February 2014 - Page 22 of 27 - I Hate Working In Retail

Feb
7

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Life at WalMart: The Workers Speak, volume 1

Category: Walmart Life Volumes 1,2 and 3 Tags: 1 Comment

Life at Wal-Mart: The Workers Speak, Vol. 1SEXPAND

Wal-Mart is definitely anti-union. During my employee orientation, myself and a few other new hires were made to listen to a lecture from the store’s HR manager about how unions aren’t “necessary” at Wal-Mart because the employees are all treated “very fairly”, and about how we should report any evidence of union activity to our supervisor. We were also strictly forbidden from discussing our pay with other employees. […]Wal-Mart is planning its entry into America’s last remaining Wal-Mart-free areas. (Hello, NYC!). Yesterday, we asked Wal-Mart workers to send us their experiences working there. Several did. Tales of puddles of blood, homophobic managers, and “mean assholes” below.A few years ago I spent a summer working at Wal-Mart between my second and third years of university. I’m Canadian, and the Wal-Mart I worked at was located in a city of about 50,000 people. I wasn’t particularly enthused about spending my summer working there, but I was a student and I needed money. Here are some things that stick out in my mind about the experience: […]
I was loading boxes into a cupboard under a cash register at the front of the store one day when I caught my hand on an exposed nail or screw or something. I yanked out my hand in surprise and suddenly there was a huge pool of blood on the floor. The floor manager rushed over and immediately ushered me into a nearby washroom. “Get him away from the customers!” was the unspoken but obvious goal. We haphazardly swaddled my profusely-bleeding hand in paper towels and then the HR manager drove me to the hospital in her car, but not before they made me sign…something. Presumably promising that I wouldn’t sue them. And as they rushed me out of the store, I saw that they had erected the “biohazard” sign near the surprisingly large puddle of my blood. That’s right – I singlehandedly created a biohazard!

The Real People of Wal-Mart:

I worked at Wal-Mart a few times in different states, mostly as a way to keep an income while between jobs.
I’ve never thought I was the type to work retail, and I still don’t. Wal-Mart is essentially a way to remind me of why I would never change my mind.
The management at Wal-Marts vary. Some are good, some are terrible. There are some you can joke with and enjoy the company of, and there are always a couple that everyone hates, everyone avoids, and who seem to pick their targets and ride their asses constantly. I apparently got lucky to be the only male employee of a department (and gay, on top of it) with a manager that was both Southern and homophobic. She treated me like garbage, refused to give me full-time status when we had the position open (and subsequently gave it to a 18 year old girl whose cash drawer was missing 100’s of dollars), and she said repeatedly how she felt about gays.
I know she was just one person, but it was her that prevented me from ever gaining a decent raise or any recognition, assuming I wanted any. She didn’t even mail me an award I got for helping a customer above and beyond, while I was out having major surgery. I never did get to see it. […]
On the topic of money, overtime was never and will never be approved, ever. If you should work any hours over 40 in one week, even if called in or requested or threatened by management that you must work, you will not get overtime pay. They will just cut your hours or say “take a 4 hour break today.” which, for a 5 hour shift, was stupid and a waste of my own time at that point.
The very worst of it all though, was the same reason I walked out of a Burger King, was the clientele.
I realize the public varies a lot, from mean to wretched. But I think Wal-Mart truly does draw in the worst of the worst in society. I witnessed mothers teaching their kids to refer to us as ‘the help’. Some would tell their kids not to talk to us because we were ‘just employees’, and I watched customers leave their car with a smile, and change to a scowl of hatred the moment they went through the automatic doors.
The reasons vary, but one major reason is Wal-Mart’s unenforceable and waffling customer policies. They set rules such as clearance items being sold as-is with no refund option. But when I tell a customer who dropped her 300 dollar camera in the bathtub that we don’t do returns, she yells for a manager and the manager overrides it, making ME look like the bad guy, at which point the customer bad mouths me to other customers, and I get a long line of irate customers to deal with afterward.
Wal-Mart managers would always return items such as “10 pound turkeys” or “a pound of bacon” with just the receipt, because the item was consumed and “not very good.” The customers would then go and do it again and again, and we were always told not to refund an item without an actual item presented.
I am aware that there are just as many or possibly more friendly, courteous and polite customers in the world. The problem was that Wal-Mart knowingly fed the bad ones, and passed the buck onto the lower level employees. We had to stand there and NEVER talk back to the customer if they yelled at us over policies we are told to enforce, only to find out that the managers would secretly just do whatever they wanted. The customers very quickly learn that they can get out of paying for ANYTHING at Wal-Mart if they make a big enough or loud enough stink about it, or use tactics other customers recommended right in front of us, such as saying “Walgreens has these buy 1 get 1!!!”
Eventually I got fed up and told a few customers just what I thought of them or that I did not care how upset they were that the bagels rang up the wrong price two weeks in a row. My favorite was telling the lady who was busy ripping the sticker off of an item and putting it in her purse, that she was a thief. She actually got offended and, you guessed it, outraged…just prior to her arrest.
As an aside, I worked at Wal-Mart after an issue I had living in Georgia several years ago, where my car and credit cards were stolen JUST before my job contract was up with a government agency and I discovered that I needed surgery. I figured Wal-Mart to be a quick way to make some cash to cover some expenses while my accounts were fixed and setup again. I currently work in the research side of the pharmaceutical industry, and wouldn’t go back to Wal-Mart unless given NO other alternative. The place has a way of demoralizing you and making you feel worthless, and its not something I want to experience again.
Sourced from Gawker.com
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Feb
7

