So the past few days when I've been closing the store, I've been getting out far later than I should have, all because I'm missing the one key person that would have made things go so much better. Like the last time I closed, it ended up being myself and one other person who was scheduled to leave an hour before closing, which is typical.
The other person? Well, she was a no call no show.. I knew that she had been in the hospital because she had apparently passed out. That made me feel kind of bad, except that the next day after she had gone to the hospital, she was in the store acting like everything was normal. It's one of those cases where I feel bad for her, since apparently she had had a baby just four weeks prior, but at the same time, we still need someone to at the very least say that they're not showing, or someone else to take the place. I don't know what to think about whether or not she did have a legitimate hospital episode.
So, I was there about 45 minutes more than I probably would have it have if I had had someone else there during the day. And it's getting commonplace, because of the fact that people come and go so often that it's almost not worth it to learn their names sometimes. So honestly, it's like mcds. Except that I do more work, and my hands are constantly gray from dish washing. I mean it literally, my hands have cracks that the dirt from the place seeps into, and it's like there's no way to get it out.
I suppose that when I do eventually quit, I'll always have that memento.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Friday, April 9, 2010
Not been on here in a while
Working at SW is pretty exhausting, in ways I never thought possible. My back constantly hurts, my legs ache, my feet are developing calluses, and worse of all, all of these pains are the result of repetitive work. Doing dishes sums up a good portion of the repetitive nature of this job.
Why do I say that? Because there are, a LOT of fucking dishes. Some dishes you literally are redoing 3-4 times a day. You clean a cambro that had prep in it so that it can be clean for another item of prep so that it can be used up and need to be cleaned so that it's ready for another item of prep.. it's maddening. And the sink that they use requires a lot of bending over to clean some of the dishes that we have sometimes, because the actual area given in order to scrub is blocked by a handwashing sink. My back hurts just thinking about it.
Already there's been a changeup when it comes to employees. The one woman who was a bit slow and dumb when it came to most anything finally got pissy when a manager was trying to get an order done, and so she's working on the grocery store side now.. for now. She's already talking of trying to find a new job. We've had several new people in, including one who seems to be about as slow and dumb as the previous, but I'll reserve further judgment since I've only worked a two hour period with her (and I wanted to shoot myself). Another person came back because the guy who had left due to unfair treatment was gone.. apparently this 16 year old had been chatting with said guy outside of store hours and parents disapproved. I found it amusing that this guy took the trouble of buying this girl a cheapo cell just so they could "talk". I doubt that mom would really be so pissy if it was just "talking" with an older guy, but I digress.
Well, that's most of what I can think of that's been going on for now.. nothing particular customer wise, which is amazing.
Why do I say that? Because there are, a LOT of fucking dishes. Some dishes you literally are redoing 3-4 times a day. You clean a cambro that had prep in it so that it can be clean for another item of prep so that it can be used up and need to be cleaned so that it's ready for another item of prep.. it's maddening. And the sink that they use requires a lot of bending over to clean some of the dishes that we have sometimes, because the actual area given in order to scrub is blocked by a handwashing sink. My back hurts just thinking about it.
Already there's been a changeup when it comes to employees. The one woman who was a bit slow and dumb when it came to most anything finally got pissy when a manager was trying to get an order done, and so she's working on the grocery store side now.. for now. She's already talking of trying to find a new job. We've had several new people in, including one who seems to be about as slow and dumb as the previous, but I'll reserve further judgment since I've only worked a two hour period with her (and I wanted to shoot myself). Another person came back because the guy who had left due to unfair treatment was gone.. apparently this 16 year old had been chatting with said guy outside of store hours and parents disapproved. I found it amusing that this guy took the trouble of buying this girl a cheapo cell just so they could "talk". I doubt that mom would really be so pissy if it was just "talking" with an older guy, but I digress.
Well, that's most of what I can think of that's been going on for now.. nothing particular customer wise, which is amazing.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Well, I said that the job wasn't so bad....
Now I'm not as sure. One of the persons who had been working there for a while as a shift leader just up and quit a few days ago. It had something to do with unfair treatment, I didn't try to ask too much about specifics because I doubted that I would learn much.
