[jhogarty]

How do you steal Time? I'm sure a creative attorney could have a field day with that question.

J.

[Kevin]

Salty, nothing will be done. Just bite the pillow.

If anything, the manager will get pissed at you and you'll be fired.

[production_coordinator]

Originally Posted by Salty

Seriously though. I got minorly chewed out by a sr. level manager today because I clocked out with my coat on. Why do I do this? I was booked from 9-2. It was 2:01. And I was gona miss my bus if I didn't get out right after my shift was over.

You SHOULD have been chewed out... You knowingly broke the rules.

Why didn't you talk to your boss about leaving 5 minutes early? Etc. etc. etc.

Before doing something, why not ask someone if it is OK. You will be amazed how realistic people are when you say "Would you mind if I left a few minutes early for XYZ"

You will also be amazed with how unrealistic people are when you repeatedly break rules.

[Ozmodiar]

If an employee waved a bible in my face to prove they weren't breaking the rules, I would say "Get the f*ck out. You're fired."

[Doofy]

BTW, if you weren't such a girl you wouldn't need a coat and the problem would instantly disappear.

[Mister Elf]

Originally Posted by jcadam

Sounds about right (I'm in the Army, well until March, yippe).

That sign thing sounds like something a 2LT from West Point would do...

Nothing wrong with a West Point 2LT...as long as there are a few sergeants around to square him away...

[Salty]

Originally Posted by Doofy

BTW, if you weren't such a girl you wouldn't need a coat and the problem would instantly disappear.

You realize it's minus 10 C outside right now, with a pretty good wind chill eh? A jacket is a necessity in Canada after the end of October.

[Doofy]

Originally Posted by Salty

You realize it's minus 10 C outside right now, with a pretty good wind chill eh? A jacket is a necessity in Canada after the end of October.

Pussy!

(just kidding)

A guy in the next village over when I was growing up had a reputation for being "hard". Literally all weathers he'd be wearing a T and a pair of jeans. Snow, rain, -20 C, +30 C. We got the feeling that he'd go on holidays to Antarctica in just his T to show how hard he was. Legendary!

[JoshuaZ]

Just talk to your boss. I mean, a lot of problems can be solved through simple conversation. If not, find out where he lives.

[Dakar]

Originally Posted by JoshuaZ

Just talk to your boss.

Quoted for emphasis. Your civil disobedience/silent protest isn't going to net you much other than a tongue lashing and a pink slip

[RAILhead]

Originally Posted by Dakar

Ah, and that makes perfect sense then.

Edit: It was worded to sound like there was a bit of a drive between the two locations.

Yeah, sorry I didn't clarify that in the original post.

[Chuckit]

Originally Posted by Ozmodiar

If an employee waved a bible in my face to prove they weren't breaking the rules, I would say "Get the f*ck out. You're fired."

I would seriously just laugh and walk away. Then I'd fire them later for something else they did that they couldn't try to sue me for, like wearing a jacket after they clocked in.

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by Mister Elf

Nothing wrong with a West Point 2LT...as long as there are a few sergeants around to square him away...

The only difference between a 2LT and a Corporal is that the 2LT is probably a bit older - AND the Corporal has some real experience. Junior officers NEED both the mentorship AND the "grounding" an NCO, particularly a senior NCO, can provide. Otherwise, they never find out what the "real Army" is.

This is as true in the Army as it is in the Air Force, where I had plenty of opportunity to guide and mentor junior officers. The smart ones listen, the "think they're smart" ones don't. That doesn't mean the smart ones always follow advice-NOT AT ALL! But at least they see a bigger picture.

And this IS on topic: a junior officer has lots of "book learning" and very little practical experience in actual leadership or management; his or her only practice has been on more junior officer trainees. The hard fact is that it's all different once you're doing it for real. And any manager needs to have the brains and guts to say "Bob, you're out of line. Straighten up or you're history." And then make it stick. It usually doesn't take more than one or two such situations to get the point across. Alas, most corporate managers couldn't lead themselves out of a wet paper bag with written instructions, a flashlight, GPS, and plenty of coaching.

[IceEnclosure]

Salty's gonna get fired. Retail workers need be quiet. Let alone advertising this shyte on the 'net.

[waxcrash]

Originally Posted by IceEnclosure

Salty's gonna get fired. Retail workers need be quiet. Let alone advertising this shyte on the 'net.

I predict in in 2 weeks we'll see the "I was fired by Best Buy" thread.

[Ozmodiar]

god knows that shiat will pile up here instead of his ****ing blog.

[Cubeoid]

Originally Posted by Ozmodiar

god knows that shiat will pile up here instead of his ****ing blog.

