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Well, I had to visit my last job to pick up some checks and one last tip-out, and I'm surprised it went so well. I thought my managers would be pissed about me quitting on such short notice, but they liked my polite resignation-letter to the point where they thanked me, we shook hands, and they wished me luck with my new job. And I said goodbye to the coworkers I generally got along with. Couldn't have asked for it to go much better, honestly. 
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May 15, 2011 02:39
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miscellaneous14 posted:Well, I had to visit my last job to pick up some checks and one last tip-out, and I'm surprised it went so well. I thought my managers would be pissed about me quitting on such short notice, but they liked my polite resignation-letter to the point where they thanked me, we shook hands, and they wished me luck with my new job. And I said goodbye to the coworkers I generally got along with.
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May 15, 2011 04:09
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Phyzzle posted:I remember long ago in the last thread, someone had a little instruction manual for how to computer shop at Walmart. Sometimes (actually most of the time) this thread amazes me. That poo poo would NOT fly here, how is it that the American corporate retail world is SO hosed up that people can get away with poo poo like that? It boggles the mind.
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May 15, 2011 09:29
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spankmeister posted:Sometimes (actually most of the time) this thread amazes me. I'm quite taken aback by a lot of the things American retail workers have to put up with from customers, managers and corporate. If a customer is being awfully dickish I don't have to bend over backwards to accommodate him beyond what is reasonable.
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May 15, 2011 12:42
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Stellar Curiosity posted:I'm quite taken aback by a lot of the things American retail workers have to put up with from customers, managers and corporate. If a customer is being awfully dickish I don't have to bend over backwards to accommodate him beyond what is reasonable. It's because 99% of the time, the people promoted to positions of power in American retail aren't the best or the brightest by any stretch of the imagination. You don't promote your best- then they'll see how things REALLY are and will high-tail it out of there. The managers are the ones who all about the numbers and making sure they get higher or lower, depending on what the big boss wants today. They're spineless rear end-kissers who will do anything and everything to strive for the "corporate way"- the "Yes Men". They don't want to give anybody a reason to say anything negative about them. They're afraid of every single person they encounter, because they could be the one to get them fired for some seemingly inane reason. And if you question it, you're wrong, and obviously not what this company needs to grow. "We need people who will make numbers go up or down! You don't seem to have what it takes to make numbers do things. Away with you!"
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May 15, 2011 16:57
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Phyzzle posted:I remember long ago in the last thread, someone had a little instruction manual for how to computer shop at Walmart. I've never seen a Walmart that stocks RAM (or any computer components outside of external drives). This might be the reason.
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May 15, 2011 17:07
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The General posted:I was positive it wasn't walmart. I'm pretty sure they just let them walk out and return the goods without receipts later.  (thankfully I found it a few days later)I have an interview Wednesday with my manager for department supervisor. I've been with the company longer than all but one of the applicants, but I'm new to this particular store (moved after graduating). I'm pretty sure I'm the only applicant with a college degree, but I'm not sure if I should emphasize that or not since they might get the sense that I'm just doing this until I can find a "real" job in my field (they would be correct). Any tips? Is a resume redundant? Do I dress up if they're just pulling me out of my shift at random that day? I'm pretty sure I want to type up an outline of changes I'd like to see in the department. Any advice is appreciated!
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May 15, 2011 18:37
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I work in a stationery store in the CBD of Sydney ... Had a customer an old business man who wanted a particular financial year diary but this year we didn't get them in... Then at the top of his longs he starts yelling and and making a scene.. the customer then yells I deserve a bullet in the brain because we didn't have his diary in stock :S
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May 15, 2011 18:50
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Good: My boss from my last job came through my line the other day and congratulated me on getting a job at Publix. She said it was 100x better and that I was "lucky to get out when I did" (she fired me for some bullshit reason) because they were "falling apart" over there. The management was always lovely and employee turnover was just ... lol. I felt good but then I remembered I was only making $1 more than what I was making there, working less hours, and don't get to take advantage of the benefits because I'm not full time. Bad: I got in trouble at work today for doing something that in my 7 months no one ever told me I was not allowed to do. If something doesn't ring up because the sticker is gone, it's folded, or the number is unringableupable, if we know the price, we can take the saniwipes container or the QuikSort thingy and ring it up, type in the price, then put it under a subdepartment in the department menu. I do this a lot, because it's easier to do it that way than make someone who is already impatient from having waited 30 seconds to one whole minute in line, wait, and thus get upset. I got called aside by our new dick manager and he told me "It's wrong. You're wrong. Don't do it. It's wrong." No one ever told me I wasn't supposed to be doing that, in fact, one of the former assistant managers was the one who showed me the trick. But it screws up inventory I guess, even if when the "NOT ON FILE" ticket that gets printed out, I write down a very good description of the item, and it comes up in the security audit because people apparently have used that method to give people discounts on items, which I have not done, have never done, and have no intentions of doing. I absolutely loving hate this job but I need it desperately and I wouldn't risk it by doing something dumb like that. I mean I guess it wasn't so bad, really, but I was already having a very bad day and then that just made it worse because I felt like my job was on the line for something I had NO idea was wrong. I hate my life.
