A Case Of The Mondays: Vent Your Work Spleen Here

[Guest]

5 hours ago, MrSmith said:

I would just like to take a minute to complain about the cyclomatic complexity of software. I get that the software is supposedly more easily readable and maintainable than it is with a higher complexity score. I'm just not sure I'm entirely on board with that idea.

I would just like to take a minute to complain about cyclomatic complexity posts.  I get that the posts are supposedly more easily readable with a higher complexity score. I'm just not sure I'm entirely on board with that idea. :P

5 hours ago, MrSmith said:

 Anyway, that is all. I now return you to your regularly scheduled work complaints. :D

I was just telling someone at work today that the problem was that IT was too used to me (a user) writing their specs and that no other user could do it and someone else had to learn how the software worked because I didn't have time to be the user to IT translator anymore.  Now I think I understand what regular users feel like when talking to IT.

[MrSmith]

1 hour ago, ParadoxLost said:

I would just like to take a minute to complain about cyclomatic complexity posts.  I get that the posts are supposedly more easily readable with a higher complexity score. I'm just not sure I'm entirely on board with that idea. :P

I was just telling someone at work today that the problem was that IT was too used to me (a user) writing their specs and that no other user could do it and someone else had to learn how the software worked because I didn't have time to be the user to IT translator anymore.  Now I think I understand what regular users feel like when talking to IT.

LOL. I'm sorry it's like that for you. My users don't have that problem. I'd rather they not get technical, anyway. The only things I want them to do is tell me what they want it to do and what they want it to look like. I'll worry about the technical aspects and they can worry about testing it and telling me where it needs improvement.

[Guest]

47 minutes ago, MrSmith said:

LOL. I'm sorry it's like that for you. My users don't have that problem. I'd rather they not get technical, anyway. The only things I want them to do is tell me what they want it to do and what they want it to look like. I'll worry about the technical aspects and they can worry about testing it and telling me where it needs improvement.

Yeah that's not my IT department.  When there is a problem that any user has reported I've actually had (multiple times) IT share their screen and ask me to read their code to debug it.  I have no idea where they got the idea that I could do that, but apparently I can. 

I guess that one required class in college where we had to learn Pascal (25 years after it was invented) had a use after all. 

[MrSmith]

@ParadoxLost I wonder why your IT department functions that way. The only reasons I can think of are that either your developers aren't that skilled (and probably leave for better pay when they are) or you're not actually dealing with the developers directly. If you're not dealing with the developers, then it's probably some level of end-user support, which to me means the developers are telling them to ask you for this information. And if that's the case, I still find that strange because I would never ask our end-user support people to ask such questions. At worst, I would ask them to have the user perform some additional steps to gather more information for me, and in such a case no one other than myself is going to be asked to do any kind of interpretation of it or to have any understanding of it If your developers aren't that skilled, then your company would do well to spend a little more money on developer pay and hire some mid- or senior-level developers.

Anyway, here's a screenshot of the function I had to refactor yesterday. It required some creativity on my part to get the complexity down 4 points (from 24 to 20). I thought I would share it for anyone who might be interested and simply because I'm proud of the work.

Edited to add: There's another function after this one that I had to refactor, as well, in order to bring its complexity score down from 28 to 20. It's longer, though, and would require a couple of screenshots. So won't be posted.

Edited September 29, 2017 by MrSmith

[Guest]

@MrSmith  Nope.  I'm certainly dealing with the developers.  I led the functional implementation of the software so I know who does what.  They've split our the support for users into "technical" and "functional".  The "technical" has gotten used me being able to write in a pseudo code that they can pretty easily understand and implement so that has become the requirement for anything to get done.   The "functional" hasn't learned enough to replace the service I was providing on behalf of the users for "technical" and basically acts like a project manager who reports that there is a list of stuff and nothing is happening. 

I do actually think that the "technical" side is using this dynamic to manage the workload without exposing that they don't have the bandwidth or resources to execute on everything people want in addition to the unglamorous regular maintenance.

[walnutqueen]

I worked in City government for 25 years, and interacted with every department in the City, including Police and Emergency Services.  My absolute favorite people, from the first year we had ONE tech support guy until it was a large department, were my IT peeps.  They all had a great sense of humor, were patient & helpful, and made my frustrations disappear.  I went to great lengths to entertain them in my oddball little satellite facility, and made damned sure everyone in a position of authority knew about my constant appreciation.  They were the only people I actually socialized with outside the workplace - well, with the exception of a dalliance with an Environmental Engineering temp (don't judge, I was in one of my infrequent hormonal states).  They never felt the need to make me feel small with their techno-jargon, which made them supremely human in my eyes.  I still have a soft spot for problem solvers.  ;-)

[theredhead77]

This isn't a vent but I'm not sure where else to share it (and I'd rather keep it with a bunch of virtual friends for now).
Three weeks into my [original] job my boss had me go to some meetings so I could meet the rest of the people who do what we do across the country. During that dinner one of the managers asked me how I felt about moving to PA and going to work for corporate. At the time I said I was flattered but I just started, talk to me if/when he was serious, oh, and "I don't snow".

