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Yeah, every retail store I've ever been around, I'd fire 80-90% of the staff if I could, too. The trouble is that at the wages they pay, you can't get nearly enough competent people who give a poo poo to staff a store. You'd replace all the people you fired with... a bunch more people who also don't really give a poo poo about a job where they get abused by customers and management for well below a living wage. Fancy that! The only thing that keeps the retail industry going is the people who are pathologically unable to stop themselves from working hard and caring, no matter how little they're paid or how much they're treated like poo poo, even when they know full well that all of their co-workers and management are taking advantage of them. They just... can't... help it. Several of the regulars in this thread (  ) are such people. There are just enough of them in the general population that almost every retail outlet in the civilized world can reliably employ 1 to 3 of them. And for all practical purposes, they do *all* the work, almost literally all of it. If a given shift doesn't have any of the Actual Workers in the store, then nothing gets done and the Actual Worker on the next shift has to clean up the resultant disaster.
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Feb 5, 2019 04:13
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areyoucontagious posted:Are all these people gently caress-ups? Because maybe she’s relatively low tolerance for apathy and incompetence and she’s right, there’s a bunch of people who should be fired. Look at this thread! So many stories of idiot coworkers and AMs and maybe if more people got canned it would be a better place? Noot that I can tell. I'm mostly just bristling because that kind of attitude (the whole hours-given-by-how-well-she-thinks-you-work thing) was a huge part of why I quit my last retail job and it kinda gives me flashbacks.
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Feb 5, 2019 07:09
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Eric the Mauve posted:Yeah, every retail store I've ever been around, I'd fire 80-90% of the staff if I could, too. "Actual Worker" in this scenario means a sucker. If you are content to work retail, stop giving a poo poo and be lazy. If you aren't, it has never been easier to go get a job somewhere else provided you are geographically mobile and clean up nicely. I don't want to preach, but gently caress WORKING FOR ASSHOLES THAT ABUSE YOU AND DON'T PAY YOU ENOUGH. Just don't do it. If they don't pay for an honest day's work, then don't loving give it to them.
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Feb 5, 2019 07:36
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therobit posted:"Actual Worker" in this scenario means a sucker. If you are content to work retail, stop giving a poo poo and be lazy. If you aren't, it has never been easier to go get a job somewhere else provided you are geographically mobile and clean up nicely. I don't want to preach, but gently caress WORKING FOR ASSHOLES THAT ABUSE YOU AND DON'T PAY YOU ENOUGH. Just don't do it. If they don't pay for an honest day's work, then don't loving give it to them. You’re absolutely right, but so is Eric. These suckers are the lifeblood of any retail location and most of the others would be cut with little loss of productivity.
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Feb 5, 2019 07:53
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Eric the Mauve posted:people who are pathologically unable to stop themselves from working hard and caring today I walked into the grocery backroom, observed that the baler was full, and tied it off. a few hours later I came back, saw that the baler had poo poo a bale out the side, so I straightened out their return-to-warehouse trailer and dropped the bale in it, then reset the baler for them. I only saw one grocery team member the whole time and I know he's not trained for it. in my defense, I'll take nearly any excuse (short of switching to third shift) to drive a hilo
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Feb 5, 2019 08:35
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I am willing to work hard at my dumb retail job and to care too much about pointless trash work because I am trying to start my own business and I consider "doing poo poo even though it's not immediately rewarding" and "being able to really care about weird stuff like maximum efficiency" valuable skills to hone. A 'real' job would pay more but would also take up actual mental energy I don't have to spare. I had a watershed moment on Monday where my side gig earned me more than my retail shift for that day. Just gotta get that consistent and I can start shedding retail hours  In contrast, a guy I used to work with embodied the 'be as lazy as you can get away with, and never work more than they're paying you to' attitude, but still wanted to run his own business. He invested in a food truck, hyped it to all his friends, and went bankrupt within 6 months. He is my anti-inspiration.
