Bad Manners and Brimstone

Question 2: Your Department Manager is passing on company culture to you. I don't think I'd call it unprofessional, but if the culture is those types of administrative questions are handled within the confines of the store then that is the culture you should adopt. If the email came from say a regional manager, then I agree with your department manager that asking someone at that level of clarity was not the most appropriate way to handle it. If you don't know where to look up store numbers, that is a good opportunity for you to contact your department manager and say "Hi, I received this email but realized I do not know where to look up store numbers. Can you tell me how to find that out?" For me, a good rule of thumb is who is the person closest to me in rank that can answer my question.

Then why did the department manager not tell me that this is how the company culture is?

Why could she have not just used her words and tell me that?

I am not a mind reader.

I found out from 1) a couple of my co-workers, 2) the fuel center lead, and 3) a department lead who works in a different department at the location it is against company policy to schedule any employee a 3 hour shift.

The fuel center lead 1) makes the work schedule every week, 2) send it to the Customer Service Manager at the front end who enters it into the system, and 3) the HR Assistant Manager who works at the location all of us work at reviews the work schedule and makes any changes.

So, the HR Assistant Manager changed my Monday shift to 3 hours, which is against company policy.

I was told by the fuel center lead and the other department lead to work my 8 hour shift on Monday, which I did

And I'd tell the assistant fuel center lead "Sorry, I don't speak Spanish. I'll ask customers if they speak any English, but if they can't explain their issue in English then I will simply have to call on you'.  I get that this person doesn't want to spend half their working day being called away from their own tasks to translate, but it's utterly unreasonable to tell you to 'resolve the customer's issue' if you have no language at all in common with them.

I understand that part of the assistant fuel center leads job is to coach employees on how to solve issues, but the solutions need to be practical and reasonable.

Expecting the employee to 'resolve the customer's issue' when there is a language barrier is not practical nor reasonable.

Can you put an estimated time of return on the pumps?  So if the collection process normally takes an hour, put an estimated time of return 1.5 hours later.  The first time the manager pages, let them know your ETA and hope that they get them message and don't bother you again.

Alternatively, with a united front with the other attendants, suggest to management that perhaps you could compile a list of what is needed, email it to them first thing in the shift and have them collect it and deliver it.  Or email at the end of the previous shift to have it collected, scanned and verified so at the beginning of your shift, you pick up the stuff needed and then start your shift at the pump shack a few minutes late.

In my mind, it is more important to have an attendant at the gas bar all the time than it is to ensure all the snacks are topped up.  If a customer desperately wants a snack, they'll either choose something else that is in stock or you can send them over to the grocery store.

Are the gas station hours the same as the grocery store?  Shorter or longer?  Does one person handle the entire day?  If there are two attendants, perhaps you could ask for a 1 hour overlap.  The previous attendant makes the list, the new attendant grabs it and does the run then the first attendant goes home.

I do put an estimated time on the sign every time I am away from the fuel center, but I still got paged over and over

In the beginning when there was overlap between the morning shift and the mid shift, either the morning shift clerk or the mid shift clerk would go inside the store and get the product

Then several months later it changed to the morning shift clerk has to get the product even when there is an overlapping mid shift clerk.

One reason why it changed is because the mid shift clerk would give the morning shift clerk their 30 minute break as well as complete other duties

There are times when there is only an opener and a closer

There is some overlap, but it is not consistent

Quote from: spunkyboy08 on December 10, 2021, 01:26:37 pm

According to my co-workers, who also have to do this, it does take that to complete the entire process. That does include the assistant lead. Everyone working at the fuel center has to do this.

My co-workers have also told me that they have waited 30 minutes or longer for a store manager to arrive to verify the product collected after paging a store manager.

So how are your coworkers handling this then? Why not have a united front to address this global issue? Or are you the only one who is being targeted? If yes, I would ask specifically how you are not meeting expectations and confirm that you are doing what all of your coworkers are also doing.

According to my co-workers, they are having the same issue or similar issues.

Similar issues being either followed into the store by a customer asking them how long they will be away from the fuel center or a customer calling self checkout asking them when will the fuel center clerk return. The self checkout clerk will page my co-worker to come to self checkout, hand them the phone, and my co-workers will have to give the customer who called an answer.

I have a work situation I need help with.