Last year a position at corporate opened up. He told me to apply and I did. We were being acquired and merging companies and the position disappeared.

He was a huge reason why I got my current position. When I told him I was applying he told me it was about damn time I moved up and sent a note to my current boss basically telling him to hire me.

Fast forward to this week. I was invited to a 2 day workshop at corporate by a VP. Despite just moving I couldn't turn it down. It was a good use of my time to participate and network. I learned all eyes are on me (no pressure, eh?) and I also learned that manager, who is now a Director, still wants me to come work for him. I was talking with him about my concerns with my new role, I'm the third person in 3 years to take this position, the other two people were demoted into administrative roles. He told me what happened with the other two and that I am the right person for the job but if I feel like it's not working he'll find a place for me in corporate. I told him he'll have to wait two years or buy out my relo agreement. He said he's certain for a promotion within the company my relo agreement for my move to GA wouldn't be an issue.

It's nice to be wanted, to know I have the full support of corporate and that if this doesn't work out I have options beyond going into a demoted admin role (I wouldn't, I'd just move back to CA and leave the company).

[JTMacc99]

That is a lot of positive feedback, and I'm glad they are giving it to you!

[emma675]

I am soooo not looking forward to tomorrow. Our office went through a massive, surprise round of layoffs last week (I still have a job) and is doing a big re-org of our department. Tomorrow we all learn what our new roles are and what the new department structure is. Plus, I didn't hear back last week from the job where I had completed two rounds of interviews. Perhaps a week is too soon to hear back at this stage but after the previous two rounds I heard back in a matter of days.

I need to start playing the lottery more seriously.

Edited October 1, 2017 by emma675d

[Petunia13]

My check this week from my old location was short by a big amount. I called and got BS then told they'd call back (but didn't) so that's fun- I'm gonna have to call and pester them and maybe even drop in to bitch about the $700 they owe me and then the check for the difference will come like a week or more later if I'm lucky. 

? They shorted me last week too. 

I have to get new brakes and other expenses THIS week so wtf. 

[Mindthinkr]

44 minutes ago, Petunia13 said:

My check this week from my old location was short by a big amount. I called and got BS then told they'd call back (but didn't) so that's fun- I'm gonna have to call and pester them and maybe even drop in to bitch about the $700 they owe me and then the check for the difference will come like a week or more later if I'm lucky. 

? They shorted me last week too. 

I have to get new brakes and other expenses THIS week so wtf. 

I would also make contact by email. Or snail mail (registered return receipt). You need to document your efforts in case you need to fight for your money. It shows that you made every effort. It also shows them that you mean business. 

[bilgistic]

WTF? If it's the same company, how can they do that?

[Mindthinkr]

20 minutes ago, bilgistic said:

WTF? If it's the same company, how can they do that?

I think that they thought that they could get away with it with her because they got away with it the first time .

[Petunia13]

Yes and it's a passive aggressive move to make me come back and grovel or whine. 

Everyone else there takes tons of personal time and vacation days...supervisor has taken 40 vacation days from June to today. I know damn well that was paid. But lord forbid I take a couple and oopsy they forgot. 

I am very busy at my new location. I'm training people and auditing a new store. I'm meeting tons of new people a day. So I'm already focused on other stuff and tired.  

[auntlada]

How much control does the company have over that location? How much will it harm you at your new location if you report the old location to your state department of labor?

[emma675]

Could you ask someone in HR at your new location to intervene on your behalf? I'd be furious.

I finally got a call from the place I've been interviewing with over the past few weeks--they want me back for the third and final round of interviews. Yay! And luckily they want to set it up either later next week or the week after because I'm interviewing with a director and the CEO, so I've got to do some studying.

[Mindthinkr]

15 minutes ago, emma675 said:

Could you ask someone in HR at your new location to intervene on your behalf? I'd be furious.

I finally got a call from the place I've been interviewing with over the past few weeks--they want me back for the third and final round of interviews. Yay! And luckily they want to set it up either later next week or the week after because I'm interviewing with a director and the CEO, so I've got to do some studying.

May I please ask what field of work that you are in? Good luck! 

[DeLurker]

20 minutes ago, emma675 said:

Could you ask someone in HR at your new location to intervene on your behalf?

Chances are the old location in already known to be difficult - it is the culture of that store. 

I'd simply write them a letter/e-mail about both shortages and send it off to whoever is in charge of that plus the highest manager at that location and explain you need the money owed you sent immediately by next day mail because you need to pay for urgent repairs on your vehicle*.  Spell out that you are submitting a written request so that their records can properly document their records.

If a response and the money is not received within a reasonable amount of time, find out who is in charge of the payroll function for that store (on a district level) and send them and the district manager the letter with a cover letter (cc'ing old location) and request this matter be addressed immediately as you have critical expenses that rely on a timely resolution to the matter.

*establishes why the matter cannot be resolved in a drawn out time frame.

I really hope that the new location is a better environment for you.

