May 2014 - Page 3 of 24 - I Hate Working In Retail

By

Peeled TONGUE? 10 disgusting foods you wouldn’t even eat if trapped on a desert island

These gross concoctions might have an incredibly long shelf life – but we would rather put our hunter-gatherer skills to the test than try them

Food? Canned grossness

These are some of the most disgusting foods you won’t believe actually exist.

Even if we were stranded on a desert island, we cannot imagine these foods looking appetising.

We’re all for long shelf lives and convenience – but some food is not meant to be in a tin, while others should just be left alone full stop.

McCanned

Not gourmet: These burgers are unlikely to be at the top end of anyone's budget
Not gourmet: These burgers are unlikely to be at the top end of anyone’s budget

 

Burgers in a can probably don’t fit in with the current trend for gourmet beef in brioche buns at £10 a pop.

Developed by a German camping company, they are not exactly food on the go as they have to be boiled in hot water while still in the can.

They also take 10 minutes to cook – about the same time it takes to grill a real burger then…

Roast in tin

In the can: Whole chicken, cooked with water and salt, no giblets
In the can: Whole chicken, cooked with water and salt, no giblets

Have you ever wondered if there was a way you could cook a full Sunday roast without using as much oven space? Possibly.

Ever thought about eating an entire chicken from a can? Us neither.

Despite the pale colour of the chicken when taken out, it is actually already cooked and just needs to be reheated in a pan of boiling water.

Just scrape the weird gelatinous substance off the outside and you’re good to go.

Are ewe kidding?

 Casu Marzu

Infested: Casu Marzu is a cheese made from sheep’s milk which is also home to maggots

Cheese, hot weather and an infestation of flies are rarely a good combination.

But apparently there is an exception. If you like your cheese hard, smelly, with a few thousand maggots inside and an aftertaste which lasts for hours, then get your crackers out.

This Sardinian cheese is what happens when Pecorino decomposes because of all the larvae and maggots of the “cheese fly” living inside it.

Some people remove the maggots – which can be up to eight millimetres long – before they eat this cheese.

Others do not.

No.2 beer

Elephant Dung Beer
Refreshing: Elephant Dung Beer is made by a Japanese brewery and actually quite popular

Everyone enjoys their after-work pint, but we might feel a little differently if we knew that beer contained poo.

Made from elephant dung, this beer from a Japanese brewery is actually extremely popular.

It is made using coffee beans extracted from elephant poo – but apparently the poo doesn’t make it into the final drink. Just the beans which have been in the poo.

Well, that’s all right then.

Brain food

Pork Brains with Milk Gravy
Lumpy: Pork Brains with milk gravy look more like dog food than potted meat

Will eating brains make you smarter?

Probably not – and if it means eating these pork brains in milk gravy, we’d rather not find out.

Described as having a potted meat taste, with the consistency of cooked chicken livers and the look of vomit, we don’t think this will find its way on to our plates anytime soon.

Bottled bacon

Squeez Bacon
Squeeze it: Squeez Bacon is pre-cooked bacon you can squeeze right out of the tube

Don’t you just hate all the effort a bacon sandwich takes to make? Having to put bacon AND sauce on to bread.

Well now you can combine the two thanks to Squeez Bacon, it’s bacon that you squeeze out of a bottle.

Already cooked, you can eat Squeez Bacon straight from the tube. If you want to. Which we don’t.

Candwich

Candwich
Packed lunch: Candwich is a food product and lunch box in one

If even that feels like too much effort then you need Candwich – a sandwich which, needless to say, comes ready made in a can.

It’s like a pre-made sandwich you get from the fridge at the front of the supermarket – only it lasts longer and has never seen the sun.

Candwich comes in Peanut Butter and Jelly or Honey BBQ Chicken varities.

Yes, it’s American.

It will last forever

Canned Bacon
Preserved: This Canned Bacon will last up to 10 years and can be eaten straight from the can

Okay, this bacon won’t actually last forever – but 10 years is a long time to be able to keep meat.

Layers of bacon are separated by grease proof paper and then rolled up in order to fit into the can.

Just unroll your bacon and eat it straight from the can.

Perfect for people living in underground bunkers who hate cooking.

I didn’t know you could eat that part…

Canned Fish Balls
Unusual: Canned Fish Balls are common in Scandinavia but rarely used in the UK

If you’re thinking this is a part of the anatomy you didn’t know fish had, you’d be right.

Usually made from cod, the balls are made from the fillet and some seasoning.

Apparently they are often used in curries and stews in Scandinavian countries, but we’re not convinced.

Does that say peeled?

A delicacy: Canned Tongues (peeled) used to be a lot more popular, but eating tongue has fallen out of fashion
Bad enough: Eating tongue

If the thought of eating a lamb’s tongue is enough to put you off your dinner, you probably shouldn’t look any closer at the label.

The lamb tongues in this tin have been peeled.

And a good job too. Is there anything more horrible than eating an unpeeled tongue?

 

By

10 Ways To Survive Working In Retail Management Without Losing Your Mind

 

a98139_monday_1-smile

Working in any type of service job can easily be equated to hating your job, but it all doesn’t have to be a horror story. Any job can be rewarding if you really do enjoy it. (If you don’t, I’d say run for the hills.) This is what I have learned working in retail management and I can truly say that I love what I do, mostly in part to watching the progress of the associates and my peers.

1. Don’t worry about how others perceive you.

In any large retail store, you will have a management staff that consists of very different individuals with very different working styles. Learn your style and embrace it, run with it, and don’t try to be someone that you are not. If you are a stickler for the rules, be that. If you are a people developer, be that. If you are all about driving results and making money, be that. If you are the bitch, fine, be that. Be a boss ass bitch. Every team cannot function without every role and over time, you will all learn from each other and be well rounded as a team.

