This is such a common problem, the disconnect between admin and frontline, regardless of the industry. It's also how big problems get worse and worse, because admin will dismiss concerns, and frontline smooths it over and makes it work because they'll get yelled at if they don't. Eventually the whole thng is made of duct tape and hope, and admin will be pikachu-face when it inevitably collapses
The problem is "who do they see value in". Bob the sales guy sold 2 million dollars in hi tech gizmos that he basically knows zip about. He gets the big promotion because he is the guy that "delivers"
Not Sarah, the design engineer that made the concept work.
Not Frank, the manufacturing engineer that oversaw the production of all that product.
Not not any of the dozens of other talented people that designed, made, managed the supply chain, supported or did any of the important parts of the success. Just the guy with the golf clubs in his trunk and the perfect hair style. This is why the corner offices are all sales. Because the senior VP that started in sales knows just how important his skill set is.
They undervalue what contributions a good employee makes and the ripple effect if they lose them. They think everyone is easily replaceable.
I think a big part of it is also controlā¦ they donāt want employees to think if they ask for something (like a raise) they will get it. Theyād rather lose money on someone leaving than lose their control over the employees. This is one reason they fight unionization so hard- they no longer have 100% control over the employees.
There's almost always a disconnect between upper management and Customer Service, as well. No matter who represents the company, CS is truly the face of the company. We're the ones who actually deal with customers and the public, usually when something has gone wrong, so we're not always talking to happy people.
We're the ones who know what's not working, and what needs to be changed, and what is affecting the customers in positive or negative ways. You could say that CS is on the frontlines when the company is embattled. And I always considered myself responsible for speaking for the customers - we represent the company to the public, but we also represent the public to the company.
But CS is also one of the least-respected departments. Few companies include CS reps in brainstorming sessions, or ask our opinion when changes are being considered or implemented. We're often not consulted on issues that directly affect how we do our jobs. And CS is also one of the first departments to be thinned out when layoffs are imminent, making it much harder for the remaining reps to do their jobs, which in turn leads to more unhappy customers, which in turn affects the company's bottom line, which leads to more layoffs...
Warehouse workers, behind-the-scenes techs, customer service reps...vital to how the company actually functions, but far too easily dismissed by the higher-ups. And sometimes they figure out our value when it's too late.
OP - walk. You were responsible for part of their success, but they didn't value you then. You can't depend on them continuing to value you moving forward, since you know what they thought of your position and what you actually did for them.
They discounted your importance. You have to be your own best advocate, and you clearly know your value. Walk.
No doubt on that. Iām a flight attendant with AA. This airline does not give a shit about passengers or employees. They made 49 billion last year.
No support. Zero bonuses. Iām on the back end of this career. I donāt give a shit about any of it.
It shows!! I had such an awful experience a few years ago that I shit-talk them at any available chance. Told them Iād be paying more, if needed, to fly any other airline (usually delta). I know itās just a job for you, but the higher ups can suck a hoboās ass!! Fuck that airline.
I've flown AA, Delta, and United, the three airlines available at my regional airport, and Delta was almost always on time, except for once, when I've flown with them. AA was almost always behind. I don't remember United.
My luggage got lost once with Delta, but they returned it to me the next day.
So I think Delta is pretty good.
On my team we have gotten to the point of documenting things thoroughly, explaining the situation to our manager then letting it blow up. Sometimes upper management only learns once they feel the pain.
>Eventually the whole thng is made of duct tape and hope, and admin will be pikachu-face when it inevitably collapses
LOL I had this experience in my own way. It was glorious. They truly thought we were easily replaceable lmfao.
Same. I was dealing with PPI claims, getting everything filled out and sent off. Eventually, i was working on the back end of the process dealing with Ombudsmen when the bank decided they didnt want to pay up. I was running that whole process myself.
They didnt understand that i was so capeable because i knew how the entire system worked. Id done stuff at every stage, from new client, to payout. I also knew exactly what the bank was looking for and how to word it in the best light for the customer. I was damn good at my job. To the point that my workflow affected everyone elses because my work was high standard which meant everyone after me had less to do and got more done as a consequence.
They were then switching to helping with PBAs, (packaged bank accounts) but in no way did i want to be aquiring bank details. Now my mental health had been nosediving due to the stress of being screamed at by customers due to other changes the company made, and this just sent me over the edge. Cue public breakdown in the middle of the office. I took a few months off but they refused to keep me on any other role. All that skillset. All that effort and they just didnt care. I remember going in for my last meeting before i officially quit and my colleagues were begging for me to come back... but i couldnt do it to myself. Though i do miss the money, its not worth being suicidal all day every day and slowly developing a drinking problem over...
That last bit is key. Even a company who has the money to invest in an Employee Resource Program (therapist contractor on staff, basically; my company had someone 1 day a week) is doing so because an apparently healthy employee is a productive employee. I had a few chats with my company's counselor after some stressful stuff, and we both would do the side-eye wink that we both knew this was about the machine keeping its cogs functional enough to function *at work*.
I had underlying mental health issues, mostly centering around abuse, that were being horribky exasperated at work. Being shouted at was triggering my anxiety to the point i was literally struggling to move. Like joints locked up so bad i was struggling to walk... but on the other hand because i was basically a natural at deesclating and avoiding conflict it didnt matter how mad or upset a customer was, i was able to resolve the matter and get everything moving forwards again... so it was a double edged sword of me being triggered all day made me really really good at my job...
I cant even be in a busy supermarket now without getting anxiety sweats... i legit do my ahopping at 6am so its basically just me and staff in there.
