Tuesday, February 20, 2007

I'm not some dumb high school kid

Yesterday I found out just how desperate my Timmies is for employees.

I woke up Saturday morning feeling like complete shit, and since I now work in the food industry, I figured going to work while sick would be a bad idea. So I called in sick, which I hardly remember doing except for the fact that the supervisor was pissed off at me b/c I called 30 min prior to my shift start, as opposed to 2 hours prior. Right, because it would have been easier finding someone to replace me at 6am on a Saturday morning as opposed to 7:30.

On Sunday night, when I stop by the store to get my hours for the next week, I find out that b/c I called in sick, I lose all my shift premiums for 2 weeks. (Now, I 'm not sure if I explained this shift premium thing, but we get an extra $2-3/hr shift premium. This can be lost in a variety of ways, including being late, not finishing your assigned chores, and apparently calling in sick)

I call my boss on Moday and ask him about this, and yes, it is true.
(Upon hearing this from my boss)
Chris: And you understand that I was actually sick?
Him: Yes, but that is our policy. Didn't I tell you when I was hired how this worked? And the story of how I worked for for 19 years, and never took a single sick day?
C: Yes, you did. Well then I may as well just drop off my uniform tonight because I don't agree with that policy. It is unfair, and I'm not willing to sacrifice a substantial portion of my wage. In today's market I can walk down the street and be making just as much, and not have to put up with this. I enjoy working here, but not if I have to deal with stuff like this.
H: I know people get sick sometimes, and that you are working 2 jobs, and you had us cut back your shifts because it was too much for you to handle (i asked last week to work only 2 evenings, and a full day on saturday, instead of 3 evenings, plus all day saturday, which puts me at 20 hours a week. when i was hired i said 2-3 nights a week, weekends, about 20 hours a week)
H: (some bullshit about how these are the policies and are necessary) Well then since you are quitting without notice, all of your paid breaks and shift premiums will be removed and you won't be paid for them.
C: You aren't allowed to do that. I'll go to the labour board.
H: What is it that you don't agree with? This conversation leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. We even gave you a dollar an hour raise last week because we thought so highly about you. And now you are pulling this.
C: The policy is unfair. Your default attitude towards your employee's is one of blatant distrust.
H: I'll give you your premiums back, but this is your only chance. If this happens again, you lose them. We thought so highly of you. This conversation leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.
C: (thinking to my self... fine, I'll just quit at that point.) Alright, I'll see you at 4:30.

Their managerial style is indicative of the mainly teenage employees, which is fine, it works for them. But when you have ppl that come in to work that don't fit into that normal category of employees, you have to do something different, or risk loosing the more mature staff.

We'll see how this week goes. I'll crunch some numbers, go over my budget, and see what I come up with. Now that my bonuses are starting to take effect, I make a fairly decent wage. And with Mama Bean contributing to bring down our debt, it makes life a little easier.

6 weeks until moving day!

1 comment:

Tamara said...

Hey Chris, sorry to read about your troubles at Timmie's. If you decide you don't want to stay there, I'd glady put in a word for you at the Starbucks in Deerfoot Meadows (Mama Bean said that's the area of the Timmie's you're at). I know they probably don't start you as high as Timmie's (starting wage is $9/hr), but I've found they are pretty flexible with schedules (as I also work a f/t job) and you definitely get perks like full health benefits at 20 hrs/week and the free pound of coffee. Just a thought, let me know. One of the shift supervisors at Deerfoot Meadows helped train me at my location and he's a great guy, so I could find out if they are looking. There's also a SB hiring fair this Thursday...