This Newest Instruction Is Getting Old

(We take pictures of the labels of some of our inventory for product tracking reasons. This happens when I am first learning how to track inventory.)

Manager: *lists some of our products*

Me: “And it’s just for those products?”

Manager: “No, do all of them.”

Me: “All of them? I thought it was only for some of them.”

Manager: “Do all of them.”

Me: “Well, I don’t know how I’m going to get to all the boxes without pulling a bunch of stuff out of the freezer.”

Manager: “Why would you need to pull anything out?”

Me: “Because there are plenty of boxes buried under boxes and I can’t see the labels.”

Manager: “Like what?!”

Me: “Most of the beef, the fries—”

Manager: “Why would you need the beef? You don’t do the beef.”

Me: “Oooookay. And the fries?”

Manager: “…or the fries. Just the ones I told you.”

Me: “So, not all of them.”

Manager: “No. Just the ones I told you about.”

(She lists them. It’s nowhere near all our inventory.)

Me: “All right. Got it. That’s what I thought. So, when you say all of them, do you mean all the boxes for those products?”

Manager: “No. Just the newest one.”

Me: “The newest one? I thought it was supposed to be the oldest one.”

Manager: “The newest one.”

Me: “Okay. So, just to clarify–“

Manager: “The newest one.”

Me: “Okay. So–“

Manager: “The newest one! The newest one!”

(I am still extremely skeptical at this point, as everything I’ve been told in the past indicates otherwise, and my manager has a habit of telling me the wrong information.)

Me: “Yes. So, if I look at the expiration date, it should be the one that expires last.”

Manager: “…”

Me: “And not the one that expires first?”

Manager: “The newest one.”

Me: “Oooookay.”

(I collect what I will need and am just about to head out the door when…)

Manager: “So, remember: it’s the next one we’re going to use.”

Me: “So, the oldest one. Got it.”

(Yes, it was the oldest one.)