Cubeoid agrees®

[wuzup101]

Originally Posted by jhogarty

How do you steal Time? I'm sure a creative attorney could have a field day with that question.

J.

You're not stealing time, you're stealing money. The company pays you for you're time spent working. If they are paying you for x amount of work and you're doing y amount of work and x>y... well you should get the picture. I bet you wouldn't like it if your auto mechanic performed 1hr of labor on your car and charged you for 2 hrs... would you?

[Shaddim]

Originally Posted by Ozmodiar

If an employee waved a bible in my face to prove they weren't breaking the rules, I would say "Get the f*ck out. You're fired."

And they'd be better off for it, rather than work for a jerk like you. Especially after they sue you for religious discrimination.

[OldManMac]

Originally Posted by wuzup101

You're not stealing time, you're stealing money. The company pays you for you're time spent working. If they are paying you for x amount of work and you're doing y amount of work and x>y... well you should get the picture. I bet you wouldn't like it if your auto mechanic performed 1hr of labor on your car and charged you for 2 hrs... would you?

Actually, most car dealers work that way. Jobs are typically assigned a certain amount of time, and if the technician does it in under that time, he wins, as he can then do more work and make more money.

I haven't read this whole thread, but some retail stores have policies that forbid employees from wearing jackets in the stores on the way out, and allow for the managers to check those jackets before employees leave. IIRC, employee theft is actually one of the biggest reasons companies have to write off merchandise. Having worked in retail for the last dozen years, I've seen and known more than a couple of people who thought they could steal from their employer, and who were wrong, especially at places like Worst Buy, Circuit City, CompUSA, etc.

[Ozmodiar]

Originally Posted by MacNStein

And they'd be better off for it, rather than work for a jerk like you. Especially after they sue you for religious discrimination.

Feh. I have no problem with someone being religious. I do have a problem with someone being an asshole because I asked them to follow the rules.

[Doofy]

Originally Posted by Ozmodiar

someone being an asshole

I think we hit the nail on the head, right there.

[Chuckit]

Originally Posted by MacNStein

And they'd be better off for it, rather than work for a jerk like you. Especially after they sue you for religious discrimination.

Discriminating on religion is one thing. Firing somebody for being disrespectful and insulting is another.

[wdlove]

Originally Posted by Cubeoid

Cubeoid agrees®

Cubeoid is awesome.

[Teronzhul]

Originally Posted by Ozmodiar

Feh. I have no problem with someone being religious. I do have a problem with someone being an asshole because I asked them to follow the rules.

QFT

[Shaddim]

Originally Posted by Ozmodiar

Feh. I have no problem with someone being religious. I do have a problem with someone being an asshole because I asked them to follow the rules.

It's more the way you said it. That type of attitude is more likely going to get you fired instead of the employee.

[Salty]

Originally Posted by wuzup101

You're not stealing time, you're stealing money. The company pays you for you're time spent working. If they are paying you for x amount of work and you're doing y amount of work and x>y... well you should get the picture. I bet you wouldn't like it if your auto mechanic performed 1hr of labor on your car and charged you for 2 hrs... would you?

It takes me 30 seconds to grab my coat. I get paid 9 dollars an hour. If you do the math it works out to approximately 7 cents. Lets clock that up to a full minute, that's 15 cents. Considering I almost never take my two 15 minute breaks on an 8 hour shift. It's retarded that they'd have a problem.

[RAILhead]

Originally Posted by Salty

It takes me 30 seconds to grab my coat. I get paid 9 dollars an hour. If you do the math it works out to approximately 7 cents. Lets clock that up to a full minute, that's 15 cents. Considering I almost never take my two 15 minute breaks on an 8 hour shift. It's retarded that they'd have a problem.

Dude, why can't you get it through that thick skull of yours: YOUR EMPLOYER DOESN'T GIVE A RAT'S ARSE ABOUT WHAT YOU THINK SHOULDN'T BE A PROBLEM!

Your opinion doesn't matter. No one cares. You can't do anything about it. Get over it and follow their rules or go work somewhere else.

[Salty]

Originally Posted by RAILhead

Dude, why can't you get it through that thick skull of yours: YOUR EMPLOYER DOESN'T GIVE A RAT'S ARSE ABOUT WHAT YOU THINK SHOULDN'T BE A PROBLEM!

Your opinion doesn't matter. No one cares. You can't do anything about it. Get over it and follow their rules or go work somewhere else.

If we all gave up complaining about things simply because nothing was going to happen... then where would Canadian Politics be?!

[Chuckit]

Originally Posted by RAILhead

Dude, why can't you get it through that thick skull of yours: YOUR EMPLOYER DOESN'T GIVE A RAT'S ARSE ABOUT WHAT YOU THINK SHOULDN'T BE A PROBLEM!

