Archived My first day was bad!

[TargetBePurple]

I did my first shift yesterday for eight hours as a cashier at Target. I've worked at Home Depot before, so retail is nothing new.

I have to tell you, I did not leave happy.

Most of the team members I saw didn't want to talk or shoot the breeze at all. Only two or three said anything to me. Is Target such an unhappy place all the time?
Some of the other team members were very cliquish. They ignored me totally and only spoke to their friends. They literally acted like they could not see me. What a way to treat a new employee! One of the (many) reasons I left my old job was because of the bullying and cliques, now I've walked right back into it!

Then there's my shift. What a madhouse!
The customers were all very nice, but they came by the billions! I'm a cashier, and I felt like my head was going to explode it was so busy!
How are we supposed to look under the bottom of the basket when we can't get out from behind our stations, by the way?

Towards the end of the night, I scraped some skin off my hand and it started bleeding. It took ten minutes for someone to get me a bandaid, and one guy asked if I was bleeding, saw my hand, walked away and never returned! Yeesh!

Honestly, if the other team members had been more friendly, I think I would have had a much better (though still stressful) time. But most of them weren't. If I say "hello, my name is so-and-so", it's only civilized to introduce yourself back. Don't just say "hi" and then ignore me.

Is this the common experience for most stores? I know things will calm down after Christmas, but I felt so discouraged leaving. Only three team members really took the time to be friendly.

Input is appreciated.

 

[zedyue]

Sorry you had a bad first day.
All stores are not the same, I transferred to a target 15 minutes farther away from me because the one 3 minutes away from me is full of lazy irritating people.

Others will probably have more useful advice for you, but I did much better once I found the smart helpful tms who were willing to listen to me.

 

[griezmanns]

This kind of happened to me at my store. Sometimes there's just people who don't feel like talking to people if they don't see you continually. I've been working at my store for nearly a year and there's still some people that don't really care to talk to me... *shrug*

Some people are more friendly than others, you'll probably start to notice them soon; I know it took me a bit.

 

[PinkZinnia]

Many target employees are socially inept - from management right down.
If you cashiered at Home Depot, then you know how to check a cart. It is harder at target to get around the counter, but you will find a way to do it.

A few times when I cut my fingers at work, I would improvise with paper towels and stickers. Doesn't look great but works until a break. You might want to carry a few in your pocket in case you need them again.

You left your job because it was cliquish? Work is work. Shouldn't be a social circle. Yes it is nice to say hello, but manners aren't a target priority, unless you are talking to a guest.

 

[TargetBePurple]

Many target employees are socially inept - from management right down.
If you cashiered at Home Depot, then you know how to check a cart. It is harder at target to get around the counter, but you will find a way to do it.

A few times when I cut my fingers at work, I would improvise with paper towels and stickers. Doesn't look great but works until a break. You might want to carry a few in your pocket in case you need them again.

You left your job because it was cliquish? Work is work. Shouldn't be a social circle. Yes it is nice to say hello, but manners aren't a target priority, unless you are talking to a guest.

I left my job for many reasons; school being the main one, and the bullying was a problem too.
And yes, you are right. Work is work, not a social club. I'm just very sensitive to people who are "socially inept", and it can ruin my day, as wrong as that is. It's just exahsting to be around.

 

[GlitterBerries]

That's so sad! I'm sorry that happened. I lucked out with good TMs at my store. Most of them are nice. I always make it a point to say hi and introduce myself to the newbies because I treat them how I wish I had been when I started (with training and things) and kinda give them some inside tips to make their lives easier at the register that they may not know. Also just knowing how awkward and scared people can be the first day it Atleast let's them know someone cares that they're there. I think I'm rare in that case though lol

 

[PinkZinnia]

No room for bullying in the workplace. Did you let hr know?
Another thing you can do is ask the person directly. Say to them. Have I ever done or said anything mean to you? It sometimes stops the bullying right then and there.

 

[Icemint870]

Sounds like a harsh store... I'd like to say things will get better, just give it time. Especially right now there are always going to be new faces tossed into the lion's den so your regular team members might just be waiting you out. If you stick post holiday I'm sure they'll say more than. "Hi".

