Retail Hell Underground

Coworker Hell: Slackers and Their Pushy Parents

From JR Manager:

So my parents wanted me to get my first job, I was perfectly fine with that as I could then drive since I could afford gas. Well I was hired at the same time and 3 other teens. I'll call then Bitch, Giant, and Asshole.

Well I started out as a bagger and eventually ended up as a cashier. Being a newbie I though I could handle opening shifts. Boy was I wrong

My first opening shift, I had to clean and prep everyone's register for later in the day (No problem, there was barely any custys). I was supposed to get relief two hours later, so I could take a break then finish preping the store while the other cashier helped the customers.

Well two hours goes by, and Bitch never showed. Now I'm beginning to get backed up because I can't finish prepping the store, and customers are starting to get backed up at my register.

I call for assistance from my manager. She comes up breaks down the line for me, and overall just saves my ass. She goes out and decided to call in extra help since it's now a hour after when Bitch was supposed to show. Well long story short, Bitch shows up over 4 hours late expecting to get her full 8 hours even though she was late.

My manager being awesome decides to send Bitch home. Two days later I hear Bitch got fired for not showing up after she was sent home two days in a row. That night Bitch and her Parent show up screaming to see my manager. The manager finally comes and Bitch's parent actually has the nerve to demand their daughter is rehired with a raise because when Bitch was sent home she thought she was done for the week (BS I'll call on that one).

Two months later and after a lengthy process, Bitch returned to work (Luckily I was finally her superior and could tell her what to do). She tries to tell me that she wants my job and is going to have me demoted so she can be a boss (Yeah right! I crawled my way up through hard work). She then has her parent come in again demanding she get promoted (She stands around ignoring custys and trying to boss everyone around), and that I get demoted for being insubordinate to Bitch. Well Cool Boss was there that night and finally told Bitch and Her Parent to have some respect, and that I deserve my job because I worked hard for it.

Bitch eventually quit because she wanted to get a job where they "respected" her more, but now I am hearing rumors she is returning because she wants more money (my guess is she was fired for being a Bitch, and Lazy). Hopefully I dont have to deal with her....

 --JR Manager

 

RHU QUESTION: Dealing With Rude Servers

Hey folks, It's Tea Queen.

I'm writing because I have a question.

Just this last weekend, my university choir went on a local tour. We had tons of fun and it was all around a great trip. On Thursday night, we all went for dinner at the local Boston Pizza. The way we set it up, is we all ordered our food about 3 hours before we were eating, and then when it was time for our reservation, the restaurant had our food ready and brought it out to us as we were sitting down (we only had about 45 mins to eat and go). The service was amazing. I have never seen a restaurant handle a group of 40 university students so well.

However, at one point when the several waitresses were bringing out our food, one of my fellow singers asked for something. I didnt hear what it was, I think it was more water. The waitress looked at my friend and said "I am not your server" and walked away. I was appalled. My friend got her water a few minutes later when another lady came around with a giant jug, but it really bugged me my entire meal that the waitress could be so blatantly rude and completely get away with it. I know that if I had said that to someone at ANY of my previous positions, I would have at-least been written up.

So I talked to the manager. I did not yell at her. I calmly told her about what had happened. I also told her how impressed I was with the service and how well they handled this group. At a later point I saw the waitress talking with a table that was just leaving, and they were all laughing and being merry, so I mentioned to the manager that I didnt think she was trying to be rude, just quite busy with all the food they had to bring out. We all know stress effects people differently. The manager was very nice and thanked me for bringing this to her attention and she was grateful that I enjoyed the service.

My question is, should I have just left it alone? I don't want the waitress to get fired, but on the same hand, if this is a regular habit of her then it NEEDS to be addressed. My boyfriend told me word for word that talking to the manager made me a crusty.

What do you think? Would you have done the same in my position?

--Tea Queen

 

Burger Bitch: Coworker Sexting Custys and A Parade of Dumbasses

Oh guys, you won’t fucking believe the story I have for you this time.

Since it’s so fucking ridiculous and is making me so mad that I could very well piss wasabi, I’m going to cut right to it.

Recently, my manager has started putting me on after noon shifts because I mentioned that I was getting crazy migraines from lack of sleep. And since she’s so awesome, she took me aside one day and said “You’re my one of two amazing workers, so I don’t want you to leave, so if you don’t mind, I’ll put you on some afternoon shifts.” Which I of course didn’t mind because I got to sleep in and finally have some time to get some shit done.

Well, I realized very quickly that the customers are 500x more idiotic during the afternoon shift, but more importantly, that the tips suck. Now, I’ve mentioned before that I live off of my tips and my paycheck goes straight to the bank and I don’t touch it. That way I can save up for school (Whenever I decide what I actually want to do with my life, y’know) and a car very easily.

When I work in the mornings, I generally walk home with anywhere from $15-30 per day, however the few times I’ve worked the afternoon shifts, I’ve literally went home with less than $3. But what bugged me is I’ve seen the tips that the other girl who works afternoons walks home with, and they’re always upwards of $25. Not to sound arrogant at all, but this girl is unpleasant, impolite and dumber than a box of toenails. When I work, I’m polite and try to make small talk with the customers.

I really started to wonder how she was walking home with an assload of tips and I was getting dick all. Well, I knew that she’s gotten written up twice for taking her apron off and unbuttoning her shirt, so I figured “Maybe I need bigger tits to get tips, but that’s not happening.”

But then, my coworker told me, in a giggling fit of hysteria that Tips McGee was caught by our other coworker SEXTING CUSTOMERS.

WHAT?