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PEOPLE IN RETAIL WHO PISS ME OFF

Category: Just Funny Leave a Comment


GOOD MORNING, SEXUALS!!! So for those of you who’ve never worked in retail, you’re seriously missing out on important life skills, believe it or not. There are so many things you learn in retail about people and life that you wouldn’t learn anywhere else. However, learning these things comes at a heavy price (no pun intended). There are many things in retail that make me very upset, all relating back to one thing: the customers. I am not dissing the place that I work at, because in all honesty, the staff rocks, and the company is pretty great. Today, I’m just going to highlight the main things in retail that piss me off about the people who shop there. 

(What Starbucks should do.)

1) THE ANTI-SOCIALITES

These are the types of people who you greet and they don’t even acknowledge you. These people generally think that they are above everyone else who work in the store for the fact that they have a white-collar job and therefore think they have the right to shrug everyone off their shoulders. FYI, a lot of us are working here because we are struggling students and need the money. It doesn’t mean we’re stupid, so we shouldn’t be treated as such. We are people like you and manners still matter, buddy!!! 

2) PEOPLE WHO TRY TO BE FUNNY BUT AREN’T

EVERYONE has met these people at some point. For example, when I ask “Would you like a paper bag?” these idiots respond with, “No, I’m gonna save a tree, haha, am I right?” Uh, no. You’re very wrong. You aren’t saving no tree! As you can see, the trees are taken from the forest, ground up and made into the bags that are infront of you. You can’t save something that’s dead! Also, these are the same people who watch me try to scan the items, but the scanner isn’t working, and say “Well, I guess it’s free, huh?” Uh, no. I will find a way to ring your stuff up. Nothing in retail is free. More importantly, you’re making yourself look like an ass by trying to appear funny, but you really aren’t. 

3) PEOPLE WHO TELL ME HOW TO DO MY JOB

Last time I checked, I’M the one standing behind the counter, buddy. When I bag your stuff a certain way, or get a manager for this reason, or ask if you have a rewards card, I’m doing it for YOU. If you don’t want me to do it, that’s all on you. I’m just trying to help you out. But don’t stand there and lecture me on how to do my job. I’m employed, I get paid, and I’m scheduled on the basis that I’m knowledgeable and know how to make people feel welcomed in the store. More importantly, I’m doing what I’m told to do. 

