The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
The Guiding Principles and New Rules document is now in effect.
Laziness in the Workforce
Anarchia
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So, I got my first summer job at the age of eighteen. It's at the deli in Kroger's, and I rather like it; there's just one problem. This problem has a name, but let's call him Jake.
Because I'm new, I'm assigned to closing a lot. That means working until everything that needs to be done is done, but preferably by ten because we're working overtime after that point. I'm told that we can get in trouble and get a talking to if we tend to pull too much overtime. Everytime I work with Jake, who's part-time and works closing at least four days a week, I end up with about an hour of overtime.
When closing, there's pretty much two areas that need to get done and two employees to get it done. There's the back, which means doing dishes, cleaning the two fryers, and washing out the rotisserie oven if the person on chicken duty that day didn't have time to do it, and the front, which means breaking down and washing the five slicers, cleaning the windows, sanitizing everything, taking care of the steam table, washing and squeequeing the floor, taking the trash out, and a lot of other, little things that Jake insists aren't part of our job, but I have been specifically told to do.
Jake's been doing the back, which I've been told by other workers is harder, but I haven't had much of a chance to learn how to do it yet. The thing is, he starts doing it at seven and gets done before nine. He'll come up and do the steam table and one or two slicers, but not much else before leaving at 9:30, usually to go to a party, and after chatting most of the time after 9:00 to a coworker and doing nothing.
I, on the other hand, have only about a third of my work done by nine. This is because I have to serve the customers. We're open until nine, so I can't take care of much, and with Jake staying in the back, I have to take care of all the customers myself, especially the mysterious rush that appears every night the hour before we close. If I do need him up front, it takes him about five minutes to get up there. So, after Jake leaves, I end up working until 11:00.
So, H/A, what can I do to deal with him? He seems to think that he can leave because he got a little over half the work done, but he doesn't seem to count me serving customers or doing anything he doesn't personally consider part of the job as me working. He tells me that it's my own fault I'm working late. He also tends to do stuff a lot sloppier and faster than me, and says that's another reason it's my fault for working late. When he does help more, he tends to clean stuff when it should be apparent that I'll need to use it again that night and I'll have to reclean it.
I'm thinking of asking the manager for a list divided into things that absolutely have to be done, should be done, would be nice to get done if we have the time, and shouldn't be done at all because it's someone else's responsibility. Any other suggestions?
TL;DR: Coworker that I'm stuck with leaves way earlier than me 'cause he thinks he got his 'share' of the work done; sets me up for getting in trouble for overtime, frustrates me. What to do?
Because I'm new, I'm assigned to closing a lot. That means working until everything that needs to be done is done, but preferably by ten because we're working overtime after that point. I'm told that we can get in trouble and get a talking to if we tend to pull too much overtime. Everytime I work with Jake, who's part-time and works closing at least four days a week, I end up with about an hour of overtime.
When closing, there's pretty much two areas that need to get done and two employees to get it done. There's the back, which means doing dishes, cleaning the two fryers, and washing out the rotisserie oven if the person on chicken duty that day didn't have time to do it, and the front, which means breaking down and washing the five slicers, cleaning the windows, sanitizing everything, taking care of the steam table, washing and squeequeing the floor, taking the trash out, and a lot of other, little things that Jake insists aren't part of our job, but I have been specifically told to do.
Jake's been doing the back, which I've been told by other workers is harder, but I haven't had much of a chance to learn how to do it yet. The thing is, he starts doing it at seven and gets done before nine. He'll come up and do the steam table and one or two slicers, but not much else before leaving at 9:30, usually to go to a party, and after chatting most of the time after 9:00 to a coworker and doing nothing.
I, on the other hand, have only about a third of my work done by nine. This is because I have to serve the customers. We're open until nine, so I can't take care of much, and with Jake staying in the back, I have to take care of all the customers myself, especially the mysterious rush that appears every night the hour before we close. If I do need him up front, it takes him about five minutes to get up there. So, after Jake leaves, I end up working until 11:00.
So, H/A, what can I do to deal with him? He seems to think that he can leave because he got a little over half the work done, but he doesn't seem to count me serving customers or doing anything he doesn't personally consider part of the job as me working. He tells me that it's my own fault I'm working late. He also tends to do stuff a lot sloppier and faster than me, and says that's another reason it's my fault for working late. When he does help more, he tends to clean stuff when it should be apparent that I'll need to use it again that night and I'll have to reclean it.
I'm thinking of asking the manager for a list divided into things that absolutely have to be done, should be done, would be nice to get done if we have the time, and shouldn't be done at all because it's someone else's responsibility. Any other suggestions?
TL;DR: Coworker that I'm stuck with leaves way earlier than me 'cause he thinks he got his 'share' of the work done; sets me up for getting in trouble for overtime, frustrates me. What to do?
