Retail Hell Underground

A Service Slave Wants A Fresh Perspective From RHUers

Hello fellow slaves! I have worked in veterinarian hell, bartending hell, and now I have a job that makes me feel like an actual slave sometimes. It's not retail, but it's a necessary service. Now where I work there are several different rooms that are all specialties of the same basic task. I was trained for a different one than I was hired for, and have been in all rooms at this point so that tells you how important this training is to my bosses.

Anyway, my complaint is about the shady attendance and hours mix ups that happen way too often. First, a lot of people just don't show up for work, and my bosses refuse to hire substitutes. In this line of work, they can get in serious trouble or shut down by the state of there are not enough people in each room.

Turnover is ridiculous--in the 8 months I've been there, we've gone through ten new hires who have quit. That's out of a staff of twenty. Because of this, the rest of us have to bust our butts to make up for it, but the administration will fudge our hours to avoid paying us overtime. I technically have an hour of overtime every week because I have people who are in my room past closing, but I don't get paid for it, and we're told to have the rooms cleaned and shut down while there are still people there.

When I was in a different room, I would work on my unpaid break because it was physically impossible to get everything done on the clock, and some bitchy co-worker tried to make me do her work as well as my own, plus an extra project my boss gave me. I'm okay with my pay because it's above minimum wage and I get an extra dollar because I have a master's degree, but the sad part is that almost everyone should be working on salary because of the education requirements but we are all paid by the hour.

The other thing is that they will change our hours and breaks with no discussion or notice. Today I was told to move my lunch break back 2 hours to help out in a room that didn't need help and apparently someone said I preferred late breaks, which is not true at all. I told them I need more than 5 minutes notice.

On top of all this is an atmosphere of gossip and spreading mean rumours, plus a couple of people who are just plain crazy, in a disgruntled employee comes back to shoot up the place kind of way. One evening I was working alone past closing and I was told not to answer the phone or door because the woman they just fired might try to get back in.

Anyway, I've always told my bosses that I'm glad to help where needed and I get that they want a family feel to the place, but switching everything around without telling me is really starting to get to me. I've been asked to come in when I got sick from food poisoning and was vomiting at work, and called early in the morning to come in early, then had my hours moved around to make up for it. The worst part is, when you ask to be given some advance notice, the bosses look at you like your just complaining to complain. What do you guys think, am I being dramatic about this or do I have a right to veto changes to my schedule? I'm getting more and more glad I'm leaving in 3 weeks!

--Sally

The Magic Ends Quickly At The New Store

Hey guys, Munchies here again.

So, we got the word, they're not re-opening our flooded location. Our district manager came by and gave us the news, but oh, it's not all so bad!

We can all drive to the nearest store (30 miles away), to work. Most of us (though there's only like, 6 of us left) take the city bus or walk to work. And if we refused, we would have voluntarily resigned. >_< 

My boyfriend and I decided to move to Florida from good 'ol Misery, and I managed to swing a transfer to a local fabric store. The store is beautiful compared to my old one (the one that flooded, if you all remember that). It's a huge, new, pretty store. My new co-workers are pretty cool people, but I haven't met anyone I'm real buddy-buddy with.

The magic ended when I checked my schedule.

Apparently, it's a common thing around this store that the store manager will schedule someone to close, meaning they stay til 10 or 10:30, and then have them come in as early as 5am the next morning. I stayed until 8, three hours past my scheduled shift, and had to be in at 5. :/

I know it's legal as long as there's 8 hours between shifts, but my receiving manager has to stay until 11  and come back in at 5 the next morning. Nobody seems to be complaining for fear of losing their jobs, and I guess we all need the hours, but still. Damn. :/

As soon as the boyfriend finishes his medical training, I'm out.

--Munchies

Undecided Wonders About Hellmart Policy

Hello! I've been reading the site for some time now, never really commented, and only just started a new retail job at Hellmart while I figure out what to do with my nice, new bachelor's degree. You can call me Undecided.

So far, my job at Hellmart is going okay. The worst I've had is a guy who got pissy because I refused to sell him beer when his only id was an expired operator's license and a lady who quietly fumed while my CSM ran back to electronics to grab a mouse with a UPC that wasn't supposed to be used as a display.

I also love when little children come through the line, like the 3-4 year old girl who was getting a new dolly and video game today who was soooo excited about it and was so happy when I gave her her own bag, or the little, maybe 18 month old boy who said bye-bye as his parents were leaving. But I'm not here about those. I'm here about a Hellmart policy that has me wanting to pull my hair out.

I started at the beginning of April. Hellmart policy is to request days off three weeks in advance. Okay, cool. No problem. I can do that. The way orientation works is they give us a paper schedule for our first three weeks, and we're supposed to cross off any days we already couldn't work. Except its never really an entire three weeks unless you have orientation on a Monday, which I did not. My orientation was on a Wednesday, giving me about two and a half weeks. I already had plans for April 20, in the afternoon. I'd be fine working the morning, but I don't want to skip out on the afternoon plans. This day happens to fall right after the paper sheet ended. I asked my trainer about it, he said write it down, it'll be fine.

Fast forward to a few days ago. I checked my schedule and see I'm scheduled from 11:30 to 7:30 on the 20th. I track down the trainer today before I hit the floor, he tells me to talk to the front end assistant manager, who was in today.

Okay, cool. Now the trick is finding him and getting him to stand still long enough to talk to him without wasting company time. I saw him maybe 5 times today. Each time, I had a line at my register or he was busy with another manager or customer or something. My shift ended, I clocked out and went looking for the AM. I couldn't find him, so I asked one of the CSMs if he was still in the building because I needed to ask him something about the schedule.

Here's the policy that's got me mad. She told me he is, but that he couldn't talk to me about it because I had already clocked out. Excuse me? So, you're telling me that the only way I can get a scheduling issue sorted out is by wasting company time, when I'm pretty sure Hellmart would much rather I be on the register?

