This Job is For the Birds

Can't I Just Get Some Coffee Without The Extra Shot Of Idiocy?!?

2008-02-26T17:11:00.000-08:00

My first major run-in with the general stupidity associated with bird ownership happened before the store even had a chance to open.

There is a Starbucks in the same shopping center and since I had this feeling I was going to be seeing the baristas a lot I decided to chat with a few of them when I was in and they weren't busy. It turns out one of them had "a green parrot" though she didn't know what species or gender it was.

Upon finding out I was the bird specialist she asked if I "knew how to make the bird to talk." I gave her a few tips but told her that not all birds will mimic. She seemed disappointed but brightened up when I told her a lot of younger birds take a while to learn as well. She also showed me with her hands about how big it was and I guessed it might have been a Conure or a young Amazon because they're relatively popular.

Three days later one of her coworkers told me she wanted to give me the bird because it still wouldn't talk. Apparently that was the only reason she had gotten the bird in the first place. I was rather shocked but told them to tell her of the local bird farms because a)I'm renting and can only have one animal on my lease b)my dog would probably eat it and c)I'm not stupid enough to commit twenty or so years of my life to another animal when my living conditions are only semi-stable, and moving can really stress out a bird. Her coworker agreed to pass on the message.

The next night I meet up with the original parrot owner again. She hadn't gotten my message but seemed willing to check out the farms, especially upon hearing that one of them might be willing to buy the bird from her. It was then that another one of her coworkers offered to take it. Coworker #2 (hereby to be referred to in the rest of the post as B) had had cockatiels in the past and her mother bred lovebirds. It was at this point I had to leave again, but B seemed to be asking a lot of good questions.

I didn't see either of them again until B came into our grand opening.

It turns out that the bird is a female Indian Ringneck Parakeet (soon to be backed up by a genetic test), and her original owner had been feeding her gummy bears. Despite this her stools were apparently well formed, but her new owner was having trouble getting her to eat anything but fruit. I suggested some of the colorful veggies and helped them find a pellet/seed mixture that might work until they can slowly switch her to something their vet recommended to stop possible calcium deficiencies.

I guess my list of "Are you a moron?" questions will now have to include, "Are you feeding your bird candy as its primary diet?" Sheesh.

Jumping Soon

2008-01-17T13:37:00.000-08:00

The official word from my current manager is that I should be called in for the new job on the 21 of this month. Apparently the new manager has the keys but hasn't been given the go-ahead yet; she doesn't want to call us when we don't have anything to do.

One of the new associates at my current store will be going with me. She was hired for the new one but has been switched between stores because of delays. She had no clue what was going on either, she asked me when the date was a few days after I learned it.

Not Quite Dead Yet

2007-12-29T10:53:00.000-08:00

I would like to apologize and explain why this blog went on a temporary, unannounced hiatus for over a month.

1) The 7 Eleven Blog has completely disappeared. I will admit this freaked me out quite a bit. True, the guy did make it quite obvious which company he worked for (he even used the store colors as the theme for his blog) but he made fun of his customers far more than he did the company. It was a good read. Here's to hoping he didn't get fired for it.

2) I'm going to be switching stores soon. My current store isn't really that far away distance-wise, but with traffic it can take almost an hour to get there. Sitting is said traffic tends to eat up my gas money, which is part of why I work there in the first place. This new store (which will hopefully be opening in mid-February) will take half the time to get to.

It was actually a hard decision to make. Do I introduce you all to my current coworkers and customers because I love them, or do I save my future readers the confusion of starting with one cast and then switching to another just as soon as they get to know the first one? My ultimate answer was found through procrastination. As the time to make the jump draws nearer, it would be ultimately impractical to stay on the business of the current store with a new beginning (and thus the real beginning of this blog) in less than a month. Sometime around the middle of January I should be called in to help with constructing the inside of the new store and stocking the shelves with everything needed for a new store.

It'll be interesting to see what kinds of animals they give us, if any.

So for now any posts about people from the current store will be one shots, and will only involve customers and peripherals (vendors, representatives, adoption volunteers).

3) Insert stupid excuses here. School, work, finals, going home for the winter holidays, helping my younger sister set up a fish tank, all that jazz. Real Life interfering with the syrious bizness that is the internets.

And now for a Random Anecdote:

Our Nutro Lady is a really awesome person. She isn't pushy, knows her subject, and is always willing to debate current dog nutrition/health issues. Plus, she runs a French Bulldog rescue and is also involved with Boston Terriers. She is undoubtedly a very smart woman, but sometimes her knowledge on other subjects is a little sketchy.

Nutro Lady: *comes jogging up, urgent sounding* Are you the Avery girl?
Myself: *confused* Uh... no, nobody who works here has that name. Are they looking for-
Nutro Lady: No, no, are you the one with the birds?
Myself: *cottons on* Oh, you mean avian?
Nutro Lady: Yes, that's it.

2007-11-19T20:43:00.000-08:00

This is an interesting time to be an animal specialist. About a week before I took my test, it was posted on the Portal (our store sort-of-news-site-sort-of-employee-resource-center) that our animal assortment would now be determined by store instead of by district.

For those of you unfamiliar with retail terminology, the assortment is the selection of what the store sells. Research done of the surrounding area determines on what the assortment will look like. Taking the assortment down to the individual store level means whatever we don't sell will be ordered less or taken off the shelves entirely.

Basically, it means my department will be losing all of its conures, cockatiels, doves, finches and canaries. Strangely enough, I actually think this is a good move on the company's part. The only species we consistently sell are budgies. The rest sit in overpopulated or small-ish* cages for months until they are finally sold, transferred to another store, or die. This way we'll only receive the animals that sell on a regular basis; so, less fun species for me to play with but fewer, healthier, happier birds. And their happiness wins out over mine any day.

*By small-ish I mean the minimum size that the species can safely be housed in 24/7. Certainly a smaller habitat than I'd consider for my pets, but the store is a business and needs to be run that way.

I Got the First Post! Oh Wait...

2007-11-18T22:07:00.000-08:00

I passed my avian specialist test Thursday. As such, I make no claims of being an expert in my field, especially since 4/6 of the store study books involved proper ordering methods and customer service rather than actual bird care. For that to make sense, let me back up a bit. I currently work at a large pet store. No, I will not post which one, though I'm sure it will become obvious through context sooner or later.

So what's the point of this blog? Well if you've never read a typical "This is my life at work" type blog you've been missing out. Might I recommend:

True Porn Clerk Stories

Acts of Gord

and most recently
The 7-Eleven Blog

I will be attempting to emulate the greatness of those without the guarantee of their inherent hilarity. I will also offer no firm posting schedule at first as I am also a college student and, "School comes first." (I know mother, you needn't remind me every time we talk on the phone.) Having said such, most of my posts will probably be made at school while procrastinating on some project or another so I might surprise myself and all of you in the process.

Since I have named my blog after my newly acquired position I will also attempt to focus on what happens in my department. Unfortunately being a specialist does not mean I am exempt from being on the floor or register so I'll take my amusing tidbits where I can get them. Horror of horrors, I might also be making some informative posts, with links even. Here's to hoping.