Busted

Ackaroth

So, today at work they said I need to stop reading polk forums and messing with my cell. Which sucks, because I work at a really boring position, where anything to pass the time is a godsend. My manager acknowledges the complete lack of things to do, but she is just passing along the message from LP (Loss Prevention, the guys who monitor cameras, make sure we are doing our crap, etc).

The cell thing I understand, people shouldn't be on their cells in a retail job. But I work behind the scenes, and am discrete about it, so both customers, employee's, and even the camera's cannot see what I am doing. Not because I want to keep it a huge secret, but because I understand that if I am seen with phone, other employees will want to have theirs out too. Sort of a if he can do it why cant I. But as long as I dont disturb anyone or let it keep me from doing my job, I have trouble getting behind the no reading forums, no cell rules.

By the way, the issue with the forums is that they dont want trade secrets and the general practices of the store getting out. I guess maybe they think I could be a Best Buy spy. Dun dun dun.

/rant_off

Jstas

Maybe your signature had something to do with your reprimand?

etwigs34

wow...that does suck.....i work within the same company just another location, and polk forums makes the time pass so much faster! lol U in a Tele-sales position? haha

Face

Retail sucks.

-ex. Loss Control Manager

Ackaroth

Jstas - I fully agree, but doesn't change the fact that my position, which is Electronics Cage Associate, has little to nothing to do for the entire shift. But thats what I get for working for a large company, where people at the bottom don't matter.

obieone

Slackers! The whole lot of ya! Get back to work, you bums!:p

Rivrrat

I'm a coward when it comes to surfing at work. I don't post on any forum from work and I even get nervous when I order stuff online from companies that are part of the employee discount program.

I'm sure big brother is watching me. :eek:

zingo

Busted! Companies are really cracking down on that kind of stuff and it sucks. No more work freedom...

ben62670

If I owned a company, and I was paying employees to work I would expect them to be working?

janmike

ben62670 wrote: »

If I owned a company, and I was paying employees to work I would expect them to be working?

Bingo.

ben62670

Oops I think I may just have lost a couple popularity votes. Politics have never been my strong suite anyways.

Ackaroth

Lol, dont get me wrong guys. I fully understand what you mean, but sadly, my job is not one that can be fully work. I work a shift that contains about 20% work. And even though they know this, I work in an area that very few people can enter. So someone HAS to stay in there at all times, whether there is stuff to do or not. Its a security issue, and its lame, but it is what it is I suppose.

janmike

Sometimes the truth does that to people Ben. I'm probably in the same boat, but I do not want to be President.

fossy

ben62670 wrote: »

If I owned a company, and I was paying employees to work I would expect them to be working?

Maybe trimming the budget might be in order :eek::eek: ALL companies are lookin to trim the budget anyway they can--- I work in retail & been with the company for 15 years but in the economy of today -- i feel no job security what so ever -- if it came down to me or keeping their doors open ..............

ben62670

Sorry I should not have jumped to conclusions. In my business I have many customers that have to deal with employees playing instead of working. Being a business owner knowing how much it costs to have an employee per hour besides what their check is can rub me the wrong way.

Ackaroth

Trimming the budget isnt really an option with this job. Someone has to be there, whether there is much to do or not. On a slow day, I release an item once an hour, on a busy day I release one every 2-5 minutes. But because its a security clearance thing, they gotta have someone in there to oversee/guard it all, and give it out. Be that as it may, thats not job security. All it does is make the list of people who could have stolen something easier to figure out. Which, while I have been there, hasn't happened, and I am glad. Don't need them more down my throat.

BTW: If Laurie is reading this, Hi!

Q-Edit: No I completely understand Ben. And I KNOW internet wastage runs rampant in corporations right now, which is why people are cutting down. I actually started a list of websites to petition with home office to get added to our list of pages we can access, which is about 20 at the moment, most of which are useless to me. I want to get tech review sites and manufacturer sites (think: crucial, OCZ, kingston, etc) so I can actually keep up with what is the best we carry and why. But I lost motivation throughout a few different **** happenings. Dealing with home office is like pulling teeth.

ben62670

The bottom line is the Boss is the Boss. If you have internet privileges then cool, but if you don't your taking a risk. I know I would go nuts with a puter in front of me, and not having anything to do, but with the economy like it is I wouldn't take any risks.
Ben

dragon1952

Ackaroth wrote: »

So, today at work they said I need to stop reading polk forums and messing with my cell.

