Becoming a cliché - Should I take Walmart Greeter job?

[NotJen]

Here's the situation in a nutshell:

- I recently moved to a new state and need a job, but not for money.
- I applied for several part-time low-skilled-but-interesting jobs before I moved, but no one bit, so I widened my search.
- If I get a job TODAY, I can only work for about 2 months before I leave for my summer job, so I will likely burn a bridge leaving an employer after so little time (I will give appropriate notice).


I have 3 options right now:

Walmart is the first company to offer me a job.  Greeter.  $16/hr.  Part-time.  Why not burn a bridge at Walmart?  I likely won't put this job on my resume anyway.  I don't know how long I can stall accepting this - I have an email saying 24 hours, but I'm past that point now, just waiting halfway through the online offer paperwork.

Local grocery store is interviewing me on Wednesday to be an online-order grocery shopper.  This sounds fun to me, but I have no idea if it's a good job or not.  I can walk there.  I want to put off the Walmart decision until I have this second offer, if I get one.

I have also been accepted to 3 temp/staffing agencies.  2 have no jobs right now, 1 said they had a job for me, but it's been since Wednesday and I have not heard anything.  I think this will eventually lead to something, but I hate the uncertainty.  I do like that these employers will know going in that I can't work for long.

So, pros and cons to accepting the Walmart Greeter job?  How bad would it be to accept, and then decline if I get the grocery shopper job?

[bacchi]

It's Walmart. People accepting a job and flaking after a week happens all the time. Take it.

Why do you need a job if it's not for money? Residency?

[GuitarStv]

Holy crap, they pay 16$ an hour to be a greeter?  Take the job!  No biggie if you have to leave.  People leave jobs all the time.

[NotJen]

It's Walmart. People accepting a job and flaking after a week happens all the time. Take it.

Why do you need a job if it's not for money? Residency?

Yes, residency.  Originally I just wanted a job to have a little structure when I first got here, but now the residency thing is really important.

I know I shouldn't worry about flaking, but I've never been a flaker before.

Holy crap, they pay 16$ an hour to be a greeter?  Take the job!  No biggie if you have to leave.  People leave jobs all the time.

Minimum wage is >$13 here, and a lot of the grocery stores are advertising $16 to start.

[Zamboni]

Take the Walmart job and leave if you get something with steady hours you like better. They will not be surprised at all if a part time, no benefit employee leaves after a short time. Part of their business model is high turnover. If it wasn't, then they would pay better. Hopefully they will schedule you for steady hours.

The steady hours part is important. A more interesting or higher wage job that is very inconsistent in terms of hours (like some temp agencies) is not a great situation to be in. I'm speaking from personal experience on that.

[Dicey]

Could you do both? Burn the candle for a couple of months, then head out for another summer adventure.

Despite the cliche, in small towns, everybody shops at WM, so it might be fun. I bet it will give you stories to tell, and we like your stories.

[NotJen]

The steady hours part is important. A more interesting or higher wage job that is very inconsistent in terms of hours (like some temp agencies) is not a great situation to be in. I'm speaking from personal experience on that.

What was your problem with inconsistent hours?  Just curious what I haven't thought of.

I currently have 0 commitments and know 0 people here.  I'm only going to accept part-time work, and I can be flexible around whatever schedule I get.

Honestly, if I got work for a week or two, and then nothing else, I think I'd be okay with that!  My original "dream" was to land a hotel front desk job before I got here and work for a solid 3 months - but I've given up on that idea as the days tick by.

Could you do both? Burn the candle for a couple of months, then head out for another summer adventure.

HELLLLLL no.  I moved here to explore, and I'm going to explore!  (And yes, I had the same thought to just do both, but I don't think that's what I want.)

[Zamboni]

Inconsistent hours:

Long ago I once had a part time job that was pretty steady. I worked 3 hours a day 5 days a week for 15 hours for a guy who owned his own company. That went on for a bit, and it was perfect for me.