[langway]

At my company, you get vacation, sick, personal time, etc. How much depends on when you start. I started in January so I got all the bells and whistles, except for sick and personal time, which you're not given till you are out of your probationary period (90 days) after that, you're given however many sick days and 1 personal day. Considering I started in January, I got the full 7 days of sick time after my probation period, plus 15 days of vacation. A coworker of mine (well, now former, that's a whole other post) started in late May/early June, so she was given 5 vacation days, and when she was 90 days in, she would be given 5 sick days and 1 personal day. She wanted to take a 2 week vacation in July. She was told she had 5 days of vacation. If she wanted that time off, it would have to be unpaid. She made a huge fuss, went over my GM's head to his boss's boss, and called HR. So they made an "exception" (one of the MANY MANY exceptions this woman was given despite not giving any fucks about her job) and allowed her to use her sick and personal time before it even kicked in. So she used all of her time. And I know that she had already used at least 3 of those days because she called out anytime she had to go up to training, and always got paid for it, so how the fuck could she take 2 and a half weeks of vacation? And then, at the mid point of September, she calls out for an entire week, claiming to have strep throat. I KNOW they paid her for it because I heard her talking to our fill-in manager (the head honcho of our district, actually) and thanking her for allowing her to still be paid for the week and that she really appreciated it.

 

Meanwhile, I called out because my cousin tried to kill himself, fill-in lady was nice about it, and the following week he was entering a rehabilitation facility and I wanted to be there for him. I called the day before to let her know, and she had a huge issue with this because 3 people had called out in the span of 4 days, as if that was my problem. And I almost never call out unless I'm shitting my guts out or puking. She said she'd allow me to use my time if I came in for the "safety meeting" and left right after. This basically meant that I couldn't even go with my cousin, but your damn right I used the day anyways. Asshole. 

 

But yeah, former coworker decided 2 months in that the hours of our branch (10-7:30, working weekends, etc) wasn't a good fit for her. Considering in past years people have used our grocery store branches as a quick stepping stone to go to a traditional branch, you're required to work 1 year in your branch before you can start applying to other branches within our company (this includes traditional branches, as well). You can request permission to apply to other branches, however, almost no one gets approved. This bitch managed to get approved to apply to other branches. So she does that, does not get hired by any of the managers she interviewed with. She apparently put in her two weeks notice two weeks ago (how ironic, I guess when she was dying of strep throat, she had time to go to interviews) and said she "didn't want anyone to know, especially not Langway" why she pointed me out, I have no idea. We were actually buddies and we would hang out outside of work, she's a cool chick to chill with, but she's awful to work with (she does nothing but her schoolwork all day long, doesn't help out at all, just not an ideal coworker. None of the people I work with are). This past Sunday was supposed to be her last day. Our new manager and the head honcho lady "convinced" her to stay the day before (Saturday). And then Monday morning, a new schedule was texted to everyone, with her work times being 9-5:30 every single day, even on Saturdays. Why are we bending over backwards for someone who doesn't even wanna be here? I was prepared to call HR and complain about nepotism, but when I came in on Tuesday, my other coworker texted me saying she wasn't there, was supposed to be at 9, it was 10:30, and then our new manager called and said she's "no longer with us as of Monday" so I have no idea wtf happened. Apparently we're going to have a branch meeting on Friday and we're going to discuss why she left. Gotta make a show out of it, I guess.

[emma675]

Mindthinkr, I'm in corporate marketing.

 

langway, let us know how the meeting turned out! I'm always so curious/nosy about instances like this when corporate bends over for someone who obviously breaks the rules and isn't a good hire. When I'm new to a job I follow all of the rules to a T (unless it's a true emergency) so I'm not being an undependable employee and making it more difficult on my new colleagues.

[Hanahope]

1 hour ago, langway said:

Considering I started in January, I got the full 7 days of sick time after my probation period, plus 15 days of vacation. A coworker of mine (well, now former, that's a whole other post) started in late May/early June, so she was given 5 vacation days, and when she was 90 days in, she would be given 5 sick days and 1 personal day. She wanted to take a 2 week vacation in July. She was told she had 5 days of vacation. If she wanted that time off, it would have to be unpaid. She made a huge fuss, went over my GM's head to his boss's boss, and called HR. So they made an "exception" (one of the MANY MANY exceptions this woman was given despite not giving any fucks about her job) and allowed her to use her sick and personal time before it even kicked in

So first, I hate companies that give you 1/3 of the vacation time even though you worked more than half of the year.  If you worked half a year, you should be given half the vacation time.  That would have solved some of the problem. 

Second, if you are starting a new job and know you're taking a vacation within the first 3 months, its only courtesy to say so right when you are accepting the job and 'work out' the vacation/paid time off issue before you actually start.  I've done that and its never been a problem, since I brought it up when I was offered the job.  I wouldn't mention it during the interview because you never know how long it will take a place to make a decision, it might be moot.

As to why they were willing to accomodate her, perhaps one reason is the hassle of having to interview and train another new person.  I've seen a lot of places seem to bend over backwards for a bad employee because they didn't want to be without a body doing at least some work, and having to interview and train a replacement.  IMO, it never works out because the bad employee ends up quitting at the worst possible time for everyone else, and they still have to interview and train a new person.

[langway]

1 hour ago, Hanahope said:

So first, I hate companies that give you 1/3 of the vacation time even though you worked more than half of the year.  If you worked half a year, you should be given half the vacation time.  That would have solved some of the problem. 

