Since today (8/17/07) was my last day of work for the summer, I thought I'd share with you some of the silly things I've heard kids say in the last couple of weeks.
Today:
A girl after she picks up a set of chop sticks (they are attached on the top, so they're in a sense training chop sticks):
"Look Mom! Pork chops!"
I stood blinking in confusion over that one, especially since the mom didn't correct her. They either know some name for them that I don't know, or it's some inside joke.
A couple weeks ago:
Girl: How much money can we spend Daddy?
Dad: Fourteen dollars.
Girl: [In a voice much too old and demanding for her age] Daddy! You totally don't know how to shop! Girls love to shop!
A woman standing near by and I had a good laugh over that one. The girl was probably no older than 10.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Sign with Me
It's interesting how many people I've talked to at the zoo who know ASL (American Sign Language). I usually notice them when I'm working upstairs. I ring them up just like I always do, and at some point I glance up and catch a few signs that I recongize. At this point, I get pretty excited and ask, "Is that sign?" When they confirm that yes, it is sign, we usually get into a lively conversation about why they sign and how I want to learn more. I tell them how I am hard of hearing and how my dad wouldn't let me learn sign as a kid because he was told that I wouldn't learn to talk if I was taught to sign. In any event, I learned how to sign regardless and I love to sign with people at the zoo.
Yesterday (7/7/07) while I was on my ten minute break outside, a woman asked me (and signed at the same time) if I was deaf because she saw my hearing aids. I replied that I wasn't, but that I am hard of hearing. She told me that one of the guys she was sitting with was deaf. Interested, I asked him how he was doing in sign lanague. He replied (and spoke too) that he was fine. They told me they were at the zoo for a company picnic (T Mobile). I told them I work in the gift shop and they asked me if we sold water. I said that we do and told them how big the bottles were and how much they cost. At one point they asked me where the fish were. At that point, I had to spell out the name of the reptile house with my fingers, which took awhile. We had a nice time chatting before I had to go back inside because my break was over.
Also yesterday, a woman told me that she started signing with her husband and her two year old because she wanted her kid to be able to tell her what it wanted without screaming all the time. I didn't see the two year old, but the mother told me that the kid can sign pretty well. This had to be the best idea I'd ever heard. I am totally going to teach my kids (when I have them) how to sign. Although, I'll have to teach myself first.
Yesterday (7/7/07) while I was on my ten minute break outside, a woman asked me (and signed at the same time) if I was deaf because she saw my hearing aids. I replied that I wasn't, but that I am hard of hearing. She told me that one of the guys she was sitting with was deaf. Interested, I asked him how he was doing in sign lanague. He replied (and spoke too) that he was fine. They told me they were at the zoo for a company picnic (T Mobile). I told them I work in the gift shop and they asked me if we sold water. I said that we do and told them how big the bottles were and how much they cost. At one point they asked me where the fish were. At that point, I had to spell out the name of the reptile house with my fingers, which took awhile. We had a nice time chatting before I had to go back inside because my break was over.
Also yesterday, a woman told me that she started signing with her husband and her two year old because she wanted her kid to be able to tell her what it wanted without screaming all the time. I didn't see the two year old, but the mother told me that the kid can sign pretty well. This had to be the best idea I'd ever heard. I am totally going to teach my kids (when I have them) how to sign. Although, I'll have to teach myself first.
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Defintely the Strangest Question Ever
Sometimes I think there should be awards given to the people who ask me the strangest questions while I'm working at the gift shop. There are common questions of course, such as:
-Where's the bathroom (or some version of a bathroom question)?
- How much is/does this cost?
- Can I pay for this up there? (we have two floors)
- How much do memberships cost?
- Do you sell water in here?
- Where's the sunscreen?
That being said, I doubt anyone could ever top the question a short, somewhat chubby 8-10 year old boy asked me one day while I was working upstairs.
Boy: Do you have...um...a building that has hunting stuff in it?
Me: [confused] You mean like toy guns and stuff?
Boy:No . . .do you have a building or a place where . . .[thinks] a shooting range?
Me: [dumbstruck] A firing range? I don't know of anything like that around here and I don't know why the zoo would even have a place like that. So, no we don't. Sorry about that.
Boy: [looks disappointed] Oh, ok.
