I determined to not let one person "ruin" it for me. As usual, we didn't have much coverage on Saturday night. So I got with the other person and said, "If you'll start and work your way around from one side, I'll start and work around from the other and we can meet wherever we meet." You can't really say, "We'll meet halfway" because there are too many factors that keep that from happening, like getting calls to the register, needing to help customers, and so on.
As soon as I got back from lunch, I started putting out returns. After I got the returns out, I began my circle of recovery. Every time I went past a certain aisle I noticed my only helper for the evening was still in it and I guess she was sorting out stuff.
One of the biggest irritations when you are left with few people to get the whole store recovered is to be scheduled with someone who is "all about" doing their own territory and not helping out with the rest of stuff that needs done.
At seven o'clock she was still in that same aisle, sorting.
I had to determine right then to not let it mess up my day. It's NOT EASY for ONE person to recover everything and put out all the returns. I think she FINALLY decided to get up and start, but she didn't do anything but her own department. I ended up recovering all the way around the perimeter even through floral-- which I had hoped she would get to.
There's an insight into this situation that is kind of interesting. Back before corporate decided EVERY full time person should be making the same thing, and I was left with more work to do, I'd think to myself: "I've been here longer, I make more, they expect more out of me." And I'd just go on and "get over it". But when they decided no matter who it was nor how long they'd been there, we all needed to have the same wages, then I found I didn't like it that people weren't willing to carry the same weight to get the work done.
And there's no recourse. Management doesn't address the issue. They really don't care who does it as long as it gets done. In my mind, it would be easy to "train" people to stop working in their own department and focusing on JUST WHAT THEY HAVE TO DO and think on a broader scale of TONIGHT I'm responsible for MORE THAN just my own department, tonight I'm responsible for the whole store-- or at least for my equal share of it.
But management doesn't train, therefore, the ones who do think in terms of the broader spectrum end up doing the work, while others-- not just this one girl-- end up piddling around doing something in their own area.
It was the end of a VERY GOOD week and I decided to just keep on working and not think about it.
But one thing did keep coming to my mind.
The boss had said, after our stock test got postponed on Thursday, and the supervisor didn't get back to do it on Friday or Saturday morning, that he "wasn't going to let her" do it on Monday because that wouldn't be fair. He just wanted to be treated like everyone else. He expected fairness.
I think that's what grates on people the most. As long as they can see things are handled fairly, then they don't mind the work. But when some people get out of doing the work that others are expected to do -- and they are making the same money-- then the feelings of discontentment begin to grow. That's when the griping really gets to going strong.
BUT I had a good week at work and I was so glad.
Today is my brother's birthday and he and I and my other brother Fred will be meeting in Cullman to celebrate. (Josh and Tesia and Cash are going too.)
Happy Birthday, Davis!!
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