I wouldn't even be able to call in to talk to him about it if I hadn't caught him today. My boyfriend works at a competitor, and he is encouraged to come in or call when he's not working to fix scheduling stuff.

Its bad enough I tried to get into the Hellmart system to set up my direct deposit the other night and was told I couldn't because I was clocked out. From what this policy sounds like, we're supposed to use our 15 minute paid breaks to request days off, check things on the Hellmart system, or hunt down managers to discuss things with them. Grrrrrr.... I get they don't want us working when not clocked in, in order to avoid breaking labor laws, but seriously? There are some work related things that are better off done off the clock so as to not waste company time. Gack!

And, by that logic, wouldn't that mean that I would technically be unable to discuss adding hours to my schedule if I get asked to pick up more hours on a day off, since I'd be off the clock and everything?

I did get the issue resolved, though. I managed to track the AM down, had a five minute conversation with him, and he was more than willing to adjust my hours for me. So now I'm off for my pre-Hellmart arranged plans, but it still ticks me off about what the CSM says. Part of me is hoping the CSM is just being overly conservative about the meaning of the policy, but part of me fears that is the actual policy.

--Undecided

Schedule Hell! Can SLAVE-agers Get Some Love?

From: Nancy Drew

I've been a retail store manager for 5 years now (at the same store), in a college town, so I manage a staff of an about 4-5 college kids. Working with college kids usually means 2 things:

1. It's hard enough to schedule them to work when they already have a class schedule/other obligations,ie: Greek stuff or whatever pertains to their major, such as a theater major being in plays (don't get me wrong, I'm totally their bitch when it comes to working around THEIR time)

and/or

2. some are from out of town, so they ask to be off for days at a time to "go home." (I've even allowed this during stupid "blackout" periods during Christmas/back to school time, when asking off isn't allowed...ya, I'm WAY too nice)

I used to always feel "comfortable" working for this company for so long & always try to look at the bright side, but lately, this has really been chapping my ass off... this happens a lot, but we'll use this week, as the example:

Every Monday, managers are scheduled to start their 8 hour shift in the mornings to get things ready for the week & all (shift is usually 8:30a-5p before store opens at 10a). I get a call from one of my employees, at a reasonable time, saying she has an over 100 fever & cannot come to work her shift. I sympathize (I've barfed in the store's trash can in front of customers) & ask if she could try to get her shift covered, "any time they can come in works, even if you're scheduled to come in at 3:30 p & they can't come in until 5p because I'm here until then," I say. She said she'll keep me updated on what she finds out, great.

Not too long after, she texts me back: "I tried calling Person A, but can't get a hold of them. Person B can't work because she's babysitting her sister (um...she was scheduled On Call to work at 5:30p that day, just in case something like this happens. I don't believe in On Call shifts myself, I just post them for show, to keep my District Manager (MY boss) happy. I don't even make them "call 1 hour before your scheduled" shit. I've been there, I know it sucks.) and Person C has an exam (my assistant manager)."

I text her back that we'll try to keep contacting Person A & consider "back ups." (ie: employees have the option to "borrow" other stores' employees within the district & 1 person even expressed interest in covering any shift I need because they work at the same store 45 minutes away, but go to college in my town) I call 2 employees from another store that's only a 30 minute drive away from us, no luck. Called the person that went to college here/works 45 minutes away, no answer. I tried Person A again, she answered she had a mid term exam 6:30-8:30p that night (by the way: NONE of my employees talked about midterms before. You would think they'd want guaranteed time off to study or whatever. I really was staying within their "availability" guidelines), but was willing to come in after. Better than nothing, so I said, "Thanks & come in whenever you can!"

Fever Person overly apologizes & is willing to trade a Friday/Saturday shift with me because that'll be the time she gets better. BUZZ! WRONG! My District Manager says "if Store Managers need to cut their shifts & not go over their 40 hour week, to cut on any day(s) except Fridays/Saturdays" because, as we all know, Retail Managers rarely get weekends off like regular 9 to 5's.

7:30p rolled around (2 hours before I was originally scheduled to be off, that's a 10 hour shift for the day) & I wonder if Person A is being held hostage at her mid term (ya, you can stay the whole time to take a test, but I was going nuts). 8:30p, 30 minutes before we're scheduled to close at 9p, & I'm like, "fuck it. I shouldn't ask her to come in for less than an hour just to do the paperwork/closing procedures, even though she was nice enough to volunteer."

I text her at 8:40/8:45ish "don't worry about it." She texts me back that she JUST left her exam & overly apologizes. Whatever, guys. Another unplanned 12-13 hour day, for me!

Tuesday, my day off, Person A (the one that was supposed to relieve me the night before after her midterm) texts me and says, "I'm scheduled tomorrow (Wednesday) 4:30-9:30p, but I have a midterm 5:45-7:45p. I asked Person B, C, & Fever Person and none of them can cover for me, and I really don't want you to have to work a 12 hour (I'm scheduled 9:30a-5:30p that day)..."

REALLY?!?!? The best I've gotten, so far, is getting Person B to come in at least for 7:30-9:30p (she TOLD Person A that's what she could do, but I was obviously told otherwise).

I may be almost 30 & have no life outside of work (really: no kids to take care of, no social life, just my fiancee & 2 dogs), but COME ON! In my 5 years here, do you KNOW how many kids I've had do this shit to me (as "disposable" as retail employees are, let's be real) & not be able to reciprocate for me, no matter how many times they say, "Oh, thankyou thankyou thankyou for being the only person to work an additional 4 hours after working your 8 today or coming in on your day off at the last minute! I tried to get it covered, but nobody can & I don't get that you can't go over your 40 hours a week because the company is so fucking cheap. I'm SO sorry & if you need me to cover for you in the future, let me know so I can tell you that I can't because I have class or whatever excuse I can come up with!"