Your opinion doesn't matter. No one cares. You can't do anything about it. Get over it and follow their rules or go work somewhere else.

The same could be said the other way around. He can play by his rules, and if the employer can't get over it and feels the need to fire good employees for no good reason, that's his problem.

(This isn't to say I think employees shouldn't follow their employer's rules. I'm mainly playing devil's advocate. But I do think the person who fails to follow a dumb rule is no more stupid than the person who made the rule in the first place.)

[andi*pandi]

this thread almost makes me feel guilty about surfing at work. but I get my work done.

technically we are hourly, but the atmosphere is much more laid back... not like Railroaders shop. <brrr> I did my time as a punchcarder, way back. It can make you feel like a brainless cog, if that's how you're treated. Doesn't have to. But some bosses enjoy being bosses way too much.

[Dakar]

Originally Posted by RAILhead

Dude, why can't you get it through that thick skull of yours: YOUR EMPLOYER DOESN'T GIVE A RAT'S ARSE ABOUT WHAT YOU THINK SHOULDN'T BE A PROBLEM!

Your opinion doesn't matter. No one cares. You can't do anything about it. Get over it and follow their rules or go work somewhere else.

Boy, I'd hate to work at a place with that kind of attitude.

Originally Posted by Chuckit

The same could be said the other way around. He can play by his rules, and if the employer can't get over it and feels the need to fire good employees for no good reason, that's his problem.

(This isn't to say I think employees shouldn't follow their employer's rules. I'm mainly playing devil's advocate. But I do think the person who fails to follow a dumb rule is no more stupid than the person who made the rule in the first place.)

Yup. Because they hire poor employees the good ones get penalized with juvenile rules and inflexibility.


$5 says Salty is in his 20s or maybe even late teens. 30 and 40 year-olds who are poor employees don't get the same kind of dressing down reserved for younger employees.

This goes back to when I worked at a grocery store. The management treated the high school employees with almost outright contempt. Yes, they were lazy and irresponsible ones, but if you're going to hire them, then you need to accept the fact that these are their employees and treat them with respect.

[Psychonaut]

Best Buy has accused me of stealing.

When I was about 16-years-old, my friend, his father, and I were stopped by the security guy on the way out. He asked us in a ridiculously condescending manner, "Now, is there something you two boys would like to pay for?"

... Did I mention that his father is a defence attorney? The man also does a great impression of The Hulk.

[Dark Helmet]

Originally Posted by MacNStein

And they'd be better off for it, rather than work for a jerk like you. Especially after they sue you for religious discrimination.

Religious Discrimination - Bad
Racial Profiling - Good

[Dakar]

Originally Posted by Dark Helmet

Religious Discrimination - Bad
Racial Profiling - Good

Non-sequitur = bad

[RAILhead]

So many of you miss the entire point of all this: rules are rules, and an employee must keep them.

I can assure you that an employee at Best Buy that doesn't like the "jacket rule" will NOT have the company-wide policy -- if it is a company-wide policy -- removed from "the books" because they don't like it. Not a chance in Hades. There's no reason to fight it. It's pointless.

An example from our company would be like people using their company gas card to buy cigarettes. We have a policy that you can't buy anything but gas with our company card, and you MUST turn in a receipt for every gas purchase you make. It doesn't matter if you've worked for us for 30 years or 30 days, you still turn in a receipt.

Don't like it? Too bad, those are the rules.

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by Dakar

Non-sequitur = bad

That's SWF's trademark.

[Dakar]

Originally Posted by RAILhead

So many of you miss the entire point of all this: rules are rules, and an employee must keep them.

I can assure you that an employee at Best Buy that doesn't like the "jacket rule" will NOT have the company-wide policy -- if it is a company-wide policy -- removed from "the books" because they don't like it. Not a chance in Hades. There's no reason to fight it. It's pointless.

Thankfully, I've worked at places where sensible exceptions are made.

Edit: I've noticed that any gripes I hear from payroll about my occasional streaks of tardiness (we're taking 1-3 minutes late here) suddenly disappear when I'm working 50+ hour weeks.

[Mrjinglesusa]

Funniest topic I've ever read. Saw Cody go from "I will never shop at Best Buy again!!!! They suck!!!!!" to "Oh, they just want you take your coat off before clocking in? That's no problem - I'll keep shopping at Best Buy now...." [paraphrased]

LMAO

You all are too funny. e.g. Getting on Maury for company policies that make perfect sense to anyone who doesn't work in retail or fast-food. lol Thanks for the afternoon laugh everyone....

[Chuckit]

Originally Posted by Mrjinglesusa

You all are too funny. e.g. Getting on Maury for company policies that make perfect sense to anyone who doesn't work in retail or fast-food. lol Thanks for the afternoon laugh everyone....

