Archived Tricky Situation (long explanation, sorry...) - Need Advice

[EmptyCart]

I initially started alluding to this situation in another post but figured it best to start a new thread for it instead of derailing the other post...
I've been a Hardlines TM at my current store since May of last year (was previously a cashier for ~2 years at a different store in the area). Hours were pretty good and store morale was great through Q4 2017, but most of our management has since changed up (new STL, ETL-SF, ETL-HR). Since then, the store's morale has taken a skydive, almost no one in the store is happy with management or their hours, and it's obvious that management only looks out for themselves and their "favorites" that they pick.

Myself and everyone else in Hardlines department have been consistently scheduled the bare minimum for months (I haven't been scheduled for more than 10 hours in a week since December...) with the exception of a few specific TMs who have been getting the bulk of ~30 hours a week consistently all year. Most of us have asked multiple times about more hours and get various ranges of excuses and reasons for why not, and I'm pretty fed up.

Small context before continuing, one week last month I was scheduled for a few cart attendant shifts (our main cart attendant was on vacation). I wasn't asked in advance (or else none of this would've happened...), found coverage for 2/3 of them, and had legitimate reason to call out of the 3rd one (dental procedure right in the middle of the shift). Calling out was not something I wanted to do ideally because I felt guilty and bad about it, but I explained this to the LOD twice on the night before the shift (my direct Sr. TL) that I wasn't able to be in for the shift, so that I wouldn't have to wake up at 8AM just to call. She understood and said she'd put it in the closing e-mail so I'm not marked as a NCNS, and that was the last I heard of it.

Fast forward to today, I went to talk to my ETL-HR today asking if I could be given hours in Market because our market team is going to be losing 2 people for college in the next month or so, and the market team already is desperate for more people regardless. He told me I NCNS'd on a cart attendant shift last month and that was an automatic Corrective Action (I was never told about this CA...) and that one single NCNS (first and only time in 4 years of being with Target...) completely proved I was unreliable, and that neither he nor my direct ETL will give me more hours because of it. At this point, I'm convinced they're only giving me 1 shift a week because they have to, because it's obvious to me now that they dislike me for unfair reasons.

First of all, it was not a NCNS. I went out of my way to tell the LOD the night before to ensure this would not happen. Should I go in tonight to talk to that LOD in question so that this is sorted out and the CA is removed? I have done well at ensuring I've never had a NCNS or Corrective Action on my record and I find it extremely unfair that they're pulling this as an excuse to not give me more hours in a department that desperately needs it. Would it also be worth talking to the Market TL anyways to see if he would back me up to HR that I'm reliable and worth moving to Market (I have always had a good rapport with him)?

 

[TTGOz]

I had an ETL-GE like that. "Oh, you've asked for two weekends off in the last two months... if I move you into Food I'm worried about your attendance."

Thank God that bitch is gone. What's funny is the ETL Food, Sr. ETL-Food, and GSTL helped me get over there regardless of what my ETL-GE said.

These are the kinds of things that need to get fixed ASAP, and if the previous closing LOD didn't relay any information, or regardless if they did, I would have made sure you were in good standing the next time you worked. I've had to do it a few times, but don't worry about it too much...

The only reason I was able to switch departments for a better work day and hours was talking to my frozen dairy team leader(We have a Frozen/Dairy TL and a Consumables Sr. TL in my store, Super Target) and connected with the ETL-Food and Sr. ETL-Food and they both worked to get me back there after I realized I was working half of my shifts in a week back in market already and it had been awhile so they decided to just move me.

Your best bet is to connect with other TLs in other departments and get in touch with the ETL of that area. That's exactly what I did and now I've been off of the Front End/Cart Attending for 8 months, and 9 days(thanks workday for providing that info)

 

[EmptyCart]

After that shift last month I wasn't in for almost a week after (more due to the bad scheduling...), nor did I have any reason to think that she wouldn't have relayed that information across. I hate to call her out on it tonight now but I am screwed completely if I have an NCNS sitting on my record that just straight up isn't true, because I'm sure if I were to try to transfer stores instead, they would deny it immediately if they saw an NCNS.