Oh my goodness. It is actually a very long story. Maybe I'll make a main post of it some day soon. I worked my way up to manager at a high end boutique. The manager before me had experience but was a lazy worker who called out all of the time. I was basically running the show before I did so. They finally realized how many days she had taken off, among other things, and fired her. I was promoted. Hired a new team. My assistant manager and I redid every system, big to small, in the shop that we could. We were also amazing sales people who actually believed in the company values (unlike our owners who were tearing them apart). As soon as I took over, the numbers shot up. We were doing double and triple our sales goals. We grew to have the biggest numbers even though we were an old store (so we should theoretically have the least growth). Well, one of our very rich clients wanted to date me. I rejected him. He began to harass me, stalk me, and try to get me fired. The store wouldn't help me get a restraining order, but I got one anyway. I found out they were going behind my back and selling to him at other stores and putting other people in danger. They were even selling special items to him. I endured their bullshit for quite a while until they became convinced that they could push me out for petty reasons after finding someone they thought could be manager instead. A bunch of us at a few locations all quit together because we were so disgusted with them. After we left, they couldn't make their sales goals anymore... remember, we had been going over and above our goals by as much as x3. lmfao
Wow this describes my last job so well it hurts. It was a mess when I arrived. At some point, sales have to realise the warehouse needs help to sort things out and reset. They may have to *gasp* actually get the sales team out into the warehouse to help out with this process. It's a fucking team effort. Oh you want to order stock to increase sales but there is nowhere to put it ? Great work.
I left after a year, all my hard work had done almost nothing to improve the place. Such a joke.
I've had to deal with a ton of companies lately and it seems like every single one is this way. Someone very close to me also worked in medical and they said everyone just lies to each other because no one knows what's going on. They also forge doctor's signatures because it's required or they get bitched at and possibly fired.
The overall manager where I work has absolutely no idea about the day to day running of the place. I can always tell when something is his idea. He'll give jobs to people they aren't trained for and requires equipment they don't know how to use. He'll constantly pester people about their work pace on a job that'll be finished in an hour easy then have no idea what to do with them when they finish the work with hours to spare. Politely we call him Captain Clueless, the names go downhill from there.
Marx refer to this as the division of labor from ownership. Companies that are remotely owned are too disconnected from their communities and workers so they end up destroying long term wealth for short term gains.
And this is a common misconception of the sort of managers that hold down chairs and refuse to do anything when stuff is breaking or we're running out of things we need.
Had several bosses like that. Nobody was important until they needed a mess fixed that they made.
My buddy worked as an alarm/stereo system installer at a large electronics retailer back in the day. Despite working there, the company required him to provide all his own tools out of his own pocket. cost him thousands of dollars. Because of this....he told every customer he could that if they were paying cash....come back after his shift was over and he would install their system for a steep discount so that the money would go directly into his own pockets instead of the company. Fast forward 15 years and the electronics retailer is now defunct and my buddy owns an entire customs shop working exclusively with extremely high end supercars
Not even that extreme, I went for an oil change and the guy told me itād be basically half price Iād I paid in cash. I didnāt have cash and was told where the nearest ATM. So I got it changed at half price
that might be a little different situation. because my friend's company forced their installers to pay for their own tools there was nothing they could legally do if they wanted to do side work when they're off the clock.
in your case that might just be straight up embezzlement. lol
Saw this from the other side. Have used same plumbing outfit for 20 years. One guy who was great and had been to our house for years came out training a new guy as his replacement, because his shoulder was shot and he needed surgery so was changing jobs. Next time owner is on the call..so what's up with new guy?.... "yeah, well, we dumped him because he was offering to undercut our prices to over half the people he went out on calls too. Fortunately our customers are pretty loyal and started calling the office and letting my wife know". Plot twist... guy with bad shoulder had a teacher certification and started teaching the 2019-2020 school year. Yeah, you know how that went. I think he taught 2 years, shoulder was recovered and is back working as a plumber. And happy to be back.
Some companies rely on you and your coworkerās work ethic to make someoneās life easier.
The easy life becomes addictive and now you have people wanting to keep the easier roles and responsibilities because we got reliable people.
The point, you became the most vital person in the company while the others enjoyed the perks.
Go do something else and donāt care, drop the emotions and loyalties and build another job roles for yourself.
Good workers never have trouble adapting to new jobs because they want to learn.
It took 4 people to replace me when I left the call center at my employer to work as a claims examiner. Most of my team either went to other departments shortly after I left or left the company entirely.
Cue shocked pikachu faces from most of upper management at the high turn over rate in the team leads despite all of my documentation about various issues.
I do feel bad for folks who came in after me that wanted to go to other departments, call center management made that difficult on them, insisting that they had to work so many days a week in the call center, and days before and after a holiday for something like 6 months.
That didn't last long because the other departments complained, and people just quit over the bullshit.
I've been told it's since gotten better, but since I'm now mainly WFH, I can avoid the area like the plague.
Good on you OP, many places have no idea how much 1 person can mean to the success or failure of an establishment. I'm a Lead Custodian for my local school system. I've "fixed" and maintained every school I've worked at. When I get a place where I want it, I need a new challenge and move on to another building. Each time our Facilites Management is surprised when the buildings I've left backslide from a cleanliness perspective but they cant quite figure out why....
This inability to function sounds like the best buy I went to in Asheville this weekend. Nothing on shelves, things on shelves seemed to all be in the wrong places and just a super disorganized mess. Did I see your wake haha
Based on OPs story and the supposed management structure, definitely not a BBY.
The thing you experienced is due to best buys poor restock shipment structure and employee availability for downstocking.
I had something similar to this happen to be when I used to work at the big blue besty electronics retailer. I was just a normal warehouse guy. But after a while it became evident that I was the one running warehouse. It was āmy guysā unloading truck and stocking the store for the floor to sell. āMy guysā that got add set done Sunday morning hours before the doors opened. So when there was a problem, my supervisor and manager came to me to get the guys movin. They had no problem getting in gear when I asked them to. They didnāt care about warehouse and damn near cut all our hours because āsales team first.ā At one point they didnāt schedule any of us for 4 weeks. Me even longer. We all left and got other jobs and kept in touch. We stopped checking the schedule every week to see if we were working. The all of a sudden I get calls asking why Iām not at work! I came in, got yelled at and then I took the screen shots and documents I kept and chewed them all out. Said āfuck all of you.ā And walked out. That store closed 4 months later. The ops team were friends and kept me updated as the store crashed and burned. The warehouse supervisor was caught fudging the inventory numbers because he was stealing for over 2 years. I have so many stories. Good times lol.
