Archived Closing shift: To complain or not to complain?

[Coyote]

Hey, y'all... I've been working for Target for a little over a month now, and a job I took out of desperation has turned into a job I really like. I like the people I work with, I like the customers/"guests", and I like the atmosphere. The only complaint I have is that I'm often scheduled for the "closing" shift, and that means that while I'm scheduled from 3-11PM, sometimes I'm not even allowed to leave until past midnight or 1AM. I'm happy to be a "team player", but I don't like it when I'm held against my will after having worked hard for a full 8 or 9 hours in Electronics and being told I shouldn't dare ask to go home until I've folded shirts in "Softlines" for another hour. I asked a fellow employee what would happen if I had other plans and needed to go home at my scheduled end time, and she said "The L.O.D. would laugh at you." I'm hired for and in it for the long haul, beyond seasonal...and I want to work hard and give it my all. But am I wrong to speak to a manager about being held hostage in the closing hours? It wasn't in the job description.

 

[IhaveaDream]

You are not being held hostage. This is your JOB. It is how a job works. You do not get to choose when you work. You work when you are told. Don't like it then start your own business and then you can work your own hours.

 

[Signkitty]

You are not being held hostage. This is your JOB. It is how a job works. You do not get to choose when you work. You work when you are told. Don't like it then start your own business and then you can work your own hours.

This is not how a job should work sadly these days people just tell you to be happy you have a job even if they treat you like poo.

 

[commiecorvus]

You are not being held hostage. This is your JOB. It is how a job works. You do not get to choose when you work. You work when you are told. Don't like it then start your own business and then you can work your own hours.

That's fine and dandy if you have your own transportation but what if you have to take public transportation?
That being forced to stay might mean you're walking home at 1:00 a.m., not cool at all.
It's not unreasonable to expect that if the schedule says you get off at 11:00 than you will be walking out the door somewhere in the neighborhood.
Otherwise they should be scheduling to midnight or whatever.

 

[Kompa]

Backroom just get's up and leaves at 11.

if the schedule says im done at 11, then im leaving at 11

 

[buliSBI]

Hey, y'all... I've been working for Target for a little over a month now, and a job I took out of desperation has turned into a job I really like. I like the people I work with, I like the customers/"guests", and I like the atmosphere. The only complaint I have is that I'm often scheduled for the "closing" shift, and that means that while I'm scheduled from 3-11PM, sometimes I'm not even allowed to leave until past midnight or 1AM. I'm happy to be a "team player", but I don't like it when I'm held against my will after having worked hard for a full 8 or 9 hours in Electronics and being told I shouldn't dare ask to go home until I've folded shirts in "Softlines" for another hour. I asked a fellow employee what would happen if I had other plans and needed to go home at my scheduled end time, and she said "The L.O.D. would laugh at you." I'm hired for and in it for the long haul, beyond seasonal...and I want to work hard and give it my all. But am I wrong to speak to a manager about being held hostage in the closing hours? It wasn't in the job description.

Unless you have some obligation or limiting schedule that needs to be taken care of right after closing like kids/family or pubic transportation back home, then you need to stay. You can always go to your TL and ETL and explain that you have so&so reason to leave right at closing. But recovery/zoning past closing is part of being a team member. No one likes it but it has to be done.

If you put in open availability or willing to close thats how they usually schedule new people. There were times where I was a cashier or cart attendant and I had to close with the team.

I am surprised that your store has put you in Electronics. Usually stores don't put you back there until you are past your 90 days.

 

[Retail Girl]

Some stores make you stay. My store used to schedule everyone a half hour after close...and that's when we left. We never stayed later. Now, thanks to mytime, the entire salesfloor team leaves at close, guests in the store or not. I would totally be opposed to being required to stay past my end time. If the schedule says I leave at 11pm, then that's when I'm leaving. If they wanted me to stay later, they would have scheduled me later.

 

[RunForACallBox]

Hey, y'all... I've been working for Target for a little over a month now, and a job I took out of desperation has turned into a job I really like. I like the people I work with, I like the customers/"guests", and I like the atmosphere. The only complaint I have is that I'm often scheduled for the "closing" shift, and that means that while I'm scheduled from 3-11PM, sometimes I'm not even allowed to leave until past midnight or 1AM. I'm happy to be a "team player", but I don't like it when I'm held against my will after having worked hard for a full 8 or 9 hours in Electronics and being told I shouldn't dare ask to go home until I've folded shirts in "Softlines" for another hour. I asked a fellow employee what would happen if I had other plans and needed to go home at my scheduled end time, and she said "The L.O.D. would laugh at you." I'm hired for and in it for the long haul, beyond seasonal...and I want to work hard and give it my all. But am I wrong to speak to a manager about being held hostage in the closing hours? It wasn't in the job description.