Then, summertime came and he started calling me regularly with "I don't need you to come in tomorrow." But he still had this expectation I would keep my schedule open for when he did need me to come it. Basically I would come in unless he called at the 11th hour with "Don't come in today." He started to do that A LOT. I started having trouble paying even my teeny tiny bills for my very frugal lifestyle.

I put off getting a different job for 3 months hoping this inconsistent hours job would return to the way it was before, but it never did. Eventually I moved on and he was super nasty to me about it saying I had no loyalty, even though the entire time I worked there I had been polite and pleasant and accommodating to whatever schedule and crumbs he was kind enough to toss my way.

So find steady hours if you can. Walmart greeter is lovely if it is steady.

[nouseforausername]

So, pros and cons to accepting the Walmart Greeter job?  How bad would it be to accept, and then decline if I get the grocery shopper job?

The only potential con I see is in that in the rare event you ever try this again, maybe you'll pop up on Walmart's HR system as having flaked on an earlier job offer?

It never "harmed" me, but I did the same thing as a young attorney. It was the Great Recession, and a couple times I had to just take whatever job offer was in front of me regardless of whether I actually intended to work a day just so I'd avoid unemployment.

The first rule of work life is protect yourself at all times. Take what you can, and then politely decline later if you have to!

[uniwelder]

I'd wait until Wednesday for the grocery store interview.  That sounds fun.  I can't imagine standing at the entrance of Walmart for hours at a time, doing absolutely nothing.  And you'd have to drive to Walmart rather than walk to the food store.

Rather than sit on the Walmart application, is there a way to notify them you'll make a decision in a few days?  Just in case the system automatically drops you for not responding after an allowed amount of time.

[NotJen]

I accepted the offer, and now I'm sitting on the background check authorization - I've got 72 hours for that.

Rather than sit on the Walmart application, is there a way to notify them you'll make a decision in a few days?  Just in case the system automatically drops you for not responding after an allowed amount of time.

I don't have a good way to contact a human involved in the hiring process yet, other than calling up the main number for the store.

[Zamboni]

Well it sounds like the "background check" timing will work out. If you end up getting the grocery store job offer, then it will probably happen in the timespan before Walmart officially decides you are hirable . . . and then you'll not be in the Walmart system as a hire and flake at all, because you never were officially hired.

Sometimes the timing works out just right!

[Catbert]

Somehow I don't think Walmart is going to put you on a Don't-Hire list if you flake on them after a week or two.  Now if you ever say the word "unionize" that could get you banned for life.

[NotJen]

Well, now I'm not sure what I want.

I just had my interview for the grocery store job - they said if I don't hear back by NEXT Wednesday, assume I didn't get the job.  So, who knows.

The job is part-time, but I can expect 20-40 hours/week.  The 'up to 40 hours' isn't what I want, but short-term, hopefully wouldn't be an issue.  But the shifts possibly start at 3 or 4am (really? You need to start shopping at 3am for an 8am pickup window?).  Worst-case-scenario, all my shifts would start that early, which would probably remove the option of walking to work.  I am willing to try it, but not excited about it.  Earliest Walmart shift is supposed to be 6am.

[Zamboni]

3am. Wow.

And they wonder why they have a lot of turnover.

That's totally uncivilized unless you are an actual vampire.

[NotJen]

3am. Wow.

And they wonder why they have a lot of turnover.

That's totally uncivilized unless you are an actual vampire.

The manager said exactly that "well, we have a lot of turnover".  YOU THINK?  He was trying to scare me off with the times - so it's possible it might not be that bad.  Though honestly, it would be nice shopping in the store without customers there.

I got a call from Walmart while I was out getting my mail, wanting to schedule orientation for next Wednesday.

[curious_george]

I had a job that started at 3 am once.

I will give you my well thought out advice, based on one year of experience of doing that.

RUN AWAY!

[sailinlight]

I think it depends how old you are. When I was in my early 20s late shifts were great so I could do fun stuff all day when there were no crowds. Now that I'm in my 30s with a family, it wouldn't be worth it unless my family were starving.

