Your boss or immediate manager, supervisor, whatever...

[Warped9]

^^ I get this because I also work with people who can be very process oriented and can't accept that "the process" can often get in the way of results. I love it when I meet result oriented folks which are more rare. Unfortunately these folks can have a hard time of moving up because they also often aren't the type who wear the company logo on their heart.

Candidly the kind who "salute the logo" so to speak creep me out. I don't see them as really being connected to reality on some levels.

 

[Crusher Disciple]

Anyway, before too long I'll be working back there all by myself 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, doing all of the production, customer service and paper work.

When did you stop working at the super market?

 

[Timby]

^^ I get this because I also work with people who can be very process oriented and can't accept that "the process" can often get in the way of results. I love it when I meet result oriented folks which are more rare. Unfortunately these folks can have a hard time of moving up because they also often aren't the type who wear the company logo on their heart.

Candidly the kind who "salute the logo" so to speak creep me out. I don't see them as really being connected to reality on some levels.

I'd like to sit down with you and talk about deliverables, because I think there's an opportunity to increase efficiency in that area.

 

[Trekker4747]

Anyway, before too long I'll be working back there all by myself 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, doing all of the production, customer service and paper work.

When did you stop working at the super market?

I still do, I'm the manager of the meat department and a large part of my work is on the computer crunching numbers, talking to vendors and coming up with a plan to make sales and profits. Well that's how it's supposed to be as I don't get into the office nearly as much as I'd like to be since my department is under-staffed and I need at least one more part-timer but my boss says I've enough help and should just be willing to work longer hours and come in on my days off, I'm expected to have a 7% increase every week over the same week last year (again not unreasonable or impossible to achieve) but at the same time I'm also told every week how many hours I should be scheduling and they should be fewer hours than the same week last year.

Hence the problem, I'm supposed to be getting more sales off less help. Less help means less production, being spread more thin on helping customers, and less time I can be in the office planning my work and specials.

 

[Warped9]

Yep, it's always that way: do ever more with ever less and no excuses.

I long for the day when I can just throw down whatever I have in my hand and say, "You're so smart, you fucking do it." and walk out the door.

 

[Crusher Disciple]

Anyway, before too long I'll be working back there all by myself 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, doing all of the production, customer service and paper work.

When did you stop working at the super market?

I still do, I'm the manager of the meat department and a large part of my work is on the computer crunching numbers, talking to vendors and coming up with a plan to make sales and profits. Well that's how it's supposed to be as I don't get into the office nearly as much as I'd like to be

Oh, okay. You have me worrying you were stuck in some cube in Imotech or something.

 

[Timby]

Anyway, before too long I'll be working back there all by myself 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, doing all of the production, customer service and paper work.

When did you stop working at the super market?

I still do, I'm the manager of the meat department and a large part of my work is on the computer crunching numbers, talking to vendors and coming up with a plan to make sales and profits. Well that's how it's supposed to be as I don't get into the office nearly as much as I'd like to be since my department is under-staffed and I need at least one more part-timer but my boss says I've enough help and should just be willing to work longer hours and come in on my days off, I'm expected to have a 7% increase every week over the same week last year (again not unreasonable or impossible to achieve) but at the same time I'm also told every week how many hours I should be scheduling and they should be fewer hours than the same week last year.

Hence the problem, I'm supposed to be getting more sales off less help. Less help means less production, being spread more thin on helping customers, and less time I can be in the office planning my work and specials.

Are you salaried?

 

[Velocity]

My immediate supervisor is a great guy, but he has no guts. The next level of supervision is micromanaging boobs. There are government regulations for everything but they ignore them to hire and promote whoever is currently kissing their considerable asses. They have to have their fat thumbs in every pie especially if it could become a high profile pie. Glad I can retire soon.

 

[the 4th hanson bro]

I recently changed firms, doing the same basic role under a different banner. The managing principal of the office is a money driven, ego-maniac. His "I love me" wall extends into the hallway outside his office.

While he says he's good at recruiting, he hasn't had a positive net gain in at least the last 2 years. He has no interest, desire, or skill in training or leadership and it shows.

He's sued his last 3 employers for discrimination and taken the settlement each time. He's currently involved in some sort of imbroglio with the regional vp that allegedly almost got him fired before I started, and still may get him fired yet.

He has a tape recorder in his desk drawer and records all phone calls and many meetings - often on the sly.

He recently bragged to an advisor who earned an award that he (the boss) earned $1,000 as a result of the advisor's efforts - showed the check and letter.

I knew from the jump that he is full of shit, but the economics work out and I know what I have to do to make money. This guy also doesn't give a shit what I do/ how I do it as long as I get results.

I just have to be careful not to step in any bear traps along the way.

 

[Trekker4747]

Are you salaried?

Yup. Meaning I'm pretty much "stuck."

 

[Timby]

Are you salaried?

Yup. Meaning I'm pretty much "stuck."

Then you're expected to make up the shortfall in staffing. What others can't do falls on your plate. Work longer hours, etc.

Sucks, but that's the way of corporate America.

 

[Trekker4747]

But there's only so much I can physically do with limited staff.

It takes a minimum of three people behind the counter to properly staff it. One guy weighs stuff up for the self-serve case and two people to cut, clean, fill and maintain the service case. the service case, including seafood, is too large to properly maintained by one person at the same time at least one person is needed to run back-stock/truck for the ends cases (the aisles we maintain.) Holidays, weekends, ads all of this can cause business to skyrocket.

