We were both in early today, guys.
It seems to be a bit warmer.
We have been opening like 10... we've been opening like 10 till 4, most days.
Some days a bit later for me, depending on what I got on in the morning.
And sometimes I'm not very good in the mornings.
I can't message anybody.
I've had a load of messages and for some reason I can't message.
Every time I go to message, it keeps logging me out.
So I don't know what it is.
Perhaps I've got to do a security test or something.
Sometimes I have to do that and they want to take a picture of my face or my passport.
Because the account is so big it is.
So I can't message you back.
Which is a nuisance because I have got something to pick up.
I've got like a dryer to pick off a lady called Tracy.
And I've tried to message you on your Facebook and I can't Tracy.
And I don't know if I've got your address in my messages and wherever I can see it.
Which I'm supposed to be picking up tonight.
Anyway, we'll try and sort something out.
It might come round by the time I come home now and I can enter my details or whatever.
First of all, I thought it would log me out the Facebook.
I thought, oh no.
Shoot, I've got like an authentication.
When you've got a business account like ours and it's quite high up, they do security checks if somebody is being a weirdo or maybe somebody's husband who is a software designer tries logging into your account.
You know, because they're sad.
You know, there we are.
Anyway, so we've been here early.
So we'll see how we go now.
Look, look, look.
That was put out.
All the wires weren't tied up.
Right, it was checked out like this one.
Right, all tangled up over there.
Now that's not my writing.
That's the volunteers.
They're two separate volunteers.
Right, both of which we got rid of.
The wires weren't all tidied and it hadn't been cleaned.
And I mean, it's not brilliant.
You can't always clean these phones.
Brilliant.
Especially the curly wires.
But I mean, you know, anyway, this is things we don't like for people who are looking to volunteer.
Yes, we're fussy.
And yes, we can be.
You know, I don't need hundreds of volunteers that are not doing what they shouldn't be doing.
I need volunteers to do what we ask them to do.
So like this is another one of my pet tapes.
The wires haven't been coiled up and sellotape.
So there will forever be a nuisance tangling up.
It hadn't been cleaned.
And it looks like it's on, doesn't it?
Well, it looks like it's on without being plugged in.
Or perhaps it's got batteries.
And then look at the label somebody's put on there.
Now we teach people how to put labels on and we tell them, top left-hand corner, and this is how we want them.
And this is why this one went, to be honest, because they weren't listening at all.
And like, look at it.
Big dial.
Why does anybody need to write big dial on it?
You can see it says big dial.
And it ain't a big dial, it's a normal dial.
And look how scruffy it looks.
Bad enough.
See, to me, that looks bad.
Yeah, and like I just say, you're representing our brand if you're volunteering, you know.
But that was done, and this was done, one day when I wasn't here.
You know, and left people to their own devices.
We need volunteers who can be, you know, who don't need to be monitored on CCTV.
The CCTV is there for me to log in in an emergency or can be trusted to get on with the job and not cut corners.
Because if you're cutting corners with a telephone, right, that's going out for a customer to buy, because would you buy that in the state that it was in with our scruffy label on it?
Probably you wouldn't, would you?
Unless you're absolutely desperate.
And we've just had two Tesco trolleys full of baby stuff back in, which is fab, because that's probably been sorted, because I know that volunteer that would have sorted it.
So, it'll all be bagged up in ages and sizes, so, and it'll be clean, so that'll be ideal now for the baby shower.
But that's, you know, if you can't follow the procedure we're telling you to do, it's like we asked everybody, we had about 20, 25 messages about apprenticeships.
Only one of them have dropped in a CV, and only one of them have said they're doing the videos online.
If you can't follow a simple instruction, then you can't work in the shops, because if you can't follow a simple instruction, then you can't follow health and safety and fire eggs, can you?
And we need you to work unsupervised.
And empower other people to come in and work unsupervised and work together as a team.
So, when people don't listen to what we say, or when we turn our backs, and they show off.
Like, I had a problem with an under 18.
They were okay when I was here, and they were getting on with stuff.
And their under 18 is their first job, it's their first volunteering experience.
We work with them, you know.
But the minute my back was turned, my other volunteer restroom said, I'm having nothing but trouble with this one.
And I'm like, well, she's been alright when I've been there.
She said, well, she isn't today.
So, I logged into the CCTV.
Major problems.
Major.
Right?
Like, major.
I don't even want to go into it, to be honest.