Second, if you are starting a new job and know you're taking a vacation within the first 3 months, its only courtesy to say so right when you are accepting the job and 'work out' the vacation/paid time off issue before you actually start.  I've done that and its never been a problem, since I brought it up when I was offered the job.  I wouldn't mention it during the interview because you never know how long it will take a place to make a decision, it might be moot.

As to why they were willing to accomodate her, perhaps one reason is the hassle of having to interview and train another new person.  I've seen a lot of places seem to bend over backwards for a bad employee because they didn't want to be without a body doing at least some work, and having to interview and train a replacement.  IMO, it never works out because the bad employee ends up quitting at the worst possible time for everyone else, and they still have to interview and train a new person.

I completely agree. In this case, though, it screwed over the chick who started the same day she did because she wasn't offered to use her days early, or get extra days, for that matter. 

When she first started , she told me she had a vacation planned but was too afraid to say anything in the interview/when she was hired because she was afraid she wouldn't get the job. She didn't tell them until a month before her vacation. 

That's a good theory, but in my first month there, we lost 3 people in 3 consecutive weeks and they didn't offer them anything to stay. One was an absolutely incredible employee who I still believe they should have at least offered more money to. We had a girl leave in late July and she wasn't offered anything either. They have no problems letting the door hit people on the way out, even in dire circumstances where we're left with 2 employees, so I don't know why they'd all of a sudden be bending over backwards to keep her here when her numbers were awful and she provided nothing to the team. Her being gone is the same with her being here, basically. 

Edited October 5, 2017 by langway

[Hanahope]

26 minutes ago, langway said:

When she first started , she told me she had a vacation planned but was too afraid to say anything in the interview/when she was hired because she was afraid she wouldn't get the job. She didn't tell them until a month before her vacation. 

I would think not saying anything when hired, then doing so right before hand, while still in 'probation' just gives them an excuse to terminate you during probation.  It is interesting that after being willing to let so many other employees go, they wanted to keep her so much.  Does make you wonder what she photos she had on someone, lol.

[hoosier80]

Langway, sounds like that chick has either an inside track or has something she can use as blackmail.  They're getting into deep shit territory by offering different benefits to certain people and not all.

Well, it's been a trying week, and not even done yet.  The Dip is setting up stuff for an upcoming event.  Some clients are participating, some not at all, and some partially.  You have to set up by product line, then if all of their product lines are set up, then you set up the client.  Again, the same question I've been asked a minimum of 6 times before - can't I just set up the client if it's all (one way or the other).  Nope, each product has to be set up, then the client.  Over and over questioning me if I'm correct.  I said try it - on two prior occasions.  Let Dip see system error preventing them from proceeding, and they still questioned it.  Go ask programming then, I'm done.    Well, I got an email of about 6 questions.  I said look at this event from last year - same basic scenario.  Nope, Dip used an event (not the same scenario) from this year.  Two clients weren't on the list they were using, plus they were all confused on the terminology.   Basically as simple as include or exclude.  Email came back "got me confused".  Yeah I got you confused.  Include and exclude - wtf.  The list that has to go to programming was all ass backwards, plus listed shit that didn't apply to this event (but did to earlier event this year - which is not the same scenario).   Most everything will remain the same, but if it's fucked up, it'll be a major ruckus.  This shit should have gone off to programming a week ago.  But it's so confusing!  Dip has been in this department for over 4 years now.   I don't know what to do at this point, and actually, not really my problem.  Dip needed to learn this a long time ago, develop their skills.  Management just looked the other way at their lack of ability, and didn't want to deal with it at all.  So it's your problem.  I'm trying to be like Switzerland for now, neutral as hell.  Just doing my little shit.  And honestly, I really don't give a rip as much as I did.  I do what needs done and that's about it.   Tired of having everything left for me to do, so now that some have to learn, fine I'll show  you, but you need to handle it and own it.

[emma675]

hoosier80, I have to ask (and I'm not trying to be snarky!), why do you keep answering Dip's emails and trying to help him? At this point, I'd just ignore all of his emails and when he came over in person I'd tell him it's his job and he should know this by now, you're too busy to keep showing him how to do it over and over. I feel like you've gone above and beyond covering his ass.

[Petunia13]

Aww I'll get my wed pay a week from tomorrow. How generous of them to get me my money I earned ten days past it's due. 

I only had to call and bitch at the labor union like 3x for that wonderful result. And today I learned my prospective (assistants male w no retail sales experience) will be making the same as me. That seems perfectly fair. And as lead I make the schedule. Now after all this time I can't and can't work the hours I have been. To accommodate them and their preferences. Yes let's have the woman with a very high education who's worked here for a while with no call offs or tardiness and perfect reviews and performance scores rearrange her life for 2 new dudes with no proven track records whimsy. Keep in mind I live in one of the wealthiest areas of the entire US and getting a person to work retail is impossible. Finding a person to work retail who's reliable, sharp, articulate, and not on drugs or a pervert in this area is rarer than a Croc Birkin.

