Mattdotcom vs. Sam Goody

[Boner Kawanger 0]

Alright, I didn't go around flouting this story or anything for a while because I thought nothing of it. Until today, when things got interesting. And by interesting, I mean "insanely fucked up". Let's begin.

 

A few years ago, a Sam Goody opened about three minutes from my house. Since stores like Best Buy are a thirty minute drive away, I rejoiced and became a regular customer. I was promised a job there one day. I was in no hurry. Besides, I had the name out there. They all knew me.

 

Then in August, a friend of mine gets a permanent job there out of nowhere. I find it weird that I never knew they were hiring, but he needed the job to pay for his car and everything, so again, I'm laid back. Then in October, he lets me in on the fact that they're going to hire some help for the holidays. He gets me an interview. I land the job, along with six other people, three of which I know. My friend also lets me know that they're going to keep on one person permanently. Let's look at the competition.

 

Some Woman: She quits and I never met her.

 

Eddie: Independent wrestler. I'm not kidding. Nice guy, though.

 

Cody: I go to school with him. He was fired from his last job for sleeping on bags of dog food.

 

Jimmy: I go to school with him. He's a drunken pothead with no sense whatsoever.

 

And then, there was Frank. My arch-enemy. Annoying. Loud. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. He hates me because I fired him from a play we were doing in Theatre for popping pills in the audience and getting on everyone's nerves instead of rehearsing, which earned him three zeroes. Franklin is stupid, by the way.

 

So I think I've got it in the bag.

 

After a month or so of work, I learn that somehow Frank sells more than anyone else that works there and is probably keeping the job. Then I learn his secrets: First, while I work the register, they send him out on the floor with one purpose: sell five dollar calendars. Wowzers. The big holiday item, and I don't get to sell one because anyone checking out already has one or has heard enough from Frank to not want one. And then they put us both on the floor. I'm working video games, and we're keeping up with who can sell accessories. Frank is working in DVDs, on the other side of the store. While I go to get someone a memory card, Frank walks all the way over to my side and chats with the customer for a few minutes, and then claims my sale.

 

Even though he's not supposed to be over there.

 

No one else but me thinks this is odd.

 

By December, I'm fed up. I'm not the jealous, petty type, but this whole situation just irked me. I decide that in the slight chance I'm asked to stay on, I refuse on principles alone. So of course, by January, I get my last paycheck while Frank and Cody stay on. Then I find out why. The one reason I didn't keep the job.

 

I didn't talk to the people that work there enough.

 

Because I was doing my job.

 

Imagine, if you will, being told to work in the video game section. To impress your supervisor, do you...

 

A)Stay over there, help any customers, and keep things organized?

or

B)Walk around the store and make chitchat with the employees and your friends that come in?

 

Well, obviously, I was wrong in doing I thought was my, you know, job. This whole situation vexes me.

[Sandman9000 0]

Kill Frank.

 

It's the only good solution.

 

And it'll earn you Dark Side points.

 

[/KOTOR]

[Guest Krazy Karter]

Schedule an appointment and speak with the manager.

 

Tell him the honest truth. If you followed your supervisor's guidelines then you had no right to be looked over for extended placement.

 

I didn't talk to the people that work there enough.

 

Who told you that?

[Guest OnlyMe]

Boss hires ass kisser! Shock news!

 

 

Seriously, though, it does sound like a piece of shit. But management know they can get a steady stream of people to work there. If someone's friendly and makes a lot of sales, that'll count more than someone who works their ass off.

 

Don't be afraid to get your tongue dirty. But not for a piece of shit retail job.

 

 

Nik

[Boner Kawanger 0]

Forgot to mention, I found out why they didn't keep me from Cody. He and I got to be good friends from working together and putting up with the same stupid people.

 

I'm not too bent out on the whole thing to complain to anyone. I just found the entire situation so vexxing and whatnot that I had to share it. See, I'm the type of person whose feathers get entirely too ruffled over little mindbending things. Thus this little playlet is leading to some funny outbursts over on my little side of the (real) world.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

Welcome to the real world...

[Mole 0]

Wow, that sucks.

 

But KKK is right, welcome to the Real World.

[Guest FrigidSoul]

If Sam Goody sells pet supplies Cody will dig his own grave and thus you'll be back.

[The Amazing Rando 0]

Note: I work at a Long John Silvers (and have been there for 5 years)

 

I take alot of shit all the time where I work for "doing my job". I mop the kitchen floors alot, and take shit because I could be doing other things (when there is nothing else to do to my knowledge).

 

I get shit on for speaking my opinions...rather than just tell my friends what I feel and have huge rumors circulate. If I feel something is being done wrong I let my boss know it...instead of jumping around the problem like he (and the rest of the staff) does.

 

For example...they promoted a girl ahead of me because I was in college. She was a known drug user and while being a pretty good employee most of the time...the rest of the time she was a lying, coniving pain in the ass to everyone. She would lie about being sick, lie about being late, and do other things that management doesn't like (but look the other direction when confronted with it).

