Tweet
(Copying & pasting this over from my FIMFiction blog, with some edits.)
So, people might know I worked for Wal-Mart for a little shy of three years.
And, to sum it all up, my direct manager was a condescending bitch, the store was terribly mismanaged with an extremely high turnover rate, and I had no hope of moving up no matter how well I knew my job, because the management only promoted their friends and family. So, I finally left about a week and a half ago, heading for a new job as a supervisor at a janitorial service. I breezed through the training on day one, killed it around the office on days two and three, and it seemed like—while the job might prove difficult at times—I was impressing the boss and would be able to stay on top of things.
And then the evening of Day 3 came around, and I was supposed to ride along with the current supervisor as he did his route. But after the first couple stops, he just started to ignore me. One job site, we couldn't begin work until 6:00, but we got there at 5:30. So we just stood outside with the cleaner. The two of them knew each other from previous work, and kept busy chatting about people and places I knew nothing about. I wasn't invited to join in on this, so I pulled out my phone and started reading until we could go inside. As a note, supervisors are supposed to carry and use a cell phone as part of the job, so that shouldn't have been an issue then.
After we could go inside, we went over the building, and I followed along, listening as best I could to his mile-a-minute explanation of the various tasks. Once we were done with that, he grabbed a newspaper off of the receptionist's desk and said he was going to take a break to read for a bit. And so I did, too, and resumed reading. He commented that I was playing with my phone a lot, and I told him "We're spending a lot of time just sitting around. Once I have something to do, I'll focus on that."
The next job site, after going around the building and reviewing the work that was being done, he and one of the cleaners stepped aside. I started to follow, only for him to tell me "This is a private conversation. Just go wait by the door." We wound up being there about an hour and a half, and a lot of that time was spent reading on my phone as I waited for him, which earned me more "You sure are on that phone a lot" commentary. And once we were done there, he said we were done for the night and dropped me off back at my car.
Day Four, I'm supposed to start doing the basic janitor work, and do that for a couple weeks so I learn how to do anything that needs done, as supervisors are supposed to cover for their missing staff. We go back to the site we spent an hour at last time, which is a pretty large office building. I'm told my area, then given a cleaning cart and vacuum, and told "You need to get the carpet, desks, and trash. I'll be back to check in on you."
I soon realized I was missing some things from my cart, so I went to find him or the building supervisor to ask if any of the items I did have would be acceptable stand-ins, or, failing that, where I could find replacements. And I couldn't find anyone. I probably looked around for a good 15-20 minutes until I finally ran into the building supervisor. She got me what I needed, but that still meant waiting for her to get back, which took even more time. Afterward, I could finally get started on the desks. Now, when I had been there on Day 3, I heard over and over that we'd been getting complaints because the desks and tables weren't being properly cleaned, so I was very thorough in my work there.
Apparently, that was a mistake, as the trainer finally turned up again, over an hour into the shift, and told me I was going way too slow. It seems this whole task was only supposed to take me 20 minutes and I should have just been doing quick spot-cleaning the entire time. He lectured me some more in the same vein, then left again. So, I sped it up as much as I could, wrapped up that section, and moved on to the next. I was still working on it when I was told to go take my break. Upon my return, the trainer said he'd called the boss about my poor performance, and I was being sent home. He also said I should expect to be called in to talk to the boss the next day.
Next day comes around, and I call to see when would be a good time to come in. And the boss is busy. This continues through the day, until finally, less than an hour before I would have gone in for the next cleaning shift, the receptionist finally calls me back to inform me that I've been let go. Apparently, the trainer told the boss I spent all my time texting on my phone instead of working. I was told this was a major infraction and they didn't think I was supervisor material, so I'd be terminated.
I then heard from a friend who worked there as well (the one who pointed me at the job opening) that all the talk about how great a job I'd been doing had turned into "I knew he wouldn't last from the minute he interviewed" as soon as the decision was made, and better yet, it turns out the receptionist's son-in-law (receptionist is related to boss, by the way) wanted the supervisor position I had and they'd likely been looking for an excuse to go ahead and get rid of me.
So, back to the job search, likely at a much lower pay rate than I've been getting. And I have to take the first thing I can get because I won't qualify for unemployment, as I left my previous job voluntarily and didn't work for the new one long enough for it to count. Even if I had, they could claim I was fired for cause (since everything is based entirely on the word of my trainer) and block it anyway.