SteamID : LizWiz
Anarchia on
0
Posts
PARKER, YOU'RE FIRED! <-- My comic book podcast! Satan look here!
Also, you will get faster at your job. You mentioned that you are new, so I'm guessing that you're still learning the best ways to do things. As you're there longer you will learn quicker & better ways to do things and in what order.
In fairness, he does sound like a lazy ass. If a new guy is struggling and you finish your stuff early it's just common decency to give em a hand, tips on how to do things quicker, etc. OTOH, I've worked with new guys who, when I helped them out, just slacked off even more, figuring that I'd always step in and finish their work too. After a couple of months it can get old.
Good luck!
PSN: Broichan
If you can learn to do this better, your chores/wrap up procedures should get done more often before close.
At wendys, even if we had to use the grill, we'd find ways to not dirty it right before closing. We'd throw foil down after sanitizing so that all we had to do was throw away the foil. Use few utensils and product bins.
For example, im not sure how your deli works, but I think you could get away with cleaning 4/5 slicers and operating on 1 slicer for the last 1/2 hour of work. Now between the two of you, there's 1 slicer to have cleaned after the doors officially close.
Yadda Yadda jake is being immature about the division of labor, but I doubt there isn't anything you can do. If you taddle about how he's not doing his fair share, you'll look like a childish spoiled brat who didn't get the same size of pb&j sandwich. Do the work but also get a feel for what he has to do. If you don't know exactly how to close the back, don't assume anything about it. For all you know, he has to wrestle 4 giraffes before doing a marathon. And if you try to call him out, he might say "Fine, we'll switch" and you'll be fucked with a closing spot you've never done and he's probably all too aware of how to close the front (he's been there longer, so i assume he payed his dues).
Yes, the back is more work, and I've been told that by more people then Jake. However, he starts it between six and seven and gets it done by nine because, unless I go back there and keep nagging him, he leaves me to take care of the customers all by myself. There's only so much stuff that I can do before I reach the point that anything I clean I'll have to reuse and get dirty again by helping another customer. Jake likes to push past that point if he helps out up front, leaving me with extra stuff to do because he feels like he did enough work already.
At nine, if I got everything done that I could possibly do at that point, I still have to clean two or three slicers, clean all the glass, wash the floor, sanitize everything, take out the trash, do any dishes laying around, deal with customers (we're still supposed to help them if it doesn't require getting anything dirty again, and customers placing cake orders over the phone don't seem to pay attention to the time), and other details. We're also encouraged to keep using the slicers if they haven't been cleaned all the way yet and someone walks up as late as nine fifteen. I'll admit that I'm not the fastest person around, but what I do get done is done well, and I'm still learning.
I've closed with other people, and although I do still tend to pull a bit of overtime with them, I get out twenty-five minutes late instead of an hour, and I have more experience now than I did then.
EDIT:
Yeah, Jake's worked there longer. He has been teaching me a few things, like letting the customer know that I'll be with them shortly instead of immediately, but other things he's been trying to teach me have been just plain sloppy and unhygenic.
And I'll be closing with someone else tomorrow night, so I'm planning on learning more of what to do in the back then. I know how to clean out the oven, which isn't too hard, and the only other thing that takes a certain level of knowledge is the fryers. Those do seem like a pain, but not like something that would take a whole hour each.
If he finishes the front before you finish the back, pick his brain for tips as to how to do both stations more quickly and efficiently. If you finish the back before he finishes the front, then you just sail on out of the store with a grin on your face.
If you complain, Jake will just find out about it and be mad at you, and probably not be any more helpful. He and the other employees will mark you down as giving them a hard time when they want to get out early or otherwise slack off. The management will label you as a problem and start looking for things they can nail you on. Speed is going to be more important to management than doing the job correctly 90% of the time.
Just figure out a way to do a half-ass job so you can get done faster. Preferably, a method that makes sure nobody else will notice you're doing a half-ass job. If the employees and managers like you, they probably won't care, as long as you're not getting them in trouble or bothering them.
It's not a good answer, but the world is shitty like that. This is your first job, though, so you probably don't understand how idiotic this crap will be.
No, no, no, no. We had a similar issue with a former co-worker in my department (we work for the same company btw); leaving way earlier then he should. After so long, another coworker reported him and by the next day he was gone. The hourly employees are scheduled by timed shifts, not by the amount of work done. If you have a manager in your deli department (which I'm pretty sure you should - most departments have at least a departmental head), report it - that should be a given no matter where you're working though. If you're worried he might find out it's you, try and get in during a shift he's not scheduled.
And yeah, as was pointed out, learn the back as quickly as possible, so you can start doing that during Jake's shifts instead of the front.