Every job does this now,my company needs at minimum 12 employees to run a store 24/7 and corporate literally expects you to do it with 5.
They budget us less hours then are in a week lol
Had a similar experience at a job a few years back, company sold and the new leader didnāt respect anyone. I got an offer at there biggest competitor for double the salary, of course I took it. But was still happy to train my replacement, but to spite them train them awfully. Found out recently that the company took over a year to figure out how my departure even worked, they lost huge amount of cash trying to fix it, went through a couple of guys trying and finally figured out wasting a ton time and resources. All because they treated everyone like crap and didnāt want to give me a solid raise.
I was somewhat in a similar scenario as you in a factory of 300 people but not to the extent compared to you. We are seeing a shift in importance of those who do the work and those who are management. It's a shame the workers are paid the least but for people like us, we need to work on collective companies. It is easy for us to recognize others like us and share collective profits.
I watched a major clothing retailer die by inches over the decade I worked for them, because the board would rather cut than invest in the back end, or go for short term cash flow to make the quarterlies look good. November sales to cannibalise the Christmas rush? Check. Selling the store freeholds and leasing them back? Check. Selling the head office to renovate the flagship, but forgetting to check for asbestos, then crying about the Ā£260 million bridging loan? Check.
We had a training video. It showed a manager, who was watching it with us, using a piece of equipment to move stock. "That thing you're using Dave? What happens if it's not present?"
"Oh, you can't unload safely, so you refuse and bring it back".
"Thanks Dave. You do know that they were all removed from the stores last year for being unsafe, and we've been physically carrying the stock?"
"Er..."
So 6 months later they built an automated stack and trolley line that replicated a Ā£15 piece of metal. Ā£700,000.
Nah they tried to replace him. If he would have asked for a raise they probably would have fired him on the spot. Probably why he didn't bother and just went to the next job.
managers i feel follow the Ferengi Rule of Acquisition 198 " Employees are the rungs on your ladder to success - don't hesitate to step on them" a bit too much.
My boss is trying to fire our administration lady but his boss (a VP) won't let him. My boss is so fucking dumb he doesn't know the hell that would be released if he did actually get to fire her.
I donāt understand why companies are this stupid when theyāre given so much notice.
My previous partner is a lecturer at a college (UK) and they had someone give over 1.5yrs, just under 2yrs notice that they would be retiring. This individual taught a specific qualification which was expensive and could be taught as day release and evening alongside full time students. They didnāt do anything about it and then he left and they scrambled to get someone to fill the space, my partner at the time said he was going to do it but also thought he could get qualified in 4 weeks. I told him thatās not how it works, the qualification it is, has a set structure and exams are at set times, itās also equivalent to degree level (itās in my career field).
They lost the ability to provide that qualification and associated qualifications due to this and with it comes 5figure losses each semester.
Edit: added a word
This sounds like the program I work in. The supe and the admin have taken on waaaaay more than they can actually handle. They're the narcissistic types who'd rather be liked than to actually do their jobs. As a result, 3 decades of work went to shit in about 3 years hahah. š
When I left my old job I started receiving job offers from a similar company on my cellphone number. I have no idea how they got my number, my old company probably gave it to them. I ignored the texts until there was only silence. Feels good. Let them find other people out there to put up with their trash.
No joke - I've seen too many truly knowledgable, capable, hard-working people just pick up and leave from this company since I've been here. My time coincides with the new leadership, and after 4 years it feels as if these people are *still* coming up with new bright \[read: stupid\] ideas that cause inconvenience and mess up service.
I started there in 2017. My husband came along right behind me. I was laid off in 2021, he wasnāt. Our store had the same GM for many years and they moved him to another store and put a new one in ours in late 2021. My husband was SWAT and the new GM made his (and many other employees with 10+ years of tenure) life there hell, so he walked in on Black Friday and dumped his keys in the guys hand and quit on the spot.
I made so many friends there, that store was like my home. But then Corrie Barry decided that shareholder profit was more important than a knowledgeable work force. A lot of great people I knew lost their jobs, or were run out of the store by the new GM. She took all the hard work Hubert had done and flushed it down the toilet. I refuse to shop there now.
Sounds like a job I worked. Gave several weeks notice, they waited until my last days to hire someone. Told boss he would need to step up for the things he should have been handling. He didnt. Place went to hell. I have run into a few customers and ALL of them have asked me to come back because they ran better with me there.
Reminds me of when i trained a allegedly lead developer over basically 2 solid weeks of meetings the ins and outs of a design and he pretended like we had not had any of those meetings.
Honestly, I learned over my years with similar company values that set yourself up for as much comfort in the position itself. IE make sure you're not suffering in an attempt to make leadership struggle. I have an entire manual on how to do my job for the sake of training co-workers so they don't suffer. My management has zero access to it, and it will be going with me if I ever leave my job.
Senior management are blind and make stupid decisions quite often. Took 3 people to replace me, still advertising for people with the skillset I had 1.5 years later lol New management made the mistake of just looking at my job title and description and thought I was overpaid so hounded me out to save a few Ā£Ā£Ā£.
Took my 25 years company knowledge to a direct rival for the same money, less hours and zero responsibility for people management. Easy life now.
This is currently happening where I work. Just two of us basically keeping the wheels on the department. We got royally screwed by our manager, so weāve got other jobs to go to and stopped doing anything but our very basic job description whilst working notice. Department has fallen apart within four days and now everyone is mad as hell and canāt fix it. ā¦ but itās no longer our problem!