Yeah. Apparently she’s been giving out her number to customers and sexting them up and she was BRAGGING about it.  Which is fucking awesome, because I never realized that I work in a coffee house/brothel. So now all I have to do is sext in order to get tips, so I’m a bit fucking pissed about that. Plus, just the other night, three customers came in and asked if Slutty McTroll was working.  

–Shudder-

*    *    *    *

And now for the Darwin Award Winning Customers!

The thing that’s really gotten on my nerves as of late is just the complete and total lack of any common sense. The first customer I had the other afternoon was a man and his teenage son in DT, they ordered a large double double and a large double double with sweetener. So on one lid I wrote a “S” and on the other “Sw.” You’d think that’d be pretty straight forward, right? Wrong.

Old Man: “Which one has sugar and which one has sweetener? They’re not marked.”

Me: “Yes, they are. The “S” is sugar and the “Sw” is sweetener.”

Old Man: “Well, that’s confusing, they could easily be confused.”

Even his son was shaking his head at him. Then, not an hour later, a man came into the store, looked around and asked “Do you serve coffee?”

I honestly thought he was joking, so I chuckled, but he just gave me the stink eye. No, fuckbone, the 3 coffee machines and all the cups and bags of coffee lying around actually means that we serve stem cells.

He ordered an extra large regular and a medium hot chocolate. Note that these sizes differ greatly. I prepare them, put them in a tray and give them to the dipshit dude.

Dipshit: “Which one is which?”

Me: “.. Sorry?”

Dipshit: “Which one is which? I ordered an extra-large regular and a medium hot chocolate, right? So which one is which?”

Me: -Trying VERY hard not to sound sarcastic- “The extra-large is the one in the bigger cup..”

*    *    *    *

Then came the idiot bitch and all of her spare fucking change. A woman came through DT and ordered an Extra Large French Vanilla and cookie, since there was another customer waiting at the counter, I got them together quickly and told the woman in DT her total. That’s when she hands me an entire fucking sandwich bag of pennies and nickels and says “I’m too busy to count it, so if you could just count that to make sure I have enough, that’d be great.” YEAH. FUCKING SURE. NOT LIKE I HAVE OTHER CUSTOMERS OR ANYTHING ELSE BETTER TO FUCKING DO, YOU DUMB BITCH.

I try to count it as quickly as possible and she only has about $1.20 and the total is $3.45.

Me: “You only have $1.20 here.”

Bitch: “Ok, give me a few minutes to get more change out of my bag.”

I figure this would be a decent enough chance to take the customer’s order who has been waiting patiently at the counter. I turn and say “Hey there, what can I get you?” when the bitch in DT shouts “HEY WAIT YOU HAVE TO COUNT MY CHANGE.”

Me: “Do you have the change ready yet?”

Bitch: “No!”

Me: “Then I’m going to take this customer’s order while you get your change.”

Bitch: “No! You have to count my change!”

Luckily the girl who was working on the gas station side came over and took the other customers order. All in all, it took over TEN MINUTES for this lazy fucking cow to get out enough change to pay for her fucking order, and it was almost all in pennies. 2.75$ in pennies, if I remember correctly.

I need to start drinking at work.

--Burger Bitch

 

Store Trainer Rant: Frustration With Getting People To Training

Allrighty y'all!  

I know I've not submitted in eons...partly due to most of my write-worthy shenanigans about the workplace I have felt are too specific to my particular location or individuals thereof and could unhinge my anonymity...and also due to the fact that I've been medicated for a while so more things just waft past my existence without being acknowledged.

HOWEVER!

There are some small, irritating things that have accumulated to the point that I can bear them no longer! I think of them rather like gnats of mosquito's...but really they're just careless coworkers.

Some background for y'all...my prime directive is the training and informing of all the associates and new hires. Whenever corporate tosses down a new absurd policy or procedure, it's my responsibility to make sure that everyone is up to date on what they need to know.
A lot of this involves computer training programs or simple on-line acknowledgments. Not complicated or stressful...though they can be time consuming and VERY boring. Most of the programs are less than 10 minutes long...so not really all that bad. Plus they're done in the back part of the store, away from customers, and you get to sit in a moderately comfy chair to do them.

And yet I get consistant and increasingly argumentative flack from the associates when I ask them, ever so politely, to take the five to ten minutes to work on their required lessons. I understand that they're all busy and that they only have X amount of time to Y amount of work done...but yanno what? The lessons are part of the weekly requirements too. They are expected to be completed just as much as pricing or straightening shelves.

I try so hard to work around their daily duties, trying to catch them right after their break, since the training room is right next door, so they don't have to walk back to that area twice...leaving them a clearly typed note with instructions and a list of requirements so that they can get it done without my assistance when it's most convenient for them, in case I'm not there when they would be most able to do it. I ask nicely, I remind gently, and if it's a longer program I try to arrange for them to work on it in segments over several days instead of needing to take a full thirty minutes to an hour out of one shift to take a longer lesson.

And yet most of the responses I get are an exasperated sigh and a roll of the eyes at the nicer end of the spectrum and flat out refusal to do the work at the worse end.

Yes, that's right, I've had associates flat out refuse to do their lesson work....required by corporate...because they "knew they wouldn't get written up for not doing it"

So I think I'm going to make that all change. They wanna be pissy little babies? So be it...mama's pullin out the Whoopin Paddle and goin old school on y'all.

It is my intention to have a frank discussion with the store manager, and if need be, the district manager (next time they're visiting) and try to put in motion a policy that the associates who don't finish their training by then end of the designated time will receive a write up...three consecutive write ups being grounds for termination. (exemptions being any associates on leave of absence or are away at school for the semester)

I don't' see why so many people are so against doing the training. It doesn't take all that long, ya get to sit down and relax and be away from customers and noise, and, if you ask nice and clean up after yourself, I'll let you take a drink or snack with you...so it's sorta like getting and extra break!

