|
Alkydere posted:makes me wonder if Amazon's trying to stifle some union militancy. The union is working!
|
#
?
Sep 20, 2023 18:46
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 2, 2024 13:57 |
|
|
Cowslips Warren posted:I just got survey today asking what drivers would be open to being trained to work in our stores or production center. Because you know that's not at all going to end up with people being sent to stores across town or being slowly phased out of being drivers. Despite my managers insistence, they are not getting rid of any transportation. Did you get the same bullshit 3% raise we did?
|
|
#
?
Sep 20, 2023 20:38
|
|
|
Cowslips Warren posted:I just got survey today asking what drivers would be open to being trained to work in our stores or production center. Because you know that's not at all going to end up with people being sent to stores across town or being slowly phased out of being drivers. Despite my managers insistence, they are not getting rid of any transportation.
|
|
#
?
Sep 21, 2023 01:37
|
|
|
Kilonum posted:Did you get the same bullshit 3% raise we did? That's be generous. Ours was under that. At this point, I'm curious as to the end game. If we say we're open to being cross trained in the center's and stores, are they going to mark us to be transferred immediately, or they're going to try and force the people who don't want to work in those locations there so they quit which means you'll have less hours to pay regardless.
|
|
#
?
Sep 21, 2023 01:42
|
|
|
DM visit today and he told me I'm a lock for the first AM opening in the district after March 1st (when I've hit 6 months in my current position as a supervisor).
|
|
#
?
Sep 21, 2023 18:04
|
|
|
In writing?
|
|
#
?
Sep 21, 2023 19:13
|
|
|
It don't mean a thing unless it's written down. Otherwise it's just managerial noises.
|
|
#
?
Sep 21, 2023 20:32
|
|
|
Even if written down, is anyone willing to believe that some layer of management couldn’t use some hand wavy bullshit to not promote Kilonum to that position?
|
|
#
?
Sep 21, 2023 20:49
|
|
|
AM is the worst job in the world. It's basically hazing. You get worked to death on a low, low salary, such that you'll almost certainly be taking a pay cut on a per-hour basis. Being the padding between the SM and the serfs is extremely hazardous to your mental health. Do not recommend.
|
|
#
?
Sep 21, 2023 20:52
|
|
|
One of the first things I came to understand when I started working in retail 10 years ago was that I should take annoying problems to the store director or salaried middle managers because, unlike department managers, they're not busy with anything useful. That's what you mean by AM, right? Salaried middle manager?
|
|
#
?
Sep 22, 2023 06:07
|
|
|
Assistant manager is the guy below the store manager, the lowest management position
|
|
#
?
Sep 22, 2023 07:03
|
|
|
Eric the Mauve posted:AM is the worst job in the world. It's basically hazing. You get worked to death on a low, low salary, such that you'll almost certainly be taking a pay cut on a per-hour basis. Being the padding between the SM and the serfs is extremely hazardous to your mental health. Do not recommend. Seconded. All the grief and none of the perks.
|
|
#
?
Sep 22, 2023 08:01
|
|
|
cephalopods posted:One of the first things I came to understand when I started working in retail 10 years ago was that I should take annoying problems to the store director or salaried middle managers because, unlike department managers, they're not busy with anything useful. I learned I should take annoying problems to any manager because then it's no longer my problem and is now management's problem, and I can go back to doing my job while they argue with someone who has a stern and earnest belief that just because the assembly instructions do not explicitly state that an object cannot fly, it's a travesty that it fell apart when they tried. Also because gently caress management.
|
|
#
?
Sep 22, 2023 11:10
|
|
|
Alternatively, become good at the one job that has you hiding in the corner away from the drama and then over time become the only person who knows that job so management quietly diverts all drama away from you letting you just show up and work your hours.
|
|
#
?
Sep 22, 2023 18:50
|
|
|
Alkydere posted:Alternatively, become good at the one job that has you hiding in the corner away from the drama and then over time become the only person who knows that job so management quietly diverts all drama away from you letting you just show up and work your hours. This is The Way.
|
|
#
?