[NotJen]

I had a job that started at 3 am once.

I will give you my well thought out advice, based on one year of experience of doing that.

RUN AWAY!

I would let myself quit after a month if I really had to work at 3am more than a few times.

I think it depends how old you are. When I was in my early 20s late shifts were great so I could do fun stuff all day when there were no crowds. Now that I'm in my 30s with a family, it wouldn't be worth it unless my family were starving.

I'm in my 40s - so either too old or not quite old enough to wake up at 3am regularly.  No family to worry about.  It's possible it would be fine, but I'm not super motivated to find out.


I'm moving forward with the Walmart job.  No call from the supermarket yet.

[Chris Pascale]

With either of these jobs, why not ask if thy would be cool with you taking it and kicking out when summer comes, and that you'll be back.

You might find yourself with a cool boss who wants to build the bridge with you.

[NotJen]

With either of these jobs, why not ask if thy would be cool with you taking it and kicking out when summer comes, and that you'll be back.

Because I [probably] don't want to go back!  I'm retired and don't want to work outside of the summer gigs in cool places.  The job now is just to speed up residency.  [Of course, if the Walmart job turns out to be fun, and the managers cool, I will certainly ask if it's possible to come back.]

I've made some connections for volunteer work that I'll be trying to get into when I get back in October.

[MMMarbleheader]

Reminds me of this family guy skit of dick Cheney


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FxFc1RMbko4

[NotJen]

Just officially turned down the supermarket job.

3 days until Walmart orientation!

[Catbert]

Be sure to let us know how it all goes.

[NotJen]

Orientation yesterday was pretty much as expected.  There were a handful of us (5) and we did: introductions; general talk about schedules, attendance policies, benefits; check of I-9 documents (one at a time while we sat around looking at each other); a (quite lame) "safety tour" of the store; and more boring time while we logged into the computer system.

The surprise (to me) was they expected us to be able to come in for 8 hours the next day for computer-based training, and gave us schedules for the next 2.5 weeks that were assigned by the computer, and which did not include anything I had discussed with the person I interviewed with.  So I have 5 days in a row of work, and they scheduled me for 32 hour weeks.  YIKES.  It's actually an okay schedule for next week, but I definitely submitted a form to limit that for future weeks.

I finished my (soul-sucking) computer-based training this morning, and then went out to the front doors for a few hours to learn on the job.  They have radios that no one has taught me how to use, no explanation of what to do or where to go at the beginning or end of a shift, and the first lady I worked with had a handheld device that I also have no idea how to get or use, and I might have to randomly work at the returns desk.  Shrug.  We'll see what happens tomorrow!

Oh, there was one rude person that everyone got upset about, but wasn't even a big deal?  Maybe they just need the entertainment.

Since I don't shop at Walmart, I did not notice the shift from old people greeters to younger people - greeters are part of the asset protection team, and what I've found interesting is that all the APs that I've met so far are women.  Even in the training video.  I wonder if it's coincidence, or if there is some different dynamic between shoplifters and women vs. men?

[flyingaway]

Wow, I need to sharpen my resume and send it to Walmart ASAP.

[NotJen]

Wow, I need to sharpen my resume and send it to Walmart ASAP.

No sharpening required.  What they seem to care about: open availability, will you show up, did you not previously get fired from Walmart for not showing up.


Today was my first full shift (9 hours - 1 hour lunch) - it's a long day.  I was still paired up the whole day, except for brief moments, and then 15 minutes solo at the end of the day. 

The morning was interesting - it started with a guy walking out with a big bag of dog food that he definitely didn't pay for but we couldn't stop (AP got his license plate at least).  Then my coworker spotted a couple trying to steal some tents, and the fact that we were all looking at/for them led them to abandon their cart in the store and walk out with nothing.  And later she stepped in front of a cart with lots of high end stuff and a receipt that didn't match - dude left the cart and kept walking.  They add up the value of the carts saved, and it was about $850 between the two - not bad.

