Barnes and Noble--YOU SUCK!!

[80sHairMetalMaven]

I had been working for Barnes and Noble.When I was hired,it was under the impression that it was full time, permanent, not seasonal. Yesterday,when I go to ask the mgr in charge of writing schedules why I'm not on the schedule for this week, I was told it was because hours were cut. Then another mgr (who was standing there)tells me in a very rude tone that I have been 'cut'(which I assume meant I was fired). I assumed that since I am not on the schedule AT ALL for this week that yesterday was my last day and I just didn't know it because nobody bothered to even tell me. How shitty is that? Cowardly bastards can't even come out and say "whoops!We changed our minds.Sorry." or something like that.That's so damned low.The GM of the store has no cojones I guess because when I asked him on Fri why I wasn't on the schedule,he told me to go ask mgr X who is in charge of scheduling.Then when I call up there today because I want to speak with GM about this, I am told that he is on vacation for a week.Just fucking figures,doesn't it? Arrrgggh!!!
If I don't find another job soon,I know that we will have to eliminate some non-essentials from our life,namely satellite tv,the internet and my beloved Netflix. CorvetteGuy's dad has offered to lend us money if we need it but I really don't want to go down that road.That would be embarrassing to me and I really don't like the idea of having to depend on somebody besides myself and CorvetteGuy for money.
I was shocked about this..as was CorvetteGuy.I am taking today off to compose myself and chill and then tomorrow I am going down to BN and asking for a copy of everything in my personnel file,as well as the ph.# for HR and a written explanation as to WHY I was terminated wihout reason.I realize Texas is an 'at will' state (You can quit for any reason without telling your boss other than saying "I quit".It also applies the OTHER way.They can fire you at any time as well.)and that really kind of sucks.I could file a complaint with the EEOC but I have to file for unemployment first(as I found out )and that also sucks.I have prided myself on never being on the public dole EVER and this would also be a major blow to my pride. But I gotta do what I gotta do I guess. BUT I am not staying at home doing nothing either.All morning I have been investigating job options in my area and will follow up on those tomorrow.
Aiyee..this sucks.:(

IDBB

[Duck Duck Goose]

Damn right that sucks. :( Consider it a Learning Experience--"managers lie". Doubt they "changed their mind"--they almost certainly knew perfectly well they were only hiring seasonal help.

Sorry you got sucked into it. I'd say don't bother with the official complaint unless you had been working there for, like, 20 years. If it's only been a few months, chalk it up to experience and move on.

And DO get that personnel file copied, oh yes. ;) Future employers are gonna wanna know why you left.

[Stoid]

By the way, you can always quit without reason, anywhere, any job. (Except the military, I think.) This is America.

[Pythagras]

Wait, you have to give them a 2 weeks notice when you quit or face the consequence of never being hired again, WHY DONT THEY GIVE YOU NOTICE!?!?!?

[Dragwyr]

You don't have to give any employer any type of notice. It is customary and considered polite to do so, but it sure isn't required.

I_Dig_Bad_Boys, I feel for you. That situation sucked. Hope you find another job real soon.

[I can't believe that's butter!]

The two wesks' notice just makes them more receptive to giving you a reference.

[Lissa]

This is not accidental, I_Dig_Bad_Boys. It's actually a carefully worked out strategy in Ridding Yourself of Surplus Labor.

The idea is to keep the ending ambiguious, and thus, avoid a big dramatic firing, which may enrage the employee, and cause a loud scene which may frighten or distress the flock of customers milling about in the store.

There's aintentional, carefully confusing lack of formality in hiring/firing in retail/service jobs. In the hiring stage, you apply, and when you are called back, you're told to come to orienation. No formal "You've got the job." Just orientation and your name badge. According to a book I once read, the idea is to keep the hiree somewhat off-balance and timorous, avoiding questions like "What's the wage?" and "How many hours?" Employers like to keep things fluid. In firing, do what happened to I_Dig_Bad_Boys-- tell them to talk to person X. Pass the ball, keep them confused as to what's happening. Cut them from the schedual and let THEM make the first move and ask the questions.

