You've done a good job - now you'll get a verbal warning !

What a strange week this has been! First I had a Red Obervation for my lack of Customer Service i.e. there was no beginning or an end although the middle bit was better than anyone else - so I failed. As if that wasn't bad enough, it was followed by my getting a Shinning Star (£10 voucher) for my Customer Services. This was given to me by the Store Manager because a customer has recommended me for it. Crazy isn't it???

Two weeks later, a student, not even a manager gave me another Red Observation for once again my failure in producing a beginning and end. Although this time I was award TWO Shinning Stars - one from a customer who said I gave superior customer service and a second from the Mystery Shopper.

And guess what? I was also given a Verbal Warning that my Customer Service skills are lacking - you couldn't make this up could you?

So who decides on the customer services template? Some bozo in head office who has never sat on a till in their life - let alone for 8 hours a day. Is this unfair or what?

The funniest thing to come out of this is that I suggested to Head Office that we, the staff, be able to assess management the way they assess us - and guess what - I got a Shinning Star for that too! To date I have 9 Shinning Stars from Head Office this year alone. Pity my customer service skills are lacking?????????

How to avoid (serving) customers!

Although you work on checkouts in a large store you may be interested in learning how colleagues I work with avoid working!

1. Think of the irrelevant - like cleaning your till area when there are lots of customers about.
Take your time making sure you haven't forgotten a speck of dirt.

2. Go to the loo a lot. And take your time walking there and back . Don't forget to wash your
hands so clean that the skin almost falls off.

3. When it is hot - ask to get a drink . . . and again, and again.
When it is cold you will need a hot drink and a jumper. Don't get them on the same trip
make two very slow trips to the changing rooms and to your locker.

4. Forget about queues - there will always be long queues - let your supervisor through their
weight around. It is not your problem.

5. What ever you do - don't be good at it because people who do their job and people who work
hard are the ones who get all the aggro from staff. It is the people who milk the system
that get on in this environment. Learn from others who are successful how to milk the
system otherwise you will be the odd one out.

Disciplinary for doing your job

Sorry to my supporters for being absent - health problems! Never mind I am back with Tales from the Checkouts!

What has happened to work? Remember in days not so long ago, you were excepted to do a days' work for a days' pay - not avoid being on the tills.

I work with one lady who is such an expert, my manager gave her more jobs to do (otherwise known as more opportunities to get off serving people) and she got away with it. I am beginning to wonder who is the MUG here. Think it is me.

Hope you all had a nice summer!

I'm still running Sainsbury's

The episode last night featured a new recruit who had a successful career in sales and it showed. She definitely knew what she was talking about and her ideas were doable. From the trailers I thought it was going to be more agressive selling but what she in fact did was make Sainsbury's user friendly. So for me it worked. And I liked the idea!

No doubt they will be implementing this into our store. It will be interesting to see who the Store Manager chooses to be the sales person that is where the difference will occur. Because the way I see it you need someone who is approachable, confident, able to "personality" sell and a person who is keen to do a good job.

Yes, this is bringing back communication to the customer. It is also a good way of finding out what customers want.

I'm running Sainsbury's

U watched this programme with great interest! The idea seemed too good to be true . . . and it was. What it was, was a PR exercise to show how good Sainsbury's are. But are they?

Knowing what I do about how superstores like this are run, I found it strange that Head Office did not give this poor girl a hand like they would do for every other new product on the shelf i.e. vouchers, start the campaign at the weekend, offer tastings, even showing her how to sell. But then they wouldn't because it is not really in their interest to simply because they would stop the customer from buying more as they searched for the key things to make up their "Feed a Family for a Fiver".

I also thought the staff at Head Office were patronising to Becky.

So they got their PR but I personally don't think they got very good PR because it showed how ruthless they are especially when it comes to supporting staff and their ideas!

Who is the mug??

Ok, I am paid to do a job. The job is not brilliant but it pays money and that is what I am paid to do. However, my bone of contention is the fact that I have to work twice as hard because two people I work with spend all their time doing anything but work. Which I think is grossly unfair!

And the worst part is that you tell your manager who does nothing. You tell senior management who also does nothing - so who else is there?

Would you like to know what really gets my goat is when I am pulled into the office for stupid things like I took my tea break at the wrong time or I asked too many questions - but that is how you sell, by asking questions. So perhaps I am the mug by not milking the system like the women I work with do. Therefore, in future I will try to milk the system and do it better than them. At then, I won't feel like such a pratt!

Scandal hits the checkouts

Just about every month you have someone who thinks they can "get away" with stealing money from the tills. But they are told when trained that it has been tried and no one has EVER succeeded, yet still the people who steal seem to think the store won't miss an odd £100 here and there. When will they ever learn? The system is bigger than any one or collection of people and nobody ever gets away with it.

This time the victim was the daughter of one of the supervisors (who didn't have anything to do with it, nor did she know her daughter was stealing money). How awlful that must have been for her to go back into the store knowing that everyone was talking about they theft. But she did it, my heart really goes out to her because she is a good person and would never do anything like that ever. Most of the people I work with would never do it either.