If anyone else has input on what I should do (also considering just giving up on my store and finding a legitimate reason to transfer to a different one) let me know

 

[TTGOz]

After that shift last month I wasn't in for almost a week after (more due to the bad scheduling...), nor did I have any reason to think that she wouldn't have relayed that information across. I hate to call her out on it tonight now but I am screwed completely if I have an NCNS sitting on my record that just straight up isn't true, because I'm sure if I were to try to transfer stores instead, they would deny it immediately if they saw an NCNS.

If anyone else has input on what I should do (also considering just giving up on my store and finding a legitimate reason to transfer to a different one) let me know

I have two NCNS on my record and I was still able to switch departments. Just see if you can talk to other leaders and they can vouch for you.

 

[The Dude Abides]

The best advice I can give you is to find work elsewhere. If they aren't going to give you enough hours to pay the bills then leave. Put in two weeks notice and who knows maybe 6 months, a year, 2 years later there will be new leadership and you could come back if need be.

 

[HiddenPenguin]

Do you pick up shifts from the swap board?
Offer to stay late when they need more help?
Do you come in if you're called on a day off?

No judgment if you don't or can't... but those things might help earn points in the "reliability" category.

 

[EmptyCart]

As much as I'm able to, yes. A lot of the time when they call me in for shifts its very last minute and I can't due to plans, but I regularly pick up swap shifts (just picked up 3 over the last 2 weeks and another 2 upcoming). There is 0 legitimate reason to call me "unreliable" imo.

 

[IWishIKnew]

I would approach the LOD that said they'd put it in the closing email. Frame it as a "someone else screwed this up and didn't put it in as a call-in" rather than implying that the LOD forgot (as you can't know whether the LOD missed it or someone else did fail to put it in) and ask what you can do to have the CA removed.

But I would talk to the market ETL and express your interest and see what they say. You're kind of in a catch-22 situation where you haven't been scheduled much for people to get to know you enough to vouch for you, so it may be tough. Worth a try, though, as long as you're polite about it.

 

[EmptyCart]

I used to be scheduled a lot more and I've been there long enough people should know how I am...its just the new leadership started once my hours did go down so I guess they have less to go off of other than the things that stand out, like the "no call" incident.

I'll go in tonight and talk to the LOD who I told about the original shift and see if she can back me up that the conversation happened and I followed procedure as best I could, and talk to the Market TL to see what he thinks at some point.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

You did not say you asked off for it. The schedule is up for 2 weeks & did nothing. Spot does not like call offs at my store. End to end is bad enough for hardlines folks. You sound like you have limited availability.
No communication by you to leadership until last minute, is not fair to the folks who had to take the hit on your call off.

 

[EmptyCart]

I do admit it was last minute to notify them, but only because I had spent virtually every moment possible leading up to it, asking everyone I possibly could in the store for coverage so that I wouldn't have to call out; I looked at everyone's schedules, went in multiple times to track down the people who possibly could, and the shift was on the swap board for well over a week leading up to it. I didn't want to tell leadership I couldn't do the shift if I was going to end up finding someone to cover it, because it would look bad to have said anything in the first place then. But, that may have just been a mistake in my judgement.

Also, my availability is open from 10AM-close every day of the week except Fridays (until 5PM instead), and that has never been a problem in my last 4 years of being with the company, especially because there have been Hardlines people who have worse availability than me, and have still gotten more hours than me, consistently. I have also only called out of a shift at this store one other time, the day my grandmother passed away last August (a year ago), other than that (and the cart shift mentioned above), I've had perfect attendance, have never said no to something they ask me to do while there, etc.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

Again, did you talk to etl, tl or hr about your schedule? Please from learn this event.

 

[EmptyCart]

I did, in fact, talk to our GSTL about it (very good rapport with her, one of the few leaders in the store everyone looks up to and respects 100%) as soon as I saw the schedule (she happened to be LOD that night) and she suggested trying to find coverage + putting on the swap board before complaining to HR, to avoid looking like I'm complaining when I was finally given more hours (which admittedly is true...but carts in 95+ weather is not what any of us had in mind when we said "more hours please"). I'm not passing the blame off to her since that is what I planned to do regardless, but know that I did talk to her well in advance and my reasoning was agreed with.