This happens more than most people know. Loss of institutional knowledge causes more downturns in profits than management realizes. Instead of recognizing the need to restore the institutional knowledge, management gets into a cycle of blame and discharges much of its remaining institutional knowledge base, then wonders why there is no recovery.
Moral of the story... Only appear to care as much as your job will keep benefiting you.
Once that's no longer the case. Move on to your benefit and fuck the rest, always
This is not a knock on you. I had a job I cared about fuck me over in the past and I even let it happen again in 2020. Let's just say it was a lesson hard learned but I am glad I did. Good luck to you!
This entire community is such a great response to "nobody wants to work anymore." So many people doing the work of five people. Out of touch leadership. Businesses crumbling when an undervalued employee leaves. Gorgeous.
Sorry but you lost me at gave a years notice. Then again when you helped them out when they fucked up and did overtime to try help them.
No.
I have no interest in a capitalist slave mentality like yours, even though you are trying to come here and get support for how things went to shit eventually anyways.
You are the problem with work places, and people like you. Itās thanks to people like you the rest of us are treated like shit and managers think they can walk over everyone and expect 400% effort for 40% wages.
I gave my final employer a yearās notice because I wanted them to have time to get ready and find a person I could help train.
HR wouldnāt let my supervisor advertise for the position in time and I was gone before he onboarded. He was gone in less then 90 days and it took another couple of months to find a replacement. I came back for a couple of days to help her and that seemed to work, sheās still there.
The fact you gave them so many consessions and allowed them so much wiggle room for them to get their shit together, baffles me. I totally get personal gratification but nobody hands out gold stars for helping the company. They couldn't get their shit together, that entirely on them.
When I left my last place, eight members of the senior staff left too. I was doing two people's jobs, and the whole shitshow went down the tubes.
Good for you, getting out of a job like that feels like being released from prison.
>The place is a ghost town and honestly, I used to care so much, now... the place could close down and I would care at all.
It's the most wondrous, miraculous thing about quitting any job.
>Now understand, I had numerous meetings with our leadership, going over all the things we did, all the things that would need to be done for holidays, day to day, hours and hours of learned experience.
None of what went down is your problem. My advice to you is try to care a little less about companies that don't matter to you anymore. I'd have given them 2 weeks notice and left. That they aren't paying attention and addressing the fact that one employee has too much power, is on them.
It's not your fault they screwed up.
Let the world burn as long as it doesn't burn you.
Yeah after my GM died our new one replaced all of the senior staff. It was bad. The new leaders were so much worse and didnāt have the kind of experience they let go. This was less than a year before the Pandemic hit and I never worked in that store in person again. I still shop there sometimes but often find I canāt find in stock items on the shelves. The store is just sad now.
They'd just socialize the losses and find a scapegoat. Issue raises for the execs. Stock buybacks if public. PPP loans to pay for it all.
I mean seriously how is anyone self aware at this point and buying any of this shit? It's corrupt all the way to the top and people are just "we'll see it's normal to think that because so and so"
Like just accept this is slavery. Done. It's gonna get worse. Done. The rich won't suffer. You will.
Did this company also have you sell credit cards and annual memberships that got your supervisors bonuses while you got jack shit?
"Who got the next BP and TTS?" š¤®
most likely, hate it here.
Yooo I'm on shift as I'm reading this (remote, service rather than sales)
Yeah Iām gonna need that TPS report
Well since those things don't get you a bonus in said company me thinks you don't know Jack about the bonus structure which is easily accessible
There's more than 1 big electronics retailer, but I'm sure they all work exactly the same, right?
Sure but the terminology the OP used I know exactly who he is talking about anyone who worked there would know based on the terms used
I'm never shopping at best buy again. Yikes
Best buy somewhere else ;)
bbys bonus structure did have this in it 14+ years ago.
Just started, its the same
Are you incapable of reading proper context? Dude was asking a question not making a statement.
This is such a common problem, the disconnect between admin and frontline, regardless of the industry. It's also how big problems get worse and worse, because admin will dismiss concerns, and frontline smooths it over and makes it work because they'll get yelled at if they don't. Eventually the whole thng is made of duct tape and hope, and admin will be pikachu-face when it inevitably collapses
The problem is "who do they see value in". Bob the sales guy sold 2 million dollars in hi tech gizmos that he basically knows zip about. He gets the big promotion because he is the guy that "delivers" Not Sarah, the design engineer that made the concept work. Not Frank, the manufacturing engineer that oversaw the production of all that product. Not not any of the dozens of other talented people that designed, made, managed the supply chain, supported or did any of the important parts of the success. Just the guy with the golf clubs in his trunk and the perfect hair style. This is why the corner offices are all sales. Because the senior VP that started in sales knows just how important his skill set is.
They undervalue what contributions a good employee makes and the ripple effect if they lose them. They think everyone is easily replaceable. I think a big part of it is also controlā¦ they donāt want employees to think if they ask for something (like a raise) they will get it. Theyād rather lose money on someone leaving than lose their control over the employees. This is one reason they fight unionization so hard- they no longer have 100% control over the employees.
