Working at Woolies

First thing of all, Happy New Year, even though I'm 9 days late...

I wanted to talk about what it's like working at Woolies/Woolworths or for people who dont live in Australia, a supermarket.
There's rarely any posts like these talking about a specific place, or what it's like, I only just see people posting in forums telling others not to work at Woolies, which honestly scared the living daylights out of me before my first day of work. (btw it is my first job).awn
I've been working since the end of May 2013 and to my surprise I actually love working at Woolies.
Now I'm here to share some tips and comments on what it's like working at Woolies and also for the people who shop at woolies, what you should know that you didnt know.
Hopefully it should help the people who probably havent started their first day of working at Woolies or maybe considering working at a supermarket.

So during my first week of working, it was honestly very scary. The thought that a customer may crack it at me for doing something wrong. And I know for the new recruits they usually have a 'buddy' standing next to them, but it wasnt the case for me, on the first/second day of work I was put on a register by myself but also with another staff member that was behind me working on another register just incase I had any troubles or questions. I also had this big green sign next to my register saying I was new.
But my first month of working was a blast, I had customers complimenting how I bag items, or how quick I scan. Customers really brighten the day with just random conversations. Even staff that are on the next registers, having a conversation with them when the store gets empty.

Tasks besides using the register

• So besides being on the register, you will see other people doing "basket runs" which is where you take all the baskets hanging around registers and putting them back near the entrances.
• Now my favourite one of all is when my supervisor tells me to do "stock", it's where you go to each register and get the items left behind from customers not wanting the item anymore. Then you put them back on the shelf.
• Cleaning registers, just basically cleaning the registers that your supervisor tells you to clean.

First Time Tips

• Don't be scared to ask questions. If you don't know what fruit or veg you're scanning/weighing, ask the customer or any staff that's around. Don't know the calling numbers, ask the supervisor before starting work.
• When the store gets empty. My manager/supervisor will usually tell me to clean around the registers, clean your conveyor belt if their is a small spill or a sticky stain (some customers get annoyed when there's a small milk spill or juice on the belt.), pre-open the plastic bags, I know sometimes it gets hard to open them with cold fingers. And doing a basket run for your own register.
• If you cant open the bags. Use those damp sponges to get the grip back on your fingers but if there isnt any around, I sometimes use the hand sanitizer which helps for a few seconds.
• Make sure you have a pen on your register. Comes in handy when your bored also when customers need to sign.
• Take your time, dont rush. Until you get use to scanning quickly don't rush. I've done it before with fruits and I have dropped them before... 
• Ask customers if they want their meat bagged separately. Some customers are picky with bagging, so ask if they want their meat bagged separately, also ask that with items like, washing powder/detergent, hot chicken, pet food, birthday cards and watermelon.

[Feel free to leave more tips in the comments]

Things you should know that you didnt know.

So working at Woolworths, I know I get a lot of customers thinking that we should know everything, well maybe not everything. But most things like where a specific item is, when does BWS open, why does the bags not fit enough bread (paper bags at the bakery), specific questions about prepaid calling cards. Okay so this may be a a bit of a rant but it does bug me.
The people working on the registers are hired to scan & bag items and do some small tasks around the store. When I first started working I had no idea what 50% of the fruits and vegetables were, so I did have to ask what some of them were. Also the fact that some fruits go and change every season so I still have to learn the different fruits.

• You don't have to put heavy items onto the conveyor belt eg. 24pack of coke, 15L water, 8kg dog foog, many more. The amount of times people put 24x600ml of water onto the belt, trust me, for a weak person like me, it hurts my wrists so much. So leave heavy items in your trolley and ask before putting it on the conveyor belt.
• You can pay for a bag of ice at the register. You can also just leave it in your trolley too, but make sure you go to the same register you paid at and tell the person you got the ice. Just incase it looks like you're stealing the ice.
• Don't freak out if your parent or friend leaves the line to go get another item. I know the feeling too, I had a phobia when I was little that it would happen to me. But trust me, dont freak out, we can save the transaction and continue serving the next customer until the person comes back. Same with if you forgot to get some bread or eggs etc, we can continue serving the next customer until you come back.
• People under 18 can't sell cigarettes. If you smoke, I recommend going to a register with someone that looks over 18. Because people under 18 cant sell cigarettes. Sadly, I get mistaken for a uni student so it's a bit unfortunate for me.
• Ask at a service desk where an item is. Chances are the person there will know where an item is, especially managers and supervisors.
• Having problems at the Self Serve Checkouts?. Ask the person with a green lanyard around their neck, the key to your problem is on the lanyard, not just with a staff on a register.
• Tell the checkout person how you want items to be bagged. If you arnt picky tell them that. I love it when I hear "pack the bags however you want" it's a big reliever. Every single staff on each register packs bags differently. We arnt trained to pack bags when we start. We just have to know via common knowledge. But I have customers that want meat with meat, cold stuff with cold stuff, cans with cans. But I also get customers that want meat on top of the cold stuff. So dont think we know how you want us to pack them. 
• Want a refund? Go to the service desk, only supervisors can do that.
• Forgot to scan your everyday rewards card? Yes sometimes I forget to ask customers if they have one, and sometimes they crack it at me afterwards. It's human of me to forget. So if they forgot to scan your card, you can go to the service desk to get your points if you really want them back.