I previously posted about this situation to get advice, but I need more advice because other problems have come up regarding the issue.

The issue is this…

I currently work in the fuel center that is managed by a *major grocery store chain*.

One of my duties is collecting product inside the store that is sold at the fuel center. The entire process includes 1) collecting the product, 2) scanning the product, and 3) having a member of store management verify the collected product.

How long that takes depends on how many products need to be collected and scanned as well as how long it takes for a member of store management to come to the front of the store to verify the collected product. I must page a store manager when I am done collecting and scanning the products.

Usually there is only one fuel center employee on staff for each shift.

I have been told by the fuel center lead as well as by the manager over the fuel center that this is one of our job responsibilities that must be done 7 days a week.

The grocery store is short-staffed, and so there is not another employee who can do this.

When I am inside the store collecting product, the fuel center window is temporarily closed because there is no-one to relieve me or the other fuel center employees. So that means customers cannot pay cash at the window for fuel.

The fuel pumps are available for self-serve only.

Lately when I am inside the store collecting product, a member of store management pages me several times asking me how long it will take for me to finish or what time will I return to the fuel center. Yesterday I received many pages from the same assistant manager regarding this.

Then a store employee told me that customers were complaining about the fact that there was no-one at the fuel center.

A sign was posted at the fuel center stating that the fuel center clerk is collecting product inside the store, that the fuel center employee will be away for approximately an hour to two hours and to pay at the pump.

I need advice regarding 1) what to tell store management when I am continuously paged by them, 2) what to tell the store employee who told me that customers are complaining regarding no-one being at the fuel center, and 3) specifically what should the sign include.

I need advice on how to handle situations where I work at.

I currently work at a fuel center that is managed by a *grocery store chain*.

I work at a location that has a fuel center and a grocery store.

The fuel center is not located near the grocery store.

I do not have a car, and so I take public transportation, or I get a ride to work or a ride home from work.

I do not go directly to the fuel center when I arrive because I clock in inside the main grocery store.

Since I have open availability, my work schedule varies. I work the opening shift, mid shift, and closing shift.

It takes several minutes to and from the fuel center and the grocery store if you must go to the bathroom, get change for the register, heat up your lunch since there is not room at the fuel center for a microwave and so on.

There are several job responsibilities for the fuel center clerks

For example
 
•   Replenishing/restocking/refilling the items that are sold at the fuel center. This job responsibility takes you away from the fuel center for an hour or more, and this must be done 7 days a week because the District office gets a report every time this is done, and this office wants the report done 7 days a week. You use a handheld scanner to scan the items, and when you press finish collecting, a report is sent to that office
•   When you are done restocking the items, you must return the dolly or cart that was used as well as the totes that were used to collect the items and the handheld to the grocery store
•   A list of cleaning duties done daily, and each shift has certain duties to complete
•   Completing paperwork every morning
•   Putting price tags on the shelves when the prices of the products change

Regarding replenishing/restocking/refilling the items that are sold at the fuel center…

The department head and the fuel center lead both want the opener to do that even when there are overlapping opening and mid shifts on the fuel center schedule.

The department head over the fuel center as well as 2 other departments does not want the fuel center clerks leaving the fuel center unattended, and if she sees me inside the store, the first thing she says is “who is at the fuel center?”

The are five fuel center clerks, but only 3 of us, including me, have open availability. The other 2 clerks have limited availability.

The department head makes the weekly schedule, and there are several days in a week when there is either only an opener and a closer or three shifts back-to-back, but no overlap between the opening shift and the mid shift.  There is some overlap, but it is not consistent. This is the same for every week and month. This has been going on since I started working there last year.

As of this month, one of the Assistant store Managers does not want any personal items inside the fuel center.  The fuel center lead does not want that as well because that information is indicated on some paperwork the opener completes every morning. Her solution to this problem is to put your personal items inside a locker, but the lockers are located inside the grocery store on the second floor. I do have a personal locker on the second floor. So, that would mean you bring what you need to the fuel center, such as your breakfast if you work 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., which I do at times, as well as your lunch and other items. Then when you are done with your breakfast, you go back to the store and put your personal belongings, such as the thermos I use for my coffee and the thermos I use for my hot decaf green tea, inside your locker.  The same for your lunch. And so on.

What is the best way for me to approach, address and handle these situations?