I could see how he could get mad, though. He was working on training a manager in training on some things, for one thing.. someone that I think was hired from outside, when he was perfectly capable of being a manager himself. And I'm sure he would have wanted to, because from what I've been told, even if we work full time hours, we're not considered full time workers due to how we're defined in the employee handbook. Which means we're not privy to the allegedly awesome benefits that this company offers, but rather given the option of some rather crappy part time benefits.
I also nearly wanted to cry today, because of one customer. A woman comes in with her 4 kids and they all order sandwiches. She says that 2 of them were italian:
Me: So you want two spicy italian subs? Or two sandwiches on italian bread?
Her; I want italian bread, and whatever the italian is.
I assume that she means that yes, she wants spicy italian for the kids. So I make the sandwiches, and in the meantime I get a huge line of customers. Right now it's just me and someone else, and he's taking an order for drive thru. So I get on the intercom and I call for another person who's in the back to come up front. Only when she comes up, instead of helping me, she goes.. to make the two lousy sandwiches for drive thru.
So I'm trying to get the meat and cheese on the five sandwiches for this one family before I go to the veggies, and the woman asks why there isn't more meat on the italians. I tell her that I made them as the spicy italians, and THEN she tells me that she meant the italian bmts and that typically she just calls them italians and people know what she means. WTF? I don't know where this woman orders from, but where I work, people say a BMT when they want a BMT. Plus no two SWs (as I shall hence refer to this place) are alike in terms of what they offer or how things are done, since each is franchisee owned and thus the franchisers can say if they want to do certain things or not, just as long as they adhere to general standards.
She also objected to a third sandwich, since the cheese had melted into the paper and she felt that it was too toasted. Now at this point her kids were all objecting to mom interfering, and they felt the sandwiches were fine; however, mom is paying, so I remake the three sandwiches. Even though I got griped at because I moved from veggies to fixing this order.. although I had started on meat but the other person decided to do the fucking drive thru order instead of helping me with at least ONE order of someone right in front of me.
I don't really know how I feel about this job.. I get a lot more tired because there's a lot more to do. It's hectic and yet it's not hectic; people do quite a bit of work and yet people still laze around and do nothing. I guess the more I work, the less there is to like, but I get real paychecks because I'm working real hours now. I also get worried because turnover is pretty high.. the district manager stopped by and commented on how he was glad I was still there.. two weeks after I was hired. A place like this worries me. They'll always need people, but is it worth it? I'm still on the job hunt because of that fear.
I could see how he could get mad, though. He was working on training a manager in training on some things, for one thing.. someone that I think was hired from outside, when he was perfectly capable of being a manager himself. And I'm sure he would have wanted to, because from what I've been told, even if we work full time hours, we're not considered full time workers due to how we're defined in the employee handbook. Which means we're not privy to the allegedly awesome benefits that this company offers, but rather given the option of some rather crappy part time benefits.
I also nearly wanted to cry today, because of one customer. A woman comes in with her 4 kids and they all order sandwiches. She says that 2 of them were italian:
Me: So you want two spicy italian subs? Or two sandwiches on italian bread?
Her; I want italian bread, and whatever the italian is.
I assume that she means that yes, she wants spicy italian for the kids. So I make the sandwiches, and in the meantime I get a huge line of customers. Right now it's just me and someone else, and he's taking an order for drive thru. So I get on the intercom and I call for another person who's in the back to come up front. Only when she comes up, instead of helping me, she goes.. to make the two lousy sandwiches for drive thru.
So I'm trying to get the meat and cheese on the five sandwiches for this one family before I go to the veggies, and the woman asks why there isn't more meat on the italians. I tell her that I made them as the spicy italians, and THEN she tells me that she meant the italian bmts and that typically she just calls them italians and people know what she means. WTF? I don't know where this woman orders from, but where I work, people say a BMT when they want a BMT. Plus no two SWs (as I shall hence refer to this place) are alike in terms of what they offer or how things are done, since each is franchisee owned and thus the franchisers can say if they want to do certain things or not, just as long as they adhere to general standards.
