Archived bastards calling in sick because 11:15 is so late

[TargetMom]

A little appreciation goes a long way. When I get none until I point it out and they start back peddling, it's a problem. Yes, I do thank my cashiers when they leave for the day. Because I am a decent human being who appreciates the fact they came into work, put up with insane guests, pushed that damn REDcard, and generally did what they could to make my (and everyone else's job) easier. If management believes like you do that recognition is never needed, then morale goes down, and people begin to believe they don't matter. If people believe they don't matter, then it's an easy step to believing it doesn't really matter if they call off.

I never said recognition doesn't matter, I said I don't require being thanked for doing my job every day, there's a difference.

 

[buliSBI]

I remember having to zone to 2am for Mothers Day.

 

[Retail Girl]

I never said recognition doesn't matter, I said I don't require being thanked for doing my job every day, there's a difference.

The point of my original post was to show there is simply no recognition whatsoever.

Thank you to all who understood the point I was driving at.

 

[Burlseveryday]

People need to be accountable. It's easy to blame Target but it all boils down to this: You decided to work for Target, you agreed to work and be reliable, if you're calling out for a pathetic reason like "I don't feel like working"you should be held accountable. There are days I really don't feel like working but you know what, it's a job, you need to show up if you want to get paid. We need to stop making excuses as to why people are irresponsible. It's called life and being a responsible individual.

Here's the thing about that...
It doesn't matter that you decided to work for Target.
It doesn't matter what you "signed up for"
It doesn't matter what you "agreed to"
The only thing that matters is what Target chooses to allow.

If Target hires someone and has them sign some piece of paper where the employee agrees to be reliable and then proceeds to be unreliable, it doesn't matter unless Target chooses to take action against the individual.

You said that it's easy to blame Target... and it is because, ultimately, it's their responsibility as a company to hold their employees accountable. If they choose not to do that, they don't get to blame anyone else for having a terrible workforce.

Expecting bad employees to hold themselves accountable makes about as much sense as expecting criminals to lock themselves in jail after committing crimes.

Now for some parables from my personal experiences:

Back in my tgt days, I remember how frustrating it was being a reliable, hard working employee among an overwhelming majority of indifference.
I got fed up with it and found a job at a grocery store that paid double and held its workers to MUCH higher standards. Believe me, I still saw the occasional crappy employee, but those employees got terminated instead of tolerated.

I was very lucky to find that job and I realize many on here won't find the same opportunity, which is why I don't necessarily have a problem with people working down to Target's standards. I've seen many of my acquaintances decrease their work efforts at spot in order to have enough energy to take secondary opportunities. Ultimately, it was those secondary opportunities that gave them a more fulfilling path away from retail.

Good luck friends! May you all find quick remedy to your dissatisfactions.

 

[Coqui]

Here's the thing about that...
It doesn't matter that you decided to work for Target.
It doesn't matter what you "signed up for"
It doesn't matter what you "agreed to"
The only thing that matters is what Target chooses to allow.

If Target hires someone and has them sign some piece of paper where the employee agrees to be reliable and then proceeds to be unreliable, it doesn't matter unless Target chooses to take action against the individual.

You said that it's easy to blame Target... and it is because, ultimately, it's their responsibility as a company to hold their employees accountable. If they choose not to do that, they don't get to blame anyone else for having a terrible workforce.

Expecting bad employees to hold themselves accountable makes about as much sense as expecting criminals to lock themselves in jail after committing crimes.

Now for some parables from my personal experiences:

Back in my tgt days, I remember how frustrating it was being a reliable, hard working employee among an overwhelming majority of indifference.
I got fed up with it and found a job at a grocery store that paid double and held its workers to MUCH higher standards. Believe me, I still saw the occasional crappy employee, but those employees got terminated instead of tolerated.

I was very lucky to find that job and I realize many on here won't find the same opportunity, which is why I don't necessarily have a problem with people working down to Target's standards. I've seen many of my acquaintances decrease their work efforts at spot in order to have enough energy to take secondary opportunities. Ultimately, it was those secondary opportunities that gave them a more fulfilling path away from retail.

Good luck friends! May you all find quick remedy to your dissatisfactions.

I never said its up to them to be accountable even though we all should. It definitely is up to Target to hold their employees accountable for their actions. I do that with my team, they know that call outs and lates are not tolerated unless they have a valid reason or emergency. You don't need to have Target tell you what kind of work ethic you should have, that should come from you. If you have a job, be reliable and do your job. No one should have to tell you that you need to do your job.

 

[Retail Girl]

Unfortunately not everyone has a strong work ethic.

And in the end, I think Target knows that for what they pay, they can't hold everyone to high standards, because they simply aren't going to find people who will stay for the long term for the pay and benefits they are willing to offer.