What they don't seem to appreciate is that they are stealing from us the workers rather than the fat cats at the top. We are the ones who will suffer with our bonuses etc.. It is not fair! But then the world is not fair either.

Back to work

Finally, after another operation on my hand, I am back to work. But am still working on the tills. Fortunately, I am doing reduced hours although I am not sure for how long. However, there is another lady also doing rehab hours and she is milking the system and playing a strange game of making sure everyone knows her problems i.e. she was injured by a customer. My point to her was why didn't she do something i.e. take it up with the unions solicitors sooner rather than later? Because she does keep going on about money and how much she needs to live. Her situation is really odd - I think.

There I am plodding along and making the most of it. But I have another operation to come and am waiting for a date. I am convinced that someone has put the evil eye on me because of all the medical issues I have had. Normally I am fit and healthy and had enough operations during my early years to last a lifetime - so why more now????

When is far too far?

After all the excitement from yesterday's snowfall, I was astonished to learn that a few of my work colleagues were unable to make it to work. You would think this not surprising bearing in mind how difficult conditions were, but:
I work in Southampton; one manager travelled from Salisbury, Wilts,; one from Chichester, Sussex, and one from Christchurch, Dorset. the distances they travelled were considerable yet one colleague who lives literally a 10 minute walk away rang personnel to say that she couldn't get in because of the snow?????

Milk the system and be popular with your manager

This week has been interesting to say the least. My manager read me the riot act for taking my tea break at a different time. I did it to help out my colleagues. When I pointed how stupid this was she threw back in my face how she had been helping me??????
Then I pointed out that she should be clamping down on the people milking the system - what about the time stealers? What about the people who spend excessive amounts of time doing simple jobs? What about . . . being a manager to them?
She didn't like that and hasn't spoken to me since.
At least mega mouth is gone - hooray!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One handed checkout opering

I can't believe that my store won't allow me to have an afternoon teabreak because I don't work an 8 hour day - only 7 1/2 hours and therefore only qualify for a morning break and unpaid lunch. The problem is that because of the cold weather my joints have swollen up in my right hand making my fingers go into spasm i.e. I spend all day working as a checkout operator on tills. The worst part is that I have been there 14 years.

Surely this can't be right?

The best day of the week

Having been on holiday for the past could of weeks, it makes you appreciate how precious life is and how some people i.e. the supervisors I work under make life so unbearable for some of my colleagues. However, the trouble is, who do you complain to?

Your immediate manager - she has, unfortunately, become ineffectual as a manager. She started well, but due to one particular supervisor (who has endless amounts of issues and a very loud mouth) she has lost her spark and let this individual manage her. If I were her, I would transfer her out of our store - but that is logical and an easy solution. Anyway that is not my problem.

The union rep - she too has little impact even though she has the union behind her.

The store manager - he thinks everything in every department is rosy. Probably because he has his own problems and this one should, I emphasise should, be sorted out by my manager.

Leave - the problem is especially in this current economical situation it is not a good idea.

Grin and bear it - that is the easy way out. However, I am fortunate because for me there are ways out. But I do feel very sorry for the meek amongst my colleagues. I have told them that I will help them "get action" and that they need to "group together" because that way somebody, somewhere will have to do something.

It would be nice to be able to do the job you get paid to do without the bullying that goes on.

Judgemental to customers

When you think I have been off work for almost 6 months, having just gone back, after 5 minutes it is like I have never been away. It is like a hiccup in time However, some things have changed.

Some people I work with have become more dissatified with work and therefore get annoyed or upset by stupid things. For instance, one older lady I work with has become judgemental about customers she serves - making comments about them, their appearance, size, or matter. I told her that we are not there to be judgmental just to serve and get people through the door as quickly as possible. But I know she really doesn't want to be there and quite frankly, if she feels that strongly why doesn't she leave?

It is a pity that people have to behave like that. I can remember a time when people would jump through hoops for you but not now. Now we have a credit crunch, no pensions, no money and the cost of living has risen sharply hence, some people feel they are justified in behaving in this judgemental way.

Stealing time from your employer

I did think I was alone in my opinions about the queen of milking the sytem, but I found out that I was NOT alone and that more people than I first realised felt the same as I did i.e. that it had been going on for too long, that it wasn't fair on the rest of us, that she wa also bullying me. However, when I went to management, on three occasions to complain about the bullying nothing was ever done except that it got forgotten. So much for management helping resolve issues like this. But, I refused to go once again to management and be degraded into thinking it was my fault although this time it wasn't the issue. The issue was stealing from the company which to anyone else would have been instant dismissal but to her it was just another warning. Let's face it when you are suppose to be working and manage to do other things that take forever you are clearly milking the system and stealing from your employer. Trouble is that management in these large supermarket superstores don't see things like that they seem to see things in front of their face.
I'm not hoping for miracles just for this to be resolved for once and for all but I am not holding out a lot of hope on that front either - I am realistic.

