[uzziah]

i worked for ups helping deliver packages; we have to move so fast at the holidays that we had to basically step on and climb over packages to get them going, and in the sorting warehouse it's much worse

 

[Ingo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by uzziah /img/forum/go_quote.gif i worked for ups helping deliver packages; we have to move so fast at the holidays that we had to basically step on and climb over packages to get them going, and in the sorting warehouse it's much worse

I went to the "tour" at UPS and then did a couple interviews. The loaders/unloaders work extremely hard and I wouldn't fault a guy for accidentally stepping on a package when loading/unloading a truck after what I saw.

I honestly have nothing bad to say about my workplace (Costco Wholesale). Basically, everything is run by the book and there's not much room to cheat. The first thing you learn at Costco is that the members are ALWAYS right.
Some examples:

Costco Member Service: "You think those grapes are too sweet, but you ate 2/3 of them?"

Member: "Yes, well, I only realized it after I'd ate 2/3 of them."

Costco Member Service: "Ok then, here's your refund. Have a nice day!

"

___________________________________

Tire Shop: "So, you want your money back because after 25,000 miles your don't like the ride of your tires?"

Member: "That is correct sir."

Tire Shop: "Ok then, we can apply the credit to a new set of tires or we can send you inside for a refund."

Member: "I'll take the cash, why don't you just put these tires I got at the dump on for me"

If you don't have a Costco membership and there's a Costco within 150 miles of you; Run, don't walk, and get yourself one. Not only do they treat the members well, their employees are also treated with the same level of graciousness.

 

[flamerz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lumanogin /img/forum/go_quote.gif You don't want to know about fried foods or anything "cooked" behind the service deli either, or how long some of the fresh salad items have been behind the glass.

Please tell. I often buy deli food from QFC, which can't be too different.

 

[MD1032]

I work at Office Depot and it's pretty much run by the book. Last year, though, I worked with this one kid who would steal stuff. He would check the quantities for candy, etc, and if he saw that we had three in stock but the system said two, he would pocket one. Not only that, he wouldn't stock merchanide correctly and sometimes just outright throw a product into one of the many chasms of doom (trust me, they exist) in the store if he was too lazy to see where it belonged.

But yeah, we have no restocking fee. I forget who was saying that their store has a 15% restocking fee, but I think that's BS. The way we work is that a customer can return something within 30 days as long as they have their receipt, and if not, they can get a store credit. If it's still in brand new, unopened condition (not hard to tell once you've worked there, trust me), we can put it right back on the shelf. If not, we label it as "damaged and defective" and corporate either destroys it or sends it back to the manufacturer. We don't lose much money this way and it really helps the customers and makes them feel a lot better when purchasing thir products. With larger items like furniture, we also have the option of putting them on clearance. Considering there's a 30-50% profit margin on most of what we sell, it's not hard to give a good discount and still not eat too much of the cost.

Of course, Office Depot is also corporate-run, not a franchise. We have no control whatsoever of what goes on in the store, not even the store manager. OD ships us all of the stuff, tells us where it goes, and what to do with it, and we just follow the rules and get paid. Simple as that.

But as other posters mentioned, you'd be surprised at what a product goes through on the truck and in the pallets before reaching you. I've learned that certain items and boxes really get beat around a lot before reaching the customer. But then again I've also learned that manufacturers are a lot better at packaging and protecting their products than you would think.

Oh, and a good secret: at Office Depot, at least, they build our "Office Depot" brand products (synonymous with Ativa, Foray, and Christopher Lowell) to national brand standards or better. We've frequently had customers come in and request OD brand stuff because they find it to work better than Avery or function better than PaperMate, etc. And the great thing is, since we produce it, it's a heck of a lot cheaper than the national brand stuff. So the next time you're in a store and you see that there's an OD substitute for your HP inkjet cartridge, just get it, because you'll save a lot of money and it's the exact same thing.

I like working here, though. Relatively easy work, decent pay, and a nice store and company. Downsides? BAD MUSIC!!!

 

[wnewport]

Sh it happens at Starbucks. After a year I know. Just ask, and I will answer.

 

[wower]

I will add something positive to this thread to settle our collective stomachs.

I used to bartend at Boston Pizza and got to know the managers and senior kitchen staff well. Wel the managers were prone to rages and the kitchen staff was understandably kooky, the kitchen was the definition of cleanliness. If someone new (or stupid) did something remotely against health regulations there would be huge rows. They only bigger fights were people that were slow during the dinner rush. (That really set the mangers off.)

A steak or bun on the floor would be immediately tossed out. The ice machines were I got the ice for my well were cleaned well and often, even regularly serviced. I remember one rare instance where a piece of broken glass was found in some water where they re-heat pasta. There was no danger to the customers because of how the heater worked, but because no one ownd up to it the investigation and meetings went on and on (glad I worked in the lounge). Great place to work but then again I was on the managers' good side.