4) PEOPLE WHO ARE RUDE

Just to not make me seem so heartless, I can understand if something is going on in your life that may cause you to act rude, such as an unfortunate accident, a death, debt, what have you. All things aside and equal, let’s just say nothing significantly dramatic is happening to you and you’re just a rude person. Don’t take your rudeness out on me, dude! Have you ever heard of “Do unto others as you’d have them do unto you?” If you verbally harrass or insult me, I have a right to stand up for myself, and don’t you act like I don’t! I don’t care if I’m a person working in retail, I’m still a person! 

5) PEOPLE WITH ANNOYING KIDS

CONTROL THEM!!! Or leave them in the car! We can’t be standing around watching your kids waiting for them to break something. Or what’s worse, if these little fockers are being so loud, you contribute?! How much sense does that make? None! Be the adult/teenaged-parent and control your kids! Set an example. And if you want to give them a smack infront of me to control them, believe me, I won’t judge you. 

6) PEOPLE WHO TRY TO RIP THE STORE OFF

These are the same cheap-o’s who try on any level to get some sort of a discount for whatever reason, like comparing other store policies to ours. Ok, if you hate ours so much, go to another store! What do you want me to do, make an exception just for your cheap ass? And then there’s the people who claim they saw the product for a lower price and it’s so relieving and rewarding to bring the price tag up to them, match the product with it, and prove them wrong. If you have physical sight, use it!  

7) PEOPLE WHO THINK THEY DESERVE SPECIAL TREATMENT

These are the people who claim to come in the store all the time and because of that, they deserve free stuff or some sort of a discount. This relates to #6. Dude, realize you’re just an average customer and are therefore treated as such. We hold no one to a lower, or higher, standard compared to everyone else. 

8) PEOPLE WHO DON’T MAKE DONATIONS

This is a touchy subject, so I will elaborate. If you don’t support the organization we collect for, that’s all on you and I won’t judge you. It’s the people who don’t make donations and rant about why they’re not doing it that are so incredibly annoying. Who cares if you think this organization is the anti-Christ? Who cares if you just made car payments? Who cares if you just donated to another charity? NO ONE! When we ask you, would you like to donate $2 to…, it’s a little answer called “No thank you” that will suffice greatly. 

9) PEOPLE WHO ASK QUESTIONS THEY ALREADY HAVE THE ANSWERS TO

These are the people who think they know it all, and think they’ll look cool by trying to make it appear as if they know more than the people working there. I had this one dumb bitch come in and was like, “When do your seasonal promotional magazines come in?” To which I said “I believe it’s 3 times a year, ma’am.” To which she replied “Mmmm, no, I think it’s 4.” OK, SO WHY DO YOU ASK?! 

10) PEOPLE WHO ASK STUPID QUESTIONS

These people amuse me with their stupidity more than anything. They ask “How much is it?” while they look at the cashier screen indicating in bold what your total is. Another thing they ask is “Wow, why don’t you carry this product any more?” to which I feel like responding all the time “Because they knew you were coming in so they stopped making it.” How should I know exactly why they stopped making it?! Ya, I can very much suggest something similar to it which I’d be very happy to do, but don’t get mad at me when you find this information out. Sometimes, in my work, I may know just as much as the average customer in terms of finding things out last minute…that’s just how retail works!!

11) PEOPLE WHO HOLD UP THE LINE

These are the dumbasses who forget to bring something up to the cash and expect everyone to wait while they “quickly” go and get it, or the people who forget their method of payment!! It’s called a list, first of all. And second of all, how do you leave your vehicle, walk into the store, shop, and the whole time, not notice you’ve forgotten your huge purse or that bulgy thing called a wallet?! It just boggles my mind! 

12) PEOPLE WHO CORRECT MY GRAMMAR

What, just because you know words and sentences you suddenly become a better person? Nope, not the case. This is probably one of the biggest reasons why someone will be excluded and lonely for life. 

So that was my retail rant for today. Who knows, if something new comes up, I may make another one. So this is the part where I be nice and say, to those of you who practice these habits, if you stop them, the staff where you shop will love you, thus your retail experience will be a lot more pleasant. Not only that, but stopping these habits will change some of your other habits and even more people will like you. In essence, I not only bring this up so I and other retail staff will like you, but so other people in the world will like you. I look out for people who read me, and I do it because I care. ;) 

PEACE!!!