2. Stick to your guns, don’t be a pushover.

Don’t make exceptions for that one person that just doesn’t want to work weekends, because then everyone will be off on weekends and you get to run from the registers to the fitting rooms and onto the sales floor of your lovely 2 story store for 8 hours a day 6+ days a week and you will hate your life. Don’t pick favorites, you absolutely must treat everyone the same, even if you really like that kid and feel a little bit bad. He’s coming in on the weekend with everyone else.

3. Always be available, no matter what.

As much as I’d love to eat my lunch on my actual lunch break and you want to continually ask me work related questions while I have a Subway sandwich half way down my throat. I am going to answer your questions. Whether you need help with your schedule, your pay, your department, how you can grow in the company or even something happening at home that is causing you stress. Be available, be approachable and help them come to their own solution. Don’t do the work for them, but show them how to get there on their own. Soon you will get a real lunch break.

4. Keep your integrity.

I cannot stress this enough. It takes one wrong step, one slip up, one mistake for you to lose your whole staff. Practice what you preach and always stand by your word. Don’t take on more than you can chew and know when to ask for help.

5. The customer is not always right, but realize when you are in the wrong.

No store runs like a well-oiled machine and you will encounter some interesting customers on a daily basis. Know your information and the proper policies and procedures for your store and make sure your staff knows it like the back of their hands. Stand your ground but know when to back down and just return the pants, one happy customer equals a return customer and 20 people in line that won’t murder you when you clock out. But always tell your associate why you let it slide and how to handle a difficult transaction in the future. Know when to pick your battles, it will save you time — and in retail, time is money.

6. Do what you say you are going to do.

If you say you are going to do something, you better do it. Whether it be giving someone performance feedback, teaching them how to merchandise, or something simple like help them clean in their department, don’t say you will unless you absolutely will. If you don’t, you may as well count that as a loss. They may not say anything, but they never forget. You have just made yourself unreliable. Why will they work for you if you can’t even do what you said you would? Integrity lost.

7. Make a difference.

If you see something in your store that you don’t like, change it. You never have to settle for what is laid out in front of you. Question authority, if you see a better or more efficient way to do something, speak your mind. Work doesn’t have to be miserable, make it exciting and worthwhile. Retail may not be a dream job but it can be a great place to gain many job skills and a great place to grow. Whether you want to get into fashion, human resources, and management or just gain people and team building skills, you can learn so much and take that on to another endeavor. It really is up to you.

8. Help others grow.

Sure, the vast majority of people work in retail for shits and giggles, to pay for school or just for extra cash. I was the same. I had a full time job that paid the bills but picked up retail to pay for a trip I wanted to take. It just so happened that I enjoyed the retail company I worked for and left my full time job to stay in retail. Usually it’s the other way around, but when you find a company willing to invest in you, you make the changes you see fit. Retail can be rewarding if you make it that way, it can be challenging and thought provoking. Do for your staff what your management did for you, teach them everything you know to the point that one day they are taking your job right from under you. That will show how well you do your job, not the zeros on your paycheck (hell, if you have both, that’s a bonus).

9. Set clear expectations.

Think back to when you were a sales associate. What did you see in your management? What were your expectations of them? Be clear about what you expect from your sales staff but also find out what their expectations of you are. Without that, you are in and out of work without any real goals besides making tons of money. Sure, that is the end goal but there is a lot that needs to happen in order to get there.

10. Actually enjoy your job.

If for one second, you absolutely despise your job, quit. Do yourself and everyone around you a favor and just quit. I guarantee you, the excuse of not having money and being able to support yourself just isn’t a good one. I’ve been there. I quit a job that I hated with no money or savings to my name and hit rock bottom, but I found my way and was happier and stronger for it. No one likes a Debbie Downer at work. It’s all peaches and crème that you hate this job, but I don’t care to spend my day listening to that. So if it’s not for you, don’t try to force it, you will be miserable. TC mark

 

Sourced from thoughtcatalog.com

By

The Worst Places On The Planet to be a Worker

Where are the worst places on the planet to be a worker?

A new report by the International Trade Union Confederation, an umbrella organization of unions around the world, sheds light on the state of workers’ rights across 139 countries. For its 2014 Global Rights Index, the ITUC evaluated 97 different workers’ rights metrics like the ability to join unions, access to legal protections and due process, and freedom from violent conditions. The group ranks each country on a scale of 1 (the best protections) to 5 (the worst protections).

The study found that in at least 35 countries, workers have been arrested or imprisoned “as a tactic to resist demands for democratic rights, decent wages, safer working conditions and secure jobs.” In a minimum of nine countries, murder and disappearance are regularly used to intimidate workers.

Denmark was the only country in the world to achieve a perfect score, meaning that the nation abides by all 97 indicators of workers’ rights.

The U.S., embarrassingly, scored a 4, indicating “systematic violations” and “serious efforts to crush the collective voice of workers.”

“Countries such as Denmark and Uruguay led the way through their strong labour laws, but perhaps surprisingly, the likes of Greece, the United States and Hong Kong, lagged behind,” wrote ITUC general secretary Sharan Burrow in a statement about the report. “A country’s level of development proved to be a poor indicator of whether it respected basic rights to bargain collectively, strike for decent conditions, or simply join a union at all.”

Here’s a look at the world rankings. Darker shades represent worse protects for workers. A score of 5+ means that active conflicts, like those in Syria or Sudan, block any legal protections for workers.

worker rights map