Work frustration

[workerbee222]

In any bureaucracy all that matters is that you go through the motions. All of them, whether they make sense or not.

That's right. Your boss may not always be right, but s/he is always the boss.

Now you know "create a new list' is your go-to solution, until it isn't.

[Ironclad Alibi]

In any bureaucracy all that matters is that you go through the motions. All of them, whether they make sense or not.

[Kristev]

That's nonsense in my eyes. Either way it leads to an error in the inventory records.

[snugglegirl05]

According to the fuel center manager and the fuel center lead trainee, whoever is supposed to replenish the supplies is supposed to do that because the lead trainee checks to see if this is done on a daily basis by bringing up the report that is generated after scanning the items and going through the steps to generate the daily report.

Yesterday I opened and one of my co -workers closed.

I replenished the supplies beginning at 6:30 a.m., but there were issues with the hand held device after I scanned all the products. While I was waiting for a manager to approve what I scanned, the hand held device logged me out. When the manager arrived, and this was the store manager, I showed him what happened, and I logged back into the device. I brought up the existing list, but when I pressed on that list, it did not show up. So I showed the store manager that. He pressed on the list too, but he could not bring it up either. He asked me if I scanned all the products, and I told him yes. He then said to go ahead and take the products to the fuel center.

This morning while I was at home I received a text from the lead trainee asking me if I replenished the supplies yesterday, and I answered yes. She then mentioned that a report was not generated, and so I explained what happened. Her answer was to press on create a new list next time this happens. But that would create a new list which may or may not correspond to the products I scanned. But oh well.

[Deserted]

"What do you want me to do, stay in the shack or replenish supplies? I can't do both." Get an answer from her in writing. Failing that, record her answer -- whip out your phone and ask away.

[Buzzard]

The answer is in cloning. You either have a clone of yourself doing the things that take you away from the fuel center, or you have a living, breathing clone of the MiM to show the authorities, if they should come around asking odd questions... for some reason...

As Eric said, there's no way to actually do the job, except in the idiot's mind. Documentation will be helpful when the idiot decides to put someone under the bus for her screwups.

[EricKei]

Nothing is impossible for those who don't have to do it themselves – like your FC manager, apparently. Whatever they want you to ACTUALLY do, maybe see if you can get it in writing (even if it's just a text message or email you can save onto your phone); maybe just say that you wanna make sure it's done the way THEY want it done and without any confusion going forward. If they won't schedule enough people to allow for this (whether it's their fault or just Corporate being cheap), that's on them.

They could also have the opener come in before operating hours (while being paid to do so!)...but that may be unlikely.

[snugglegirl05]

I need advice regarding dealing with a situation at work.

I currently work at a fuel center for a *major grocery store chain*, and one responsibility we have is to replenish the inventory items 7 days a week that we sell at the fuel center.

That involves the following...

• Getting the hand held device that is used to scan the items from inside the store
• Logging into the hand held device
• Doing the daily count after logging into the device which involves selecting the fuel center and then choosing daily count. A list populates and you scan items according the the list and then enter the amount of each item
• Then you choose replenishment and build a list for the fuel center regarding the inventory that needs to be replenished.

The fuel center manager makes the work schedule for the fuel center, and she indicates on the work schedule who is supposed to do the inventory replenishment 7 days a week. Store management wants this done 7 days a week.

Ideally there should be an opener, a mid shift person, and a closer when this happens. However, this has not been the case 7 days a week every week. Many times there is only an opener and a closer. Yet, the inventory replenishment still needs to be done, and that falls on the opener to do that.

So the opener has to 1) lock up the storage containers that store the items that are sold at the fuel center such as ice, energy drinks, items for your car, and cases of bottled water, 2) log off the register that is inside the kiosk we sit it, 3) put up a sign stating that the fuel center window is closed and to pay at the pumps, and 4) leave the fuel center and go inside the store to do the inventory replenishment. Once you are done finding and scanning the items, a member of store management has to verify what you scanned and then escort you to to the fuel center along with the items you scanned.

This past Tuesday I was the opener, and another co-worker was to the closer. There was no mid shift employee scheduled to work.

So that meant I had to leave the fuel center to do the inventory replenishment.

Apparently while I was doing the inventory replenishment a customer complained that there was no-one at the fuel center.

The fuel center manage got wind of the complaint, and when she saw me she asked me how long it would be when I would be back at the fuel center. I told her I was almost done. She then asked me if there was anyone else at the fuel center. I told her I was the only one working at the fuel center. She then told me that she could not have the fuel center unattended and to stop what I was doing. She said she would have someone else finish.

This is frustrating and irritating to me.

What do we do when the fuel center manager acts like this considering we are doing what we are supposed to do?