[Green Bean]

Good explanation, Lissa.

Taking you off the schedule for a week does not necessarily mean you were fired. It could possibly just be a one week thing. (Which sucks, too). You've got to get a straight answer out of the scheduling manager before you can assume anything, and certainly before you can file for unemployment.

[thirdwarning]

I'm going to say don't do anything too drastic until you find out, politely if possible, exactly what's going on. It is possible you just haven't been scheduled for the week, since the holiday season is over. The last retail job I had, all seasonal workers were automatically terminated at the end of the year, or sometime during the week after Christmas. However, some of those were then hired back as regulars. It was just that they had to start things like seniority from the new hire date. I thought it was a stinky policy, but if your job works like that, it might be counter-productive to do too much yelling until you find out.

I know it would be difficult to work for those people after they treated you that way, but it might at least take care of the finances until you could find something else.

And yes, they should have been clearer on those points.

[friedo]

Originally posted by Stoid
By the way, you can always quit without reason, anywhere, any job. (Except the military, I think.) This is America.

Unless you're the contractor who quit in the middle of re-tiling my bathroom. Then I sue your ass off! (And win)

I love America. :D

[80sHairMetalMaven]

Actually, I went down on Tues and talked to a mgr who told me I was fired for sure. I had calmed down by this point and spent 4 hrs walking the mall looking for a job. I must've filled out over a dozen applications,some for part time others for full time. Right now I don't care WHAT it is as long as I have a job. This morning I got a call from one of the places I applied to and have an interview in like an hour and a half. Wish me luck.:)

IDBB

[Spiritus Mundi]

Luck

[Slacker]

Good luck :) - where is the armpit of north texas btw? If the B&N you worked in is in Plano or Frisco, I might have run into you. I go into the three around here fairly often (although, I like Borders better).

And by the way - are they aware that their prices on DVDs and CDs are 30% higher than everywhere else in the world? Do they think they're running a shop in the airport or something?

[wring]

I would encourage you to file for unemployment insurance. It doesnt' seem clear if they 'layed you off' or 'fired for cause', if it was a layoff, UE benefits may be possible.

[porcupine]

In some states (IL for one), you are eligible for unemployment even if you are fired.

[auntie em]

Ahh, this sounds so familiar . . . Could have been written by me, seven years ago. Only in Kansas, and without CorvetteGuy in the picture. ;)

Luckily, when I got "cut" from the schedule without so much as a by-the-by, I was also working part-time at a restaurant (a job I took when I noticed that my full-time status at B&N seemed to be steadily dwindling down to part-time), so I was able to work more hours there to make up for it.

I gotta say, though, that you're a bigger woman than I, because when I went into B&N and saw that, for the second week in a row, I seemed to have been excluded from the schedule, I didn't ask any questions. I just walked out and never looked back.

I'm sure nobody cried.

At any rate, good luck on the job interview, and keep us posted!

[HelloKitty]

Yeah, this story is what I fear is going to happen to me soon, too.

I was hired in October for full time employment, however it has become clear that the group I was hired in with were only hired for the holiday season. Managers have never referred to us as seasonal employees, but the more questions we asked, the more it became clear that our life span in the company was limited.The holiday rush ended with a gigantic THUD on Christmas Eve, so when I go back to work again in a couple days I fully expect some major changes, either my hours being cut drastically, my job changed or just being let go totally.

It's no big deal to them...they have not made enough of an investment in this group of people to worry about unemployment claims, etc.

It sucks also because I really like working there, however they are also suffering financially right now (it's a major computer manufacturer). They actually forced all of their upper management to take the 2 weeks over Christmas and New Year's off without pay!! So if long term employees are being treated that way, it's a foregone conclusion that someone that's only been there 3 months won't have much of a future there.

[80sHairMetalMaven]

Slacker...I had been working at the one in Frisco but the interview I had today seemed to have gone really well. So we'll see what happens.

