Sounds Like Everyone Needs A Vacation

It’s three days before I go on a nine-day vacation, including a four-day trip to Disneyland for my birthday and my youngest sibling’s graduation. Since my mom told me about this early, I asked for the time off back at the start of June when we changed our time clock system. It is now the last week of July.

The department manager is in the head office working on the next week’s schedule to be issued today. The department phone rings and is answered by [Coworker #1].

Coworker #1: “Hey, [Department Manager] is on the phone asking for you.”

Coworker #2: *Joking* “Oh, sorry, you can’t go on vacation.”

I laugh and walk over and pick up the phone.

Me: “Yes?”

Department Manager: “Hey, next week, [Other Store] needs a closer—”

Me: “Next week when I’m on vacation?”

Department Manager: “You’re on what? I don’t have you on vacation.”

Me: *Pauses* “I asked for it like two months ago.”

Department Manager: “I don’t have it in writing.”

Me: “Well, no, because I put it into the new system.”

Department Manager: “You needed to put it in writing.”

Me: “You guys decided that two weeks after I asked and [Store Assistant Manager] assured me it was in the system and I didn’t have to submit it again.”

Department Manager: “I make your schedule, not him. I knew nothing about this.”

Me: *Thinking* “Okay, pretty sure everyone else does.” *Out loud* “Well, we have an issue then, because I can’t cancel, and I asked well in advance and was told by the second highest manager in the store that it was done.”

After a little more back and forth, he agrees to put it in because the system screwed me. I walk back up to the front of the department and point to [Coworker #2].

Me: “It’s not funny when you’re right.”

Coworker #2: “WHAT?!

Me: “He had no idea I was going on vacation.”

Literally Every Coworker Who Heard Me: “HE WHAT?! HOW?!”

This is still infinitely better than my former store and manager, and when I talked to him later, my manager agreed that Disneyland from Monday to Thursday was a non-negotiable trip.