I also admit that it's what I get for posting said schedule at the last minute because I was WAITING for Theater Major Employee to give me a fucking piece of paper that shows me her new work availability for a show she's rehearsing. Seems like Alanis Morrisette's hidden lyric in her "Ironic" song is: "It's like the manager posting a schedule/then employees see it & say, 'Oooh, I can't work that day, even though I didn't tell you beforehand...'"

I get that not everyone's gonna be sitting around with their thumb up their ass to pick up a shift, but does that mean I should be when I'm already working full time? It's totally my fault that I decided to be the manager that understood that On Call shifts & blackout periods are stupid & because she's worked for the company so long that she could try to make it cool & fair for everyone. It's also my fault that instead of me "toughening up" (like everyone has & will say I should do), I'm just gonna secretly look for ANY other job out there where I'm simply treated fairly & not like this.

Really, anything. I don't HAVE to be the manager. In fact, I'd 110% give the responsibilities to someone else because people above Store Managers can also be a bitch. (right?)

My recurring daydream, now, is how goddamn hilarious it would be to just be like Peter from Office Space & not show up to work. My parting words to my District Manager being: "Good luck finding someone to cover all my shifts because college bitches are in class! They're YOUR problem, now!"

--Nancy Drew

The Golden Arches Gets One Last Dig At ScreamingOffKey After She Leaves

Hey RHU! ScreamingOffKey here. I haven't written in a while, mostly because working at the restaurant is AMAZING! I love it, the owners are great, I get great hours (more than enough to pay my rent and feed myself so I'm happy) and I fell into the job quite easily even though I've never waitressed.

But this story isn't about the restaurant. It's about McHells. So right after I got the new job I put in my notice and worked my last shifts, I never got good hours at McHells even though I was SUPPOSED to be full time and had seniority over all but 8 out of 30 coworkers.

Anyway, two days after my last shift I got a message from one of the managers, now said manager is AWESOME to work with, one of the very few I liked at McHells so I felt bad that they did this to him, but he asked why I wasn't at work because I was the only cashier scheduled that night.

I was irritated because I quit, yet they put me on the schedule for a week more because they figured "I wouldn't mind." I had the restaurant tiptoeing around my McHells hours until the end of my two weeks, and they NOW decide to put me on the schedule for an actual full week.

Unfortunately for the awesome manager at the time his message came in I was working at the restaurant and I didn't see it so he never got a reply.

I know I shouldn't have done this though, I was irritated that they scheduled me so I went back to McHells and since I was apparently still considered an employee went behind counter, into the break room and scribbled myself off the schedule. I proceeded to write "I QUIT!!" in by angry letters on the white board and signed my name.

I let the working managers know I had given my 2 weeks notice and worked my last shifts already and told them not to call me. I haven't gotten a call since and I've been happily working at the restaurant.

Although apparently, one of my co workers was a girl I don't get along with and she quit after I started. Oh well, more hours for me.

May your co workers be sane,

--ScreamingOffKey

RHUer Has A Question About Being "On Call"

Hey guys!

I know I haven't posted in a while, since I've been at school and not working retail, but I have a question for you all.

I have basically the longest winter break ever between semesters, so I've been working at the children's clothes store since mid-December that I worked at all through high school. My manager is a bit of a nut, but other than that, I truly enjoy most of my co-workers, so I don't mind going back.

However, while I try to be as flexible as possible and keep my schedule as open as possible for them, I do have a life and I try to do things with my family when I'm home, because I know that the time with them is limited once I go back to school.

This brings me to my question. On the schedule there are "on call" shifts. These are shifts only given to part time sales associates, and it is usually a four hour shift where you are supposed to call in one hour before the shift is about to begin to see if they need you. However, most of the time, you are not called in for your on call shift. Now, I have no problem with this if I don't have anything else going on, but I do fundamentally disagree with the thought process.

I don't think it's right to expect part time underpaid employees to clear their schedule for a shift that may or may not even happen. I don't think that's legal, actually. And usually it isn't an issue, but yesterday I got a call from my manager saying that they were going to call me in to my on call shift, so she'd see me at 2:30 today. Unfortunately for her, I made plans with my dad to travel to another state to see a sold out show, just two days earlier. The worst thing about this is that she had the gall to be angry with me for not being available for my on call shift.

I know this is not right, and I understand that she might be frustrated, but at the same point, I can't constantly be waiting by my phone for a shift that, in all likelihood, will not even happen. Does anyone have any advice on how I can communicate this with my manager, so that she does not try and say that I am in the wrong here? And is there any way that I can communicate this to my high school co-workers, so that they are not taken advantage of either?

I know there's a couple girls on staff who told my manager when she was hired that they could not work one day a week from 4-7 because they volunteer at the local hospital or something, but they are consistently being put on call those days, which frightens them that they could be fired for not being available during those times.

Can anyone please help me and my co-workers figure out a way to communicate our concerns with our manager?

Thank you so much, and may all the retail gods be in your favor.

--Captain No-Babies

Scheduling Hell: Working Late, Opening Earlier

Hey guys, Munchies here again.

My boyfriend and I recently moved to Florida from good 'ol Misery, and I managed to swing a transfer to a local fabric store. The store is beautiful compared to my old one (the one that flooded a couple month ago, if you all remember that). It's a huge, new, pretty store. My new co-workers are pretty cool people, but I haven't met anyone I'm real buddy-buddy with.

The magic ended when I checked my schedule this week.

Apparently, it's a common thing around this store that the store manager will schedule someone to close, meaning they stay til 10 or 10:30, and then have them come in as early as 5am the next morning. I stayed until 8 tonight, three hours past my scheduled shift, and have to be in at 5 tomorrow. :/

I know it's legal as long as there's 8 hours between shifts, but my receiving manager has to stay until 11 tonight and come back in at 5 tomorrow morning. Nobody seems to be complaining for fear of losing their jobs, and I guess we all need the hours, but still. Damn. :/

As soon as the boyfriend finishes his medical training, I'm out.