Your epeen stretches from sea to shining sea, Mrjinglesusa.

[Salty]

Actually Best Buy has some policies but it's really up to the GM/General Manager to enforce them. There's some things they wouldn't move on like that you have to wear the BB suit. But for example our store on Saturday allows employees to wear Jeans, something the old GM came up with to boost moral. We also get to wear runners. This actually really did boost the moral of the store a fair bit. Until that GM who happened to be one of the nicest people I've ever met who worked retail, left and was replaced with a guy who... well he doesn't so much lead as... well I don't think I've ever seen him smile .
This sorta jacket thing I don't think would be being done under the old GM. She would have probably addressed it in a different way if she felt a need to.

Oh by the way they changed the sign today. It now reads "Punching in with your jacket on is stealing, and Grounds for dismissal. Don't make us dismiss you."

I don't think anyone would have a massive problem with trying to always get in earlier and punch in when ready. Most people arrive a bit early just because that's how the bus works out or something. However if my bus is late I'd rather not have to do a time edit and talk to a manager for approval and all that crap simply because I was one minute late by the punch clock.

Essentially it goes down to the respect an employer shows their employee. And when they want us to be hawking 300 dollar service plans all the time that in many cases the customers won't need, it'd probably boost their bottom line if they didn't make us hate the company we worked for .

[isao bered]

Originally Posted by Salty

Essentially it goes down to the respect an employer shows their employee. And when they want us to be hawking 300 dollar service plans all the time that in many cases the customers won't need, it'd probably boost their bottom line if they didn't make us hate the company we worked for .

i doubt it is your job to determine whether the customer needs the service plan. the idea is to sell the customer as much as you can. service plans are typically no (or very low) overhead / high profit items for the company. and here's a newsflash - a profitable company tends to keep it's employees employed. pitch the plan and let the customer decide.

if you don't like working retail how 'bout just find another job. there's no sin in that. however, that same bible that you think supports your argument against this timeclock policy most likely wouldn't be so supportive of an employee publicly denigrating the company he chose to work for (and still employs him). how 'bout just grow the <insert appropriate expletive here> up.

be well.

laeth

[Timo]

Originally Posted by RAILhead

So many of you miss the entire point of all this: rules are rules, and an employee must keep them.

Yeah, we get it. But not all of us are missing the point; rather, I find it an uninteresting point.

Don't like it? Too bad, those are the rules.

I was thinking about your POV today as I was working with my employee, working with my subcontractors, working with my consultants, and checking in on my service providers. All of these people work for me, some indirectly, most directly. I was imagining dictating to them the "rules," especially with your tone. I'm quite sure my contractors, consultants and employee would move on pronto if I took such a line with them -- in my work world, you work with people, as the value of the relationship is so much more than the paycheck.

I was also imagining calling my employees "girls." Wouldn't go over so well either.

Edit: none of this should be construed, Salty, as an endorsement for your POV. You work for a company that doesn't give a sh!t about you -- known fact. You are replaceable. Play by their rules or get a new job. Still better: work for yourself.

[Salty]

This is just an interm thing for me anyway. I'll be going back to school. If anything this is a great way for me to realize how badly I freaking need my degree even if it's a stupid degree it'll help me get a ministry job .
But yah I do not plan on staying in this type of work beyond the end of next August. Actually after Christmas is over I'll probably start looking around for another job in a place that you know... won't suck so much . Sadly most jobs that are better than retail are the sort that an employer doesn't want to hire you for such a short time. And I'd feel bad pretending I was going to be there for more than a few months.

[Timo]

Hmm...what's better than working for yourself?

...wait for it...

working for God. Nice.

[Salty]

Originally Posted by Timo

Hmm...what's better than working for yourself?

...wait for it...

working for God. Nice.

Exactly and He doesn't have a service plan. Actually on the phone working for Him right now.

[Eriamjh]

Why not punch out with your jacket in your hands? Technically, it is not "ON".

[tooki]

The point isn't the jacket, per se. It's that the time clock is one place and the lockers another. They don't want employees clocking in until the second they are ready to hit the floor.

tooki

[Kevin]

I knew employees that would sit around and gab for awhile after their shift was over, THEN clock out.

That got frowned upon too.

This probably was put into place to stop that sort of shinanigans.

[Salty]

I understand the idea of not goofing off for the last bit of one's shift. Though honestly if I've got 5 minutes left, that's not enough time to sell a computer package. So why the heck should I be helping anyone? Great if someone needs help looking for ink, but what if they need a printer, 5 minutes is often not long enough to sell one. And what if I get a crazy customer? It's just a stupid policy especially since you only have 3 minutes before and after to clock in.