She also objected to a third sandwich, since the cheese had melted into the paper and she felt that it was too toasted. Now at this point her kids were all objecting to mom interfering, and they felt the sandwiches were fine; however, mom is paying, so I remake the three sandwiches. Even though I got griped at because I moved from veggies to fixing this order.. although I had started on meat but the other person decided to do the fucking drive thru order instead of helping me with at least ONE order of someone right in front of me.
I don't really know how I feel about this job.. I get a lot more tired because there's a lot more to do. It's hectic and yet it's not hectic; people do quite a bit of work and yet people still laze around and do nothing. I guess the more I work, the less there is to like, but I get real paychecks because I'm working real hours now. I also get worried because turnover is pretty high.. the district manager stopped by and commented on how he was glad I was still there.. two weeks after I was hired. A place like this worries me. They'll always need people, but is it worth it? I'm still on the job hunt because of that fear.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
So, new job
Well, my new job is still in food, but working with subs rather than burgers. Honestly, it's not that hard to really pick up on, save for a few minor things like settings for cooking things like bread and such, but nothing so intellectually challenging. I'm already annoyed that people seem to think I should be dumber.. it's like I understand it from the new morons I'd deal with training at mcd's, but at the same time, it feels just a bit insulting.
There are some things I'm worried about, such as people complaining that they seem to promote from outside rather than inside the company, how some people are slow/lazy, how we're scheduled to work until 11 if we're a closer but since that's only when we actually close the store, we still stay later than scheduled doing actual closing duties... has me a bit worried, so I'm still looking at classified ads just in case.
I did already have one customer that I just wasn't sure what to think. He comes up and insists that he's going to teach me how to make a sandwich, because he likes his stuff put on the sandwich in a certain way. I make it how he wants it made and then he made some comment about women in the kitchen cooking.
Me: Actually, I don't really cook, my husband cooks.
Him: What? That's silly.
Me: We made a deal that he does all the cooking, and I do all the cleaning. Besides, cooking was a traditionally male occupation, as you see in chefs.
Him: So, does he wear the panties of the pair of you, or do you wear them?
Me: (wtf?????) Er... sometimes we switch.
He left it at that. I mean, wtf? That's just weird and insulting.. and I didn't really feel I could say much because he is apparently a regular, and being old has probably cemented certain views in his head. It was still just weird.
I suppose the job isn't that bad. The people in the connecting grocery/gas store come over to help when needed, it isn't nearly as hectic, usually is something to do, and I actually get paid more and get a few more hours. So it'll probably do me pretty well for now.
There are some things I'm worried about, such as people complaining that they seem to promote from outside rather than inside the company, how some people are slow/lazy, how we're scheduled to work until 11 if we're a closer but since that's only when we actually close the store, we still stay later than scheduled doing actual closing duties... has me a bit worried, so I'm still looking at classified ads just in case.
I did already have one customer that I just wasn't sure what to think. He comes up and insists that he's going to teach me how to make a sandwich, because he likes his stuff put on the sandwich in a certain way. I make it how he wants it made and then he made some comment about women in the kitchen cooking.
Me: Actually, I don't really cook, my husband cooks.
Him: What? That's silly.
Me: We made a deal that he does all the cooking, and I do all the cleaning. Besides, cooking was a traditionally male occupation, as you see in chefs.
Him: So, does he wear the panties of the pair of you, or do you wear them?
Me: (wtf?????) Er... sometimes we switch.
He left it at that. I mean, wtf? That's just weird and insulting.. and I didn't really feel I could say much because he is apparently a regular, and being old has probably cemented certain views in his head. It was still just weird.
I suppose the job isn't that bad. The people in the connecting grocery/gas store come over to help when needed, it isn't nearly as hectic, usually is something to do, and I actually get paid more and get a few more hours. So it'll probably do me pretty well for now.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Yay, surveys!
I'm so glad that I'm quitting. It's gotten to be the time of the year for surveys at mcd's. What does that mean?
It means that people are being pressured into giving a certain answer so that the store looks better! I remember my first survey.. we had one of the assistant managers (salaried) standing over us telling us that we had to answer a certain way for certain questions so as to make the store look more positive. I'm sorry, but if the point is to find out what I actually think, and I'm being pressured to answer in a certain way, then what's the point? Since I'm quitting, I don't have to deal with taking those, but the other people.. well, they get pulled off of the floor in order to do those so that they're all done within a week's time.