Also there was a fun moment when a person I was training came to work with spray paint on his face. I told hr he's not with it and not a fit and they said over and over they are desperate for bodies and have faith. He's dumb as shit and disgusting beyond the obvious signs of huffing but if they are ok with trash working around families and children that's their choice. My last store a dept manager was arrested in store for molesting a customer. Then they wonder why this stuff happens. No accountability, on any level, and they reward the wrong people. They ignore problems which causes the good people to suffer and stay stagnant in their role or quit. 

you know I gave this company a shot I thought a new location would be better since I'd be away from my harassment but here it's more patriarchal bullshit and short sightedness. 

[theredhead77]

I really want to know what chain you work for so I can boycott it. I don't expect you to share that, but man, if I could ensure I don't give them a penny of my money I would.

[langway]

So we had our branch meeting on Friday.

New manager said an "ex employee" (as if we don't know) wrote a very long, lengthy email detailing how the branch is a cesspool of drama/gossip. Tbh I don't think our branch has any more drama or gossip than any other workplace (as seen just in this thread, lol) but whatever. Apparently so many shots were fired and this email was so damning that our manager had second thoughts about running our branch, but decided she would take it in stride. She said "no more drama, gossip, whatever". She also said that this ex employee "feared for her livelihood and losing her job" ROFL. Well, yeah, you should be when you don't do anything and sit at your desk doing your damn school work all day and do no work. She also mentioned "always having to look over her shoulder" I guess she the gist was that she was feeling harassed? She didn't go into actual specifics about what the email entailed though, which was kind of a bummer. I mean, if you're gonna come in and already have an opinion of us, shouldn't we at least get a chance to defend ourselves if anything specific was mentioned? She kept saying "I don't know if it's true" but you said specifically that you didn't think you could come to our branch, so clearly you believe the email, but whatever. Bygones. She also said this ex employee put in her two weeks notice, she usually doesn't ask about why someone is quitting, but was told by her boss to figure it out (if none of you have ever cared previously, why now?), and she was told by ex employee that it was a personal thing, manager asked what could she do to get her to stay, ex employee said change her hours, so that's what they did. We were not given a reason why they decided to do this for her (I guess technically we are not really owed an explanation, so I understand). Then she quit officially, and then manager got that email and was gobsmacked.

Then today I found out from our supervisor (who was also CC'd on that email) that the email wasn't bazooka type shots, just pistol ones, and it was more or less all targeted towards The Dolt that I had posted about before (the one with the money orders and all that shit). No names were mentioned but "it was obviously about The Dolt" The Dolt and ex employee have beef because The Dolt is a dolt, number 1, and number 2, is constantly sticking her nose where it doesn't belong, and number 3, has no fucking filter and just says whatever springs to mind. The Dolt took it to the higher ups a few weeks ago that ex employee was constantly late and taking 2 hour lunch breaks and nothing was being done about it. I can understand that, it frustrated the hell out of me too, but I took it to my supervisor and I let it go because I did my part. I'm not gonna harp on it; I'm going to focus on myself (I say this while reporting drama to the internet rofl I'm sorry, I just have to get this out; I try not to talk about work with anybody because this is a small town and I ain't playing he said/she said games)

The Dolt called the higher ups about the schedule (the whole 9-5:30 thing), I assume on Monday morning when the new schedule came out, citing unfairness and bending over backwards for someone who doesn't do anything except sit on her butt and collect a paycheck (apparently this is verbatim, but idk). Somehow, ex employee caught wind of this (I'm assuming my supervisor was the leak) and decided just to quit that day, and send an email where she said, verbatim, "There are certain individuals that work here that think I'm receiving a better treatment because of everything you guys did for me" Yeah, well, no shit? You kinda just said it yourself. Lol, you're working non-traditional and you don't have to stay later than 5:30, while the rest of us are staying til 8pm every night, you get bonus days off that the rest of us don't get. If it were reversed, she would be pissed. But tbh I can leave this branch in January and with the career path I'm going, I kinda have to to beef up my resume (new manager seems to really like me, so I'm hoping I can get her to approve me for a transfer sooner rather than later). My supervisor gave me the gist and wouldn't let me see the email, the bastard, but said it was clearly aimed and fired at The Dolt and as far as he knew, ex employee never had an issue with me. I liked her as a person, but my god, was she a pain to work with. Sucks we had to have an entire meeting about this when no names were mentioned, no specifics were gone over, and it's all her experience which was a tumultuous one in the few months she was here. I feel badly that she felt harassed by The Dolt. 

Since we're speaking of The Dolt, since she got here she alone is a whopping -$800.00 on teller differences. Apparently she's getting a write up for that. Finally. Same with the other idiot who is -$900.00 since he got here. Idiots. All of them.

[DeLurker]

11 hours ago, langway said:

Since we're speaking of The Dolt, since she got here she alone is a whopping -$800.00 on teller differences. Apparently she's getting a write up for that. Finally. Same with the other idiot who is -$900.00 since he got here. Idiots. All of them.

WTF?  When I was a cashier at a grocery store (at the dawn of recorded history) and pre-scanning, etc..., if you were short on your till ten cents 3 times, you were fired.  No exceptions.

