My Part Time Job
When I first took the job with the vending company shortly after the aneurysm in 1978, I was under the impression I had a year to live. My boys were both in school and I was a wreck just sitting at home waiting to die. I hoped the part time job would occupy my mind. I knew I'd never get through a full time day of work. The Dr. thought I was crazy to work at all and tried to talk me out of it. I was in pain, but it was a pain I'd always known. The headaches that would get worse whenever I pushed myself to hard or fast in doing things. I'd learned to pace myself to keep it managable. The vending job fit. Lifting a case of pop was the hardest part, but having a cart to load with six packs kept that at a minimum. I started at our combined hospitals working 5 hours a day. Filling, cleaning, paperwork and occasionally fixing a machine could be done in a way that allowed me to complete each day without overdoing. I seldom saw my supervisor and worked on my own. And it was the perfect place to be when I electrocuted myself. That story was posted on Dec. 30 of '06.
Then a new hospital building was built and I only had one building. Storage became a problem. I went from a storage room in each building to two gutted vending machines for storage. They didn't hold enough to stock up supplies. And cases of pop had to be moved to reach what I needed. Supplies were only delivered twice a week, (except cold milk and sandwiches that came three times a week) so ordering had to be monitered closely so I'd have what I needed without receiving more then I had room to store. I still kept the pop organized so I always knew what I had and what I needed. (I covered some vacations in accounts where the girls just shoved the pop in the cabinet where you couldn't see what was behind what and never knew what was in there. Drove me crazy. Half the deliveries had too much of one selection and none of another. And when I went on vacation, I would come back to the same mess.) One cabinet held pop and the other had to store most of the chips, candy, coffee machine supplies, plus the condiments, napkins, straws and cleaning supplies, money and my paperwork. Cold food and milk for the sandwich machine had to be stored in the hospitals cooler. Where everyone in the kitchen had access to it. I was constantly being hassled by my company about inventory and I believed most of that problem was due to stolen sandwiches. I'd had a cooler in the storerooms at the old buildings, and my inventory was always good.
A few things could be stashed under the snack machine, which is called a showcase. the showcase displays chips, candy, cookies, pastry and gum/mints. Along with the showcase, my hospital account also had the 8 row pop machine, coffee machine and the sandwich machine with two microwaves. Working at the first two hospitals gave me 5 hours a day. The new hospital building meant a cut in my hours to three a day. So I agreed to take on a new account at our local Nazarene College. That gave me a total of 6 hours a day. There were no sandwich or coffee machines at the college. Just a showcase and a pop machine in each of 6 seperate buildings.
It didn't take me long to realize that it was more then I could handle in the time allowed. By then I'd been with the company for 9 years and I could choose which account I wanted to keep. The hospital meant dropping back to just 3 hours a day. The college was growing and would mean at least 5 hours a day. Without the cold food machine at the college, I wouldn't have that waste to deal with. The vending company wanted the food machines kept full, but they harassed us about waste. You really can't have it both ways. But, then again, the college meant handling a lot more pop. And doing it without the cart I'd depended on. The college allowed room for one storage cabinet and even with the bottom of the showcase, ordering would still be tight. But without the coffee machines to fill and clean each day, I could get by with less storage.
I chose to give up my hospital account after all those years and take the college account. My choice was mostly due to the hours. Three hours a day hardly seemed worth the effort of getting up every morning. And I wanted the money. This choice began three years of a most unusual and totally different vending experience. The college turned out to be a dangerous place for me to work.
Then a new hospital building was built and I only had one building. Storage became a problem. I went from a storage room in each building to two gutted vending machines for storage. They didn't hold enough to stock up supplies. And cases of pop had to be moved to reach what I needed. Supplies were only delivered twice a week, (except cold milk and sandwiches that came three times a week) so ordering had to be monitered closely so I'd have what I needed without receiving more then I had room to store. I still kept the pop organized so I always knew what I had and what I needed. (I covered some vacations in accounts where the girls just shoved the pop in the cabinet where you couldn't see what was behind what and never knew what was in there. Drove me crazy. Half the deliveries had too much of one selection and none of another. And when I went on vacation, I would come back to the same mess.) One cabinet held pop and the other had to store most of the chips, candy, coffee machine supplies, plus the condiments, napkins, straws and cleaning supplies, money and my paperwork. Cold food and milk for the sandwich machine had to be stored in the hospitals cooler. Where everyone in the kitchen had access to it. I was constantly being hassled by my company about inventory and I believed most of that problem was due to stolen sandwiches. I'd had a cooler in the storerooms at the old buildings, and my inventory was always good.
A few things could be stashed under the snack machine, which is called a showcase. the showcase displays chips, candy, cookies, pastry and gum/mints. Along with the showcase, my hospital account also had the 8 row pop machine, coffee machine and the sandwich machine with two microwaves. Working at the first two hospitals gave me 5 hours a day. The new hospital building meant a cut in my hours to three a day. So I agreed to take on a new account at our local Nazarene College. That gave me a total of 6 hours a day. There were no sandwich or coffee machines at the college. Just a showcase and a pop machine in each of 6 seperate buildings.
It didn't take me long to realize that it was more then I could handle in the time allowed. By then I'd been with the company for 9 years and I could choose which account I wanted to keep. The hospital meant dropping back to just 3 hours a day. The college was growing and would mean at least 5 hours a day. Without the cold food machine at the college, I wouldn't have that waste to deal with. The vending company wanted the food machines kept full, but they harassed us about waste. You really can't have it both ways. But, then again, the college meant handling a lot more pop. And doing it without the cart I'd depended on. The college allowed room for one storage cabinet and even with the bottom of the showcase, ordering would still be tight. But without the coffee machines to fill and clean each day, I could get by with less storage.
I chose to give up my hospital account after all those years and take the college account. My choice was mostly due to the hours. Three hours a day hardly seemed worth the effort of getting up every morning. And I wanted the money. This choice began three years of a most unusual and totally different vending experience. The college turned out to be a dangerous place for me to work.
posted by LeeAnn | 2:41 PM
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