I'm about to be fired.

[wagegoth]

Do you have documentation of that?
I believe you can't be fired for a condition you had when they hired you, even if you didn't disclose it when hired (although maybe you could be fired for not disclosing it, say if they had a question on the application like "do you have any disabilities that might affect your ability to do the job" and you "lied" in answering it.

It seems unlikely that her job description contains that words, "Must be able to maintain eye contact and smile at all times when interacting with customers." Then, again, it's a Walmart world.

[BethB]

I didn't smile ENOUGH. .

I got that complaint when I worked at the deli. Sorry but $6.40/hr and being forced to play the deli's bitch just weren't worth it. Found a much better job within a week of that crap and didn't give notice. I got the job on a sunday and never showed on monday. It felt nice. Plus I don't like to smile unless I am genuinely happy with my job. I was not happy there and I don't do perma-grins for jerks.

[Despina83]

I don't understand why people are that concerned about my face. So long as I am polite to you, greet you, say thanks and have a good day, why should anyone get their panties in a bunch because I wasn't grinning ear to ear? Come on, after standing at a till for several hours with an aching back and feet, the last thing you feel like doing is smiling at everyone. I'm not a performing pet. I'm here to ring up your stuff, be curteous and helpful, and get you out of the store as soon as possible, since I'm sure you don't want to be there any more than I do.

[Dawnchaser]

If a workplace wants me to smile nonstop they had better provide me with an IV drip of LSD and Vicodin...lol.

[yizuman]

I've dealt with big chain corporations that have staffing that will behave hostile to co-workers. Especially when this big chain pays BIG bucks to staffs as they climb up the corporate ladder.

I've seen and heard about people getting false complaints from these so called customers if one co-worker feels threatened by the person's hard work and dedication. Reason for that is that lazy people want these promotions, but will do nothing to work hard for it to earn that promotion.

Take for example, I knew of a Team Leader got an Associate fired over these so called customer complaints. That TL is lazy as hell and always sits on her ass while barking orders to staff below her sinority. The Associate was a very hard working and dedicated to her job. I've never seen her come in late and she's always available for extra hours. She's also a single mom, so I can imagine her struggle between work and home.

I firmly believe she got her fired because she felt threatened by her dedication and she would get noticed. She could quite possibily pass her by rather quickly to above her promotion rank.

I work hard myself, but there are always someone out there that has more drive and energy than I do. It would wear me out just by watching them.

I felt that wasn't fair, but what proof do I have? Nor did I understand about the idea at the time when this happened, that I could have had her request copies of the documentations. But later over time, I did learn that it's a good idea to request documentations.

Get them, make your stand. Got nothing to lose, if you're still gonna get fired anyway, demand them still, even when unemployed. Get a lawyer to subpoena them if neccesary.

If no proof is found on their end, file a wrongful termination lawsuit. Make it not just about the money, but to make the people that wronged you be held accountable for their actions.

That's my .

Yiz

[FreeStuffPlease]

I've been working in a Call Centre for 10 months. In those 10 months I've had 2 complaints made against me, both unfounded.

I deal with 60+ customers per day and due to the low tone of my voice I don't come across as friendly.

You getting 5 complaints in four hours is absurd.

Get proof of these complaints, a manager will have a copy of them ( It would mean managers could make up fake complaints and fire people they didn't like, so a copy would be there to maintain an unbiased attitude.) and if they refuse to provide copies take it to your union(If your in one) or local Labor board.

Granted, it seems like they don't want you there so I'd start looking for a new job if I were you.

[Despina83]

Alright, so today I punched in and started to head for the front lanes when the supervisor pulled me aside, and I'm thinking "Oh great, what now." Turns out I misunderstood her, she wasn't just warning me that she might have to put me on final warning, she WAS putting me on final warning. She had all the paperwork. "On March 21st, 2009, you were seen by a few guests and team members not delivering fast, fun, and friendly service...etc. etc." I looked at the paper and it said one of the complaints was that the guest felt "rushed". Um, what? Rushed? How in the hell was I rushing you? Because I was making an effort to scan your stuff in a timely manner? I've never RUSHED anyone out of my lane.

She told me that she'd had a lot of team members and team leads mention my lack of guest service before. She said, "The sad part is, no one that I talked to about this was at all surprised. They've seen it happen before and made comments about it. I told (team leader) that I'd have to write you up and she said 'I agree. She doesn't look guests in the eye or smile.'"

I was pretty pissed off sitting there listening to this bullshit.

I questioned her as to why this was my final warning already, as it seemed that we got there awful quick. She informed me that since this occured during the six months after my first corrective action, she had to move straight to final warning. Those are the rules. They used to have another warning step in there, but they threw that out.

I asked who recieved all of the complaints about me and she confirmed which GSA it was, and also that that particular GSA noted my behavior as well. Today I questioned her about the complaints that guests were making. She said, "Yeah...it wasn't just you, it was crazy. They were complaing about other people too. Don't take it personally." I choose not to confront her about that complaint that SHE made against me. She acted perfectly nice to me, put on a show of saying that "yeah, the stupid guests will complain about anything..." and the whole time I'm thinking "well why did you help to get me in trouble too??"