--Munchies

 

 

Coworker Hell: Day Off Meetings, Dumbass Managers, and Messages From Work On Facebook

Oh God, oh Beelzebub, oh Flying Spaghetti Monster, help me.

Mollywobbles here again.

Remember Birdie from my last story? The weekend after that story took place, she told me she'd put in her two weeks' notice.  Four days later, she was gone.  One week after that, she was back.  As was a girl who has quit and come back three - count 'em, three separate times. 

Talk about job security, amirite? 

Another girl who has quit and come back only once has been made manager.  She's been there about two years.

As for myself, remember that "Crew Trainer" thing I was talking about?  It's happening, but it's taking its sweet-ass time happening.  I got a "Crew Trainer Workbook" last month, completed it in about a week, and have been waiting for something to happen ever since.  It's not just myself, either - it's me and four other people, all of whom (with the exception of myself and one guy) have, you guessed it, quit and come back.  I'm beginning to sense a pattern here.  Stick around for four years, come in whenever they need you to, only call in sick when you're really, truly sick?  "Crew Trainer".  Quit a year in, stay gone for two, three weeks and come begging for your job back?  Manager.  I digress. 

The thing that has really pissed me off about this whole thing is how long it's taking.  It has been more than a month since we got and completed our workbooks, but only one person has watched the necessary videos because only one (who shall henceforth be known as Moo because she loves cows [side note: she happens to be Andy's mom from my last story, she's really cool]) knows which videos that need to be watched, and she and I rarely work the same shifts.  I get moved around on the schedule a lot.  It...complicates things.

Anyway, we were supposed to have a Crew Trainer meeting last week, on my day off.  I got a text message letting me know when to show up.  Fast forward to the next day, five minutes before the meeting is supposed to start, I'm the only one there. 

Store Manager looks at me and goes, "Oh, didn't you get Moo's text?  She had to cancel.  It'll be sometime next week."  Then he said something kind of incomprehensible about someone having to clean...hoods, or something, I guessed it was some work she was having done on her house.  I didn't pry.  Point is, no, I didn't get the text, and showed up on my day off for nothing.  Also, the lack of a specific date and time for the meeting being rescheduled irked me.

This past Saturday, I had the day off, so I called work to ask when I worked the next day (schedules are made up for Sunday through Saturday, with schedules posted every Saturday).

A manager whom I have mentioned in the comments before - one with whom I have been at odds with several times over her attitude and perceived self-importance, let's call her BM (Bitch Manager, Bad Manager, Bowel Movement, take your pick) - answered the phone. 

I asked if schedules had been posted, she checked and told me "You don't work Sunday, you work Monday at two.  No, wait, three." 

I repeated it back to her - "Three on Monday?"

"Yeah." - and went on my merry way.  Monday rolled around.  Two o'clock, my alarm went off, I got on the computer, got dressed, got everything ready to go.  Two forty-five, I get a message on Facebook from Closer: "Hey, Molly, call work, you were supposed to be there at two."

That's right - a message on Facebook. 

Not a phone call, not a text message, not even from a manager that was at work at the time. 

And, the kicker of it all, not at 1:55, not at 2:00, at 2-fucking-45.  I got to work at 3:00, and Store Manager was practically right on me -

SM: You know you were supposed to be here at two, right?

Me: BM told me three.

SM: *shakes his head a little* BM told you two.

Me: Yeah, I called on Saturday night, and she answered the phone and told me three.

SM: *jokingly* Well, you should have known to call at a different time and get someone other than BM to tell you! *walks away laughing to himself*

I guess I should never have expected someone who's only one step below SM's level to actually be able to read the schedule, huh?  I mean, it's not like it hasn't always been written in military time or anything.

And now, as I write this, my husband and his idiot friend are in the other room VERY LOUDLY writing an anti-Brony song to bug the shit out of me, using the names of the ponies that I literally just taught them no less. 

Oh God, oh Beelzebub, oh Flying Spaghetti Monster, I call upon all your powers to not commit murder on this night.

May your management be competent, and Brony on, my friends.

--Mollywobbles

 

 

RHUer Needs Advice on Jealous Coworker

Hey RHU! It's Slave With No Name and I need to rant a bit and I also come to you guys for some advice.

So I work with a girl who is a few years younger than me. She's a nice girl outside of work but when I work with her sometimes I feel like I'm babysitting. She's still fairly new in Customer Service and has been working for the company for about a year and a half whereas I have been working in Customer Service for 4 years, 6 years total with the company. For some reason she doesn't understand the concept of seniority and this is where my frustrations come from.

I get on average 30-35 hours a week. I don't know how many she gets because 1. I could care less and 2. it's none of my business.

Well today I was faced with the situation of her looking at my new schedule that was posted today and she said she was counting my hours to see how many I got for the week and she compared mine to hers.

I could not grasp the audacity of the situation and just said something like "oh?" I know for a fact she's done this before but this was the first time she did it in front of me.

She got mad because I had more and was upset because someone is on vacation so she figured she'd get more hours which is a totally justified thought. She apparently also asked my boss for more hours for the summer.

The thing is, I've been in her position when I started but I wasn't comparing my hours to anyone's because I understood being new and at the bottom that I wouldn't get a large amount of hours and I knew I had to work my way up. This person is also someone who comes in late, leaves early, asks for days off all the time and asks to work until a certain time or start at a certain time a fair amount of time whereas I have an open schedule and can work whenever my boss wants to put me on the schedule. I also have talked to my boss about my parents wanting me to get a second job and since my availability is so good she told me she would give me more hours to compensate getting a second job. I didn't purposely go looking for more hours, I just wanted to give my boss the common courtesy of letting her know in case my availability was less than it was. My boss knows that if she needs someone to come in early, stay late, or go to a different store, I won't have a problem with it because it's more money for me and I would hate to screw anyone over if they genuinely needed help.