Yesterday it was 80 degrees in the area and the Saturday before Mother's Day so it was exceptionally busy, yet we were staffed for a normal Saturday because we have no extra staff. Were mostly on the counter helping customers the whole time making it difficult to maintain having product on the shelves and in the case.

As a result we never got ahead in the cutting so the case was constantly beat-up looking and never got filled or properly maintained and backstock didn't get ran aside from ad items once every hour or so. When the closers got there, of which I only have two when three would be more preferable on a weekend, I had to leave to get my ordering done and still took me longer than normal because I kept having to stop and help the counter because of how backed up it'd get with customers.

No matter how hard you work five employees cannot help seven to ten customers at once nor are they going to be able to provide good customer service or suggestive sell when they've got to get done with customer A is quick as possible to help customer B. I'm also a week behind on my paperwork.

Yet, my boss thinks I have enough staff and refuses to allow me to higher one meager part-timer. Point-and-fact is that I'm down a part-timer because I had a guy quit a couple of months ago so it can be inferred that I'm "owed" one since he was never replaced.

But, nope, apparently I have the perfect-sized staff for this douchebag boss of mine because I keep turning in increases and good inventories. Yeah, my department looks like a tornado tore through at the end of everyday and it takes an entire day, if it's not busy, to make it look good again and on busy days customers have to wait to be served and I'm not in the office nearly as much to keep-up in my paperwork.

But. We're perfectly staffed.

Much of the time I end-up taking my paperwork home with me to do it here on Excel which is cutting even more into my time. But, go ahead, Boss. You chillax in your office with a dour look on your face and plan your next hunting trip with the your buddy assistant manager.

 

[Finngle Bells]

I never worked for jerks, though a couple of them can be jackasses. But the vet I worked for was the coolest and most laid back. When I first met him, it was in the OR. He was spaying a dog and the first thing he said to me was "Why do you have a nice shirt and a tie on?"

 

[Warped9]

It's a sad fact that many in business see labour as a cost rather than an investment. If they buy a piece of equipment then it's an investment towards productivity, but hiring extra labour is a cost against profitability. And I don't think this is an accident looking at it this way.

A good worker (assuming you get one) is a treasure in terms of productivity. If you lose them or deliberately short staff your department or business then you are short-changing yourself and your potential productivity. A good worker will reward you in terms of productivity.

Not long ago I learned that each of us where I work is worth about a quarter of a million a year in terms of productivity. And yet none of us makes nearly that amount a year in income---on average we make maybe a little more than a tenth or so of that. So if you follow that logic then losing someone, or remaining short staffed, means a loss of $250,000 a year per person in productivity. Yes, hiring someone will cost, but if they are decently trained and productive then you will more than make up for it.

It must be said that while we may get frustrated with our immediate superiors we have to understand that sometimes their hands are tied because those above them at corporate HQ or wherever are making detached decisions often based on some scale or calculation or "study" someone cooked up somewhere.

 

[milo bloom]

I never worked for jerks, though a couple of them can be jackasses. But the vet I worked for was the coolest and most laid back. When I first met him, it was in the OR. He was spaying a dog and the first thing he said to me was "Why do you have a nice shirt and a tie on?"

I actually got that when I showed up as a temp for an actual office job. I said "Good morning, Mrs. Smith, I'm milo bloom" and she returned it with "call me Mary and take off that tie."

We still have a casual office, though now that I'm in lower-to-mid management, I try to dress a little nicer sometimes.

As for the boss right above me, he's the same age as me and we have a lot in common. He can throw out quotes like "this deal is getting like Cloud City: getting worse all the time" about big projects we're trying to deal with. One problem he does have is that I know there's stuff he could be delegating to me that he keeps to himself, and the big problem is the VP that he reports to. A decent guy, but a bit of a temper, and he's even worse about delegating things down to the guy I report to.

His worst failing though (this is the VP two steps above me) is making himself the point of contact for basic day to day items from customers. We handle several high-profile customers (like big automaker type names), and the base level employees are never given the opportunity to work with these customers on a day to day basis because upper management insists on handling everything to make sure it doesn't get screwed up, but then when something does get screwed up they're very quick to let that blame roll on down the hill.

I'm constantly reminded of parents who put their kids in those sports leagues that don't keep score: if you don't let us stumble every now and then, we won't learn how to deal with things?

 

[Sakrysta]

My new boss is great. He pushes, but just enough to make you improve. He started out as an employee and eventually bought the business, so he knows the ins and outs of everything that goes on. But he also has great management skills. He gives you a job, expects you to do it, but is open to questions and asking for help/suggestions. I'm really enjoying having a boss who knows how to BE a good boss. The job itself is just average, but the atmosphere makes it worth it.

 

[MANT!]

Yep, it's always that way: do ever more with ever less and no excuses.

I long for the day when I can just throw down whatever I have in my hand and say, "You're so smart, you fucking do it." and walk out the door.

I've DONE THAT!!!

It was quite liberating..(and as I had a new job already waiting, it wasn't scary either..)

 

[Holdfast]

Yep, it's always that way: do ever more with ever less and no excuses.

I long for the day when I can just throw down whatever I have in my hand and say, "You're so smart, you fucking do it." and walk out the door.

I've DONE THAT!!!

It was quite liberating..(and as I had a new job already waiting, it wasn't scary either..)

Yep, it's so much fun to just resign, esp. when you've planned for it but they still don't see it coming. The mystification generated is awesome.