What Raises?

Well, April came and April went and there was no sign of the raises promised at review time. And if that were not enough to make me start looking for employment elsewhere, my Friday at work tipped the scales.

When I came to work on second shift on Friday, I found that the other asst. mgr. had not completed half of her assigned work. So I did her half, plus my regular second shift duties, plus I did half of the daily ordering which normally takes place on third shift. I had to do the ordering because there would not have been an orderer on that shift.

Then 10 minute into third shift one of the employees had not arrived. So I got to pull a double-shift.

Anyone have any openings in Martinsburg?

Show me the Money!

A couple of months ago, everyone at work got their annual review. At the time, we were told to expect our raises in April. Paychecks come out this Friday and if there is to be a raise it better be on that paycheck. If it isn't, I know an awful lot of employees will be very unhappy. Anyone know of any job openings in Berkeley or Jefferson County WV for retail management or IT? If so, let me know...

Yessssss!

A couple of weeks ago I passed my Certification test at work. I am now a Certified Assistant Store Manager. All I can say is, it's about time! There is no reason why I shouldn't have taken the test 9 months ago! But well, onward and upward.

The kids are doing pretty well in school. I can't complain too much.

Job Fun

During the last week of July, my Store Manager and her boss, stood on the sales floor and lied to me. The Store Manager knew she was lying, but her boss did not know he was lying. She had no intention of getting me the training and certification she was promising. She was only saying it so she would not get in trouble with her boss.

I was promised that I would get training and certification by the end of August. I have yet to receive the training, and without the training there will be no certification. On September 1st, I will start looking for another job. Hopefully I will find one where my boss doesn't lie so blatantly.

Wish me luck!

All Work and No Pay...

What would you do if 2 of your last 3 paychecks was short? Quit? I can't. I work for a national convenience store chain (how many of them are there?). And I am angry. The fault is not at the corporate office. The fault is at my store. There are two people trained to do payroll at the store and I am not one of them. And for "whatever reason" payroll is not being done properly.

How do you get and keep good employees? You pay them correctly and on time! There is one co-worker who has been working at our store for a month. She got a partial paycheck overnighted to the store yesterday. This paycheck covered only one weeks worth of pay.

In a former job I managed a retail store. In all my years there we never once had an issue about the payroll. That is because I made sure everyone who was doing payroll was trained on how to do it properly, and that it was done on time. I was able to keep good employees that way.

You don't mess with people's paychecks!!!

I will be making a call later today. I will be going up the corporate foodchain on this one to be sure!

Greetings, again.

The last couple of weeks are a blur. I have been splitting my time at work between 1st and 3rd shifts. My body doesn't know what is going on. And yesterday I worked 14 hours. So much for my day off. At least I get overtime and shift differential.

On a cheerier note, my children were both in the spring music program at school. They both sang well and behaved. I am very proud of both of them.

They are also participating in the "Reading Club" at school. Basically the kids are being bribed to read by offering stickers and patches. And again, I am very proud of my children. They not only want to go to reading club, they can't wait to take the little tests after reading the books.

The Check is in the Mail?

Life goes on...

I am missing money from my paycheck. I got my pay stub last week and found that there were 2 days of vacation pay missing. I let my manager know about it immediately. What has happened since. Your guess is as good as mine. This gets me angry, because I used to manage a store. I NEVER once had a problem with payroll, mine or anyone working for me. You can't keep good people if you are constantly messing up the payroll.

Maybe I should start looking for a new job again.

The Latest

Hello again! I has been a while. So much stuff happening around here.

My children are doing great in school. They love learning! My youngest got an award for the most improvement for the 2nd 9 weeks of school. His first nine weeks were a little rough. But once he figured out that if he behaves school is fun, he settled right in.

My daughter's reading skills have jumped exponentially. At the beginning of the year, she could barely read, and this past week she read a book on a fourth grade level and only needed help with one word!

My job is just that right now - a job. I just found out they shorted me on my latest paycheck. Grrr! I should have had a promotion and a raise by now, but my manager keeps putting off the training I need to get to the next level. I keep asking when I can get the training, and I get the big brush off each time. "When I can get it scheduled." "I can't right now, we are short-handed."

Well if you can't get my paycheck right and you can't get me the training I need to be even more effective, then maybe you will be even more short-handed in the future.

I think I will start a new jobsearch shortly. I think I have given this one enough time.


