Archived Tell me I'm not the only one! No hours, no explanation.

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I can't help but feel all "oh poor me" these days. I'm trained in literally EVERY work center. I can do it all from my primary (pharmacy) to GSTL, to friggen FLOW, to pricing. You name it, I've done it. And I swear I DON'T suck. I have near perfect attendance, and I'm always on time. I've made my desperate need for hours known to my ETL-HR a few times. I'm on the verge of being in a homeless shelter... ready for it... AGAIN. I don't make the worst pay as a pharmacy tech, but I also refuse to stop paying on my debts and let my credit go to hell. Long story short, I used to be married and he was the "bread winner". I'm still getting back on my feet.

Despite the fact that I'm super "global", the most I'm ever scheduled in a given week is 20 hours. That's on a good week. I get that Target isn't a full-time job-- I knew that from the get-go. But, the thing that really bothers me is the fact that I see SO many people who are only trained in one work center, or have terrible availability, or horrible attendance, etc... get 35+ hours/week. HR will go on until she's blue in the face about how she tries to take care of everyone, but how do I NOT feel super shitty about the fact that I work my ass off for this company that I actually really love, and I get nothing in return? I'm not asking them for a handout-- I'm asking for the opportunity to WORK! I'm the first person they come to when they're in a bind (oh, you need someone to open flow, mid at Starbucks, do the pharmacy order, run an orientation and then close GSTL? SURE! This has happened!) but no consideration is ever given to me on the weekly schedule.

Please excuse the rant... if anyone made it all the way through. Feel free to smack me back into place... I really need to get over myself and this "oh poor me" bull... but this is endlessly frustrating! I feel almost betrayed that "the best company ever" doesn't give a shit that one of their own is on the verge of homelessness.
 
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That sounds shitty. Have you talked to the people that actually write the schedules? In my store, that's the ETLs for every department (it's never the ETL-HR at my store, they just sign off on it). I've also begged the TLs that like me the best, and now I'm the first person that gets called in.
 
That sounds shitty. Have you talked to the people that actually write the schedules? In my store, that's the ETLs for every department (it's never the ETL-HR at my store, they just sign off on it). I've also begged the TLs that like me the best, and now I'm the first person that gets called in.

My HR writes the entire front end schedule-- guest service, photo, FA, sbux, GSTL, and cashier, and then makes little tweaks to the rest of the store before signing off on it. I definitely understand that team members in their own workcenters need to be taken care of first... like, a cashier shouldn't get a disgustingly small amount of hours just so I can get some "extra"... but in my case, there's other random people getting 35-40 hours for no good reason. I HATE sounding like a whiny little bitch, but "it's not fair"!
 
This may seem like a silly thing to say, BUT...

Are those ( or some of those ) people getting the 30-40 hour work weeks ACTUALLY SCHEDULED THAT WAY,or, are they maybe picking up shifts?

( yeah. I told you it was silly. )

That said, are there any folks in any of the many depts. in which you're trained eager to give up hours due to their school schedules, childcare concerns, or desire to blow a third of their check on PayDay Friday and spend the next day recovering? granted, that may not give you a "regular" reliable schedule and/or amount of hours, but some might say you gave up on that when yuo took the job...
 
look into work centers with the most hours.. at my store, presentation is a full time job, monday thru friday, no weekends. i also know TMs at my store that are only closers because they have another job they do during the day time. just some ideas. if none of that works out, look into transfering to a higher volume store where there are more hours
 
you're not the only one. I am losing my apartment in a few more months and I plan on shooting myself in the head. I already bought bullets for my gun and I cannot find another job at all. right now I am on food stamps so I am just enjoying whatever food I want. I watch movies and play video games to enjoy what is left of my life at the moment. soon as my last month of my lease approaches I will be killing myself because I will have no where to go. no parents, no friends, no car, nothing. I am not interested in roaming the streets and living in homeless shelters for the rest of my life so I will just end it with a bullet.

the stress is unbearable and painful everyday really. when it comes down to it, I will have lost my apartment anyway if I continued to work for target. I rather just relax and try to enjoy my life for the next few months than mope around some part time job knowing they won't care and my life will be over anyway. everyday I cry myself to sleep and normally I start crying as soon as I wake up. people claim there is help out there and jobs out there, but there aren't. most people who think that have well off families or full time jobs and are living a very good life and they don't even know it. they are lucky and I will always be jealous of them.

just remember that you are no the only one. I took a look at the homeless shelters in my city and it is so packed people are camped and huddled outside the perimeter all the way around the shelter.

