I've been thrown under the bus for 2.5 years now. My first manager finally gave me a "meets expectations" PED and two months later was demoted for being a bad manager and the new manager deliver my YEARLY PED saying I was again on probation for performance. Wow, in two months I went down hill again?? All my dept heads and associates know what is going on and I almost wish they would just fire me so I can appeal an unemployment claim for all the hostile things they have done to me for no reason.
I work my butt off, go above and beyond to help everyone in the store (which apparantely is frowned upon).Everytime I help someone I am called into the office and told not to do that and that it's my job to MAKE them do it themselves.
If you knew a co-manager was being thrown under the bus by doing a good job, would you testify at an unemployment appeal? Just wondered.
i would if they helped me personally before otherwise i cant go off of others heresay. as for you meets expectations on a piece of paper. they give low scores to make you want to be better even though you work 110 percent. also its to cheat you out of any raises or bonuses.
I've been thrown under the bus for 2.5 years now. My first manager finally gave me a "meets expectations" PED and two months later was demoted for being a bad manager and the new manager deliver my YEARLY PED saying I was again on probation for performance. Wow, in two months I went down hill again?? All my dept heads and associates know what is going on and I almost wish they would just fire me so I can appeal an unemployment claim for all the hostile things they have done to me for no reason.
I work my butt off, go above and beyond to help everyone in the store (which apparantely is frowned upon).Everytime I help someone I am called into the office and told not to do that and that it's my job to MAKE them do it themselves.
If you knew a co-manager was being thrown under the bus by doing a good job, would you testify at an unemployment appeal? Just wondered.
I'm assuming the context of this is that you are helping them by working stock or something to that effect. If you are a member of management, my advice would be to stop it immediately.
It's unfortunate, because I know your heart is likely in the right place, but by helping employees stock shelves you are taking away hours from union employees and opening yourself up to a grievance for lost time.
I personally don't care. If you were a co-manager and you offered to come back and help, I would not be offended, but depending on how backstabbing your store is, you might want to change your approach and try to exhaust other options first. I'd look into bringing people from the front end back to help if business dies down enough.
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The management at the store I work at have always been freindly and straight-forward with me and have helped on the front-end more times than I would care to count. I sure would with no doubt back them up.
Drew, I figured that, and I understand the concept, however, when the other co-manager sits in the back room and texts on his cell phone during conference calls and basically is joined at the hip to our female manager like a "pet". In the meantime I'm getting hauled into the office for things like "how come you didn't sign the bathroom log???".. I'm like huh? I'm the ONLY one who DOES!! geesh
And it certainly doesn't encourage me to work any harder, it just makes me feel unappreciated and taken advantage of. It's downright hostile. They sure spent alot of money training me and all that green leadership crap, and then they don't even do any of it. It shows a complete lack of integrity to me and to the people who work for me.
I am encouraged, however, that I will get back up if needed, because it's not just about helping them when they need it, it's about getting them what they need to do their jobs better, listening to their ideas, letting them try new things and complimenting about at least one thing everyday. And you're right, it certainly is a way not to have to pay me the raise I deserve. It practically verges on sex discrimination because both of the female managers that were at my store treated female dept heads like dogs, but the lazy guy co-managers could do no wrong. It's so blantant, even associates have commented to me about it.
thanks for listening cus I'm getting a little tired of having to write down and justify and defend every thing I do, when it's quite obvious to everyone in the store that I do a great job and really care about them.
p.s. how do you please people who give you illogical arguments??? i.e. District manager tells you to make people stay until the job is done and the store is ready for the morning, but noone is allowed overtime and your percent effective goes in the toilet?
if i was asked to testify at an unemployment appeal, i would. i can not tel you what way i would go - it just depends on the circumstances.
recently, i was out working my department doing my thing and got paged. i was asked to go into the store manager's office. i'm thinking "great! now what?" turns out the HR was on the phone with an unemployment appeal. i guess the employee mentioned my name so the HR was having me wait in the wings just in case. It had to do with taste testing food in the deli. Anyway, I never was asked to talk. But if I did I have my opinion.
But I digress. As far as you are concerned, it sounds like just a bad store manager hanging his hat by the front door of your store for the time being. What can you do huh? Go ask him what expectations he has for you. Then you either do them or dont.
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I am no longer part of the oppressed, evil workforce of Kroger! Can you say "Hallelujah"
We are a million dollar store, there is no such thing as "slowing down". We have seven regular lanes, 3 express lanes and 6 uscan robots and today 2 co-managers, the CSM AND the store manager were in check lanes and we had 3 baggers because the front end is not given enough hours to man the front end. We had six lanes open and all three express lanes.
Even if you manned every checklane with a bagger, as soon as two of them go out to load someone's groceries, it's all over.
I always meet all expectations, the problem is, as soon as I do, they create new ones that didn't exist before and I was supposed to "magically" know what they were. LOL
I always meet all expectations, the problem is, as soon as I do, they create new ones that didn't exist before and I was supposed to "magically" know what they were. LOL
Yep, I hate to state the obvious, but you definitely got issues there. Which is damned unfortunate, because managers like you are worth their weight in gold!