But NooOOooOoOo...they gotta be all grumbly and snap at me for letting them know what needs to be done. And I'm not meaning that they snap at the third or fourth reminder...they snark at me at the first mention of the lesson plans.

And getting department managers involved isn't any help...they refuse to do their training every bit as much as the associates. And I'll ask them to remind their associates of how important the training is and to incorporate it into the daily tasks list, so that it's directed by their manager, rather than by mously little Spritzy, and they never do...I get no help from management (not even the store manager) nor supervisors in enforcing the requirements and then the managers grouse at me when the training reports are incomplete.

It's always so amusing when a manager asks me why the training isn't complete and who needs to finish it, then I look at the list and tell them "well...YOU do...for one" and they can only stammer and mumble that they'll do it later.

So, yeah.,..AaaAaAArrRRrUuUghhhh!

I really hope that the store manager takes my concerns to heart and implements the policy...cause I;m sick of not getting any cooperation and being trampled all over for something as mundane as this.

Peas, Louvre, and Shoulder Cats

--Spritzy

 

Checkout Lane Drama: Custy Talks About Former Creepy Employee

From Yingafred:

Heeeeeello my fellow slaves~

With school starting up again I haven't had too many things exciting happen. I've been at school more so than I have been at work.

Though today, I had the most WTF worthy moment I've had in a long time.

THE STORY BEGINS:

As always I'm on register duty. Well today this burly man who seemed to be in a really good mood comes in to buy a few things. While I am ringing up his items he asks me:

"I see you don't have a photo lab anymore."

I reply with a "Not anymore sir, they took it out a few years ago I think. I've been here for over a year and a half and it was taken out before then."

Then man then goes into SUPER SERIOUS MEGA CRYPTIC mode and says,

"Oh, I dunno, it might.... It might be because this guy that worked in the photo lab here got caught with bags full of pictures he had taken of every woman who came in that he eventually developed."

"Oh... wow..."

What inner Yingafred was thinking: "WOW-WTF-Y-U-TELLING-ME-THIS-SHIT-DO-NOT-WANT-TO-KNOW-PLEEZ-LEAVE-NOA-K-THX"

"Yeah, he's lucky he got fired and sent to jail."

"Yeah... that's creepy, let's hope so..."

What inner Yingafred was thinking: "AHHHH-WTF-PLEASE-STOP-I-FEEL-AKWARD-I-DO-NOT-NEED-TO-KNOW-THIS-KJ HGLKJH LKJH- X_______X"

"I would have hurt him pretty bad you know, he had pictures of my wife and daughter, but that was like 8 years ago. And we haven't been in this store since then, we've been to other {insertstorenamehere} but not this one."

"That's horrible..."

What inner Yingafred was thinkin: "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-PLEASE-STOP-PLEASE-GO-AWAY-YOU'RE-CREEPY"

After this he grabs his bag and begins to leave. I tell to him to have a great day, and he then responds as if he's distracted with a distant "you too". Like the memory was weighing heavily on his mind.

Interacting with him was so odd. As soon as he went into his serious mode it was like he was in a trance or something. It was strange. I'm glad he left. Eurg.

WELL. That was my WTF moment.

Hope the rest of you are doing well~<3

--Yingafred

RHU Question: Is It Appropriate Not To Tip Bad Servers?

A thoughtful custy asks RHU:

Hey guys, I have to start this out by saying I've never worked in retail, but I've read enough horror stories to learn a lesson and try to be a respectful custy and hopefully I've succeeded!

My question is, is it ever appropriate to not tip the server?

Because I've had servers roll their eyes at me when I speak, I've had servers give our group a chicken dish and proclaim it as vegetarian (which is terrible because we have people who are vegetarians since birth in our group), I've had servers repeat an order and then later just deny that we even ordered that dish (despite the six people at our table who witnessed it) and other instances.

 I realize that the tip isn't for just the server and that it's split between the busboys, the chef, etc, but sometimes it pisses me off SO MUCH to give even a cent extra to the waiter who looks at my "Pride" shirt and then sneers at me during the entire meal when I'd much rather slap him.

And I know y'all have had at least one of those overly obnoxious co-workers who think they're better than everyone else... trust me they're not so good on the other side of the counter either.

So what do I do in these situations? Is there anyway I can tip everyone except the asshole looking down at me?

Thanks for the help and I hope you get nice custys! :D

 

Epic Coworker Hell: Stabbed With an EpiPen

Hey everyone, it's Flygirl here again.

This time I have a story about a co-worker who needs to be strung up by delicate parts of his anatomy.

Let me just start out by saying that I carry an EpiPen with me due to severe allergies. Everyone I work with knows this, and has been given the "an EpiPen is not a toy" speech. Of course, there are still jokes about stabbing me when I'm in a particularly annoying mood, but no one's ever thought about taking those seriously.

OK, so to the story. I'm on my meal break, chillaxing with my co-worker/surrogate brother Stringbean. We're doing the usual thing-- eating, talking, playing Facebook games on our phones etc. Pretty normal and chilled, yeah? It's just the two of us in the break room, before the Co-worker from Hell walks in. Said co-worker from hell claims to suffer from Aspergers' (whether he does or not, I can't be sure) and as a result acts like a complete asshole to staff and customers alike. When he gets in trouble for this behaviour, Mummy and Daddy come in and yell at HR for discriminating against him because of his illness.