Another thing that gets me is someone defended my hours because they saw her counting up my hours and she said that hours should be spread out evenly. She apparently didn't understand the concept of seniority and that is just a frustration in more ways than one. 

So RHU, do you have any advice?

I know I should have said something other than "oh" but I was just shocked and unprepared for it. I don't want to upset her but I want to kindly explain to her how things are done. I'd really appreciate what you guys think :]

Till next time,

--Slave With No Name

 

Coworker Hell With Birdie At The Golden Arches

Gather 'round, children, and let old granny Mollywobbles tell you a story of how not to fucking act at your place of employment.

I worked a 12-hour shift today at McScrewYou's.  I came in at 3PM and was scheduled to go home at 11, but someone just HAD to drop the Drama Bomb all up in this bitch, and I was asked to stay and close, which I accepted out of the goodness of my heart and the work ethic my dear mother instilled in me - but which also meant that I didn't go home until 3:30 this morning.

In the interest of brevity, I'll try to leave out as many personal details as I can about one of the parties who got sent home after not even two whole hours of her shift (something my coworkers and I wish she had done herself).  Let's call her Birdie. 

Now, Birdie has been having man problems for some time, and as a result she seems to think that everyone she sees is judging her and talking about her behind her back. 

Today, Birdie came in at 5PM already not wanting to be there but, according to her, "I've got kids and bills and my hours have been getting cut since I'm not closing five nights a week anymore", AND our 2-10 grill guy (who also constantly bitches about his lack of hours) had called in, so she came in even though her new beau just got back into town. 

This was Problem Number One: She already didn't want to be there, but felt slightly obligated to as she has responsibilities.

Now, Problem Number Two: Birdie decides that she's going to get herself sent home early - and bragged about it TO ONE OF OUR MANAGERS.  Something to the tune of "If anyone says anything to me today, I am going to get sent home." 

Naturally, this manager (MGR, because I can't think of something clever to call her) goes and tells the Closing Manager (Closer, because again, I can't think of a witty name for her) exactly what Birdie told her.  Shortly after this, Birdie tells Closer that she's majorly stressed out by her at-home issues, complete with the shakes (which may or may not have been real), and if Closer was going to send someone home early to please let her go.  Closer isn't stupid, though, and tells her flat out "No way, I need you in grill, and besides, no one's getting sent home early."

Problem Number Three: Birdie's sister "Serena" also works at our fine establishment, and happens to be working a 2-10 shift in drive-thru, which is kind of isolated from the rest of the store - prime grounds for uninterrupted venting/gossip.  Serena warns Birdie, however, that someone could walk by and overhear Bridie bitching about her at-home drama, and oddly enough mentions a male co-worker - who happened to be our grill closer for tonight - by name (we'll call him Andy).

So, add these all together and you've got yourself a recipe for the perfect shitstorm, and boy does it play right into Birdie's hands.  Birdie goes and tells Closer that she had heard that Andy was talking shit behind her back (which is an outright lie), and goes back about her business in grill.  Closer takes Andy aside on front end (a good six feet away from Birdie at the time) and asks him if there's any truth to it, which Andy denies because he really hadn't said anything about her the whole hour that he'd been there.  Birdie, possibly having heard her name and seeing Closer and Andy talking in hushed voices, suddenly calls out "Andy, if you've got something to say to me, say it to my face!"  Needless to say, everyone was stunned, but Andy whirls around and shouts right back at her "Nobody was fucking talking about you!"  And they proceed to shriek and curse at each other like you wouldn't believe.

Closer, trying to do some damage control, takes Andy and Birdie to the back stock room, hoping that no customers would be able to hear them (there were two regulars in lobby, but they told Closer that they only heard voices, not what was actually said), and tried to mediate the argument by once again asking Andy if he had indeed said anything about Birdie, which he again denied.  Birdie came right back with "Well, I was told that you were talking about me!", refusing to mention Serena specifically but still insinuating that it had been her.  Andy shot back "I don't fucking care about your life, Slut-Face!"  At which point Closer threw her hands in the air and said "Andy, go home."

Normally, this wouldn't have been that big a deal, as Birdie knows grill and could have closed in Andy's place.  BUT NO, this was all part of Birdie's plan, as she immediately declared "If he's going, I'm going, too!" 

And Closer, who at this point was just tired of all the drama and bullshit, said "You go right ahead, and you make sure to call Store Manager and tell him all about it!" 

"I will!" cried Birdie defiantly as she clocked out and ran to the office to use the phone to call her boyfriend and ask him to pick her up because "Closer sent me home," she told him through tears. 

Then she walked back up front and, her chest still hitching, asked Closer for Store Manager's number.  So much for those hungry kids and unpaid bills, right?

So, this left Closer, MGR (who was on a 2-10 shift), Other Grill Closer, our front line closer "Pinkie" (because she reminds me a lot of Pinkie Pie from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic) and myself.  I have (finally) had some experience in grill, so Closer asked me if I would stay past my 11 o'clock quitting time and close grill for them.  Not one to leave my boss and co-workers hanging, I agreed.  I didn't mind too much, though - it was just washing dishes for two hours after we closed at 1AM, and I got to listen to my MLP and Pokémon music on the job =3 And Closer and Pinkie both thanked me profusely for staying over and helping them out.  Pinkie even gave me a ride home!