Golden words
There's almost always a disconnect between upper management and Customer Service, as well. No matter who represents the company, CS is truly the face of the company. We're the ones who actually deal with customers and the public, usually when something has gone wrong, so we're not always talking to happy people. We're the ones who know what's not working, and what needs to be changed, and what is affecting the customers in positive or negative ways. You could say that CS is on the frontlines when the company is embattled. And I always considered myself responsible for speaking for the customers - we represent the company to the public, but we also represent the public to the company. But CS is also one of the least-respected departments. Few companies include CS reps in brainstorming sessions, or ask our opinion when changes are being considered or implemented. We're often not consulted on issues that directly affect how we do our jobs. And CS is also one of the first departments to be thinned out when layoffs are imminent, making it much harder for the remaining reps to do their jobs, which in turn leads to more unhappy customers, which in turn affects the company's bottom line, which leads to more layoffs... Warehouse workers, behind-the-scenes techs, customer service reps...vital to how the company actually functions, but far too easily dismissed by the higher-ups. And sometimes they figure out our value when it's too late. OP - walk. You were responsible for part of their success, but they didn't value you then. You can't depend on them continuing to value you moving forward, since you know what they thought of your position and what you actually did for them. They discounted your importance. You have to be your own best advocate, and you clearly know your value. Walk.
No doubt on that. Iām a flight attendant with AA. This airline does not give a shit about passengers or employees. They made 49 billion last year. No support. Zero bonuses. Iām on the back end of this career. I donāt give a shit about any of it.
It shows when people fly with that airline.
It shows!! I had such an awful experience a few years ago that I shit-talk them at any available chance. Told them Iād be paying more, if needed, to fly any other airline (usually delta). I know itās just a job for you, but the higher ups can suck a hoboās ass!! Fuck that airline.
Is Delta any different? It is only a matter of time where some customer service decision will have you leaving for another airline.
I've flown AA, Delta, and United, the three airlines available at my regional airport, and Delta was almost always on time, except for once, when I've flown with them. AA was almost always behind. I don't remember United. My luggage got lost once with Delta, but they returned it to me the next day. So I think Delta is pretty good.
I vowed to not fly AA after the last merger. DP turned all the airlines he ran into a sh!tshow.
On my team we have gotten to the point of documenting things thoroughly, explaining the situation to our manager then letting it blow up. Sometimes upper management only learns once they feel the pain.
> ~~Sometimes~~ Upper management only learns once they feel the pain. ...and not always then.
>Eventually the whole thng is made of duct tape and hope, and admin will be pikachu-face when it inevitably collapses LOL I had this experience in my own way. It was glorious. They truly thought we were easily replaceable lmfao.
I was part of a mass exodus at one company. Company went from $29 mil in sales to $11 mil in sales over one year. FAFO.
LOL we love to see it! My team tripled our sales goals. After we left, they couldn't even make the sales goals.
Same. I was dealing with PPI claims, getting everything filled out and sent off. Eventually, i was working on the back end of the process dealing with Ombudsmen when the bank decided they didnt want to pay up. I was running that whole process myself. They didnt understand that i was so capeable because i knew how the entire system worked. Id done stuff at every stage, from new client, to payout. I also knew exactly what the bank was looking for and how to word it in the best light for the customer. I was damn good at my job. To the point that my workflow affected everyone elses because my work was high standard which meant everyone after me had less to do and got more done as a consequence. They were then switching to helping with PBAs, (packaged bank accounts) but in no way did i want to be aquiring bank details. Now my mental health had been nosediving due to the stress of being screamed at by customers due to other changes the company made, and this just sent me over the edge. Cue public breakdown in the middle of the office. I took a few months off but they refused to keep me on any other role. All that skillset. All that effort and they just didnt care. I remember going in for my last meeting before i officially quit and my colleagues were begging for me to come back... but i couldnt do it to myself. Though i do miss the money, its not worth being suicidal all day every day and slowly developing a drinking problem over...
That last bit is key. Even a company who has the money to invest in an Employee Resource Program (therapist contractor on staff, basically; my company had someone 1 day a week) is doing so because an apparently healthy employee is a productive employee. I had a few chats with my company's counselor after some stressful stuff, and we both would do the side-eye wink that we both knew this was about the machine keeping its cogs functional enough to function *at work*.
I had underlying mental health issues, mostly centering around abuse, that were being horribky exasperated at work. Being shouted at was triggering my anxiety to the point i was literally struggling to move. Like joints locked up so bad i was struggling to walk... but on the other hand because i was basically a natural at deesclating and avoiding conflict it didnt matter how mad or upset a customer was, i was able to resolve the matter and get everything moving forwards again... so it was a double edged sword of me being triggered all day made me really really good at my job... I cant even be in a busy supermarket now without getting anxiety sweats... i legit do my ahopping at 6am so its basically just me and staff in there.
Agreed! It's not worth it! I was similar, had worked my way up to manager so knew every system front to back. LMFAO whoopsie
That sounds like a good story. Care to share?
Oh my goodness. It is actually a very long story. Maybe I'll make a main post of it some day soon. I worked my way up to manager at a high end boutique. The manager before me had experience but was a lazy worker who called out all of the time. I was basically running the show before I did so. They finally realized how many days she had taken off, among other things, and fired her. I was promoted. Hired a new team. My assistant manager and I redid every system, big to small, in the shop that we could. We were also amazing sales people who actually believed in the company values (unlike our owners who were tearing them apart). As soon as I took over, the numbers shot up. We were doing double and triple our sales goals. We grew to have the biggest numbers even though we were an old store (so we should theoretically have the least growth). Well, one of our very rich clients wanted to date me. I rejected him. He began to harass me, stalk me, and try to get me fired. The store wouldn't help me get a restraining order, but I got one anyway. I found out they were going behind my back and selling to him at other stores and putting other people in danger. They were even selling special items to him. I endured their bullshit for quite a while until they became convinced that they could push me out for petty reasons after finding someone they thought could be manager instead. A bunch of us at a few locations all quit together because we were so disgusted with them. After we left, they couldn't make their sales goals anymore... remember, we had been going over and above our goals by as much as x3. lmfao
Wow this describes my last job so well it hurts. It was a mess when I arrived. At some point, sales have to realise the warehouse needs help to sort things out and reset. They may have to *gasp* actually get the sales team out into the warehouse to help out with this process. It's a fucking team effort. Oh you want to order stock to increase sales but there is nowhere to put it ? Great work. I left after a year, all my hard work had done almost nothing to improve the place. Such a joke.