It's only because of this that he hasn't been fired at least 20 times already (he holds the national record in my company for the most complaints during the course of his six months of employment, having collected 302 complaints thus far from customers alone).

Stringbean and I keep talking, eating, playing etc, while Co-worker from Hell tries to butt in and tell us all about some Xbox games he's playing. We don't care and continue the conversation we are having.

My handbag is sitting on the chair next to me with my EpiPen clearly visible in it. Co-worker from Hell feels ignored, grabs my EpiPen and stabs it into me despite the fact that I am in no way showing signs of anaphylaxis.

This happens just as Awesome Supervisor (who you met last time) walks in. She's still carrying her walkie-talkie, and radios for first aid, security and airport police.

I get carted off in an ambulance, Stringbean gets out of work to go make a statement about the above events to police, and Co-worker from Hell was arrested and will be charged with some kind of assault charge, has been fired, and I have been granted a restraining order against him.

So, as you can see, just another Friday night at Wild West Airport!

--Flygirl

 

RHUer Fired For Complaints

Hello all minions of RHU. Amelia here with an update.

I got fired.

I had 4 customer complaints, and one said he would never shop there again, so I figured that was the end for me when I heard that. I guess the complaints weren't enough ammo for them to actually fire me, so they "discovered" that I was posting about the store, without stating the stores name, and that was in violation of the companies social media policy and that since I had signed a paper stating that I had read the policy, that I was fully aware of that I was in violation of that policy when I wrote those things.

I attempted to explain my side without blaming anyone but myself for my actions and he asked me to write a statement defending myself and my actions. I, being confidant of my prior statements to the issue, declined. That must have cinched his mind, cause I WASN'T going to beg for my job. I'm confident in my ability to provide good customer service, and my prior work should have been proof enough, but I guess it wasn't. He asked me to turn in my things so I did. Oh well. I'm trying to start my own business and this is just the push I need to follow through.

Be seeing ya!

Love, peace and chicken grease!

--Amelia

Note from Freddy: RHUer's, this is yet another reminder of being extremely cautious when writing about your hell on social media. Facebook is where employers start and it can be traced back to your name. As far as RHU goes, they get nothing out of me unless you reveal to friends that you blog on here (that is usually how employers find out, because many of them don't know about RHU - if they did I'd be getting a million hits and making big bucks off advertising -LOL) Never admit to posting anything on this site. Your employer has no proof that you wrote anything on here and I will never give up identities. There are thousands of stories on this site and even if the employer points out similiarities in a story, there are also thousands of Dollar stores all over the world. They cannot prove anything. I will also remove any material immediately at your request if you feel you have been ratted out by a coworker or management is checking you out. Keep up the fight and stay strong! Best of luck Amelia - you are right! This is the push you needed! You go girl! =D

--Freddy

Letter To Lunch-Stealing Coworker

Helloooo RHU! Thought I’d a post a rant in letter form about a coworker I’m sure many of you can relate to. Ahem...

Dear Thieving Coworker,

I realize with this tough economy right now that many of us are in financial straits and have to resort to desperate measures to put food in our bellies. You and me are no exception since I’m living off my credit cards and you are dumpster diving for your latest meal. Though I commend your efforts for attempting to curb your starvation, let me make one thing clear. You, Sir or Madam, are nothing more than a Nasty Ass Lunch Thief! (NALT) Them’s fightin’ words and yeah I said it! Allow me to explain douchebag!

I don’t get many pleasures in life especially this week being extra stressful at work with me handling multiple departments, office duties, customer problems, employee issues, special events, and assisting my new manager in being acclimated to our department and company position. Simply said, my stress level has gone from zero to sixty in a matter of days. Once again. Thank you for making my day fucktard! Therefore, lunch is the one time of day I look forward to for a moment of relaxation and enjoying my time away from the office. 

Well NALT, you ruined that for me by taking what does not belong to you! Motherfucker! You stole my shit! To think, I was heading to the employee breakroom ready to consume my low calorie wrap and apple when lo and behold my lunch bag containing my antique Tupperware which has been in my family for generations missing from the fridge. You owe me a Rubbermaid lime green plastic container moron! It has been discontinued by the company so you better look it up on e-bay. In a panic, I scoured the appliance searching for it but came up empty. Thus concluding that someone stole my lunch and ate it. Watch your back! Cus’ I’m gonna kick your ass when I find you!

I hope you are happy with yourself NALT! Because of your inconsideration, I had to spend money in the food court adding further debt on my credit cards to grab a bite to eat! You have ruined my health because I took the time and effort to pack a healthy lunch that was low on calories and high on nutritional value because I’m trying to shed the weight off my fat ass by forcing me to go buy a greasy, gut busting pizza in the mall, which, by the way, was delicious but beside the point! Lastly, you violated my trust in the people I work with and now I’m suspicious of everyone around me by keeping the police on speed dial. What you’re taking an extra box of pens? That is illegal! I’m calling the po po!

Thanks to you I have to write this passive aggressive letter detailing my frustration aggravating my OCD and anal retentive personality. One thousand fifty three characters. One thousand fifty four...aw shit I lost count. Now I have to start again. One...two...three...Did I dust off this keyboard? Why didn’t I dust off this keyboard? Anyone have Pledge or lye soap on hand? Anyway NALT, I hope you are happy that you have ruined a working man’s lunch break and enjoyed that healthy wrap that tasted like cardboard. For the record, that is not deli meat tucked into the folds of the lettuce but vegetarian soybean tofu slices. Leaves a bizarre aftertaste don’t it fucker? Oh and the multigrained tortilla I wrapped it in is especially high in fiber so you might experience a bad case of the Hershey squirts. It was important I keep myself regular. Serves you right fucker that you got Montezuma’s Revenge for stealing from me! No one steals from me!

