Archived Seriously it isn't fun anymore

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I am sure there are endless upon endless threads but seriously we have a new ETL-HL and He is making everyone's lives miserable. One guy comes in 2 mins I tell you 2 mins late and boom he wants to write him up and he has a excuse he was dropping his wife off at the airport and took extra time but got caught into a accident and he made into work but was seriously 2 mins late and he said I honestly do not care you are supposed to be here on time traffic or no traffic you are supposed to be here I was going to write you up but consider this a warning. Seriously?? Today at work lines were piling up all over the place and I said I'll be right up...... The ETL comes up and says where are you going?? I said they need back-ups....... They can find someone else you need to finish that pull I am sorry. Other ETLs have never been like that and other ETLs have never been so hard on us like him. I almost want to scream and throw in the towel and quit but I remember this is my only job and I do have to pull my own weight and quitting isn't a option right now. Why do certain ETLS want to be so hard on everyone and some ETLS are so relaxed you know? ETLS that tend to go by corporate rules are the ones that tend to make lives miserable....... While the others are who are relaxed and do their own thing make it fun you know??
 
Work isn't all about being fun. I'm sure you know that. But you also shouldn't be miserable. Try asking this ETL what they expect of their team and what their priorities are. Make it clear that you want to do good by them, but you're unsure what they see as priorities and you want to make sure that you are getting your priorities to match up with theirs. Don't be snotty about it, but instead be authentic. If you are accomplishing what they think is important then they should be happy and treat you better.

As far as the late thing goes...company policy is that you aren't late unless you are over five minutes late. That said, I'm of the camp that if you're five minutes early, you're on time; if you show up on time, you're late; and if you're late, don't bother coming at all. It's not hard to be at work on time. I can't imagine any reasonable person would be upset over someone being two minutes late unless they were habitually a few minutes late for their shifts. Any decent leader should understand that things happen and everyone runs late once in a while. Then again, I work with people who have never called out or been late for a shift in their entire tenure with Big Red, so...

If he is new, give him a week or two to settle in. He might just being trying to establish that he is a hard ass and expects his team to meet high standards. The no back up thing is confusing. Is he new to the company? he might not understand the company's position on backup cashiering. If things don't cool down in a week or two, and you've already voiced your concerns and frustration to your this ETL in a civil manner, then approach HR and/or your STL.
 
He is a newbie and he wants everything perfect I guess because hardlines is his baby now ( I am not sure what he did prior) I think he was training places and now that he is finally a ETL he is in awe and wants to be the best and sadly it is coming across as really tough. I agree work isn't supposed to be fun but it definitely shouldn't make others miserable you know? I have no idea about the back-up thing either it is confusing for sure.....
 
I hold my team to target's standard for being on time, but for myself I'm always a few minutes early to anything I do or anywhere I have to be. It's a personal peeve of mine to be late. Although if I have someone who is always five minutes late...that says a bit about their time management and organization. If you are always five minutes late (which is still technically on time at Target), how easy would it be to adjust your routine to five minutes earlier? I know life is messy, but everyone should know that so plan ahead.

Needless to say, I'm not coaching someone for two minutes late since that's not late according to target.
"if you show up on time you're late"

good one

Horrible way of looking at it, imo. If you're early, you're early. If you're on time, you're on time. If you're late, you stay that much later to make up for lost time.
You can look at it however you want, but this is my personal philosophy, and guess what? I'm almost always on time because I show up a few minutes early. And in my opinion, if you couldn't be at work on time, you don't just get to stay late to make up your lost time. You want to get paid for your full shift? Show up on time and you will.

Again, this is my personal standard, not Target's. I want my team to strive to be clocking in when their shift starts, but I'll only coach them if they're (habitually) outside the five minute window.
 
I'm of the camp that if you're five minutes early, you're on time; if you show up on time, you're late; and if you're late, don't bother coming at all.

I was the same way. In the military, we were expected to be at work at least 15 min early, on time was late, and late was unacceptable, no matter what.

This doesn't fly with Target. I fought to get my TMs to show up on time so we could start unloading the truck but without fail many TMs showed up 5 min after schedule. As my response I made people clock out 5 min early so they would lose 10 min of work a day. Not much but it adds up.

Sounds like the ETL is new and being too aggressive. ETLs that are more relaxed understand corporate policies don't always work well.
 
I hate when the same team members come in at 3-4 minutes past their starting time. Technically they are not late (the 5 minute cushion) but then the cashier they are replacing is not able to leave on time or the sales floor team member. If you are scheduled at 8 then you should be on the floor at 8 imo. But life happens. Accidents and traffic can make you late.
He sounds like someone trying to make their mark right away. His kool aide como will wear off soon and he will come back to reality. Understaffed stores and overworked team members are the norm. Treating the ones who do show up and really care about their jobs is going to be what makes his life bearable.
Besides that, asshats like that are the ones who will be promoted in 18 months.
Hang in there...
 
But for any opener, you are at there mercy of who opens the door. I haven't clocked in on time in last year since I have been standing outside waiting...

And waiting...

And waiting..

I know cause I made them check the video when one of our newbie ETL's tried to pull that coaching/CA BS. You didn't think it was weird when it was the entire in-stocks team had the same issues? I swear the seasoned ETL's did this to the newbie as a wild goose chase. Cause they all seem to fall for the same BS witch hunts.
 
