As I might have alluded to in my "New AM" thread, the department manager has decided that it's a super-awesome-fabulous idea that we get radios with earpieces.
...for all three of us on the floor. We think it's just a control thing, we all know V and M don't really like the fact that I know more than the two of them combined because I've been there forever (so anybody with a question--in any retail department, and even a few from quick-service and restaurant--comes to me). It's already been decreed that we must be reachable on the radio all the time, and if we're called and don't respond immediately she wants to know why...gee, this sounds an awful lot like asking to use the bathroom.
The radios are cheap as shit and poorly/not shielded, so if we happen to be standing under one of the overhead speakers we hear either nothing or static...I just found out that they run on the cellular network and coverage in certain areas of the store at certain times is utter crap. I've worked school/community theater crews on shoestring budgets that had way better kit than this. Security has the same radios we do, and my pal R hates them....I got my paw slapped today when M got it in her head that I went on break without telling her. I did notify the team, not my fault if she didn't hear me (or that she left her radio in the warehouse...of course you're not going to hear me if you don't have it).
The earpiece cord can be a safety hazard when stocking; I lost count how many times I got tangled up in it yesterday (doubleplus ungood on a ladder when you're also trying to pay attention to customers banging into your perch). So my speed suffers because of this stupid thing. I've also found out that if I have the earpiece in (which I will rarely use, due to some weirdness with my ear shape it doesn't stay in and if I have even the slightest sinus problem--which is becoming common in the store during the winter--I can't hear a damn thing) customers will not ask for help. If I'm not wearing it, they ask away. Mom's dealt with workers wearing earpieces before, she says it's very offputting to be asking a question and all of a sudden the worker is replying to something completely different (impression she gets is that they're not actually paying attention to the customer). I'm not sure if this was planned so that the stockers "can't" answer customer questions.
Unfortunately, the mic/earpiece is a single unit with a proprietary connector so I can't request just a lapel mic or use my own.
ETA: Somehow I wound up with the packaging from one of the radios, so I went to the website. A company I've never heard of out of China (surprise) and the website doesn't exactly project quality with assorted Engrish, grammar mistakes, etc. It looks like the model we have is around $20 a pop.
...for all three of us on the floor. We think it's just a control thing, we all know V and M don't really like the fact that I know more than the two of them combined because I've been there forever (so anybody with a question--in any retail department, and even a few from quick-service and restaurant--comes to me). It's already been decreed that we must be reachable on the radio all the time, and if we're called and don't respond immediately she wants to know why...gee, this sounds an awful lot like asking to use the bathroom.
The radios are cheap as shit and poorly/not shielded, so if we happen to be standing under one of the overhead speakers we hear either nothing or static...I just found out that they run on the cellular network and coverage in certain areas of the store at certain times is utter crap. I've worked school/community theater crews on shoestring budgets that had way better kit than this. Security has the same radios we do, and my pal R hates them....I got my paw slapped today when M got it in her head that I went on break without telling her. I did notify the team, not my fault if she didn't hear me (or that she left her radio in the warehouse...of course you're not going to hear me if you don't have it).
The earpiece cord can be a safety hazard when stocking; I lost count how many times I got tangled up in it yesterday (doubleplus ungood on a ladder when you're also trying to pay attention to customers banging into your perch). So my speed suffers because of this stupid thing. I've also found out that if I have the earpiece in (which I will rarely use, due to some weirdness with my ear shape it doesn't stay in and if I have even the slightest sinus problem--which is becoming common in the store during the winter--I can't hear a damn thing) customers will not ask for help. If I'm not wearing it, they ask away. Mom's dealt with workers wearing earpieces before, she says it's very offputting to be asking a question and all of a sudden the worker is replying to something completely different (impression she gets is that they're not actually paying attention to the customer). I'm not sure if this was planned so that the stockers "can't" answer customer questions.
Unfortunately, the mic/earpiece is a single unit with a proprietary connector so I can't request just a lapel mic or use my own.
ETA: Somehow I wound up with the packaging from one of the radios, so I went to the website. A company I've never heard of out of China (surprise) and the website doesn't exactly project quality with assorted Engrish, grammar mistakes, etc. It looks like the model we have is around $20 a pop.
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