Sep 22, 2023 21:02
|
|
|
My day shift counterpart is finally back from leave! Just in time for the higher ups in the network to complain that ISS wasn't meeting its metrics (across multiple buildings actually) so now here's some mandatory online training for all ISS reps to refresh on. Please ignore the fact that all these failed SLAs (for my building at least) are from staffing issues and not 'lack of standard work'. I have been referring to the central ISS wiki for standards that is actually actively being updated this entire time, but fine. I'll do the training curriculum because that's basically half a shift where I can take it easy for once in the past two months. Naturally, the provided online training is severely out of date and links to tools that do not exist anymore. Some processes are referenced that ISS no longer even performs. All of the 'strategy' type trainings that would be helpful for managing a high workload are designed around robotics sortable buildings (small items stored in mobile pods - the kind Alkydere works at) and are next-to worthless for managing ISS in my building (traditional non-sortable - larger items in static bins). Well, aside from the blindingly obvious pointers such as, "triage the workload by SLA ranges."
|
|
#
?
Sep 23, 2023 03:39
|
|
|
Alkydere posted:Alternatively, become good at the one job that has you hiding in the corner away from the drama and then over time become the only person who knows that job so management quietly diverts all drama away from you letting you just show up and work your hours. I want your job but that is nowhere listed on any Amazon career site. "Hiding Away Rep Who Does Not gently caress poo poo Up"
|
|
#
?
Sep 23, 2023 05:07
|
|
|
Cowslips Warren posted:I want your job but that is nowhere listed on any Amazon career site. "Hiding Away Rep Who Does Not gently caress poo poo Up" I had to work my way through the abuse just like everyone else (I cannot bitch hard enough about being an AFE packer for 1.5 years: 10 hour shifts of nothing but squats and lunges). If you survive long enough and make "friends" with management you can get a problem solve/indirect job and the amount of bullshit you deal with drops exponentially. Yuwe can likely confirm: There's still bullshit of course but it's so minor compared to what you have to do with being in a direct path, or you have actually find levers to reduce the bullshit. I've wedged my fat goon rear end into this slot and everyone else who knows how to do this job/has permissions either sucks or is good but they did it so long ago management has forgotten and they keep their mouth shut because they hate it. I've also done this job long enough that many people in several departments think that their department projects are SOP and not things I suggested 2-3 years ago. The people who I offered up my ideas for them to steal just to solve headache X or Y are long gone and everything runs disgustingly smoothly now. I'm trying to get promoted to "Motorized Pallet Jack Rep Who Does Not gently caress poo poo Up" A.K.A. "Non Inventory" that has more work and a lot more physical exercise but basically I just supply the outbound departments with packing materials. Mainly because that puts me on a new step plan to earn an extra $2-3/hour. I'm maxed out where I'm at. Alkydere fucked around with this message at 06:30 on Sep 23, 2023 |
|
#
?
Sep 23, 2023 06:27
|
|
|
Cowslips Warren posted:I want your job but that is nowhere listed on any Amazon career site. "Hiding Away Rep Who Does Not gently caress poo poo Up" You only get Alkydere's type of job by coming in as a tier 1 warehouse worker, someone noticing you are actually pretty good with getting the amazon computers to do things and don't gently caress off on the clock, and then get assigned to a particular role (not even an actual job listing, just one of the things a tier 1 can be assigned to do) forever that no one else has the inclination or skill to learn. My job is one that would be a separate job posting (ISS rep is tier 3) but likely only ever available to internal promotes as it requires having problem solving experience and tool access in the inbound department. Basically confirming what Alkydere said here. You have to prove to some manager that you can be trusted and have ability to remove headaches from everyone else consistently. Yuwe fucked around with this message at 06:31 on Sep 23, 2023 |
|
#
?
Sep 23, 2023 06:28
|
|
|
Smile, don't let management know the true depths you despise them, offer free candy (not even joking: hard and/or sour candies will make you popular), and generally make sure you're solving more problems than you cause. Maybe wear the Ambassador vest for a bit and train new hires for a bit. Eventually a manager will notice you and offer to "take you out of path" and give you an "indirect" job where your job is basically chill out and unfuck poo poo. You no longer have to deal with a rate and basically 95% of the time you show up and halfass poo poo. The other 5% something explodes in a new and creative way and its your job to hold back the tears until you can unfuck it.
|
|
#
?
Sep 23, 2023 06:37
|
|
|
I guess I'm sort of an unusual case in that I got put on problem solve very quickly and got to skip being an ambassador entirely. I'm not even sure my first manager even liked me (or anyone actually) all that much.
|
|
#
?
Sep 23, 2023 07:29
|
|
|
Almost everything I see local for Amazon is fulfillment warehouse and seasonal. How hard is it to survive and get to normal employment?
|
|
#
?