Also, just to kind of shoehorn this in here, a while back one of our managers was coming up on her maternity leave (six weeks) and talk quickly spread about Store Manager promoting someone to a management position.  Under the encouragement of one of the day shift managers, I plucked up the courage to let Store Manager know that I was interested in the position (I have been with this particular store for three-and-a-half years now).  He said he'd consider it, but it might be a while before a decision was made.  Well, a week into said preggo manager's maternity leave, a new manager still hasn't been decided.  I took the opportunity while Closer was washing some parts she needed to wash to bring the position up, ask if a decision has been reached, and who else was being considered/do I have a shot at this.  Closer told me that 1) a decision has not been reached yet, but will be sometime next week; 2) she could not tell me who else was being considered, and 3) should I be passed over for the management position, Store Manager is thinking of making me Crew Trainer, which Closer told me is "one step closer to management", and that if I really want a shot at the management position that I should start taking more initiative - things like not waiting for a runner to ask me to bag food in drive-thru, etc.  I told her that, when I work in the mornings (directly under Store Manager's supervision), I usually do take over and run for drive-thru without being told, which Closer said was very good, "he notices things like that" and I should just keep that up.

Oh, and one more thing: Store Manager's daughter just started working in the store again after what has to be at least six months away from the job.  I don't know how long she worked there before she quit to get married and have a baby, but I'm not sure it's entirely relevant - the manager that's on maternity leave?  Yeah, she's Store Manager's niece, and she was made Manager after about two months on the job.  I freaking TRAINED her.  If Daddy's Little Girl gets made manager next week and I get some title that honestly sounds like Closer is making it sound more important than it actually is, I don't know what I'm going to do.

May your days and nights be drama-free,

--Mollywobbles

RHUer Needs Advice: Overstaffed Ice cream Shop Cuts Hours

Hello everyone! Vantalbar for the second time.

So, I go into work at the ice cream shop this week to find that the boss cut everyone's hours but the manager's in half.

Why?

He hired another six people, bringing the number of people working at the store up to, not kidding here, 30.

This for a store that needs, on average, six people working at a time. Four on the front (as there's an Ice cream counter and a Bakery counter) and two in the back to make the baked goods and stuff. He's still doing interviews with prospective employees!

According to the manager, he does this every year and keeps cutting peoples hours until their lucky to get one shift a week.

I already consistently get shifts that are two hours shorter than everyone else's for no apparent reason, and I need the money for university! Granted, this is the same boss that will yell at us (in front of the customers) about not fitting the dress code (it's simple. A T-shirt with no logo, and not hats) while wearing a shirt with a yin-yang thing and a Japanese phrase that a couple from Japan told me says "Baka Gaijin" which is a rather offensive way of saying 'Stupid Foreigner' and a ratty hat full of holes. Sure, he's the boss, so he can do whatever he wants, but in my opinion, the best kind of leader is the one that will set an example.

My boss is just almost never there. Oh well, this will only last until the end of August, when I go back to Toronto for university, and I'll need to start job hunting again.

Any tips for job hunting?

I spent two years looking for jobs in Toronto and the only place that responded turned out to be a pyramid scheme. I know my resume's good, but I've never gotten past the resume submission stage.

--Vantalbar

 

 

Burger Bitch's Hell Week and Other Fun Tales.

Words cannot describe how pissed off I am, though, I will try. Right now, I would rather listen to Nickelback with Rick Santorum while playing with Justin Bieber’s butthole than go to fucking work at my job. BUT PLEASE, ALLOW ME TO EXPLAIN.

I think I mentioned a few posts ago that when I was hired, I told my manager that I could work weekends, but that I needed a lot of notice because I don’t have my own car and don’t have access to one on weekends. However, I’m working the next 2 weekends in a fucking row, because why the fuck listen to me, right? I told her that I would have to walk from my house to work, which is over 12 miles, and all she said was “That must really suck.” YEAH. YEAH IT FUCKING MUST. My friend from OTTAWA (An hour away) offered to come and drive me to work, but I said no because I felt terrible. And a cab is over $40. Fortunately, my dad doesn’t have to leave for work this weekend until 7AM, but that is fucking RARE, so next weekend? Going to be walking 13 miles. Super swell times, let me fucking tell you.

So that’s just one of the many things that are pissing me off right the fuck now. Next is that I’m working 8 days this week, all starting at 4:30 AM. ALL OF THEM! I haven’t had any more than 2 hours of sleep a night since Saturday. I am so fucking tired that I started petting my fucking sofa this morning because I was positive it was my dog. And I think at that point, even my dog was thinking “Bitch be straight trippin’.”

My schedule has always been the morning shift on Monday and Tuesday then afternoons for Wednesday to Friday, that way I have time for my schoolwork (I take extra courses because I didn’t take Chemistry in High School and want to be a paramedic.) But nope, I just work the morning shift.

I asked my manager why I had to work this ridiculous amount of days (47 hours this week) and she told me “Well, I’m going on vacation and everyone else who can work has kids. And they need time off to be with their kids.” OH. WELL, PARDON MY FUCKING CHILDLESS GENITALS. So, with her logic, because I’m 20 and childless, I have ZERO life and ZERO responsibilities so I can just work all the cocksucking time. Fucking fartass!

And now, the two things that REALLY made me want to choke a fucking newborn. I haven’t booked any days off since NOVEMBER, keep this in mind. I’m getting my wisdom teeth out on July 10^th and I booked that entire week off (My bottom ones are on the nerve, so I’m going to have stitches, so the surgeon recommended a bit more time) and I booked July 7^th off. Let’s start off with the story about the 7^th.

It’s a Saturday, which I should have off anyways, but I booked it off because my friend (Awesome!Manager from my last job, remember the one I spoke of who had dreads and a huge pig that lived in a doghouse? Yeah, her) asked me to babysit her daughter. My friend’s sister is getting married 6 hours away and the wedding is strictly no children, she wouldn’t tell me why, but said that her sister is a weirdo, so I didn’t ask. But anyways, her daughter just turned one and is hilarious and a great baby. Did I get the day off? NOPE.

NO, I SURE DIDN’T! I have no clue what to do, I’m contemplating just not showing up and saying that I don’t have a ride, which I really don’t since my friend is dropping Baby off Friday night. I told my manager that I will literally have to bring a baby to work, even if I find a ride and she told me “Well, nobody else can work.” I took a peek at the paperwork, NOBODY ELSE BOOKED THAT FUCKING DAY OFF. Luckily, Mama!Bear said that her children are with their dad that day, so she can probably take that shift for me. But honestly, nobody else booked that day off, so why the fuck is my manager a cock-knuckle?

