never really explained why I like doing them so much. For one thing it's half decent exercise but the best part about my wanderings are all the awesome things I find. The quote above I got on one such wanderings while I was eating lunch at the Melbourne Royal Botanical Gardens. It came from an elderly gentleman who I chatted with and it seemed perfectly fitting for my entire time in Australia. I never knew where my feet were going to take me!

There always is a destination in mind, I get a general idea of where I'm going and then just walk. I get asked if I want a map, and I always say no. I did get lost a few times, but the ocean can make a great landmark. I knew if I ever got really good and lost I could always just go back to the water and find my way from there. It's amazing what you can find if you have the time to duck into any interesting looking shops, markets, and buildings. My favourite places were the stumble upon events and places I didn't know existed. The most notable things I've stumbled across are the Ukulele Festival, numerous street artists, farmers markets, and countless amounts of beautiful scenery. My spontaneous hang gliding with Tori was a result of one of these wanderings. A case of being in the right place at the right time. Going on tours is awesome, you get to see so many things and places that would have been difficult by yourself. That being said the free days I've had have been some of my best days in Australia.

Walks also served as a great energy release and time to think. After sitting on buses and planes for hours on end, a walk would do wonders for my mood and attention span. There's something infinitely calming about going for a walk by yourself. It's amazing how many topics can filter in and out of your head while doing this. You have time to think about things you should have done, should do, could do, and will do. I won't share most of these thoughts because then my wanderings will become a burden. These are my purest, uninfluenced thoughts and ideas, any form of criticism would ruin any form of epiphany I had. I also don't write most of them down so I forget about half of them anyways :P.

 

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2100kms for Rocks

Almost on a whim I decided to head to the Red Center to check out the Outback. I'm so glad I did! Although some of the people on tour were less than awesome, their lack of personality and awareness of others did not ruin my trip and I had a fantastic time. 1500kms in 3 days and go!

Uluru itself was quite amazing. One giant monolith, practically in the middle of nowhere, is quite cool to see. Stand next to it and you really appreciate how this is a natural wonder as it is massive! It is a sacred site for the Anangu people and you can still see the cave paintings they drew to help teach their children. The sunset and sunrise where so neat to watch as you could see every shadow and feature that the rock has. Such a unique place.

Kata-Tjuta was just a short drive down the road from Uluru but couldn't have looked more different. Instead of one big giant rock, there were numerous dome formations scattered around the area. During our 10km hike, it so neat to see where the earth moved thousands of years ago. The rock nerd in me was only getting started!

King's Canyon was by far the best spot on that trip. The first 300m or so was a doozy, they don't call it Heart Attack Hill for nothing, but what followed was definitely worth the effort. Around every corner there was something new and interesting to see. It was like walking around a geology textbook except on a much grander scale and way more interesting. I actually caught myself thinking that our Geo Eng field school should be there instead of Pincher Creek and Revelstoke. On a side note, since doing this trip I've gotten multiple messages from friends back home on field school. September creeped up on me real fast! Not to be forgotten is the absolutely stunning Garden of Eden, a refreshing change of scenery after seeing only red soil for 3 days. Barely a ripple crossed the water and it made for some absolutely stunning photographs.

The last 600kms consisted of a day trip from Melbourne out the Great Ocean Road to the 12 Apostles. After seeing my friend Karen's video of a helicopter ride over them, I decided to follow suit, and what a view! As the limestone cliffs are getting eaten away by the waves it is impossible to see all 9 formations from the ground. From the air you could see everything! Not only was it my first helicopter ride but it had a pretty spectacular view!

Sunrise at Uluru

Kata-Tjuta

The Garden of Eden

The 12 Apostles

 

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