the saddest thing is understanding that no one cares for us. there are so many people who can help and people with big houses that have empty rooms they just use for storage but they would never lift a finger to help save someone's life. in America there are more empty homes than there are homeless people on the streets so that's saying something. I even have "friends" who's parents own big houses with more than 3 rooms just sitting around collecting dust. the world is so disconnected they would never lift a finger for anyone including people they consider "friends." "friends" are just a convenience when it comes down to it. there are no such thing as real "friends"

the sad thing is that I am smart, strong, healthy, and physically capable, but that doesn't seem to matter anymore. I don't have kids so I won't get any type of housing. all I'll get are food stamps and that's it. no one wants to help me with a job. I even had an interview with a retail corporation recently and they never called me back afterwards and I don't know why.

I worked for target for a long time but it wasn't going to give me a living. I also haven't ever met anyone in my life who's in the same situation as myself. most everyone I meet has a vehicle and family they can live with for support while they try to make a life for themselves, but I do not.

I tried for a long time to do my best and work hard but it got me no where. bills are expensive and you can't pay them without a job.

I just want you to know that you are strong if you can handle living in homeless shelters, but when that day comes and target finds out, they will fire you just like every other corporation and company. I won't be missed so I guess I won't have any guilt in the end. I just have to live with constant stress and sorrow until my lease is up and then I will have lost everything. I consider myself lucky to even have a gun to end my life quickly.

by the way, posting suicide hotline numbers don't help. they cannot give me a job. all they do is listen to you. suicide hotlines are for the rich people who are just suicidal because they are lonely with no friends, they have a place to live and plenty of food to eat. last time I talked to them they told me to volunteer. well, that's not going to do me any good either, i'll be homeless either way.

wish I had family to live with.. i'd even live a closet, but I don't even have that. i'm too afraid to be on the streets and sleep in a homeless shelter, i'd be crying everyday and become a target to criminals and people who just like to hurt others for fun.
 
Trick for me was to get trained in everything for Flow / BR

Truck days ill be scheduled for half Truck unload and Backroom, while on non truck days Ill just be Early morning BR pulling autos and backstocking.

Seemed to work for me though still can't pay my bills getting steady 36-40.
 
Do you have a swap shift board? Even on the worst weeks for hours someone is always willing to give up there hours. If it is really that bad you may have to work some 16 hour days. I know at my store even if I was not scheduled and it was a difference between being homeless and paying my bills I would take on any shift thats available even if it means going without sleep for a day or two. If they have issues with you working 16 hour days tell them to give you hours.
 
i+fucking+hate+attention+horse.jpg
 
If it helps you feel any better, I only get 12 hrs a week and I'm trained in hardlines, softlines, electronics, plano, and cashier. Only way I get extra hrs is if they extend me or if they call me in.
 
Here's some advice, take it or leave it.

Go talk to the pricing TL about picking up shifts, pricing is heavy right now and the extra manpower will not be refused. Do not go to the ETL-HR, or ETL this or that, they will give you the hours speech.

Straighten your priorities. Crying brokemouth and saying you're about homeless, then saying you will continue to pay your debts so you can keep your credit up, is ignorant. Here's why, first of all having a place to live is much more important than some credit card or whatever else. Secondly, if you lose your house then it will take you longer to get back to square one, and lastly, I'm pretty sure that will have a negative impact on your credit.
 
If harvester is genuinely hurting and in danger of being put out on the street there is a good chance one of us might have knowledge that could help him.
There are tons of resources out there that he/she might not know about know about and we could point them in the right direction.

If on the other hand it's just trolling, a plea for attention.
That's sad.
 
OP: What is your primary workcenter? If it's pharmacy and you're not getting many hours, you may want to consider changing it to one with more hours available (see: pricing, plano, etc.).

Jesus Christ, dude. Have you considered moving to an area that has better employment and lower living costs? It's bullshit what's happening to our country.

Given his severe financial woes, I sincerely doubt that moving would be an option for him.
 
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Pretty worried about harvesterofsorrow. Feel like we need to help this dude out somehow.

Spot has the hardship fund for starters. No payback up to $500. Ask your hr etl about it. What does your résumé look like? I have been poor too. I have learned from it greatly.
Here is our jobs links outside of spot:
http://www.thebreakroom.org/showthread.php/2547-The-Job-Search-Resource-Thread

If I remember correctly, Spot fired him. So he wouldn't be eligible, unfortunately.
 
