Monday Did NOT Start Me off with the Bang of Relief I Hoped for

Before I left on Saturday, the co manager said, "Will you be able to get your order finished quickly on Monday?" I said, "I see no problem with that. You have me scheduled to come in an nine and I'm half done already. I think I can turn it in by noon." So, with that said, he let me leave early.

When I came in on Monday, I put up my ad signs first--which is what we have to do-- then I began my order. By ten o'clock they started calling me as back up to the registers. By the time I went to lunch I had only completed one more side and part of another, with two and a half aisles left-- including the stamp hutches-- and all of the "features". (The features are the end caps, tables and power panels, which I usually order last so they I can accurately determine just what it will take to fill them.)

I got mixed up on my schedule. I knew when I came in that I was to be there at nine, but when I looked at the daily schedule, I thought it said I worked until four and ate lunch at one. I had no break until I went to lunch at one and for the most part, I was on the cash register. I kept getting calls to the register while I was at lunch, but they do that all the time. They don't bother to look at the schedule. So, I just ignored the calls and kept on eating. About 15 after one, the co-manager came in and asked why I was at lunch. I was supposed to have gone at 12. (I was on the registers then anyway.) I couldn't believe I'd looked at the schedule wrong. I would have rather gone to lunch at 12. But the thing is, when I looked again, I realized that I was NOT given until four to finish. I was to leave at three. My order was not done. I was still being called to the front. And I was not going to have time to get done all the was REQUIRED of me.

I'd already made the manager MAD. (I think she is sitting-on-ready to get mad, in other words, overly sensitive, when she is stressed out.) I was on the register that checks out employees and the last person in my line was an employee who wanted to make a purchase. I can't check them out. A manager has to do that, so I had called for a manager and when he came I left. As I was going to the back, the manager was coming toward me. Now, you'll have to understand if this lady ever sees you anywhere but where she thinks you need to be she's immediately ready to shoot you down. And she had that shoot me down look about her. She asked very hatefully (for want of a better word) What do YOU need? I didn't need anything. But, me being me, said "Time to get my order done." She didn't like that, of course. She said, Why did you call a manager? I had already forgotten that I had. I told her it was for an employee purchase and went on to my department. She showed up about five minutes later with the co-manager in tow to "discipline" me I guess. She wanted me to know that "Everyone had to help out on the registers." And she said some other stuff that I don't remember. I apologized, telling her that I knew that was so, and that I just said it because she asked me what I wanted, when I had already forgotten that I'd called for a manager. She walked off, but I got the distinct feeling she was ready for "a showdown" and she had her witness to back her up. She had not been in a good mood at all this week.

I clocked in ten minutes early from (a thirty minute) lunch and went straight to the registers. I was there until five after two. I went back by her office to explain my time constraint. They had posted a BOLD sign in the breakroom saving NO OVERTIME. Everyone MUST work the hours they are scheduled. My order was not going to get done and my department straight in time for me to leave at three. When I went by the office, she was on the phone-- with the door open-- and waved me away. So I decided I'd have to hurry, hurry, hurry with the remaining part of my order and just checked for holes. At about 20 'til three, she showed up and asked me what I wanted. I said, I wont' get this order done and be able to straighten before I am scheduled to leave at three. You want me to leave at three, don't you? What should I do? She let me know in no uncertain terms that there was NO GOOD REASON for me to not have the order done, but that I should finish it AND LEAVE by three.

So, my first day as part time did not have a happy ending.

On Tuesday, I didn't go in until three. She was otherwise occupied and never said a word to me. I worked on getting out damaged merchandise, marking down deletes, and then about five they started calling me as back up cashier again. I really do not mind being a back up cashier UNLESS I am going to be chastised for the work I have to do on the floor that is NOT getting done while I'm up there. Somehow there's a strange belief in their heads that they can take you away from the work they are HOLDING YOU RESPONSIBLE FOR and have you do all kinds of other things, and then charge you with being irresponsible because "your work" is not done. I find that so odd. (If I really did mess around and not use my time for priority work when I was in my department, I might understand it better, but I learned a long, long time ago that I can't do just anything that is on my department to do list. I must do what is most important, and by that I mean, there are certain things that we are held accountable to get done. We MUST get deletes done by a certain deadline. We must get Memos taken care of by a deadline. And we must get done those things that a district manager or some other higher up person had noticed on a visit and said they want the issue addressed. It may be as simple as raising a line of pegs on a 4-way, but if they notice it, they expect it to be done by their next time through. We are left with hardly any time to take care of the little extras that come up-- like repairing damaged merchandise. And one thing they are allowing for right now is all the additional time it is taking to help customers find what they need. (This manager decided she didn't need to hire more help for the holidays like has always been done in the past. She thought she'd rather just give more time to the part time cashiers she already has. Problem with that is that it really hasn't provided us with enough bodies to deal with the business we're getting. Sales are up. Some customers have told us, our store is the busiest one they've shopped in.

The manager who closed last night was one who wants to get out as quickly as he can. He in not in the DIRECT line of fire if every little bitty thing is not exactly right in our recovery. Seasonal was TRASHED so badly, I thought we'd be eleven o'clock getting out of there last night, but with everyone's cooperation, we actually walked out at ten after nine.

When I came in on Tuesday, a long list of amount of time everyone had worked over what they were scheduled was posted above the time clock. It was a long list. I was on it. I had worked over my scheduled time on Monday by .13 (That means I was 7.8 minutes over my time scheduled.) So I guess when we left at ten after nine last night, that I am now over my allotted time by 17.8 minutes. I suppose that will be posted when I go in today. They post it so we can take it off of days worked later. Since this is the only other day I work this week, maybe--just maybe-- I can leave at 5:42:02 today. You NEVER KNOW.

I used to think the employees were crazy that insisted they were so strict with the hours because the higher ups got bonuses if they stayed within their payroll budget, but after hearing all the talk about the calls we get from upper management if we go over at all, I'm beginning to think those bonuses must be very important to them.

Well, I need to leave in an hour. I just hope I'm not ALONE putting out scrapbooking freight today. I can't get it out before I am supposed to leave, if I am.