Sunday, I reached a breaking point as I usually do when it comes to matters like these. This last weekend we had been understaffed during the bulk of it where we were just barely getting by each day, and on Sunday it was not entirely clear whether or not we’d have a closer in the department. Being a responsible associate, I decided to take matters in my own hands. There is a very limited stock of people in that grocery store who has the knowledge of how to appropriately run the dairy department I work in. That knowledge is the product of experience, it is not something you can merely be shown and pick up immediately, there are too many nuances that must be learned by actually performing them daily. During the facing hour, I took a telezon (the hand-held scanning computers we use) with me as I faced the department. ANY item that was empty or that had the capability of fitting a full case I created a pick for. This way, if we did have a closer, they wouldn’t have to worry about creating and catching picks in the system all night in addition to having to stock milk and eggs hourly. If we didn’t have a closer, then I could leave a note telling whoever was given the task of filling in to run the carts with the picks upon them since they’d go out. At the end of our facing at about 3:30 there were seventy-three picks. I went to the dairy department to pull them. Seventy-three picks may seem like a lot to pull, but it actually isn’t. It can be done in about ten minutes provided the telezon does not freeze up. There were already several people from grocery pulling them in my back room and one zone manager who was not a happy camper. I smiled as she complained about the picks, and said you’re welcome. This was the start of a very long argument as we finished up the job. I would like to point out that despite the fact she and I argued, she had some very good points and what she revealed to me was rather enlightening to noticing the larger problem, which allowed me to see that what we associates were dealing with also included the zone managers. Out of my respect for her, who has always worked very hard and has always been polite to everyone, I allowed her to hear my long series of complaints regarding the current strategies our store was implementing.
“Why did you create so many picks?! They have to be out of the system at two!” she said freaked out.
I calmly replied, “I work this department. I was out there, I saw the holes. They needed to be filled; this system doesn’t generate them fast enough. While we’re out there zoning, we have to see every product that we have missing, it gives us a chance to get a very good look at what we need. Why not take advantage of that time and create a list of everything that’s needed and kill two birds with one stone?”
“WE CAN’T DO THAT!”
“I just did. Besides what’s this about the picks having to be done by 2? You realize that that rule contradicts itself, between 3 and 4 we’re on constant watch for picks the system generates. You can’t tell me that management expects there not to be a single pick between those times when we all have to catch them daily.”
“No you don’t understand; I have to be over on the GM (general merchandise) side, as do all these ICS (inventory control specialist) people so we can take care of a truck on that side. Management won’t let us over there until all the picks are cleared on THIS side of the store.”
I was at a loss for words in my surprise at her honesty and my increasing disgust with management.
Through gritted teeth I responded, “You mean to tell me, that all the responsibility of the associates, the ones who are running the department are voided and transferred over to you guys? That’s not exactly what I would call fair. Not for you zone managers or for us. Since when did management decide that all the associates are ineffective incompetents who don’t know how to work their own departments?”
It would seem at this point we each found common ground.
She sighed in the same contempt that I seemed to have for the same problem, “You should see how hard it is for me to get help at times like this. This system is designed to keep guys like you from running around like a chicken with their heads cut off, and don’t try to argue you don’t do that Eric. I’ve watched you work, you run yourself ragged.”
“I at least have a method to my madness, and it works better than any policy management has ever enforced. As for me being overworked, if that’s the problem, then they should hire more help at the associate level. The associates are smarter than they’re given credit for; all they need is a chance to prove it.”
As we neared the end of the list after less than five minutes later, I smirked and asked her the thought that had been bubbling in my mind for the past few weeks, “B, Don’t you just love how effectively this system’s taken away everyone’s voice?”
Wally World’s well more than half the reason I’m so determined to get my bachelor’s degree, just so I can leave this type of situation. No one should be reduced to a level where they have to question their own value in the eyes of their managers. The bond between manager and associate should be something of an honor. A manager should EARN the respect an associate has for them. As it stands, the managers are doing everything in their power to lose anything to respect them for, and unfortunately those who do go against the system in place, those who do talk back about the problems, are shot down by those who give their silent consent.
It is a sickening environment.
But even in the darkest of times there are those among those that I work with who radiate in such a way that the days do not seem quite as dark as they could be. It is thanks to people like them that I still stand up and fight against policies like the ones I’ve described. These are my friends, they are on my friends list, and for what it’s worth, they’d make better managers than practically every single one of the ones currently in power. I would list their names, but as management has already warned during one of their store meetings, you can be fired for what’s posted upon your facebook pages. In the off chance that one of the managers should read this and attempt to use it against me, I will not give them any ammunition to drag others into it.
As for myself, I am not afraid.
An integral part of the evolution of a company is the differences of opinion amongst those working inside it. If you’re going to be successful, you must tolerate criticism.
I am relatively insignificant in the larger scheme of things. I’m just an associate who refuses to let his voice go unheard. Perhaps I have inspired my coworkers who might be reading this to realize that I think they’re worth more than what the company is suggesting they’re worth. Perhaps, I have even inspired others (customers) who are not Wally World employees to see how the other half lives.
I have taken the time in this entry to ensure that every complaint that I have has been backed up by facts, and I have made sure not to specify any names so as not to shift all the blame upon an individual. I gave respect where respect was due.
And it was because I respect my employer that I had the need to point out where they were failing not only me as their worker or their employees, but themselves.
Cheers,
Eric Summers
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