August 2014 - Page 7 of 14 - I Hate Working In Retail

Aug
19

Why Do Walmart Workers Walk Out? Let Them Tell You.

Category: Life as a Server, Retail Stories, Walmart Tags: cashier, Interesting, Walmart 2 Comments

Why Do Walmart Workers Walk Out? Let Them Tell You. EXPAND

Last month, the National Labor Relations Board charged Wal-Mart with illegally retaliating against workers trying to organize. Wal-Mart says those workers’ activities don’t deserve legal protection. This seems like a good time to hear from some actual Wal-Mart workers.

The current NLRB case, as the Wall Street Journal notes, is somewhat of a test case (although union busting is nothing new to America’s wealthiest family). Wal-Mart claims that it was within its right to discipline workers because, rather than engaging in a traditional union-organized strike, they were participating in “intermittent” actions like temporary walkouts and protests, which are “hard to distinguish from absenteeism.”

Many Wal-Mart workers have willingly taken a very real risk of losing their jobs in order to participate in the recent protests and walkouts. Why? Here are four stories that were sent to us in the past several months by current and former Wal-Mart employees.

“Go chill out”

I had worked for Wal-Mart once before and quit due to a manager that constantly gave me shit. But I needed a job and figured if I worked for the Wal-Mart on the other side of my city it would be fine. I was hired for maintenance orginally. It was hard but I worked on my own so I didn’t mind. It was overnight so there weren’t even reallly any customers. Then the stockers needed help one night and they pulled me in. Again, I didn’t mind. Work was work.

Well I was so quick and helpful they asked me to stock full time with a 25 cent raise. I said yes. That was when shit went down. They didn’t train me at all. I’m a slender female with knee problems and they had me lifting boxes that were 50 or more pounds. I asked, ASKED, for training to do my job correctly and safely. I had never had a job like this so I was just lifting things however. They said they would train me and never did.

Then one night, lifting a heavy box, I twisted wrong and tore the tendons in my knee. They sent me home. No hospital. The next day I tried to call in so I could go to the doctor. My knee cap was the size of a baseball. They insisted on me coming in and filling out forms and them taking me. The only reason I went is because they said they would pay me for it. I was allowed to go to work but had to be sitting or using my crutches. They insisted I come in so I did. I asked my manager what I was supposed to do and his response was, ” I don’t know, go chill out somewhere.”

I was a little unsure but said ok and went to sit in the break room so if he thought of something I could do I would be close by and easy to find. A little more than halfway through my shift, two other managers came to find me and asked what I was doing. I told them what the other manager had said and they took me to his office. He called me a liar, said he told me to go fix the clothing displays, and fired me. He also blacklisted me so I can never work for the company again. Oh and that last paycheck for the two weeks of work I put in before getting hurt and what they promised to pay me if I let them take me to the doctor? I never got a dime.

Making Wal-Mart work for you

I started out when I was 18 as a cashier and quickly realized it was a terrible job because I never got to sit down and all I heard was complaints from customers. The cash register is the dumping ground for any and all complaints the Wal-Mart shopper has about their shopping experience or anything else. You are held hostage by the register, you can’t just wander off or tell the person you have to ‘do something else…over there’ and walk away. So I quickly requested to move to the Lawn and Garden Dept. It has an outdoor area where you can pretend to be busy or hide where customers and managers can’t find you or bother you. I would often ride around on the forklift moving stuff around and pretending to work and no one could bother me.

I quickly realized that the Wal-Mart I worked at was such a huge place with so many people working there it was easy to disappear and be anonymous. I would often show up to work 1-2 hours late, take hour or more long lunches when I was only allowed 30 minutes and no one ever said anything to me about any of it. I could pretend to do work outside and not be bothered, most of the time if I just looked busy and avoided eye contact customers didn’t bother me. I can’t count the number of times I saw people stealing things and did nothing. Once I was working as a cashier and a person came up with a trash can to purchase. The lid on the can accidentally fell off and I noticed there was a bunch of stuff in the can, jewelry, clothing, shoes etc. The guy quickly put the lid on the can and looked at me and I didn’t say anything. I rang up the trash can and on his merry way he went. I didn’t really care enough about Wal-Mart to try to stop theft and I figured Wal-Mart stole wages from people through denying to pay people over time and had taken out life insurance policies on employees and cashed them in so what does it matter if people steal from Wal-Mart, it evens out.

Pretty much everything you’ve heard about Wal-Mart is true, it was widely known that female employees were paid less than male employees, they showed anti-union videos and gave trainings, I was outraged by these things but there wasn’t much I could do but get what I could from Wal-Mart and move on. It was a crappy place to work and I would never go back to it but during that time in my life I made it work for me.