[bilgistic]

Yes! When I worked at Worst Buy in college, a young woman cashier was fired because her "drawer" was $300 short. It turned out that the customer service manager was stealing small amounts of money from tills and bank deposits over a long period of time. Did they apologize to the young woman and ask her to come back to work? I think you know the answer to that question.

[langway]

1 hour ago, DeLurker said:

WTF?  When I was a cashier at a grocery store (at the dawn of recorded history) and pre-scanning, etc..., if you were short on your till ten cents 3 times, you were fired.  No exceptions.

Same when I worked at Staples. They were never strict about not sharing registers, so if someone pops on your drawer and makes a twenty dollar fuck up, that's on both of the cashiers. I guess the issue was that we haven't had a manager in over a month, and Dolt had a really bad September as far as her drawer goes. However, the other idiot was short or over a ton while we had a manager, so that's on him for not reprimanding that employee. These people don't even bat an eyelash when they have a difference. I was spazzing the other day over 10 cents and spent a half hour looking for it (I did find it eventually though.) The Dolt was short another $600 or so last week, I believe, so that's put her over a thousand difference wise, so she might get automatic probation, or possibly even fired. Our new manager takes no shit and does everything by the book, so good luck to the idiots I work with.

[bilgistic]

It would bother me greatly if I was off by a few cents (I worked the "bitch and complain desk" [return and exchange desk]). I always kept a little bit of change in my pocket to balance my drawer if it was off.

[Hanahope]

I remember being short some cents when I worked cashier at Burger King as a teen.  If it was less than $1, no one cared.  If it was more, you'd get booted off the cashier position for a month (and you might not get it back).  I just can't imagine anyone being ok with being short anywhere by hundreds of dollars.

[theredhead77]

Like many, I worked a bunch of retail positions. Some were more lenient in their discrepancies than others.  I remember getting written up at Fry's over 25 cents, the fucking quarter fell and I couldn't find it.
I was fired from a coffee cart because the coin change in the drawer was a different amount at the end of the shift than at the beginning. Uh, what? The drawer balanced but since there was a discrepancy in coin count I was stealing.

Edited October 11, 2017 by theredhead77

[bilgistic]

That's asinine.

[ratgirlagogo]

22 hours ago, langway said:

Since we're speaking of The Dolt, since she got here she alone is a whopping -$800.00 on teller differences. Apparently she's getting a write up for that. Finally. Same with the other idiot who is -$900.00 since he got here. Idiots. All of them.

I'm as confused as the other posters here.  These are actual shortages or are they overrings?

[MrSmith]

On 10/10/2017 at 11:53 AM, bilgistic said:

Yes! When I worked at Worst Buy in college, a young woman cashier was fired because her "drawer" was $300 short. It turned out that the customer service manager was stealing small amounts of money from tills and bank deposits over a long period of time. Did they apologize to the young woman and ask her to come back to work? I think you know the answer to that question.

My wife was fired from Dairy Queen at 18 yo because the manager was stealing from the tills and made it look like the employees were the ones stealing. Eventually, the manager was caught, fired, and prosecuted, but of course there's never anything said to the former employees. To this day, my wife hates Dairy Queen. She's 41.

[bilgistic]

I still hate Worst Buy (can you tell?). I'm 42. I worked there half my life ago. I quit before Christmas Eve (bwa ha ha!) of my senior year because I would be student teaching in the spring semester, and it would be impossible for me to work with the hours required of student teaching. (I didn't go into teaching. See also: I hate kids.) My spring semester didn't start until the second week of January, but I wasn't working another December 26 at the returns desk.

They "needed" me to work 35 hours a week while I was a full-time junior and then senior; meanwhile, they were hiring new employees at higher rate than mine and the other current employees'. And the manager stealing from tills debacle... Hate!

Edited October 11, 2017 by bilgistic

[langway]

22 hours ago, ratgirlagogo said:

I'm as confused as the other posters here.  These are actual shortages or are they overrings?

These are actual shortages. I don't know how they are still employed here.

 

I just had the worst end to the day. We have another new person (well, he's been around for quite a few weeks now) and he still didn't have a teller drawer. We got him one today, we were trying to get the other teller off so he could get on (which didn't happen til 7pm, a half hour before we close) and a regular customer (who is so difficult) came in and I kind of whispered to my new manager that she is annoying and complicated, so we move her over to me. In the midst of this, this customer mentions how she was given an extra $700.00 the last time she was here and brought it back and gave it back to the teller. This obviously raises alarm bells, new manager starts questioning her, the customer is starting to feel interrogated, that conversation ends, I begin the transaction. In the middle of this long and complicated transaction that she always does when she comes in, another customer walks up, wants something complicated, instead of going to get my supervisor to help the new guy do it, she tells the customer that they're gonna wait for me to be done with the client I am currently with. I ask, "Can supervisor not help?" I meant this as "Is he busy? Can you grab him to help new guy?" This woman has been harping that our customer service survey scores are completely garbage, and wait time is a huge part of it. I was thinking of not only my own customer service scores because if I'm doing the transaction, that's gonna fall on me, but the branch as a whole because I'm sick on being in the red on our scores.