I've had to deal with a ton of companies lately and it seems like every single one is this way. Someone very close to me also worked in medical and they said everyone just lies to each other because no one knows what's going on. They also forge doctor's signatures because it's required or they get bitched at and possibly fired.
The overall manager where I work has absolutely no idea about the day to day running of the place. I can always tell when something is his idea. He'll give jobs to people they aren't trained for and requires equipment they don't know how to use. He'll constantly pester people about their work pace on a job that'll be finished in an hour easy then have no idea what to do with them when they finish the work with hours to spare. Politely we call him Captain Clueless, the names go downhill from there.
Marx refer to this as the division of labor from ownership. Companies that are remotely owned are too disconnected from their communities and workers so they end up destroying long term wealth for short term gains.
This is a common misconception of assholes who think they do more for a company than theyāre actually worth.
And this is a common misconception of the sort of managers that hold down chairs and refuse to do anything when stuff is breaking or we're running out of things we need. Had several bosses like that. Nobody was important until they needed a mess fixed that they made.
Pikachu face lmao
My buddy worked as an alarm/stereo system installer at a large electronics retailer back in the day. Despite working there, the company required him to provide all his own tools out of his own pocket. cost him thousands of dollars. Because of this....he told every customer he could that if they were paying cash....come back after his shift was over and he would install their system for a steep discount so that the money would go directly into his own pockets instead of the company. Fast forward 15 years and the electronics retailer is now defunct and my buddy owns an entire customs shop working exclusively with extremely high end supercars
I had a radio installed in my car this exact same way along time ago. He came to me and installed it in a gas station parking lot for 50$.
Not even that extreme, I went for an oil change and the guy told me itād be basically half price Iād I paid in cash. I didnāt have cash and was told where the nearest ATM. So I got it changed at half price
that might be a little different situation. because my friend's company forced their installers to pay for their own tools there was nothing they could legally do if they wanted to do side work when they're off the clock. in your case that might just be straight up embezzlement. lol
While I love a discount, Iād be worried about what would happen if he made some error that ruins your engine. Shops carry liability insurance.
Saw this from the other side. Have used same plumbing outfit for 20 years. One guy who was great and had been to our house for years came out training a new guy as his replacement, because his shoulder was shot and he needed surgery so was changing jobs. Next time owner is on the call..so what's up with new guy?.... "yeah, well, we dumped him because he was offering to undercut our prices to over half the people he went out on calls too. Fortunately our customers are pretty loyal and started calling the office and letting my wife know". Plot twist... guy with bad shoulder had a teacher certification and started teaching the 2019-2020 school year. Yeah, you know how that went. I think he taught 2 years, shoulder was recovered and is back working as a plumber. And happy to be back.
That's actually pretty much standard for mechanics, and a lot of trades for that matter. Badass for him though, respect the hustle.
Some companies rely on you and your coworkerās work ethic to make someoneās life easier. The easy life becomes addictive and now you have people wanting to keep the easier roles and responsibilities because we got reliable people. The point, you became the most vital person in the company while the others enjoyed the perks. Go do something else and donāt care, drop the emotions and loyalties and build another job roles for yourself. Good workers never have trouble adapting to new jobs because they want to learn.
Every company
1. Hard times make tough people 2. Tough people make easy times 3. Easy times make soft people 4. Soft people make hard times The eternal cycle
They probably needed 5 people to replace you and could never accept that could be a possibility.
It took 4 people to replace me when I left the call center at my employer to work as a claims examiner. Most of my team either went to other departments shortly after I left or left the company entirely. Cue shocked pikachu faces from most of upper management at the high turn over rate in the team leads despite all of my documentation about various issues. I do feel bad for folks who came in after me that wanted to go to other departments, call center management made that difficult on them, insisting that they had to work so many days a week in the call center, and days before and after a holiday for something like 6 months. That didn't last long because the other departments complained, and people just quit over the bullshit. I've been told it's since gotten better, but since I'm now mainly WFH, I can avoid the area like the plague.
Blame everyone but themselves. Upper management.
Good on you OP, many places have no idea how much 1 person can mean to the success or failure of an establishment. I'm a Lead Custodian for my local school system. I've "fixed" and maintained every school I've worked at. When I get a place where I want it, I need a new challenge and move on to another building. Each time our Facilites Management is surprised when the buildings I've left backslide from a cleanliness perspective but they cant quite figure out why....
Agree with this. OP went way and above the call of duty to try to ensure that the company would be alright after he left. Good on you, OP.
This story really Fryās my circuits. Did they also expect you to move to Circuit City and live in a Radio Shack?
Take this upvote and get out... were the items also the Best Buy for your hard earned dollar?
Hard earned dollar tree.
For which he got paid pennies on the Dollar. General nuisance, that.
Ross thought TJ, Maxx, and Marshall's were a nuisance until that point.
This inability to function sounds like the best buy I went to in Asheville this weekend. Nothing on shelves, things on shelves seemed to all be in the wrong places and just a super disorganized mess. Did I see your wake haha
Based on OPs story and the supposed management structure, definitely not a BBY. The thing you experienced is due to best buys poor restock shipment structure and employee availability for downstocking.
I had something similar to this happen to be when I used to work at the big blue besty electronics retailer. I was just a normal warehouse guy. But after a while it became evident that I was the one running warehouse. It was āmy guysā unloading truck and stocking the store for the floor to sell. āMy guysā that got add set done Sunday morning hours before the doors opened. So when there was a problem, my supervisor and manager came to me to get the guys movin. They had no problem getting in gear when I asked them to. They didnāt care about warehouse and damn near cut all our hours because āsales team first.ā At one point they didnāt schedule any of us for 4 weeks. Me even longer. We all left and got other jobs and kept in touch. We stopped checking the schedule every week to see if we were working. The all of a sudden I get calls asking why Iām not at work! I came in, got yelled at and then I took the screen shots and documents I kept and chewed them all out. Said āfuck all of you.ā And walked out. That store closed 4 months later. The ops team were friends and kept me updated as the store crashed and burned. The warehouse supervisor was caught fudging the inventory numbers because he was stealing for over 2 years. I have so many stories. Good times lol.
