Morale continues its merry little Death Spiral. Merch Supervisor called off today--for, like, the second Sunday in a month. And, hey, good for him. I pretty much respect anybody's sovereign right to not go to work. You've gotta do what you've gotta do. But gee, that can't be a good sign, can it? Clearly, he's "not feelin' it," as the kids say. Who would be?
But of course, it started a chain reaction, since that left the Sales Manager in command for the entire day, with three (three!) clerks and one cashier, for most of it. We were all running around like crazy, of course. This no longer particularly bothers me, really, which is sad in its own way, but Work is Work, you know? Our poor Second Banana, though, seemed even more frazzled than usual. And that's pretty frazzled. Usually he can keep up the manic good cheer no matter what, but the cracks were beginning to show by closing time, when we still had numerous customers floating around. Café seller was watching the door for us, and asked over the radio if the store was clear. No, it's not, Our Boy said in a mournful voice. Oh, okay, the helpful cafe person chirped back, ready to keep waiting. No, he said, even gloomier. It's NOT okay. I went for my own radio.
We're losing him, I said. Somebody get the dart gun.
We got through it, of course; we always do. But he wasn't any happier--he was convinced, I could tell, that he was gonna be blamed for the condition of the store tomorrow. Rather than, you know, thanked for getting through a difficult day. Of course, he's almost certainly right. He should just learn not to care so much. But won't, we know.
I'll see you next week, the regular Sunday cashier said politely to the Sales Manager, as we all walked out.
Maybe, he said. We all laughed darkly.
Well, I'll see you tomorrow, anyway, I said.
Maybe, he said. Then laughed again. (Just Kidding!)
But this is getting some momentum, though, isn't it? People bailing, supervisors calling in sick, managers making ominous jokes about quitting. Metaphors about rats and sinking ships come to mind, but we should avoid clichés. Also, we should not compare our colleagues to rats. You are all nice people, even those of you who have Already Abandoned Us.
Seriously, though. The writing is on the wall, considering who left us this week. That's a cliché, too, of course, but it works because what's so telling is that this time the writing isn't on the wall. Even the outgoing Ops Manager observed the Institutional Protocol, cheerfully signing the drywall in the stockroom with a sharpie, like so many before her. The Training Supervisor Emeritus just quit. Unceremoniously. Didn't come back. Nobody was shocked.
You know who I mean--the single most beloved member of the staff, the person who'd worked for this company longer than any of us. The guy who's better at making new hires feel comfortable than anybody else, ever. The guy who made me feel comfortable when I got in this business twelve years ago. Well, he's doing something else, now, and good for him. And what's the point in a sentimental ritual like signing the wall, he must've thought, when there's no reason to think that anybody who'd remember him will be around in six months?
No reason to think that's a bad assumption, either, but it doesn't have to be true. This could go in a lot of different directions. Sure, we're watching the store disintegrate around us, but there's no reason we can't be the last ones standing. That was my idea behind forming this Community of the Like-minded, so that we can all be Grimly Amused together, and maybe just possibly salvage something out of this.
2 comments:
I think you overestimate what the company considers a sinking ship. Judging by the perpetual state of understaffing and inventory problems at every major retail store (try to get through check out at, say, Best Buy in less than a half hour on the weekend), this is the way they like it. It maximizes profit and employee turnover. Yes, you're being pushed to quit, of course. An entire staff of part-time, no-benefit college kids is what they want. With maybe a couple weary, 55-hour-a-week managers at the top on the verge of suicide. The only thing you can do is hang on to your full-time job, dare them to fire you (they won't) and continue to disappoint them (him) with the things you can't keep up with. but maybe learn to ENJOY this instead. the key is to make this asshole at the top miserable, too. shit can roll uphill just as easily.