Sep 23, 2023 09:42
|
|
|
Used to be they'd fire white badge seasonals right after the holidays (hence the name) but after COVID it became at my warehouse that seasonals are just baby workers and there's at least one blue-badge opportunity nearly every month. Mainly it means you get less benefits/time off and $0.50/hr less these days. Usually the process takes about 3 months so if you get hired now you probably won't be a blue badge associate until 2024. If you can stand working night shift, do that for the best job security: Amazon can never get enough people at nights and you get an additional shift differential on your wages. You will be full time though if you want. Amazon absolutely does not gently caress you over on hours. You have a fixed schedule and the only control your direct manager has is if they approve any vacation usage faster than the system's 24 hour auto-accept. Anyways, if you can deal with repetitive, physical activities and know how to hydrate you'll probably be fine. Some advice: -Watch your unpaid time (UPT). Go negative and you're at risk for being fired. Will be easier come the 1st when you earn 5 minutes/hour instead of 3, so a 10 hour shift is nearly a full hour of time off. -If you're tired/sore/etc. feel free to leave an hour or two early if you have time. Rest and recover before you hurt yourself. -If you're leaving early you don't have to tell anyone stories about relatives in the hospital: Management only really cares about having a heads up so they can plan and if you have enough time to cover your own time off. -Dress for an entire shift of being active. No one cares how ugly you look in baggy athletics clothes as long as it's not baggy enough to get caught in machinery. -Operations (PAs, AMs, OMs) have a job of getting you to go fast. Honestly figure out what other people are doing and you just have to be in the top half. If they tell you to do 100 units/hour, but you're only doing 75-80 while others are doing 40-50 then you're not the problem no matter how much they bitch. Doubly so if your quality is high (i.e. you're not making a lot of fuckups for others to clean up) Alkydere fucked around with this message at 10:55 on Sep 23, 2023 |
|
#
?
Sep 23, 2023 10:50
|
|
|
To be fair, that’s every retail job: just keep your head down and gently caress up less than everyone else.
|
|
#
?
Sep 23, 2023 12:55
|
|
|
Merchandiser Supervisor: "No overtime is allowed, period. Text me your hours if you're getting close so we can adjust." Also Merchandiser Supervisor: "It's Saturday/Sunday so someone called in, do these stores extra and overtime is fine." I've worked every single Saturday and Sunday since April besides two weekends and those were because I requested them off. Sure would be nice if I could have a 3-4 good day sometimes, or even the day off.
|
|
#
?
Sep 23, 2023 13:37
|
|
|
Eric the Mauve posted:AM is the worst job in the world. It's basically hazing. You get worked to death on a low, low salary, such that you'll almost certainly be taking a pay cut on a per-hour basis. Being the padding between the SM and the serfs is extremely hazardous to your mental health. Do not recommend. In our company we have 4 level of manager actually in store, Assistant Manager, Store Manager I, Store Manager II, Senior Store Manager. Only SSMs are salary. And it turns out it might be sooner. And in this case.... We have locations in the two state-run convention centers in the city. Right now the smaller CC's location is temporarily closed due to staffing while the big CC location (inside the MUCH LARGER CC) does all of the work supporting the hotel locations. The way the org structure works when fully staffed, the two CC locations operate as one unit, with the SM at the big CC and the AM running the smaller CC and staff (including managers) shifting between the two depending on level of business and what conventions/conferences are on site. To start I will be at the smaller CC supporting the 3 nearby hotels with one other coworker in my current supervisory role, with the store itself remaining closed to the public until further staff are hired. The DM knows I will not take a promotion that would make me salary. cephalopods posted:One of the first things I came to understand when I started working in retail 10 years ago was that I should take annoying problems to the store director or salaried middle managers because, unlike department managers, they're not busy with anything useful. Middle manager paid hourly, essentially.
|
|
#
?
Sep 24, 2023 13:43
|
|
|
Wait so they're... giving you more responsibility, but also paying you better and giving you more permissions? They're not just giving you a "manager" position so they can squeeze you for more work without paying you more, and then blame you if things go badly? Truly revolutionary business culture.
|
|
#
?
Sep 24, 2023 16:13
|
|
|
Three different people in one store with a Store Manager title?? 
|
|
#
?
Sep 24, 2023 16:16
|
|
|
Eric the Mauve posted:Three different people in one store with a Store Manager title?? Nah, only one of the SM titles will be in a store, which one you are depends on your store level (SM1 is level 1, SM2 is level 2, SSM is level 3 and Flagship). Of level 1 & 2 stores, only Hotel locations get an AM. Also our dress code is stricter for hotels and convention centers, no jeans allowed (only black slacks), uniform shirts must be tucked in. Managers are allowed business casual in standalone but have to wear dress shoes and a button up shirt (for men) at hotels. Women are allowed a little more latitude. I've gotten away with heels and a skirt at the hotels.
|
|
#
?