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May 16, 2011 01:29
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drat Bananas posted:As an honest customer who really did lose her receipt, I can assure you that Walmart doesn't even give store credit for an unreceipted return if the amount was over $50 Definitely type up some kind of business plan, regarding what you would change in terms of measurable performance and employee behaviors. Have a clear set of expectations from day one, make sure to share this during your interview and ASAP with your new associates if given the position. I would keep whatever you come up with to one typed page, but be sure to have specific expectations and outcomes and not just generic feel good stuff. In my experience, dressing nice can be a lot of fun but generally isn't going to make a huge difference in the hiring manager's opinion unless you are extremely new to this specific store or an outside hire. I mentioned this before, but it can't hurt to try and get a straight answer out of someone in management as to whether or not this is a completely, honestly, "open" hiring opportunity, or if there is another candidate that is already being strongly considered (do this before Wed. though, not during the interview). You'll have to judge for yourself whether you think they gave you an honest response. Unfortunately, seniority only tends to matter if you've been in the same physical store. Even within the same district / territory / whatever, unless you have some serious results that parallel your time spent with the company, it tends not to be hugely significant. Also, it can kind of be a double edge sword in some scenarios, as people will assume that an employee who has spent a large portion of the employment in the same or similar positions is either complacent where they are at, or is not capable of moving past that level (whether or not this is true, whether or not there have been no positions to promote to, etc.). Best of luck though, make sure to smile and use good non-verbal cues (eye contact and positive tone of voice).
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May 16, 2011 02:36
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I wish people would learn what "inconvenient" is and stop using it for everything. I always cringe when I see signs in stores apologising for "the inconvenience" when it's really not. If an EFTPOS machine goes down, yes that's inconvenient. If a toilet is broken and guests have to make a trip to find another one, yes that is too. When I tell the guests in my bar "no, sorry, this beer tap is broken. But I do have the exact same beer in a bottle" then that isn't a goddamn inconvenience. It's a case where you, as an adult, would think "oh well, it happens" instead of "goddammit! You're trying to mislead me and swindle me out of my completely non-life-essential glass of beer!" which seems to be the more common reaction. One amusing but  moment happened to a coworker of mine. We're in a hotel, for context, so we have a breakfast buffet every morning with little name tags for every single thing on it. I've always considered it a bit patronising to have "vegemite" written next to little packs of vegemite with vegemite clearly written on each one, but it seems I was giving some people too much credit.One lady calls the waiter over and points to her plate with a mixture of shock and annoyance. :bigtran: "These are mushrooms!" "... yes they are?" :bigtran: "I'm allergic to mushrooms!" "... erm... You scooped them yourself from a container clearly marked 'mushrooms'. And they still look just like mushrooms." :bigtran: "Well that's just not good enough!" WHAT THE HELL DO YOU SAY TO THAT??
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May 16, 2011 04:03
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ubermarcus posted:WHAT THE HELL DO YOU SAY TO THAT?? "Try one."
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May 16, 2011 05:26
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drat Bananas posted:As an honest customer who really did lose her receipt, I can assure you that Walmart doesn't even give store credit for an unreceipted return if the amount was over $50 
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May 16, 2011 08:08
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ubermarcus posted:WHAT THE HELL DO YOU SAY TO THAT?? "I suggest you write a polite but firm letter of complaint to yourself."
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May 16, 2011 13:25
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spankmeister posted:You see, that's where you're wrong. This thread has taught me that if you act crazy enough eventually you will get what you want! Sadly that was my first though. You didn't yell loud enough or cause enough of a scene.
