Wally Greeter Expected To Catch N.A.T.'s
Rita Really????'s story reminded me of this tale that had happened a couple of years ago.
Back in '08, I took a job as a Hellmart Greeter (don't judge. Money is money, especially when you have none).
I wasn't new to retail at all, but it was the first time I'd ever been permanently stuck on the door. There were a ton of problems at this place: management scheduled me during hours I couldn't work, management had no idea what they wanted the greeters to be doing besides saying hello and checking in returned merchandise, and we weren't allowed to sit at all unless we were in a wheelchair (which sucks when you're recovering from a bilateral dislocation of the pelvis - I mysteriously dislocated BOTH of my hips).
However, none of these things bothered me overly much... at least not in comparison to something else.
The one job duty my managers all agreed on (in between bouts of yelling at me because I did something how manager X told me and manager Y thought it should be done a different way) was that I was the last line of defensive against thieves.
If anybody got out of the store with merchandise through my door, it was MY fault and I was in danger of being fired in that case, but hey, no pressure. ><
Well, things went okay for the first month I worked there, but towards the time I quit (in the second month), I had an incident.
Stupid bitchy fuckface manager J comes up to me to casually point out a dude wandering around near the door. She wants me to ask for his receipt and try to casually hold him there until security catches up with him, because they think he's going to run with it.
I nervously agree, and when he comes up, I check his receipt. However, I think he realized I was spending too much time checking it out (or maybe he saw the cop car pull up out front), because he left the vacuums he was trying to make off with and took off, busting our doors open.
Security went flying after him.
They, the cops, and the police dogs all chased after him, and eventually caught the bastard. My managers assured me I wouldn't even get written up this time (THIS TIME?!?!?!?! Assholes!) and that was that.
The guy had bought the vacuums once from another store, and then he was taking the receipt around to different stores, stealing the vacuums, and then returning them.
It was particularly scary to me because he could have tried to hold me hostage or something to get away. I'm glad he ran, and thankfully they didn't fire me and I lived another day so I could quit my job instead. 8D
--Tutor Stupor
WTH, what about that walmart greeter those months ago that was fired for stopping a n.a.t??
Posted by: cashykat | Friday, October 29, 2010 at 04:47 AM
Wait, you're in a wheelchair and are expect to stop NATs? I'm sorry, but if someone steals something, it's either LP's fault or no ones. If someone is going to steal, they're going to try regardless of if a greeter or anyone else gets in their way.
Posted by: KitchenPeon | Friday, October 29, 2010 at 06:59 AM
Ask any cop, never get in the way of a thief, they are likely high on adrenalin or some drug or alcohol and are extremely unpredictable and dangerous. Most places I know will fire you if you go do some hero shit.
Posted by: Ado | Friday, October 29, 2010 at 08:53 AM
Kitchen Peon, she is not in a wheelchair, she dislocated both hips. She said you cannot sit down unless you are in one.
Posted by: Redheadactress | Friday, October 29, 2010 at 12:12 PM
Yeah, manager's screwed up. I would say: If you want to hire me to do LP, train me to do LP, and pay me to do LP, I'll do LP, but as it is, people like me get fired for trying to do things like that which aren't part of their jobs. It's NOT happening.
Posted by: Jack | Friday, October 29, 2010 at 02:09 PM
I gotta agree with Jack, if they want you to stop NAT's then they should, train and pay you to be LP, otherwise I'm not risking my life.
Posted by: NC Tony | Friday, October 29, 2010 at 02:22 PM
wait...what?! Isn't stopping NATs LP's job? The managers were pretty fucking stupid to be placing door greeters in the way of physical harm for something they weren't paid or trained for. WTF? just trying to use you as cheaper labor instead of paying full price for more LP personnel. Why didn't the manager themselves check the dude's receipt instead of asking you to do it? Oh right, they didn't want to put themselves in danger should the guy react violently.
Posted by: NyxErebus | Saturday, October 30, 2010 at 07:08 AM
cashycat is right. Your damned if you do and damned if you don't. A walfuk greeter did get canned for defending himself when a NAT tried took a slug at him when he went to write down the guy's license plate number. (I tried to find it in the archives, but couldn't. Can you help Freddy?)
If I ever had that position, the best they'd ever get out of me is for me to stick my cane out to try and trip them like a cartoon character. You think I'm about to risk life and limb with my health problems? Greeters are just that. Don't put yourself in a position of getting hurt. Believe me, your job isn't worth it.
Posted by: Humor_Me | Saturday, October 30, 2010 at 10:01 PM