So yeah, I'm on final warning now. My job is hanging by a thread. There was one very small bright side today when me and the GSA were dealing with a very difficult guest for SEVERAL minutes. She had literally about 50 coupons and she kept making us repeatedly count her items and her coupons. When she saw her total she said, "Well, you guys did something wrong. REDO, please." You could see the GSA was visibly upset. She was gritting her teeth, speaking to the guest in a voice that suggested she was about to lose it. After the guest FINALLY left, the GSA pulled me aside. I was thinking "Oh God, what now?" Then she gave me a high five and said, "Awesome guest service! You were so calm, and I was ready to kill her. I still want to rip her head off. Nice job!" I asked her to let the supervisor and manager know this, and she promised to let them know in her notes. Hopefully she remembered. Not that it'll do me a lick of good, since I'm already in so much trouble.

I'm still upset that people could be so petty as to try to get some girl making minimum wage fired because she didn't make eye contact with you or chat you up. That's just outrageous. Haven't people anything better to do than to try to make other peoples' lives miserable?

[Can I Help Your A$$?]

Target wants robots, not human workers. That Fast Fun and Friendly thing is BS corporate jingoism, and they train you to rat out your coworkers for stuff you really don't care about. There have been at least 5 firings in my very small store in the last 2 months, which makes the employees nervous. They told us that if any of us complained, we were to report them.

The fired people in my store were experienced and higher-paid middle managers and trainers. Duh. They want to have more employees at low pay. It only makes financial sense. Corporate wants more turnaround, so it's easy to fire people who don't meet this hazy notion of "fast fun and friendly."

If they want "fun, they should have to pay SAG (screen actors' guild) union scale.

[katie kaboom]

Well now that I know who you work for, I'm not at all surprised. I worked for them a few years ago and it was a nightmare. I got written up three times over the same issue, which was something pretty much out of my control to begin with.

[katie kaboom]

Haven't people anything better to do than to try to make other peoples' lives miserable?

In a word.....no. People suck.

[XCashier]

If a workplace wants me to smile nonstop they had better provide me with an IV drip of LSD and Vicodin...lol.

If a workplace wants me to smile nonstop, they'd better provide me with a topnotch dental plan that covers cosmetic dentistry!

Wish the general public would understand that CS workers are just as human as they are, and not demand that we jump through hoops they wouldn't jump through. Aw, that cashier didn't look you in the eye? Couldn't possibly be because she's lost a loved one, or just got reamed out by a previous customer, or you've got halitosis that's singeing her eyelashes, she MUST BE RUDE!

[DerangedHermit]

And people bitch at Wal-Mart for mistreating their employees...Target seems like it's not much better.

[bainsidhe]

The situation sucks, I'll certainly grant you that. So what are you doing about it? And I don't mean that to sound snotty, I mean that now is a good time to take care of you. It's clear your workplace is setting you up for fail, so it leaves you with the option of "playing nice", sucking up and just hoping for the best...or to actively start preparing yourself for other work. Polish up that 'ol resume and start applying/searching at surrounding jobs and businesses. Awful as this situation is, taking steps now will put you in a better mindset and prepare you to take care of yourself should (when?) something happens.

[Munkie]

My brother has Social Anxiety as well. I love him to pieces and try to coax him out of the house (which never works), but i try. He also has Enochlophobia, which is a fear of crowds. He's always had a hard time of it being out of the house, even at work. He DOES occasionally make it out to some social functions that we're both involved in, but it is rare, and we love having him there.

I totally understand how you would feel, being a cashier with SA. Don't let them get you, tell the management, and try to get it across to them that Social Anxiety is a very real thing and affects you. Don't EVER give in! Be strong, be proud... be the sassy Despina in the angry rant! XD

[Despina83]

And now today I find out that they are switching around all of the supervisors. Keep in mind that the GSTL who told me I was in all of that trouble is actually one of the easier to get along with supervisors. One of the supervisors who frequently works on the floor is a bitch extraordinare. Seriously, she's a witch. Everything thinks she looks like she pulls wings off butterflies, but since I hate it when people judge me, I tried to give her a chance. And well, now everyone knows that she is, in fact, every bit as bitchy as she looks. She yelled at me once when I was on my lunch for chatting for a moment with one of my co-workers while I browsing (who wasn't on break or lunch). She gives people grief when they call in sick. One girl had a concusion and this supervisor was like, "*sigh* Are you SURE you can't work?" She gets on people's cases for leaving to get drinks. She's vile. And she could very well be the new supervisor at the front lanes. If this is the case, I will have no other choice than to quit.

There's another supervisor who isn't quite as bad, but nearly. I also hope to God it's not him.

There's a couple of girls who it might be that aren't too bad, so I guess I have to hope for them.

It seems very clear that very soon, I will likely be forced to quit or be "terminated".