First real day on the job-sobbed in the breakroom

[Despina83]

How embarrassing. So I started working at a store a few days ago. It's kinda like Wal-Mart, only more expensive and most states don't have one. Oh where to begin.

First of all, they have THE most ridiculous rules for employees EVER. It makes working at Target look like a piece of cake. I realize now how laid back we were over there....

Anyway, on Tuesday I spent six hours sitting in a chair staring at a computer screen while listening to "lessons" online. The supervisor forgot all about me and left me sitting there forever and I didn't know how long I was supposed to stay or when to take a break or what. I called the guy and he said I'll be back there in a few minutes, but he never showed up. Finally I called him again to ask him something about the computer and he said "Didn't you take a break?" I'm thinking "No, you didn't tell me to..." Then he said "I'll be right back there." Finally like 20 minutes later he shows up and goes "I'm so, so, SO sorry!! I forgot all about you and left you back here..."

Today was a nightmare. It started out fine, I did a few more hours of training on the computer. Then they pulled me out onto the floor to work with a girl in Pets. She kept running off and leaving me there and of course I had a phone that customers would call and I'm like what the hell am I supposed to do with customers asking things I known othing about. I briefly watched a supervisor scoop out fish into plastic bags for a customer. Then she LEAVES and of course all of the sudden everybody and their brother Bob wants a freakin' fish. So I'm up on the ladder and I end up sloshing a bunch of water onto the floor. Then I lose my head and set down the bag with the fish onto the counter and start wiping up the mess quick. All of the sudden the guy yells "WHOA, WHOA, WHOA!!" and lunges for the counter. The bag had tipped over of course and water was pouring all over the counter and floor. I was obviously humiliated but I just laughed it off as best as I could and told them I was new (they were like "First day huh? Ha ha.") and called the girl back to help me out. After that we were swamped and they were pulling us all over the floor. She sent me over to help a customer in bikes and I knew absoluetly nothing about bikes and she had to come back and rescue me.

At that point I was feeling stressed and still embarrassed about the fish fiasco. Then I feel like I'm tearing up so I quickly excused myself to the bathroom to take a minute to calm down. After I was composed, I went on break with the girl who was training me (after which I was to punch out and go home). I'm in the breakroom and I was still kind of tearing up and struggling to hold it back. Obviously you don't want to be crying at work. I was chatting with the girl about how hectic it was tonight and she started sympathizing with me and then all of the sudden I just lost it and started sobbing right there in the fucking break room. Her and another girl were extremely nice and understanding about it and they were hugging me and telling me how many times they've gotten so stressed they cried there, telling me stories to cheer me up, etc. So then I punch out to leave and the girl tells me that the manager on duty wants me to call her first. So I do and tell her I'm leaving and that I punched out. Then she's like "You CAN'T punch out before talking to me! That can get you into big, BIG trouble." I explained that I was told to do so and she said "Don't listen to them! They're on the same level you are. ALWAYS call me before punching out." On my way out I started sweating because I couldn't find my freakin' car keys. And now I'm home and looking back and thinking what a wonderful place Target was to work and how I'd like to go running back...I've got to get more applications out or something, because I DON'T want to stay at this place.

[Retail Associate]

Just a guess here but it sounds like Meijer to me. That place is an absolute hellhole. The only people who ever receive any training at all are cashiers. Everyone else spends hours on the computer their first few days then is immediately thrown to the wolves.

[Despina83]

DING DING DING! Meijer it is. They are the only place in town that's hiring and I've been told that they're so desperate for people because everyone has been walking off the job. Gee, I can't imagine why. The way they do orientation and training is just totally nuts. I'm STILL not done watching video lectures and I've spent 10 hours straing at that damn screen so far!! At Target we never had to do a single thing on a computer. Orientation was kept brief, sensible, and to the point. We trained WITH people. And we all managed fine. Until two years later they suddenly decided I was an unsatisfactory employee and fired me, but that's another story. I don't know what I'm going to do. My dad was THRILLED and so relieved when I finally found another job. Plus we've pretty much lost our healthcare and Meijer provides workers with healthcare, to a certain extent. He would flip the fuck out at the thought of me wanting to leave. My aunt has been keeping an eye out for jobs at an inusrance place that she works at. Jesus, I could really use a phone call from her right about now...*sigh* Anywhere has to be better. Everything I see at this place just sets off being warning lights in my mind. Everything they do is ass backwards.

[casey13]

It sounds like Meijer to me too. It'll get better, at least it did for me but then the store was slightly better than normal ones because we weren't union.

Why didn't you shadow the girl though? Tell them upfront that you don't know anything about x and that you need their help or at least you'll call them back there to help you? Their phone extensions should be 477, 488, or 449 if you are in hardgoods. Fish can be a pain, but it gets better and depending on which net you're using, it'll get easier. At least they don't stock birds anymore, that was a real killer even for me.