The owners and managers were convinced (and by default the staff) that any health infraction would be a stain on their two Boston Pizzas. Posted earlier was the veiw that small independly run resturants are better because there is more at stake. I think I agree.

 

[roadtonowhere08]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MD1032 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I work at Office Depot and it's pretty much run by the book. Last year, though, I worked with this one kid who would steal stuff. He would check the quantities for candy, etc, and if he saw that we had three in stock but the system said two, he would pocket one. Not only that, he wouldn't stock merchanide correctly and sometimes just outright throw a product into one of the many chasms of doom (trust me, they exist) in the store if he was too lazy to see where it belonged. But yeah, we have no restocking fee. I forget who was saying that their store has a 15% restocking fee, but I think that's BS. The way we work is that a customer can return something within 30 days as long as they have their receipt, and if not, they can get a store credit. If it's still in brand new, unopened condition (not hard to tell once you've worked there, trust me), we can put it right back on the shelf. If not, we label it as "damaged and defective" and corporate either destroys it or sends it back to the manufacturer. We don't lose much money this way and it really helps the customers and makes them feel a lot better when purchasing thir products. With larger items like furniture, we also have the option of putting them on clearance. Considering there's a 30-50% profit margin on most of what we sell, it's not hard to give a good discount and still not eat too much of the cost. Of course, Office Depot is also corporate-run, not a franchise. We have no control whatsoever of what goes on in the store, not even the store manager. OD ships us all of the stuff, tells us where it goes, and what to do with it, and we just follow the rules and get paid. Simple as that. But as other posters mentioned, you'd be surprised at what a product goes through on the truck and in the pallets before reaching you. I've learned that certain items and boxes really get beat around a lot before reaching the customer. But then again I've also learned that manufacturers are a lot better at packaging and protecting their products than you would think. Oh, and a good secret: at Office Depot, at least, they build our "Office Depot" brand products (synonymous with Ativa, Foray, and Christopher Lowell) to national brand standards or better. We've frequently had customers come in and request OD brand stuff because they find it to work better than Avery or function better than PaperMate, etc. And the great thing is, since we produce it, it's a heck of a lot cheaper than the national brand stuff. So the next time you're in a store and you see that there's an OD substitute for your HP inkjet cartridge, just get it, because you'll save a lot of money and it's the exact same thing. I like working here, though. Relatively easy work, decent pay, and a nice store and company. Downsides? BAD MUSIC!!!

I pretty much agree with this, BUT OD has THE WORST hold music I have ever heard. I dare anyone to call and be put on hold, the music will make you want to eat a bullet. I recently quit, but I will always have that horrid music stuck in my head.

One bit of dirt on OD though: go to bfads.net and read people's opinion of OD with regards to their threatened legal action to be taken to prevent BF ads from being posted.

Also if I were you, I would not buy furniture from the B&M stores without giving it a good look over, especially steel filing cabinets. I have seen the existence of gravity confirmed many times back in the recieving area...

 

[nickrobotron]

I've been a Barista (coffee maker) for a few years now. If you piss me off, I just won't make your coffee (right to refuse service). If you REALLY piss me off, you get a cup of over-extracted espresso shots topped with badly burnt sea-foam milk.

 

[darkangel9685]

being a firefighter, i take offense to quite a lot of this:
Quote:

Originally Posted by Tuberoller /img/forum/go_quote.gif Right after you call the fire department, Call your insurance company. They will almost always send out an emergency adjuster/claims expert. This is not to expediate your claim, it's to strongly discourage firefighters from destroying your property by needlessly dumping thousands of gallons of water on a fire or breaking out all your windows and doors. When Firefighters look around and see that the insurance company is on-site, they are far, far more careful about how they extinguish fires. Otherwise, your home might be used to train some rookie whom might just want to see your furniture float. That's not a joke and I hate to admit it. Insist that the location and cause of your fire not be printed in the media. I have a looooong list of horror stories about this kinda thing. Also insist that your name not be printed if possible. If you have a claims expert on-site, he will advise you of this. Speaking of the claims expert and insurance companies, do not discuss with him/them the cause of your fire, even if you know how it started. Let the fire investigator determine that and allow him to discuss it with the insurance company. DO NOT EVER ask a firefighter to save or retrieve anything for you from a burning buidling. That does nothing but insure that this item will be destroyed. Firefighters hate it when people ask them to save anything other than a person or pet. Don't ever tell anyone about valuables in your home. Especially not the firefighters. There is a long standing joke that the reason Firefighter bunker coats have deep pockets is so they can steal your crap. I hate to admit that one too but it happens, often. Most firefighters are honest and hardworking but there are a large number of them who got on the job by nepotism and rigged exams. Most of these guys feel like the public owes them something and hate dealing with people. The guys you see on TV reviving pets in front of the cameras are typically the worst of the bunch. While they're busy doing that stuff, the real fighters are busy extinguishing the fire.

