But why is all the milk gone?

As some of you may be aware, the Creamery has been running out of milk as of late. Basically we start running out around 7 pm and usually by 9ish we are cleaned out completely. Even though we recently raised our milk prices (yes, I know, we are no longer doing the 3 gallons for $5, it has been very traumatic for all of us), we still have the cheapest price in town and still sell milk like nobody's business. This fact put the Creamery mangers in kind of a pickle, because in order to cater to this immense demand on milk, they have to order TONS of it. But, we only have a tiny cooler to put it in, so to fit all that milk in there they have to stack it 7 or 8 crates high (each crate holds 4 gallons of milk). So just for a little reference point, I stand just shorter of 6 crates of milk, so if they are stacked 6 high I can get the milk out just fine. But anything higher than 6 crates becomes a danger to my existence. I can't reach 7 high, so I have to pull down a crate of 4 gallons of milk from above my head. Keep in mind that each gallon of milk is about 9 pounds, so that is about 36 pounds I am pulling down on top of my head. When they are stacked 8 high, not only do I have to pull 36 pounds of milk down, I have to do it precariously perching on some shotty stool. Needless to say, it can get pretty hairy back there in the milk cooler when they order so much milk. So because of all the complaints and fear of losing lives in the milk cooler, the Creamery cut back on its orders. Long story short, that is why we never have enough milk, so we don't have to risk our lives stocking milk anymore.

Ok ok, so you're all wondering what the point of that was. Well, I'll tell you. The point is, we now never have enough milk and by the time evening rolls around, we are completely out of milk. This does not, in any way, sit well with our faithful Creamery customers. Some are civil about it and simply ask when we will be getting more milk, but most are not so nice. People come storming up to the registers, all in a huff, and demand to know why we are out of milk and why this has happened to them the last 3 times and what they are supposed to do about their children's breakfast tomorrow. People seriously act as if we are the only store in Utah Valley that sells milk. They come up demanding milk and its just like, uh, maybe go to any of the many other grocery stores in the area? Did you happen to think of that? We also get the "I drove ALL the way from JUST to buy your milk, how can you not have any???" As if we are going to be like "Oh! you drove allll that way?? Well in that case, of course we have milk! Let me go get you some from our secret stash." People do think we have some hidden away somewhere sometimes though. One time a girl came up to me at the register and said "I just wanted some milk please." as if I could go fetch her some from some magical place in the Creamery. I just looked at her and told her we were really were out, that's why the cooler is empty. But I had the best reaction to the milk being gone this last Wednesday night.

It was 10:55, we were just about to close, and I was in the back putting bakery trays away. As I am doing this, a tall, angry freshman boy comes up to the door and asks, rather rudely, "Are you seriously out of milk??" This was even more annoying because we had signs up on the cooler doors that literally said Yes, we are really out of milk. So he obviously knows the answer to his snotty question, so I responded and said "Yeah, didn't you read the sign?" to which he yelled, "HOW DOES THAT EVEN HAPPEN IN AMERICA??? I MEAN, WHAT IS THIS, SOVIET RUSSIA????" and then he stormed off. David and I were both in the back for that whole outburst, and we just started and cracking up. Soviet Russia? Who even says that? Did I just miss the fact that the Cold War is apparently still going on? Is the Red Scare still a thing? Because I was not aware that Soviet Russia still existed, or that people still referred to it when venting their frustration about a store's lack of milk. So that bratty little freshman takes the cake when it comes to ridiculous reactions to the milk being gone. As annoying as it is to deal with all the questions and frustration, I guess running out of milk does make for some good stories, and for that, we thank you, angry/confused/disappointed/hysterical customers.

Parking Debacle

Now I know it really has been a horrendously long time since my last post, and for that I am very sorry. It just seems that as I hit my two years at the Creamery mark this month, less and less that happens at the Creams surprises me or seems blog worthy. But as I worked my customary 4 to 8 pm grocery shift today, I found myself thinking, I should blog today. And gosh darn it I am going to. So here goes, my first Creamery post of the last year of our lives.

As some of you may or may not know/care, BYU has decided to start tearing down Heritage Halls this semester. Why they are doing it now instead of during the summer is information that is a much higher pay grade than my own, so I guess it will forever remain a mystery. But in any case, the Halls are being torn down and as a consequence the north parking lot of the Creamery is entirely fenced off. This has caused quite a bit of friction with our Creamery regulars, as they cannot seem to find anywhere else to park. Our south lot is really small and can't accommodate all the people we get on our usually busy evenings, so people are left looking for a place to park while they raid our store of all out milk and ice cream. They are justifiably annoyed at the situation, but they are unjustifiably con-fuddled about where they should park, because, not even 10 yards away, lies a massive parking lot. And I mean massive. It is huge, and is just across the street from the Creamery. It is a stones throw away literally, granted the thrower of this stone isn't a small child or a wuss. So because people can't seem to see this parking lot, or don't consider it an acceptable place to park, they come into the store and gripe and moan about how they fenced off that lot, and ask obnoxious questions like "Why have they put all those fences up? Where are we supposed to park? What are we supposed to do? How will our lives go without convenient parking at the Creamery?? TELL US NOW! SOLVE MY PROBLEMS FOR ME, PLEASE!" It is hard for me not to be rude about it and just be like, "See that GIANT parking lot, just across the street? yeah, that's where you park you half wits." Instead I just give them my fake sympathy smile and tell them how annoying I know it is and apologize profusely and then kindly direct them to the other lot. Usually they are like Oh! I didn't know I could park there! My parking problems are solved forever! Thanks kind Creamery cashier, you have really saved the day! But today, I had a woman come through and when I told her to park over in the other lot she said "Yeah but it is just so hard to carry my groceries across the street, especially all this milk. It is just really inconvenient." I said I was sorry and she walked away, but I mean come on, really? Have we gotten so lazy that walking across the street is really that much of a burden? And just because she, among many others, feels the need to buy ridiculous amounts of milk doesn't mean that she gets to complain about carrying them. I told her she could use a cart, as long as she brought it back, but she didn't seems to like the idea of walking an empty cart ALL the way back across the street. That would just be such a chore. So, until the construction is done (which, knowing BYU, could go on indefinitely) customers will have to face some very pressing trials and we at the Cream will have to put up with their whining about it. Man, I love this place, I don't know why I ever wanted to leave.