workerbee222
07-25-2008, 12:40 AM
A little background:
I alter dresses for a bridal store. I decided to move from part-time to full-time this spring. I sorry I did.
My boss is just not very good at her job. She’ll announce the schedule is complete, then, on Saturday night she’ll amend it. Too bad if you didn’t call Sunday morning and check again.
She lectures us about scheduling too many appointments in any given week. We say no a lot, but if they call when BossLady is here, 90% of the time she writes them into the schedule.
She complains that she can’t take time off because she always has so much to do, but as her regional supervisor pointed out, she should be training her staff to do certain tasks in her absence.
There are all sorts of guides and formulas to help with scheduling customers and employees, but BL has admitted she doesn’t have a very good grasp of the math.
We have a clause in the employee hand book about “conflict of interest.” We are not supposed to be working for any other bridal stores. We are not supposed to undercut the profit of the store by offering our services privately to the shop’s customers, (even if the store is too busy to undertake the work, and a part-time employee would like to earn extra money working at home, we are instructed to tell customers to look in the phone book for a seamstress)
It’s easy to understand why these policies are in effect. Employees could feel pressured to work at home to keep customers happy. Or a seamstress could undercut the store’s fees, thus taking some profit away. Or one of us could botch the job at home, and customer would go after the deep pockets of the corporation. If we’re working at two jobs who pays workers’ comp for the tendonitis?
My boss is running an alteration business out of her home. She allows her “private customers” to call her at the store and we end up taking the messages. She has her private customers drop off and pick things up at the store.
Last week, a distraught bride came in. She had paid a seamstress in her home state to make a custom gown for her, and it didn’t fit, and her wedding was three days away. Boss, instead of working with store manager to sell her a dress, (and an extra full petticoat and high-heeled shoes, if needed) said, oh, I’ll alter this tonight for you, at home. Then the veil didn’t arrive, and said, oh, I’ll make you a veil. She came in very proud of herself that Mother-of-bride had hired her to come to church before the wedding and steam out the dresses of the wedding party. She came in the next morning and whinged about how tired she was, because she had to get up at five-thirty to get her things in the car and go to the church.
And that afternoon, a consultant sidled up to me and said, ”I’ve got a bride out here, and her wedding is too soon for you guys to work her into the store schedule.“ I mumbled, “Well, Consultant1, I’m in the phone book.” BossLady says, “that’s a conflict of interest, you can’t work on store merchandise at home.”
Two days later, a different consultant walks in and says to Bosslady, “There’s a bride out here, and her wedding is August 16. “ BL says it’s too soon. Consultant 2 says, “Oh, I already told her she’d have to find a private party to alter her dress, that’s why I came and got you. “ “Oh, good, another customer,” and BL exits to get her new customer’s name and phone number.
So I’m looking for a job where the hypocrisy is more subtle. I wouldn’t say anything until after I’d given my notice, anyway. What I need from you folks is reasons not to write to corporate about this. I want to get this off my chest, but I’m sure nothing will change, and I don’t want the reputation as a troublemaker to follow me.
I alter dresses for a bridal store. I decided to move from part-time to full-time this spring. I sorry I did.
My boss is just not very good at her job. She’ll announce the schedule is complete, then, on Saturday night she’ll amend it. Too bad if you didn’t call Sunday morning and check again.
She lectures us about scheduling too many appointments in any given week. We say no a lot, but if they call when BossLady is here, 90% of the time she writes them into the schedule.
She complains that she can’t take time off because she always has so much to do, but as her regional supervisor pointed out, she should be training her staff to do certain tasks in her absence.
There are all sorts of guides and formulas to help with scheduling customers and employees, but BL has admitted she doesn’t have a very good grasp of the math.
We have a clause in the employee hand book about “conflict of interest.” We are not supposed to be working for any other bridal stores. We are not supposed to undercut the profit of the store by offering our services privately to the shop’s customers, (even if the store is too busy to undertake the work, and a part-time employee would like to earn extra money working at home, we are instructed to tell customers to look in the phone book for a seamstress)
It’s easy to understand why these policies are in effect. Employees could feel pressured to work at home to keep customers happy. Or a seamstress could undercut the store’s fees, thus taking some profit away. Or one of us could botch the job at home, and customer would go after the deep pockets of the corporation. If we’re working at two jobs who pays workers’ comp for the tendonitis?
My boss is running an alteration business out of her home. She allows her “private customers” to call her at the store and we end up taking the messages. She has her private customers drop off and pick things up at the store.
Last week, a distraught bride came in. She had paid a seamstress in her home state to make a custom gown for her, and it didn’t fit, and her wedding was three days away. Boss, instead of working with store manager to sell her a dress, (and an extra full petticoat and high-heeled shoes, if needed) said, oh, I’ll alter this tonight for you, at home. Then the veil didn’t arrive, and said, oh, I’ll make you a veil. She came in very proud of herself that Mother-of-bride had hired her to come to church before the wedding and steam out the dresses of the wedding party. She came in the next morning and whinged about how tired she was, because she had to get up at five-thirty to get her things in the car and go to the church.
And that afternoon, a consultant sidled up to me and said, ”I’ve got a bride out here, and her wedding is too soon for you guys to work her into the store schedule.“ I mumbled, “Well, Consultant1, I’m in the phone book.” BossLady says, “that’s a conflict of interest, you can’t work on store merchandise at home.”
Two days later, a different consultant walks in and says to Bosslady, “There’s a bride out here, and her wedding is August 16. “ BL says it’s too soon. Consultant 2 says, “Oh, I already told her she’d have to find a private party to alter her dress, that’s why I came and got you. “ “Oh, good, another customer,” and BL exits to get her new customer’s name and phone number.
So I’m looking for a job where the hypocrisy is more subtle. I wouldn’t say anything until after I’d given my notice, anyway. What I need from you folks is reasons not to write to corporate about this. I want to get this off my chest, but I’m sure nothing will change, and I don’t want the reputation as a troublemaker to follow me.