a) ever think breaking windows/doors is out of need? Fire needs to be ventilated so the smoke wont overcome us and make our job harder. I don't like getting lost in a haze of smoke mmmkay?

b) our probies are NOT trained on scene. Yes, we'll point stuff out to them and explain things, but we not will, inder any circumstances, encourage destruction of private property. To get the "hands-on" training, there is yearly fire school and we also use houses slated for demolition

c) water damage. It sucks. Again, something that is needed. And we usually clean up the water as best we can before we leave the scene!

d) The thiefs. Yes they exist, but it is HIGHLY discouraged and frowned upon, and can and will result in disiplinary action.

 

[oicdn]

I can't say anything bad about Officemax...they really do take care of thier customers.

On thing I will tell you though, judging with how our trucks...people tape together reams of paper, yeilding them unpresentable, some of the boxes dented.....they're total assbags there at the warehouse. but as far as in store goes, there really isn't any, atleast, at my store there isn't...

 

[Pm@c]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kool bubba ice /img/forum/go_quote.gif BB considers 32 hrs to be full time to skim on the benefits, unless you are a manager, then you get 40 plus hrs a week. Wallmart 27hrs FT.

So then working a 48 hour workweek like I do wher I am right now, i'd be paid 16 hours time and a half, thats sweet.

 

[Tuberoller]

Quote:

Originally Posted by darkangel9685 /img/forum/go_quote.gif being a firefighter, i take offense to quite a lot of this: a) ever think breaking windows/doors is out of need? Fire needs to be ventilated so the smoke wont overcome us and make our job harder. I don't like getting lost in a haze of smoke mmmkay? b) our probies are NOT trained on scene. Yes, we'll point stuff out to them and explain things, but we not will, inder any circumstances, encourage destruction of private property. To get the "hands-on" training, there is yearly fire school and we also use houses slated for demolition c) water damage. It sucks. Again, something that is needed. And we usually clean up the water as best we can before we leave the scene! d) The thiefs. Yes they exist, but it is HIGHLY discouraged and frowned upon, and can and will result in disiplinary action.

Sorry if I offended you. I'm a FF/Medic myself. If you don't want to admit on a public forum that you've seen each and every one of the things I've mentioned take place ......numerous times, I don't have a problem with that. But please don't say this doesn't happen. I've spent the last few months in OFI doing internals and when I was on hose perhaps I didn't see it or want to admit it. Now I do. FF like the ones I mentioned make us all look bad but I think you already know this. Sorry again.

 

[darkangel9685]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tuberoller /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sorry if I offended you. I'm a FF/Medic myself. If you don't want to admit on a public forum that you've seen each and every one of the things I've mentioned take place ......numerous times, I don't have a problem with that. But please don't say this doesn't happen. I've spent the last few months in OFI doing internals and when I was on hose perhaps I didn't see it or want to admit it. Now I do. FF like the ones I mentioned make us all look bad but I think you already know this. Sorry again.

Sorry I snapped like that!
(was having a bad day, I know its no excuse, but again, sorry for the sanity lapse!)

 

[kool bubba ice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pm@c /img/forum/go_quote.gif So then working a 48 hour workweek like I do wher I am right now, i'd be paid 16 hours time and a half, thats sweet.

overtime is anything over 40HRS..Cause 40hrs is the norm for FT. At least in our state. BB made up there own FT BS to avoid paying full benefits, & regulating us to 1/2 HR meal periods. Are you a manager? Supervisor on down.. 32 is FT.. You can get overtime, but it's frowned upon at our store.. We actually have a supervisor who was milking the clock..Staying over her shift..She was getting over 40hrs. The Admin had a 'talk' with her..

 

[ls20]

Quote:

Originally Posted by darkninja67 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I worked at a famous burger place for years. If a customer came in during the doors being locked, all hell would break loose on their food. On busy Saturday nights we would get a customer that would request a burger well done with no spice added. So we would put a fresh burger on the side for him. Meanwhile other people were getting their orders within a minute while this customer would have to wait 14 minutes or so. I should write a book on what I have done and seen during my time there. Really wild stuff.

Everyone accepts that these kinds of act go on. My question is, "WHY?".

I've put in a summer stint working a restaurant inside a theme park in California. Take solace in the fact that I've never participated in, or observed, such activities during my time there.... if you had gone in that particular restaurant in that theme park