Archived Yikes! I made a call

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So I called the hotline. I know it says that I should not experience any repression from it but of course I am now a little worried.

All winter long ETLs were slow at getting to the door to let TMs in. It was freezing, snowing, raining. I complained but that's as far as it went. Well, for the last few weeks one morning a week I am the only team member coming in at that start time. It has been dark and a little chilly but the dark is what concerned me. A while back I was approached in the lot after I got out of my vehicle by a stranger. My AP was able to see a figure go up to me when he looked back at the cameras but he could not see the make of the guys vehicle or the guy himself really. At that time I offered to come in an hour earlier with the rest of the team so that I would not be alone walking from team member parking to the door. My HR said no.

Two weeks ago my leader was late to the door. I expressed my concern and was told I could fill out a punch correction but really how much money was I losing out on not getting to punch in a few minutes early?" I told the leader that it was not the money, it was the fact that I was ready to come in, it was 5 before and they were not at the door. I was made to feel selfish and dumb, IMO. Last week my leader was late to the door and after I said I was nervous I was told "maybe you should buy a cell phone for emergencies" I told my leader I had one but I do not bring it to work. I use it if I am going a decent distance from home and there is no phone at the location I am going to. I also shared that I did not like how dark it was outside. To that I was told "why don't you make a service request to the sft to get the lights fixed". Neither time did I get an apology from them for being late to the door. I felt belittled and ignored. But mostly I felt unsafe.

I decided to wait a few days to calm down but even after the few days I still felt unsafe and not heard so I made a call to the hotline. I just really did not think it was right for my leader to disregard my feeling, tell me to get a cell phone, fill out a request for outside lighting myself and just do a punch correction. I am not concerned about 3 minutes on my paycheck I am concerned for my safety. But I am now concerned because I called the hotline. Crap!
 
Good luck.
I hope everything works out for you.
They weren't listening and handled it unprofessionally.
I'm sure there are all kinds of ways they will try to dump it back on you to try and victim-blame but the fact is they fucked up.

You deserved to be treated with respect and to have your concerns taken seriously.
They should have been there to let you in when they scheduled you and not put the onus on you to contact them.
This is their problem not theirs.
 
Thanks it makes me feel better seeing someone else saying they own this problem. I just don't want it to somehow come back and bite me in the ass. I think I gave them fair time to understand my concern and react accordingly
 
This situation could easily have been resolved in one of two ways. This is how my store handles this exact situation:

1. A TM calls the store and lets a key carrier know they are ready to come in the store. They then wait IN THEIR CAR until they see the key carrier open the door and be there waiting for them. They then exit their car and enter the store.

2. Usually the above is not necessary because most key carriers at my store are responsible enough to come to the door at the time TMs are scheduled, opens the door for the TM's who are WAITING IN THEIR CAR, and then the TMs come in the store.

I don't know why your leaders haven't thought of this, but I would suggest bringing this up to them.
 
Well, just so you know-- all hotline calls get routed to your STL and then your STL delegates downward.. SO your STL & ETL's will know YOU called the hotline, especially since you used specific examples that identify it to you. You should be fine, but just know that the management team will know you called. Just get ready for HR to be all like, You know if you have any concerns you can come to us blah blah blah lol
 
The problem with waiting in the car is at least half of our flow team don't drive.
They ride bikes, got dropped off by friends or cabs, etc.
When we had a problem with the door not getting opened on time it just took the entire flow team showing up in the HR office and they fixed it.
 
Well, just so you know-- all hotline calls get routed to your STL and then your STL delegates downward.. SO your STL & ETL's will know YOU called the hotline, especially since you used specific examples that identify it to you. You should be fine, but just know that the management team will know you called. Just get ready for HR to be all like, You know if you have any concerns you can come to us blah blah blah lol

That's fine if they know, the fact is that they did not seem to care and will need to fix that. If they take negative action on the TM in question, he can document and use it in a retaliation case.
 
This situation could easily have been resolved in one of two ways. This is how my store handles this exact situation:

1. A TM calls the store and lets a key carrier know they are ready to come in the store. They then wait IN THEIR CAR until they see the key carrier open the door and be there waiting for them. They then exit their car and enter the store.

2. Usually the above is not necessary because most key carriers at my store are responsible enough to come to the door at the time TMs are scheduled, opens the door for the TM's who are WAITING IN THEIR CAR, and then the TMs come in the store.

I don't know why your leaders haven't thought of this, but I would suggest bringing this up to them.

If a cell phone is required to ensure our safety, it should be provided by Target IMO. Some people can't afford/don't want to buy a cellphone. Maybe the STL could've been consulted before calling the hotline. But safety is a serious concern & should've been addressed immediately. Most likely nothing will change until someone gets hurt, or you quit/change shifts
 
ETLs and STLs do not want to do anything that they don't have to do. If they don't have to accommodate you, they won't. They will only do so if it's in their best interests. It's sad and wrong but that's how they roll.
 
I can understand being upset, just an fyi from both sides of this. As a key carrier either my boss or myself or supposed to be at the door 10 till when people are scheduled and upto 5 minutes after. Now at the same time I realize you said it was 5 till for you getting there but I know I have waited for TM's at the door before and they were late, so I quit waiting for them. Now while its not required for you to call the store to let them know your there, it wouldnt be a bad idea, especially if you know its an issue and are worried about your safety. I have some TM's that do this at my store only because they dont want to wait and know I might have my hands full with stuff. Keep in mind if there is only 1 key holder in the building at a time something could be keeping them from getting to you right away. I sometimes have a truck to unload, rdc or fdc, TM injured (has happened a time or two), or some emergency with the building (also happened a time or two). The lights in the parking lot are controlled by headquarters not the store, the sft has to make a phone call to override the lights atleast the one in my store does.
Like I said I do understand both sides of it, I was a tm at one time as well and had to wait and I'm not making excuses for your TL it does sound like he handled it very poorly.
 