With no sincerity,

--Queer Geek

Okay RHU, I know I’m not the only one who has had their lunch stolen at work. Anyone else?

RHUer Needs Advice: Manager Expects Crew To Each Pay A Portion of Register Shortage

Hi everyone, Cookie Girl here, and I really need your advice.

I recently handed in my notice at work, and my last day is Wed 1st of Feb. (yay!) But I've noticed that my manager has been a bit cold to me since I handed in my notice, and today things got a bit... well.

I booked this weekend plus monday and tuesday off a while ago. Last night I checked my phone for messages at about 10, nothing. Then I get a text at 2:30 AM, from my manager, saying that the till was down a total of £36 over Thursday and Friday, and that he wants everyone who was in those days to pay £6 towards the total, by midday today (monday) I texted back this morning at a more reasonable hour, to say that I was not coming in on what was essentially my belated xmas holiday, while I was ill, to pay him this money, and got a passive aggressive response that I could pay him on Wednesday, when I'm next in.

Guys, I really don't think I should have to pay him. I know it's not a lot of money, but It's more than I make in an hour (I get minimum wage - £5.93 an hour), and money's going to be tight now I've quit.

I KNOW that I am really careful, especially since I work alone, to keep track of all the money. If I make a void, I follow the correct procedure, and let my superviser know when they come in.

I've asked my mum what she thinks, and she's outraged that he's demanded this. The thing is, I still have 6 more working days with him, and I'm not sure what to do.

I'm next in work on Wednesday, and I could really use some advice before then!

Thanks in advance,

--Cookie Girl

 

Religious Freak Coworker From Hell: The Angel of Death

From Incognito:

Well, everyone, I haven't posted in about 3/4 of a year, but it looks like I'm back. I left my crappy job in the banking world this past spring to rejoin the ranks of retail hell, but this time selling engagement rings and other sparkly things at a national retail chain. I can honestly say, I really do love my job. I'm good at it, most of my customers are awesome, and I have the best manager in the entire universe. However... it can't be *perfect*, or it wouldn't be retail.

I have a few quick rants regarding the new job. First of all, let me say this to any man out there who ever hopes to get married: Unless you're a stock size 10 (and no most places don't carry any sizes other than 10, except for one small tray of plain bands in various sizes) you will be special ordering your ring, or having it sized. It will be anywhere from a few days to a few weeks from the time you pay for it until you have it in your hands. Do not postpone getting your ring until a day before the wedding, and do not get impatient with me for not being able to have the elves in the back room cast the tungsten carbide in your size tonight before you  leave. I have placed the order, put a rush on it,  and given you a reasonable estimate of how long it will be. I have done everything in my power. It is now in someone else's hands. If I have done my best for you, and it still isn't enough, kindly take your condescension elsewhere. If you don't want to do that, you're more than welcome to gain or lose the appropriate amount of weight to fit the stock size 10, though I will say the special ordering will probably still be faster.

The only other thing about this job that gets my blood boiling is a certain coworker. We'll call this coworker Angel Of Death. (A few months ago, a friend texted me that her grandpa was in the hospital and looked like he wasn't going to make it. I got the message at lunch, Angel Of Death was being snoopy and wanted to know what was going on. Since we're both Christians, I the un-crazy, un-pushy and normal kind, and Angel the insane Jesus Freak judgmental kind who preaches to customers on the clock, I mentioned what was going on. A prayer was said, not "please let grandpa pull through this time" but "let grandpa get off this terrible planet!"Guess what... grandpa died. I'm not presuming to know the mind of a higher deity, or what was best in the situation, but it kind of makes me mad that Angel would pray for death instead of life.)

Now, Angel of Death is a higher position in the company than me, not the awesome manager, but somewhere below that. Angel has been doing this job longer than me. Angel has held a management position elsewhere once upon a time. And yet, Angel is constantly asking me how to do her job. How to get stuff into our inventory. How to order things. How to make sure we have enough supplies. When she's not asking me how to do her job, she's forgetting to take care of customers that need to be called for various issues, or "reading her emails" for hours on end.

She's very manipulative and very careful to only do things "by the book" and use the "book" as an excuse to be lazy.

"We can't use hours when the store is open but without customers to put up new displays! The book forbids it!"

"The book says I have to check my email every day, it doesn't say I have to restrict how much time I spend checking my email."  

"The book doesn't say I have to help you log these customers, so it's not in my job description, so I'm not going to do it."

I get preached to, I get debated with, and Angel has told me that I'm a terrible Christian because I don't do things the way she would do them. I'm careful to do what's right and take my faith seriously and, most importantly of all, I don't answer to her. You know it's bad when the Jesus Freak starts playing Moral Police to other Christians.

Anyway. I'm done ranting for now, and here's to hoping I don't have anything else to rant about for another very long time. :) Peace, love, and many pleasant, wealthy customers to everyone, and have a happy new year!!

--Incognito

 

Donut Shop Management Gets Told For Requiring That Only Men Take Out The Trash

LaughingBarista's BF gets a Retail Balls Award for standing up to sexist management:

Hey guys! LaughingBarista here after a long hiatus!

I was so busy with my new job, grad school finals (which kicked my ass but I wound up doing well!) and Christmas stuff so I haven't had a chance to post anything recently. But boy, do I have a doozy for you guys.

So my boyfriend has been at Donuts still this whole time. He's been slaving away (pun intended), especially around the holidays, and was realizing just how much he was unappreciated. He was getting real sick of it but it really started coming to a blow a few weeks ago.