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Feb 5, 2019 13:57
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Pentaghastly posted:I won the store level barista championships. I was there for the shift meeting but I watched our best bar person flounder about machine maintenance and shot and steamed milk quality and since I have a little bug in my brain that makes me a big show-off sometimes, I stepped in. My latte art sucks but SM gave me credit for explaining the science of it. That’s good, you should do it, I still want to mention you should find a new job. You’re better than the stuff they put you through.
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Feb 5, 2019 14:10
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The effect of the new position came so fast it's crazy. I went from liking my work to absolutely dreading it every morning. I stopped taking lunches because I didn't feel hungry. I wake up in middle of the night for no reason and have to force myself back to bed. I'm unable to enjoy the stuff I usually do for fun. My face turned stone cold yesterday when they assigned more responsibilities on me. I researched the retail asst manager's roles and it wasn't far off from what I was expected to do. I legit don't know how people can do this without going insane unless they genuinely enjoy it.
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Feb 5, 2019 15:41
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Revalis Enai posted:The effect of the new position came so fast it's crazy. I went from liking my work to absolutely dreading it every morning. I stopped taking lunches because I didn't feel hungry. I wake up in middle of the night for no reason and have to force myself back to bed. I'm unable to enjoy the stuff I usually do for fun. My face turned stone cold yesterday when they assigned more responsibilities on me. The only reward the rear end Man position offers is the right to tyrannize the peons. If that doesn't feel pleasurable to you, then the job has no upsides (the piddling wage increase is nowhere near worth the stress and bullshit). This is why almost all retail managers are assholes and bullies: the nature of the role actively selects for them. Now you know. Just resign. Now. Seriously. If you're not a selfish bully by nature, this role is only going to make you progressively more miserable. therobit posted:"Actual Worker" in this scenario means a sucker. If you are content to work retail, stop giving a poo poo and be lazy. If you aren't, it has never been easier to go get a job somewhere else provided you are geographically mobile and clean up nicely. I don't want to preach, but gently caress WORKING FOR ASSHOLES THAT ABUSE YOU AND DON'T PAY YOU ENOUGH. Just don't do it. If they don't pay for an honest day's work, then don't loving give it to them. This is perfectly correct, but these people literally can no more internalize it than they can sprout wings and fly. They just can't. They CANNOT stop giving a poo poo, and cannot be lazy. Their endocrine system will not allow it. The way other people systematically and knowingly take advantage of them is a serious tragedy. Eric the Mauve fucked around with this message at 16:03 on Feb 5, 2019 |
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Feb 5, 2019 15:59
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Eric the Mauve posted:The only reward the rear end Man position offers is the right to tyrannize the peons. If that doesn't feel pleasurable to you, then the job has no upsides (the piddling wage increase is nowhere near worth the stress and bullshit). This is why almost all retail managers are assholes and bullies: the nature of the role actively selects for them. Now you know. Now everything makes much more sense to me. The temp manager they sent is a huge loving rear end in a top hat, but he apparently runs his own store well. I don't usually hate a person, but he's one of the few I met that I without a doubt despise. He bragged about how he would've dragged his employees into work even during snow. I have always asked when I wanted someone to do something, and I would thank them afterwards. I'm probably not fit to be a manager in retail.
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Feb 5, 2019 16:25
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Revalis Enai posted:The effect of the new position came so fast it's crazy. I went from liking my work to absolutely dreading it every morning. I stopped taking lunches because I didn't feel hungry. I wake up in middle of the night for no reason and have to force myself back to bed. I'm unable to enjoy the stuff I usually do for fun. My face turned stone cold yesterday when they assigned more responsibilities on me. Do not let the (any) job make you feel like this! Eric the Mauve posted:Just resign. Now. Seriously. If you're not a selfish bully by nature, this role is only going to make you progressively more miserable. If you're covered for it see about taking FMLA/Medical (mental health) leave. It sounds like the store/business is going to poo poo anyway and no sense in you losing your mind/happiness for that poo poo. But certainly look at a way to get the gently caress out of there if it is impacting the rest of your life in such a way. No retail pay is worth that.