All hell breaks loose with this comment. The customer asked for one of our free tote bags, my manager comes up and says "No, you can have a pen and that's it" (that's gonna fall on me in the survey department!) Then she brings me to the back and starts berating me for my "disrespectful comment". I ask her to explain. She says the "Can coworker not help?" line was "disrespectful". I tell her it wasn't meant to be disrespectful, I respect the hell out of you, I'm worried about our scores, I don't want our customers waiting for long periods of time when it can be avoided. She said "But you shouldn't say that in front of a customer! Had you said "Manager, can supervisor come help?" that would have been much much better." I apologized AGAIN for my wording, say again it was never meant to be disrespectful. And then she starts going off that "I took it as you're tired of me and wanted to disrespect me!" I started to get defensive at this point because this woman, who I really do respect, is berating me and going the fuck off. Guys, I did every fucking thing on this woman's list today, and more, with a fucking smile on my face. She worked me like a dog and I was fine with it! I apologize AGAIN and say that there's serious miscommunication here. I was feeling really awful at this point because I get along with this woman swimmingly, and I was feeling hella attacked and like a punching bag because she's quickly realizing that she bit off far far more than she can chew with this branch and the general dysfunction that is here. I'm a sensitive person and when someone I'm good with feels hurt by something I say it makes me feel awful, so me being me, I start to cry, and then she more or less berates me for that. I get it, this branch is a shitshow, we are A LOT busier than the branch you were previously at, you can't hack it here, you have little to no idea how to fix the issues, you have The Dolt being a dolt, you have The Idiot being an idiot, you can't tell your ass from your face right now, but it gives you no reason to treat me like your personal punching bag. I'm doing everything I can for you, for the branch, for my coworkers, we are a team. My priority is making sure this branch runs successfully and with little to no issues, and that I can make it out of here alive because come January, I am getting the fuck out. 

She left, we left it on decent terms, she admitted she might be overreacting, I admitted my wording was poor, and that was the end of it. My supervisor knew something was wrong with me, and being the good guy that he is, walked me to my car to make sure I didn't feel alone. I told him what happened and he said "That is fucked. Langway, you are not disrespectful. Not in the least. It wasn't a disrespectful comment to make, you were worried about the survey. We are lucky to have you here. You are amazing. I am so sorry your day had to end that way." I don't think he realized how much I needed to hear those words because now I'm tearing up just thinking about them. That's all I want is to feel appreciated. When I started here, I was thrust into a situation where we had 3 employees, 1 manager, 2 branches, one that had to be open everyday and one that had to be open at least for 20 hours per week. I had to learn everything on the fly and there were no ifs, ands, or buts. I've had to deal with some of the most inept people I have ever had to work with, get screamed at by customers for following policy, and various other things in the 9 months I have been here. No one has ever said to me "We are lucky to have you." in any job I've ever worked. Christ, today has been a roller coaster.

[MargeGunderson]

@langway, your day sounds like a shitshow so I'm glad it ended on a happy note. 

[emma675]

langway, remember this day when you quit in January. It will make walking out on that last day feel like the best thing you ever did.

[theredhead77]

Yikes @langway! 

One of the primary functions of my job uses a web form to set up customers with access to our website. It's not a complicated form and it's impossible to "breaK" or "delete" anything. My boss requested access and was denied, stating only people in my current (and former) roll are allowed to have it. So *I* requested access stating I needed to train him to cover for me when I go on vacation. Access DENIED with some long email justifying it. My boss uses SQL all day long, he's not going to fuck up a webform that you can't actually fuck up.

She ended the email with "you can just have us cover for you". Uh, no. Your team is useless, will not follow what we want to do to support our customers (which they already try and get after me about even though they have no say over me) and since I just started there is no way that I'm going to pass off my new teams to this department that sucks.

My boss is going over her head but if she makes a big enough stink I'm going to try an alternate person and if all else fails he'll be emailing them daily for nit-picky reports and I'll give him my credentials to use. There is no sensitive customer information that you can't access through our primary systems or extract from SQL.

[hoosier80]

This has been a shitty week.  We had some system upgrade and now several apps (web based) that are internal won't accept my password.  One was a non expiring password.  WTF.

Why do I help out the Dip?  Well, I'm supposed to be training her (yes, a woman - who is close to 70).  Why not retiring?  Needs the money, afraid she'll "catch the dementia" if she retires, plus this is her social outing.  If there's a party or gathering, she'll all over it.  Work, not so much.  

I had two or three requests which took me around 3 to 4 hours each to complete.  Two people on the team reviewed the data; one has screwed me over with their poor review previously (didn't find a mistake and it was escalated to senior management - even though I'd gone roughly 4 years with no errors).  Anyhow, took the one piss poor reviewer about 15 minutes and said "all done".  Reviewer two took a little longer.  Glad I took my time on the set up, and I also reviewed as I went along.  Just kills me - you royally fucked up a review, but obviously just breeze through anything like no big deal.  I would have been mortified, but maybe it's just me.  This person is always saying oh it's not that difficult.  Yeah, but you fuck it up.  So it is that difficult.  

I was so busy and overworked earlier in the week, I was ready to turn in my key card.  Then today, boss says oh we'll need to ramp up shit for 4th quarter, and he said oh I mean you - hoosier.   Fantastic.   I really need to get a windfall of some sort, then I could walk away.  I'm too old really to start over, plus who's to say another place wouldn't be as bad or worse.