The week of Christmas he took off Christmas Eve because he switched shifts with someone after covering a bunch of theirs, this way he could spend time with his younger siblings. They were closed on Christmas. He worked that Monday and that Wednesday he went in. He was doing his job, assembling for drive-thru while another coworker rang up (someome was making sandwiches but everyone else was screwing around in the back) when the shift leader asked him to take out the garbage.

He politely asked if someone could please do it since he was in the middle of an order or if someone could take over for him so he could do it. The shift leader said no, that he had to do it and that was that.

Like I said, he was in the middle of an order so he went to finish it when Jane (you all remember that bitch) came up to him and asked him what his problem was. He said there wasn't a problem, that he was just doing his job when the shift leader asked him to stop, wouldn't get someone to replace him, so he could do other people's jobs (since everyone else was bullshitting in the back).

You want to know what Jane said? "Well we're women so we don't take out the garbage."

My boyfriend was PISSED. He said something along the lines of this is 2011 (as it was at the time) in America, not 1811. She sent him home.

So when he went to get his paycheck on Friday the manager (who wasn't there) asked for his side of the story. He tells her that he was doing drive-thru, the shift leader asked him to do that while there were many capable people to do it, and that he was sent home because he wouldn't stop helping the drive-thru, even though no one was sent to cover him to take out the garbage. He also shared what Jane said. The manager agreed with him and told him that she knows that he's claned the bathrooms and that's a "woman's job" so why can't they take out the garbage? She takes out the garbage herself so she didn't get it.

Fast forward to yesterday. Boyfriend goes in and is furious because he gets his check and it's really low. It's the check from that week. Now manager has agreed that he should not have been sent home and even Jane apologized for it. Boyfriend thinks that he should be reimbursed for the missing hours of pay. I agreed with him but warned him that he would not be reimbursed as Donuts is an even corporation with no soul at its core. He said he figured as much but that if that was the case, he was going to quit. He felt that it was completely unfair for him to not get paid for hours that he really should have gotten paid for.

So he goes in and talks to the manager and the assistant manager and airs his grievances. They tell him that HE was in the wrong that day and that women aren't supposed to take out the garbage because that is a man's job and as one of the only men there that day (there was another one but oh, he doesn't take out the garbage) it was HIS job to do it, even if it meant leaving the drive-thru. They told him under no circumstance would they give him the money because he was in the wrong.

He quit on the spot, telling them that he worked way too hard to get paid so little and to be treated like shit.

I fully supported his decision and am glad to be rid of those scumbags. I seriously could not believe that one.

Here's to hoping that you guys don't have to deal with stuff like that!

--LaughingBarista

 

Gas Station Hell: Terah's Nightmare Tuesday

Tuesday night was the WORST FUCKING NIGHT I HAVE EVER HAD!

So I’m cleaner, I get to work, and I hear Sha-nay-nay is gonna be late. Oh, but she didn’t call in, like she was supposed to. She tells Shift Leader 2 that she ‘might be late’ the day before. Yeah, at our store, you call and you tell the MANAGER this. I’ve gotten in trouble for that before, it’s a known rule.

So I get stuck in the window. In the pouring rain. For those who don’t know, or don’t remember, I have a little OCD problem, and rain hitting me sets me off. But I’m a good worker. I work where I’m told. Then we get a phone call from PinkGirl, who says that SOMEHOW my idiot self FORGOT TO TURN OFF MY CAR HOLY SHIT IT IS RUNNING IN THE LOT!

So guess who gets to run out, in the fucking RAIN to turn it off?

We don’t have employee parking, so I get to go out across the street to the overflow lot, freaking the FUCK out the entire time, running, and when I go to walk back (I had to WALK because I was exhausted from the run) one of the busses that is supposed to stop and pick me up JUST DRIVES THE FUCK PAST ME, I KNOW YOU SAW ME, FUCKER! I get in and I freak out, crying, I can’t stand to be touched because of the freak out, and I’m having to breathe in a fucking paper bag to keep from passing out.  This is when I find out from Whore (I like her now, but the name will stay because I name people based on how I feel about them the first time I write about them) that her mother, Sha-nay-nay’s aunt, called her to tell her Sha-nay-nay hadn’t gone to her appointment.

And I’m back in the damn window. Nearly an hour after my freak out, I go to get a drink for my dry mouth, and I hear the cage girl say "Well, Terah’s in the window, and I know she isn’t going to trade with you."

And around the corner, holding her side was the little liar herself, with a sob story and Shift Leader 1 walking after her.

Sha-Nay-Nay: ‘Oh, Terah, can you run the window today and let me clean? Ow, my side hurts so much from the procedure.’

Terah: Uh… no. Shift Leader 1, what’s going on, am I cleaning or in the window?

Shift leader 1, who is as sarcastic as me, takes one look at her, knowing she’s faking because if she HAD, she wouldn’t be able to stand, and said "Oh dear! If you’re in this much pain, you HAVE to take the window, Terah is going to have to do a lot of heavy work!"

After one more plea, I told her she has a customer and I take off.

As I am on the floor of the women’s room, scrubbing the grout with a toothbrush (being assisted by Foofy), it seems Sha-nay-nay found out that she was found out, but instead of owning up, she decides she’s pissed at Whore, for what Whore’s mother said. She comes into the women’s room, as the employee bathroom is broke, and we hear her say ‘I’m gonna stomp her fucking ass!’

This isn’t anything bad, so I go about my business, until lunch, when Sha-nay-nay comes in, on the phone, and I hear her say "I don’t talk to her outside of work; I don’t socialize with her outside of work! I should have [husband] come in and kick her fucking ass for her!"

I know she’s more than capable of following through with it, so we told Shift Leader 1, and she called security.