Later in the day a guy almost certainly stole a few grocery items (he left, came back, and left again without enough time to legitimately shop and check out), but my coworker didn't seem to notice, so ?

So far, I don't think this is a job I'll want to continue after 2 months.  The guest service/helpful percentage is pretty low - and trying to understand incomprehensible people is pretty high (basically my worst nightmare).

[Freedomin5]

I don’t think I’d be able to do that job. It would feed too much into my misanthropic tendencies.

And what do you say to people when you catch them trying to steal a cart full of goods?

This is what I would want to say: “Hey, moron! What the F is wrong with you?! Do you have no shred of human decency in you? Were your parents really so bad as to not even teach you that stealing is wrong? Seriously?! You disgust me! You should be ashamed of yourself!”

But I suspect I might end up getting shot or beaten if I scolded them, so I’m pretty sure that’s NOT what you should say.

But I’m really curious, how DO you handle it if you catch someone trying to shoplift?

[curious_george]

Wow, I need to sharpen my resume and send it to Walmart ASAP.

No sharpening required.  What they seem to care about: open availability, will you show up, did you not previously get fired from Walmart for not showing up.


Today was my first full shift (9 hours - 1 hour lunch) - it's a long day.  I was still paired up the whole day, except for brief moments, and then 15 minutes solo at the end of the day. 

The morning was interesting - it started with a guy walking out with a big bag of dog food that he definitely didn't pay for but we couldn't stop (AP got his license plate at least).  Then my coworker spotted a couple trying to steal some tents, and the fact that we were all looking at/for them led them to abandon their cart in the store and walk out with nothing.  And later she stepped in front of a cart with lots of high end stuff and a receipt that didn't match - dude left the cart and kept walking.  They add up the value of the carts saved, and it was about $850 between the two - not bad.

Later in the day a guy almost certainly stole a few grocery items (he left, came back, and left again without enough time to legitimately shop and check out), but my coworker didn't seem to notice, so ?

So far, I don't think this is a job I'll want to continue after 2 months.  The guest service/helpful percentage is pretty low - and trying to understand incomprehensible people is pretty high (basically my worst nightmare).

Lol. They set the bar really high these days for walmart employment.

Somewhat ironically there are some six figure software engineers I work with who have never showed up on time a day in their life who would get fired from wal-mart.

[NotJen]

Somewhat ironically there are some six figure software engineers I work with who have never showed up on time a day in their life who would get fired from wal-mart.

I'm surprised that that software engineers have an actual time when they had to show up?  In my engineering world, hours were very flexible, show up whenever you want within reason - as long as you were on time for meetings, and overlapped some hours with your team for collaboration, etc.  It's a different expectation - I imagine many could adapt to a set schedule if that's what is expected in a job they actually want.

I don’t think I’d be able to do that job. It would feed too much into my misanthropic tendencies.

And what do you say to people when you catch them trying to steal a cart full of goods?

This is what I would want to say: “Hey, moron! What the F is wrong with you?! Do you have no shred of human decency in you? Were your parents really so bad as to not even teach you that stealing is wrong? Seriously?! You disgust me! You should be ashamed of yourself!”

But I suspect I might end up getting shot or beaten if I scolded them, so I’m pretty sure that’s NOT what you should say.

But I’m really curious, how DO you handle it if you catch someone trying to shoplift?

I honestly haven't had any feelings towards the shoppers.  Certainly not anger (I mean, it's not my stuff, I really don't care).  If anything, I feel sorry that they feel the need to steal.  What an awful life.  My concern is whether I'm doing my job correctly.  So far.

As a greeter, you don't accuse anyone, you don't grab carts or people.  You really don't know who is trying to steal and who is acting suspicious for legitimate reasons.  You ask to see the receipt.  If it's a shoplifter, some will keep walking, some will leave the cart with you, some will abandon the cart elsewhere.  If they leave, you notify the AP team, and write the details down - they can take further action.  You can be called in to be a witness.

