Christmas chaos....again

Oh joy, yet again I find myself caught up in the chaos that is 'Christmas in retail'.

Every year the same thing happens and every year it winds me up, despite my promising myself that the next time I will not allow myself to be riled.

I used to adore Christmas, it was my utterly favourite time of year....and then I went into retail and the unending sixteen or so week run up, added pressure and grumpier customers, soon saw to it that it fast became something less than my favourite time.

None of that though is what aggravates me the most. What really 'gets my goat' is the dis-organisation and lack of consideration that means that my employer can never seem to tell us if we are to have Christmas off or not, until at best mid November! That might be all very well for those who's family are near at hand but for the likes of us who have to try and make travel arrangements, cattery reservations and fit in with other family members scattered around the country, it is an annual bloody nightmare.

If I have to work over the festive season then so be it, not good but a fact of life but why in God's name can't anyone ever seem to get a grip of this a little earlier in the calendar? Let's face it, it's not rocket science is it? Christmas is the same day every year, we kinda know it's coming don't we and making up a few staffing rota's is hardly the stuff of military maneuvers!

Don't tell me it's difficult, I've done it, it's hassle but it's perfectly do-able. Hell, they know their staff, they know their shifts and they know their trading hours, but no, not once has it ever been sorted in time for us to book flights at a reasonable cost, every year we have had to pay for a cattery place regardless of whether I needed it, just to reserve it in case we do and never have we been able to simply let my family make arrangements without having to hang on until the last moment waiting to discover if we will make it!

This year PG, for the first time in ten years has four days off so at least I won't be sat here on my own like last year but worst case scenario is that I get only Christmas day itself off. If I get more we need to book flights but can we? Can we hell! I just know that yet again it will be the long drive on Christmas eve scenario because I can't get bloody confirmation one way or another in time to buy flights.

Fer pity's sake, all this hassle for a three day a week job and mark my words, when I do discover my fate we'll likely have to trail back the hundreds of miles early just so I can cover a four hour shift in the middle of the week off! Arghhhhh.

Bah humbug!

Rant over! :o)