That sounds shitty. Have you talked to the people that actually write the schedules? In my store, that's the ETLs for every department (it's never the ETL-HR at my store, they just sign off on it). I've also begged the TLs that like me the best, and now I'm the first person that gets called in.

My HR writes the entire front end schedule-- guest service, photo, FA, sbux, GSTL, and cashier, and then makes little tweaks to the rest of the store before signing off on it. I definitely understand that team members in their own workcenters need to be taken care of first... like, a cashier shouldn't get a disgustingly small amount of hours just so I can get some "extra"... but in my case, there's other random people getting 35-40 hours for no good reason. I HATE sounding like a whiny little bitch, but "it's not fair"!

I'd talk to the pharmacy TL/ETL. I honestly don't see how HR can do the pharmacy schedule since the hours fluctuate so much. If that's where you REALLY want to be, make it known to THEM, NOT HR!!! That is, unless your ETL-Rx doesn't keep an eye on the earned hours and doesn't give a darn about scores....
 
That sounds shitty. Have you talked to the people that actually write the schedules? In my store, that's the ETLs for every department (it's never the ETL-HR at my store, they just sign off on it). I've also begged the TLs that like me the best, and now I'm the first person that gets called in.

My HR writes the entire front end schedule-- guest service, photo, FA, sbux, GSTL, and cashier, and then makes little tweaks to the rest of the store before signing off on it. I definitely understand that team members in their own workcenters need to be taken care of first... like, a cashier shouldn't get a disgustingly small amount of hours just so I can get some "extra"... but in my case, there's other random people getting 35-40 hours for no good reason. I HATE sounding like a whiny little bitch, but "it's not fair"!

I'd talk to the pharmacy TL/ETL. I honestly don't see how HR can do the pharmacy schedule since the hours fluctuate so much. If that's where you REALLY want to be, make it known to THEM, NOT HR!!! That is, unless your ETL-Rx doesn't keep an eye on the earned hours and doesn't give a darn about scores....

Oops, sorry.. left out who makes the schedule of my primary workcenter! My ETL-RX does the pharmacy schedule, but we have FOUR techs and only 80 hours/week. I've been there the 3rd longest of the 4, so I'm pretty low on the hours totem pole when it comes to pharmacy.

As far as switching to another work center, it wouldn't be worth it for me to switch to another work center and lose a few dollars an hour, since some weeks I AM able to scrounge up enough shifts to make it to 40 hours and keep my paygrade. I'm definitely the biggest shift mooch ever... I straight up ask people if they want to leave early and I'll stay the rest of their shift, or come in late and I'll work the beginning, or "don't you want the weekend off?!"... etc. I usually am able to pick up enough shifts to get to at least 30/35 hours... it just involves doing ridiculous things like another poster said... working a random 16 hour day, not sleeping between shifts, etc. "Work life balance" my patootie. I just feel like I shouldn't HAVE to do that when some people get scheduled these fantastic hours.

I appreciate the suggestions on how to get more hours, and thank you for not being too critical about my whining/venting. Sometimes this job frustrates me so much... but at the end of the day, I kinda love Target. (barf, I know.)
 
I would consider looking into finding a more high volume store like some others have said and also to check your availability on the posted schedule and see if it needs to be changed or not. Since you are very nicely cross-trained in several areas and still not getting enough hours then possibly transferring to a more busier store might help and seems like it would nice for them seeing as your already educated in most work centers.

I can understand your frustration and the stress that comes with it and I myself will never be critical to someone who wants to release the burdens of the mind and even though we are nameless and picture less...We are a team and we are here for you :)

Always remember, Courage is not developed during the happy times it is developed surviving the difficult times and challenging adversity




A quote comes to mind reading over some things in this thread

"I have learned the hard way to mind my business, without judging who people are and what they do. I am more troubled by the lack of space being provided for the truth to unfold. Humans cannot seem to wait for or honor the truth. Instead, we make it up based on who we believe people should or should not be."

For me though, I feel like when people judge me they're not judging me, because they don't know who I am.

Sincerely Good luck Always,
Super
 
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I feel you brother I really do. My store our hrs are bad I mean really bad but it is supposedly due to not making sales and people are begging for hrs left and right but sadly they have no hrs to give and people have to turn to the swap shift board to look for hrs. The good news is hrs pick up around thanksgiving but the bad news is everyone has to keep looking at the bleak hrs and hoping people want to swap shifts. I hope it gets better for you!
 
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