-Libby

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Feb
6

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How ‘on-call’ hours are hurting part-time workers

Category: Interesting Facts Leave a Comment

Lauri Wiberg | E+ | Getty Images
The Great Recession changed the American workplace. More and more jobs that used to be full time are now part time, with lower pay and limited or no benefits.
The number of “involuntary” part-time workers—people who want a full-time job but can’t find one or have had their hours cut back by their current employer—has nearly doubled since 2007. There were 8.1 million involuntary part-time workers in October, versus 4.3 million in October 2007, according to the latest figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“Using part-time workers increases flexibility and gives companies an ability to adjust to changing business conditions,” said Aparna Mathur, an economist at theAmerican Enterprise Institute in Washington. “Unless we see economic conditions improving, I think this trend will continue.”
In addition, the nature of part-time work has changed. At many companies, part-time means “on-call” with no fixed number of hours per week. It’s the equivalent of just-in-time inventory for the labor force.
“It’s an extremely abusive and unfair practice,” said Carrie Gleason, executive director of the Retail Action Project (RAP). “Part-time workers’ hours are constantly changing—and not just weekly, but sometimes on a daily basis.”
In a report released last year (Discounted Jobs: Home Retailers Sells Workers Short), RAP interviewed 436 retail workers in New York. Twenty percent of those surveyed said they must always or often be available for “call-in” shifts. More than a third said they were sometimes, often or always sent home early from work.
While extreme flexibility might be good for some businesses, it’s rough for employees to deal with constant uncertainty. They’ve basically become day labor and need to call in every day to find out if they have hours.
“This has created tremendous instability for the retail workforce,” Gleason said. “It’s difficult to arrange for child care, to go to school or hold down a second job, which so many part-time workers desperately need.”
Always juggling your schedule
Akaisa O’Kieffe, a 21-year-old in Brooklyn, N,Y., wants a full-time job but can get only part-time hours at the Manhattan clothing store where she works.
Some weeks she works three days, some weeks only two. She always has a shift on Wednesday, but the other days float. And the schedule doesn’t get posted until Friday.
The last-minute scheduling leaves this single mom with unpredictable paychecks and a constant scramble to find child care.
“It’s a real pain,” she said. “I honestly feel they’re taking advantage of us.”
It also isn’t easy looking for work when the schedule is different from week to week.
“The day you plan to look for a job is always the day they call you in to work, and so you can’t do it,” O’Kieffe said. “It’s ridiculous.”
Is this really good for business?
Many companies that could promote part-time workers to full time are not doing it because of the soft economy. With so many people desperate for work, management has the upper hand. If one part-time worker leaves, plenty of others are ready and willing.
Experts point out that just-in-time scheduling can have a downside for companies, too.
Tita Gray, a lecturer in the College of Business Administration at San Diego State University, said part-time workers can be a good thing when a company needs help with a specific project or emergency, but can create real problems if the workers are used simply to reduce costs.
“You have high turnover costs and you don’t build employee loyalty,” she said. “You have a workforce that for the most part does not care as much about the customer. So you may save money this way, but it’s detrimental to your customer base.”
Is this the new normal? 
John Challenger, CEO of Challenger Gray & Christmas, the Chicago-based outplacement and career transitioning firm, believes we’ll see more of this.
“Companies, especially retailers, are looking for ways to bring in employees as they need them—to cover the traffic but not get caught with too many people standing around,” he said. “They want the ability to be able to staff up or down, depending on what happens.”
Challenger said there are now three levels of employment: full-time, part-time with specific shifts and on-call. And, he said, people move between them all the time.
“If you’re working as an on-call worker, you’re auditioning for a part-time or permanent job,” he said. “It’s better than an interview for a company. They can see how you work, how you fit in.” 
Maybe so, but Gleason at RAP sees a darker side to the trend.
“Between being expected to have open availability, waiting by the phone for on-call shifts and being sent home early, retail workers are getting shortchanged by this industry,” she said.
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