 

[Burlseveryday]

I never said its up to them to be accountable even though we all should.

People need to be accountable..

Perhaps you didn't mean it that way but that's how I interpreted that particular quote of yours.

You don't need to have Target tell you what kind of work ethic you should have, that should come from you. If you have a job, be reliable and do your job. No one should have to tell you that you need to do your job.

As an economist (among other things) I tend to deal with how things are rather than how they should be. One of the first rules of economics is that individuals respond to incentives. Should everyone give an A+ effort without incentives? Eh, I don't really know, nor do I care because that's not a realistic expectation.

 

[PassinTime]

I'm all for being appreciated but why do you think you deserve a thank you for doing your job every day? Do you think every Tom, Dick and Harry that works out there in the rest of the world gets a thank you for doing their job every day? I'm confused by this attitude. Your thank you is that paycheck you get very 2 weeks. Until you realize that, you'll be sorely disappointed.

Let's face it, it's a low paying job with very little in the way of benefits. A paycheck is not a thank you, it's Target's obligation after an employee shows up and performs his/her job. Target's end of the bargain!

Staying late or arriving early because a coworker called off, or coming in on your day off, again because someone else called off is not what we signed up for. It's not likely that those who show up when others chose to not show up are making anymore money per hour. However, it makes the managers' jobs less difficult. Same as doing reshop w/o being asked, or running the compactor without being asked.

It's human nature to want to be appreciated. So why can't a manager take 5 seconds to validate an employee and say those 2 little words. Besides, a content employee usually puts forth more/better effort.

 

[redeye58]

Whether it's doing the job or going above & beyond, showing appreciation doesn't cost a dime but the dividends can be huge.
Ain't nothing wrong with that.

 

[tgtguy]

Whether it's doing the job or going above & beyond, showing appreciation doesn't cost a dime but the dividends can be huge.
Ain't nothing wrong with that.

so true!!!!

 

[Coqui]

I love recognizing my team especially when they are learning new skills that they didn't know two months ago. It's great to be recognized if it's genuine.

 

[tgtguy]

The same could be said for every job. A bank can't run without the tellers but I highly doubt the tellers are asking to be thanked every day for coming to work and doing a job. Ford can't run without the people on the line putting the cars together, I doubt they're asking to be thanked every day. Target is a job, that's all it is, just another job like every other job. I'm assuming because it's such small pay makes people think it requires some sort of gratitude. It doesn't. I get every once in a while somebody saying "Hey, thanks for going above and beyond", but to actually assume you should be thanked for coming and doing the job you are paid to do, every day, is ludicrous.

IMO...I don't think working at spot requires being thanked or hell even being appreciated . Would it be nice to feel that way? Sure as hell would. If I required being thanked or being appreciated I would had walked out the front door the second day I started. There is nothing wrong with someone wanting to feel appreciated and there is nothing wrong with someone making someone feel appreciated.

 

[brizzy93]

It's a nice feeling hearing your leaders recognizing you. I don't need it necessarily, and I will work hard anyways but it makes you feel appreciated. I also recognize fellow TM's at huddles. Especially BR, since they are forgotten about quite often. The BR TM's that help with SFS really help me out a lot and I appreciate it.

 

[Retail Girl]

Today was my day off. My next day off is Thursday, and my last day off was Sunday. This afternoon, I got a call from my ETL asking me if I would come in for four hours tonight to help at guest services since it had been so busy this week. Hmm...it's been a crappy week there...to the point that the LODs all run screaming from guest services and say they feel bad for everyone working over there. So he calls and leaves a message asking me to come into that hell...and since it would put me a couple minutes over 40 hours, then I could leave a couple of minutes early tomorrow (not likely as the closing GSA walks out with the LOD).

But not once this week did I get any sort of acknowledgement from a TL or higher about holding up under all the stress...not a "great job" not a "thank you"...nothing....no matter how tough it got (and it got bad). So...since they clearly didn't appreciate anything I did the rest of the week, I didn't feel so bad about declining to help them out tonight. Perhaps if I felt I mattered at all, I would have gone in...

 

[PassinTime]

Today was my day off. My next day off is Thursday, and my last day off was Sunday. This afternoon, I got a call from my ETL asking me if I would come in for four hours tonight to help at guest services since it had been so busy this week. Hmm...it's been a crappy week there...to the point that the LODs all run screaming from guest services and say they feel bad for everyone working over there. So he calls and leaves a message asking me to come into that hell...and since it would put me a couple minutes over 40 hours, then I could leave a couple of minutes early tomorrow (not likely as the closing GSA walks out with the LOD).

