Saturday, May 16, 2009

Work Sucked

I know that no matter where you work you will end up dealing with drama. I'm aware of that... but it doesn't make it any easier to deal with... especially when you end up dealing with it everyday from one specific person.

A gentleman walked up today at the connection center and asked to speak with someone from automotive... I paged a co-worker. He mentioned he had just finished checking out and that gentleman was at lunch as soon as he finished checking him out. So I called for the manager (the manager OVER automotive at that) and explained what was going on. She told me he'd just have to come back tomorrow. I told the gentleman this and he said, I have FROZEN food in my truck and I live out of town as it is. So I called her back and she started saying how we can take his name and number and we'll call him and he can come back to get it tomorrow. I went ahead and took his name and number and made note that he wouldn't be there until MONDAY to pick it up. He works in town Mon- Fri but doesn't make special trips on the weekends for anything. Understandable. Before he walked off, he looked at me and said "I know there isnt' anything you can do.. but I think that (manager) just did a shitty job of management." I have to say, I agree. I'm an associate and I could have told you that... and let me point out some of these things.
  • COME out of the office for 5 seconds to talk to the gentleman who was actually very polite about the whole situation.
  • A legit problem (they didn't put the old tire into the trunk of his car) deserves at least a LITTLE attention. You show attention to the people who make stuff up and you show attention to the ones that steal and return stuff... but the person who is honest and has a REAL problem you blow off?
  • At LEAST act like you know how to manage the departments under you! Don't tell me that you don't know. Maybe you should put in a request for transfer. You've been here now since Jan... if you still can't figure it out then you need to get out.
  • Then you could have at least ACTED like you were looking for the tire. Put some effort into it. Heck, with his paperwork you might have actually found it!! But no, you stay in your office.
Then, not 20 minutes later another gentleman walked up and needed to speak with a manager for automotive. Um, okay. She says that they will just have to wait (insert minutes) for her. Then she asks what they needed. I said, I don't know the whole story but they have some problem and requested to speak with management. She did eventually come back... but in the end, the customer left without their cart of stuff. They weren't happy with how this was being done and that the manager didn't know what she was going.

Which got better when the guy from automotive showed up from his lunch and I gave him the message (this manager TOLD me to take and give) and she YELLED at ME about how she ALREADY knew the situation. Well, excuse me for doing what YOU said! It's not MY fault that the first gentleman went over our heads to corporate and that they called YOU. They told him YOU would help him when he was talking to me... and when I tried to get you, YOU wouldn't come out of the manager's office! (Yes, I know you were sitting in there because I didn't page I called directly to manager's office.)

It wasn't a great night for me, for the customers, or for the management team as a whole... even when it was caused by ONE person.


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