Retail... why do i work retail? · 1:28pm Apr 2nd, 2019
Retail story time.
1am.
Customers come in. three adults one maybe 4 year old. one adult male one teen male and adult female other wise.
Walk around the store a bit. 4 year old starts screaming.
Teen screams back at 4 year old.
Parents find employee buggy used for cardboard, throw card board on floor, throw plastic on shelves craming it between product. fill buggy.
Child still screaming.
Pull bike down from rack give to child child still screaming, rides bike around store.
Crashes into and knocks over middle aisle displays.
Teen picks up basket ball, dribbles it.
Teen is not Jordan or Bird or coordinated and loses grip often, knocks things off shelves.
Parents told not to allow kids to do that.
Child removed from bike, constant screaming reaches decibels painful to human ears and fatal to dogs.
Teen flings basket ball into electronics and it pinballs around knocking things over.
Parents find second trash buggy, empty it on the floor in front of employee who had been using it.
Put mini fridge and more stuff in second cart.
Child still screaming.
Teen still screaming back at child.
They get up to the register self checkout.
Child projectile vomits over three registers somehow as well as candy racks between.
Still screaming.
They move to other registers without bothering to tell any one.
Pay for their shit [most of it any way] and leave store.
Outside they strip fridge from box as well as many other products, dump said trash onto the ground in the parking lot.
They leave their carts in the middle of the handicap space they parted next to.
One is tipped over.
Child vomits on the boxes still screaming.
They leave.
The time is 3 am.
Caused at least 50 in damages and at least an hour in clean up time for several employees.
Managers will do nothing because they spent over 300 dollars.
End retail story.
This is why i write dark or angry chapters sometimes. THIS is why i vent.
Also if you read this and can identify yourself as one of these 4, fuck you.
I work in retail as facility management. In other words, I clean up other people's shit (literally, far too often). I know your pain.
How it would work at my store:
"Uh, those are for employee use..."
GTFO or we're calling the police.
Should have called the police behind the manager's back.
5036997
police would have fined any non salary employee for a non emergency call and we would be fired. NC is very odd about these things.
5037000
Vandalism, destruction of property, disturbing the peace, possible child neglect, littering... sounds like police business to me.
5037016
walmart has a policy where if you are not a salaried manager you don't count. Nothing you witness counts towards the police, shoplifting or otherwise, only a managers eye count for witnessing things. I was literally told by an officer once that my seeing the man shove the stuff down his pants and walk out didn't count because i was an employee and walmart would do nothing if i saw them take it. the police HAVE to catch them walking out of the store and before they get to their car, if it's not over 1000 dollars it's a slap on the wrist or a 'bad thief don't steal again', before lettin them drive off with what was stolen. Yet in other cases they come down like the wraith of god on some one. I really don't get what equals what in NC.
I know your pain. I've never had anything that bad happen to me, but Target was just as awful in their own way.
4AM shifts to unload the truck.
Had to have any truck under 2,000 pieces unloaded in less than an hour.
And all merchandise sorted and allocated to every isle it belonged to before the store opened.
If stocking the shelves took longer than your scheduled time, then the 'most valuable' employees stayed and the others left and later got chewed out for not being fast enough.
Several years back I wrenched my back so hard working there I was in pain to the pint I couldn't breathe when the pains it. I had to have physical therapy just so I wasn't in agony when I laid down.
The store tried to be nice and put me on light duty, but it was still rush rush rush despite working with smaller items. They ended up putting me on warning for not being fast enough due to the injury they caused.
And then one day I joked that working their was as bad as prison. But I did it in when the store was open and despite there being no customers around the managers heard me, called me to the office and I was fired after that shift.
They weren't going to give me severance pay at first, but when Dad pointed out to them that their workload lead to the injury that got me fired, and it might lead to a lawsuit, they agreed to it.
Believe me, retail is one of the worst jobs. I feel for you and what you've been through. I hope you can get out as soon as you're able.
Ah, the life of retail. I too know your pain and struggles.
It's a real shame how little manners and respect people have these days. Thirty years ago most people would have never thought of acting that way.
Also, about 35 years ago I read an article in Reader's Digest about Sam Walton. And how he would travel to each of his stores and inspect them personally. I'll bet he's broken the sound barrier spinning in his grave at how far downhill the Wal-Mart chain has gone.
5037179
Every year some thing new is put into place to screw with the employees and get the older crew fired or make them quit to save money
the turn over rate is almost weekly, save we lose some one every week but it takes 2 to 3 to get any one in and we're told to 'deal' witht he shortages all while managers scream faster, at everyone
5037021
That's... not how law enforcement is supposed to work. There's something fishy going on.
My mother used to work at Walmart. I'll have to ask her whether this is really a thing or if it's just your local management.
5037586
It might be NC bull crap too. i recall a HUUUUUGE list of things i could not do when i worked security, and one of those things was defend myself unless cornered. If i could run i was to run.
5037637
I checked with my mother and that is indeed how Walmart works. This still doesn't mean your managers aren't incompetent, though.
5037929
That was never in doubt.
Oh, I can relate whole heartly, cuz I have been there.
P.S. If Manager on Staff, just stands there then Its a Leadership problem and that means the failure falls on his/her shoulders, not yours.
I feel your pain. Most of my worst stories are from working at a call center. Death threats weren't uncommon, and we couldn't disconnect the call unless customer gave us permission to.
I feel your pain. I work,alone, in an arcade. The horror stories I could tell. Though you're takes second place.