As for looking underneath a cart, assuming your a cashier at frontend, most the check lanes that have another check lane staggered in front of it should have a mirror on the bottom, that's for you to look under the basket. It might not be the case if your on the last lane facing possible trading cards, ice coolers, etc. Ideally your guest will push their cart to that mirror's line of sight and you should have a good view by just standing where your bag station is at. Just don't lean forward for it, I think it's a no-no and you can strain your back potentially. Just like push don't pull, one of those safety rules.

 

[TargetBePurple]

No room for bullying in the workplace. Did you let hr know?
Another thing you can do is ask the person directly. Say to them. Have I ever done or said anything mean to you? It sometimes stops the bullying right then and there.

So just so it's clear, the bullying was at my old job. And I'm not sure what I would tell HR. "So and so says hi to everyone but me and goes out of his way to push me out of conversations and exclude me," "He gossips about me and turns the friends I do have against me," "He makes "read between the lines" comments to me that imply I'm promiscuous when he doesn't know me and any sort of implication of that nature is way out of line in a professional environment"?

I'm going to tell HR in my exit interview what happened, but how do you prove it? That's the problem. It's been a miserable year at this job, I've had to sit next to the bully almost the whole time during it.

 

[redeye58]

How are we supposed to look under the bottom of the basket when we can't get out from behind our stations, by the way?

Walk around to put the bags in the cart.
This does four things:
You can get a good look under the cart (Tide & Coke items are nearly the same color as the cart) & the kiddie seat to spot missed items.
You have a chance to flex your legs after standing in one spot for so long.
You eliminate paid & left merchandise.
It's a final good service send-off for the guest.

 

[PinkZinnia]

Yes. That's what you say to hr. He is making you feel uncomfortable. If your hr is responsible it will be addressed. Doing it at your exit interview will make it harder to be addressed though.
Are you leaving your other job in hopes of a career at target? I would hold off on that until you hit your 90 days. You may not like it at target. They may not keep you after the holidays either.
Don't burn your bridges. Talk to hr at your other job before your exit interview

 

[TargetBePurple]

Walk around to put the bags in the cart.
This does four things:
You can get a good look under the cart (Tide & Coke items are nearly the same color as the cart) & the kiddie seat to spot missed items.
You have a chance to flex your legs after standing in one spot for so long.
You eliminate paid & left merchandise.
It's a final good service send-off for the guest.

Thank you! That is great advice!

 

[TargetBePurple]

Yes. That's what you say to hr. He is making you feel uncomfortable. If your hr is responsible it will be addressed. Doing it at your exit interview will make it harder to be addressed though.
Are you leaving your other job in hopes of a career at target? I would hold off on that until you hit your 90 days. You may not like it at target. They may not keep you after the holidays either.
Don't burn your bridges. Talk to hr at your other job before your exit interview

Well, I'm actually leaving my full time Monday through Friday to go back to school; Target is just meant to be a part time income supliment. I applied to a lot of jobs, and target gave me an interview first.
And don't worry, I gave my two weeks notice My manager said I can always reapply if I want to come back to the job I'm leaving

 

[Retail Girl]

Give the TMs a couple of days to warm up to you. We've met a billion new TMs at this point...even in my small store I don't know all of them. And it's tiring...especially since we've been working with some of them for a month and are hoping they will be termed soon. So meeting a lot of new people in 4th quarter is hard. After a seeing a TM for a couple of days, it gets easier to talk to them, I've found.

Weekends are going to be busy. Just keep cashiering, one guest at a time. Weekdays may provide you with a bit more breathing room to get the lay of the land.

 

[Retail Girl]

Give the TMs a couple of days to warm up to you. We've met a billion new TMs at this point...even in my small store I don't know all of them. And it's tiring...especially since we've been working with some of them for a month and are hoping they will be termed soon. So meeting a lot of new people in 4th quarter is hard. After a seeing a TM for a couple of days, it gets easier to talk to them, I've found.

Weekends are going to be busy. Just keep cashiering, one guest at a time. Weekdays may provide you with a bit more breathing room to get the lay of the land.