 

Some days it sickens me to know that she is ahead of me in the food chain...but I don't listen to her. Ever. I have more seniority in the company than her and get more praise from both management and my team members for my work ethic than she has ever gotten in her life. Do they demote her? nope. Do they sit her down and talk with her about the problems? barely. Do they go behind her back and make fun of her and then kiss her ass when she is around? BINGO.

 

And I know it happens with me too. I am pretty sure I get alot of shit when I'm not around...but if they want to act like children it's there own damn fault for labor percentages being too high, food cost being through the roof, and food waste being the highest it's been in 10 years.

 

Note: I've been yelled at about those last three items...when I don't control who is sent on breaks or sent home...though I do cook most of the time (but I always keep the amount of cooked food pretty low (unless it's busy) because I know they hate the high food cost/waste stuff...

 

The girl - on the other hand - constantly trades food with Burger King (which is right across the parking lot), gives free food to her friends that come in, and is ALWAYS in the office doing just enough to keep from falling asleep while he may have long lines or be needed food cooked or help on the front lines.

 

Again - she hasn't gotten reprimanded in about a year...and the last time she only got it because the supervisor was around.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

The only thing I can say is that Sam Goody is overpriced on just about everything, although they are the only store in our mall that sells um..Adult DVDs..not that I've bought one...

[Nevermortal 0]

Fuck Holiday Help. They come in, get ungodly amounts of Game Reserves and Magazine Subscriptions and then you get fired. Fuck them straight up the ass.

 

Sorry for going on a rant.

 

And to now contribute somewhat to this thread....how big is your Sam Goody? The closest one to me is small as hell. They barely have enough room for the music they carry (which is always overpriced by a significant amount).

[Lightning Flik 0]

Matt, I totally understand how you are feeling.

 

No one cares about doing the God damned work. Currently at my job, half of the people bullshit (ok, it's McDs, still) and the few of us who do the actual work get screwed over as some of us get passed up for promotion because we don't kiss enough ass.

 

Just the way the world works nowadays, I think at least. I've changed a couple of places I shop because of this mentality.

[Dr. Tom 0]

Office politics and bullshit exist everywhere. I deal with politics, favoritism, general BS, and conflicting agendas everyday.

[Spaceman Spiff 0]

Office politics and bullshit exist everywhere. I deal with politics, favoritism, general BS, and conflicting agendas everyday.

And that's just being a mod on this board!

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

Matt, I totally understand how you are feeling.

 

No one cares about doing the God damned work. Currently at my job, half of the people bullshit (ok, it's McDs, still) and the few of us who do the actual work get screwed over as some of us get passed up for promotion because we don't kiss enough ass.

 

Just the way the world works nowadays, I think at least. I've changed a couple of places I shop because of this mentality.

I know the precise moment that pushed me off the cliff regarding this topic.

 

I worked at BK during my senior year of high school. I would always average 35-40 hours/week and I closed, mostly by myself on Fridays and Saturdays. Now, there was this little report the managers ran that told them how busy they were and how many people they were supposed to have working. When everything was computed a number appeared and the ideal number to get was like 12-14. That meant we had enough employees working for the volume of business we were getting. To put this in perspective, if that number reached 16+ that's when most of our managers panicked and started sending people home right and left.

 

Anyway, whenever I would work on the weekends, the manager I would be working with was always bitching about how there was nobody else that "was available" to close with us. It seemed just about every weekend, from around 9-close, that number I told you about would be as low as 3 or 2!

 

Of course, when it came time to give raises, I got the same as everyone else.

 

I got the same amount as the kid that never showed up for Saturday lunch rushes.

 

I got the same amount as the chick that would, at the start of each month, fill out a request time off slip listing the days she COULD work instead of the days she need off.

 

I got the same amount as people three times my size but did 1/2 the work.

 

And people were shocked when I got fired soon afterward for having a poor attitude.

 

Of course, on the flip side, at my last job I goofed off half the day (although I still did more work than 90% of my coworkers) and probably had one of the worst attitudes there, and I got promoted. I thought when my boss asked to see me in another room that she was going to yell at me, instead she asked if I wanted to do less work for more money. Of course, I was awesome at what I did, and people loved working under me, (I still kept my attitude) but that’s another story for another time...

[DerangedHermit 0]

Office politics and bullshit exist everywhere.  I deal with politics, favoritism, general BS, and conflicting agendas everyday.

And that's just being a mod on this board!

OUCH.

[cynicalprofit 0]

You become more Homer Simpson like and try to get him to be more Frank Grimes like and all will be well.

[Guest Dynamite Kido]

meh, just move under the sea.....

[EricMM 0]

Doesn't Sam Goody sell CD's for like 18.98?

 

They do around here.

 

Fuck 'em.