People are getting weird around me at work. The store manager in particular has gotten huggy and lovey towards me. I honestly don't know how to react about it, but I know that today is my last day and then no more of this. However, this is the same store manager who actually did put up a sign asking people to sign up if they think they can hack being a manager, because apparently they're looking to promote 3 of them, what with one of them stepping down and them just needing 2 more besides that for the summer. Where the hell was this a year ago when I was wanting to be promoted then? I still get mad at the idea that the store manager thought I might not want to be promoted, what with my baby and all.. that's the very reason WHY I'd want to be promoted!
But if I was to be promoted, I'd have to deal with people like the dumb deaf guy with the shitty hearing aid. He came through drive thru the other day. I try to take his order at first, but he was having such a hard time hearing me that I told him to pull around to my window. He told me he wanted "an angus meal with a coffee instead of a drink" which I tell him we can do. So he pulls around and here's the conversation:
Him: I want a number 13.
Me: You want a fish meal instead of the...
Him: NO! I want an angus meal!
Me: Which one sir? We have three, the deluxe, the bacon and cheese, and the mushroom and swiss.
Him: What difference does it make? Just give me an angus burger, the one with all the stuff on it!
Me: Ok, do you want that meal medium sized or large?
Him: What do you mean by that?
Me: Do you want the french fry medium or large?
Him: *getting flustered* Just give me the large!
Me: Ok, and that's with a coffee..
Him: Yes, with 3 creams!
Me: In the coffee or on the side?
Him: In the coffee, dammit! How much is my total?
I tell him the total, he pays, and then I deal with the huge line that resulted from this guy hogging the window. I find out later that the guy complained about me, *again*, this time for caring more about the money than the customer. Well, that's true, but at the same time, he's pissy because I care enough to ask questions to ensure that the order is correct, and questions that other people don't bother to ask. I'm sorry for giving a shit about your order! I relayed the above convo to the manager who took the complaint, and she agreed that dude was an idiot.
And things like that I won't miss at all.
It means that people are being pressured into giving a certain answer so that the store looks better! I remember my first survey.. we had one of the assistant managers (salaried) standing over us telling us that we had to answer a certain way for certain questions so as to make the store look more positive. I'm sorry, but if the point is to find out what I actually think, and I'm being pressured to answer in a certain way, then what's the point? Since I'm quitting, I don't have to deal with taking those, but the other people.. well, they get pulled off of the floor in order to do those so that they're all done within a week's time.
People are getting weird around me at work. The store manager in particular has gotten huggy and lovey towards me. I honestly don't know how to react about it, but I know that today is my last day and then no more of this. However, this is the same store manager who actually did put up a sign asking people to sign up if they think they can hack being a manager, because apparently they're looking to promote 3 of them, what with one of them stepping down and them just needing 2 more besides that for the summer. Where the hell was this a year ago when I was wanting to be promoted then? I still get mad at the idea that the store manager thought I might not want to be promoted, what with my baby and all.. that's the very reason WHY I'd want to be promoted!
But if I was to be promoted, I'd have to deal with people like the dumb deaf guy with the shitty hearing aid. He came through drive thru the other day. I try to take his order at first, but he was having such a hard time hearing me that I told him to pull around to my window. He told me he wanted "an angus meal with a coffee instead of a drink" which I tell him we can do. So he pulls around and here's the conversation:
Him: I want a number 13.
Me: You want a fish meal instead of the...
Him: NO! I want an angus meal!
Me: Which one sir? We have three, the deluxe, the bacon and cheese, and the mushroom and swiss.
Him: What difference does it make? Just give me an angus burger, the one with all the stuff on it!
Me: Ok, do you want that meal medium sized or large?
Him: What do you mean by that?
Me: Do you want the french fry medium or large?
Him: *getting flustered* Just give me the large!
Me: Ok, and that's with a coffee..
Him: Yes, with 3 creams!
Me: In the coffee or on the side?
Him: In the coffee, dammit! How much is my total?