Bozos

Monday was a really bad day because I wasn not conforming to regulations set out by senior management who are never on checkouts anyway. Apparently, I do not great customers appropriately - whatever that means. Nor do I treat them in a patronising way. Shame on me for showing them respect and dignity. After all these bozos who are senior management haven't got a clue about how people, how to manage and what customers want. Can you blame checkout operators for not wanting to stay in a job?

Migrant worker vs. British

I read in the Daily Mail yesterday that Sainsburys prefer migrant workers because they work harder than the British. You've got to ask yourself why is that?

Part of the reason, I think is the way management treats you. Most supermarket managers regard their staff as thick, lacking in ability, not useful for anything and never use their brain. Their employees are sub-normal and sub-standard. So it is no wonder that workers lack motivation, inspiration that transpires into just not caring. After all most managers don't care either. As far as they are concerned they are above the workers and are always right - perhaps this is what they are taught when they train as managers or maybe it is in their blood - who knows? But what is annoying is that a company like Sainsbury's who is one of the major companies who disregard their staff to the point that they either leave (after a short time), or end up on anti-depressants because they are bullied should then produce a statement along those lines. What chance is there for anyone then if this is how they think? It's not good enough if you ask me.

Some people are just evil

Yesterday, I had the worst day of my life on the checkouts - and it wasn't with a customer. I find customers are generally very nice and undersatanding.
My day started off as normal. Although I am only able to use one hand, the supermarket where I work still insist on putting me on tills where I find packing extremely difficult. However, I agreed with my manager that I would work on a less busy till and she was happy with that. The problem then came when another member of staff came in.
Orginally she was going to help the mamager do something on the shop floor but another colleague came and the manager then asked her instead which upset shall I call her the "fat blond" because she wanted a skive, like they all do. whereas I am happy to plod on. An hour into the shift and this "fat blond" wanted to do something else and this time the manager asked me to do it - bearing in mind this job was "no big deal" although it did mean that I would get off the tills for 15 minutes - which is what she wanted to do. So that upset her!
Then she starts on me saying why do I have to sit on this particular till; why can't I go on another? I told her thait my medical conditions were none of her business and told her to speak to the manager if she wasn't happy with what I did. Two fingers to her I thought.
I am normally a very placid person and would not entertain such pettiest but this "fat blond" seems to have a problem with everything.
I do the job to the best of my ability. My manager is happy with me and my work and leaves me to get on with things, so it is none of her business what I do and who is she to tell me what I can do and can't do.
I should have learned by now that most people who work on supermarket superstores do it because of a variety of reasons however, there are a few, like the "fat blond" who are not capable of working anywhere else and you can see why.

NB. I emphathise that this is not anit-fat people, I use the term "fat blond" simply as a way of describing her and nothing else. Fortunately, fat people like her are rare - just like people like her are rare. And unfortunately, we all need bad people to make us appreciate the good people in this life.

Trouble brewing

Today I was asked to shift my hours forward and go in earlier. That was no problem, but I have to take medication for my ills and ails at regular intervals and with food. The problem became having breaks in order to take my medication. You would think that the company has a duty of care - well that is senior management not the ground level management i.e. supervisors who have more control and power over our life than we do.

What started out as a simple task turned out to be a major feat. Do I go off and have my medication upsetting my supervisor who would in turn make my life more hell than she does already or do I suffer and hope for the best. Should I strugglem while other totally fit people are off sciving avoiding serving customers, getting paid more than me for doing it and pretending to make themselves useful when clearly they are not.

I decided that my health and well-being was worth MORE than those stupid people - now I live with what repurcussions there could be tommorrow.

The secret life of a supermarket checkout operator

"Good morning" the checkout operator says with a pasted smile across her face. She has been told by her supervisors that if she doesn't smile, say good morning, ask if the customer would like to buy: a lottery ticket, car insurance, house insurance, pet insurance, contents insurance, stamps or have cash back she will not get her bonus???
Most customers I have spoken too just want to get out of the supermarket as quickly as possible. They are not interested in the operators trying to sell them whatever, they want to pay for their goods and get out.
Some assistants take this personally because they can't process 19 items a minute, ask all these questions, pack, smile and pass the time of day with their customers because:
1. customers are not interested
2. they (the assistants have enough on their plate already - so why should they have to put themselves into the firing line even more than before while their supervisors and managers just putter around making themselves look important. Where are they when you need them?)
3. they are unable to multi-task.
4. they are on a minimum wage - who gets the commission from all these sales anyway?
5. rather than look at the positives management always picks up negatives and doesn't seem to appreciate, know or care what goes on behind the tills unless it is something un-to-ward.
6. it is not in their job description to do these extra jobs - where are the unions?

Support your local checkout operators by writing to Supermarket Store Managers telling them what a good job the assistants are doing and how they should be financially recognised for their significant contributions.