 

[Backroom81]

Is Target such an unhappy place all the time?

Yes.

Some of the other team members were very cliquish. They ignored me totally and only spoke to their friends.

Turnover is so high at my store that I don't bother trying to remember someone's name until they've been around a while. Until then, it's "Hey you" or "boot" or "FNG".

BTW, cliques exist in every workplace. Everywhere.

 

[Tay2323]

Sorry to hear your first day wasn't the best...some tms don't even take the time to get to know other tms cause half are either seasonal or just quit showing up.
Keep your head held up high and I hope things get better!

 

[Kaitii]

It's a very stressful time for all of us right now. Even people I'm really close with have been nothing but "hi" "bye" convos lately. Personally I don't want to get attached to any TMs who might just leave in a couple months either. Not that I wouldn't answers questions or say hi or anything, but I might be hesitant to actually try and get to know you.

 

[Havok]

You and I pretty much experienced the same thing at Target. It took me weeks to get people to even small chat with me. I have literally never tried so hard to make friends at work before. At this point, I'm planning on getting a new full time job and making Target a part time job by trying to get into the unloader team. This way I'm only at Target for a handful of hours and will be making extra money. I'm not even trying to make friends at Target anymore. I'm perfectly fine with being a loner. If that's what they want me to be then that is what I'll be. Fuck them.

 

[Loki]

There's this one guy at my store who talks to everyone there except me. I have no idea why and I can just tell he doesn't care for me it's the vibe I get. He never tells me hi, never even smiles at me, hell he never even says thank you when I hold the door open for him. It's just one of those mysteries in life and not everyone is like that. Everyone else though talked to me pretty much the very day I arrived there and are just really friendly people. It sucks but you can't force them to be friendly unfortunately.

 

[Havok]

There's this one guy at my store who talks to everyone there except me. I have no idea why and I can just tell he doesn't care for me it's the vibe I get. He never tells me hi, never even smiles at me, hell he never even says thank you when I hold the door open for him. It's just one of those mysteries in life and not everyone is like that. Everyone else though talked to me pretty much the very day I arrived there and are just really friendly people. It sucks but you can't force them to be friendly unfortunately.

Haha, there is a girl at my store who is sort of like that. Sometimes she smiles and says hi to me and she chats with me when she rings me up on the cashier so, I know that she knows I exist. Outside of that though, I could have a huge sign that says hello and stand in front of her and she will just walk right passed me. It's happened a ton of times. I always say hi to her and she just walks by like I'm dead air. Sometimes it makes me feel stupid so now I don't even say hi anymore.

 

[Kartman]

Slap the shit outta both of them, and then hand them a vibe card.

 

[Havok]

You know what else could be a factor? Micro management. We have a lot of micro management in my store so I think people are actually scared to talk because a manager might come up to them and give them shit for it. The LODs and shit pretty much stay away from the backroom and our team leader is a pretty good guy. He and like 2 of the backroom guys are usually the only ones who I can really chop it up with.

 

[Loki]

Haha, there is a girl at my store who is sort of like that. Sometimes she smiles and says hi to me and she chats with me when she rings me up on the cashier so, I know that she knows I exist. Outside of that though, I could have a huge sign that says hello and stand in front of her and she will just walk right passed me. It's happened a ton of times. I always say hi to her and she just walks by like I'm dead air. Sometimes it makes me feel stupid so now I don't even say hi anymore.

It's just weird to me because I am probably the nicest dude you will ever meet and he just totally ignores me. At least he's not like the other lady at my old store. She would literally walk past me and I would just get this overwhelming sense of sadness and depression. Happened every time she walked into a room or I was near her. I would rather be ignored than forced into a state of unhappiness against my will.

 

[BullseyeBlues]

As someone who works at a location with a ridiculous turnover rate, in addition to the aforementioned possibility of micromanagement, other TMs may be hesitant to bond with new TMs because they might get too attached to the person. (It's always sad when someone you really like leaves the team.) I doubt these TMs have anything personal against you. Hang in there!

 

[dannyy315]

I remember my first shift. Back to school. A class of 20 came in right when we opened and I had no idea where anything was, haha.