I have to agree with Drew on this one; if being a slave driver is what your superiors want, then it really comes down to what it is YOU want. From what you describe, tho, the problems might have increased dramatically....Any chance you can have a sit-down with the store and district managers?
My store manager is the one who is hostile and trying to find "anything" to write down that I didn't do right. She is very close friends with the HR guy.. and as far as having a sit down with the district manager? I was instructed by my store manager that I am not ALLOWED to email anyone other than a coordinator. Pretty much she has tied my hands from doing anything, up to and including MY JOB. I know this may sound stupid to some of you, but single, un-married female managers seem to have an ISSUE with other female co-managers, almost like being the "male chauvinist pig" thing from the 70's. They will do anything to make sure you fail, because they don't want any other female to look good except them. They only play patty cake with the males in the store, as incompetent as they may be. Anyway, my CSM has been listening in the breakroom and has told me point blank that people have and do discuss how I'm being treated and many of them would back me up "on the record". That really makes me feel good, because, my job as a manager has always been to HELP them. My priorities are #1, customer first, #2 associates ARE my internal customers and how they are treated directly affects the #1 priority, #3 my store manager #4 coordinators. Problem is, coordinators don't realize where they SHOULD be on the food chain which is number FOUR! (smile)
And just to add a little rant of my own about all these CONTESTS they have for every damn thing, every period.... (sigh). ... I don't need a $25.00 gift card to want to be the best. And I don't mind dept. heads getting gift cards for winning a great display contest etc... but the co-manager over those departments NEVER gets acknowledged or gets a gift card for anything. p.s. I could give a crap about bonuses, although, the last bonus I got I gave part of it to my CSM because she was truly dedicated and helped her front end give 100%. I didn't feel right that she didn't get anything for having such great scores when I know she is the one who made them happen.
Much of what you describe sounds very familiar to me, from what I saw going through the salaried management training program for Wal-Mart. ....Yikes, if only the average person could see what goes on behind Oz' curtain, right? lol~
Referring to the 'cati-ness' issues? OH yes, I still see these things happening in my store, on the so-called professional level. Female assistants who will undercut their peers by hiding the store manager's notes; over riding time off requests and diciplinary actions for hourly associates, out right telling LIES to co managers and the store manager, in the other assistant's absence. Doing this over the radio, for God's sake...!
Your ethics are rock solid, and there has to be a place where they can work to your advantage.....If things continue to go south, I would quietly document everything and, if the need comes, seek legal advice. What you describe, as you put it "hands tied", definitely sounds like a no-win situation.
Well, one of the things I do best is document, take notes and print off emails ... lol
I don't document things to get people in trouble, I document things to prove that I have done what I said I was going to do and prove it. Also to prove I get no response and/or a very hostile one.
The two MALE co-managers at my store were schedule to BOTH close together Saturday night so that new guy could get "mentored" about changing over displays and then they were both schedule to OPEN today and the store still looked pretty rough. I have never been offered that sort of schedule in order to gain knowledge and insight into managing grocery/dgm. I'm just ignored. It's so blantant so I keep notes on a daily basis on my computer.
frankly, I hope they just want to fire me on Wednesday so I can appeal an unemployment claim and get my life back.......... but I've never, ever been fired so it's just causing me so much stress. that I don't deserve. thanks for listening
PLEASE, by all means, do NOT let this get the better of you! I'm currently dealing with a similar issue, so I know your frustration and anxiety. Our jobs do not define us, tho----Thank God for that, lol!
Hang in there. You are obviously intelligent and well-motivated...You'll come through all this on top~
Yes, sorry, I just posted to that one....Sounds like you're right on the money with that! It'd be interesting to see the fall out if the lid got blown off that thing~
A final note about good managers------I don't want to come off like I'm blowing up this thread--- .....
I've lost count how many good assistants and even co managers I've seen get just absolutely dumped on. I have two friends who, every time there's a crap job, like stuff as low as shoveling out the muck from the grocery dumpster, it falls on them. These are salaried managers. Or, anytime another store in the district needs, say, an over night assistant----yep, 'sorry guys, we know you have families...but count on not seein' 'm for a few weeks'.
Meanwhile, there are equally two rotten, just horrible managers who get away with MURDER. Of course, these two have associates in the office practically every other day, writing them up. I.e.,Saving pay roll.
I feel your pain......... it's a horrible to thing to watch, especially after all the GREEN LEADERSHIP meetings.... where they talk about how things should be done.. and they do the exact opposite. What a crappy way to run company.
so you don't work for Kroger anymore? Maybe we can chat tomorrow. You have some great advice and I really thank you for replying. It really does help to know that I'm not just over-thinking things......... but I really don't wanna think about Kroger every minute of everyday...........that's no way to live.. and I feel so sorry for the associates who have to endure this crap with no voice and no back up.
I'm actually a not-so happy member of the Wal-Mart (dysfunctional) family.......There's been some pretty interesting insights to the Kroger machine on here! And I agree: our jobs need not occupy everything about us. . . .