My night went to shit after that. Having to run BACK out to my car for my ID because I had to fill out two statements over it, Sha-nay-nay gets sent home, and I have to go wash dishes. And let me tell you, they were nasty. How nasty?

I had to clean out the drain catcher, and I ended up having to run outside, to the dumpsters, to puke.

So, yeah, that was my night from fucking hell.

--Terah

 

Washington Deputy Suing Burger King For Spit In Whopper After Tracing The DNA

From Huff Po:

Over the past few years, the Washington State Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Barbara A. Madsen, has heard cases involving meth addicts, stolen BMWs, coffee shop burglaries and taxes on cable TV. But if it agrees to hear the case of Edward Bylsma v. Burger King, as the Seattle Post-Intelligence reports the the Ninth Circuit of Appeals to have recommended, it will likely confront the first case in its 123-year history in which the principle material agents are a hamburger and a wad of human spit.

The case in question dates back to March 2009, when Bylsma, a deputy sheriff in Clark County, stopped for lunch at a Burger King in Vancouver, Wash.. He ordered a Whopper. But when he got his burger, he started to feel "uneasy;" his gut said something was wrong. He peeled back the burger's bun to make sure everything was OK -- and saw a huge, white glob of spit sitting on top of the patty.

Deputy Bylsma felt ill all day; he claims that he even vomited on account of his emotional distress. He sent the burger away for DNA testing to try and trace the spit back to an individual person. When the results linked the loogie to Burger King employee Gary Herb, Bylsma moved to sue Burger King. He said that he became unable to eat food from restaurants and lived in fear of contracting a foodborne illness.

He's been pursuing the suit ever since, without much success. But today's Seattle Post-Intelligencer article explains that the Ninth Circuit could not determine whether "emotional distress" alone can constitute grounds for a liability suit under Washington state law. The Ninth Circuit asked the Supreme Court to clarify the issue.

On its own, then, Edward Bylsma v. Burger King may sound humble. But an entire host of potential future Mealbreaker cases could rest on its shoulders, not to mention lawsuits far from the realm of fast food. And the Court's precedent could well influence decisions outside Washington's borders. The state's Supreme Court is second only to California's in the number of its rulings that are followed elsewhere.

via www.huffingtonpost.com

Burger Bitch: Slacker Coworker Allowed To Be Late and Call In Sick 8 Times

Well guys, today was a complete and utter disaster. However, my awesome coworker and a regular customer made my day.

Now, I have one coworker who is a huge fucking cunt. I literally have no other words to describe her because that’s how terrible she is. She’s shows up late all the time or calls in sick, in December alone, she called in sick eight times. EIGHT FUCKING TIMES. But she never gets in shit for anything. Why? Because my manager has to have permission from her boss to fire someone, and her boss is a fucking buttpussy.

So this morning, I go in at my usual time which is 4:30AM and Cunt is supposed to come in at six. Recently, I’ve had a bitchin’ flu, but I still show up to work because, well, nobody would take my shift because they refuse to work with cunt. One of my coworkers even called me and said “BB, I love you. Like, more than tequila, but just not enough to want to work with Cunt.” Seriously, this is how bad she is. But anywhom, 6:10 rolls around and she’s still not there and it’s starting to get really busy, 6:15 comes and I call my manager and let her know that Cunt is late. Awesome Manager tells me to call her again in 10 minutes if she’s still not there and she’d be right over.

Nope, she still wasn’t there, so I text my manager and she tells me to call in Mama Bear. Mama Bear is by far my favourite coworker. She’s such a sweetheart and I just love her so much. I ask the two people waiting at cash if they could just hold on for one second because I really have to call my coworker in, but they start fucking flipping shit, so I serve them. But as I’m serving them, I start to feel insanely unwell and realize that I’m about to have some serious issues. I serve them as fast as I can, but DT goes off, serve that customer, someone else comes in. At this point, I’m in tears because I need to go to the washroom SERIOUSLY BAD and I don’t have fucking time because my coworker can’t give a fuck enough to fucking come to work on time.

Well, I turn to serve the customer at cash but it’s John Goodman. Not really, but you guys remember the awesome regular who looks a lot like him and bitched at the asshole customer a few rants ago? Yeah, it was him.

John: “Oh no! What’s up, buttercup?”

Me: “I’m feeling really unwell and I really have to go to the washroom but I don’t have time because my coworker is an idiot and comes in late all the time! And I still have to call my other coworker and I’m just freaking out a little bit. I’m so sorry.”

John: “Ok, hon. GO TO THE WASHROOM. I’ll stand here and let customers know that you’re just having some technical difficulties. But seriously, go! Fuck the people in the DT, they can wait!”

I booked it to the washroom as fast as possible and when I came back, John was still standing there, chatting away with the other customers, then he says “They don’t mind waiting, give your coworker a call.”

I honestly wanted to hug the crap out of him. I called Mama Bear and immediately she answered and said “What’s wrong, hon?” Seriously, she has crazy Psychic Mom powers.

Me: “Cunt didn’t show up and I can’t do everything myself and I’m freaking out and just-just-“

Mama Bear: “Oh, sweetie! I’m going to get dressed like a fucker and I’ll be right there! Just breathe!”

I served the other few customers before my manager and Mama Bear came in, then the phone rang. It was Cunt saying “She was going to be late.”

WOW. REALLY? YOU DON’T FUCKING SAY, CAPTAIN RETARDO!

I told her that Mama Bear was already there and hung up, but Cunt still came in. I was still shaking because I was so angry and when I saw her walk in, I had to go outside because I would have flipped at her. She didn’t even have a decent excuse, she just waddled her fat ass in and said “I didn’t feel like getting up this morning.”