[Zamboni]

It sounds like the person you work with is quite good at her job. This seems like a situation that would drive a person batty unless they adopted a "don't sweat the small stuff" mentality.

Meanwhile, I want to highly recommend the movie Emily the Criminal to anyone who has access to Netflix.

[Padonak]

Yes, residency.  Originally I just wanted a job to have a little structure when I first got here, but now the residency thing is really important.
 

I don't understand this part. I don't think Walmart will sponsor anyone for a visa to become a greeter. It's more trouble than it's worth. In the US, it's much easier to find a local candidate. Are you looking for a job in the US? Where are you from?

[BicycleB]

But I’m really curious, how DO you handle it if you catch someone trying to shoplift?

I honestly haven't had any feelings towards the shoppers.  Certainly not anger (I mean, it's not my stuff, I really don't care).  If anything, I feel sorry that they feel the need to steal.  What an awful life.  My concern is whether I'm doing my job correctly.  So far.

As a greeter, you don't accuse anyone, you don't grab carts or people.  You really don't know who is trying to steal and who is acting suspicious for legitimate reasons.  You ask to see the receipt.  If it's a shoplifter, some will keep walking, some will leave the cart with you, some will abandon the cart elsewhere.  If they leave, you notify the AP team, and write the details down - they can take further action.  You can be called in to be a witness.

+1 on the "sorry they need to steal". Sometimes that's a real thing, I think. Also, several times at my local Wal-Mart, I have seen incidents where someone just bought the groceries or other items for somebody else. Not sure if the people helped would have shoplifted, but I got the impression staff recognized the situation. There's more going on than just people who walk in and buy what they want.

Re "you ask for a receipt": That's very interesting! I've been in Wal-Marts where if the greeter had time, they seemed to ask all departing customers for the receipt, including oldish square-looking white guy me. When busy, sometimes they waved me on and stopped others, but sometimes nabbed me while others walked. In two other Wal-Marts from a different state, I've never been asked, though occasionally seen others asked. Maybe implementation varies based on local conditions?

At a fancy grocery store in South America with a similar-looking system, they asked me for receipt the first three times I shopped there, but almost never afterwards. Other customers they rarely asked. Maybe they got used to me.

[NotJen]

Yes, residency.  Originally I just wanted a job to have a little structure when I first got here, but now the residency thing is really important.
 

I don't understand this part. I don't think Walmart will sponsor anyone for a visa to become a greeter. It's more trouble than it's worth. In the US, it's much easier to find a local candidate. Are you looking for a job in the US? Where are you from?

State residency.

You either have to live here for 90 days, or have a job, or a business.  I need to get a new driver's license and car tag before I reach the 90 days living here mark.

[NotJen]

Re "you ask for a receipt": That's very interesting! I've been in Wal-Marts where if the greeter had time, they seemed to ask all departing customers for the receipt, including oldish square-looking white guy me. When busy, sometimes they waved me on and stopped others, but sometimes nabbed me while others walked. In two other Wal-Marts from a different state, I've never been asked, though occasionally seen others asked. Maybe implementation varies based on local conditions?

White guys have been the ones stealing, so far.  I don't profile based on looks, just shady activity.  There were a couple of shady white women yesterday, but they ended up paying for their things after taking/trying to take them them outside the register area.

I haven't shopped at a Walmart in years, so I have no idea about policies elsewhere.

We generally don't have to check receipts if everything is bagged up.  But unfortunately, my state just passed a law about bags in stores, and Walmart took out ALL plastic and paper bags.  Other stores are just charging for bags.  So now everyone is leaving with carts full of unbagged items because they forgot bags or bought too much.  Or hands full of shit that they keep dropping.  So that complicates things.

We are supposed to check if we see high-value items.  I have no idea about some high-value items - so that will be a learning curve.

We also check EVERYONE who walks out with items from the store area and not the register area.

[curious_george]

Somewhat ironically there are some six figure software engineers I work with who have never showed up on time a day in their life who would get fired from wal-mart.

