Would be nice if management would tell me these things ...

[Pixilated]

So I walk into work today to the announcement that I have just had my second NCNS.

"WTF?!?"

My first I took total responsibility for. I've no idea exactly what happened but I had no doubt it was down to me. Since then I've made it a point to mark down my hours and write them up on the big calendar in the kitchen, where they are impossible to miss. So how did this happen??

Welp ... I had copied down my hours from the schedules for a few weeks in advance ... including one schedule marked "Draft." Now, the mall where I work is on the other side of the city so I am virtually never there when I'm not working. I thought that somebody would call and let me know that my shifts had changed between the draft and permanent schedules.

Nobody did.

Apparently it is my responsibility to call and check.

Which is not in itself a problem, except ... IN THE NEARLY SIX MONTHS I'VE WORKED THERE, NOBODY TOLD ME THIS.

Is it standard procedure to have the employee call in to verify the finalized schedule? I'm just curious since I can't remember far enough back to remember how it worked the last time I was working shifts like this.

[AmbrosiaWriter]

Where I work, if the boss needs me to work a shift that wasn't down on the schedule originally (draft or no) he'll either catch me at work or call me to ask me if I'd be available/willing to work that day.

I don't think it's a really good idea to have a "draft" schedule because it doesn't really do anything other than confuse people. Basically it's telling you, "You might work these hours, but don't make any other plans to do anything else on the shifts you might not work because we might change it on a whim."

[Mel]

I wouldn't even mark down a draft schedule. They are subject to change, and they probably will.

On the other hand, should they be putting out a schedule that is not final?

[Android Kaeli]

Typically I get my schedule online from both jobs, since they are 99% almost always the finalized copy with a few exceptions here and there. 'Cause at Random Craft Store I'm almost never there when the actual paper copy is put up in the break room; at The Warehouse I can not get in trouble for a shift that was changed if I didn't sign off on it.

[bhskittykatt]

All our schedules note "subject to change", however we try and notify the employees if there's a last minute change.

Why would you post a "draft? schedule, anyway? That's just dumb.

Hubs has to call in and verify his schedule, but that's because they don't have a schedule physically posted anywhere and they use an automated phone system for him to call in and verify his shifts.

[mhkohne]

Why would you post a "draft? schedule, anyway? That's just dumb.

I bet the idea is to give everyone a chance to yell for changes before ir becomes final. The problem is that no one bothered to inform the OP of said process, so the OP thought it was real, when it wasn't. Management fail, i'm afraid, but the OP gets dinged for it.

How annoying.

[Pixilated]

Thanks, everybody.

The explanation I got was that the draft schedule is sent to Big Boss who must verify it; if he thinks (for example) that Manager doesn't have enough staff scheduled for a particular day/shift, he advises her of that and she changes the schedule accordingly.

Which of course still doesn't answer the question that's been asked by most of you: Why post a 'draft' schedule to begin with? (AmbrosiaWriter, I love your assessment of a draft schedule -- it's so very accurate!)

Nor does it answer the question: Why is stuff like this not written down and handed out to new employees?? Instead it seems to be a case of being given information piecemeal, if and when the boss remembers to let you know.

And I love the idea of sending out schedules via email. Unfortunately I don't think they're set up for it.

[Jay 2K Winger]

This reminds me of something at the wholesale club. I've related the story before, I'm sure, but anyway.

For a while at the store, we never seemed to have a personnel manager last more than six months. The personnel manager was responsible for making the schedules, or at least putting all the mini-schedules from the various departments together, and making sure that no one was scheduled to go outside their availability or get double-booked (working both cashier and FDLP in the same time slot).

At one point, the schedules fell very behind in their being posted. The schedules ran from Sunday to Saturday, and were supposed to be posted by Thursday night. Well, this particular week, the schedule wasn't up by the time the store closed on Saturday... and despite working furiously, the manager who was making the schedule that week still would not have it done by the time the closing shift was supposed to leave, and the managers couldn't let everyone stay in the store until the schedule was posted. (Which didn't happen for a couple more hours, as I understand it.)

The result was a lot of very unhappy workers, many of whom-- myself included-- were very steamed about this, because it made it very difficult to plan our week out, if we didn't work a set schedule every week. (I didn't, at that time. My scheduled shifts varied from week to week.) I was so pissed off-- this was the dingleberry on top of the massive pile of shit that was that particular day-- that I told several people, some of whom would be working the next morning, that I wasn't coming in the following day. A couple other people did the same thing, as I understand.

Naturally, the following morning on Sunday, I got a call from the store asking where I was. As it was Ol' Scarface doing the calling, I was rather blunt.

OS: "Why aren't you here?"
J2K: "Oh, sorry, was I scheduled? How was I supposed to know that, when the schedule still wasn't up when we left last night?"
OS: "Everyone was supposed to call in to get their schedules."
J2K: "Well that must've been very inconvenient for whoever had to answer all those calls."
OS: "Well, you're scheduled for today."
J2K: "Sorry, but I assumed that I wasn't scheduled today, since I had nothing to the contrary to say otherwise, and I already made plans."
OS: "...let me get <manager>."

She put me on hold. I hung up. I then told my folks, who were equally angry with the unprofessionalism of not having the schedule ready, that if the store called again, I wasn't home. And since the store didn't have my cell phone, they had no other way to reach me.

I did call later in the day, when I knew Ol' Scarface would be gone, and got my schedule for Monday. When I went in, I did get chewed out for my not coming in, but I stood firm on my actions, and the managers did admit they screwed up. No write-ups were made, and they made damn sure to have the schedule up on time after that.