NOBODY WANTS TO GET UP AND GO TO FUCKING WORK IN THE MORNING!

When I came back in, Awesome Manager was having a talk with her, but she let me know later that there’s nothing she can do. So basically, in order to get fired, you have to shit in someone’s mouth.

Immediately Cunt starts trying to tell Mama Bear what to do and told her that she shouldn’t have come in and Mama Bear looked right at her and said “Maybe you should get your cow ass here on fucking time so BB doesn’t have to handle the morning rush by herself, you lazy twat.”

I seriously nearly cried out of joy.

And lucky me, tomorrow is my 6^th day working in a row and I have to spend it with Cunt. AWESOME. I should just leave when she gets there and say “Sorry, I don’t feel like working.”

Fucking dickpacker.

--Burger Bitch

 

Walmart Custys Get Upset Over Not Being Allowed To Shop At Closing Time On Christmas Eve

From Mouse Mastered: I love the guy that says "I know who YOUR superior is, so let me have his number." Uhm. If you know who he is, why does the manager need to give you his number? They're all just trying to lie their way into the store, and props to the ASM for standing his ground. Sadly, he probably no longer has a job.

 

Waffle House Robbery With a Twist

From Huff Po:

Theft takes a slice out of the bottom line of virtually every restaurant. Waiters and cooks munch on little handfuls of french fries and give free drinks to their friends all the time. But last month, the Waffle House in Richburg, South Carolina fell victim to a far more insidious form of employee theft -- one closer to a straight-to-TV sequel to Inside Man than to a pitcher of beer on the house.

At first, it looked like a normal robbery. On December 12th, a pair of the restaurant's employees called the local police to report a robbery. Summer Alexander and Carrie Jo McWaters told the deputies that an unknown man took out a gun and asked for all the money in the Waffle House cash register, so they complied.

The police did some digging and identified the robber as 21-year-old Brandon Connor. Here's where things get weird. When the police did more digging, they figured out that Connor was actually a friend of Alexander and McWaters. Further investigation indicated that the entire robbery was a sham -- that Alexander and McWaters had conspired with their friend to make it seem as if a robbery had occurred. The three later split the monetary winnings of the robbery.

Alexander and McWaters were arrested on Monday for their alleged participation in a conspiracy to commit armed robbery, and Connor was charged with armed robbery. The bail for each was set at $30,000.

Waffle House is so great at responding to natural disasters that FEMA sometimes looks to the breakfast-centric fast food chain for guidance. But this case provides yet more evidence of the idea that it still has some issues dealing with people.

via www.huffingtonpost.com

Written Up Without Literacy

Olive Garden Server Fired For Writing Breadsticks Comment

From Work Fail Blog: Pic Submitted by Matthew Rairden who wrote: "My friend just got fired for posting this online. But it’s true…."

via work.failblog.org

 

Holiday Hiring Hell

Greetings RHU'ers, C-Store Jockey here.

I have been managing my little store for just over a month now. I've learned the ropes, I've got everything under control. My first two inventory audits came out better than the last four. When I inherited the store, There were six employees. The old manager got done that day leaving five. I was removed from my cashier position to be manager, leaving the cashier count at four. This would be no big deal except we are open 24/7. Cashiers were called from other stores to fill my shifts, being a full timer, there were five shifts to fill.

I hired one seemingly pleasant person "Jon", with plans to hire one more. I took on "Lizzie" from another store, she wanted off overnights and I had days available. Thus, I was back to six cashiers. Three days later, "Jean" put in her notice. Around the same time "Kathy" told me she needed the next five weeks off because she had a seasonal job that was giving her 50 hours a week.

So I was back down to four. I put a sign up in the door stating that I was hiring, applications trickled in. Most of the applications I have seen appear to have been written by a six year old. One person asked for FOUR apps, "In case I make a mistake man". OK, does he think I'm going to give him four cash drawers and hope ONE of them comes out right? Finally, a decent application comes in, and I hire the guy, call him "Mike". His sister used to work for us back in the day.

About a week later, "Aaron" one of my overnight guys tells me that Jon had a meltdown on shift. He had a minor gas drive-off, I was only going to write him up for it. He began swearing, kicking things, and pounding on the counter. He was so worried I was going to fire him over that, that he lost control of his temper in front of a line of customers. Another manager had led a tobacco and alcohol class the week before, he told me that when Jon arrived, he may have been high. I knew of his past weed use, I went to high school with him. I made it crystal clear when I hired him that there would be absolute ZERO tolerance for drug use when it affects work. What he does on his day off is none of my business, but he cant be high on the job.

I fired him for the outburst, I explained that if he is going to react that violently to a minor situation, how could I trust him if something major were to happen, especially where he works the overnight shift. He took the news remarkably well, which leads me to believe that this was not his first termination.

***

Flash forward to today, I still only have four cashiers. I have a handful of applications, none of which are worth considering. Some have lengthy rap sheets, one guy even turned in two applications with two completely DIFFERENT work histories! If the economy is really as bad as the pundits say it is, I should be having people applying who are ridiculously overqualified. It seems here in Maine at least, people would rather sit on unemployment or collect welfare than to do an honest day's work. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against people who legitimately collect state benefits, but when people specifically avoid work to maintain their benefits, I get cranky. Uncle Sam takes over $120 of my paycheck every week to pay for people to come in and buy slim jims and redbull on EBT food, and bagged tobacco and tubes on cash welfare. These are often the same people who turn in applications that I swear were written by a dog.

Well, thats it from Management he--, no, limbo for now, next update in a couple weeks.

--C-Store Jockey