I'm surprised that that software engineers have an actual time when they had to show up?  In my engineering world, hours were very flexible, show up whenever you want within reason - as long as you were on time for meetings, and overlapped some hours with your team for collaboration, etc.  It's a different expectation - I imagine many could adapt to a set schedule if that's what is expected in a job they actually want.

Yeah - we were generally expected to show up at 8 am. One engineer was actually fired for showing up at 2 pm and sleeping in his cubicle everyday for a couple years...I think he was mostly fired for consistently sleeping at 3 pm in his cubicle more so than showing up late. The snoring really bothered people.

It is fairly flexible but we do get fired...eventually...if we abuse the flexibility.

I started out working in the service industry so when I started developing software I always found the flexible work schedules kind of wild.

[Freedomin5]

I honestly haven't had any feelings towards the shoppers.  Certainly not anger (I mean, it's not my stuff, I really don't care).  If anything, I feel sorry that they feel the need to steal.  What an awful life.  My concern is whether I'm doing my job correctly.  So far.

As a greeter, you don't accuse anyone, you don't grab carts or people.  You really don't know who is trying to steal and who is acting suspicious for legitimate reasons.  You ask to see the receipt.  If it's a shoplifter, some will keep walking, some will leave the cart with you, some will abandon the cart elsewhere.  If they leave, you notify the AP team, and write the details down - they can take further action.  You can be called in to be a witness.

That’s a good way of thinking of it. It sounds like a relatively low-stress job since you’re not responsible for actively stopping the perpetrators.

[Zamboni]

How long does the lady training you have to work as a greeter / receipt checker before she gets promoted to another spot. AP team, perhaps? Or is cashier or stocker next? Or is there not really a rank order on the jobs?

Of course, Walmart did have a class action lawsuit for not promoting women, so  . . .

[NotJen]

How long does the lady training you have to work as a greeter / receipt checker before she gets promoted to another spot. AP team, perhaps? Or is cashier or stocker next? Or is there not really a rank order on the jobs?

Of course, Walmart did have a class action lawsuit for not promoting women, so  . . .

I've been working with all the greeters who have been on the floor while I've been there - 4 so far.

The one I wrote about that had all the successful saves has been on the job the longest - at Walmart for a few years, and similar stores before that.  She doesn't want a different job - she has some physical issues that come and go, and the greeter role works for her.

I've been working the most with an 18 year old who has been working for 3 months.  She definitely wants to move up into an AP position, but has to work the door for 6 months before being eligible is what she says.  I think she'll move up in the company - she seems motivated, and seems to be pretty good at the job.  I like her because she asked my age - she was trying to decide if I was 18 or 25 - pretty surprised to hear 43.

There's another young woman who has only been around 3 months - seems least motivated, but I've also worked with her the least.  And a guy of indeterminate age who is looking for a promotion, but I don't know to what.

This store seems to have a lot of women in leadership roles - though I haven't met people in wide swaths of the store hierarchy, my managers are female, and most of the team leads I've encountered.



Yesterday I started my shift 'working returns' - which turned out to mean placing returned items on the store shelves.  So that was a nice, chill 45 minutes.  Except I'm using my phone to figure out where everything goes ("there's an app for that!"), while people keep asking me where stuff is, so I have to switch gears and look their stuff up instead, since I know where nothing is located.  My favorite was the woman who asked me where the gift cards and gift wrap were - and I knew because we were conveniently standing in front of the right aisle!

During my shift I stopped: 1 case of Dr. Pepper and 1 bag of dog food that two customers forgot to scan on the bottom of their carts, and 1 sleeping bag that a homeless man didn't pay for.  My coworker was surprised at that interaction - when I told him the bag wasn't on his receipt he said he scanned it, and waited for the team lead to come handle it, then he went back and paid for it.

Oh - I also got a "I hope you die" from a guy because I checked his receipt.  After he stood in a line of people waiting to get it checked?  Whatever.  (The cashiers were having problems with their handhelds, and asked us to check everyone for a while).

