9/20/09 The “Stuff” is About to Hit the Fan!

I work at the De Anza College Bookstore as a Temporary Employee Assignment (TEA). This means that the bookstore brings me in for about three to four weeks, 4 times a year to work during rush period. Rush period is defined as three weeks before the quarter starts until the second week of classes. During rush period, the bookstore hires at least 150 temporary student employees and TEAs.

I say the stuff is about to hit the fan because tomorrow, September 21st, is the first day of school and of rush at De Anza. Fall rush is always the most crazy, intense, and insane time of the four academic quarters. This is because all of the new students are coming to De Anza––all of the high school graduates and those members of the work force who need to refresh their work skills. In addition to that, the continuing students and all of those students who were not accepted into universities right out of high school also comes to De Anza. My point here is enrollment for De Anza is high (last time I heard, it was somewhere around 26,000).

Of course, all of those students need their textbooks and supplies for class. This means that most of them are going to come to the bookstore for these items. Rush week is crazy, intense, and insane because of the copious numbers of students the bookstore has to serve. During the first week of classes––in fall, winter, and spring rush––it is not unusual to process 4,000 to 5,000 sales transactions a day!

An additional service the bookstore offers is the ability for the students to buy their books through the bookstore’s website. This service started in 2002 and during fall rush 2002, the store processed about 200 orders––not bad for the first time. Since the start of the online service, the numbers have increased from rush to rush. Right now, in fall 2009, the bookstore has received about 800 online orders for books and supplies––and all of these orders were within the first two weeks before classes started!

My theory about online orders is this: the more online orders the store processes, the fewer the number of students we have to deal with in person in the store. In spite of all of our online service success, the store is now taking and processing more orders than we have space for. The manager designated an area for bookshelves to store the ‘In Store Pickup’ (ISPU) orders, but with the enormous number of ISPU requests, the bookshelves are filled to capacity and the rest spill onto the floor. I offered a suggestion for a new location for ISPU; this suggested location is earmarked for an in store bank branch (which I’m sure will never manifest itself––the store has been waiting for 3 years). I am concerned that the books inside the ISPU bags are being damaged by being shoved and crammed into the shelves. It is for this reason that I want more storage space for the ISPU orders.

The store will be open from 7:30am and will close at 10pm all week. Once the students start to arrive when the store opens, the intensity will not let up until the store closes at night. The store will probably handle 10,000 to 15,000 students within the fall rush period. It’s gonna be a loooooong week…

My vocabulary words are:
Incorrigible: not able to be reformed (Webster's American pocket dictionary)
Insatiable: incapable of being satisfied (Webster's American pocket dictionary)