Google presentation

I agree completely with Kendra's post on the google presentation. The presentation was on a very interesting topic and relevant as everyone is beginning to look for jobs after graduation. All of the presentations done this semester were interesting. It was nice that most of them pertained to the class in some way. Also, it was helpful to learn from everyone.

Hourly Pay

I learned a good lesson in organization and keeping track of hours this week. I work at a retail store in carytown and get paid every other week. When given our paychecks, we receive an outline of our hours, days, times, etc. Sometimes when I (and the other girls who work there) go in and out of work it is very easy to forget to clock in and out - especially if you go in in the middle of the day when the store is full. I got my pay stub last week and the hours were all wrong, which of course made my paycheck incorrect as well. We clock into a computer and sometimes people clock in the wrong names, etc - (careless mistakes). Luckily I have written down on my planner each day I have worked and the exact hours. That made it very easy to figure out the correct hours and clear everything up. If I hadn't have kept track the situation would have been much more hectic.

Black Friday

Like a fool my sister and I went shopping on the day after Thanks Giving we almost got hit three times by crazy drivers in the parking lot at Kohl’s department store. We also were almost hit by a car from walking from the parking lot into the store. Once inside we had to wait around to get baskets from finished shoppers. The store was a mad house to say the least. I could not even walk down the pathways they were so many people either, standing in line or browsing the stands with discounted merchandise that I had to make my way around the store by walking in the middle of the different departments. When we went to check out my sister stood in line for us both while I tried on the merchandise that I had found that probably took about 30 minuets. When we got to check out, Kohl’s employees were behind the register and girl scouts bagging merchandise. They were just throwing the merchandise into the bags. After we left Kohl’s we went home to enjoy hot coco by the fire, just joking we went to Best Buy.

gOOGLE

I really enjoyed the presentation that was done on Google. I had seen the special about it on television , but i just find their company to be so interesting. Their employees are taken care of very well, from free lunch to a spa downstairs, they have it made. I think that is the key to a successful business. If you treat your employees good they usually dont have a problem doing their own work or staying overtime, or just giving their all to the company.

Black Friday

I will never understand the Black Friday craze in Richmond. I have been out on it in New York during the day but its not as bad as what goes on here. Nothing is wrong with wanting to take advantage of the excellent deals offered by various stores. But to me sleeping in my warm house is more important than camping outside a store for the whole night. I have friends that camped out from 4:00 on Thanksgiving night till the stores opened the next morning. They ended up getting everything they wanted, so I guess it was worth. Personally i think that it ridiculous, maybe the right item is going to have to come out to change my mind. I was also wondering who came up with Black Friday? It is a very good, profitable idea, but who decided when it should be? I'm probably the only person that thinks about these things, but I just wonder about different things.

I Really Dislike Amtrak

So one weekend I was going home and my mom decided I should take Amtrak because I was tried of taking Greyhound and she wasn't going to make the 6 hour drive to come get me. When I first got on the train I was happy because it was definitely more spacious than Greyhound but as the trip went on I found it was no better if not worse than Greyhound. When the train departed from Richmond it stopped less than 30 minutes away for 2 hours. Now it was summer and hot so when the engine went off so did the air conditioner. While the train was stopped a conductor never came around to say what problem the train was having. After we started moving again the train stopped after passing Washington D.C. Everyone on the train was becoming irritated because of this and the conductors not giving any information on what was happening. Anyway I was supposed to arrive in New Jersey at midnight but I didn't get there until 6am the next morning. Amtrak never even issued an apology for all the delays.

Flying the "Friendly" Skies

I have had the opportunity to do a significant amount of traveling in my life, with a pretty significant spike in travel during the last two years. The vast majority of my traveling has resulted in me using air transportation. I fly many of the large and discount air lines, but the three air carriers that I use the most are Delta, US Air, and Air Tran. Most of my flying experiences have been exceptional. Despite the rising cost of airfare, the continued nuisance of lost luggage, delayed or cancelled flights the flight attendants aboard the flights have always managed to meet or exceed my expectations. They are always very friendly, concerned about meeting my needs, and always seem to have a great sense of humor. They always seem to make some of those percolating issues seem less significant. I really have a high respect for the men and women who make our flying experiences pleasurable. A correlation could be made to many other business industries. In business there are going to things that occur that are beyond our control, but with good customer service and a commitment to the customer the bottom line may not be impacted as dramatically.

Travis Preau

My Best Job

I think the best job that I have ever had was working for Extended Stay America. It was a hotel that deals with long-term occupancy. I started off as on of the house keeping staff and did that for about a month. I express my interest in work the front desk and phones. After about a month there was an opening position as a front desk clerk. My manager who I got along well with promoted me to front desk and before I knew it I was checking after the housekeepers and checking people in. I would still occasionally roll up my sleeves and help clean room when we were short staff but my manager was right along side with me. I think the reason I liked the job so much was because I knew that there were advancement opportunities, which I was able to take advantage of and actually promote because my hard work was being recognized.

Job Hopping

Bouncing for job to job is something that I have regretted of doing. When I first entered the work force I was thinking short term, which I believe most young employees do. I was not looking at my crappy first job at McDonalds as something that I could one day use as a work reference but rather as a little extra money to spend going out on the weekends. Although I was only fifteen and stayed there for almost an entire year, and it stands to remain to be one of the longest jobs I have held thus far. I regret the way I left the company. Which was by not showing up when I was expected to work and by not calling in a head of time. Though I was later forgiven by my boss and was able to use the job, as a reference I know now that the way I left was unacceptable. And when I go to fill out job applications now I am hesitant to list the jobs that I have had because some were extremely short. I wish that I would have treated them more serious and I encourage young workers to think long term rather then short.

Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment is a serious issue in the work place. Although according to statistics it most of the time is only an issue among women. But the issue can also apply to men. I think that it is harder to prove that a woman is sexually harassing a man then it is for a woman to claim sexual harassment on a man. There should be a hotline for men to be able to call on how to deal or address the issue. Because I think that it is harder for a man to address the issue and come forward then it is for a woman just because of all the resources available to them. I know that the issue is embarrassing for women but I think that it is more so for a man. This is because a man is expose to be stronger than a woman and not as easily influenced or whatever. This happened to my self when I first entered the work field I was young and impressionable, it took a long time for me to confront the issue and even when I did I was encouraged by my own family to just quit the job and never go back. But I wasn’t encouraged to go beyond reporting it to the police and taking further action but rather to learn how to deal and cope with the emotions that I was experiencing for the first time.