Sep 24, 2023 18:47
|
|
|
20 years ago when I started working in retail the uniform at pretty much every Australian retailer was basically business attire. I wore dress pants, dress shoes, white shirt and company tie. In winter if you wanted to be warmer you wore a suit; or at least a business appropriate sweater vest. Supervisors on the front end wore green waistcoats so they’d stand out. Ladies wore scarves like air hostesses. Everything was expected to be nicely ironed, shoes polished, neatly groomed with rules on hairstyle and colour. Certainly no tats visible. Now it’s just jeans or chinos and a polo and nobody gives a gently caress about your hairstyle or your tats. The latter is an improvement but I’d go back to wearing a tie if I could.
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2023 04:26
|
|
|
We used to have a uniform (blue polo and black pants) but they changed it shortly before the pandemic to whatever you want as long as it's not shorts and graphic tees. It's so nice wearing jeans.
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2023 05:55
|
|
|
I actually hate wearing jeans (the pockets are so bad wtf) so I'm not bothered that our dress code still requires black pants or khakis. We used to have to wear polos but now the company gives us a new t-shirt every few months The only problem is that we're still technically supposed to wear our name badges even though we don't use them to clock in anymore, but you can't really clip a nametag to a shirt without a collar. The revised dress code specifically calls out fresh departments and says we're not allowed to use lanyards. No reason given, naturally.
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2023 09:01
|
|
|
Lanyards are a choking hazard if they get caught in equipment, plus nobody wants that dangling in their food. Most places I’ve worked also say no big dangly earrings (studs and bars are fine) and if you wear any kind of necklace it’s gotta be tight fitting or under your shirt while you work. e: my current job specifically gives out those little retractable holders you can clip to your shirt/belt for this exact reason Coasterphreak fucked around with this message at 09:45 on Sep 25, 2023 |
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2023 09:42
|
|
|
When we had the option to use a lanyard I think I had it on for 2 days before getting annoyed with it and going back to my badge.
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2023 10:34
|
|
|
Time to navigate the waters of actively transitioning in a retail environment with regulars who are entirely too much up in my business already as it is (no lady, I don't want a ride to work. You buying smokes from me every day does not mean I know or trust you). Thank goodness management is good and on my side, if a touch confused. But hoo boy, the clientele is predominantly elderly, and predominantly all hopped up on Jesus. Should be fun.
|
|
#
?
Sep 26, 2023 02:13
|
|
|
As someone who is told on a weekly basis a customer is going to report me to head office for wearing the wrong name badge, godspeed. Fortunately for me our store manager (who was pushed up from first assistant against her wishes) recently quit to the surprise of absolutely no-one and we're getting our old gay store manager back who's been trying to get back into our store for a full year at this point. I remember a few years back actually thinking he was going to physically attack a customer trying to start poo poo with me, though in the end he just frog marched them out the door and locked it after chucking them out.
|
|
#
?
Sep 26, 2023 02:29
|
|
|
njsykora posted:we're getting our old gay store manager back who's been trying to get back into our store for a full year at this point. Oh poo poo, you actually work at the gay store?!
|
|
#
?
Sep 26, 2023 02:38
|
|
|
Yeah I'm responsible for the increased gay sales in the last few years. My best decision was signing Lil Nas X to the gay roster, he's done a lot of good marketing work for us. Still got to work on the trans side of things, Laverne Fox was a disappointment but high hopes for how things are trending after we brought in Kim Petras.
|
|
#
?
Sep 26, 2023 02:41
|
|
|
I think my favorite bigot customer is the one who just laid into me about how everything is too woke now because he couldn't find any birthday cards that specifically addressed a wife and how apparently you can't even say wife or husband anymore. "That section is handled by a separate vendor, and we've been having trouble getting them to come out and restock, so we may be low on a few things" was just completely ignored, as he complained about the kids these days, unknowingly, to a gay trans man who is almost 40. Once I finally grey rocked my way through that interaction, I scooted over to the card section. Shuffled down to the For Her part of said section. And immediately found three different birthday cards specifying they were for someone's wife.
|
|
#
?
Sep 26, 2023 02:56
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 2, 2024 13:57 |
|
|
The thing I always try to remember about those kinds of people is that they're not actually looking for something, they just want to complain at someone and retail workers are a nice captive audience for whatever conspiracy they read about on Facebook that morning.
|
|
#
?
Sep 26, 2023 03:02
|
|