Then, just yesterday, she told me that if she couldn’t find someone to work in my spot when I get my wisdom teeth out, I’d have to come in THE SAME DAY AND THE DAY AFTER. Yeah, ok, I’ll only be on laughing gas and percocets, so telling me to come in is DEFINITELY a good idea. I’ll only pour coffee on people and probably try to put donuts in my panties, but please, tell me to come to work. I refused and told her that the students will be out of school and if she can’t find someone, she can work it.

That was a long fucking rant, sorry about that. But thanks for listening!

--Burger Bitch

Fast Food Hell: Unsuspecting Cashier Suddenly Suspect For Major Theft

Call me Yuka, if you will, and I'll try to keep this one as short as possible.

I'm a cashier at a popular burger place that recently opened at the beginning of May. After a string of jobs that just weren't...ideal...since I moved to the big city, I found this job here and adored it from the beginning. It was easy, fun and I was good at it more or less. Like most people, I made an oopsie here or there, but nothing catastrophic.

At the end of every week, I'd look at the schedule, note down my hours for the week after and be on my merry way. For 5 weeks, I'd do this without a hitch, until last Monday. 

I had taken a few days off to go to a convention but had noted my hours before I left. During that time off, I had conversed with one of my coworkers, telling him how I missed him and the rest of the night crew and that I was looking forward to see them all soon. That's when he told me that I was off all next week.

"Well, that can't be right," I told him. "I took down my hours just before I left and I work on x days." But that wasn't the case any more apparently, because to prove what he said, my coworker took a picture of the schedule and uploaded it to Facebook for me to see for myself. Sure enough, every day was off for me. 

Since it was the middle of the night, I put it off until the next morning to call my boss to ask him what was going on. Basically what happened is that over the course of the 5 weeks the restaurant's been opened, $2000 is missing and it all disappeared during shifts I was on! And apparently the only way that could've happened is if I messed up so badly on basically every single transaction that the errors totalled 2 grand, or I helped myself to the five-finger discount.

So they took away all my shifts until this is sorted out. But that is illegal and even though it's against the law, I've decided to wait it out for the week to see what happens. If it stretches into a second week, then as much as I love my job and I love my boss, I'll have to report them to labour relations.

So to sum it up, I've done nothing but work hard for my restaurant and I get accused of ripping off thousands of dollars while they pull something illegal. Fun stuff, eh.

May all your customers be nice.

--Yuka

Update:

Talked to my boss, said I definitely didn't take any money, but he's seen me make serious mistakes over the course of 5 weeks that would amount to $30 on orders by doing stuff like double orders. But I've never had any complaints like that and any mistakes I've caught, I've had refunds done on them. Plus I would think my customers would notice if I overcharged them. All my customers have been happy with me, so I don't know how I could've made mistakes that would amount from $50 - $300 a night. :/ Seriously though, this basically ruins my credibility as a cashier, which was the only thing I had any real experience in and the only job I've enjoyed.

Oh, and I'm pretty much fired. He said he'd think about this over night and call me the afternoon of June 3rd. He never called and maybe he will later but it looks like I'm on the job hunt again. Doesn't erase the fact that the suspension violated my basic rights, probation or not. But after all, my boss had to "protect his interests."

RedHeadActress Update: Changing Polices and Shift Coverage Hell

Well, I haven't posted in a long time. I hope you guys missed me as much as I have missed you.

And boy do I have a lot to share.

First, starting with the asshole ex-boyfriend who I never expected to hear from again, but did on Valentine's day of all days. Not only did he lie even more, but I found out that he was only 17 years old. Yeah, I could have gone to fucking jail. So if I wanted to rip his head off before, now I want to castrate him too. Then about two weeks ago he said he wanted me back and my response went a little something like this: Go hit yourself in the face with a truck. 

Now, as far as my job, it sucks, flat out. While my health is improving slightly day by day, I still get times where I shake and tremble with sweats. On these nights I have to be sent home, which blows, but I deal with it and my managers have seemed to be a bit sympathetic. I have been told this was due to me standing around with nothing to do. Now, I pace around the arcade, looking for stupid stuff to do since I am on restrictions that prevent me from doing certain things. I am just biding my time until I can transfer out for good.

And for the biggest thing... policies. They are constantly changing and it is getting hard to keep up with it. Every single day there is something new, including things that are really dangerous for us to do. Example, when we banked out, we had to walk through the kitchen in the food court to get to the room. We are not allowed to do this anymore, having to go outside and around. This normally wouldn't be a big deal if A. The path from the arcade to the room on the outside was lit and B. Most of the cast members in the arcade weren't elderly and could actually see. If something were to happen, management would be in a lot of trouble. And on top of it, we are forced to attend these stupid meetings and training sessions that are actually not doing anything but wasting time.

I also had an incident with a fellow cast member that I need to share. I will call him 'A'. A gave me a shift and did the form to switch it. It still wasn't showing up on my schedule the night before, so I texted him asking if it went through. I got no response.Next morning, the day of the shift, there was still no sign of the shift. Being the responsible person I am, I called my coordinator to ask if it was me or A on the schedule. He said that it was A but he was notorious for calling in and if I wanted it I could have it if he called in. I told the coordinator no thanks as I wasn't feeling 100 percent. On Thursday, I was looking for extra shifts to take when I saw it in black and white... I was supposed to be there on Wednesday when I specifically asked about it. Guess who got hit with notation for a no call no show? If you guessed me, you get a cookie. Yes, apparently this is entirely my fault because I knew about it and it wasn't up to the coordinator to know about the switch. Before you guys say anything, every switch has to be done 48 hours in advance and is computerized. If the shift is taken, it would show up on your schedule.