If you're not early, you're late is my mantra. Funny, if the TMs replacement is late, it's a big deal. But if the same TM is late, it's no big deal. The same TM who's always late is the same TM who always walks away from the lane exactly at breaktime regardless of back up.

I wouldn't coach for two minutes unless it was habitual.
 
If you're not early, you're late is my mantra. Funny, if the TMs replacement is late, it's a big deal. But if the same TM is late, it's no big deal. The same TM who's always late is the same TM who always walks away from the lane exactly at breaktime regardless of back up.

I wouldn't coach for two minutes unless it was habitual.
Yes! This times 1000! That's why I started leaving on time, no matter what position I am in. I figure if the store doesn't care if the TM is late, then neither do I. They can go without a gsa or guest service TM or figure out who is going to cover it, because I will be out. Of course I only do this if the person following me is habitually late. If it's a really rare occurrence, of course I will stay.

The thing is, the person who comes in on time is walking through the door at the top of the hour, but doesn't make it to the time clock for two minutes, so they are late, IMO. And then it's another three minutes to their work station if they have to stop and talk on the way there.

I had three cashiers to open yesterday morning. One was there a couple minutes early and at her lane at opening. One walked through the door at 8am on the dot and got to a lane by 8:05am. The other walked through the door at 8:04 and punched in by 8:05am. All of them thought they were the only opening cashier (because we only have more than one on super rare occasions).

Thanks to Target policies, they were all "on time" but those lights came on at 8am and I needed cashiers on the floor. If either of the last two had been my only cashier, it would have been my problem to cover until someone decided to come do their job. How is this possibly okay? If it's really okay, then we ought to tell any guests who show up at the lanes at 8:03 expecting to be checked out that thanks to Target's policies, they will need to wait until our "on time" cashiers get to a lane.

That said, if a person is late once by two minutes that LOD needs to chill the fuck out.

My first job...the manager told me that being on time meant that we were to be clocked in and at our work center by the scheduled time...not running across the parking lot or punching in right on time, leaving that gap when they expect you to be in your work center. Of course not many people followed that wish then, and fewer people do now, but a girl can dream.
 
What's with all the peeves about being 2 mins late. It takes that long to walk to the lane or back anyway.

Because as you said, now instead of 2 minutes to get to your work station, it's at 4 minutes. And if you are following someone, either they have to stay, or they go and the work center is without someone (which can be hard on some work centers if it is busy).
 
5 or more minutes I totally get but 2 0r minutes that is just crazy talk and again I totally get Target isn't supposed to be fun it never is supposed to be fun but we can crack some jokes occasionally and not be so serious hey it does happen between ETLS ( trust me) and team members! I just wish the newbie would lighten up I know he wants to be all corporate and obey corporate but hey trust me ETLS do crack jokes have fun with team members and not come down on them so hard it does happen and again work isn't supposed to be fun but do not freak out over minor things and I do mean minor things which normal ETLS wouldn't even blink a eye at.
 
What's with all the peeves about being 2 mins late. It takes that long to walk to the lane or back anyway.

Because as you said, now instead of 2 minutes to get to your work station, it's at 4 minutes. And if you are following someone, either they have to stay, or they go and the work center is without someone (which can be hard on some work centers if it is busy).
As far as the lanes go, I don't know anyone who couldn't work or wait 2 more minutes on the lane or in line, It's really not a big deal.

If Target says we can be 5 mins late, who are we to complain about those who do.
 
At one of my previous employers we had a strict "points" system based on attendance. I worked for three different managers. The first and second were normal and realized that things happen. I worked in Manhattan and sometimes the subways just don't run as planned. They knew that and unless you were habitually late it didn't matter.

Then I moved to Los Angeles (not there anymore). The manager in the third store was a MyTime junkie. Minute late? 1/4 point. (1 point equals verbal, etc...)

My store is lucky that we have people show up to work at all.
 
I'm always early, I was raised that way.

I'm always clocked in 5 minutes early, and on my lane at the time scheduled - unless someone stops me.

I'm always the person waiting for the next person, or the person that mucked up their break or something. Drives me crazy. We have people that walk in at 5 till, which mucks up the schedule. I've waited at the door when opening and barely made it to my lane on time - stressed me out.

Anyway, all that aside, a random 2 minutes late because of an accident and getting written up would tick me off. Big time.
 
Most new etls( especially if its their first etl job) go into their first store and feel as though they have to make a name for themselves and prove to their peers and Stl that they can handle their new found role . Most new etls, wont listen to people who have been there for awhile , ask for feedback etc...its all about best practices and climbing that Spotted ladder ( on the backs of everyone else). You do have a select few that actually care about their team members but those are usually marked as weak leaders by the stl and fellow etls....and sadly they don't last long . There is nothing wrong with a new etl taking pride in his/her new role and having ambition...I just wish they would learn they don't have to treat people like crap in the process.
 
A good etl realizes that his/her team members can either contribute to their success or failure as a etl....and how they treat their team members plays a huge role in this. You can be a strong leader without being an ass or a pushover .


The problem is Spot doesn't seem to teach that in their business school and many of the ETLs don't take management classes in college that teach it either.
Of course most of them don't have much practical experience so they don't haven't learned this on at work.
The smart ones will watch their good TLs or fellow ETLs who command the loyalty of the workers and follow suit but far too many feel that being hardasses will produce results.

Maybe this guy will mellow out but I wouldn't be too sure of it.
The minute he gets red numbers the smeghead factor is going to double.
 
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