I was going to post here the other day about how I wasn't going to quit despite my previous posts, but that drastically changed as of today. So currently, I'm unemployed, having quit my job this morning at around 4:30am, though it didn't go into effect until maybe three hours later.
So here's what happened.
There's a CSM I work with who treats me and the other cashiers like trash. I mean, the kind of boss you'd rather not work for, the kind of guy you'd rather slug and be done with. He would never ask you to do something, he would order you. I had recently taken to referring to him as Captain or whatnot, a militaristic reference given how he runs his ship. Night before last, I found out that he doesn't like me either, therefore I made it my mission to be as big of a thorn in his ass as humanly possible. I unfortunately let that slip tonight, if somewhat.
So I'm helping the cashier on 2 with her bags since she had a customer, and I was going to take the trash so I needed the cardboard boxes anyway. So that CSM comes up to me, wonders what I'm doing. I explain that I thought it'd be nice to help out, and he tells me that I have my job to do and she has hers, therefore I'm out of line. I react badly, since what the fuck am I hurting? Here I am helping this older woman out of the goodness of my heart and I'm getting chewed out for it? So I'm all "okay, let me finish here and I'll get to work." No. That's not good enough, I have to go and do it NOW. And then the best part. He doesn't say anything and he keeps looking at me. Staring, maintaining eye contact.
"You can stop with the eye contact now."
"The eye contact is--*he looks away*"
"Thank you."
I then leave to go take out the trash as I had been previously ordered, my heart pounding furiously in my chest, a rush of adrenaline sweeping through my system. Some time passes.
I get called over for a little meeting with the manager for the night, and of course Mr. CSM is there too. I refer to him as though he isn't there, and I explain myself, end of story go back to work, right? Well, not quite. I slipped up here so this escalated.
Claims are things that we cannot put back on the shelf for whatever reason, be it opened, stolen, or in need of inspection/etc. Considering CSM told me all of my duties as I was helping the cashier on 2 and then had the standoff with him, my memory didn't work out so well. I was supposed to have zoned Aisle 6 and then took out Claims, but I took Claims first. When I came back, we had yet another talk with CSM and manager, with the other CSM who's actually nice there too. So it's determined that I am intentionally acting out of line by doing things in the improper order, so I was to be written up. And there's where I drew the red line.
"By the end of this shift tonight, I will not come back here to work."
Manager talked with me some more and I left to do the rest of my work. Word spreads fast though, already people that weren't nearby were coming up to me about it, and giving me support too, which was very reassuring. I even talked with the manager again one-on-one and explained myself, and she said that I can actually continue to come in, just that I will have to be disciplined or moved to another area or whatever, but I was going to quit by the end of this month since I need to go on this trip and I hadn't had my time off approved, so as to not be fired...yeah.
Rest of the night goes rather seamlessly. Lots of protesting on the part of...well, everyone on the front end that wasn't the CSM, which was further bolstering.
; And granted, I feel bad about this since they actually liked me and I probably was what kept them going with Chuckles at the helm, but I currently have something in the works now that I hope is going to effect some change. I talked with the manager of the store after my shift, and explained the above, and stated my views and everything: I filed a formal complaint against him. I made damn sure to let her know that that kind of behavior doesn't fly, especially with me. You don't get good results from people who are depressed and come to hate their jobs. And, no one could come forward on the front end because they were scared of retaliation. Not in the type of losing their jobs (which I doubt Mr. CSM had the power to do), but he could easily make their lives even more miserable and that hurts everyone. And, people have to put up with it because they're effectively "stuck" there, as they have to work there or be on the streets. I mean, they have to have a job, Wal-Mart has hired them and are paying, so what's a lot of bullshit? If you were doing all you can to make ends meet, you'd overlook some things if it ensured that your income was secure. You would have to take it in that case; you couldn't leave since it'd be difficult to find work (especially if you had put in many years of work there), and doing anything to make yourself a target is just suicide.
When it comes to someone like me who willingly applied for a job for some extra money, I apparently exist outside of this scope, therefore I have nothing to lose now that I don't have a job. And, I explained this to the store manager too, I didn't come forward earlier because I didn't need another black mark on my resume after what happened at my previous job, so like everyone else, my job security was my priority, but seeing how my resume is relatively safe, I'm free to act out as the "people's voice" in a way, and I have inspired others to come forward too, so hopefully my sacrifice of sorts will do some good. The store, that shift especially, needs it and badly.
Granted, Wal-Mart does have a common image of treating its employees like trash, but it's people like him who perpetrate it which trickles down to the cashiers and stuff which then is seen by the public, hence said image. There ARE good bosses, even CSMs there, but they are regrettably too few and far between. Hell, the CSM I do like is doing and has done a kickass job thus far. She's never ridden me about anything and she's someone I can actually look to as not someone I should follow due to power, but should respect. And I do. Given the bosses and even people with seniority I've dealt with, she ranks the best.
