Friday, October 29, 2010

Samhain! Folksy Friday and musings on life as Steff

Every three months or so, my company sends so- called mystery shoppers 'round. They have to fill in a questionnaire about their in- shop experience, the service they receive, cleanliness and all kinds of stuff.
Last week, I was unfortunate enough to encounter a mystery shopper... and fortunate enough to spot him. It's relatively easy when you know what to look for as they tend to be strangers, lurk about the shop and ask daft questions.
Well, my mystery shopper was so happy with me that he answered the question "which was the best part of your visit to shop xyz" with "The friendly customer service I received"
Cheers, mate! Truth be told, I wouldn't have been THAT good if I hadn't known it was the mystery shopper. I would have still been polite and friendly, but the reason I could answer his question instantly was that I could easily predict what it would be and looked it up while he stealthily (...) inspected the toilets for cleanliness.
My manager knows all this, but the fancy suits that receive the reports don't. So now they think I am, to say the least, the bees' knees. I'm dead chuffed! Of course I actually AM the bees' knees without a doubt anyway, but you guys knew that all along.
So, a bit of deception and a sixth sense go a long way in the life of a CSA in a bookies. Interesting. It also helps to give people a fair share of quality abuse rather than "Yes, sir, no, sir, thank you, sir". Seems to make them feel at home, and as long as they think that "Hell, man, I can't believe you're still here, don't you have a bloody life??" is just banter, all is well.

As much as I moan about work, there are good bits. Very good bits. For example the fact that it's so dead at night that I managed to finish off a crocheted cat hat (beanie with ears) and little cuffs for Abigail to wear tomorrow. She and her little brother Aaron are going to pop 'round tomorrow, and instead of taking them for Trick and Treating, we are going to dress them up as cat and dog and watch, well, Cats And Dogs. All I have to do now is crochet a little doggie beanie for Aaron, whip up a tail and take tons of pictures tomorrow when their Dad turns them into Fido and Fluffy. Well, in this case, Cerberus and Sekhmet! I'll show off what I came up with tomorrow or Sunday, as now it is time for Folksy Friday.

According to the omniscient Wikipedia,
Samhain is a Gaelic festival held on October 31–November. The Irish name Samhain is derived from Old Irish and means roughly "summer's end''. A harvest festival with ancient roots in Celtic polytheism, it was linked to festivals held around the same time in other Celtic cultures, and continued to be celebrated in late medieval times. Due to its date it became associated with the Christian festival All Saints' Day and greatly influenced modern celebration of Halloween.

I thought I'd pay tribute to the elders and give you a glimpse at what Folksy has to offer where it comes to Celtic and Gaelic inspired pieces.
As always, a click on the pic will take you straight to the shop.

Love y'all, have a wonderful Samhain/ Hallowe'en/ All Saints' Day if I don't see you before.
Please remember, if you see anything that tickles your fancy on Folksy, most sellers ship internationally, and it won't cost the world. Highstreet was yesterday!

2 comments:

  1. Happy Samhain, then! Thanks for the cool picks, they're so NOT the usual crafts. Love 'em. Love your story, too! I am a teensy bit concerned; what if one of the suits catches on that you have a subversive blog? Your Halloween plans sound super super fun fun fun, have a blast and post pictures!

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  2. Oh my...you have such an interesting life...first an attempted robbery and now a mystery shopper! I like to crochet too, right now I am making edgings for a cabinet in my kitchen; I know it sounds a bit "old Lady-ish" but I think they will look nice.(-:

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