I recognize now that speaking to them more definitively closer to it would've likely been better, although I hope it can be understood that my reasons for not, were because I was stuck in a spot where if I did tell them earlier, I would look bad for giving up hours while simultaneously asking for more, and if I didn't I still would look bad for not coming in anyways. To me, finding coverage was the only way that would avoid anyone involved looking bad, and it was due to exhausting that option to the fullest that resulted in being that close to the shift time.

 

[IWishIKnew]

You probably should have sucked it up and done the other 2 CA shifts that you could make. Yeah, it sucks, but since your leadership is playing favorites, stuff like that will be the best way to get hours and get noticed by those outside your work center for additional shifts.

 

[Mhh2me]

I’m confused about one thing. Were you actually placed on Corrective Action for NCNS or not?
No offense, but from your experience, you can’t have been surprised by the cart attendant scheduling. I mean, had you filled in before? If so, that is probably why that happened.
Still, I understand that you are upset and concerned, but I think you may need to find a way to learn something here and move on.
You really seem stuck in this and it’s going to hold you back in the long term if you don’t let it go.

 

[AmICrazy]

I initially started alluding to this situation in another post but figured it best to start a new thread for it instead of derailing the other post...
I've been a Hardlines TM at my current store since May of last year (was previously a cashier for ~2 years at a different store in the area). Hours were pretty good and store morale was great through Q4 2017, but most of our management has since changed up (new STL, ETL-SF, ETL-HR). Since then, the store's morale has taken a skydive, almost no one in the store is happy with management or their hours, and it's obvious that management only looks out for themselves and their "favorites" that they pick.

Myself and everyone else in Hardlines department have been consistently scheduled the bare minimum for months (I haven't been scheduled for more than 10 hours in a week since December...) with the exception of a few specific TMs who have been getting the bulk of ~30 hours a week consistently all year. Most of us have asked multiple times about more hours and get various ranges of excuses and reasons for why not, and I'm pretty fed up.

Small context before continuing, one week last month I was scheduled for a few cart attendant shifts (our main cart attendant was on vacation). I wasn't asked in advance (or else none of this would've happened...), found coverage for 2/3 of them, and had legitimate reason to call out of the 3rd one (dental procedure right in the middle of the shift). Calling out was not something I wanted to do ideally because I felt guilty and bad about it, but I explained this to the LOD twice on the night before the shift (my direct Sr. TL) that I wasn't able to be in for the shift, so that I wouldn't have to wake up at 8AM just to call. She understood and said she'd put it in the closing e-mail so I'm not marked as a NCNS, and that was the last I heard of it.

Fast forward to today, I went to talk to my ETL-HR today asking if I could be given hours in Market because our market team is going to be losing 2 people for college in the next month or so, and the market team already is desperate for more people regardless. He told me I NCNS'd on a cart attendant shift last month and that was an automatic Corrective Action (I was never told about this CA...) and that one single NCNS (first and only time in 4 years of being with Target...) completely proved I was unreliable, and that neither he nor my direct ETL will give me more hours because of it. At this point, I'm convinced they're only giving me 1 shift a week because they have to, because it's obvious to me now that they dislike me for unfair reasons.

First of all, it was not a NCNS. I went out of my way to tell the LOD the night before to ensure this would not happen. Should I go in tonight to talk to that LOD in question so that this is sorted out and the CA is removed? I have done well at ensuring I've never had a NCNS or Corrective Action on my record and I find it extremely unfair that they're pulling this as an excuse to not give me more hours in a department that desperately needs it. Would it also be worth talking to the Market TL anyways to see if he would back me up to HR that I'm reliable and worth moving to Market (I have always had a good rapport with him)?

In order for it to be a CA they must have spoken to you about and had you sign the form they were reading off of. Now I think it is done on Workday. If they did not have you sign something it can notb be a CA, unless they forged your name. Had ETLs at my store in the past try to get some team members to this for them, about the team members said NO.