On another front, I have taken off another 20 pounds since last May. I now am at my lowest weight in about 15 years! I feel better (although I think more sleep is helping that too) than I have in ages.

Well enough about me, how about you? Your comments and questions are always welcome here.

A Day Off

Ah, once again I post. In the past few weeks work has gotten interesting. I have taken 1 and a half classed I need to be "certified" as an assistant manager. I have only one or two more tests.

Today is my first day off in eight loooonnnng days. And of course I had to go in and get some information for the class I go to on Friday.

Tomorrow is also a day off for me. And I will be very busy! I will be chaperoning for my daughter's field trip. They are going to see a play. Plus tomorrow night is the business meeting at church which was postponed from last week because of snow. The meeting should be interesting. One of the deacons is resigning, reportedly due to health problems. And the pastor announced his resignation effective at the end of the year on Sunday (while I was working). So it should be interesting to see who shows up for the meeting and who will be appointed to the search committee for a new pastor.

I haven't been too involved with this church yet to know who is on what side and what agendas each side has. I like this church and I like the people in it. I just hope there can be a solution found before it completely destroys this church. If I can be an instrument of peace, then that will be the Lord's will.

more later

Today

It is amazing what a month and a half, a visit with a teacher and love will do for the behavior of a 5 year old kindergartener. He is listening in class and his behavior both at school and at home have improved dramatically.

On another front, I have passed 6 months without being certified. The fault is their's. They canceled both classes I need because they do not hold the classes for less than 5 people. I have asked numerous times when they will hold the class again, but I keep getting the run around. I think the real reason is that they don't want to pay me more.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving here in the US. We are not traveling this year because I do not know if I work this weekend. So... we are doing the meal here at home with just the kids. It won't be the first time I've cooked on Thanksgiving.

Well, hopefully it won't be another month and a half before I update this thing again...

Things are afoot at the Circle K

(Not the real name of the convenience store where I work.)

This past week was just lovely. Only one of my days did not change. It was a day off. Everything else last week was different. Either I change my other day off to cover for a fellow employee who could not work, or other employees showed up late or did not come in. It is really hard to get store business done when you are stuck on a register.

The cause of the "fun", at least in my estimation, is that the store is going from corporate to franchise and the manager thinks they will not be kept on by the franchise owner. At least 3 of the workers have told me they will not work for the new owner. And who knows who, if anyone, the new owner will keep on.

Not a good atmosphere to work in. I went through a period in my old job which was very similar. About half the people quit during a 3 month period. And it was a huge strain on those of us left.

I doubt that the corporation or the new owner are aware of this. And I doubt that they care as they look at the payrate and feel they can fill the positions with anyone. The problem is that they should care because all the worker that have told me they will quit are the most experience/best worker in the store. What the new owner will have left are the worst workers (and myself). The new owner will not have anyone trained in all facets of management.

Maybe I should start looking now?

Comments?

Am I Crazy or What?

Yes, I did it. I created another blog. Why did I do it when I barely keep the two I already have updated? Well, I guess I wanted to have a separate place to put political ramblings. That way people who come here, (if they come here) can not be bothered by political ranting.

The past couple of weeks have been busy ones. We are trying to integrate my wife's grandmother's furniture into our home. As well as trying to fit my wife's piano in somewhere. It has not helped that she has been sick the last couple of weeks. Right now we are in mid-move and I have two twin mattresses and box springs in my end of the closet. That makes it very fun to try and get dressed.

The kids are doing well in school. Our daughter is flourishing in first grade, while our son continues to adjust to the new routine and rules of kindergarten.

Work is interesting. Several people have been warned for being habitually late. This does not seem like it will work as the person doing the warning is habitually late. I continue to pass tests and learn new skills, so my "career path" continues to look bright. I just wish the pay was better.

Busy Time

The last couple of months have been busy for me. Work has been constant learning and lifting. I weigh less now than I have in about 15 years. Both my kids are now in school.



I have worked at a major convenience store since the beginning of June. Not my first, second or 85th choice of employer, but it pays the mortgage, barely. I like the work, and the people - both on staff and the customers.



I am down to about 165 lbs. now. I attribute it to all the lifting I am doing at work. I haven't weighed this little since I ran my second marathon. Anyone interested in losing weight, send me a comment or an email, I will be glad to help.



I am getting old. Both of my children are now in school. My youngest got on the bus for kindergarten today. I know he will do well even though he was a bit nervous today. Once he gets the routine down, he will be fine.