and more dept. store notes

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On Thursday morning during announcements over the intercom, the main manager went through each dept., mentioning each person in that department by name, and saying whether that person was ahead or behind with the projected goal of new credit cards. He was not angry when he did this. Nor did he seem particularly mean spirited about the whole thing.

I was told by a co-worker that he continued during Friday morning announcements, I suppose finishing up with the list of departments, and again saying each person by name.

I think he felt this was a last resort, and he didn't know what else to do.

I totally understand this. I work in a call center of one of the most respected retailers in the United States.

Our company has brought some of these quotients that use in the stores into the call center. While we don't have to peddle retail credit cards, we are judged on a number of other metrics. These metrics can determine how many hours that you get, and whether you keep your benefits. My AS has often hurt me due to the fact that I have issues with multi tasking and am easily stressed out when it gets busy.

The company also has a habit of touting their "stars". So and so is so great! We should all do as good of job as so and so is doing and other b.s! What upsets me about this is that the company never shares how so and so is so effecient and does such a good job.

I dunno how any of us with AS could withstand a work environment like that.

It's like someone who doesn't know football coming in and preaching, look, when your third down conversion is above such-and-such you win X % of the time, without any understanding of blocking schemes or anything else about the game!

The customers are actually pretty good because I get to practice and develop my social skills within an understandable framework. Although it would be nice to have someone with some awareness and snap and alertness and kindness to back me up with the really difficult consumers.

The biggest problems, 1) are my co-workers and I wish that wasn't the case, and 2) idiot managers. As a good leftist and a half-assed socialist, I wish it was the other way around. But it just isn't.

At last Tuesday's morning "rally," the main manager went kind of hardcore and mean, although he didn't mention (thank goodness) people's names in an actual live meeting. But still, it's like he is stuck. It is hard to back up from this. And all their nice stuff, like mentioning people who have done well and complimenting people, all their previous nice stuff is now kind of eroded and seems insincere.

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Still not accepted in shoes dept, and that's a shame. The commission people view me as not really a co-worker. That is their shortcoming.

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So much emphasis by co-workers on leaving the work area neat at night, in kind of an artificial and goofy way. It's as if because of the dysfunctional environment, we have recoursed to elementary school.

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Yearly inventory is this Tuesday night! This entirely internally generated deadline is more stressful than the real events of Christmas sales and after-Christmas returns. To the managers. I'm trying not to get sucked up and trying to protect myself, so far largely successfully (although a lot of goddam about all the crap going on in this store, mainly the nonacceptance, that people were somewhat friendly at first and then kind of decide I was not cooperative enough even though they were playing me as second fiddle)

The guy who was critical before. Who essentially waged war against me.

Saturday evening, when I came back from dinner . . . He put his hands on my shoulders. He said, ‘Can you use the other register?’ I resisted. He pushed more. I yielded.

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It’s one-upsmanship. It can be viewed as physical intimindation. And yes, he is larger than I am.

All the same, it does not seem like a good move to complain. He is a raging, seething idiot like my father.

Someone more savvy than my immediate manager needs to talk with him. But it is a bad store. The main store manager is not particularly good.