[Dicey]

I don't shop at WM a lot, because we don't have one nearby. I go to one very occasionally that's near a Home Depot DH likes. I totally resent being asked to show a receipt. WM is different from Costco or even Sam's. I get being asked at a membership club. At a regular store, is it even legal to require proof of payment to exit the store? I usually smile, say "hi" and breeze on past, with my receipt safely tucked in my wallet for recordkeeping. Maybe I'm The Asshole, but I just don't get it.

[NotJen]

I totally resent being asked to show a receipt. WM is different from Costco or even Sam's. I get being asked at a membership club. At a regular store, is it even legal to require proof of payment to exit the store?

Why do you expect to show a receipt at a membership club?  I don't see how that's different from Walmart.  I get having to show a membership card, but what does a receipt have to do with membership?

Why wouldn't it be legal to prove that you paid before exiting a business?

I don't have an opinion one way or the other on the receipt issue.  I will say that I have stopped printing receipts when at all possible (trying to reduce wasting resources - I used to be a hardcore get-everything-on-paper person, so it's a big change), and I would not be happy trying to show a phone receipt.  (It's also really annoying to look at the phone receipts.)  Good thing I don't plan to start shopping at Walmart.

[Zamboni]

"I hope you die"

Isn't working with the general public lovely?

Take a page from us Southerners and respond with "Bless your heart, sir" or the more modern alternative "Have a blessed day, sir!"

[BicycleB]

"I hope you die"

Isn't working with the general public lovely?

Take a page from us Southerners and respond with "Bless your heart, sir" or the more modern alternative "Have a blessed day, sir!"

Or perhaps a simple, agreeable "I will"   :)

If you are a Game of Thrones fan, "Not today!"

[sailinlight]

I totally resent being asked to show a receipt. WM is different from Costco or even Sam's. I get being asked at a membership club. At a regular store, is it even legal to require proof of payment to exit the store?

Why do you expect to show a receipt at a membership club?  I don't see how that's different from Walmart.  I get having to show a membership card, but what does a receipt have to do with membership?

Why wouldn't it be legal to prove that you paid before exiting a business?

I don't have an opinion one way or the other on the receipt issue.  I will say that I have stopped printing receipts when at all possible (trying to reduce wasting resources - I used to be a hardcore get-everything-on-paper person, so it's a big change), and I would not be happy trying to show a phone receipt.  (It's also really annoying to look at the phone receipts.)  Good thing I don't plan to start shopping at Walmart.

It's a clause of your membership at Costco or Sams Club that you will show your receipt at the exit or you can lose you membership. As a member of the general public, I am not required to show an employee of a store a piece of paper they issued me as proof I'm not stealing from them.

[Zamboni]

^I feel like there are bigger worries in the world than this.

If I am leaving a retail establishment with goods from their store, then it seems reasonable to me that they have a system in place to be sure I am not taking their property illegally. Their store is private property, it is not a public space, and so they get to have some reasonable rules about what happens on their private property. If you don't like their reasonable rules, then you can feel welcome to shop elsewhere. Especially given the extremely high rate of theft some stores experience, which we ALL pay for through higher prices, I am fine with having someone check my little receipts.

You should be way more worried about the explosion of use of facial recognition technology by private companies and the govt. And if you don't believe me on that, ask anyone who lives in China right now exactly how extreme that can go.

Edited to add: please don't derail NotJen's thread with any absurd debate about search and seizure or how racist I am because I made a factual statement about facial recognition controls in China.

[eyesonthehorizon]

"I hope you die"

Isn't working with the general public lovely?

Take a page from us Southerners and respond with "Bless your heart, sir" or the more modern alternative "Have a blessed day, sir!"

Or perhaps a simple, agreeable "I will"   :)

If you are a Game of Thrones fan, "Not today!"

Wonder if you could get away with a sunny "I will, so we'll have that in common!"

[NotJen]

"I hope you die"

Isn't working with the general public lovely?

Take a page from us Southerners and respond with "Bless your heart, sir" or the more modern alternative "Have a blessed day, sir!"