IDBB

[Slacker]

Originally posted by I_Dig_Bad_Boys
Slacker...I had been working at the one in Frisco but the interview I had today seemed to have gone really well. So we'll see what happens.

IDBB

Cool, good luck.

BTW - did you know a girl named Angie (last initial C) that worked there in the music department? She's a good friend of mine. Come to think of it though, I don't remember if she works at that B&N or another one, I haven't talked to her in forever.

[80sHairMetalMaven]

I wasn't really there long enough to learn half the staff's names,Slacker.Sowwy. The only way I knew anybody's name was if they had a name badge. I don't remember seeing anyone named Angie something but then again...I could be wrong.*shrug*


IDBB

[blowero]

File for unemployment compensation. There's no reason to be ashamed of that. That's exactly what it's for - to provide assistance until you get a new job. You're not getting welfare, you're getting help to tide you over since your employer screwed you.

[80sHairMetalMaven]

But to me that's the same damn thing as getting welfare. I live in a Very Nice House(tm) in a decent neighborhood. I WANT to work,desperately, but out of all the places I put an application in to on Tues,only 1 has called me back and had an interview. To me,that does not bode well. It means I will be jobless for awhile if the one place (a semi-coffeehouse type called Beignet Elite) doesn't hire me.I do NOT want to be on the public dole,whether it is unemployment, welfare or whatever. That would be extremely s hameful and I would rather live out of my car than be on the public dole in any form.

IDBB

[OpalCat]

You paid for unemployment insurance the whole time you had a job. This is what it is for. Use it. There is nothing shameful about it (or are you insulting those of us who have needed public assistance?)

[Dangerosa]

Doesn't sound like you qualify anyway, unless you worked significantly longer than you are giving the impression you worked (which was not long enough to learn your co-workers names). Or had significant employment before your B&N stint.

Texas Unemployment (http://www.twc.state.tx.us/ui/bnfts/claimant1.html#qualify)

BTW, next year, any retail job for which you get hired between Oct 1st and Christmas can be assumed to be seasonal. No one should need to tell you this - and if they are "giving you the impression" that it is otherwise, you should follow up and clarify so there aren't any surprises. "You are talking like I'll be around here in January. I'd like that, but I was assuming I was hired for the holidays." There is some chance that, between the time you were hired and Christmas, one of the permanent employees will have left (or they will have discovered you are wonderful and work the schedule to give you some hours) and you will continue to get hours, but generally speaking, you will be out of their once return season ends. This is the way retail works.

[80sHairMetalMaven]

I read the Texas Unemployment thing and I'm assuming I don't qualify.*le sigh* Great...do you know how much that sucks? I am guessing that this is also partially my own fault as I didn't get clarification as to whether or not the job really WAS a perm position. It is MY fault for assuming it would be perm when I was lead to believe so even though I was hired right before Thanksgiving.Of course I should have expected this. THAT"S THE WAY FUCKING RETAIL WORKS...or so sayeth Dangerosa,an all-knowing,all-seeing,all-being god-like person. UGH!!! It's all my fucking fault because I choose to work in retail willingly. I like retail. I love dealing with customers. I have excellent customer svc skills. Heck...when I worked for Godiva, I got eight out of nine different secret shops 100% right. I must be doing something right,right?WRONG!BECAUSE I WANT TO WORK IN RETAIL I MUST BE FUCKING INSANE??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!??? Ugh. It's also my fault that I don't have any real 'marketable' skills. All I know is selling and cust svc and how to type. Which leaves me virtually un-fucking-employable, right?

IDBB

[Dangerosa]

I fell into my field under similar circumstances.

After spending several years in retail (including being Assistant Manager at a couple of stores), I left the company I was with (which was a small local mall chain) and went to work for Fanny Farmer. It was around October. So I kind of thought going in it would be pretty seasonal. But I was used to the feast or famine of retail hours - and I was a college student, so I could make due on feast or famine hours. The Fanny Farmer I worked at had huge turnover issues - it was in a part of town that you'd consider populated by "Princesses" - kids would take the job, but after working ten hours a week, their check would be less than the allowance Daddy was giving them, and they'd quit in a couple weeks. So college students like me willing to work ten hours a week, who would show up every shift, were needed commodities.