Every job does this now,my company needs at minimum 12 employees to run a store 24/7 and corporate literally expects you to do it with 5. They budget us less hours then are in a week lol
Had a similar experience at a job a few years back, company sold and the new leader didnāt respect anyone. I got an offer at there biggest competitor for double the salary, of course I took it. But was still happy to train my replacement, but to spite them train them awfully. Found out recently that the company took over a year to figure out how my departure even worked, they lost huge amount of cash trying to fix it, went through a couple of guys trying and finally figured out wasting a ton time and resources. All because they treated everyone like crap and didnāt want to give me a solid raise.
So you hung some guy out to dry that never did anything to you? That sounds like kind of a dick move.
Through your work ethic, you enabled management to remain incompetent but reap all the rewards.
funny how work ethics can have that valuable side-effect isnāt it?
And loyalty.
i meant valuable to our exploiters btw, in case it was unclear
>gave them a 1 year notice That is by far the longest notice period I've ever heard of.
Proves that you can give them a 10 year notice and they'll never learn
As soon as you said they promoted someone else, my eyebrows raised sky high lol.
Everyone's expendable until they're not. Too late for regrets then. It didn't work out so move on.
I was somewhat in a similar scenario as you in a factory of 300 people but not to the extent compared to you. We are seeing a shift in importance of those who do the work and those who are management. It's a shame the workers are paid the least but for people like us, we need to work on collective companies. It is easy for us to recognize others like us and share collective profits.
I watched a major clothing retailer die by inches over the decade I worked for them, because the board would rather cut than invest in the back end, or go for short term cash flow to make the quarterlies look good. November sales to cannibalise the Christmas rush? Check. Selling the store freeholds and leasing them back? Check. Selling the head office to renovate the flagship, but forgetting to check for asbestos, then crying about the Ā£260 million bridging loan? Check. We had a training video. It showed a manager, who was watching it with us, using a piece of equipment to move stock. "That thing you're using Dave? What happens if it's not present?" "Oh, you can't unload safely, so you refuse and bring it back". "Thanks Dave. You do know that they were all removed from the stores last year for being unsafe, and we've been physically carrying the stock?" "Er..." So 6 months later they built an automated stack and trolley line that replicated a Ā£15 piece of metal. Ā£700,000.
I love stories like this.
I'm not criticizing you OP, but the description screams to me that the company scored a person that didn't demand as much pay as they were worth.
Nah they tried to replace him. If he would have asked for a raise they probably would have fired him on the spot. Probably why he didn't bother and just went to the next job.
That's directly from your imagination and not anything said or implied.
managers i feel follow the Ferengi Rule of Acquisition 198 " Employees are the rungs on your ladder to success - don't hesitate to step on them" a bit too much.
My boss is trying to fire our administration lady but his boss (a VP) won't let him. My boss is so fucking dumb he doesn't know the hell that would be released if he did actually get to fire her.
Rule of thumb,Never fire Peggy her spreadsheet is the lifeline of the company.
I donāt understand why companies are this stupid when theyāre given so much notice. My previous partner is a lecturer at a college (UK) and they had someone give over 1.5yrs, just under 2yrs notice that they would be retiring. This individual taught a specific qualification which was expensive and could be taught as day release and evening alongside full time students. They didnāt do anything about it and then he left and they scrambled to get someone to fill the space, my partner at the time said he was going to do it but also thought he could get qualified in 4 weeks. I told him thatās not how it works, the qualification it is, has a set structure and exams are at set times, itās also equivalent to degree level (itās in my career field). They lost the ability to provide that qualification and associated qualifications due to this and with it comes 5figure losses each semester. Edit: added a word
This sounds like the program I work in. The supe and the admin have taken on waaaaay more than they can actually handle. They're the narcissistic types who'd rather be liked than to actually do their jobs. As a result, 3 decades of work went to shit in about 3 years hahah. š
Letās be realā¦RadioShack had a lot more problems than *just* 2 employees quitting.
Hmmmmm BBY?
When I left my old job I started receiving job offers from a similar company on my cellphone number. I have no idea how they got my number, my old company probably gave it to them. I ignored the texts until there was only silence. Feels good. Let them find other people out there to put up with their trash.
This post has big Best Buy vibes. If it is, your effort was entirely wasted on them. The company has gone to complete shit.
No joke - I've seen too many truly knowledgable, capable, hard-working people just pick up and leave from this company since I've been here. My time coincides with the new leadership, and after 4 years it feels as if these people are *still* coming up with new bright \[read: stupid\] ideas that cause inconvenience and mess up service.
I started there in 2017. My husband came along right behind me. I was laid off in 2021, he wasnāt. Our store had the same GM for many years and they moved him to another store and put a new one in ours in late 2021. My husband was SWAT and the new GM made his (and many other employees with 10+ years of tenure) life there hell, so he walked in on Black Friday and dumped his keys in the guys hand and quit on the spot. I made so many friends there, that store was like my home. But then Corrie Barry decided that shareholder profit was more important than a knowledgeable work force. A lot of great people I knew lost their jobs, or were run out of the store by the new GM. She took all the hard work Hubert had done and flushed it down the toilet. I refuse to shop there now.
This is how these things usually go. Been there. Not my Monkeys, not my Circus.. I could tell you literally the same plot line.
This gives me flashbacks to working at best buy
Sounds like a job I worked. Gave several weeks notice, they waited until my last days to hire someone. Told boss he would need to step up for the things he should have been handling. He didnt. Place went to hell. I have run into a few customers and ALL of them have asked me to come back because they ran better with me there.