Example:
1) You should never have OT.
2) If a customer wants something even after you're closed then by all means wait on that customer even if it means undoing the work that you did early to ensure you won't have OT.
You can't win. They'll have a problem with it either way.
No balls = bad manager
PSN: Broichan
Cutting corners. At a deli. Ummm... yeah. NOOOOOOO!
Cutting corners + Food Service =/= Good Solution. I repeat: NOT A GOOD SOLUTION. You can speak to the manager confidentially, and management cannot reveal the source. Report him.
Heavens! I hope he doesn't go postal. ...you know, from losing his job... ...at the Deli. But I digress; he may not be totally retarded, but it's plain as day that he totally doesn't care, and I work for the same company Anarchia does (though different department/place) - considering where he is and what he's doing, I know it's something that management won't feel so hunky-dory about. And it sounds like he's been doing it a while, with other employees... I think he's much safer then you think.
I worked in a deli for close to two years, and it was always understood that when one person was done with their responsibilities, they helped out until everything was done.
If you don't care about working til ten and getting extra money, then I wouldn't worry unless management says something.
If management calls you out on your overtime, I'd tell them that Jake does all his work in the back while you have to handle all the customers and try to get your station done. Cover your own ass.
or
If you'd like to get the fuck out of there (that's always my position) then I'd try to reason with Jake so that you can both get out of there at a reasonable time.
If he decides to be a prick and won't help you, then I guess that depends on your job description. If you are supposed to help each other out and he's not doing that, then fuck him. Report him. You're not a narc if you report someone for making you do their job.
Well, I didn't get this job for money, but rather experience so that I can up my chances of getting an internship next summer by being able to claim actual work experience. I took a licensing exam a few weeks ago, and passing that (hopefully), plus work experience, should get me closer to clenching one. So whether I work overtime or not isn't an issue to me. I just don't like the stress and frustration of dealing with Jake and would like some ways to learn to handle and/or avoid him.
As pointed out by Slagmire, cutting corners isn't all that great an option for me. And the corners that Jake cuts, if not unhygenic, are too dangerous for me to want to contemplate. Sure, it's faster to clean a slicer blade if you have it on, but you're cleaning a slicer blade *while it's on*.
Out of the fifteen or so deli employees, only Jake and one other seem to be problem workers, with the other one's problem only being that she has bad knees and will therefore be rather whiny about when she gets her breaks and doesn't want to wait until someone else gets back. No one seems to particularly like Jake, and will try to tell him to do stuff properly, but he never seems fazed by it.
I have asked him to help up front, and I have asked him to help me with customers, but he's really reluctant to do so. The reasons he gives are:
A) The back's harder. (I will give him that)
C) I'm putting too much effort into. (Ummm, that's my job?)
D) I'm doing stuff that isn't my 'job.' (I'm usually told specifically to do that earlier that day by someone in charge)
E) His friends are throwing a killer party at ten and he needs to get ready for it. (He pulls this every other time)
I can deal with A by learning how to do the back, and possibly D by making that list I mentioned with the manager of what needs to get done, but there's nothing I can think of in the short term to deal with B, C, or E.
C) Shut the fuck up and come work out front, now
E) Too fucking bad, there is work to be done and neither is leaving until you both finish it. They can wait for you for twenty minutes.
You can tell the manager now your problem with Jake or you can wait until management asks why you are doing the extra overtime and explain because he's leaving early.
Seriously, Jake does not get paid a fixed rate. He doesn't get paid X amount to do the dishes, he gets paid x amount to do work in the store. If he finishes the work in the area he has finished me needs to move on to another area.
Satans..... hints.....
The best thing to do is try to arrange it so he works with the manager.
If he's smart, though, he'll bust his ass with the manager around and not get made to look bad.
It's punk assed of him to leave you there still working every night, though.
Get trained on the back. At some point, say, "Hey, I have _____ to do tonight, I really need to get out of here quick, how about I do the back?"
See what he says.
I host a podcast about movies.
Is he supposed to leave (a) no earlier than a certain time aside from exceptions, (b) when his half of the work is "done," or (c) when all the work is done?
If (a), tell the manager you need "consistent assistance until closing time." When he asks you what you mean, mention that this one fella you close with is always leaving early, "which also, by the way, causes me to have to work over-time."
If (b), you've got very little recourse without making this a "me vs. other guy" thing with the manager. (a) is easily verifiable and corrected by a manager, (b) is a lot harder as it involves a messy delineation of tasks and a lot of drama about "no, that's your job!
If (c), address it with a manager in a similar fashion as (a), but include the fact that his failure to make sure everything is done before he leaves causes you to have to work overtime in making up for his lack of follow-through on these closing tasks.
Just my advice from when I worked at a Waffle House years ago.