Well I can't decide if this is good...or perhaps not so good

Mundane Pointless Stuff I Must Share (MPSIMS)
#1

Yesterday, Ala, my boss, comes to me and asks me what my duties were at a former job. No problem. I describe them and he goes away. About 15 min later he comes back and says he would like to put me in what I suppose is Sonic’s mgmt training program. He mentions it would mean I would have to close 2 night a week, which I said was no problem as I have a totally open availability (which he’s known about since I started working there).

I can’t decide if this is good or bad. Nobody and I mean nobody could be more apathetic on the job. I barely smile and I get the job done but you can’t say I’m exactly motivated. If an asst mgr or Ala asks me to do something, I do it, but I rarely do anything of my own accord.

Wait…before you flame me, I only apathetic on the job because I really don’t like it. I mean who would? Not so good pay (althoug better than min. wage which I think is like 5.45 an hour or something), it’s constantly hot as hell, we seldom if ever get any sort of break (15 min or otherwise), we aren’t allowed to have drinks on the front line (not even water!) so I"m constantly dehydrated and ready to fall over a dessicated corpse, nothing to stand on except hard tile floor for hours on end without being allowed to move from one spot, long hours, the list goes on and on.

I didn’t ask to be put into mgmt training. I know one of the asst mgrs is going away and they are training a person who is sort of a shift mgr to replace him so I guess they are going to train me to replace her. I suppose out out all the peole Ala’s hired in the last 6 mos I’ve been the most intelligent and the only one who bothered to stick around (but not because I wanted to).

The way I see it, this is good in only one way: I get more money. Maybe. I have no idea if I get a pay raise out of this, he hasn’t said.

But there’s also a downside too. I’m one of the few staff members who speaks English as a first language. Most of the others, whatever their Latin origin (Mexico, Brazil, whatever), either only speak Spanish or speak barely enough English to get by. I speak no Spanish…well…very little Spanish. I’m wondering how I’m suppose to ask/tell people who don’t even speak my language what they need to do. I’ve considered (if I’m even still there) asking for Spanish-lesson CDs for Christmas. I’m also still looking for another job and don’t want to make any closer ties to Sonic than I have to. This would be a closer tie than I ever even wanted and it makes me a bit nervous. I"ll be under even closer scrutiny by Ala and I know if I screw up, I’ll get fired in a half a second.

Heck…he’s already scrutinizing me too closely. Yesterday when I came to work, I guess I had a couple of cat hairs still on my shirt, even though I’d lintbrushed furiously for 10 min or so before coming in. He got all picky about it and told me from now on I need to wash my uniform each night (which I do anyway) and as SOON as it was dry, seal it in a plastic ziploc baggie so it didn’t get cat hair on it. I need to bring it up to the Mall and change into it before work and then change after I get off to maximize non-cat-hairiness. :rolleyes: Oy vey.

So I don’t know what to think yet. I’m still battling this in my mind.
IDBB

#2

Your boss sounds like an A-Number-One-Nimrod… (I’ve read some of your previous threads.) No one should have to put up with that kind of psychological abuse. Not in an US company, anyways.

Have you considered applying at any of the retail stores in that mall? Especially with the Christmas season due to start. (It starts about September 3rd here in the OKC.)

I hope things get substantially better soon. :slight_smile:

#3

Well, take it as a compliment. Even with your apethetic attitude, your difficulties with your job and your boss, you more promotable than the run of the mill employee.

But be VERY careful. Management trainee often means “move to salary.” So you end up working many more hours - of course you get a “raise” out of the deal, but by the time you are done, you get to do all the shit for less than you were making to say “would you like fries with that?” (Which means that in retail “more promotable” is often the same as “more gullible”). And don’t fool yourself, management is no picnic. Bob calls in sick, and you cover. Tammy shows up late ten minutes every day covered in cat hair and you have to talk to her. Her behavior doesn’t change and you have to talk to her again. Still doesn’t change and maybe you will fire her, and hope your choices for replacing her aren’t worse. You balance the till and get blamed if you are short - regardless of why (I had someone who couldn’t tell the difference between a ten and a twenty when I did retail managment). You fill out reports, and get blamed for waste and lack of traffic to the store (like you are supposed to singlehandedly make the mall a more popular place).

But I wouldn’t take NoClueBoy’s suggestion - Christmas season help is often Christmas season help - leaving you jobless in January (I think you remember.)

#4

They hire permanent sales during this time, too, Danger. If they are advertising for Christmas help, that’s all it is. But if they are hiring to replace staff (which seems to happen around the beginning of the Christmas season), then it is a permanent position. Of course, it would be wise to ask if unclear.

#5

On the plus side in a few months if you are hunting for another job, you get to say that you have some management experience.

Which is never to be sniffed at.

#6

For the record, it’s been my experience that management never perceives you as you see yourself. It’s probably some sort of fundamental law of the universe.

I say go for it. You hate your job already, so it can’t really get much worse for you. At least you can hate your job with more money and put another line in your resume. :wink:

#7

IDBB got caught in that one last year.