I was in the same boat and I wanted to quit, but it does get better.

Honestly, breaks are usually at your own will if you want them at all because you're in hardgoods. The same with lunch.

As for calling the manager on duty before leaving, they should have told you that first. Also, if you close 2nd shift, they will do a walk-through for you so you need to call them about 30 minutes beforehand.

Um, also I'd recommend picking a side and trying to learn it first. It really does get better and I was very frustrated when I first started out.

Like I strongly recommend you just try it for a little while. I'm at Wal-mart down here and I'd kill to get back to Meijer even if that means I'd have to pay union fees. I couldn't transfer because I was at a non-union store.

Oh, and a tip on the fish is to look at the tags. The aggressive ones can never be housed with aggressive ones and schools/communities really need to have more than one fish of that kind.

Don't hesitate to bug your buddy in hardgoods! 477, 488, or 449. The other extensions can be looked up in the register once you get your numbers under misc functions. Learning them is the best and easiest thing to do, especially if you need help.

[Retail Associate]

casey13 is right, things will get better. But you have to help yourself reach that point because neither the managers nor most of your co-workers will be very helpful. If your store is unionized then your co-workers have seniority and will use you up and spit you out if you let them.

My first day on the floor in softlines my co-workers gave me all 3 phones and went on break. They never took the phones back either and I knew nothing about the dept. I've been in that dept for 4 years now and they still try to pull that everyday...I don't let them get away with it. I go looking for them and give them their damn phone back.

Another bit of info, the computer training courses never stop. We have to re-do several of them at least twice a year (those of us that run registers) but it's not as bad as the first few days when you're hired in.

I worked in Pet & Garden for 5 years and once I got the hang of catching those slippery fish, I liked it very much in that dept. We also covered Floral. There was always something different to do and I never got bored. They divided those 2 depts in '05 and now Pets is over beside grocery.

Hang in there. Don't let your co-workers walk all over you and you'll pick things up with time.

Good luck!

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

My company seems to do training the same way Meijer does. Cram as much knowledge as possible into computer training programs, handbooks, quizzes and tests. Or skip that and just have the n00b follow somebody around and hope they learn through osmosis.

As for having to call a manager before punching out at the end of your shift--WTF kind of bass-ackwards rule is that? Is it to give the managers a chance to extend your shift if they feel the "need" to?

[Despina83]

The cute thing is that many times you can't even get the supervisors to answer their freakin phones. Last night I was obviously kind of in a hurry to go home, and I had to stand there and try several times to phone her like she wanted but the phone just rang and rang and rang. So I got to stand around all red eyed in the break room several minutes after I was supposed to be gone, waiting for her to answer her phone. JESUS.

[Retail Associate]

As for having to call a manager before punching out at the end of your shift--WTF kind of bass-ackwards rule is that? Is it to give the managers a chance to extend your shift if they feel the "need" to?

The reason they do this is so the closing manager can decide whether or not the dept looks good enough before they let you go. Our store doesn't do this anymore because they already know the store is trashed. They have cut hours so much that there's never enough people there to do the straightening. Our softlines, which includes 7 depts, looks like a tornado went through every night.

... So I got to stand around all red eyed in the break room several minutes after I was supposed to be gone, waiting for her to answer her phone. JESUS.

My manager almost never answers her phone because she leaves it lying around somewhere and can never remember where.

Also, when someone is on the phone and you're trying to call them, instead of a busy signal you hear a regular ring. When that happens it forwards directly to the manager in charge who then gets pissed because he/she is receiving calls about something they know nothing about. Then the person who was on the phone in the first place gets chewed out because they didn't answer the call to begin with. You can't win!

The store is so poorly run it's amazing they've lasted this long. But around here people just refuse to go to Wal Mart...even though they threaten to all the time. We have 3 Meijer stores and 2 Wal Mart Supercenters in town and I'm just lucky enough to be at the busiest one out of all 5.

Our area is so damned poor yet my store is always at the top of the sales chart. Go figure.

[ohsobitter]

I just started a part-time gig @ Meijer too, and I can't tell you how many times I wanted to walk out the first couple of times I worked! They did the same thing to me with the training. I just got up and walked out when I could.

I think you have to be mentally deficient to be a manager there. Luckily I work late at night so I don't have to deal with them too much. I did get lucky & work my first few shifts with someone, so that helped a lot. Plus, I have fish, so they would always ask me to go help people there, so I spend a lot of time over there educating people, so hopefully the fish don't die.

All you can do is just take your time and learn each dept. They started me in toys, but when they figured out I was a girl, of course thru me into HBC & Housewares. ICK. I would rather stayed in toys & pets.

Good luck!

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

The reason they do this is so the closing manager can decide whether or not the dept looks good enough before they let you go. Our store doesn't do this anymore because they already know the store is trashed. They have cut hours so much that there's never enough people there to do the straightening. Our softlines, which includes 7 depts, looks like a tornado went through every night.