Happy Thanksgiving

I have a family member who has worked for Wal-Mart for 8 years. Yesterday she was let go after just having worked 4pm to midnight for them on Thanksgiving. She has built her pay to over $12/hr. The reason they let her go is because for the third time in a year she forgot to take a lunch during a 6 1/2 hour shift in which you have to. She thought it was a 6 hr shift in which you do not have to take one. In there great mercy and forgiveness, they will allow her to reapply in 6 months, but her pay will go back to minimum wage. SHAME ON YOU WALMART!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As of today I’m done shopping there.

My fault

I am one of the past Walmart employees .. I worked 30 to 40 hr weeks , payed only a part time wage. I was told many times that I would not be lifting anything over 20lbs because of back issues, but ended up lugging 100lb or more flats of water without the assistance of a machine on a regular flat roller. I was told to clock out at lunch so I didn’t get paid and that if I did overtime it would be off the clock. I was flirted with by managers and the straw that broke the camels back was when I passed out, hit my head on the floor and was told that I had to be at work the next day. They let me off work, but offered no health care for me as I was “part time” and no one rendered medical aid when I passed out. I was told not to talk about what happened at work and that it was my fault.

One can see how Wal-Mart employees—and Wal-Mart itself—could benefit from a little organized labor.

Sourced from Gawker.com

Aug
19

By IHWIR Admin

The Future Of Retail Work: Many See Low Pay, Little Flexibility

Category: Interesting Tags: Interesting, news articles Leave a Comment

For many of the millions of workers who toil in the nation’s shops, malls and supermarkets the changing face of retail isn’t so pretty.

Most retail workers are earning less than they were 35 years ago, after adjusting for inflation, and experts say they are increasingly being asked to accept unpredictable schedules so retailers can get the most work out of them at the lowest cost.

Even though the economy has slowly been improving, many expect those trends to continue because of steep competition to offer lower prices and a continued weak job market for low-wage workers.

“I don’t think there’s going to be any pressure for retailers to offer significantly better wages or benefits than they’re offering now,” said Jack Plunkett, founder of the market research firm Plunkett Research.

The industry also is working feverishly to respond to the growing importance of online retail, but for lower-level workers some say that’s only leading to more lower-paid jobs in fields such as call centers and warehousing.

“I don’t think there’s going to be any pressure for retailers to offer significantly better wages or benefits than they’re offering now.”

“Online doesn’t really change the types of jobs we have in the country. It just changes how you get the goods you bought,” said Lawrence Mishel, president of the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute.

The retail industry says it’s trying to figure out how to staff correctly in such a fast-changing environment. Ellen Davis, senior vice president of the National Retail Federation, the industry’s trade group, said many retailers are working hard to attract highly skilled technology experts who might not realize there is a place for them in retail, while also trying to assess the impact on lower-level workers of things like workforce optimization scheduling systems.

“Technology and the digital experience (are) changing the retail industry incredibly quickly,” Davis said. “You almost have to have a crystal ball to think about how technology will influence the industry in the next 10 to 20 years – and then you have to figure out how to staff around that.”

Workers in a bind

The current state of the industry, combined with the continued weak job market, has left many retail workers in a bind.

Theresa Tate, 30, made $8 an hour working up to 28 hours a week at a chain pet store in Sierra Vista, Arizona.

She said she liked the job but not the financial situation it left her in. “It’s not a long-term goal so much as it is what is keeping my roof over my head,” she said of her job in retail. “I like my job. I like my co-workers. I even like that I leave work every day covered in dog spit, but it’s not what I worked for.”

Tate said most of her paycheck went to rent and electricity. That means that for food and other expenses, she was forced to dip into savings she accumulated previously, when she was working both a full- and a part-time job.

Tate said her schedule changed dramatically week to week and with little notice, making it difficult to find a full-time position. Recently, Tate — who has an associates’ degree and had hoped to become a journalist — landed a full-time position with benefits as an administrative assistant. Tate declined to name the company she works for out of concern it would jeopardize her new job.

Retail workers who don’t have a supervisory role earned an average of $14.02 an hour in 2013, according to calculations of government wage data compiled for NBC News by the Economic Policy Institute. There were 12.9 million such workers in the U.S. in 2013, according to EPI, accounting for nearly 86 percent of all retail workers.

After adjusting for inflation, that’s a 12.2 percent decrease from the average hourly wage those workers earned in 1979.

Over that same period, the overall pool of similar production and nonsupervisory workers — who accounted for nearly 83 percent of all private-sector workers in 2013 — saw hourly wages increase by 6.2 percent, according to EPI’s calculation.