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Feb 5, 2019 16:41
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dovetaile posted:Noot that I can tell. I'm mostly just bristling because that kind of attitude (the whole hours-given-by-how-well-she-thinks-you-work thing) was a huge part of why I quit my last retail job and it kinda gives me flashbacks. My favorite thing about these mangers is how their perception of who's the hardest worker is often... wrong. Or skewed. They think they know more than they do, and their attitude precludes honesty when dealing with them. If people think you're going to be unrealistic, judgy, bitchy, and high-strung, they're not going to level with you. They know that the reward for honesty is ire, and will, at best, tell lies of omission. They also have fuzzy ideas about discipline, and what it means. A certain amount of discipline's a good thing, don't get me wrong. But when you're busting rear end for nine dollars an hour, you really don't want someone needling you over some stupid bullshit- especially not when it has a knock-on effect. Oh, I can't do that? Well, why can that employee do it? Now people are agitated at people "getting away" with poo poo, or they're pissed at the rats. Or both. The appearance of discipline becomes more important than the production of results. To be fair, a lot of retail employees could be axed. Sure. They're demotivated and listless- why the gently caress wouldn't they be? Young or old, they're barely getting by. They don't have health insurance, hell, they might not even have rent money, and some rear end in a top hat on aisle seven is popping off because you don't have any more RC cola, and goddamn it, they want to see a manager about this. Chances are even the dumbest employee in the store knows they're getting hosed, and not in a way they enjoy. I've had different managers from different departments complain about different employees- I'm sure I've been one of them, and am one of them, from time to time. But they don't fire them, because they know the odds of getting someone that gives a half a poo poo and will stay is like winning the lottery. Chances are they'll fire one guy only to hire another who fucks up in new and exciting ways- and then you've spent all that time interviewing for nothing, probably having to do their work in the interim while falling behind on your own. therobit posted:"Actual Worker" in this scenario means a sucker. If you are content to work retail, stop giving a poo poo and be lazy. If you aren't, it has never been easier to go get a job somewhere else provided you are geographically mobile and clean up nicely. I don't want to preach, but gently caress WORKING FOR ASSHOLES THAT ABUSE YOU AND DON'T PAY YOU ENOUGH. Just don't do it. If they don't pay for an honest day's work, then don't loving give it to them. The problem with this being that it requires money which you ain't got if you work this dumb poo poo. Revalis Enai posted:I researched the retail asst manager's roles and it wasn't far off from what I was expected to do. I legit don't know how people can do this without going insane unless they genuinely enjoy it. Retail is full of ex-managers. There are many different sub-types of manager, but you can generally trace the species down to two or three distinctly different people. The first person is someone that started at the bottom, and either worked or fell their way up the ladder. This type of manager will never leave retail. They made their bed out of bootstraps and they're going to throttle themselves in it until they retire or die. This is either a motivated and generally upbeat if frustrated person with a lot of poo poo to do, or they're completely insufferable. The second one rode into the position on their tongue or with the help of a friend or family member, only to realize that the job actually has a lot of work that they quickly set about delegating to other people. They usually have the biggest sticks up their asses, which they'll give you the short end of, if they aren't your 'friend'. They'll make your your life and the lives of the workers around you a living hell for some petty or imagined slight. The third one's only there for as long as they can stomach it. Maybe they got a degree but no job; or maybe they looked at their lovely paycheck and jumped at the promise of more money. They're broke, they're strung-out, and they probably burn a carton of smokes a week. Whether they're OK people or complete dickheads boils down to how they deal with stress. Most likely to burn-out.
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Feb 5, 2019 17:22
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NerdyMcNerdNerd posted:The problem with this being that it requires money which you ain't got if you work this dumb poo poo. Definitely, painfully, shamefully correct. You have the option, however, of just skating by doing the absolute bare minimum required to not get fired (which in most retail businesses is "show up for work most of the time" and that's it) and just not giving a flying gently caress about anything. Like most of your co-workers do. You are just constitutionally unable to do that, and for that, I feel for you. (You personally, Nerdy, seem to have at least reached the point of understanding the store is totally hosed without you, and therefore that your rear end in a top hat manager's half-insane rantings in your direction are toothless and meaningless. That's a far better place to be than letting managers' bullshit stress you out.) (P.S. Write your goddamn book, seriously! There is a HUGE market for retail horror stories told in your hilarious style.)