He walked away after that, leaving me standing there wondering why a litttle boy would think a zoo would have a shooting range. Maybe he didn't quite understand the purpose of a zoo, I thought. As it turns out, there are some old zoos in places like the south that have carnival-like shooting ranges that are sarafi themed. Mondern zoos don't have stuff like that. I know this only because I asked a manger about it later.
So, yeah. . .that kid wins the strangest question ever award.
-Where's the bathroom (or some version of a bathroom question)?
- How much is/does this cost?
- Can I pay for this up there? (we have two floors)
- How much do memberships cost?
- Do you sell water in here?
- Where's the sunscreen?
That being said, I doubt anyone could ever top the question a short, somewhat chubby 8-10 year old boy asked me one day while I was working upstairs.
Boy: Do you have...um...a building that has hunting stuff in it?
Me: [confused] You mean like toy guns and stuff?
Boy:No . . .do you have a building or a place where . . .[thinks] a shooting range?
Me: [dumbstruck] A firing range? I don't know of anything like that around here and I don't know why the zoo would even have a place like that. So, no we don't. Sorry about that.
Boy: [looks disappointed] Oh, ok.
He walked away after that, leaving me standing there wondering why a litttle boy would think a zoo would have a shooting range. Maybe he didn't quite understand the purpose of a zoo, I thought. As it turns out, there are some old zoos in places like the south that have carnival-like shooting ranges that are sarafi themed. Mondern zoos don't have stuff like that. I know this only because I asked a manger about it later.
So, yeah. . .that kid wins the strangest question ever award.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
A Basic Overview
I suppose most people think working in a zoo gift shop is boring and mundane, especially when it comes to dealing with disgruntled guests (my boss insists that we call them guests, not customers) and standing up for about 8 hours at a time. While those are some of the downsides to my job, it is the people who I meet who actually make the job far from boring. In fact, the people who come into the gift shop often end up being the highlights of my day. And not just the kids, but the adults as well. Kids can be pretty funny, often asking the silliest questions, but you may be surprised at how entertaining adults can be as well.
The gift shop I work at is very customer--guest--oriented. The managers and supervisors constantly remind us that the guest comes first. We are reminded to greet them as they come in and to always smile and be friendly. Not only does this make my job eaiser and my days shorter, but it creates an experience for the guest as well. If they have a good time, they'll want to come back, or they'll tell their friends about the really friendly, entertaining cashier they met in the gift shop.
Most of the people I work with are between the ages of 14 and 30. High school and college age kids who are hired on for the summer season. The store is pretty much dominated by teenagers and young adults. While this is often seen as a bad thing, it actually works fairly well. My co-workers are diverse and quite friendly. Most of them are also extremeley entertaining. If you were to come into the shop, you would probalby find several of us laughing with each other or a guest or perhaps wearing lion ears on his/her head (something I do frequently).
I created this blog to share with you some of my experinces with working in a zoo gift shop. Many of my stories you will find funny and fairly entertaining, but there will be a few that may seem sad (lost children mostly). I will not be using the name of where I work or any last names to protect credibility and privacy. In some cases I may even make up names if I feel it is appropriate. Either way, all the stories I post are accurate to the best of my recollection of them. I hope that you find most of them as entertaining as I do.
The gift shop I work at is very customer--guest--oriented. The managers and supervisors constantly remind us that the guest comes first. We are reminded to greet them as they come in and to always smile and be friendly. Not only does this make my job eaiser and my days shorter, but it creates an experience for the guest as well. If they have a good time, they'll want to come back, or they'll tell their friends about the really friendly, entertaining cashier they met in the gift shop.
Most of the people I work with are between the ages of 14 and 30. High school and college age kids who are hired on for the summer season. The store is pretty much dominated by teenagers and young adults. While this is often seen as a bad thing, it actually works fairly well. My co-workers are diverse and quite friendly. Most of them are also extremeley entertaining. If you were to come into the shop, you would probalby find several of us laughing with each other or a guest or perhaps wearing lion ears on his/her head (something I do frequently).
I created this blog to share with you some of my experinces with working in a zoo gift shop. Many of my stories you will find funny and fairly entertaining, but there will be a few that may seem sad (lost children mostly). I will not be using the name of where I work or any last names to protect credibility and privacy. In some cases I may even make up names if I feel it is appropriate. Either way, all the stories I post are accurate to the best of my recollection of them. I hope that you find most of them as entertaining as I do.
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