Unless you have some obligation or limiting schedule that needs to be taken care of right after closing like kids/family or pubic transportation back home, then you need to stay. You can always go to your TL and ETL and explain that you have so&so reason to leave right at closing. But recovery/zoning past closing is part of being a team member. No one likes it but it has to be done.

If you put in open availability or willing to close thats how they usually schedule new people. There were times where I was a cashier or cart attendant and I had to close with the team.

I am surprised that your store has put you in Electronics. Usually stores don't put you back there until you are past your 90 days.

My store we stayed a while when I used to close. I was in electronics, too my second day of work.

 

[PT Target]

We're scheduled for half an hour after close and then go home, finished or not. I think that's reasonable. I don't think it's reasonable to keep people hours after they are scheduled to work. It's called a schedule for a reason. Target expects that you will arrive in a timely manner, and I would expect the same consideration on the back end.

Staying a lengthy period of time after the scheduled hours could be problematic for lunch requirements in some states too, I would think.

 

[indigo25]

Unless we're scheduled past close, we're generally done by ten minutes after close. We don't keep zoning after everyone has left. Usually the LOD starts assigning evening zones around 6pm/whenever all the CAFS are pushed out/abandons aren't too bad.

 

[Flabbergasted]

At my store all team members (excepting a few ETLs) are out by 45 mins past closing, and they are always scheduled to that time. In general, no one stays more than 5 or 10 mins past their scheduled end time unless the TL or ETL asks and confirms with the TM that they don't have anything else planned for the remainder of their day. I disagree with the others in this thread saying it should just be expected because it's a job and you should be lucky to have one blah blah. Target doesn't pay me enough to treat me that way.

 

[tgtguy]

You are not being held hostage. This is your JOB. It is how a job works. You do not get to choose when you work. You work when you are told. Don't like it then start your own business and then you can work your own hours.

Spot cant make you stay past your scheduled time. They can ask you even strongly urge you to stay but they cant make you. As far as a closing shift goes, if you cant stay....you cant stay. Now, on the other hand we all know how spiteful Spot can be...and how they could use this against someone. the whole get even mentalilty But no one should be made to feel as tho they have to stay. If they want you to stay and zone an hour after closing....put it on the damn schedule. Five or ten minutes here and there that's no problem but if you expect me to stay an hour after every shift....schedule me that way to begin with. We should all be thankful to have a job but that doesn't mean we have to let Spot or anyone else walk all over us .

 

[Triscuit]

My store has never made us stay. When i was on the sales floor we would zone till close, then once we were closed we would take our reshop to the front then leave. If we didnt finish the zone oh well. TLs are always scheduled 30 minutes past close and they would work out some of the big items of reshop.

 

[RedMan]

Every store is different. At my first store, we stayed until the LOD said go home. I'll never forget my first close! As a cashier, my scheduled time was 11:00 pm. I headed to the time clock at 11:00 because we were clear of guests. Standing at the time clock was this giant ETL. He took one look at me and said, "Where the hell do you think you're going? Meet (fill in the blank) at the fitting room. When it's time to go home, somebody will tell you." There were nights we were folding tables 3 hours past close. My present store? Everyone except the LOD and the GSTL leave as soon as guests are clear. Abandoned? It will wait til tomorrow? Zones? meh.

 

[Goingstrong]

Policy is you are to be in the store, no more then 1 hour past close.

It is also illegal for you to be forced to stay past a posted schedule end time.

 

[PullMeBackIn]

You might piss off some ETLs and they might decide to start looking for every single other little reason to coach you but they absolutely cannot coach you or put you on corrective action for not staying beyond the scheduled end of your shift.

There isn't any way it's going to be found that leaving at the end of your scheduled shift is employment misconduct and if it ain't employment misconduct you ain't losing an unemployment claim. If you're not losing the unemployment claim, Target ain't firing you.

If you don't want to stay late, don't. For the last 6 months of my employment with Target I was leaving during my closing shifts right at my scheduled time and they couldn't (and didn't) do a single thing to me. In fact, I only had any ETL directly ask me to stay late on a couple occasions. Each time I told them I didn't want to stay and that was the end of it.

