Today I handed in my resignation for my retail job which has taken up almost every second weekend for the last two years, whilst I pretended to go to Uni during the week.
The assistant manager and another full-timer were the only two working the Thursday late-night shopping shift, and I purposely went in so that they were the first I told, since they are the two I respect the most out of the staff of 6 (was 8, until two other casuals left for various reasons), and they also worked the same weekend as me so I knew them quite well.
I am the last of the casuals who served under the previous manager (A fantastic manager, tough but fair and knew the stock backwards), and upon the others leaving, I am the last casual who has worked there for more than a week.
The assistant manager was caught off guard by me wanting to quit; she knew I was unhappy with the current manager for several reasons, but was not expecting me to leave so soon, especially given the staff-shortage that is already occurring.
I was unhappy with the job for a couple of reasons:
- Despite me being a casual, I was told in no uncertain terms there would be no negotiations of the hours I would work (I'm quite certain this is illegal - at least in Australia), this annoyed me since the particular Saturday I wanted off happened to be a small close family gathering, the first of its kind since our Dad's funeral. This was not a good enough reason, however.
- Any new casual staff we hired were checked with a fine-tooth comb, references called, and debated over for weeks by the manager before letting them on the sales floor, only to have them leave in less than 3 months. Our average staff turnover of 3 years was reduced to three months.
- Hourly sales figures were calculated on a monthly basis; My name and (lower than target) results were highlighted, without regard to the hours I spent on store maintenance (installing electrical fittings, repairing computers, printing off price tickets which anyone else would have taken twice the time to do). These hours of course lowered my average and provided an inaccurate indication of my work. I was singled out in 'team meetings' for this reason, despite my complaints.
- The manager spent more time worrying about her profit margin than running the store. Stock was ordered after the demand had subsided, customers were lied to about delivery dates and product capabilities.
So I'm about ready to leave, and spend more time studying and maybe a little golf. They don't want me to leave because I'm the last experienced casual left. But if I can't negotiate my hours, I'm not sticking around.
The assistant manager will ring the area manager and try to get some heads knocked together to sort out the mess the store is in. If they're willing to let me take a day off every so often, I'll stick around a little longer, at least till they get someone trained properly.