Told I need to do another job because I voiced a safety concern...

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Feb 20, 2019
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This is the footprint of our 8-register self-checkout. The register straight ahead on the way in (the X in the upper right) has a wall less than a foot to its right. And it has a shelf of candy on that wall leaving a 3-foot space between the register and the shelf. If that guest needs help, they don't move out of the way when we need to access that register. They would need to back out of the corner (because of the wall and the shelf) and then go around that team member to the other side of them. That is too much to ask our guests. If you ask for space, they often just press closer to the wall and that only gives a team member 1- or 2-feet distance from their face. And how many guests wear masks? It is “for me” a frightening situation. Last March I asked my ETL if I could close that register and gave them those reasons. At one time that was acceptable. But a new ETL came on board who approached me about that register being closed. I told them why and I told them it was approved by my ETL. They told me to open it regardless. I did as I was told. No problem, right? Yet that ETL went to my ETL who called me into a private conversation asking me why I told the other ETL it was unsafe. I hadn't paraded my concerns to anyone for fear of retaliation and now I am forced to tell. So, I told them again. Because of that, and what I feared, I was told they will find me other jobs to do such as cleaning carts. I was told that others have not informed them of my concerns saying they don’t have a problem working self-checkout. I told him I opened that register as I was asked. Nevertheless, they said, my concerns will cause him to reassign me to other duties.

I was banned from self-checkout that I always did. And nobody knows why I was banned making it appear I must have done something seriously wrong. And I feel so embarrassed.

If asked I have a reply. My leads don’t treat the threat of air droplets as being as serious as medical experts tell us. They don’t think masks are necessary and some see this virus nothing more than the flu. It is all blown out of proportion some say.

After that I wondered why nobody else considered unsafe conditions. I watched one lead helping an older man who wasn’t wearing a mask (however the lead was as we are told to do.) This lead was a foot from this mans face helping him order the thermometer using our device to do so. The man was looking for a fricking thermometer! I saw that lead being foolish. If it were me, I would not have allowed that man to be a foot from my face especially without a mask, especially since he was needing a thermometer. And I watch those at self-checkout who expressed often that there is no need for masks and social distancing (as our overhead tells us every 15 minutes) who are always face to face with guests as if it is unnecessary. I heard another lead tell me that they are not concerned. I asked a young man at self-checkout to be safe, don’t let them crawl on top of you as I’ve seen. They told me they were not concerned, if they get it, they get it.

So that is why I was banned. I expressed a safety issue I have that many others think is ridiculous of me to have. As if I need to put on my big-boy pants and just do my job without all this social distancing nonsense. And I am infuriated.
 
That sucks. It is so distressing to see people be so cavalier about this, especially at work. It's one thing if they were only hurting themselves, but as we all know that is not the case here. I find grocery shopping a nightmare, and it boggles my mind that people are going shopping just for the hell of it. Just got back from the store a little while ago, had people rolling up on me everywhere I turned. Thankfully the vast majority of people are wearing masks, but physical distancing still must be maintained.

I have to go back to work in two weeks and I'm not looking forward to it. I sure hope my store has those social distancing stickers, because I will plastering myself with them and will be outright rude to anyone who comes near me! At this point in time people should not have to be told.
 
Don’t be embarrassed, people get moved around at Spot all the time for various reasons and your co-workers must know this. If you had done anything seriously wrong you would have been termed, and your co-workers know that, too. Go in there with your head held high and do whatever job they assign you to do, knowing that you have the intelligence, awareness and heart to care about keeping yourself and others safe. Too bad your asshat “leadership” doesn’t.
You might want to keep an eye out for employment opportunities outside of Spot. There are better places to work, Costco and Home Depot are two of them. Good luck and stay safe!
 
You're justified in your actions and feelings. Your ETLs are not taking it seriously enough.
Document this interaction. You may have legal recourse in the future and may need to produce evidence to support your case.
A tad much? OP didn't feel comfortable being close to guests. And couldn't perform his/her job. The ETL didn't cut his hours or write him/her up. The ETL accommodated them by giving them a job that put them away from people. And probably put someone else that was comfortable being at the register and near guest. We work in retail and are around people all the time. As much as we try to control guest and keep everyone apart. Sometimes that can't be helped. So instead of possible having OP feel uncomfortable and not be able to do their assign job at any given time. The solution was to put them in a position where they woudn't have to worry too much about interaction and still have a job.
 
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If the self checkout terminal is located in such a way that social distancing cannot be maintained for the protection of the OP and the guest, that terminal should not be used, and the OP should not be punished for reporting an unsafe situation. Target is making a big deal of telling the public that they are taking steps to make it safer for guests to shop in their stores and they should be following through for everyone’s safety. If one guest sees this setup and calls the local news media, store leadership will be viewing this issue in an entirely different way, before or after that call from Corporate...
 
If the self checkout terminal is located in such a way that social distancing cannot be maintained for the protection of the OP and the guest, that terminal should not be used, and the OP should not be punished for reporting an unsafe situation. Target is making a big deal of telling the public that they are taking steps to make it safer for guests to shop in their stores and they should be following through for everyone’s safety. If one guest sees this setup and calls the local news media, store leadership will be viewing this issue in an entirely different way, before or after that call from Corporate...

Then the OP should call the local news. I'm sure there will be no repercussions.
 
I have to go back to work in two weeks and I'm not looking forward to it. I sure hope my store has those social distancing stickers, because I will plastering myself with them and will be outright rude to anyone who comes near me! At this point in time people should not have to be told.
Ask for only a couple shifts at first. All of our returnees have struggled adjusting.
 
Then the OP should call the local news. I'm sure there will be no repercussions.
Nope, Spot only listens to guests, bad publicity, government regulations leading to fines, and lawsuits. Op shouldn’t put his butt on the line and suffer for it when guests are so willing to complain repercussion-free.
 
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If the self checkout terminal is located in such a way that social distancing cannot be maintained for the protection of the OP and the guest, that terminal should not be used, and the OP should not be punished for reporting an unsafe situation. Target is making a big deal of telling the public that they are taking steps to make it safer for guests to shop in their stores and they should be following through for everyone’s safety. If one guest sees this setup and calls the local news media, store leadership will be viewing this issue in an entirely different way, before or after that call from Corporate...
If it's not safe then guests concerned about safety won't use it. No one is telling guests "you must use this".
 
That sucks. It is so distressing to see people be so cavalier about this, especially at work. It's one thing if they were only hurting themselves, but as we all know that is not the case here. I find grocery shopping a nightmare, and it boggles my mind that people are going shopping just for the hell of it. Just got back from the store a little while ago, had people rolling up on me everywhere I turned. Thankfully the vast majority of people are wearing masks, but physical distancing still must be maintained.

I have to go back to work in two weeks and I'm not looking forward to it. I sure hope my store has those social distancing stickers, because I will plastering myself with them and will be outright rude to anyone who comes near me! At this point in time people should not have to be told.

Does your area not have home delivery for grocery
 
Does your area not have home delivery for grocery
We do have Insta Cart, not for my regular grocery store but for another one in town, maybe I will give them a try. My regular store has their own delivery but they were about two weeks behind last time I checked.
 
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