Fingers crossed you get it. You are in like Flynn now. Congratulations!
Congrats!
The absolute worst is going into the freezer to build a cart when you’re already sweaty and then the sweat freezes onto your face and in your hair. I found out during my first few weeks on the job that it takes surprisingly little time for that to happen.
Which reminds me of my favorite work freezer anecdote. In those first months on the job I was working the closing freezer shift, at of the busiest locations in the entire chain. It was supposed to be the opener’s job to downstack the “wall buy” (I.e. products we’ve purchased in bulk for promo displays) that was delivered the previous night, but on one particular occasion when I showed up for my shift they hadn’t done so. The pallets were too heavy to move with a manual jack and I hadn’t been trained on the electric jack yet and there wasn’t anyone to help me, so I had to work around the unstacked pallets to get what I needed. What I needed right then and there was 90-count bags of Totino’s pizza rolls because that display was completely empty - and they were high-racked near the back of the freezer. So, I did the only natural thing I could think of to do - I climbed up one of the pallets, walked over the tops of the others to the back, and started throwing cases of pizza rolls onto the floor where I’d be able to load them onto my cart.
And that’s when the store manager poked his head in to find out why the freezer door was hanging open and what that noise was coming from inside. 
He absolutely understood what I was doing once I explained it and I didn’t get in any sort of trouble, but it was pretty embarrassing at the time. By the next week he made sure I got certified on the electric jack and the forklift so I wouldn’t have to do that again.
Most people who have never worked in an environment like that might say, “Of course you didn’t get in trouble, it wasn’t your fault, you were just trying to do your job in the best way possible way.”
You can get in trouble for practically nothing though if you have the wrong kind of boss. I remember that when I worked at Toys R Us, they trained us on procedures and I was always very careful to get them down properly. And then I’d do the same procedure every time, day after day, for months. Then the procedure would change, they wouldn’t tell any of us, and then I’d be written up for doing it wrong simply because I was doing my job exactly as trained (with no way of knowing it was now different).
After a while, if I got called in to be written up, I didn’t even care what it was for because I knew it was for something frivolous and I hadn’t actually done anything wrong. One time I came in to my manager’s office all chipper and smiling, and he started to lecture me, and I interrupted him and asked him to give me the form so I could sign it and get back to work. I told him flat-out that I knew I had done nothing wrong, I was doing my job properly, and the paper was just a piece of paper. He asked how I could be so upbeat about being written up, and I asked him, am I being fired? No. Am I being docked pay? No. So why should I care? He just said I was weird and shook his head after I signed it.
The very worst was when we get a new portable barcode scanning system for inventory. I was tasked with scanning every single box in our storage rooms, and to scan in an orderly fashion; scan boxes from top to bottom, left to right. Okay, simple, and common sense. No problem.
Hours later I was done and turned the device in. I then got called in to be reprimanded for not doing it right. They showed a print-out of the inventory and everything was in a random order. I laughed at them and asked them, are you actually accusing me of doing that?! They said yes, yes they were, because if the computer has it in this order, then I must have scanned it that way. So then I asked them if they think I actually scanned a box, ran to the other side of the storage room, scanned another box, ran to another random part of the storage room, scanned another box, and so on. Until I scanned all the hundreds of boxes back there. Every single one. Each box only once. I asked them how a human being could possibly do that. I even challenged them to try to physically do what they accused me of doing. They thought about it for a moment, then said, huh, maybe this new computer system has a glitch.
I am glad the OP has management with a bit more sense than what I put up with for 2 1/2 years at “the world’s greatest toy store”.
Hey, I have a work freezer anecdote!
When I worked at McDonald’s, we went through a period of practical jokes. One guy swiped another guy’s car keys and suspended them from a string within an empty five-gallon pickle bucket. He then filled the bucket with water and put it in the freezer.
Fortunately the first guy discovered his keys before the end of his shift, otherwise I think there would have been quite a delay in his leaving the premises!
You know, that sort of thing is why I really dislike practical “jokes”. They only seem funny to the perpetrator and cause great inconvenience to the victim. I see nothing funny about such antics.
Just put the 5-gallon ice cube in the back of the perpetrator’s auto for it to melt. “Where’s your sense of humor, man?”
Yeah, right - “pranks” that cause inconvenience and/or expense to people making low wages, how is that funny? Not to mention the likelihood someone would have to break into the perpetrator’s auto to place the ice cube, which is a crime. WTF is wrong with people? There is nothing funny about any of that unless you’re the person causing the inconvenience and damage in the first place, and that’s only if you don’t get caught breaking either the corporate rules or the law while doing it.
I worked at one job where I was a groundskeeper on a military base. We drove golf carts and pulled trailers full of our tools (mowers, trimmers, thatchers, and so on). One day a couple of coworkers thought it was funny to take my trailer and hide it from me. It took me hours to find it. I lost a half a day’s work. Hilarious.
At another job, someone stole my lunch and hid it from me. I’d had to walk 15 minutes in freezing rain to go pick it up, and I was freezing and starved when I got back to the office… I ran to the restroom for a few minutes and afterward it was gone. I asked around and everyone played dumb. Finally, 2 hours later one guy came up to me, laughing, and said here it is. I was pissed off because my lunch break was long over and the food was ruined anyway (it was something you can’t let sit out for that long). I ended up not being able to eat until after work. That was an awful day.