But not once this week did I get any sort of acknowledgement from a TL or higher about holding up under all the stress...not a "great job" not a "thank you"...nothing....no matter how tough it got (and it got bad). So...since they clearly didn't appreciate anything I did the rest of the week, I didn't feel so bad about declining to help them out tonight. Perhaps if I felt I mattered at all, I would have gone in...

Good for you!!! (I mean that sincerely. Gotta take care if yourself).

 

[Patty]

A thank you is most basic form of commom courtesy.
As redeye said, a little goes a long way.
Everyone` day is improved with common courtesy. Even the person who says thank you benegitd. No down side, and it takes a lot less effort than complaining.

 

[doxiemama]

We had a few people at the ETL level who were wonderful about thanking everybody as they announced they were clocking out for the night. I suppose the fact that they have all left Target speaks for itself. These days, I get my warm fuzzies from being thanked by guests. At least they appreciate the effort I go to to help them out. What really annoys me is that everybody seems so focused on making the seasonal kids feel appreciated these days so that they'll stick around long enough to get through the holidays. And the rest of us who have been there a lot longer? No chance in hell would they say something to us. We're taken for granted. The way things went down this year, I would have made more money working seasonal, would have had more control over my schedule, would have been appreciated more, and would have been able to walk away without feeling weird about it.

 

[Havok]

Some of my managers treat us like dirt. I was working hard and this one manager comes up to me and says "So, I'm always interviewing for your position because a lot of people want it." He said it as if I wasn't doing my job. Walking up and down ladders for 8 hours in the backroom is no joke either. One time I took a little breather after pulling CAF for 6 hours and stretched my legs. An ETL treated it as if it were the end of the world. Fuck that shit, Target doesn't respect employees and I have no problem with being expendable in such a place. Definitely not going to be somewhere I stick with longer than a year. I used to think managers at my old job were bad...

I'm going to try and get the unloader position after I find a new full time job. 4 hour days just to keep the 10% employee discount is a pretty good deal.

 

[PassinTime]

We had a few people at the ETL level who were wonderful about thanking everybody as they announced they were clocking out for the night. I suppose the fact that they have all left Target speaks for itself. These days, I get my warm fuzzies from being thanked by guests. At least they appreciate the effort I go to to help them out. What really annoys me is that everybody seems so focused on making the seasonal kids feel appreciated these days so that they'll stick around long enough to get through the holidays. And the rest of us who have been there a lot longer? No chance in hell would they say something to us. We're taken for granted. The way things went down this year, I would have made more money working seasonal, would have had more control over my schedule, would have been appreciated more, and would have been able to walk away without feeling weird about it.

Seasonals making more than regular TMs at your store?

 

[doxiemama]

Seasonals making more than regular TMs at your store?

That's the rumor. There was such a huge problem getting anybody interested in working at the store, much less staying if they did start, that HR was given permission to hike up the hourly rate for seasonal. I have no way to prove it but enough people have commented on it that I think there's probably some truth to it.

 

[signing genie]

Before I left they did the last cashier I hired was making 50 cent more then my best cashier

 

[PassinTime]

Before I left they did the last cashier I hired was making 50 cent more then my best cashier

They did that last year too. All the seasonals started at $9/hr while all the permanent, but newer, cashiers were making $7.75.

 

[Bosch]

Still hasn't stopped the seasonals from not showing up after orientation. Yesterday my god, it was children on the front lanes. I have never heard so many alcohol sales approvals needed. It was chaos.

 

[OffYaPhone]

These days, I get my warm fuzzies from being thanked by guests. At least they appreciate the effort I go to to help them out.

I've been mostly at the SD so you can only imagine the attitudes I get. Then I'll get those guests who come behind some asshole guest and their words just make me smile and remind me that there are still good people out there.

 

[BigEyedPhish]

i was working till 9:30 on tuesday and the 4-11:15 person called out. so i stayed, someone had to and I am not a total dick. the next night was my turn 4-11:15. i showed up. tonight i am off, but some other bastard called out. so they asked me to come in. ya, 11:15 sucks. i was up till 2 cause i had an energy drink so i could function till 11:15. barely got 5 hours sleep. but its a job i signed up for and 11:15 is the requirement. why can't anyone else do their part? there's plenty of night cashiers, we can all share the crappy 11:15 shift.

/rant.

I've gotten the dreaded Close->Ad set shifts more than a few times. which at that point I didn't even go to bed as I would have to had to wake up and feel even worse..

I'll never forget how when MyTime first came out it had be scheduled to do Store inventory 8pm-5am, then to Open Market 6am-2:30...

It was caught before I could do anything, but I would have done it, and just gotten half my week out of the way in one terrible day.