I tell him the total, he pays, and then I deal with the huge line that resulted from this guy hogging the window. I find out later that the guy complained about me, *again*, this time for caring more about the money than the customer. Well, that's true, but at the same time, he's pissy because I care enough to ask questions to ensure that the order is correct, and questions that other people don't bother to ask. I'm sorry for giving a shit about your order! I relayed the above convo to the manager who took the complaint, and she agreed that dude was an idiot.
And things like that I won't miss at all.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Put in my resignation
Yesterday I gave the management my resignation letter, which was a nice polite ditty and even thanked them for the time I've spent there. I gave it to the store manager and she read it while I got my last schedule.
And honestly, it made me even more annoyed. She claimed that she didn't know that I had wanted to move up, and then claimed she thought I wouldn't want to because of baby. First of all, me having a baby gives me MORE incentive to want to move up. Right now I am capped at what I can make, meaning that a promotion is the ONLY way I'd get a raise. (I had started up making a bit more than I should have, but that was due to reasons I won't get into). I've worked at mcd for over a year, and all that time, not been able to get a raise, yet I was busting my butt doing the work of at least two people. Honestly, it just wasn't worth it.
Then the store manager kinda sorta tried to keep me by asking if I would reconsider if I was promoted.. except if she hadn't actually wanted to promote me during the year I worked there, I don't see good things coming from being promoted to avoid me quitting. She claimed that she was looking to get more managers, yet when I chat with another salaried manager (in charge of scheduling), that manager says it was only a rumor. So in other words the store manager was going to try to promise something that she may or may not have delivered on. Nice.
So I have less than a week before I leave and go on to greener pastures. It won't be an ideal job, still in the food industry, but it won't be nearly as busy and I might actually get somewhat calmer. I would make slightly more, get a shot at having real full time hours (not this <30 hour crap I've been doing currently), and a real chance at a promotion.. I am going for it and not looking back.
And honestly, it made me even more annoyed. She claimed that she didn't know that I had wanted to move up, and then claimed she thought I wouldn't want to because of baby. First of all, me having a baby gives me MORE incentive to want to move up. Right now I am capped at what I can make, meaning that a promotion is the ONLY way I'd get a raise. (I had started up making a bit more than I should have, but that was due to reasons I won't get into). I've worked at mcd for over a year, and all that time, not been able to get a raise, yet I was busting my butt doing the work of at least two people. Honestly, it just wasn't worth it.
Then the store manager kinda sorta tried to keep me by asking if I would reconsider if I was promoted.. except if she hadn't actually wanted to promote me during the year I worked there, I don't see good things coming from being promoted to avoid me quitting. She claimed that she was looking to get more managers, yet when I chat with another salaried manager (in charge of scheduling), that manager says it was only a rumor. So in other words the store manager was going to try to promise something that she may or may not have delivered on. Nice.
So I have less than a week before I leave and go on to greener pastures. It won't be an ideal job, still in the food industry, but it won't be nearly as busy and I might actually get somewhat calmer. I would make slightly more, get a shot at having real full time hours (not this <30 hour crap I've been doing currently), and a real chance at a promotion.. I am going for it and not looking back.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Just a short list of annoyances
The little things can really add up for something big.
1) Grandmotherly manager was once again running for drive thru and getting frustrated and confused over the whole running process. She had asked for an order to be made ahead of the others because it was an addition to the order for window, and she was rebuffed, basically due to how she asked. By asking I actually mean "overexplain the shit until the guys don't give a shit".
I suggested that she'd have better interaction with the grill team if she would stop treating them like idiots and talked to them like they were competent at their job (even suggested just how she could have asked for her order) and she basically ignored me. Even said that she shouldn't be questioned to begin with, because she's a manager. It's somewhat fair to say, but honestly, we get treated like retards by the customers enough, why do that as a manager?
2) Seriously, do something already! I was getting more and more frustrated because of the lack of common sense evident on our counter people. They just stand there.. never mind that things could be cleaned, lobby checked on, things stocked.. nope, they'll just stand there chatting, and the managers will let them. I can only keep after them to do stuff for just so long.
3) When you have two ordertakers in drive thru constantly ringing up the wrong item, combined with the customer ignoring all that the ordertaker is saying and ignoring everything on the screen *except* for their total (the pre-tax one, of course!).. well, I have to deal with it. I was constantly having to remake drinks, ring something extra up, even get the managers to offer refunds when something was rung up that shouldn't have been rung up. Add that in addition to the sauces, waters, etc that customers couldn't bother to ask for when they were ordering, and that makes for a slower than usual drive thru.