It used to be similar at the swamp. You couldn't leave at night until the closing manager gave the "all clear," and before that would happen he/she would walk off the floor to make sure there were no more customers shopping, make sure all the carts were brought in from outside, all returns were put away and the store was straightened properly. If an ad ended that night, they would make sure the old ad signs were taken down too.

And they were hard-assed about this too. It was rare to get out promptly at 10 pm. You'd generally get out ten to fifteen minutes later, sometimes as much as half an hour later.

Nowadays? They can't be giving much of a shit how the store looks at night. It's always trashed. If I'm setting ads Sunday mornings I'm always pulling down expired sale signs. The cart corrals in the parking lot usually have carts in them, left there overnight, and there may be loose carts in the parking lot as well. The returns from the previous night will still be sitting behind the service desk or in carts on the salesfloor.

I say straightening could at least get done, even though we don't have many people closing on a normal night. Nights are generally very slow.

But yet we continue to advertise ourselves as a cut above the Wal-Marts and Targets of the world.

[Despina83]

HBC is where they're going to put me, it sounds like. I could never get a straight answer as to where I would be working. At first they told me in fashion...It's very unfortunate that they are seriously the only ones who are hiring around here. My friend also worked at the same Target and also got fired, just after I did. He's going to be working at another Meijer. I told him I hope he has better luck with it than I'm having...I always thought Meijer would be a better place to work, but Target is a MUCH more laid back place. It sucked, but not nearly as much as working at Meijer does. Another thing that strikes me is how the "break room" looks like a prison. It's basically a gloomy little concrete area in the backroom with a few hard chairs and television that gets one (static-ridden) channel. It really does look like a prison back there. Our break room at Target was much more cheery and comfortable. We have some comfy chairs, a really nice tv with several channels and a DVD player, basically a full kitchen, etc. And they always had neat games and activities and stuff set up back there. A lot of times they'd even bring us cake (okay, so it gave me the shits, but...)

[Retail Associate]

I'm a smoker so I don't use the breakroom. I've only been in there about 5 times. I know there's a TV, a fridge, a microwave and some vending machines. The employees took up a collection and bought a converter box for the TV so it could get more channels when the signal changed to digital.

I always try to be helpful and patient with new employees because I remember the nightmare I went through when I first started. Try to find a friendly soul who's willing to help you out. If your store is anything like mine that may be difficult because there are so few people working. There's usually only 5 or 6 floor associates to cover the entire GM side of the store on 2nd shift. (Weekends we may have 2-3 more.)

Our store goes through new hires faster than you'd go through toilet paper after eating that cake at Target! They're always hiring new cashiers because they can't keep them there. Just a couple weeks ago 6 of them just up and walked out one day. Since they're always short cashiers, we floor associates are constantly called up front to run lanes. Sometimes leaving 1 or 2 people to cover the entire floor (besides grocery).

It truly is an insane place to work. They want you to perform miracles but all you can do is your best.

[Iris Kojiro]

I used to work at a Meijer. It was a temporary job, as all we were doing was remodeling the store. I understood that I would have been let go at a moment's notice, so I wasn't surprised when I was informed that one of the nights I worked was my last night (through no fault of my own, just the nature of the job). I guess I wasn't there long enough to see how bad it was, or how bad it could have been.

It was a second job anyway.

As far as the smoking thing, we actually had two break rooms, one for smokers and one for non-smokers, located on opposite sides of the back room. Being a non-smoker, I was able to chill and watch TV during breaks. It wasn't plush, but there was considerably more room in the non-smoking break room.

[ohsobitter]

Our store is open 24 hrs a day, so you can't ever be 100%. I've never had a manager do a walk thru w/ me. The only manager on late at night leaves at 11pm, and I usually work until midnight.

I normally only work like 3-4 hrs at a time, so I only get a break, but I never go back in our break room. It's not a prison, but it is DIRTY! I grosses me out to have to have to go back there. I sit in my car and listen to the radio.

[casey13]

Actually, walk-throughs should be done about half an hour to an hour before someone leaves and then they usually let the person clock out early. I never called before half an hour, but the managers would come through at 10 for me.

Also, on the printed schedules it will tell you where you're supposed to work along with the online time thing. At least it did last Christmas. Usually I used the online time thing to see what department and then you match it up with the phones or the department number. Like HBC is 44 (444), hardgoods is 88 (488) and so on.

To be honest, I'd recommend transferring to a non-union one if you have one in your area. I think there might be only three to four in the company. We had better managers, higher pay scale, health care, and overall we were a better store because they could fire the people that sucked while giving the better people more hours than the not-as-good people.

We actually had cake/cookies quite often at my store. I remember when we had to rearrange the backroom because of corporate, the ASD bought us pizza for lunch.