jedijenchan
new kid
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2013
- Messages
- 46
I would like to append a message that I posted here, but it's been locked. It's ok. no problem. This probably should be separate anyway.
Anyway, I wanted to say that I really did enjoy working with the people at my store. I kind of enjoyed my job, but the hours just were not kind to my health and well being.
Regrettably, I am leaving target on a sour note. An unexpected injury and illness had forced me to call in many days, and leave early a few days in between. I am feeling a bit better these past few days, and I will do my best to push myself these last few days to leave in a dignified manner.
I actually like my coworkers. I really like the ones I have met on this job. The majority of them are very nice.
You see, I didn't mind the job. What I didn't like was the snotty managers that felt that I should be talked to like a five year old and disrespected. they were all very young, and not very "life experienced" and seemed to feel that it was their chance to "boss around the adults". A few of them seemed to be on a power trip more than half of the time, and would not answer any questions. I was not the only one at the store to experience this treatment. I understand that they have to answer to someone else, and I answer to them. I completely respected them, but they seemed not to understand that I had no grasp of the way things worked, and expected too much.
My "zoning" was never good enough, and it seems they wanted to stick me in the areas that no one else wanted, or that were excessively difficult. On my first full day after training, I was assigned to an area that i was told was the most difficult in the store - it was an entire right side of a store. It contained such things as cards/party, home office, to kitchen and seasonal. I was chastised for not zoning fast enough. I was chastised for leaving "messy" isles. As soon as i would clean up an isle, it would be torn up by customers and their kids.
Then I was getting called for cashier backup every 30 minutes. It was busy. I was asked "what have you been doing for the past 4 hours". I told them. They did not like what I had to say. All they said in return was "fix isle LN".
I would really like to understand how one is expected to zone a section that big, while helping customers every 5 minutes(some took more than 20 minutes of my time looking for school supplies), while responding to backup for cashier, and getting different directions every 10 minutes, and then attending a "team huddle" for 20-30 minutes. It's humanly impossible.
At first, I took the fast paced environment challenge as positive - losing weight, getting in shape, etc, but it became such a psychical burden on me that I was almost unable to walk the next day regardless of what insoles I used in my shoes or how long I soaked my feet at night. It became so bad, that on my days off, I was unable to complete any of the tasks I needed to personally, and I was exhausted.
My thoughts are that they do not hire enough people, and overwork who they have. Yes, there is the occasion where someone calls in sick, but this store is not staffed sufficiently because we are "short staffed" every shift I am on. But they do not see this as a problem, and wonder why nothing gets done. I wonder if they stick all the "new people" in closing shifts, regardless of their availability. Does management ignore all schedule and availability details provided by the employees?
Granted, I think that a 4pm-12am shift is a bit much for a new person, but I'm not sure if it's normal. When I was hired I was told that I'd only get a maximum of 20-30 hours a week, but I am ending up with more close to 40. 7-8 hours shifts were unexpected, especially when they are closing shifts when I was told that shifts are no longer than 5-6 hours. I pray for the one woman I know that has to go home and care for a newborn child after a crazy hectic 7-8 hour shift. I don't know how she does it, but she should get an award. I know I could not.
I think from an employee perspective, this is bad management and they expect you to do the work of 3-4 people AT MINIMUM WAGE. Do they forget that we are getting paid minimum wage for working ourselves into exhaustion? We are not robots. We are human beings with limits. I have ended the shift every time exhausted and physically sick because I am pushed to such limits to attempt to please management. This is a psychically demanding job - you are on your feet for all of your shift not to mention, your lifting and bending all kinds of ways. I'm not sure that minimum wage is appropriate, but then again, I probably sound like a snob for saying that, being ignorant to the world of retail labor.
With all that being said, I think it may not be representative of Target as a whole. This was my experience, and I hope that someone somewhere would read this and re-evaluate their management procedures or training to include a focus on compassion and humanity.
Many of you have had different experiences, and some may have the same experience as I, but overall, the job was not bad, but the hours and management were. I do not find fault in Target as a whole, but isolate this to this location I worked at.
I will actually miss some of my coworkers and managers, and I wish them well. I wish everyone here much success, and hopefully better experiences than I have had.