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Feb 5, 2019 17:46
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Duckman2008 posted:That’s good, you should do it, I still want to mention you should find a new job. You’re better than the stuff they put you through. Still looking! I applied to some banks, daycare centers, and even a funeral home.
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Feb 5, 2019 18:14
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Daycare centers?  Boy, you think you get crazy customers at Starbucks.....
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Feb 5, 2019 19:09
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Ha, it was a position for an assistant in the infants room. I can listen to babies cry for hours and my eye won't even twitch. I seem to acquire very vocal cats and my niece and nephew both had colic.
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Feb 5, 2019 19:41
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It's weird, but we're mostly designed to have super instinctual panic at our own children crying but other babies, eh, you can get used to it.
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Feb 5, 2019 20:10
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Something something cats adapted their meows to sound like human babies My cat crying at the bathroom door does make my chest feel a little funny
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Feb 5, 2019 20:22
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silvergoose posted:It's weird, but we're mostly designed to have super instinctual panic at our own children crying but other babies, eh, you can get used to it. I dunno, going off my customers they really don't seem to be phased whenever their children cry. More problems with the new warehouse provider:   So additional things that is gonna make my day even more of a pain in the rear end: Having to do quality checks on everything as it comes in. There was 6 loving boxes of that poo poo. And the kicker? We ordered 18 boxes, I was wondering why these 6 were on a different pallet from the other 12, and annoyingly under 3 layers of tomatoes that I had to down stack. It was as if they were trying to loving hide these. The other 12 were perfectly fine. My boss pulled me to the side and basically said "I know these people loving suck, take your time, I don't care if you go overtime" Which is nice I guess, but with the whole working 6 day thing I really, REALLY don't want to stay overtime. I'm getting extremely neurotic about my free time 
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Feb 5, 2019 20:25
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those pickles is bad
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Feb 5, 2019 22:08
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Exactly, Nerd! One of my old managers was like that (you weren't working if you didn't kiss rear end basically).
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Feb 6, 2019 01:06
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All three CSMs, one assman, and the GM were all gathered at the front desk talking about how to allocate hours. I also noticed that thirty minutes of time is mysteriously missing from my paystub for last week. Hmm.
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Feb 6, 2019 03:01
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Pentaghastly posted:Still looking! I applied to some banks, daycare centers, and even a funeral home. People could disagree, but i say consider a cell phone sales job. Corporate vs franchise if possible , just avoid corporate Sprint.
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Feb 6, 2019 03:52
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I was busy playing a game and my phone was charging elsewhere so I missed a few texts from one of my managers at closing time, saying 'you're not in trouble but did you ever use the store manager's register today because his till was over $100 short' I definitely did not use it (sometimes if we're busy or the phone needed to be used, we switch around temporarily but it keeps track of every time someone logs into it; none of that was necessary today) and I feel bad for not seeing the texts or responding until two hours later bc that seemed kind of important... sure hope it works out!
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Feb 6, 2019 05:05
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I spent all morning watching Ken Burns documentaries and doing classwork. I also got paid for last week's sick time and the extra hours I worked previously. My boss bought lottery tickets and lunch. Envy my cush as hell Tuesday. ENVY. (I'll regret this by the weekend when some biddy tries to stab me with a spork for having a backbone)
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Feb 6, 2019 06:18
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NerdyMcNerdNerd posted:The problem with this being that it requires money which you ain't got if you work this dumb poo poo. I tried to have this discussion with an idiot in GBS who was all, "Why not move to Canada and work on a boat and make bank"
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Feb 6, 2019 06:50
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The Snoo posted:I was busy playing a game and my phone was charging elsewhere so I missed a few texts from one of my managers at closing time, saying 'you're not in trouble but did you ever use the store manager's register today because his till was over $100 short'
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Feb 6, 2019 08:14
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So I need some advice. One of my team members is trans, and frequently gets misgendered by customers when he interacts with them, and it's clearly wearing him down. I'm just not sure how to support him in this situation. 
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Feb 6, 2019 14:38
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If you want, I can quote your post in one of the trans threads I follow/post in, they'd be able to give you a good answer. But in short, be there for him and stand up for him basically I think.