I wouldn’t trust any retail job taken in the fall to be permanent regardless of what was said. Well, I wouldn’t trust any retail job at all to be permanent, as its far too easy in retail to “fire” someone just by not giving them enough hours in a week to make it worth their while to work. But people in hired in the fall have a particularly hard time of it. Even if hired “permanently” if there is seasonal help that works out better (or the manager likes better, or is buddies with one of the long time employees), you may find your hours cut to nothing. Competition for retail hours in January can be cut throat and retail managers are often not the most fair nor skilled).

#8

IDBB got caught in that one last year.

I wouldn’t trust any retail job taken in the fall to be permanent regardless of what was said. Well, I wouldn’t trust any retail job at all to be permanent, as its far too easy in retail to “fire” someone just by not giving them enough hours in a week to make it worth their while to work. But people in hired in the fall have a particularly hard time of it. Even if hired “permanently” if there is seasonal help that works out better (or the manager likes better, or is buddies with one of the long time employees), you may find your hours cut to nothing. Competition for retail hours in January can be cut throat and retail managers are often not the most fair nor skilled).

#9

Yeah, every time I’ve worked Christmas sales to help ends meet, I get asked to stay on. But, I like being self employed. So, I can see your reluctance to hire on to sales during that time. And I’ve talked to many longterm fulltimers who tell me horror stories of 20 hrs a week and no commissions during Febuary… Not always the best of jobs.

But, don’t all the food court businesses cut back then, too? I would rather be in a large retail store and be a floater or on call during the lean months than work for man such as IDBB has described over the last few months.

As for a perm being shoved out for a fave temp come January, just try to be a little less disposable. Not always an option, sure. Sometimes managers play unfair. However, working hard and doing a good job usually pays off. Usually.

This is just my opinion, tho. YMMV.

I hope things work out for you, IDBB.

#10

The only real upside I can see to this is another line to add to my resume. Hell,if my original store mgr at Godiva hadn’t quit, I’d BE an asst mgr at Godiva (which I really loved, even when it got hectic), or least well on my way to being one.

Having spent my entire working career in retail, I know what ‘mgmt’ too often means. I’m afraid that’s what’ll happen to me. I’ll get put on ‘salary’ and not get near as much money (despite a pay raise) than if I’d stayed hourly. I don’t know what he’s going to yet, so I’m worried but not worried.

If you’ve read some of my previous threads about Ala (which I am far too lazy to go look up right now), you’d know this guy has me shaking in my size seven and a half shoes still, even after almost 6 mos of working there. Every time I turn around he’s there it seems like (well, he should be. He’s the store’s mgr after all) and I’m afraid he’s watching me. I’m afraid to make even the tiniest mistake and be out on my ass (which he warned me after I’d been there only a week could happen). I’m afraid he’d been even less forgiving of mistakes once I got a promotion.

IDBB

#11

Well…we had a little…let’s call it a bit of a…spat on Saturday. Saturday was extremely busy but Ala didn’t schedule enough people so that others could take a break (yours truly incl). By the time 4:30 (when I’m supposed to be leaving) rolls around, I am exhausted from the heat, starving, dehydrated and I feel light headed like I’m going to pass out or something. I ask Hassan (who is an asst mgr and Ala’s little brother) when he thinks I"m going to get out of there. He replies by telling me he was supposed to be off at X time, which doesn’t tell me squat. Finally, around 5 pm somebody shows up to relieve me and they tell me Ala said I could leave. As I am walking out the door, Ala doesn’t even BOTHER to apologize for keeping me. What he DOES tell me (which only infuriates me more) is that they ONLY kept me about 20 min late because X was running late. I told him if somebody had told me X was running late, I would’ve been more OK with staying late. He said X didn’t know she was going to be running late, car trouble or something, and didn’t call him. I figure that’s bullshit because I know X has a cellphone and probably DID call him to let him know. I told him I plan my life around the times I get off each day and I really didn’t appreciate being kept late without any explanation. At which point…I turned around and walked out.

I’m guessing at this point, either Ala is too chicken to tell me I’ve been fired or he’s seriously reconsidering his idea of making me a mgr after this. The schedule for this week wasn’t ready last night, only the schedule for today (which I am off thank Goddess!). I’m really hoping that when I call in this afternoon to get the schedule (I was told it wouldn’t be ready until around 4 pm), I don’t get the axe since I really need this job.

IDBB

#12

fast food jobs suck. you can try your hardest, but the managers are always total assholes. no exceptions…

#13

Well I called to get my schedule and Ala picked up the phone. He wouldn’t give me the schedule beyond tomorrow but at least I didn’t get fired. :eek:
IDBB

#14

I think you are in a unique position here that you can use to your advantage. You don’t really care one way or the other about the job, and yet management is hinting that they’d like to promote you. I say play it cool. Since you’re willing to stay in your current position and don’t really need a management promotion, when/if they ask you, hold out for more money. Tell them you’d like to accept the position, but it will be conditional upon whatever arrangements would work best for you. More money, better benefits, guarantees of not having to work during certain times etc. Be creative, see how much you can get from the proposal, and if they turn you down no big deal. Work it!

#15

You really need to STOP allowing your manager to pull this shit, and contact the local labor board.

You can’t afford the health problems, and sooner or later, he’s gonna be busted.