The declines follow a period in which retail wages grew substantially. According to EPI, average wages for those nonsupervisory retail workers increased by 62.7 percent, after adjusting for inflation, between 1947 and 1979.

That was a time when department stores and other retail innovations were coming into vogue, providing relatively good jobs both to men and to the growing number of women coming into the workforce, Plunkett said.

Mishel, of the Economic Policy Institute, said the wage declines that followed are at least partly a result of the dramatic changes that took place after that, when retail became more concentrated among big-box stores competing to get Americans their favorite goods for the lowest price.

“The problem with that thinking is that prices have gone down but the ability for people to earn a living has gone down even more.”

“The problem with that thinking is that prices have gone down but the ability for people to earn a living has gone down even more,” he said.

Part-time work world

Susan Lambert, an associate professor at the University of Chicago’s School of Social Service Administration, said that in trying to minimize costs, retailers have increasingly turned to part-time workers whose hours and schedules can fluctuate dramatically from week to week.

These days, she said, many are relying on workforce optimization technology that might even send workers home mid-shift if foot traffic is slow, or require them to sit at home on call and only come in if there is enough work. These are trends that Lambert said were exacerbated by the recent recession but were building before the economy began to weaken.

Davis, of the National Retail Federation, said many people choose retail work because they want the flexibility to work part-time, but she said scheduling is an issue the trade group needs to look at more closely.

“We need to get a better handle on what’s happening from the scheduling perspective,” she said.

Zeynep Ton, an adjunct associate professor at MIT’s Sloan School of Management and author of the book “The Good Jobs Strategy,” said many retail employers have come to see labor as a commodity rather than an investment.

“I think one reason for the bad jobs in retail is that the philosophy of most retailers is that labor is just a cost, and they should minimize that cost,” she said.

Ton’s book focuses on a small set of companies, including Costco, Trader Joe’s and QuikTrip, who pay workers above-average wages and offer better training and other perks.

Ton argues that this “good jobs strategy” can benefit both workers and their employers, but she said the solution isn’t just to make companies pay people more. The companies she profiled were succeeding because of a number of good management strategies, including the decision to compensate employees better than their competitors.

“They don’t just pay more,” she said. “They don’t just say, ‘OK, we’re going to have happy employees and everything else will work out.’”

Sourced from NBCNews.com

Aug
17

By IHWIR Admin

The customers you love to hate. what did you score?

Category: Life as a Cashier, Retail Stories Tags: Customers, retail stories Leave a Comment

Anyone who has endured working in the retail industry knows that it is desperately far from as ‘easy going’ as it often appears. After all, how hard can it be to fetch items and process transactions, right? Wrong.

It’s not so much the gruelling, everlasting, no tea or toilet break shifts, or the arguably offensive hourly wage. Moreover it’s the customers who force retailers to sigh so mournfully when the alarm goes off in the mornings. Working with the public is tough! And keeping you guys happy is even tougher. WUWO has dug out The Top 20 Customer Crazies: Discover which category you ascend from with the top 20 reasons behind why retailers hate the general public.

THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT.

This is a phrase that even those who have never worked in retail are abundantly aware of. As for those who do work in retail; well they never hear the end of it. TIP: Nobody likes a know it all.

THE SOMETHING FOR NOTHING.

The ones who examine every item in intricate detail for the slightest fault, in order to demand a reduction. Occasionally causing faults themselves, these cheapskates will stop at nothing to hustle a few extra quid off the asking price.

THE CHANGE PAYER.

The customers who purchase a 49.99 item with a mass of shrapnel that’s been dug out from behind generations of sofas. These guys are the most inconvenient customers of all time.

THE CREEP.

These consumers are very far and few between. But once you serve one, you may as well have sold your soul to the devil. Expect them to make an appearance every day for the next 5-6 years to lurk, stare, and smell the stock.

THE MESSIAH OF MESS.

Whether it’s a mess the kids made, a destructive teenager hitting puberty, or an inconsiderate adult, these customers create havoc wherever they tread. Radiating silent signals to the store decor, price tags and stock will begin to rain down like leaves in the autumn.

THE ‘I’M BETTER THAN YOU’.

One of the worst customers you will ever encounter. They spend more time looking down their noses than anything in the actual store. Superior shoppers that are under the belief you are a lower form of species put on this earth to serve their every whim, often rubbing their higher paid job or fancy flash car in your exhausted over-worked face.

THE FREQUENT COMPLAINER.

Moan, groan, and moan some more. These ‘glass half empty’ individuals are a real buzz kill. From unfitting room temperatures, to complaints about staff or ‘pricey’ stock, these customers will hunt for any available opening to make your life a misery.

