Archived Got in Trouble for a Cup of Water

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Jan 21, 2014
Messages
45
I was bowling out pallets today. I pushed out 6 pallets and on my way back i stopped to get a drink for the soda fountain in the front. I was pulling my empty pallet to the back while drining my water. When i got to the back i got in trouble for getting a drink. The only thing that i was thinking was.... Really. I was told my little side project of getting a drink of water was causing a backing up. I was put into the cereal isle by my person in charge. It was saved just for me. YIPPIE. The better part was i had to pull 5 pallets of the truck. Why you my ask. Because i was standing around. And guess what 2 other people who was bowling with me was also standing around. And the 2 people in the truck couldn't get them. Sure we just gonna make up new rules as we go. In my 5hr & 45mins day i pulled 5 pallets of the truck (Not my job for the day), Bowled 7 pallets, did the cereal, laundry and 2 isles in HBA . This is only my 8 day working. Since i only work 2 days a week. I can't wait till they change the start time from 4AM to 6AM. The people i work with are going to drop a load of bricks. This would mean they cant toss the boxes down the isle and have cardboard all over the place. They are going to have to come up with a new way of unloading the truck and stocking the shelfs. But from the way it is looking i will be gone after my 90days is up. When i was hired. I was hired with someone else on flow. The other person has worked more days then me and has been asked to stay later. They get 9hrs more then me a week and extra time from staying later till 12:30. I guess working harder, faster and right way of doing things gets you less time in a company. Then a person who does less work then you get more. This can't be the way things work now a days. But it is.
 
Water is a basic right. It's like going to the restroom. Target cannot stop you from basic human needs. I don't care which ETL is in charge. If you have to pee, poo, throw up, or need a drink of water, Target cannot refuse you from doing that. It's a health issues. Definitely not compliant with OSHA and Target hates OSHA.
 
Water is a right, but is there no water fountain at your store to take a quick drink from? At my store we are to have no cups (cans of Redbull, bottles of pop, etc) on the floor while we are working. If we get thirsty we can go to either water fountain in the front/back of the store or use the water cooler in receiving. Of course people still do have their own drinks but you have no idea how many times they leave it on an endcap then forget about it. Maybe your bosses figured it took too long to get a cup and fill it.

As far as pulling pallets off the truck while bowling... We have 2 unloaders, 1 pusher and a scanner at my store. Sounds like you may just have 2 unloaders? In that case, I can see that they might need help pulling pallets from the truck. The unloads are timed and every time one person has to break from putting boxes on the line it slows the whole process down. But welcome to the Flow team where most people just do not care and do as little as possible to get by.

I guess working harder, faster and right way of doing things gets you less time in a company. Then a person who does less work then you get more. This can't be the way things work now a days. But it is.

Getting performanced out is very difficult and most know it. The more days you can work a week (by your availability) usually goes in your favor as far as hours. If you are liked by your TL then they may ask you to stay more. If you want more hours just ask but you can never expect anything anymore. Just asking shows that you are interested, though.
 
I'm not gonna ask for anything for my TL. They have their favorite people and they can get away with anything they want in this store. Here are some sample below.

The same person always does paper.
The same people are late everyday.
The same 2 people scan the truck.
The same person pick up cardboard.

This is just my nitpicks.
Throwing boxes down the isles. Items get broken and the person who breaks it doesn't clean it..
Not breaking the box down. Makes working harder when you have to put broken down boxes in the bin.
People have PDA's and don't need them. How can you get anything done by having to walk to a scanner all the time. It's a poor way of running things. Shouldn't they be doing repack boxes instead of stocking an isle.
The floor is not cleaned when the store is open. It should be cleaned up before the store opens. Cardboard bins left out, backstock carts left out and pallets on the floor.

When i was in the cereal ise i used a red tub for my carboard becasue i wasn't gonna walk down 3 isle to put it in the cardboard bin that was overflowing.

But in get in trouble for pulling damage items of the shelf. No one is ever gonna buy on open or crushed box of anything. Plus they all put the damage items on the shelf.

As for unloading the truck. I had that the other day. The line was backed up so much that you couldn't even put a box on it. So lets just say no one was pushing the line and i had to push it from inside the truck again. I had about 30-40 boxes fall off the line. Into a nice pile at the end of the truck. I was also getting some looks from the people on the line. So that would be 2 people unloading the truck and 1 person scanning & 6 people on the line. I was told when i started that it was the person who was on the trucks job to pull the pallets off.
 
At my store, we're allowed to have a reusable bottle in stray carts on the floor, and cashiers are allowed to have a sealing bottle of water while on the lane. They can't have any open cups or Target cups with straws - it has to have a cap that seals to prevent damage to computers. As a GSA, I carry a small water bottle in my back or side cargo pocket and grab a sip when I can or need to (I also have a doctors note saying that I require over a gallon of water a day, so I must constantly drink.)
 