They'll try to pressure you into staying and other team members might try to pressure you into staying as well but the fact of the matter is that you don't owe any of them. They're (especially team members) free to leave at the end of their scheduled shift too. If your store wants everything done on time they need to beef up their hiring and spend some hours, that's not your fault.

 

[Retail Girl]

The other thing to consider is that in another month or so, hours are going to go down. Way down. And if you are kept on, and you fight this battle, you will have no room to complain about your (lack of) hours.

 

[Producer]

You are only responsible for what you're scheduled. If you're being made to stay beyond your scheduled time, take it up with your STL, and DOCUMENT EVERYTHING. Document conversations you have with LODs, document their reactions, document what you overhear LODs tell other team members. Then if they don't fix it, go to integrity hotline. I'm all for being a team player, but it sounds like your LODs are treating y'all like slaves and they need to be put in their place.

 

[Nauzhror]

Our closers are never expected to stay past schedule, the only exception being that they don't leave till the guests are gone, (or in like for checkout) but that's never more than 5 minutes after close.

We usually have 1-2 cashiers scheduled for 15 minutes past close to help zone/restock/check out that guest that got in line 3 minutes after close, and the GSA/TL is scheduled till a half hour after close.

Latest I have ever left was 38 mins after close, and that was a GSA shift where I was scheduled for 30 mins after close.

 

[Bosch]

You are not being held hostage. This is your JOB. It is how a job works. You do not get to choose when you work. You work when you are told. Don't like it then start your own business and then you can work your own hours.

Then why do they bother with a schedule? You have a horrible way to look at work, no one told you when you are treated that way to leave. Abuse is not employment.

 

[IhaveaDream]

You are not being held hostage. This is your JOB. It is how a job works. You do not get to choose when you work. You work when you are told. Don't like it then start your own business and then you can work your own hours.

Then why do they bother with a schedule? You have a horrible way to look at work, no one told you when you are treated that way to leave. Abuse is not employment.

Ok so lets say you were an independent contractor working on a project for a client. They give you a week as the project deadline. A week passes. You tell your client "I didn't finish because i only work when i'm scheduled." The client is gunna look at you like you are some sort of idiot, and the client isnt gunna give you a dime for all the work you did.

Imagine target is the client, and zoning/go-backs is the project. Your task is to do as much of that project everyday as the client sees fit. If the client feels like you did inadequate job, as your employer he can ask you to say. Of course you can say "no" but that will not get you very far, probably even dropped from the project aka. fired.

 

[Signkitty]

You are not being held hostage. This is your JOB. It is how a job works. You do not get to choose when you work. You work when you are told. Don't like it then start your own business and then you can work your own hours.

Then why do they bother with a schedule? You have a horrible way to look at work, no one told you when you are treated that way to leave. Abuse is not employment.

Ok so lets say you were an independent contractor working on a project for a client. They give you a week as the project deadline. A week passes. You tell your client "I didn't finish because i only work when i'm scheduled." The client is gunna look at you like you are some sort of idiot, and the client isnt gunna give you a dime for all the work you did.

Imagine target is the client, and zoning/go-backs is the project. Your task is to do as much of that project everyday as the client sees fit. If the client feels like you did inadequate job, as your employer he can ask you to say. Of course you can say "no" but that will not get you very far, probably even dropped from the project aka. fired.

Your analogy is like comparing apples and orangutans.

As a contractor you set your schedule and you are not paid by the hour.

 

[Flabbergasted]

You are not being held hostage. This is your JOB. It is how a job works. You do not get to choose when you work. You work when you are told. Don't like it then start your own business and then you can work your own hours.

Then why do they bother with a schedule? You have a horrible way to look at work, no one told you when you are treated that way to leave. Abuse is not employment.

Ok so lets say you were an independent contractor

But I'm not an independent contractor. Your analogy fails right from the beginning.

I can smell these corporate shills a mile away. You aren't fooling anyone, buddy.

 

[IhaveaDream]

You are not being held hostage. This is your JOB. It is how a job works. You do not get to choose when you work. You work when you are told. Don't like it then start your own business and then you can work your own hours.

Then why do they bother with a schedule? You have a horrible way to look at work, no one told you when you are treated that way to leave. Abuse is not employment.

Ok so lets say you were an independent contractor

But I'm not an independent contractor. Your analogy fails right from the beginning.

I can smell these corporate shills a mile away. You aren't fooling anyone, buddy.

U think i work for corporate....... obviously im arguing with idiots.

 

[redeye58]

Dial it back a little, folks.