 

[EmptyCart]

I’m confused about one thing. Were you actually placed on Corrective Action for NCNS or not?
No offense, but from your experience, you can’t have been surprised by the cart attendant scheduling. I mean, had you filled in before? If so, that is probably why that happened.
Still, I understand that you are upset and concerned, but I think you may need to find a way to learn something here and move on.
You really seem stuck in this and it’s going to hold you back in the long term if you don’t let it go.

That's what ETL-HR told me today (the CA for NCNS)...I had never been told about it, nor have those shifts even come up in any discussion since it happened (early July). The only people "stuck" on this is HR for holding it against me, I haven't thought about it since that week. This only came up because I'm trying to get hours in another department and they decided to bring this up against me out of nowhere now, a month later. I'm just concerned to remove this supposed "Corrective Action" so I'm not continued to look bad as a result of something that did not go the way they're saying it did.

Also no, I have never been a cart attendant or done a cart attendant shift in my entire 4 years of being with Target.

In order for it to be a CA they must have spoken to you about and had you sign the form they were reading off of. Now I think it is done on Workday. If they did not have you sign something it can notb be a CA, unless they forged your name. Had ETLs at my store in the past try to get some team members to this for them, about the team members said NO.

That's why I'm suspicious, because I definitely was NOT ever talked to about this being an issue after it happened. I never signed or talked to them about anything.

Is there a way to view on one of the computers at my store, to see if an action was actually put in or not?

 

[Mhh2me]

If you didn’t sign anything, then you haven’t been placed on a Corrective Action. Even in Workday you still have to e-sign the form. That part CANNOT happen without your knowledge. If you are placed on corrective action, you the recipient MUST ACKNOWLEDGE that you received the Corrective Action.
As for my other comment about being cart attendant, I assumed that because your name is about the front of store, you may have been cart attendant at some point. I was clearly wrong and I am sorry to have offended.
The rest of my statement stands.

 

[EmptyCart]

I just got back from going in to talk to the TL in question...she says HR already talked to her (probably earlier today after I had the talk with HR) and she told him that I told her beforehand, but that I guess she felt it was a shitty excuse to call out (I was told beforehand that for someone to take the shift they had to be there for the full thing, and I wasn't able to be there for the full thing due to an appointment, so I called out...) and it seems that even she's against me now. She also said that it isn't or couldn't be a Corrective Action, but that it could become one because I already did it once now. So either he mis-spoke earlier, or lied about it being a CA for some reason. Either way, sketchy and I don't like how he went about doing that conversation.

I'm really out of ideas here, this one day has shown that half the management team hates me and/or is going to refuse to ever give me more hours, and it's really hurting my spirit because I genuinely care about the store and enjoy my work, but I'm not sure how much longer I can keep doing this while remaining positive...I don't want to have to leave to find something better but it's looking more and more like I might have to at this point.

As for my other comment about being cart attendant, I assumed that because your name is about the front of store, you may have been cart attendant at some point. I was clearly wrong and I am sorry to have offended.

Don't worry about it I made this account when I was still just a cashier a few years back, and never updated my profile (haven't signed into here in a long time) to reflect that I've been Hardlines for a year now.

 

[gsa4lyfe]

Technically if you don’t call the day off they can mark you as a NC/NS. If you call it tell someone the day before they’re doing you a courtesy as marking you as a C/O

 

[Mhh2me]

Ok. It sounds like they talked it over and realized that you did talk to the TL, but my advice going forward would be to own your schedule and try to move forward. Leave this in the past as quickly as possible. It shows that you can be trusted to work with whole team (although you already are) and are flexible when things are uncertain or don’t go your way. Also, as much as you may want to, don’t talk about it with your peers. It just continues the cycle.
I really hope things work out for you

 

[EmptyCart]

I do plan to do that, the problem is that I desperately need hours and money (I've been lasting this summer on empty promises of more hours once BTS kicks in) so i really am in a situation where if I can't get moved to a spot with more hours, I have to get another job that will. We'll see what happens, I've done what I can for now. Thanks for the input

 

[HiddenPenguin]

If you want more hours, you really can't be picky about where you get them. You want your leaders to feel like you're doing them a favor, not the other way around. Are you cross trained in many areas?