We're allowed water as long as it's in a sealed or reusable container. With the complete lack of climate control in the buildings, our ETLs are pretty relaxed on the drink issue, thankfully.
 
All I can speak for is the culture at my store and the other stores that I have worked at. The fact that the same people do the same things every day is a constant at all the Spots I've been at. The general idea is that once someone is put somewhere enough that they can do it faster than anyone else. You generally get the idea of where everything is in your aisle/section and can move at a quicker pace. At my store the same people do the same areas in the store every day. Perhaps that is like yours? Example: I've been scanning the truck every day for 4 years. I don't like doing it, and sometimes I whine and get moved for a day or two, but I always go back because that's what my ETL wants.

Every store deals with the broken items and carelessness from team members. Sometimes the people they have hired are just scraping the bottom of the barrel in terms of help. Lazy, unhelpful, unwilling to learn, etc. I personally like when they throw the boxes with broken glass and things into my repack area or on the backstock tubs. Yeah, because someone else wants to defect it out more than you? PDAs are a commodity and no one except for backroom or the person running the dock get them on our flow team so I sympathize. Sadly the whole Target process has went downhill in the 6 years I've been with the company.

Don't worry too much about the unload. Our line is constantly full from end to end but we are just told to keep pushing. When boxes fall they stay that way until we have enough time to pick them up. I try to catch glass and stuff before it falls but if they are just random boxes there really is not much you can do. We have the 2 guys in the truck, the pusher, scanner and 7 people on the line. Our pusher pulls the pallets and tries to help me the best he can with keeping labels up and boxes straight. If the people on the line can't keep up it is actually a good thing in terms of your productivity.

Couple of questions: how long have you been on the team (I know you're under your 90)? are you trained in any other area like backroom (that can get you hours after the truck usually)? when you say you got in trouble for pulling damaged off the shelf, what was said to you?

You sound like a hard worker and I'd love to have you replace some of the slowpokes at my store. Just try and keep your head up.
 
I worked a grand total of 9 days from Jan 16. Only 2 days a week at 5hrs & 45mins a day for a total of 11hr & 30mins. I have been working Mons & Sats. Sometime on Thurs. The training i got was 40mins long. Here is the sticker. This is the isle number, spot, blah, blah. That was it. The job isnt that hard once you get used to everything.
 
Not trying to poke the bear and be bitchy, so please, don't take this that way, but what is your attitude like? A 9 day newbie acting like he is gods gift to flow could be a problem. By no means am I saying that you shouldn't be passionate about your performance and accuracy, but to the team, you're the new kid. Maybe swap the vinegar for some honey?

As for your description of your training. That's pathetic.
All my newbs are on the computer for 4 hours their very first shift reading guides, taking quizes, listening to my "Reputation managment" and "Resolving price accuracy" talks and giving me feedback, asking me questions, etc. Then they do cashier and Pfresh training. Then and only then do they get to push freight. And they are hip to hip with me full shift for a minimum of 3 trucks.
After hip to hip, I give my feedback to my TL and he takes that into consideration when we decide if the new hire is ready to be on their own.

Training isn't just about how to push properly. It is an explanation of expectations. Being brand, attendance, attitude, the "Vibe", etc. as well as welcoming you to the team, and giving you the lowdown on how the particular team does certain things.
If I'm helping a new hire complete his/her learning plan, and they are kicking me attitude, the on boarding will be difficult. I see my team more than I see my folks. My team is my family. Flow is a large group of people working and relying very closely on with and on one another. Attitude goes a long way. Trust me.

Maybe if you had a better training experience, your transition from street to team would be going smoother...
 
There's a time and place for getting water, you could probably stand to wait until unload was finished. The process does sound kind of bad, though. Do you know what your truck sizes and unload times have been?

Training is a big issue, as LP said. Don't be cynical, work hard, and ask questions. Just because they failed to train you doesn't mean you should give up on the job and accept that you'll be termed. If you're better than them, be better than them.
 
You should be allowed to go get water once every hour or two.. If they say no and later fire you, you could probably sue for unemployment or severance.

Document.
 
@Logistics princess
It sounds like your ETL LOG has a good handle on training for your flow team.
I worked on a good flow team but my training was more like dragons and less like what you described.


@dragon80
There are a lot of details you don't see because you've only been working there for a while.
That guy who only does cardboard, while the job seems easy if it's not handled quickly and efficiently the pileup can be a nightmare.
Doing a bale when you have nine cages backed up, takes a master.
So assigning the same guy every time makes sense.