Thank you to everyone here, you have my utmost respect and admiration for having this forum for folks to vent and inquire.
Thank You!
Anyway, I wanted to say that I really did enjoy working with the people at my store. I kind of enjoyed my job, but the hours just were not kind to my health and well being.
Regrettably, I am leaving target on a sour note. An unexpected injury and illness had forced me to call in many days, and leave early a few days in between. I am feeling a bit better these past few days, and I will do my best to push myself these last few days to leave in a dignified manner.
I actually like my coworkers. I really like the ones I have met on this job. The majority of them are very nice.
You see, I didn't mind the job. What I didn't like was the snotty managers that felt that I should be talked to like a five year old and disrespected. they were all very young, and not very "life experienced" and seemed to feel that it was their chance to "boss around the adults". A few of them seemed to be on a power trip more than half of the time, and would not answer any questions. I was not the only one at the store to experience this treatment. I understand that they have to answer to someone else, and I answer to them. I completely respected them, but they seemed not to understand that I had no grasp of the way things worked, and expected too much.
My "zoning" was never good enough, and it seems they wanted to stick me in the areas that no one else wanted, or that were excessively difficult. On my first full day after training, I was assigned to an area that i was told was the most difficult in the store - it was an entire right side of a store. It contained such things as cards/party, home office, to kitchen and seasonal. I was chastised for not zoning fast enough. I was chastised for leaving "messy" isles. As soon as i would clean up an isle, it would be torn up by customers and their kids.
Then I was getting called for cashier backup every 30 minutes. It was busy. I was asked "what have you been doing for the past 4 hours". I told them. They did not like what I had to say. All they said in return was "fix isle LN".
I would really like to understand how one is expected to zone a section that big, while helping customers every 5 minutes(some took more than 20 minutes of my time looking for school supplies), while responding to backup for cashier, and getting different directions every 10 minutes, and then attending a "team huddle" for 20-30 minutes. It's humanly impossible.
At first, I took the fast paced environment challenge as positive - losing weight, getting in shape, etc, but it became such a psychical burden on me that I was almost unable to walk the next day regardless of what insoles I used in my shoes or how long I soaked my feet at night. It became so bad, that on my days off, I was unable to complete any of the tasks I needed to personally, and I was exhausted.
My thoughts are that they do not hire enough people, and overwork who they have. Yes, there is the occasion where someone calls in sick, but this store is not staffed sufficiently because we are "short staffed" every shift I am on. But they do not see this as a problem, and wonder why nothing gets done. I wonder if they stick all the "new people" in closing shifts, regardless of their availability. Does management ignore all schedule and availability details provided by the employees?
Granted, I think that a 4pm-12am shift is a bit much for a new person, but I'm not sure if it's normal. When I was hired I was told that I'd only get a maximum of 20-30 hours a week, but I am ending up with more close to 40. 7-8 hours shifts were unexpected, especially when they are closing shifts when I was told that shifts are no longer than 5-6 hours. I pray for the one woman I know that has to go home and care for a newborn child after a crazy hectic 7-8 hour shift. I don't know how she does it, but she should get an award. I know I could not.
I think from an employee perspective, this is bad management and they expect you to do the work of 3-4 people AT MINIMUM WAGE. Do they forget that we are getting paid minimum wage for working ourselves into exhaustion? We are not robots. We are human beings with limits. I have ended the shift every time exhausted and physically sick because I am pushed to such limits to attempt to please management. This is a psychically demanding job - you are on your feet for all of your shift not to mention, your lifting and bending all kinds of ways. I'm not sure that minimum wage is appropriate, but then again, I probably sound like a snob for saying that, being ignorant to the world of retail labor.
With all that being said, I think it may not be representative of Target as a whole. This was my experience, and I hope that someone somewhere would read this and re-evaluate their management procedures or training to include a focus on compassion and humanity.
Many of you have had different experiences, and some may have the same experience as I, but overall, the job was not bad, but the hours and management were. I do not find fault in Target as a whole, but isolate this to this location I worked at.
I will actually miss some of my coworkers and managers, and I wish them well. I wish everyone here much success, and hopefully better experiences than I have had.
Thank you to everyone here, you have my utmost respect and admiration for having this forum for folks to vent and inquire.
Thank You!