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May 16, 2011 14:39
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Wow, this may be the quickest unemployment turn-around in history.. Positive news so far, I'll keep the thread posted.. But that was a hell of a reassuring interview. For the record, I still plan on trying to go back to get computer certifications. We'll see where this all takes me.
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May 16, 2011 17:51
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TShields posted:Wow, this may be the quickest unemployment turn-around in history.. Positive news so far, I'll keep the thread posted.. But that was a hell of a reassuring interview. Don't feel too bad. I'm in NC as well, and most everyone I know with a college degree is working for HH Gregg it seems. You have a degree in history education. The skills needed to get that degree include critical thinking, research, and communicating that research clearly and effectively. If you have any interest in the legal profession I would advise looking into becoming a Paralegal.
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May 17, 2011 08:57
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VanishXZone posted:Don't feel too bad. I'm in NC as well, and most everyone I know with a college degree is working for HH Gregg it seems. No jobs, die alone. (Well, this guy got a job as a non-paralegal).
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May 17, 2011 15:35
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TShields posted:It's because 99% of the time, the people promoted to positions of power in American retail aren't the best or the brightest by any stretch of the imagination. You don't promote your best- then they'll see how things REALLY are and will high-tail it out of there. The managers are the ones who all about the numbers and making sure they get higher or lower, depending on what the big boss wants today. They're spineless rear end-kissers who will do anything and everything to strive for the "corporate way"- the "Yes Men". They don't want to give anybody a reason to say anything negative about them. They're afraid of every single person they encounter, because they could be the one to get them fired for some seemingly inane reason. And if you question it, you're wrong, and obviously not what this company needs to grow. "We need people who will make numbers go up or down! You don't seem to have what it takes to make numbers do things. Away with you!" Yes and no. I take the Seth Godin approach, the way to move up and stand out is to just get poo poo done, make the right decisions and not be a yes man. America has too many yes men, and their wages are going down because anyone can do it. So standing out is the way to go, and if the company doesn't want a person like that, gently caress em, work elsewhere. Through personal experience this has worked. I got hired part time at Best Buy, attempted for 6 months to try and do stuff, work hard, bring in sales, etc only to have my hours and commission cut. I decided "gently caress them," went and got a job at Sprint, doubled my wage 2-3xs and got promoted twice in a year. Its nothing extremely impressive like working for facebook or anything, but for anyone still trying to figure out how to get ahead or where to work, I find that by combining doing stuff inside the box well with thinking outside the box, you can easily move ahead of the yes men that sit at work all day watching Hulu (most of them are now laid off or have hours cut). Basically, if a company is willing to promote hulu watchers over me, I no longer want to work for that company. Same applies to you man, you are way too valuable to bother with that type of bullshit. Best wishes with that job interview, when you get the job go in and smoke out every lazy worker there (note: I do not consider all big box employees lazy by any means).
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May 17, 2011 17:57
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Duckman2008 posted:Yes and no. I take the Seth Godin approach, the way to move up and stand out is to just get poo poo done, make the right decisions and not be a yes man. America has too many yes men, and their wages are going down because anyone can do it. So standing out is the way to go, and if the company doesn't want a person like that, gently caress em, work elsewhere. I worked with Sprint for almost 2 months, and it left a HORRIBLE taste in my mouth. I was put at a location in an ancient 70's-era strip mall with 4 computer stations to make sales, and 6 employees to staff them. The company hired 8 people at a time for various stores in the district. Our entire first month was training- modules, corporate seminars on phones, packets, etc.. Several days, I was put in a room in the corporate office cold calling old customers (mostly the elderly) and seeing if they wanted to upgrade their phones. I also made probably 4-5 runs around town with flyers directed at certain businesses saying that we'd give them a 21% discount on their monthly bill if they came and fiddled with their plan. Oh, and because I didn't have a work station, when I was actually in the office, I was the guy filing paper contracts into a filing cabinet in the back room. Awesome. So the second month, the DM goes over my records, says "oh, you've only made 6 sales since you've been here, why is that?"  I tell her I've basically done nothing but training, filing, making cold calls, and running around town with flyers the entire time I've been with the company, and even when I'm here, there's no work station for me. I could only make sales when someone was off work that day. How do I close a sale without a computer to get in an activate the phone? I didn't have any problems selling Sprint with RadioShack, and guess what? We had enough loving computers for everybody. But, those were just excuses. I could have forced someone out of their workstations, apparently, which would have made me real popular around the store. She let me go. I called a couple of the people I had trained with, because we had gotten pretty close, seeing each other day in and day out at training sessions, and they let 5 of the 8 they hired go after a month and a half. A month or so after that, one of my coworkers and the manager both walked out on the same day, and I think that store imploded. gently caress Sprint. I left a full time gig at RadioShack to work for their stupid company, and all I got for my time was 6 months of unemployment.