4) Being nice can make all the difference. Two customers had made my day after the cigarette guy last night, and this was due to their attitude about honest mistakes. I had rung a man up for an extra sandwich, and he was polite while I got a manager for a refund (I didn't see I had rung an extra up until after I had cashed it out), and even smiled afterwards. And at drive thru, when I made the wrong drink for a woman (she wanted hot, I made it iced), she accepted it without an issue. And that made me feel better, at least for a bit until someone else came along and bitched about something.
5) We're not total morons. I hate it when someone asks "Are you sure this is diet?" Look, I have absolutely nothing to do with the actual making of your soft drink, it's all an automated process that stems from what the cashier rings up. And the drinks are set up to be handed out in advance.. there are few ways that the presenter can fuck up your drinks. The main way that mistakes happen are when the cashier rings up the wrong item which causes the wrong drink to be sent to the automated beverage station (or ABS), and the customer didn't bother to stick around to verify that he did have the right drink rung up.
6) If a manager makes a placement chart, at least actually follow it! I get sick of seeing a placement chart made up when I'm in a nice spot only to have that reverie ruined because they ignore it and stick me as presenter. If you're not going to follow even the basics of what you wrote down, why are you wasting the paper in doing a chart up?
All of those are minor, to be sure. All of them built up, though.. well, that makes a difference.
1) Grandmotherly manager was once again running for drive thru and getting frustrated and confused over the whole running process. She had asked for an order to be made ahead of the others because it was an addition to the order for window, and she was rebuffed, basically due to how she asked. By asking I actually mean "overexplain the shit until the guys don't give a shit".
I suggested that she'd have better interaction with the grill team if she would stop treating them like idiots and talked to them like they were competent at their job (even suggested just how she could have asked for her order) and she basically ignored me. Even said that she shouldn't be questioned to begin with, because she's a manager. It's somewhat fair to say, but honestly, we get treated like retards by the customers enough, why do that as a manager?
2) Seriously, do something already! I was getting more and more frustrated because of the lack of common sense evident on our counter people. They just stand there.. never mind that things could be cleaned, lobby checked on, things stocked.. nope, they'll just stand there chatting, and the managers will let them. I can only keep after them to do stuff for just so long.
3) When you have two ordertakers in drive thru constantly ringing up the wrong item, combined with the customer ignoring all that the ordertaker is saying and ignoring everything on the screen *except* for their total (the pre-tax one, of course!).. well, I have to deal with it. I was constantly having to remake drinks, ring something extra up, even get the managers to offer refunds when something was rung up that shouldn't have been rung up. Add that in addition to the sauces, waters, etc that customers couldn't bother to ask for when they were ordering, and that makes for a slower than usual drive thru.
4) Being nice can make all the difference. Two customers had made my day after the cigarette guy last night, and this was due to their attitude about honest mistakes. I had rung a man up for an extra sandwich, and he was polite while I got a manager for a refund (I didn't see I had rung an extra up until after I had cashed it out), and even smiled afterwards. And at drive thru, when I made the wrong drink for a woman (she wanted hot, I made it iced), she accepted it without an issue. And that made me feel better, at least for a bit until someone else came along and bitched about something.
5) We're not total morons. I hate it when someone asks "Are you sure this is diet?" Look, I have absolutely nothing to do with the actual making of your soft drink, it's all an automated process that stems from what the cashier rings up. And the drinks are set up to be handed out in advance.. there are few ways that the presenter can fuck up your drinks. The main way that mistakes happen are when the cashier rings up the wrong item which causes the wrong drink to be sent to the automated beverage station (or ABS), and the customer didn't bother to stick around to verify that he did have the right drink rung up.
6) If a manager makes a placement chart, at least actually follow it! I get sick of seeing a placement chart made up when I'm in a nice spot only to have that reverie ruined because they ignore it and stick me as presenter. If you're not going to follow even the basics of what you wrote down, why are you wasting the paper in doing a chart up?
All of those are minor, to be sure. All of them built up, though.. well, that makes a difference.
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