Okay, so I only have like ten minutes to write in here quickly before I have to run out the door to work. WORK? AT SIX AM?!? Yep, it's true! I have been scheduled from 6:00 - 10:30am today! Woo hoo, four and a half whole hours. Why 6:00am? BECAUSE THEY HATE ME!!

Here's the situation I've forgotten to tell... On Thursday I turned in my two weeks notice. Hooray beer, I'm outtie! My letter was very professional and non-offensive! Here's what it said:

Dear Robert,

I just wanted to inform you that I am giving you my two weeks notice. My last day will be Monday, May 31, 2004. I have had another job opportunity come up that will better suit my needs at the present time and I can�t afford to pass it up. It�s a full time position with benefits � something I�m not getting here at Bashas.

I have felt a definite push against me over the last few months and I am at a loss as to why. I have had unlimited availability and you�ve chosen not to use me which has been increasingly frustrating. And now in this last month when I�ve actually needed specific times off it feels as if you�ve gone out of your way to schedule me only at those times which has required me to have my shifts covered by others. As much as I love my job this work environment is not beneficial to me. If you�d like to further discuss what I mean by that, I would love to meet with you, but I don�t feel that this is the proper medium in which to discuss that.

I hope that I�m leaving on good terms. I have loved the past 3 � years here with Bashas, but I cannot financially afford to stay � as much as I want to. I feel I�m a good worker and a great asset to not only this store, but the entire company as well. I consistently score highly on my customer service reports, and I have a good rapport with both my co-workers and customers here. I will definitely miss them and all of you very much!

Thank you for everything I�ve learned over the past few years. Should an opportunity arise that allows me to return I hope that I will be welcomed back.

Respectfully Yours,

Jere

So I went in to pick up my paycheck on Thursday and to hand in my letter and WHOOPS! There's no check for me! So I'm really pissed now and getting a bit pissy towards Bill (which is one of the two managers I really like) and he told me that I didn't work last week and therefore no check was written for me. WRONG AGAIN! "Bill, I worked on Thursday with you. Remember, the Friends finale was on?" "Oh yeah, that's right. Hmm." Then he proceeds to tell me that I gave away all my shifts and picked up one that I wasn't scheduled for and because I didn't get signed in it didn't make it into the computer in time and that's why there was no check for me. So he added six hours to this weeks (last week now) check and I'll be able to get it this upcoming paycheck.

::::does this make sense? essentially i got screwed and instead of doing a cash paid out i have to wait a whole week becuase it's not worth writing a check for only six hours is what i was told::::

In any case, today is my first day back since the letter was dropped off, and I have to work with the boss, and I'm just afraid it's going to be awkward. I just hope he's not a dick to me, but there's no guarantee about that either. Especially since I wrote the head of customer service. Yeah, so a customer wrote in asking about me saying how much they love me and that I'm they're favorite and so on and wondered where I was - if I had quit or something like that. The head guy called my boss and my boss "had to explain the situation". Whatever the hell that means! So I got online and wrote him myself about this little "situation" and here's what I said:

Hello!

My name is Jere Van Patten, and I work over at store #14 in Mesa. My store director told me today that someone had written in about me thinking that I had gotten another job. He also informed me that he had to, "explain the situation to [you]". I'm not sure what the "situation" was that was explained, but I found it ironic that a customer wrote in about missing me.

I am actually turning in my two week notice to Robert tomorrow. The reason is this: I started noticing that my hours were being cut and I was told it was because business was slowing down, and then it was budget concerns, and then it was because of the pending Walmart competition. So, I took this semester off of school in an effort to be completely available and get some hours. Unfortunately that never happened, and as a result I lost my insurance.

I've had my eye out for another job because I cannot live on 5 - 12 hours a week. I have a responsibility to my family, and therefore I need to seek outside employment to make ends meet.

Please do not misunderstand me - I LOVE MY JOB! I LOVE BASHAS! I WANT TO STAY! However, it has been proven to me that I will not be receiving any more hours.

I am also an actor in the valley and have recently been cast in a show. Over the past month I've needed certain nights/times off due to my rehearsal schedule. Once I requested that time off on the calendar and spoke with my managers who write the schedule and cleared everything with them; I noticed I would get scheduled when I asked to be off which resulted in me having to give away my shifts or work out trades with people. Those types of actions have made me feel a bit pushed out.

Since being hired there have been four people who have come in and have been given more hours. We got Debbie as "a favor to Mike" was what I was told, and then we got Cheryl from the store in Scottsdale that is being renovated. Both are full time and they come first in the hours food chain. Then we had two courtesy clerks get promoted to clerk/cashiers and they're getting more hours than I am. So, either there are too many cashiers at my store and I have to deal with the repercussions of that, or I'm being pushed out.

Again, may I please reiterate that I LOVE MY JOB, I LOVE BASHAS, I WANT TO STAY WITH THE COMPANY, but I feel that I have no more options to try out so I'm left with finding other work which makes me incredibly sad.

I wish there was a way to work this out without having to resign, and if there is, please get in contact with me, or my director, Robert Ames to work something out. I am grateful for all that I have experienced over the past three and a half years I�ve been with the company. I feel that I�m a good worker and a great asset to not only my store, but also the entire company. I have consistently scored highly on my customer service reports, and I have a great rapport with both my co-workers and customers here.

I am not trying to get anyone in trouble, or step on any toes. I just wanted to clear up things from my end. Every story has two sides, and I just wanted mine heard. Thank you for passing along the message from a concerned customer. I hope I�ll get a chance to see them before my two weeks are up.

Yours,

Jere Van Patten

Yeah, so do you see why I'm a bit nervous to go in to work today? UGH! I got about three and a half hours of sleep last night because all I could think about was all this drama and I'm so not ready to deal with drama right now.

Oh there is so much more drama to talk about with the MCCool show vs. the Phoenix Theatre show and I just don't have the time! UGH! Maybe I'll write about that when I get home in five hours - HA! But right now I gotta go.

Until next time...

Written by Jere at 5:19 a.m.