The cell thing I understand, people shouldn't be on their cells in a retail job. But I work behind the scenes, and am discrete about it, so both customers, employee's, and even the camera's cannot see what I am doing.

Ummm...if you are discrete about the cell and even the camera can't see you why are they telling you to stop messin' with the cell

hockeyboy

Working for someone else is completely lame and not recommended.

BaggedLancer

This is exactly why you work in IT....no one tells you what to do on the computers....cause they just assume you are doing something you are supposed to be doing.

Not to mention I have a privacy/glare filter on my screen and I'm behind a locked door(server room) that only 5 people in the entire facility have access to.

Anyway, retails sucks as others have said.....I would put the phone away, stop browsing forums and do what Zero did and start scratching yourself....alot. Make it be known on camera....see if they say anything and were really watching.

Ackaroth

The cell thing, it was just sorta obvious that I had my hand between the monitor and printer alot, and Fry's has extremely good cameras. They couldn't see, but I'm sure if they looked they could find tape of me slipping it out of pocket and putting it between monitor and printer or putting it in pocket at end of shift.

And yes, the boss is the boss, but in a job like this, they need to do more to keep people here. Which is why I wont be staying.

Imperitor

My office gets really busy some days, but other times I can surf the net all day and no one even notices. That’s the beauty of being a student employee. No one comes to you with their problems because they know there are more qualified people they can go to.:D

Jstas

ben62670 wrote: »

Sorry I should not have jumped to conclusions. In my business I have many customers that have to deal with employees playing instead of working. Being a business owner knowing how much it costs to have an employee per hour besides what their check is can rub me the wrong way.

On the same note, if you have multiple employees that are sitting around doing nothing, maybe it is time to reassess the work load, how it is distributed and if there is enough work to go around. One or two people out of say 15 is not a huge problem. But if you have 7 out of 15 idling, there is an issue there.

Too often I see management hiring people out the wazoo because they have the money. But the work isn't there. Just because you have the money doesn't mean you have to hire the people. I'm not saying you are doing that.

All I'm saying is that management is a complex beast and any situation a manager has to confront, whether it is positive or negative, has many underlying issues and causes.

If you have a pile of employees doing nothing and goofing off then you as a manager have to look at everything involved. Personally, if I see a department with 20 people and 2 are slackers, I see a problem with employees. If I look at a department of 20 people and 9-10 people are seemingly slacking, I see a problem with management and communication in the department.

Jstas

Imperitor wrote: »

My office gets really busy some days, but other times I can surf the net all day and no one even notices. That’s the beauty of being a student employee. No one comes to you with their problems because they know there are more qualified people they can go to.:D

Honestly, that is a bad thing. If you are a "student employee" hopefully you are working in a job that ultimately leads to better understanding of the profession you want to pursue after graduation. If that is the case and your peers are ignoring you, you are not benefiting from that situation. That's not a good thing.

Imperitor

Jstas wrote: »

Honestly, that is a bad thing. If you are a "student employee" hopefully you are working in a job that ultimately leads to better understanding of the profession you want to pursue after graduation. If that is the case and your peers are ignoring you, you are not benefiting from that situation. That's not a good thing.

No worries, I'm slowly learning my trade. Engineering is not something you pick up overnight, especially in the aerospace industry. Besides, I don’t have the authority to sign permits so sometimes there is nothing I can do. When I do get to work I do learn a lot and I really enjoy it.

wallstreet

Get used to Big Brother snooping. They've recently clamped down on personal email at the office. The 10-12 hours you spend doesn't matter. Any access to Yahoo, Hotmail, Gmail, etc immediately gets flagged. And if you send an attachment, count the time before the Angel of Death shows up at your cube.

Polk addict

With Portable speakers playing slayer!!