LAG forgets how to work

Even though she hasn't been in charge yet, Loud Attitude Girl is becoming overly confident and is getting less and less done each shift. Just because you're part of management now DOES NOT MEAN that you can STAND AROUND AND DO NOTHING while telling everyone else what needs to be done. Yes, you must direct your employees to the tasks that need doing. Yes, you must supervise your employees to make sure they're doing the tasks correctly and not goofing off. Yes, there is paperwork for you to do. But you must also work!

As I've been learning to manage, I've learned that the best way to lead is BY EXAMPLE. I started off as a tyrant and no one liked me much so they did tasks to the minimum standard required only after a lot of threats from me. Now that I'm more comfortable in the role of manager I've backed off and allow my employees some choice in what tasks they do and how they choose to do them. They'd better stay busy, sure, but there's more freedom.

By working alongside of them I show them the proper way to do things and let them get to know me. They see the high standard that I hold myself to and the pride I take in a well-run store and well-trained employees. They know that I'm proud of them and the way they work and the things they do. They do high quality work and do the routine tasks without reminders because they want to please me, not because they're scared of me or worried about keeping their job.

No one likes to be bossed around. Until LAG learns this, she won't be a very effective manager. I realize that she has to learn this lesson for herself. HOWEVER, when the other junior manager got promoted I lost several good employees because they couldn't put up with the BS. I don't want that to happen again, and I don't want the store to go downhill, either.

LAG fails the mystery shopper

Loud Attitude Girl got a bad service evaluation--again. She needs to lose the attitude! Again, she had tons of excuses: "My shift was over, I don't remember helping that customer, why didn't someone else help him...."

It doesn't matter that your shift was over, you must still be polite and enthusiastically help the customer or FIND SOMEONE ELSE TO HELP HER. That would have been fine. When I'm on my way out with something to do, I still ask customers if they need help. If they say yes, I say someone will be right with them. Then I IMMEDIATELY get another employee to help them and continue on my way out the door.

You don't remember helping that person?! That doesn't matter, either. How many customers do you help each week? Do you remember ALL of them?! I know I don't! What, do you think the person picked a name out of a hat and just happened to put your name on the evaluation?

Why didn't someone else help him? Because you helped him!! Or didn't help him, as the evaluation showed. Again, if you needed to leave, GET SOMEONE ELSE TO HELP THE CUSTOMER.

Peope who think they're special

I was opening this morning with the store manager. We were getting a delivery when a woman walked in with the "I know you're not open yet, but I just need one thing" speech. The store manager hesitated, explaining that the registers weren't even open and there wasn't any money in them yet. Then she let the woman in. Wimp!

Of course, the "one thing" turned into FOUR things, one of which the customer needed my help with, as I was in the middle of doing tasks that MUST be completed before we open.

When will customers get it through their heads that they are not special?! I don't care that you "drove all the way across town" just to shop at our store. Come on! What stores of our type are open at that time of morning?! Had it been only me opening the store, you would have been WAITING OUTSIDE for the 30 minutes. I don't care about any of your sob stories. I have stuff to do and our hours are STANDARD and POSTED ON THE DOOR!

I don't have an answer, either!

Today I had a customer who was displeased by the service I gave. You see, this customer was having a problem, had consulted a professional, and the professional said that nothing could be done. So the customer came to me, a retail manager, and wanted me to give him a solution. Hello! The professional, with tons of education, training, and experience, has declared the case hopeless. If the professional doesn't know, then how should I?! Of course, the customer gave me an attitude like I'm not doing my job because I wouldn't contradict what the professional said.

Helping customers was hard all day. I feel like why should I be so nice to them, especially when they treat me like trash, when I may be risking my safety to be here. Even now the would-be-robber may be watching, gauging our business, planning the best time to try again. This time he may have better tools, or come while we're still open, or turn to violence. Why should I put up with such crap all the time?

The Break-In

The weekend sucked. Big time. My store was broken into. Nothing was taken, but nevertheless there was stress and a mess to clean up and lots of people to call.

Worse, as closing manager the night that the break-in occurred, I did one itsy bitsy tiny thing wrong. Something that we OFTEN do, but apparently are not supposed to do. While that thing did not at all lead to the break-in or make it better or worse in any way WHATSOEVER, if the police include certain details in their report then the higher beings in my company will ask questions. If they ask questions, I have two choices. I can tell the truth and most likely get fired, or I can lie and hope that the other managers and I coordinate our stories well enough.

The police never directly asked me about the itsy bitsy tiny thing, but they did ask my boss. In an attempt to make things look OK and/or protect me, my boss played dumb/was intentionally vague/basically-but-not-quite-lied-to-the-police. I stood by and said nothing.

It appears to be an inside job. Several of our stores have had break-ins with very similar details lately. I'm really paranoid, and I totally don't want to go to work. They know where everything is now. They know how long it takes the police to respond. And apparently, they were waiting for me to leave before they entered the building. Less than a half hour after I left and the alarm was going off. Coincidence? It scares the shit out of me to think that they might have been preparing to enter the store even as I was finishing out the closing paperwork in the darkened store, all alone. The fact that I was talking to someone on my cell phone as I locked the front door and got in my car might have stopped them from attacking me.

The day after the break-in we instituted some changes for improved safety of our employees and better visibility of certain areas of the store. The damage couldn't be completely hidden, even after all the managers' late-night repair-what-we-can-and-get-maintenance-in-first-thing-Monday-morning. Employees were told to attribute the damage to an "accident," if any customers asked. If the break-in was discussed within earshot of customers, employees would be disciplined. It's a safety issue. We don't want it to be widespread knowledge that we're an easy target so the whole area tries to rob us.

We were unable to contact our regional manager until about 12 hours after it happened. We had to go through another manager to get approval for the late-night, expensive repairs. The other regional manager was PISSED. Not that he got a late night phone call or that he had to help us; he didn't mind that. He was pissed that our regional manager wasn't doing her job by being available for this type of thing.

A new employee (lasted a whole 3 days) quit the day after the break-in. Poor timing. I don't think the employee would have done it, but right now I suspect everyone. It could be her. Or maybe the disgruntled employee's husband. That one customer has been coming in a lot recently. Why is that guy so interested in if we've had good business lately? That guy is straining his neck awfully hard to see inside my cashier's drawer. Why is that woman just standing there while I count the change in the safe?

My first night closing since the break-in………..my dad came up and stayed with me until I finished all my paperwork. Then he helped me make sure all the doors were secure, as we're doing a temporary fix on one of them. I must have checked the safe 10 times; each door was quadruple-checked. I am paranoid!

I haven't had much sleep and the sleep I have had is full of "Did I lock the safe? Is the alarm set? Is the side door bolted? How about the back door? Was someone hiding in the bathrooms waiting until we left? What if……………………." Will I ever feel at ease again?