Toys R Us is The Worst Job I Ever Had
When I was 20, I worked at Toys R Us as a seasonal worker for the holidays. I loved going there as a kid, I have many fond memories of perusing the aisles with my parents, showing them everything I wanted for Christmas that year and playing with the toys. I was a spoiled little brat, come to think of it. The magic, as is so often the case, was ruined when I started working there. It was the worst job I ever had, and I once worked with a convicted murderer. Thatâs not a joke.
My expectations and hopes for the job were non-existent, I just needed the money. College was a struggle and I had no idea what I was going to do with myself should I fail. And I was broke, with the holidays right around the corner. So I took the job of a seasonal sales associate at the biggest toy store in the world. Again, during the holiday season. I started so late in the season thanks to school that my second day on the job was Black Friday.
Even though it was 13 years ago, I remember very little about my time there. I have four distinct memories. One is going to the sub shop on that second day and talking to the people behind the counter. They asked me how busy we were and I told them we were slammed and that it was only my first day. They were two pretty girls my age, so obviously my 20 year old man brain decided to lie to impress them even more. Suitably impressed, they said âwowâ and didnât say another word to me. I ate my sandwich in peace and went back to work.
The other three things I remember were related to my boss. She was a horrible one, a sadist. She was an older woman, in her sixties we thought, and she yelled at us for everything. And I mean that literally, she yelled at us, angrily, every time she spoke to any of us associates. She always looked at you like you just kicked her puppy. For the sake of her not tracking me down and finally finishing me off, letâs just call her Mary.
Since I started so late and the store was so busy, I had zero training. Again, I mean that literally. Within five minutes of arriving on my first day, I was on the sales floor by myself stacking boxes, moving things around, helping customers, and cleaning various spilled liquids off the floor. A parent came up to me and asked about the price of a remote control car, showing me an ad with the car in question. It was a much lower price than the one on the shelf, and she showed me both the car and the ad. They both had the same name and looked the same, so not knowing what I was doing, I said, yeah, the price in the ad is right.
A few minutes later, Mary called me to the front of the store. In front of dozens of customers waiting in line, she yelled at me for getting it wrong. The car the customer bought was a super expensive one, and they had to give it to her for the price that the idiot on the sales floor told her it was, or she was going to sue, apparently. I told Mary it looked like the same thing as in the ad and that I had no way of checking the actual price because I had only been there for an hour and had no training. She exploded, the human equivalent of Mount Vesuvius. She said if I didnât know something, I should ask her or another supervisor. I told her that I looked, but couldnât find anyone because we were so busy and at the time I didnât have a walkie talkie. She then yelled at me for not getting one, even though I tried when I arrived but they were all gone already.
On Black Friday, my second day, a guy asked about a bike he ordered online for his son. It was supposed to be ready that day. I took his name and order number and checked in the back⌠and it wasnât there. I told him it wasnât ready, and he demanded to talk to my boss. The only higher-up I could find was Mary. He told her the situation, and she demanded me and another guy go back and look again. As we were back there, I told my coworker that I already looked and it wasnât there, and about the dressing down I got the previous day. He laughed and say âyeah, thatâs Mary. Iâm going to get out of here and never come back.â And sure enough, I never saw that guy again.
Anyway, the bike didnât magically materialize in the last five minutes, so I went back alone and told her. Once again she exploded at me, telling me that when I took the order I should have double-checked the right date and location, because according to her it was sent to the wrong store, though I still have no idea how she came to that conclusion. I told her it was only my second day on the job, this guy ordered the bike two weeks ago, and that I didnât work in the online ordering department. She yelled at me again for talking back to her. She then ignored me and whisked the customer away somewhere, probably a dark corner to feed on his soul.
I had to work two hours late one day because we were so busy, but the system wouldnât let me clock out because I was working so late. I donât know, it was a bizarre system I didnât understand back then, let alone all these years later. What was supposed to happen was that my boss would use their badge to authenticate that I was still there and only then clocking out, or something to that effect. Well, my only boss there that day was Mary, who said she was busy and to take her badge and do it myself. I had no idea how to use the system but she said that didnât matter, all I had to do was scan it and clock myself out. Though she warned me as I turned around to be sure not to clock her out. Guess what I did!
It was a mistake, let me make that clear. I scanned the badge, and I remember a menu system coming up I had never seen before. I tapped the menu button that said something about clocking out, and the next thing I knew it had Maryâs name on the screen saying she had clocked out early. I went to her and told her what happened, and, well, you can imagine her reaction.
I didnât finish my tour of duty in the jungles of Toys R Us. I got sick one day, so bad that I had to go to the emergency room. There was a sharp, stabbing pain in my stomach that required an ultrasound. I was scheduled to go to work as this was happening, but I figured my health was more important. I tried to call the store when I got out, but I couldnât get through, the store was either too busy or nobody bothered answering. When I got out of the hospital, I went to the store to tell them what happened, but lo and behold, Mary was there...
