Konbini Ossan Volume 1 Chapter 2 – The Hardships of the Night Shift

At around 10 p.m., the night shift guy arrives. He’s a freeter in his 20s.

Together, we complete a variety of tasks by morning. We take stock of all the products in the store and refill the shelves.

Restocking from the back is more troublesome than it looks. Since the space is tight between products, you have to take everything out first before you can insert anything into the back.

Around midnight, the number of customers drops. That’s when we begin cleaning. The fryer, steamed buns, and oden equipment—all are washed one by one.

Once that’s done, we move on to the walk-in cooler to restock drinks.

About forty drinks come in cardboard boxes. We have to open all of them, refill the areas that are running low, and line up the extras neatly on the shelf.

This task must be completed in about twenty minutes.

If it takes any longer, the register gets busy, customers start lining up, and complaints follow.

Heavy boxes must be carried in a hurry, opened, restocked, and the extras returned to the shelf.

That means each box needs to be dealt with in thirty seconds.

At first, it used to take me an hour, but now I can finish it properly in twenty minutes.

However, because of this task, my body takes a toll, and painkillers have become a necessity in my daily life.

(E/N: Damn…)

Once the restocking is done, it's back to stocking products again. Items delivered during the night are shelved, and the extras are stored as inventory.

The inventory area is often a mess, with people from the morning, afternoon, and evening shifts pulling things out and putting them back however they please.

Cleaning this up is also part of the night shift’s job. If things are messy, the owner or manager will complain.

Once everything is in order, it's time to clean the floors and toilets. We wait for a time when there are no customers and quickly mop the floor.

Cleaning in front of customers leads to immediate complaints. Even leaving cleaning tools in a visible place will result in complaints.

Once the store interior is clean, we move outside — to clean the parking lot and the store’s surroundings.

During this time, the other person takes a break, so I run the store alone. Of course, I still have to keep an eye on the register.

That means I clean outside while also monitoring the register.

It's a contradiction — if a customer comes, that alone delays the work. So I have to push through and clean quickly, expecting that I’ll be interrupted.

I scrub the tiles around the store at a pace that leaves my back aching.

That’s when the painkillers come into play again.

(E/N: 😣!)

Once cleaning is done, the frozen food delivery arrives. There’s a lot of it, and if it melts, it’s a problem, so we have to put it away quickly.

The storage space is under the shelves. Since customers take items from the top, the new stock must be placed below.

Bent over in a forward-leaning posture, I quickly take out the old stock, rapidly stuff the new items underneath, and then return everything.

This task gives me another round of back pain. Time for painkillers again. (E/N: Reminds me of my Dad… :( )

Eventually, morning comes. We prepare the oden, steamed buns, and fryer. This is the easiest time. I only need to work the register.

At 8 a.m., the night shift ends.

“Thanks for your hard work~” (Otsukare~)

The freeter on the night shift goes home. But I can’t leave yet.

First, I use up my break time while working on the shift schedule. The night shift includes a 45-minute break.

Today, since my shift wasn’t fully covered, I’m continuing to work until noon, so I get an extra 15-minute break.

That makes a total of one hour, which I spend holed up in the office, glaring at the shift chart.

Once the shift schedule is done, even if my break isn't over, I return to the register.

This is normally a two-person shift time. If I used my break properly, the job wouldn’t get done.

While I’m at the register, the midday deliveries arrive. Items like bento lunches, where freshness is key, are delivered.

I put out stock while manning the register, and before I know it, it’s 11 a.m. Finally, my work is over.

But just then, trouble strikes.

The university student scheduled for the midday shift is late. They’re not answering their phone. Probably overslept, or got held up with a sudden school matter.

With no choice, I continue working.

Of course, I’ve already clocked out. If I log overtime without permission, the owner will nag me endlessly.

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E/N: What a depressing chapter… Oji-san seems to be in the middle management on top, that's the worst.

Anyway, the author uses "Chapter" instead of "Volume", but I, like previous translator PettiConfetti, shall keep it as Volume so don't get confused by the "Chapter *" in the ToC

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