Now that's all I remember on the top of my head.

I do recommend people who maybe have just turned 15 and are looking for a job. Do consider working at Woolies. But I know some people hate it. I personally think it's based on which woolies store they work at. I find that at my Woolies, I get along with maybe 80% of the staff I work with and I'm lucky enough that the 20% of the staff usually work on the days that I don't work on so, it's fine with me. Also the customers I find are quite nice. It's the best feeling having regular customers. Knowing that they like how you do things.

If you have any questions or anything I've left out, feel free to comment below!

DKNY Be Delicious Fresh Blossom

Ever since I've heard about the DKNY Be Delicious perfume (green apple scent), I've always wanted one. But seeing as the price was out of my budget in perfume buying, I never had the guts to go all out and buy one.

I went on a trip with my family excluding my bro (exam time sadly for him), for 2 weeks during October to Macau & Hong Kong. I pretty much went crazy in Sasa seeing most of the products a lot cheaper than here in Aus, so the first thing on my list to buy was the DKNY Be Delicious.

But obviously I bought the Fresh Blossom perfume, reason being was that I smelt the Fresh Blossom when I was at Macau and I fell in love with the scent more, so when I went to Hong Kong I bought the Fresh Blossom at a Sasa near Langham Place.

It costed $576 HK ($82 AUD). I know you can get it cheaper here in Aus for around $60 during sales, but I guess it was an impulse buy.

Pink and white box packaging!

I absolutely love the packaging and how the button is at the top while the dispenser is on the side, it's so unique compared with the modern day perfumes. But the downside to it is that you cant use a Travolo or a refillable perfume bottle with it.

The bottom is also flat so it wont roll around if you leave it on a flat surface.

As for the scent, I'm going to be using trusty google to describe it. 

Heart Notes: Muget, Rose & Jasmine

Top Notes: Grapefruit, Cassis & Apricot

Base Notes: Blond woods & Smooth Skin Accord

But all I say is that it smells fresh.

It's now my go-to perfume, I've been using 2 sprays of it whenever I'm out and lasts around 5 hours before it dies down. 

I will definitely repurchase this when I run out.

Lanolips Lip Ointment with Colour in Rhubarb

I purchased this a while back and I somehow ended up having it with my lip products abandoned after a couple of uses. It was a 'meh' product for me but I decided to give it another go.

I've heard a lot about the Lanolips products and all the raves, but the prices were puting me off in purchasing their lip ointments. I found the Lip ointment in Rhubard for only $2 in Priceline (in a bargain bin)! Yes 2 dollars. It was the last one as well, so of course I had to buy it.

I found the texture to be thick but not sticky. It felt a bit like lipgloss, and if you dont know me well, I really don't like lipgloss. Which is probably why I didnt use it a lot in the first place.

It did make my lips a shade darker, but wasn't too noticable.

When I do use it, I only use it before I go to bed or randomly through the day which defeats the purpose of the color.

I find that when I apply it to my lips it lasts 1-2 hours, after around 30 minutes to an hour the ointment starts to look more like a lip balm rather than a gloss which is what I like about it.

But in terms of it being moisturising or not, it does work but it doesnt really wow me compared to the Lucas Papaw Ointment.

I wouldn't repurchase this but considering I got it for $2, I dont regret buying it.

Daiso Nose Pack

 Daiso is known for selling a range of products for only $2.80 (in Australia that is), storage, snacks, stationary, toys, kitchen supplies, makeup and many many more.

The only things I really buy there is storage tubs and their puff and sponge detergent which I think mostly everyone in the beauty community knows about.

Lucky for me I live 5 minutes away from a Daiso store so I popped in the makeup section and found the Daiso Nose Pack.

I actually knew about this product awhile ago after seeing some review on a Daiso pore strip that was black. but sadly for me I couldnt find it in my Daiso store, only the white pore strips (have no idea what the difference is though, besides the colour)

 Being the only pore strip I know that is applied directly onto the nose, I had no idea how to apply it. At first I used my finger but it was way too messy to deal with so I ended up using a q-tip/cotton bud to apply it with (cutting it in half and using the plastic end).

If I could give a word of advice I would not recommend putting a thin layer but instead a thicker amount on your pores. But not too thick that the product comes dripping down. As the picture below shows, the thinner the layer is the harder it is to peel off, and I found it hard to remove with water after  (a makeup wipe works well though).

I like to use this around once every 1-3 weeks, if I can be bothered.

I found this product to be too time consuming compared to actual pore strips like the Biore Strips.

