Well my store has had brand new 3 brand new co-managers in addition to a new store manager over the last few months. Today we were short handed on the front end and I had the chicken shift in the deli. One of our new co-managers has taken to calling departments phone lines directly to send him, or as he says "send ME a cashier up front." We had a rush on the front this evening and we had one guy on break, leaving me and one other lady in the department. Just seconds before my last batches of chicken came up our phone rang.
It was the a-hole manager calling for us to send him a cashier. I politely told him we had no one available since I had a batch of fried chicken seconds away from coming up and the only other person was on the counter with a short line of customers. After all this he loudly and rudely says "send ME a cashier now!"
I've worked with some real jerks of management at various jobs over the years but I've never had anyone speak that rudely towards me! How in the hell are we supposed to send someone when we have no one?! This co-manager is so arrogant and ****y and if he talks to me like that again, it will be the last time he makes that mistake!
In this case, if he's just a co-manager/PIC in the dept, call the main manager on duty in the dept and explain it to them, or the manager in the Deli for example. Explain it to them. Go over the co-manager's head if he's being rude and obnoxious, and can't understand basic logic. Bypass him altogether if he's being rude like that.
Another thing you can do, although less advised, is tell him to jump into a checkstand himself if things are so bad, and call another manager over from another dept to run the front end while he sits in a checkstand until things calm down. We do that all the time in ours. Our Food Dept runs the front-end for us at least once a week it seems like because we get so busy, and we need all the people in a checkstand we can get, including front-end managers. Sometimes, our Apparel or Home Manager will run the front-end temporarily until things calm down. Other times, our Store Director will.
There are always options available if he just absolutely needs an extra checker, including being that checker himself and passing off the front-end to another dept manager while he sits in the checkstand. I would explain this to him and that it's not unheard of to call over another dept head while he jumps in. In fact, I would even go so far as to casually bring it up as a solution to your main front-end manager.
Another solution, though less advised, is simply do exactly what he says. When he starts pissing and moaning and demanding someone back-up check when you can't spare them. Go be a back up checker. And when things go to **** in the Deli, make sure to name-drop said manager as being responsible due to his demands that you drop everything and come help them. If chicken ends up burnt, it's on him. If a new batch has to be made, that's on him. If customers back up, that's on him. It's less advised of course, because it could come back on you depending on how your store runs, but in my store, if they ever tried that, the manager would catch **** for it, not the employee listening to the manager.
That said, every situation is different. I would recommend my first solution, which is to suggest having the PIC/Co-Manager get into the checkstand and pass off running the front end to another dept head until things calm down. If he's that worried about needing a back up checker and keeping up on the QueVision, they'll take it into consideration and start putting them into checkstands.
Yeah I would talk to your store manager or even call corporate. They aren't suppose to use deli/bakery or meat department at front end since they are service jobs. They are suppose to use produce/floral/dairy/drug gm for back up. Also every manager should know how to use the register as well.
Yeah I would talk to your store manager or even call corporate. They aren't suppose to use deli/bakery or meat department at front end since they are service jobs. They are suppose to use produce/floral/dairy/drug gm for back up. Also every manager should know how to use the register as well.
But let's be realistic too, there's not always someone from the other depts who can be on a register because the depts may not have anyone scheduled late.
Yeah I would talk to your store manager or even call corporate. They aren't suppose to use deli/bakery or meat department at front end since they are service jobs. They are suppose to use produce/floral/dairy/drug gm for back up. Also every manager should know how to use the register as well.
But let's be realistic too, there's not always someone from the other depts who can be on a register because the depts may not have anyone scheduled late.
produce and dairy stay late. we have quite a few of our dairy / produce people who are cross trained but in our store our managers only call from other departments if it's SUPER busy and they're NOT required to be on registers. the managers will get on registers if it's busy but theyre mainly suppose to bag or direct traffic.
also you can call union if you think the co manager is harassing you. I had one co worker who went to the store manager and told her "My hired job description is checker NOT drug gm/floral /whatever. So DO not put me on as those." The store manager followed thru so now my co worker is always checker. I wonder if she went to the union about it if they would have got in trouble. Idk.
lolol im a night stocker, they used to call us up to bag, we never went, we ignore them. Eventually the managers asked "why are you ignoring to help up front when they need it." We quickly reply with, "why doesn't the cashiers or baggers when not doing anything, not help with us in conditioning, instead of standing up front scratching their nuts or laughing like retards that found a red ball." he look at us, and calmly said "well, they have the right to refuse to help you condition, its not in their job description" i politely said "neither is bagging in ours...guess theis conversation is done." They have never asked us to bag or up the front end again, as we have never asked them for anything. All it takes is the truth and you can basically do your job and not anyone elses. Its the managers responsibility when it comes to maintaining the front end, to keep it in line and to help at all possible...not to call random departments because they are lazy.
I was speaking to a gut in the meat department today and he said the same co-manager tried the same crap with him. He was the closing person and the only help he had was a first day employee. When he told the a**hole in question he couldn't come up front he came back to the department to tell him"I need someone up front now!" He refused again to help because he wouldn't leave the new guy alone. So the co-manager said he'd get another manager down there to "talk about the situation!"
Well the other co-manager came down and when told the only other person in the meat shop was a first day employee he had a rare moment of clarity and said you can't leave a new guy alone.
Just let your department manager know specially if you are in the meat dept. or like others said just say ya and don't go up as long as you are working or helping customers there isn't much they can do about. oh and if you have that many co-managers and you are in the union let your rep know
They tried doing that to us a few months ago actually. They apparently were so backed up in the front that they asked us, the deli, if we had any experience working the registers. At this time, I was maybe a month or so into the job, so naturally I wasn't it. There were two of us, and the other one, while there for 2 years, was never trained on the registers (whereas everyone under me did).