Because it was that bad that I had to say to her mother, and I need her out from here today, and you need to come and get her.
Because she's damaging our brand, and that's what I had to say to her mother.
And she, you know, she could have well caused problems within the community for us.
Because of her being inside and outside the shop.
Right?
So, they had to come and get her.
And, like I said, we work with people all the time.
But the minute my back was turned, and I actually pulled up, because I was doing something, and pulled up.
Parked out by there.
And like, the volunteers know, as soon as I pull up, get out, get the donations as in the back of the car.
Get them out, so I can go and park up.
And I haven't got to, we haven't got to drag them halfway down the road to the shop.
If I've pulled up by there and beeped, they know, boof, straight out, get it out, boof.
And then I'll park up and come back.
So I spoke to her out by there, and I said, you are a way that I can see you.
I tell everybody, we've got CCTV everywhere.
It's like Big Brother here, right?
And, it's got audio.
I said, I can see everything that goes on outside the shop.
Everything that goes on inside the shops.
All the conversations are happening.
I can see the lot.
Oh yeah, yeah, that's fine, that's fine, yeah.
And then when I went there, and she came back, and she was dreadful again, and we had to say to her, nope, that's it, come and get her.
Take her out from here.
She can't work here, you know, not if she's not going to behave unsupervised.
And like I said, this is what's happened when they've been unsupervised, is they've cut corners, and then that's got all tangled up up there with some rummin' vals with an handle.
Some decapage vals and handle.
And I've had to pull all of that out today now and untangle it and untangle all these wires when it's stock that should have been worked.
Yeah, so it's come out of a donation bag.
It might have come out of a donation bag in that state, but it's been put out on the shop floor in that state, haven't it?
And that's something that we want to have as volunteers.
If you're cutting corners on something as stupid as pricing up and sorting a telephone, then what else are you cutting corners on when nobody's looking?
Integrity is doing the right thing when nobody is looking.
Integrity is doing the right thing when somebody could be looking, but you're not aware they're looking, innit?
So the minute you start cutting corners or slagging us off behind our back, because we've had that as well, volunteers have been lovely, and then all of a sudden we get a message back from another volunteer or somebody in the community saying, I don't want to see any volunteers that we're going to slag anymore.
We've had that before in the past as well.
But I mean, you know, Rob will tell you.
Rob's on the live.
You work in retail.
There's a way of working stock, isn't there, Rob?
I'm putting it out on the shop floor.
And we work with people and we train people.
This one, because I know by the writing, was an older volunteer with life skills that I told, but should have understood that.
The other one is actually somebody who had learning difficulties, right?
So, you know, maybe more training needed.
But this one had been told before.
But they've both gone.
Like I said, they both didn't work out.
But that's not what we expect.
I'd expect it clean to the best of your ability and wrapped up tidy like that, you know, for the volunteers.
I'd rather tell you, because some people are like, oh my God, there are videos about the volunteers, but I'd rather tell you what I expect before you turn up and volunteer.
And I'm like, hang on.
Yeah?
It's like I said the other week, I don't want a volunteer that's going to sit next to me all day chatting.
I don't need it.
Yeah?
Go to one of the other shops or go and volunteer for another charity, if that's what you're going to do.
I need a volunteer that's going to come in, work stock, do stuff, pull out stuff, pull out racking, pull out a corner of the shop and start working it, clean it.
You know, I had a lady once that rang up and she said, you know, I can work five days a week, but I ain't doing any cleaning.
It's no good to me then, is it?
You know, because we clean as we go along.
Like, I got to go in the window now today.
He's been in the window doing stuff and we didn't get it all done yesterday.
I got to go in the window now.
I mean, I cleaned the toilet this morning.
You know, I've done that job.
Dan's cleaned the toilet in Pontypool this morning.
You know, we've done it.
That's what we do.
It's got to be done.
Job's got to be done.
It's got to be done, isn't it?
Erm...
And like, I got to go in the window now.
So I got to pull that out.
I'm like debating whether to put the bike in the window.
I'm like, oh, I'll put it in the window and then somebody will ask for it.
Erm...
But I'll pull that window out and I will clean that area.
You know, I'll clean the floor.
I'll dust the bits.
Pick out the dead flies.
You're going to get dead flies in the window.
That's where they tend to go, you know?
So that is the type of volunteers
Erm...
Oh yeah, like a lady.
See you in a bit, guys.