I mean the application time would take around 1-3 minutes then the waiting time takes forever depending on how thick you apply it, it usually takes me around 20-30 minutes for it to fully dry. 

The after effect

 It does dry out the nose when you peel off the strip which is a down side.

But it does the job well.

For $2.80 I would consider repurchasing but I think for now, I'll just stick with my Biore strips.

Too Faced Shadow Insurance

Having oily lids can be a pain especially with all the eye makeup never lasting an hour without creasing, fading or even melting off. I had a school formal awhile back and decided that I might as well invest in an eye primer just incase any eye-makeup-mishaps happen. 

I was tossing between purchasing the Urban Decay Primer Potion or the Too Faced Shadow Insurance but of course us Aussie bloggers know that we cant get Urban Decay unless purchased online so I decided to just get the TFSI (I got mine at Kit Cosmetics for $26.95). I had my doubts about this product so I was hesitant to buy this, but after 5 hot sweaty hours of dancing, my eye makeup actually stayed in place.

The packaging is in a squeeze tube, which is more hygienic compared to the doe footed applicator and is also a plus since you can control the amount of product you want!

\When I first opened it, I found that a small amount of liquid comes out first then the product, so it helps to have a tissue or paper towel near you if you plan on getting this. 

Also the opening is quite small which is perfect because only a little goes a long way! Not even a pea size is needed, only a small blob is what I use for my lid and the lower lashline. 

When I applied this on my lid, the texture felt odd to me, it had a very liquidy/oily feeling to it (kind of like moisturiser) , which is why you dont need a lot since it spreads out smoothly. But you get a matte base once you finish applying the primer.

I found that it was just a tad harder to blend out my pencil eyeliner compared to having no primer, but it did make it last a heck lot longer so I really have no complaints.

Cheap Steals!

Being the typical self, I always end up going to the beauty section of the supermarket after buying the groceries. Just in case any items have gone down in price for clearance or if any sales have started I will always go down the aisle looking at every single product. 

I was shopping at Coles yesterday and found a few products which had been marked down and a few products that were just cheaper than it's original price.

I would like you to first guess the price of the products below then continue reading.

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Biore Scrub: $2

Maybelline Illegal Length Mascara: $3

Maybelline Dream Matte Powder: $3

Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick: $3

I actually picked the Biore scrub at the clearance shelf, there was a lot of other skincare products which were under $5. There was the Invisible Zinc products for $4 which I was tempted to get but I had to limit myself. 

I then went to the beauty section of Coles and I saw that Maybelline was having a buy 2 get the third free, then I saw a few products with their prices highlighted, they were under $3! I squealed on the inside when I saw it, 2 of their mascaras were $3 but IU just picked one of them. Then I saw the powder for $3 then there was a few lipsticks which I didn't really want but I picked up a mauve colour just to give to my mum, I mean it was for free so why not?! 

Did you pick up any bargains this week?!

Daiso Cleansing Pad

Having those extra dead skin cells hanging off my face has always been one of my beauty pet peeves, especially during the colder weathers (thank god it's nearly over!). I've always been a BB cream type of girl but I always put off using it, knowing that I will have to suffer with the fact that it will emphasis on my dry areas.

I remember seeing the Sasatini Facial Cleaning Brush and all the raves it was getting, but when I asked my dad to buy it from Sasa it was all sold out. So I decided to just go get the one at Daiso, I was actually expecting it to not work at all but it actually works like a charm.

The only reason I thought it wasnt going to work was because of the small sample at the top of the packaging, (it lets you get the feel of it before you buy it). It felt too rubbery and felt like it would pull my skin everywhere, also compared to the Sasatini one the bristles were too close together and reminded me a lot like the fish eggs on my sushi.

Teardrop shaped

If you havent realised, the instructions on how to use this does not make sense. I mean "You please paint the face entire surface with facial cleansing cream." that just made it look 10 times worse than it actually is, the quality and all.

The back

So at first, I had no idea how I had to hold it then I realised the thing at the back and the gap at the bottom had something to do with how it was supposed to be held. I didn't take a picture of it and I only realised when I used it, the gap at the bottom is supposed to be where you put your fingers in then you use your two fingers to hold the fountain thing at the back. Yeah its hard to explain but you just have to play around with it.

I pair this cleansing pad with my Hadalabo Tamagohada Daily Facewash and gently rub it on my face in circular motions. So like I said before, how I thought it would feel rubbery and pull on my skin, it difinitely does not do that. It's very gentle on my skin (but it does state that this isn't for people with sensitive skin so just letting the people with sensitive skin know!) and I don't have sensitive skin.
I found that this did exfoliate most of my skin but not all. I still did have a dry patch of dead skin cells between my eyebrows but the dead skin cells around my cheeks did lessen, which was better than nothing!.

I'm still using this after weeks and the results are still the same, so if you do suffer from a lot of dead skin cells hanging on your face I would suggest this as it is only $2.80 (quite a bargain)

I purchased this with my own money and this is all my honest opinion.