Now, the question is, do you agree this was my fault? 

On a negative note, my depression has gotten a lot worse lately. I have been doing a lot of RPing online on tumblr and facebook because my life just sucks in general and it is the only way I can escape it. Message me if you want to know more. 

On a positive note my excessive writing has gotten a lot of recognition from other blogs and even a newspaper in the Orlando area that wants me to interview for them. They said that my writing was impressive and original, really getting into the characters that I created. Personally I thought that my characters were really intense and some boring, but maybe I am being too hard on myself. Of course I get the stupid anons that say my writing sucks, but haters gonna hate, right? 

Until next time... I hope you guys are doing better than me. 

--XOXO Redheadactress

 

RHU QUESTION ABOUT DAYS OFF

McScrewYou Slave here again, this time with a question to RHU about days off.

See, I myself enjoy a bit of the green smoke. And my city has a pretty big party in the park on 4/20. For the past 3 years I've been unable to go, but this year, decided to plan for it and booked the day off work so I could go have a bit of fun for once. I did this in January, for a day in April. My job requires 2 weeks notice and operates on a first-come, first-serve basis. I was the first name in the book and I gave 3 months notice; I have the day off, period.

Cue the other day, when my manager comes up to me and asks me what's up with this day off booking. Basically, since I didn't give a specific reason, she deduced that I was going to get high (duh) and told me that it wasn't a 'real reason' to ask for a day off and that I might not get it because it wasn't a 'valid' reason to request time off.

.......... you're kidding me, right? I mean, why else do people HAVE days off except to have fun? Isn't that the point of scheduling a day off?

What really pissed me off was that, directly below my name, was one of my co-workers who had requested the day after I had, and his listed reason was 'concert'. Uh huh. I'd be willing to bet you money that I'm gonna see him wandering the same park I am smoking a fat one. But what, exactly, separates his 'concert' from mine? He is requesting time off to go to a social event wherein he will listen to music, interact with people, and engage in the use of recreational substances. What exactly do they think people do at concerts anyways? That's the same thing I'm asking for, and you're not giving him the third degree.

Honestly though, I have asked for days off for all kinds of things without being questioned. Camping trips. Visiting my mom. Doctor's visits (which I have every other Wednesday and so keep every Wednesday free), I even once got 2 days off to go to a parade that DID NOT EXIST, after they had already worked up the schedule for that week, and they didn't bat an eye. Long story behind that last one but you get the point. Now, in hindsight, I probably should have made up something like 'concert' or 'camping trip' or something like that, but.... really. No matter what I put down, I'm asking to be off on 4/20 three months in advance. There's really only one reason to do that.

But here is the bottom line: I am a good worker. I am a hard worker. I do my job and, I do it well. I come in on time and work the shifts that I am scheduled to work. I also come in without fail when needed on my on-call days (which SO MANY PEOPLE just ignore) as WELL as coming in on my scheduled days off (covering for the people who were SUPPOSED to be on call). I rode my bike 40 minutes in the rain on Thanksgiving Day to fill in for some no-show for a measly $20 payoff. If I put in the book that I have something planned, THREE MONTHS before the actual date, I am not requesting a day off; I am informing you that I am unavailable and you have 90 days to figure out who can fill in for me. I work part-time at a burger joint, if you really can't figure out how to fill a shift for a fast-food cashier when you have three months warning, there is something seriously wrong with your business. It does not MATTER what day it is. It does not MATTER what I plan to DO on that day. I am telling you that I am not available on that day, and if you schedule me on that day I will not come in, because I have made plans and I told you THREE MONTHS PRIOR that I had them. I do not care if you do not approve of what I have planned for that day, because I do not belong to this corporation and I have a life outside of this restaurant. If I want to spend my day off hanging out in a park getting high with a bunch of stoners, that's my business, it isn't yours, and it damn well should not effect how you treat my request. It's first-come, first-serve, and I came first.

Now, I did go up to my other manager (AM for Assistant or Awesome, whichever works for you) who has been there longer than anyone else in the store, and explained the situation. I said that I felt that if I give 3 months advance notice that I will be unavailable on a certain day I do not feel that it is unreasonable to expect to be accommodated, regardless of what I plan to do with that day. She agrees with me, and since she's the person who is actually in charge of writing out schedules she assured me that she will make sure I get that day off and that my supervisor can shove it. As a precaution, I also informed her that I would be moving my usual Wednesday appointment to that Friday, so that if the naggy manager tries to question it I can inform her that I do, in fact, have a 'valid' reason for needing that day off and, if she were to call me in on short notice to cover a shift, my doctor's office charges a $100 cancellation fee for under 48hrs notice.

How would you guys handle this? On the most basic level, I feel that days off are a right and if you make plans for something, regardless of what those plans are, and you inform your work of these plans within the appropriate span of time, you are not 'asking' for a day off; you are informing them you are not available, period. No, that does not mean 'I want this day off.... unless you don't think I deserve it', it means 'I can not work on this day, find someone else'. My work requires 2 weeks notice and operates on first-come first-served, so if no one's requested time off on that day, I can ask for a day off with as little as 14 days notice and still expect to get it without a problem (got the weekend off once after I'd already been scheduled to work it, since I submitted my request 16 days before the actual shifts- NO QUESTIONS ASKED). I gave them 90 days and I was first in the book for that day. Just because they don't think that what I had planned was a 'valid' reason does not give them the excuse to bypass the system. I thought I was doing the responsible thing scheduling a day when I'm NOT working to go do my drugs rather than doing my drugs and then going to work. But bottom line, quite frankly, I don't care if I had planned to use the day to have sex with animals. Regardless of your feelings surrounding animal/human sex acts, my name was still first in that book, and damn if you won't give me that day off.

I'm sorry if that dragged out but it really pissed me off being told that my activities were not deemed 'worthy' enough for them to 'permit' me use of my own time.

--McScrewYou