Also, keep in mind that it will probably take several weeks of politely asking for more hours, showing that you'll do whatever the store needs, and checking with a variety of TLs/LODs to see if they need more help, before they actually start scheduling you more hours/ across multiple departments.

I'd stick it out in your current store a bit longer. Transferring to another store won't necessarily solve your problems. At best, you'll just find different problems. Lol

Forget about this one NCNS miscommunication, and keep your eye on that shift board. Good luck!

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

Hours depends on business needs. Volunteer for any back to school shifts.

 

[Planosss]

I initially started alluding to this situation in another post but figured it best to start a new thread for it instead of derailing the other post...
I've been a Hardlines TM at my current store since May of last year (was previously a cashier for ~2 years at a different store in the area). Hours were pretty good and store morale was great through Q4 2017, but most of our management has since changed up (new STL, ETL-SF, ETL-HR). Since then, the store's morale has taken a skydive, almost no one in the store is happy with management or their hours, and it's obvious that management only looks out for themselves and their "favorites" that they pick.

Myself and everyone else in Hardlines department have been consistently scheduled the bare minimum for months (I haven't been scheduled for more than 10 hours in a week since December...) with the exception of a few specific TMs who have been getting the bulk of ~30 hours a week consistently all year. Most of us have asked multiple times about more hours and get various ranges of excuses and reasons for why not, and I'm pretty fed up.

Small context before continuing, one week last month I was scheduled for a few cart attendant shifts (our main cart attendant was on vacation). I wasn't asked in advance (or else none of this would've happened...), found coverage for 2/3 of them, and had legitimate reason to call out of the 3rd one (dental procedure right in the middle of the shift). Calling out was not something I wanted to do ideally because I felt guilty and bad about it, but I explained this to the LOD twice on the night before the shift (my direct Sr. TL) that I wasn't able to be in for the shift, so that I wouldn't have to wake up at 8AM just to call. She understood and said she'd put it in the closing e-mail so I'm not marked as a NCNS, and that was the last I heard of it.

Fast forward to today, I went to talk to my ETL-HR today asking if I could be given hours in Market because our market team is going to be losing 2 people for college in the next month or so, and the market team already is desperate for more people regardless. He told me I NCNS'd on a cart attendant shift last month and that was an automatic Corrective Action (I was never told about this CA...) and that one single NCNS (first and only time in 4 years of being with Target...) completely proved I was unreliable, and that neither he nor my direct ETL will give me more hours because of it. At this point, I'm convinced they're only giving me 1 shift a week because they have to, because it's obvious to me now that they dislike me for unfair reasons.

First of all, it was not a NCNS. I went out of my way to tell the LOD the night before to ensure this would not happen. Should I go in tonight to talk to that LOD in question so that this is sorted out and the CA is removed? I have done well at ensuring I've never had a NCNS or Corrective Action on my record and I find it extremely unfair that they're pulling this as an excuse to not give me more hours in a department that desperately needs it. Would it also be worth talking to the Market TL anyways to see if he would back me up to HR that I'm reliable and worth moving to Market (I have always had a good rapport with him)?

So let me understand this, you were scheduled CA shifts one week, and you didn’t want to do CA shifts. So you basically took a whole week off (swapping them, calling out, NCNS etc).
That’s a shity thing to do. Seems like you want hours but on your terms. Not based on business needs.
No offense but all I took away from your long self righteous post is that you are selfish, and not someone the store can rely on.
Seems like you have an excuse for everything;

1) I would have done the CA shift but THEY didn’t ask me beforehand.
2) I NCNS because of a dental appointment (dental appointments aren’t instant, they have to be scheduled in advance)
3) It wasn’t a NCNS because I told THEM the day before.
4) I didn’t want to call out the day of the schedule, cause I didn’t want to wake up at 8AM ( by 8AM sun is at high noon, not like you have to wake up and call out at 4am)

I could go on and on, these are some of your excuses. Own up to your laziness and unreliability , you F ed up and sometimes in life when F up there are consequences, so you dont F up again.