Some of those people seem to be goldbricking but that's on the day to day.
What you don't know is that when the dreck hits the fan some of these guys can go into turbo and get stuff accomplished that would blow your mind.
The ETL knows this, that's why they keep giving them the shifts.

Yes, it's taking advantage of the system but they've been working there for a while.
They have bills to pay and they are just trying to balance things out.
 
@commiecorvus
All training is done that way. Well... I'm alot more thorough (sp?) than alot of my stores other trainers, but the way I see it, the better the training, the less slack I'm going to have to pick up.

I thought my stores training method was Best Practice? The commuication I got was that that method was supposed to be company wide.
 
Well lets see.

My training was short and not very helpful. I was told to just throw the box down the isle and try to get it close and not break it. If i had a better trainer to teach me and show the proper way of doing thing. Then maybe it would be different.

I'm not saying im gods gift to flow. But i don't like to do things twice. It's should be done right the first time. When i was in the Feminine Hygiene Product. I had an item that wasn't on the shelfs. But it was on the shelf anyways. The shelf label was for 36 pads. The item in the box had a 44 count. It wasn't the get 20% more free box. So they put the 44 pads on the shelf in the place where the 36 went.

Plus if the store has an STL. Maybe everyone couldn't get away with doing what they want.

No one has a turbo mode on flow. The team lead even says that got slower in the past month since i was hired.
 
Well lets see.


I'm not saying im gods gift to flow. But i don't like to do things twice. It's should be done right the first time. When i was in the Feminine Hygiene Product. I had an item that wasn't on the shelfs. But it was on the shelf anyways. The shelf label was for 36 pads. The item in the box had a 44 count. It wasn't the get 20% more free box. So they put the 44 pads on the shelf in the place where the 36 went.


Mispick? Possibly the manufacturer changed the quantity, rare but I have seen it a couple times.
Or it really is as bad a zone as it sounds and your team trainer needs to brush up on their "Resolving Price Accuracy" talk (along with trying to be a decent trainer to begin with)
 
Yeah, it sounds like I should have opened my comments with "if you have a a properly running flow team".
Sounds like everything is a bit rudderless at your store and that isn't going to change anytime soon.

The best you can do is buckle down and do the very best job you can.
The fact is, the system is broken and there really isn't anything you can do to change it.
Keep comfort in the fact that there are many stores where that isn't the case and it might get fixed when they get a new STL.
Otherwise drop by here to rant, it's what we're for.
 
@commiecorvus
All training is done that way. Well... I'm alot more thorough (sp?) than alot of my stores other trainers, but the way I see it, the better the training, the less slack I'm going to have to pick up.

I thought my stores training method was Best Practice? The commuication I got was that that method was supposed to be company wide.

Sounds like your store actually does things the way they're supposed to. GTC Vibe Card to your trainers.
 
I still think water is a basic right. With that being said, there are some team members at my store that abuse "the basic needs" to waste time in order to avoid working. There is one guy on the grocery team that probably walks to the backroom restroom at least once an hour. I know some people have overactive bladders but this guy is a lazy worker and I've seen it in his body language. He will go through the bakery doors into the grocery side of the stockroom then continue to walk to the line then walk down to the backroom restroom. When he is done using the restroom, he takes the same route on his way out instead of heading out the doors right by the line which are closer to the grocery side of the sales floor. Just complete laziness. This is the same guy that had a hissy fit in clerical and kicked a wall and yelled for about a minute and he didn't get any type of disciplinary action at all.
 
We had to put the kibosh on keeping drinks with you because of a problem with a drunk ass on my team. Since he finally came in drunk enough not to be able to ignore it, and got escorted out, off my team, we can have bottles as long as we are clean and not leaving them laying around. My TL has a one and done rule. He finds 1 bottle laying around on the sales floor, endcap, shelf, etc., thats it funs over no more bottles. We've been good about it so far.
Carrying around an unsealable cup/bottle/container is asking for a spill, wasted time cleaning it up, and a safety hazard. No matter where you are in my store, you are never more then a 2 minute walk (if you're slow) to a water fountain. Get your drink of water and get your ass back to work. Your team is counting on you to do your job and do it quickly so we don't have to pick up your slack.
We had a guy get coached for taking extra breaks because he would go take a 15 minute shit almost everyday as soon as he clocked back in from his 30min lunch. My TL let it go as long as he could, then once it was complained about by multiple TMs, and he had to go looking for him everyday, he finally said something.
The way I see it, if we have to go looking for you because you're not where you're supposed to be, and you don't have a good reason, (guest service, helping a TM, pulled to do something else) then we have a problem.
I tell all my newbs that if they are told to be somewhere doing something, then they need to be there doing it because they are being counted on to follow direction.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top