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May 17, 2011 18:24
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So I've got question for retail/food service goons here: I just got back from lunch, takeout from a small chinese restaurant. When I get food like that, I usually leave a small tip. I don't usually leave the same as what I do when I'm sitting down at a dinner and the like, but I almost always leave something, same with coffee shops. The question is, if I pay with a card, is it ok to just write the tip in the tip space there? I was told that if I am leaving a small tip, $1 or so (which is about what I would leave on a latte or whatever) that some companies have to run those tips again separately, and for small amounts it isn't worth it because of the service charge. This is contrary to how I thought the pre-authorization system on cards works. Is there any truth to this?
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May 17, 2011 20:23
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So, a few weeks ago, I had a buddy who was trying to get me into an entry-level IT job at his awesome little local company. They don't want people with formal training because all the software is proprietary. They need people they can train from the ground up. He sent me a text today saying that the guy running the department told him that he's going to call me in for an interview! I'm psyched, THIS is the job I wanted all along. My old manager is covering for me, saying that I still work there when I don't, just so prospective employers don't know that I just lost my job. Regardless, the circumstances at the old job don't really matter at the new company, so now I have a new path to consider. I *was* going to tell hhgregg that a part-timer was going to take over my position so I didn't have to put in a notice, but now, since I have to prospectives to look at, if offered the hhgregg job, I'm going to take my full "2 weeks" to wait on the IT job. I'll let the IT job know that I'm planning on taking the certification courses, even though they're not looking for certifications, they're looking for customer service backgrounds. This is big.. really, really big..
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May 17, 2011 20:29
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TShields posted:They don't want people with formal training because all the software is proprietary This sets off all kinds of warning bells to me. Be careful you don't get trapped there with a bunch of non-transferable skills. (not saying don't take it if offered, but don't get complacent)
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May 17, 2011 20:53
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Null Set posted:This sets off all kinds of warning bells to me. Be careful you don't get trapped there with a bunch of non-transferable skills. Oh, I'm going to go to get A+ and NetPlus certified while I'm working there. At least, that's the plan. That would make me more valuable to them, I'm assuming. Still waiting on the phone call, all I know is that this guy popped into my friend's office to tell him that he's going to be calling me.
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May 17, 2011 21:22
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TShields posted:Oh, I'm going to go to get A+ and NetPlus certified while I'm working there. At least, that's the plan. That would make me more valuable to them, I'm assuming. Still waiting on the phone call, all I know is that this guy popped into my friend's office to tell him that he's going to be calling me. Do them even if they say they don't care. You sound like you're approaching this from a very short-term view- once you do those two, you should continue doing certifications relevant to the IT field you want to end up in.
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May 17, 2011 21:25
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Giant Isopod posted:So I've got question for retail/food service goons here: I just got back from lunch, takeout from a small chinese restaurant. When I get food like that, I usually leave a small tip. I don't usually leave the same as what I do when I'm sitting down at a dinner and the like, but I almost always leave something, same with coffee shops. No idea about the service charge, but my brother used to deliver pizzas, and he always preferred cash tips because credit card tips were rolled into his paycheck, and his credit card tips were taxed.
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May 17, 2011 23:02
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Giant Isopod posted:So I've got question for retail/food service goons here: I just got back from lunch, takeout from a small chinese restaurant. When I get food like that, I usually leave a small tip. I don't usually leave the same as what I do when I'm sitting down at a dinner and the like, but I almost always leave something, same with coffee shops.
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May 18, 2011 05:44
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I've never seen two separate charges on my credit card when leaving a tip, so I'd be assuming it's all charged at once.
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May 18, 2011 06:03
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The General posted:I've never seen two separate charges on my credit card when leaving a tip, so I'd be assuming it's all charged at once. I have, actually. It does happen from time to time.
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May 18, 2011 08:36
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When I was able to get tips, credit tips were just tacked onto the total and if there ever was an additional fee I never felt it. However, credit tips did have to be declared and had deductions for income tax, so if you're able to leave a cash tip it's much more appreciated.