I told the store manager, when she asked me what should be done, that he should be humbled. Firing him might be good for all of us, but with someone as big of an ego as he has, he should be bumped down to cashier or even people greeter (seeing how our people greeter is the one he's the worst to). Firing would be too easy, but I want him to suffer for his actions. And I'm not going to stop until he's put in his place or he's clinging to life at my hands. I'll go as high as the president of the company if I have to.
End the Oppression™.
So here's what happened.
There's a CSM I work with who treats me and the other cashiers like trash. I mean, the kind of boss you'd rather not work for, the kind of guy you'd rather slug and be done with. He would never ask you to do something, he would order you. I had recently taken to referring to him as Captain or whatnot, a militaristic reference given how he runs his ship. Night before last, I found out that he doesn't like me either, therefore I made it my mission to be as big of a thorn in his ass as humanly possible. I unfortunately let that slip tonight, if somewhat.
So I'm helping the cashier on 2 with her bags since she had a customer, and I was going to take the trash so I needed the cardboard boxes anyway. So that CSM comes up to me, wonders what I'm doing. I explain that I thought it'd be nice to help out, and he tells me that I have my job to do and she has hers, therefore I'm out of line. I react badly, since what the fuck am I hurting? Here I am helping this older woman out of the goodness of my heart and I'm getting chewed out for it? So I'm all "okay, let me finish here and I'll get to work." No. That's not good enough, I have to go and do it NOW. And then the best part. He doesn't say anything and he keeps looking at me. Staring, maintaining eye contact.
"You can stop with the eye contact now."
"The eye contact is--*he looks away*"
"Thank you."
I then leave to go take out the trash as I had been previously ordered, my heart pounding furiously in my chest, a rush of adrenaline sweeping through my system. Some time passes.
I get called over for a little meeting with the manager for the night, and of course Mr. CSM is there too. I refer to him as though he isn't there, and I explain myself, end of story go back to work, right? Well, not quite. I slipped up here so this escalated.
Claims are things that we cannot put back on the shelf for whatever reason, be it opened, stolen, or in need of inspection/etc. Considering CSM told me all of my duties as I was helping the cashier on 2 and then had the standoff with him, my memory didn't work out so well. I was supposed to have zoned Aisle 6 and then took out Claims, but I took Claims first. When I came back, we had yet another talk with CSM and manager, with the other CSM who's actually nice there too. So it's determined that I am intentionally acting out of line by doing things in the improper order, so I was to be written up. And there's where I drew the red line.
"By the end of this shift tonight, I will not come back here to work."
Manager talked with me some more and I left to do the rest of my work. Word spreads fast though, already people that weren't nearby were coming up to me about it, and giving me support too, which was very reassuring. I even talked with the manager again one-on-one and explained myself, and she said that I can actually continue to come in, just that I will have to be disciplined or moved to another area or whatever, but I was going to quit by the end of this month since I need to go on this trip and I hadn't had my time off approved, so as to not be fired...yeah.
Rest of the night goes rather seamlessly. Lots of protesting on the part of...well, everyone on the front end that wasn't the CSM, which was further bolstering.
When it comes to someone like me who willingly applied for a job for some extra money, I apparently exist outside of this scope, therefore I have nothing to lose now that I don't have a job. And, I explained this to the store manager too, I didn't come forward earlier because I didn't need another black mark on my resume after what happened at my previous job, so like everyone else, my job security was my priority, but seeing how my resume is relatively safe, I'm free to act out as the "people's voice" in a way, and I have inspired others to come forward too, so hopefully my sacrifice of sorts will do some good. The store, that shift especially, needs it and badly.
Granted, Wal-Mart does have a common image of treating its employees like trash, but it's people like him who perpetrate it which trickles down to the cashiers and stuff which then is seen by the public, hence said image. There ARE good bosses, even CSMs there, but they are regrettably too few and far between. Hell, the CSM I do like is doing and has done a kickass job thus far. She's never ridden me about anything and she's someone I can actually look to as not someone I should follow due to power, but should respect. And I do. Given the bosses and even people with seniority I've dealt with, she ranks the best.
I told the store manager, when she asked me what should be done, that he should be humbled. Firing him might be good for all of us, but with someone as big of an ego as he has, he should be bumped down to cashier or even people greeter (seeing how our people greeter is the one he's the worst to). Firing would be too easy, but I want him to suffer for his actions. And I'm not going to stop until he's put in his place or he's clinging to life at my hands. I'll go as high as the president of the company if I have to.
End the Oppression™.