MR & MRS HANDS.

We all know Mr. & Mrs. hands, compulsively caressing everything within reach. Including you! There are ways of avoiding the tricks of the touchy feely. The best tip I can offer you, when handing back change or a receipt, do not linger. Given the opportunity these folk will have your hand hostage for much longer than you care for.

THE INDECISIVE.

“Do I get the black one, or the blue one? The red one is quite nice, although saying that I could go for the white one because it goes with my new jeans. What do you think? The black one? I’m not sure if that will match my new jeans but I suppose I could try a different style neck line. Can I try th..” NO. THEY ALL LOOK THE SAME JUST PICK ONE AND PAY.

THE THREATENER.

The customer who is on a permanent power trip. Demanding to speak to your manager or Head Office in relation to anything from a dislike to your service or the fact what they want is not currently in stock. TIP: Bite your tongue, and kiss bottoms.

THE BARGAIN HUNTER.

The most dangerous shopper known to mankind. The bargain hunter will sever arm and leg to get the last pair of half off boots or to be first in line for a 75% OFF SALE. Do not underestimate them.

THE JAMES BONDS.

The smooth criminals that have a friend of a friend that knows the wife of the managers’ best friends’ cats’ previous owner. These guys have a questionable need to be served by the same employee upon every visit. If said employee is not there, and someone else bites the bullet, James Bond will complain, and he will be using his prestige connections to file a complaint against you.

THE ‘TOO BUSY FOR YOU’.

Usually distinguished by the Smartphone or Bluetooth headset super glued to their ear, these customers are impatient and ignorant, only communicating with you via sign language. And by sign language, we mean pointing aggressively and expecting us to know what item, size and price range… telepathically.

THE CAUTIOUS SPENDER.

Most of us will find what we are looking for, purchase, ride the waves of consumer satisfaction, realise we probably shouldn’t have, and return home as if it never happened. But these guys, no such luck. The cautious spender will find what they want, spend 3 hours looking for better, comparing, testing, searching, creating wish lists, only to end up back where they started, but never buying. The most infuriating shopper you will ever bear witness too.

THE KILL WITH KINDNESS.

Now, don’t get me wrong, a friendly customer is much preferred than any other. But some of you – particularly common among senior citizens and retirees – remind those in retail of the chicken in Foghorn Leghorn. “I said I said go away boy ya’ botherin’ me.”
These dear darlings will talk your ear off about the grandkids starting school, latest doctor appointments, and given the chance quote memoirs of their late husband/wife.
TIP: Look busy, even if you’re not.

THE REFUND REFUGEES.

Similar to the SOMETHING FOR NOTHING inhabitants, The Refund Refugees will attempt to return anything with a tag on. Worn out shoes ‘’I have never worn’’, Dresses stinking of spirits and cigarette smoke “I have never worn”, even underwear. I needn’t tell you the state of those that of course were ‘never worn’. These guys seem to have a tough time distinguishing the difference between a store and a rental shop.

THE NOSE PINCHERS.

Ever had a customer that looked like they’ve just walked out of a low budget horror movie, wreaking to the high heavens? It’s hard to maintain the act of respectful sales assistant when you’re serving a real life replica of Fungus the Bogeyman. The burning desire to dunk these guys in soapy water is almost as overwhelming as the smell!

BAD BREATH BUYERS.

This bunch deserved to have a separate mention altogether as opposed to being a component of the nose pinchers. The title is self explanatory. TIP: take care of your teeth; you’ll miss them when they’re gone.

THE CONTAGIOUS CREW.

Coughing and spluttering, sneezing and snivelling, these walking germ banks are an absolute nightmare. As a customer service advisor, you have to remain professional at all times, despite the replaying image of germs flying through the air and landing all over you as you serve. TIP: Do not inhale when in direct contact with a contagious crew member.

THE SPACE INVADORS.

There is at least 50sq ft of space, and they chose to stand 5cm over the invisible line that borders your personal space. In conjunction with a Contagious Crew, A Nose Pincher, or a Bad Breath Buyer, this combination can be both deadly and impossible to sustain common courtesy.

Retail Ranking: How many have you encountered? Publish your score in the comments section

0-5 ROOKIE

6-10 WEEKENDER

11-15 GRAFTER

15+ TAKE A BREAK BEFORE THEY BREAK YOU.

(Or maybe they already have)

Sourced from whatsupwhatson.com

Why Do Walmart Workers Walk Out? Let Them Tell You.

The Future Of Retail Work: Many See Low Pay, Little Flexibility