It got resolved at our store by number of punch corrections by the door not being opened on time. HR was not happy they were giving away payroll for us to wait outside. And in my overnight store calling is a crapshoot if they actually put the phone on night service or not.. So calling to let them know is sketchy at best.. Longest I have waited at the door? 25min.. And waiting in my car, not going to happen, cause our parking is on the opposite side around the corner of the building to the door.
 
I spoke to my STL again. I had spoken to STL before the call and STL was one of the late responds to the door. I expressed to STL that my intention was not to get anyone in trouble, it was to get resolution. I stressed that this, for me is a safety issue. I am not playing around. My safety is my priority. I understand things need to get done on the task list but a team member alone in the dark at the door should be top on that list. Especially when I had reported being approached in the lot by a stranger. As I shared earlier I spoke to my HR and they said no to changing my schedule (on this day) to come in with other team members. I shared that this was not about losing a few minutes pay and it was not about being cold or wet from weather although those are issues, it was about my safety and my leaders not seeming to care about my concerns.
 
I used to frequently start at 7am and the bus would drop me off at 6:40am right in front of the store (The next bus wouldn't come until 7:10). Anyways, nobody would come to the door until 6:55. This was in the dead of dark winter. I talked to my STL and ETL who told me to take a later bus. I told them that would be fine if I was schedule for a later shift. Anyways, they told me the door opens at 6:55am and what I do with my time until then is my problem. If I didn't like arriving at 6:40 I was to find another solution. When I said it was an issue of feeling safe (bad lighting, dark outside) I was told the store was in a safe area of town and nobody would want to hurt me. This all changed after there was a carjacking and armed robbery in our plaza.
 
I used to frequently start at 7am and the bus would drop me off at 6:40am right in front of the store (The next bus wouldn't come until 7:10). Anyways, nobody would come to the door until 6:55. This was in the dead of dark winter. I talked to my STL and ETL who told me to take a later bus. I told them that would be fine if I was schedule for a later shift. Anyways, they told me the door opens at 6:55am and what I do with my time until then is my problem. If I didn't like arriving at 6:40 I was to find another solution. When I said it was an issue of feeling safe (bad lighting, dark outside) I was told the store was in a safe area of town and nobody would want to hurt me. This all changed after there was a carjacking and armed robbery in our plaza.

I'm willing to bet there wasn't a coffee shop or store open anywhere within walking distance either.
The lack of compassion if overwhelming.
 
I bet they'd take it a hella more seriously if a TM was accosted while waiting outside.
As Commie pointed out, some folks don't drive so sitting in a car isn't an option.
Sad that someone should be hurt & threaten legal action before leadership would take action.
 
I used to frequently start at 7am and the bus would drop me off at 6:40am right in front of the store (The next bus wouldn't come until 7:10). Anyways, nobody would come to the door until 6:55. This was in the dead of dark winter. I talked to my STL and ETL who told me to take a later bus. I told them that would be fine if I was schedule for a later shift. Anyways, they told me the door opens at 6:55am and what I do with my time until then is my problem. If I didn't like arriving at 6:40 I was to find another solution. When I said it was an issue of feeling safe (bad lighting, dark outside) I was told the store was in a safe area of town and nobody would want to hurt me. This all changed after there was a carjacking and armed robbery in our plaza.

If there are ETLs in the building at the time you arrive they should come to let you in. I don't understand why ETLs have such a huge powertrip when it comes to blowing off TMs concerned about their safety. All it will take is one TM to have an incident, and that TM happened to document their continued persistence for a safer work environment -- and that ETL is going to have a BAD day explaining themselves to their superiors.
 
there have been about 10 calls to the hotline since our STL started a year ago and every single time they know who called. Is this because the caller is giving too much detail or is there another way they know who it is? I'm more just curious about the process when you call and if it's recorded or the caller is just giving too much away?
Any insight on this?
 
I think too many times people resort to the hotline for specific complaints, when it was designed for more general concerns. For instance, I've read on here many times about people calling about situations that only happened to them. Their store is going to be able to put two-and-two together. Sometimes there's no way around it, and sometimes better phrasing may obfuscate it so the store cannot pinpoint the caller.

Honestly though, I would not be surprised in the least to find out that the hotline wasn't truly anonymous. Trusting a corporation is always risky.
 
I've never called the hotline..... I just imagine it starts with "please use your keypad to enter your team member identification number followed by the pound sign.....you entered xxxxxxxxxx. If that is correct press 1; if it is not press 2. Thank you. Please use your keypad to enter your store number...." Based on my imagination alone, I'm avoiding the hotline.
 
When calling the hotline it doesn't have to be anonymous....I have called a few times(not sure how many....I gave up when I realized our current STL only covers ass) and given my name twice. The first time it was because it was a specific incident and there was no way around it....the STL at the time brought me into her office the next time I was in and told me of the immediate change in procedure so the incident wouldn't happen again. The second time, I figured it was best to just give my name so that everybody else who called in (it was a store wide issue and there were a ton of calls to integrity) would be able to remain anonymous if they wanted and give my name as a witness. The second time there was no acknowledgement of any calls made to the hotline...which should have been a clue to us of how our current STL sweeps problems under the rug. At no time when I called in anonymously did they ask for anything other than store number.
 
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