[bilgistic]

Did you tell the Dip she's already caught "the dementia"?

[emma675]

Wait, the Dip is a she?? How did I think all this time Dip was a he? 

[bilgistic]

I thought the Dip was a he for...ever until I recently read one of @hoosier80's stories, and it included an identifying pronoun. I was, like, "HUH!" I guess it says something about me that I assume a lazy dumbass is a man. Ahem.

[Moose135]

26 minutes ago, bilgistic said:

I guess it says something about me that I assume a lazy dumbass is a man.

Given your recent work history, you can be forgiven for thinking that way. ;-)

[bilgistic]

Speaking of...

Because I use Chrome as my mobile browser, my homepage is the Google search page. And because my phone is a Nexus and I have therefore given my soul over to Google, there are customized articles on the homepage under the search bar. One such article was about my former company opening their new HQ in Austin. It's so high-tech...paperless...standing desks...no assigned seats...no tchotchkes on desks... It's what they wanted to do in our office long-term...as if I (or any non-broker support staff) would've been allowed to work anywhere but underneath my broker's nose.

I feel like I have PTSD thinking about all of it again. The HR rep still wants to talk to me about all that went on, and I'm ignoring her because I don't want to deal with it. I have no stake in it now. I might say to her, "I'll talk to you if you agree you will approve my unemployment claim," because otherwise, why bother? My sister, who is also an HR rep, says I should talk to the woman because I am someone who wants things to be better. But how long did I try to improve things? I just don't know.

I'm so glad I got out of there. I don't have a clue what I'm going to do next, but that's still so much better than walking into hell every day.

@hoosier80, you deserve better. I know how hard it is to see what an unhealthy and generally fucked-up workplace you're in when you're in the trenches, but what you are dealing with is not OK. Aside: Thank you to whoever recommended "Ask a Manager". I've been reading it daily and am beginning to see the difference between healthy and unhealthy workplaces.

[theredhead77]

6 hours ago, bilgistic said:

The HR rep still wants to talk to me about all that went on, and I'm ignoring her because I don't want to deal with it. I have no stake in it now. I might say to her, "I'll talk to you if you agree you will approve my unemployment claim," because otherwise, why bother? My sister, who is also an HR rep, says I should talk to the woman because I am someone who wants things to be better. But how long did I try to improve things? I just don't know.

1) they haven't approved your claim yet???

2) Never forget that HR is there to protect the company, they are not going to be 'on your side' even after all that went down.

[MrSmith]

8 hours ago, emma675 said:

Wait, the Dip is a she?? How did I think all this time Dip was a he? 

Take comfort. You are not alone. I thought the Dip was a he this entire time, too. To be honest, I'm actually disappointed the Dip is a she.

8 hours ago, bilgistic said:

I thought the Dip was a he for...ever until I recently read one of @hoosier80's stories, and it included an identifying pronoun. I was, like, "HUH!" I guess it says something about me that I assume a lazy dumbass is a man. Ahem.

LOL. Must say something about me, too! At least you know it's not necessarily a sexist thing. LOL

6 hours ago, bilgistic said:

Speaking of...

Because I use Chrome as my mobile browser, my homepage is the Google search page. And because my phone is a Nexus and I have therefore given my soul over to Google, there are customized articles on the homepage under the search bar. One such article was about my former company opening their new HQ in Austin. It's so high-tech...paperless...standing desks...no assigned seats...no tchotchkes on desks... It's what they wanted to do in our office long-term...as if I (or any non-broker support staff) would've been allowed to work anywhere but underneath my broker's nose.

I feel like I have PTSD thinking about all of it again. The HR rep still wants to talk to me about all that went on, and I'm ignoring her because I don't want to deal with it. I have no stake in it now. I might say to her, "I'll talk to you if you agree you will approve my unemployment claim," because otherwise, why bother? My sister, who is also an HR rep, says I should talk to the woman because I am someone who wants things to be better. But how long did I try to improve things? I just don't know.

I'm so glad I got out of there. I don't have a clue what I'm going to do next, but that's still so much better than walking into hell every day.

@hoosier80, you deserve better. I know how hard it is to see what an unhealthy and generally fucked-up workplace you're in when you're in the trenches, but what you are dealing with is not OK. Aside: Thank you to whoever recommended "Ask a Manager". I've been reading it daily and am beginning to see the difference between healthy and unhealthy workplaces.

I disagree with your sister. You don't owe that place jack shit. I would absolutely negotiate for the approved unemployment claim. If the HR rep balks, I'd just straight up tell her that you tried for years to get things to change while you were working there. Now that you're not, there's no benefit to you to discuss it with anyone and the mere fact she's even bringing this up forces you to relive it and subjects you to the stress and trauma all over again. So unless they're willing to make it worth your while, they can all fuck right off and figure out what's wrong with their company on their own. After all, it really shouldn't be that fucking hard to figure it out. All they really need to do is open their damn eyes and take an objective look around at how they treat people. Fuck the HR rep and the horse she rode in on, I say.