So, people might know I worked for Wal-Mart for a little shy of three years.
And, to sum it all up, my direct manager was a condescending bitch, the store was terribly mismanaged with an extremely high turnover rate, and I had no hope of moving up no matter how well I knew my job, because the management only promoted their friends and family. So, I finally left about a week and a half ago, heading for a new job as a supervisor at a janitorial service. I breezed through the training on day one, killed it around the office on days two and three, and it seemed like—while the job might prove difficult at times—I was impressing the boss and would be able to stay on top of things.
And then the evening of Day 3 came around, and I was supposed to ride along with the current supervisor as he did his route. But after the first couple stops, he just started to ignore me. One job site, we couldn't begin work until 6:00, but we got there at 5:30. So we just stood outside with the cleaner. The two of them knew each other from previous work, and kept busy chatting about people and places I knew nothing about. I wasn't invited to join in on this, so I pulled out my phone and started reading until we could go inside. As a note, supervisors are supposed to carry and use a cell phone as part of the job, so that shouldn't have been an issue then.
After we could go inside, we went over the building, and I followed along, listening as best I could to his mile-a-minute explanation of the various tasks. Once we were done with that, he grabbed a newspaper off of the receptionist's desk and said he was going to take a break to read for a bit. And so I did, too, and resumed reading. He commented that I was playing with my phone a lot, and I told him "We're spending a lot of time just sitting around. Once I have something to do, I'll focus on that."
The next job site, after going around the building and reviewing the work that was being done, he and one of the cleaners stepped aside. I started to follow, only for him to tell me "This is a private conversation. Just go wait by the door." We wound up being there about an hour and a half, and a lot of that time was spent reading on my phone as I waited for him, which earned me more "You sure are on that phone a lot" commentary. And once we were done there, he said we were done for the night and dropped me off back at my car.
Day Four, I'm supposed to start doing the basic janitor work, and do that for a couple weeks so I learn how to do anything that needs done, as supervisors are supposed to cover for their missing staff. We go back to the site we spent an hour at last time, which is a pretty large office building. I'm told my area, then given a cleaning cart and vacuum, and told "You need to get the carpet, desks, and trash. I'll be back to check in on you."
I soon realized I was missing some things from my cart, so I went to find him or the building supervisor to ask if any of the items I did have would be acceptable stand-ins, or, failing that, where I could find replacements. And I couldn't find anyone. I probably looked around for a good 15-20 minutes until I finally ran into the building supervisor. She got me what I needed, but that still meant waiting for her to get back, which took even more time. Afterward, I could finally get started on the desks. Now, when I had been there on Day 3, I heard over and over that we'd been getting complaints because the desks and tables weren't being properly cleaned, so I was very thorough in my work there.
Apparently, that was a mistake, as the trainer finally turned up again, over an hour into the shift, and told me I was going way too slow. It seems this whole task was only supposed to take me 20 minutes and I should have just been doing quick spot-cleaning the entire time. He lectured me some more in the same vein, then left again. So, I sped it up as much as I could, wrapped up that section, and moved on to the next. I was still working on it when I was told to go take my break. Upon my return, the trainer said he'd called the boss about my poor performance, and I was being sent home. He also said I should expect to be called in to talk to the boss the next day.
Next day comes around, and I call to see when would be a good time to come in. And the boss is busy. This continues through the day, until finally, less than an hour before I would have gone in for the next cleaning shift, the receptionist finally calls me back to inform me that I've been let go. Apparently, the trainer told the boss I spent all my time texting on my phone instead of working. I was told this was a major infraction and they didn't think I was supervisor material, so I'd be terminated.
I then heard from a friend who worked there as well (the one who pointed me at the job opening) that all the talk about how great a job I'd been doing had turned into "I knew he wouldn't last from the minute he interviewed" as soon as the decision was made, and better yet, it turns out the receptionist's son-in-law (receptionist is related to boss, by the way) wanted the supervisor position I had and they'd likely been looking for an excuse to go ahead and get rid of me.
So, back to the job search, likely at a much lower pay rate than I've been getting. And I have to take the first thing I can get because I won't qualify for unemployment, as I left my previous job voluntarily and didn't work for the new one long enough for it to count. Even if I had, they could claim I was fired for cause (since everything is based entirely on the word of my trainer) and block it anyway.
Hope you find something better 
Comment