Fanny Farmer's business is (as you know, having worked at Godiva), a little different. They were interested in keeping good people on through Spring. January is slow, but Feburary brings Valentines Day - and they need lots of staff again. Than Easter and Mother's Day. So, in January, I still had a job, just really shortened hours.

So I started doing some clerical work - temping here and there on the days I didn't have classes. My boyfriend's employer needed someone to stuff envelopes, file and do a little data entry. Another friend's employer needed someone to do a little data entry. Like you, few skills, but I could type. Eventually, the boyfriends employer offered to make my job permanent, and I ended up quitting the retail work (quitting Fanny Farmer is a story unto itself, as they were somewhat reluctant to let me go and kept scheduling me past my two week notice). That stuffing envelopes and data entry during college turned into a data processing job, which turned into a computer support job, which has turned into an IT career, and I've been working in IT for the past fifteen years.

What I'm saying is, don't shut doors - and you may be surprised how marketable customer service and being able to type is. I also enjoyed the years I spent in retail, and was also very good at it. But, know your chosen industry. If you've chosen retail as a career, its often feast or famine - and seldom stable. Stores sometimes shut on a moments notice. New managers stop scheduling you so they can bring in their own people. Retail management itself is notoriously bad - it doesn't tend to pay well, has lots of headaches, and the hours are lousy - which means people with good management skills get promoted into corporate offices or leave retail. (On the plus side, the management in retail is usually a step up from the management in fast food). That doesn't mean it can't be a great career - it can.

And I'm not knocking retail. My husband spent a number of years working in the glamourous field of Advertising. Client lunches, creative work (he was a copywriter), fantastic offices, pool table in the back to unwind. But long hours, poorly paid for the majority of the staff, and - if you ever lost a big client - agencies lay off at the drop of a hat - no security. (BTW, he now works in retail. Corporate side retail).
because a server is down.

[80sHairMetalMaven]

Dangerosa---
I fully apologize for going barbaristically insane in that last post on ya. Sorry about that.
On the upside...I have an interview tomorrow morning at the local Starbucks. YAaaaay!!!:) Maybe this will turn into a job and while it may not be the most prestigeous of jobs, I will at least get caffienieted on a regular basis. I heard they give their baristas free coffee. Any truth to this rumor?:)

IDBB

[SandyHook]

Opal cat wrote:

You paid for unemployment insurance the whole time you had a job.

Nitpick to follow.

I don't think that is quite true. FUI and SUI (Federal Unemployment Insurance and State etc) are employer paid payroll taxes. They are something like 2-3% of the first $7,000 or so of wages, IIRC.

You do pay them, even if you're not working, because they are included in the "cost of doing business" and are thus part of the overhead included in the cost of everything you buy.

[Banquet Bear]

...wow, what is your employment contract law like over there?

In New Zealand, contract's are compulsory-and they are either on a Full-time, Part-time or a Casual basis. Termination's such as this one would be illegal here-how on earth do employers get away with this???

[80sHairMetalMaven]

Yup.In the good old US of A, Banquet Bear, they are able to really screw with some people's lives. This is a fact that sucks, but American workers, esp the dirty-shirted blue-collar folk like myself have to put up with it cuz a lot of us don't have a whole lotta choices.

On the upside...:) Yesterday I did an interview with Galyan's, a sporting good store. I am scheduled for interview number 2 on the 15th and I just got a call from one of the mgrs asking if I'd like to come help out with inventory on Sun night. Granted...I'm not getting 'paid' per se..they're giving me about $64 on a store gift card I can use plus food and sugar to keep me going all night. I'm guessing that by this they mean they REALLY like me and want me to work there.I know they have to go through certain channels to get me hired but I'm pretty sure at this point that it's a shoo-in.:D

IDBB