My canned heat

Before I venture back to my own blog, I just wanted to deposit onto Frank's readers, some of my own heat that I have with bottle returning. My five complaints are listed in order of how much they bother me:

1) Why is it that if you buy a specific soda brand, for example, Hannaford Orange Soda, and then you proceed to return that Hannaford Orange soda to a return machine at Hannaford, it doesn't always accept it?

The machine sometimes goes hay wire! It beeps at you and displays something on the screen that sounds something like this, "sorry, store does not accept this brand." Now to me that makes no sense at all. I bought the damn Hannaford Soda at Hannaford, so why the heck does the machine always kick back some?

Seriously, what a piece of shit junk some of those machines are.

2) I hate dirty/lazy people. I've worked for several years in a grocery store at the customer service desk. Once in awhile, when our bottle clerk takes a break, I have to watch the bottle register for customers as well. Can I just tell you... that the one thing that bothers me the most, is when customers bring in dirty cans and bottles. I have seen bottles with cigarette butts still in them. I saw one with a used condom shoved inside the can, not to mention the cans that have sat in someone's garage for so long they actually have mold on them, and therefore smell disgusting.

Yuck.

3) People that spend all day in the grocery store, after returning cans.

OK- so I understand that times are tough, and if you have to return cans to get some money to make it through the week that is one thing. However, when it starts to get hardcore, I just can't help but shake my head in disarray.

For Example, we have a regular can and bottle returner where I work. When I say regular, I mean he is there on a daily basis. Collecting cans is his job apparently, and that is fine. Yet, once this man finishes returning all his cans, he comes up to the customer service desk to cash in his money for the day, and proceeds to inspect the rest of the store. He checks every candy machine, toy machine, and lottery machine to check for rejected coins. He wants to make sure that no one forgot even a penny. Then, he takes a broom, yes a broom, I don't know why he brings a broom into the store but he does. He uses this broom to stick underneath our coinstar machine to see if there is coins underneath it.

Then he'll hang out in the bottle area for hours and wait to see if anyone leaves any cans behind, or to see if he can possibly snag an extra can or two from other returners. He will continue to come up to the desk in intervals all day long, not that I am an angry customer service clerk... but man it is annoying.

4) When the power goes out in a grocery store.

I have had experience with this, and let me tell you it is not fun. When the power goes out where I work, we have backup generators. The crappy part is that the generators do not allow the bottle machines to run. Therefore, the people that continue to bring their fully loaded carts of bottles and cans into the store to return, still want their money.

That usually leaves someone like me to sit and count all the cans. This is a long process, especially if someone has 100 grimy and icky cans. Sani-Wipes...I have needed them now more than ever.

I don't get paid enough.

5) I fucking really hate bottle slips. I have to count all of them. Yes, all of them. On an average day, we are talking $500 to $700 worth of bottle slips. Now, if each slip has .05 on it, this is a time consuming process. One that takes too long and usually holds me up from getting out of work on time. Not to mention if you are in the middle of counting all the bottle slips on the calculator, and you somehow mess up, you have to start all over. What a pain. If you are a spaz like me, odds are you are going to have to count them numerous times.

I think I am done. I have had all that anger canned up inside me for so long. Feels good to get it off my chest. Sorry for my pretty vulgar rant...

Don't worry readers, Frank is coming back soon.