That shit isn’t funny. It’s hazing and it’s toxic, and technically illegal. It’s literally creating a hostile work environment. Grow up folks, a great follow up “prank” is a lawsuit.
When I was still a teenager, I thought such pranks were funny, even maybe a sign of friendship. And sometimes they were, but often they were just effing mean and cruel. Any prank that wastes my/anybody’s work time or personal time when there are things to do and places to go is just rude.
Day 11.
UGH.
I was sitting at the new Starbucks in the nearest town from my house when my boss called me in to work from whenever I could get there (ended up being 3:30) until 8 because one of my coworkers (the same one who was 90 minutes late yesterday) couldn’t get a ride. So I couldn’t get any grocery shopping or laundry in. Let alone a shower.
This guy had me spread ketchup and salsa on his pizza, from the hot dog ingredients, and bitched at me when I didn’t do it to his satisfaction.
A woman wanted $9 worth of PowerBall tickets on her debit card, but there’s a $10 minimum with that payment method, so she had to get another one-- and then she wanted me to give her her tickets before her credit card had finished processing. “I have the money; I promise you.” Jesus Christ, woman, wait 10 more seconds. And then she snatched it out of my hand after I gave it to her, and alked away like she was all that.
I burned 15 pieces of chicken because I used the wrong setting. I dropped a large cup of Coca-Cola on the floor.
But there was some light in the darkness. When I went out to check on someone at the coffee station and let her know about the deal we have where you can get any size coffee and a muffin for $2.49 as a 7Rewards member, she looked very pleased. And proved it a few moments later when she said to me and my mentor, “You know… I stopped coming here for awhile because one of the employees was always mean to me. But the two of you have been very nice, and you’re making me reconsider.” I told her, “After the day I’ve had, I needed to hear that. So thank you.”
This is what I was talking about:
Note that I never filed a complaint. I’m just not like that. (Not saying that’s a good or bad thing, that’s just my personality.) And what I went through were singular incidents, not a protracted situation. But pick on the wrong person and you might get more than you bargained for. In case anyone thinks it’s harmless fun.
This sounds like something a cartoon character would have you do, not a real person. Wow.
Not that I’m saying pranks are acceptable - but the harassment referred to in that EEO page is
Harassment is unwelcome conduct that is based on race, color, religion, sex (including sexual orientation, gender identity, or pregnancy), national origin, older age (beginning at age 40), disability, or genetic information (including family medical history).
“Harassment” and “hostile work environment” have very specific meanings in employment law and the EEOC does not get involved with behavior that isn’t (allegedly) based on one of those factors.
That’s a great thing to say. Never know, she may have had a bad day up to that point, too.
Ya know, I have a pretty well developed sense of humor, and I generally get a reputation for being a kind person who will help you fix your problems at the varied jobs I’ve had (and it’s probably how I’ve gained my current privileged position) . But if you play what I feel is a mean spirited prank on me (or heck, even others), you’re forever at the bottom of my list of people to help.
You left out…
Offensive conduct may include, but is not limited to, offensive jokes, slurs, epithets or name calling, physical assaults or threats, intimidation, ridicule or mockery, insults or put-downs, offensive objects or pictures, and interference with work performance.
Pranks that make it hard to do your job, like hiding tools or keys for hours, absolutely would apply, Though you’d likely have to establish a pattern of behavior.
Petty slights, annoyances, and isolated incidents (unless extremely serious) will not rise to the level of illegality.
If it was a regular thing, I don’t see how it wouldn’t qualify.
More than one prankster has had his (why is it always “his”?) dental work rearranged. Just sayin’.
You are missing that the page is only ever talking about harassment based on those factors - the EEOC will not get involved if the person engages in that conduct toward everyone , regardless of race, color, religion, sex (including sexual orientation, gender identity, or pregnancy), national origin, older age (beginning at age 40), disability, or genetic information (including family medical history). The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission enforces non-discrimination laws - pulling pranks on or acting like a jerk to everyone , no matter how pervasive or offensive , is not discrimination.
It may not be discrimination, but it might be interfering with corporate policy. Interfering with the ability of your co-workers to do their job will certainly attract the attention of the boss/owner. And some pranks can extend to unsafe situations that could involve, well, endangerment, or assault or theft or the like.
Basically, my advice is don’t be a jerk, don’t screw with people, and help others rather than hindering them.
Absolutely - I just don’t want people to think that the EEOC will handle all sorts of offensive behavior and go to the trouble of making a complaint only to find out that the EEOC will not get involved and they should have just gone straight to management with the complaint.
If a person is being singled out for harassment through pranks they should go to management.
It’s interesting that the government will only get involved when the discrimination is part of a protected class. There’s nothing illegal otherwise. Unless it is serious enough that another crime occurred (like assault for example) you suck it up or quit. (I guess you can try to sue for emotional distress, medical bills, or whatever if it leads to that but it seems like that’d be hard to prove.) IANAL
To get back on track, I’m glad the OP has a much different work environment and things seem to be going well. 