Reminds me of when i trained a allegedly lead developer over basically 2 solid weeks of meetings the ins and outs of a design and he pretended like we had not had any of those meetings.
Honestly, I learned over my years with similar company values that set yourself up for as much comfort in the position itself. IE make sure you're not suffering in an attempt to make leadership struggle. I have an entire manual on how to do my job for the sake of training co-workers so they don't suffer. My management has zero access to it, and it will be going with me if I ever leave my job.
Reading thru numerous stories on this page .. I'm surprised how corporate America functions, so much dysfunction & stupidity
Senior management are blind and make stupid decisions quite often. Took 3 people to replace me, still advertising for people with the skillset I had 1.5 years later lol New management made the mistake of just looking at my job title and description and thought I was overpaid so hounded me out to save a few Ā£Ā£Ā£. Took my 25 years company knowledge to a direct rival for the same money, less hours and zero responsibility for people management. Easy life now.
This is currently happening where I work. Just two of us basically keeping the wheels on the department. We got royally screwed by our manager, so weāve got other jobs to go to and stopped doing anything but our very basic job description whilst working notice. Department has fallen apart within four days and now everyone is mad as hell and canāt fix it. ā¦ but itās no longer our problem!
This happens more than most people know. Loss of institutional knowledge causes more downturns in profits than management realizes. Instead of recognizing the need to restore the institutional knowledge, management gets into a cycle of blame and discharges much of its remaining institutional knowledge base, then wonders why there is no recovery.
Moral of the story... Only appear to care as much as your job will keep benefiting you. Once that's no longer the case. Move on to your benefit and fuck the rest, always This is not a knock on you. I had a job I cared about fuck me over in the past and I even let it happen again in 2020. Let's just say it was a lesson hard learned but I am glad I did. Good luck to you!
Pay workers better and this shit won't happen.
Minor note about last line in your story, I think you meant to say: "... The place could close down and I **wouldn't** care at all." Correct?
I love when companies shoot themselves in the foot.
Sounds like Fry's Electronics
This entire community is such a great response to "nobody wants to work anymore." So many people doing the work of five people. Out of touch leadership. Businesses crumbling when an undervalued employee leaves. Gorgeous.
Sorry but you lost me at gave a years notice. Then again when you helped them out when they fucked up and did overtime to try help them. No. I have no interest in a capitalist slave mentality like yours, even though you are trying to come here and get support for how things went to shit eventually anyways. You are the problem with work places, and people like you. Itās thanks to people like you the rest of us are treated like shit and managers think they can walk over everyone and expect 400% effort for 40% wages.
You gave one years notice to quit?? Ya Iām sure
I gave my final employer a yearās notice because I wanted them to have time to get ready and find a person I could help train. HR wouldnāt let my supervisor advertise for the position in time and I was gone before he onboarded. He was gone in less then 90 days and it took another couple of months to find a replacement. I came back for a couple of days to help her and that seemed to work, sheās still there.
Oh you retired? Ok sorry I missed that.
Not my post that you replied to. Iām just another person who gave a year notice.
Pipedream that they could not survive without you. Oh, please.
TLDR: Salty Best Buy Inventory Manager left his job and the store has been a tiny bit messy ever since
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Seems like the problem in this story is management. I dunno maybe you read a different story.
How the fuck did you get any of this out of the OP??
What the fuck is this comment?
Youāre a better man than I. Once they stop paying me; I stop caring.
This has gotta be microcenter
screams best buy
f-in idiots. thats all I have to say
As a former employee of the blue barn hell hole. This sounds like it could be one of any of the Best Buy stores.
This sounds like a Walmart problem to meā¦..
Good on you but more likely is [Amazon.com](https://Amazon.com) took over all electronic retailers sales
I hope you feel better now
You the goat
The fact you gave them so many consessions and allowed them so much wiggle room for them to get their shit together, baffles me. I totally get personal gratification but nobody hands out gold stars for helping the company. They couldn't get their shit together, that entirely on them.
When I left my last place, eight members of the senior staff left too. I was doing two people's jobs, and the whole shitshow went down the tubes. Good for you, getting out of a job like that feels like being released from prison.
>The place is a ghost town and honestly, I used to care so much, now... the place could close down and I would care at all. It's the most wondrous, miraculous thing about quitting any job.
āBut without our brain and muscle not a single wheel can turnā
I think they are showing you how much they value you and your position. This is why people move on. You should strongly consider doing so.
>Now understand, I had numerous meetings with our leadership, going over all the things we did, all the things that would need to be done for holidays, day to day, hours and hours of learned experience. None of what went down is your problem. My advice to you is try to care a little less about companies that don't matter to you anymore. I'd have given them 2 weeks notice and left. That they aren't paying attention and addressing the fact that one employee has too much power, is on them. It's not your fault they screwed up. Let the world burn as long as it doesn't burn you.
I would say you did more than your part,well played and you deserve better.
Use this to your advantage. Go to the higher ups like ceo on Twitter. Tell them you can help them turn around For a fee. Then you cash in big time.
If this is the place it most obviously is you should cross post it to the employee subreddit.
Yeah after my GM died our new one replaced all of the senior staff. It was bad. The new leaders were so much worse and didnāt have the kind of experience they let go. This was less than a year before the Pandemic hit and I never worked in that store in person again. I still shop there sometimes but often find I canāt find in stock items on the shelves. The store is just sad now.
They'd just socialize the losses and find a scapegoat. Issue raises for the execs. Stock buybacks if public. PPP loans to pay for it all. I mean seriously how is anyone self aware at this point and buying any of this shit? It's corrupt all the way to the top and people are just "we'll see it's normal to think that because so and so" Like just accept this is slavery. Done. It's gonna get worse. Done. The rich won't suffer. You will.