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May 18, 2011 15:09
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So yesterday I had an interview to do tech support and company a friend works at. Sent me the 'you didn't get the job' email in less than two hours. I HATE the idea but i'm going to start the process to be a prison guard.I think i have to finally admit I'm just white trash and that my choices in life where always: build houses, go to prison or be a prison guard.
side_burned fucked around with this message at 23:12 on May 18, 2011 |
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May 18, 2011 21:20
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side_burned posted:So yesterday I had an interview to do tech support and company a friend works at. Sent me the 'you didn't get the job' email in less than two hours. I HATE the idea but i'm going to start the process to be a prison guard.I think i have to finally admit I'm just white trash and that my choices in life where always: build houses, got prison or be a prison guard.
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May 18, 2011 22:05
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TShields posted:I worked with Sprint for almost 2 months, and it left a HORRIBLE taste in my mouth. I was put at a location in an ancient 70's-era strip mall with 4 computer stations to make sales, and 6 employees to staff them. The company hired 8 people at a time for various stores in the district. Our entire first month was training- modules, corporate seminars on phones, packets, etc.. Several days, I was put in a room in the corporate office cold calling old customers (mostly the elderly) and seeing if they wanted to upgrade their phones. I also made probably 4-5 runs around town with flyers directed at certain businesses saying that we'd give them a 21% discount on their monthly bill if they came and fiddled with their plan. Then don't work for sprint. My point wasn't "I work here it will work for you" my point is to find a place that works for you.
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May 18, 2011 22:18
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spankmeister posted:Eh you could start selling guns or join the army. I'd make way more money as a guard. side_burned fucked around with this message at 23:52 on May 18, 2011 |
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May 18, 2011 23:15
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Well this is loving weird as heck. The store manager (great guy) called all the assistant managers and leads into the office today. even ones that weren't scheduled to work at all today. And they've all come out tight lipped and looking depressed - even the one who usually lets us know what's going on said she couldn't tell us anything. We did manage to get one to talk. All she said was there's going to be an 'announcement' tomorrow morning. poo poo. This is going to be iiinteresting.
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May 19, 2011 02:09
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Hours are being cut for summer. I asked for full time and I end up with 14 hours next week. Pretty soon I won't even be able to afford to fill up my car.
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May 19, 2011 03:31
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I've got 16 hours next week. Nobody else seemed to get any fewer except me, and there's no reason for hours to be cut for the summer because I work at the drat beach. I'm already looking for a second job for the summer since looking for a full-time non-retail job doesn't seem to be working out.
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May 19, 2011 03:36
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Thanks homeless poster for the advice about my interview, I had it today. I walked in with my little paper full of warm fuzzy ideas for the department I wanted to supervise and he basically gave me a "that's nice, but tell me more about your time with the company and schooling" to which I explained my situation. He told me that department supervisor is not a "bachelors job" and will not pay student loans, but if I give him my resume he will pass it on to their manager training program in the area and I could end up in the same position he is. Half of me thinks that's great, a SALARY!! but the other half of me does not want to be in retail any longer than necessary. I guess I could always go through with it while keeping an eye out in my
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May 19, 2011 04:27
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drat Bananas posted:Thanks homeless poster for the advice about my interview, I had it today. I walked in with my little paper full of warm fuzzy ideas for the department I wanted to supervise and he basically gave me a "that's nice, but tell me more about your time with the company and schooling" to which I explained my situation. He told me that department supervisor is not a "bachelors job" and will not pay student loans, but if I give him my resume he will pass it on to their manager training program in the area and I could end up in the same position he is. Half of me thinks that's great, a SALARY!! but the other half of me does not want to be in retail any longer than necessary. I guess I could always go through with it while keeping an eye out in my No, it is not. Do exactly that and do not lose one wink of sleep over it.
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May 19, 2011 04:54
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drat Bananas posted:kind of lovely to do. :/ Who gives a gently caress if it seems kind of lovely. Whatever rear end in a top hat retail company you work for would drop you in 0 seconds flat for a variety of lovely reasons, most of which can't be understood by normal human beings. Jumping into your chosen career field is going to set up your entire loving life, don't give a flying gently caress what you're going to be doing to some loving retail management chode, or their choderiffic boss.
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May 19, 2011 04:57
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