A Little Rant About My New Manager.

One of the reasons I am so happy I am moving to Reading in October is that I won't have to go to work every weekend anymore. My father doesn't want me to have a job while I do my MA (and I'm not going to argue), and also, it would be quite hard to commute to Coventry just for a crappy job in the Cash Office of *insert well-known DIY shop here*. The reasons I hate my job are manifold, but the main reason is quite recent.
I have a new line manager. When our old Store Manager (he was harsh but fair and the only superior to ever apologise to me) left and the Senior Sales Manager took his place (she's rubbish, but let's not discuss more than one crappy manager at once), a new Senior Sales Manager arrived. His name was Roger. He was a complete idiot. Seriously, I could have done his job better without any training at all, even if I hadn't finished secondary school. So, because he wasn't very good at his job, they took half of it away and gave it to Kay, who is awesome and lovely. I was very happy, because the half they took away was managing the Back Office, which the Cash Ofice belongs to. When Roger was transferred to another store, his place was taken by Carol. The first time I met Carol, I was sitting in the canteen talking to a colleague and she interrupted me mid-sentence to ask 'where you from?' I thought this was quite rude, but giving her the benefit of doubt I went through the tediousness of telling her I am Dutch, hearing her say she thought I was South-African, and telling her that my name was pronounced Meryl, NOT Meggggggrel. This is a reasonably normal procedure of introduction for me at work, for colleagues and customers alike. I didn't think too much of it, and was only a little bit startled by her abruptness.
That was before she snapped at me for no apparent reason. I had heard stories from full-time collleagues (I only work Saturday and Sunday mornings) about her complete lack of good manners and any semblance of humanity, but I know the people I work with so I took it all with a pinch of salt. Then, last Saturday, I came in to work extremely tired because I'd been having nightmares that kept me awake. Margaret on the desk, who used to be really strict but since the realignment thinks what all of us have always thought: Fuck *insert well-known DIY shop here*. She 'explained' this really complicated problem to me that they hadn't been able to solve, but they had, of course, tried to phone Random Lady at the Base who was unreachable. I still have no idea who she is, but apparently she knows how to solve things to do with vouchers, so fine. The problem was really complicated, I think mainly because I was tired and they didn't explain it very well. I always think, when something complicated has happened you have to explain it like the other person is an idiot because otherwise you will just confuse them, but apparently Margaret and Carol go for the other approach, which is called throw-as-much-complicated-information-at-the-tired-cash-office-girl-as-possible-in-the-hope-something-sticks. So I sort of thought I knew what had happened, but then it turned out all of this had happened on Thursday (I found this out about 3 hours later because I did my own work first and then tried to help other people, like any good Samaritan would), and not on Friday, so I could do absolutely nothing about it. When I talked to Carol and Margaret again, we decided to just do a refund on the till that was £17 short on this fake code, and to ask Random Lady at the Base when she came to visit the following week what we should do next time. So, we did the refund and I discussed with Carol how and what to do, and I asked/said, to confirm we both knew what we were doing, 'So, we should probably still talk to Random Lady at the Base next week, right?' To which she said: 'You don't have to tell me what to do, I know what my job is!!'
Now, I know I can be a bit sensitive sometimes, but I really thought that was out of line. All I did was make sure we both knew what was going to happen (even though I still had no clue what had actually happened to cause the problem), and she treated me like I had wanted to start a fight with her! To make sure, when Carol had left, I asked Margaret whether I was crazy or Carol was really rude, and she said 'Psh, that was mild for her!' So now I know my colleagues haven't been exaggerating, and that for once, their complaints about the villainous nature (can you tell I've been reading Shakespeare?) of our new manager are completely grounded in reality. I was talking to Kay, thinking 'Thank God Kay is still my line manager and not evil Carol' when she told me that since Carol was actually capable of doing her job, she was now my line manager. I have to tell you, it made my day. And not in a good way.
On Sunday, Carol asked/commanded while I was refilling the change drawer before going home, 'When you leaving?' (she never really uses verbs in questions, too much effort I guess). I was gonna say 'well, after I've done this and given someone my safe key', when she explained herself: 'when you leaving the store, cos I need to find a replacement?' I told her I wasn't sure because it depends on whether I can find a full-time job somewhere else, and I am quite busy with exams right now but I would let her know as soon as possible. She then expressed her wonder at why I needed a job somewhere else if I could fill one of her cashier jobs during the summer. I wanted to shoot her but politely said I would let her know. The last thing I want to do is become a cashier again, so I am going to try my hardest to find a job somewhere else so I don't have to put up with Carol or the annoying customers we get. I am used to the tranquility of the Cash Office now, and can completely see the appeal of a nice calm office job. I am going to be the anti-rebel; 9 to 5, here I come! And let's hope Carol stays where she is forever so I never have to see her again after I leave. Hooray for Reading!!!