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Feb 6, 2019 16:21
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Manuel Calavera posted:If you want, I can quote your post in one of the trans threads I follow/post in, they'd be able to give you a good answer. But in short, be there for him and stand up for him basically I think. That gets to be uh, pretty tricky since the vast, vast majority of people are likely not doing it intentionally or meaning to hurt that individual. Being in retail I cannot imagine a scenario in which it's wise for him/her to engage with customers over this, considering how many randomized people they are likely having to deal with on a daily basis.
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Feb 6, 2019 19:33
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I mean, if you want to go whole hog, you could require everyone to put their pronouns on their name badges, that's the real way to normalize it while not singling anyone out. But really that's more of a "how to fix it in society" thing.
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Feb 6, 2019 19:44
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DesolateRampage posted:That gets to be uh, pretty tricky since the vast, vast majority of people are likely not doing it intentionally or meaning to hurt that individual. Being in retail I cannot imagine a scenario in which it's wise for him/her to engage with customers over this, considering how many randomized people they are likely having to deal with on a daily basis. I didn't mean aggressive "excuse me but he's a guy you loving cis scum" sort of interactions. I'm also not an expert since i only just realized some things about myself and I'm still working through the start of it.
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Feb 6, 2019 20:29
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areyoucontagious posted:Are all these people gently caress-ups? Because maybe she’s relatively low tolerance for apathy and incompetence and she’s right, there’s a bunch of people who should be fired. Look at this thread! So many stories of idiot coworkers and AMs and maybe if more people got canned it would be a better place? Thing is if you're a competent manager, there's a colossal difference between what you plan to do and what you actually say- a divide between your internal evaluation of people and your external presentation. Not too much different than customer interactions in a way, but with employees, so more in depth.
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Feb 6, 2019 23:30
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Kickshaw posted:So I need some advice. One of my team members is trans, and frequently gets misgendered by customers when he interacts with them, and it's clearly wearing him down. I'm just not sure how to support him in this situation. Oh hey something I know about! (I'm also trans and in retail.) What I liked was someone else correcting the customer; your employee might be different though.
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Feb 6, 2019 23:31
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Kickshaw posted:So I need some advice. One of my team members is trans, and frequently gets misgendered by customers when he interacts with them, and it's clearly wearing him down. I'm just not sure how to support him in this situation. I hope your coworker gets it figured out. ijii fucked around with this message at 23:43 on Feb 6, 2019 |
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Feb 6, 2019 23:40
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ijii posted:One trans person uses Manny in our store and she's bigger than all the other women except the couple morbidly obese ones. How are newer coworkers or the customer supposed to know when they first cross paths? I've never even heard of a female Manny before. Sup? 
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Feb 7, 2019 01:36
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dovetaile posted:Oh hey something I know about! (I'm also trans and in retail.) What I liked was someone else correcting the customer; your employee might be different though. They should definitely start by asking their staff member first what they want. Also, TGRS in D&D has a Trans Issues thread, so does Crew Chat in BYOB. Just ask them what you did here and I'm sure most goons would be loving ecstatic that there's a manager willing to help support their staff in this matter and give you all sorts of ideas to try.
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Feb 7, 2019 04:50
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This thread and the Bad with Money thread were/are my favorites - I don't know where else to ask but is there no 2019 Bad with Money thread? I thought I remembered seeing one, but I just got done with the 2018 one finally and can't find anything on here. I need to hear my stories about people with 600k in medical debt for going to school in the Caribbean damnit.
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Feb 7, 2019 19:15
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DesolateRampage posted:This thread and the Bad with Money thread were/are my favorites - I don't know where else to ask but is there no 2019 Bad with Money thread? I thought I remembered seeing one, but I just got done with the 2018 one finally and can't find anything on here. It's in the guns forum right now. It's on a roadtrip!
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Feb 7, 2019 19:23
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EAT FASTER!!!!!! posted:It's in the guns forum right now. It's on a roadtrip! Well what the hell, that's an unexpected twist. Thank you sir!
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Feb 7, 2019 19:26
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