i at this moment spending my holiday making a new music mix to cheer you up though. it's the definitive Meatloaf collection including quotes from his excellent movie career (Black Dog!) i've titled it:
"There's a Little Meatloaf in Us All" - Jesus (probably Elvis)
Ok, I'll bite. It's mostly that this blog is missing an entity. A source from the former inner circle. Let's begin with the overall domino effect. Six and more to come employees have abandoned ship. That is in just three months. These also weren't exactly horrible employees either. So, we are looking at six or more honest hard working employees that have lost the "way" at 653 and have pursued the utmost. Next. Half or less of these prospects have left without finding another job. Desperation? I think not. They left their cozy job when the actual job market is worse in Toledo OH, then say the country of Tanzania. That's right. We have a 10.3% unemployment rate in the city (Lucas County) and no signs of improvement. The worse unemployment rate of all of Ohio. And now Ohio is number one of the ranking states. So why leave during such a time? Well, it's because our area is now considered "depressive". That means when you wake up in the morning to go to your shit hole job, their are 22,000 Lucasites waiting for your job. And, the people that left figured to join the party. Anything is better than that man Right? You are correct. Our leader has no idea what is happening outside in the real world and he could care less. He doesn't realize that his holiday season will be a total wash, and it will hit locally! Luckily for all of you, I will provide some shining light on the subject. After working practically side by side with Dumb and Dumberer. Dumberer I mean our District 4 rep. I can tell you that I have visions of them in a collected hot tub together scratching each others backs and sipping on pina coladas. It also reminds me of the sketch between Will Farrell and Rachel Dratch doing the very same thing on SNL. The point is, they got rid of the prior GM and Money Lady! 2 points! Flushed out some Thackeray people! Five Points! Got rid of an indecisive college grad! 10 points! (Which only means competition) And then proceeded to wipe away two employees that account for more than 11 years of experience with Borders! 25 points go to the Redeem team. I can tell you honestly, from his mouth, verbatim, by proxy, quote on quote, "We have got to get rid of this independent bookstore we have here." Meaning you Thackeray loyal folks are on thin ice and always have been. So move on? Probably. I can tell you all that I have traveled this year. And believe it or not, the proof of being 11 million in debt to B&N is beginning to show its face. There are Borders stores everywhere. You can't miss them. They are like a Starbucks on every corner. Selling millions of pages worldwide. Even in my travels, Borders appears in some movies. Let me tell you my experience. I went to the West coast, as far as one can go to the Pacific ocean and saw three Borders stores on my travels. It was not by choice but I decided to have a peek anyway. And then my eyes lit up like Easter morning. You could smell happiness. You could taste truth. You could feel well being. A specific Borders looked particularly new and have the "concept" brewing in doors and I had to see. This one was in Alameda, CA which is about 20 min from SF. The employees were singing, the music was blaring, they were dressed independatly. One girl had purple hair, fish nets, and a gothic top. I thought, no way does she work here, but was carrying the inevitable V-cart. How can this be. Why are they so happy. The music reminds me of a Sunday night with Michael Jackson blaring in the background. So I looked for a book on an random shelf, and made small talk with an employee. They don't alpha, don't flush, don't push BR, don't work very hard. He said "we have fun, we work with the customers, and get things done on time. Seems unreal? Nope. They have a system. It's better than ours. They have ideas, they're better than ours. And they have a GM, that's better than ours. A GM that listens, copes, works, helps, and incorporates her employees. I learned more from this one worker than I ever have in two years. And flying home from that trip I realized why. One of the first things our GM told me in his first days is that store 1!!!! IS PERFECT!!! Well, according to numbers that is hardly true. BUT! He also told me he visited (spied, like he did our store before he was hired) a Texas store, and they had roughly the same visual standards as the one I saw in CA. He quoted "the farther you are from store one, the worse off you are!" WOW! YOU COULD NOT BE MORE RIGHT! Worse off in his sense, but better in mine. I digress. We are in a bubble people. A)We are part of the Corporate district. Which means we will never again receive independent resources. We will just receive robots created by the "standard" of the company. AKA, our GM, our DM, our new OP manager, our new Sales Manager. Robots folks. B) We are part of a "depressive area". The people that come in are already so pissed off about the economy, they can't even figure why they are at the mall in the first place. C)Less people equal less money. It's written on the walls, that no CSI score could ever give you. If you have NO staff, you provide NO results. And this a product of no MONEY! So there, I vented. It feels better to provide information in an ethical sense, one that could be considered blaspheme in public. Provide to this blog as I did. It helps, and it also helps to give information that none of you probably knew. So keep writing, cause they sure are fun to read!
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