Or perhaps a simple, agreeable "I will"   :)

If you are a Game of Thrones fan, "Not today!"

Wonder if you could get away with a sunny "I will, so we'll have that in common!"

It takes my brain too long to process to say something good.  I smiled and said "Have a nice day" in the moment, but then thought I should have said - "We all will someday!"  or "Me too!".

It's a clause of your membership at Costco or Sams Club that you will show your receipt at the exit or you can lose you membership.

That's cool - glad members know what to expect there.

As a member of the general public, I am not required to show an employee of a store a piece of paper they issued me as proof I'm not stealing from them.

Like Zamboni said, it's a private business on private property, so they can do what they want for fraud prevention, and you are welcome not to shop there if you don't like it.



I will say that if you don't show your receipt when requested, you are making that employee's day worse.

[stoaX]

I bet it will give you stories to tell, and we like your stories.

Yes!  And we'd love to hear them!

[BicycleB]

"I hope you die"

Isn't working with the general public lovely?

Take a page from us Southerners and respond with "Bless your heart, sir" or the more modern alternative "Have a blessed day, sir!"

Or perhaps a simple, agreeable "I will"   :)

If you are a Game of Thrones fan, "Not today!"

Wonder if you could get away with a sunny "I will, so we'll have that in common!"

It takes my brain too long to process to say something good.  I smiled and said "Have a nice day" in the moment, but then thought I should have said - "We all will someday!"  or "Me too!".

I wouldn't have thought of it on the spot either!! It's a lot easier behind a keyboard, at leisure.

[NotJen]

Whew.

I'm in the middle of a much needed 3 days off from work.  Wasn't feeling very "retired" when I worked 7 out of 8 days off the bat.  But I do have in my hand right now the most important thing - a paystub showing gainful employment in this state.

I spent the last 2 days of the week trying to find someone to talk about my schedule with - I very much did not want to work the 32 hours I was already scheduled for.  I assumed that the person to talk to was my manager, who was the one who had to sign off on my availability request and days off request.  When she works, and how to find her - no idea.  But she finally walked by when I was working - NOPE - she has nothing to do with the schedule.  How. is. that. possible.  The woman I need to talk to is the one I "interviewed" with, who I have not seen in the store since I started working.  Not once.  Cool.  Finally find out she's working during my Sunday shift, so I'll talk to her then.

But!

Today, I went online to request a day off to make sure I don't get scheduled for it in the future (appointment to get my driver's license - yippee!).  Just for the heck of it, I put in requests for random days off on my current schedule to get the weeks down to 24 hours and it worked!  Shifts removed from my schedule.  Without talking to anyone.  I wanted to talk to someone in case it was better to remove a certain day over another, but do. not. care. anymore.

I've been working on my own for several shifts now.  I think I'm doing fine.  But damn, it's boring.  We get breaks every 2 hours (15 min paid break, 1 hr unpaid lunch, 15 min paid break), but each block lasts FOREVER.  The 1-10pm shifts aren't that bad, but the problem is that I can't help but leave late because I have to wait for someone to come lock the door before I can go - 15 minutes the other day.  I get irrationally irritated by leaving late, even though I am getting paid because I'm still clocked in.  But I turn into a pumpkin at my designated shift end.  Curious to see if I like the 6am-3pm shifts I've got later in the month.

I was going to praise all my coworkers for showing up on time and seeming to work as scheduled, but now people have started randomly leaving early and coming in late.  But it's really hard to tell because I have no insight into anyone else's schedule.

What I decided, during my last lonely evening shift, was that retail is not for me.  I don't care about the stuff, or people's ability to buy it.  I get that I'm working the armpit job of Walmart - I tried to think of a different position in the store that would be better, but I don't think there are any.  At least it's a good observation for the future - stick with travel/tourism, forget the retail, even if it's in a cool place.

We'll see if these 24 hour weeks feel better.  Otherwise, I might not be able to convince myself to hold on for the 8 weeks I have left.