Archived Termination question

[Far from newbie]

Does anyone know if everyone is given a CA before termination ? It seems like some tm get chance after chance to improve and others are just gone. Is it always because they choose to walk out without 2 weeks notice or are some fired right now - get out ?( I don’t mean the ones stealing, of course they must leave immediately). I mean for performance/infractions reasons are tm always warned in advance with the opportunity to improve ? Anyone gone that was never notified of problems in advance and given a chance, a formal final warning CA?

 

[Black Sheep 214]

Under 90 days TMs can be let go without documentation, at least at my store. Otherwise it depends on the situation. Most are performanced out, but if violence is involved they can be fired immediately, or if someone nc/ns three days in a row they have job abandoned and will not be allowed back.

 

[Yetive]

Theft, threats, offensive language, working off the clock are some with no final needed. And under 90 days too. I had to fire a seasonal today for attendance. First week missed days due to being sick (one was a NC). 2 NC this week. We gave her chances, but she just couldn't seem to figure out how to get her butt to work!

 

[pellinore]

I have never had a CA, I was a loyal, dependable, fairly global, long term TM....and I was terminated.

I think that a lot of it depends on who the TM is. Lots of favoritism goes on.
Also if there is someone in an upper level position and they happen to be a floater....that can make a difference, too.
It makes a difference if they choose to follow protocol.

 

[Black Sheep 214]

I have never had a CA, I was a loyal, dependable, fairly global, long term TM....and I was terminated.

I think that a lot of it depends on who the TM is. Lots of favoritism goes on.
Also if there is someone in an upper level position and they happen to be a floater....that can make a difference, too.
It makes a difference if they choose to follow protocol.

There was a lot of favoritism at my store, too. If the ETLs liked you, you could do no wrong and were basically safe. If they didn’t like you, you were held to a different standard, required to things that others in your exact job title were not, and micromanaged to the point of harassment. Really sad that your job depends on how well liked you are by leadership instead of your dedication and performance.🙄

 

[Planosss]

There was a lot of favoritism at my store, too. If the ETLs liked you, you could do no wrong and were basically safe. If they didn’t like you, you were held to a different standard, required to things that others in your exact job title were not, and micromanaged to the point of harassment. Really sad that your job depends on how well liked you are by leadership instead of your dedication and performance.🙄

So as a TL ,there are certain TMs I like more than others. Based on their performance and attitude when given a task. Some TMs do need to be micromanaged, others do very well with the simplest of instructions.
This idea of “everybody” is the same is BS. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Different ways of understanding and learning. So as Leader you have to exploit those strengths and crush the weaknesses.

 

[allnew2]

Does anyone know if everyone is given a CA before termination ? It seems like some tm get chance after chance to improve and others are just gone. Is it always because they choose to walk out without 2 weeks notice or are some fired right now - get out ?( I don’t mean the ones stealing, of course they must leave immediately). I mean for performance/infractions reasons are tm always warned in advance with the opportunity to improve ? Anyone gone that was never notified of problems in advance and given a chance, a formal final warning CA?

I termed one of my guys on the spot for insubordination. No priors before but I guess that day he had a bad day and obviously I wasn’t gonna let it slide:

 

[Times Up]

I termed one of my guys on the spot for insubordination. No priors before but I guess that day he had a bad day and obviously I wasn’t gonna let it slide:

Well, lack of paper trail should make his unemployment claim go through more easily.

 

[allnew2]

Well, lack of paper trail should make his unemployment claim go through more easily.

The thing is he was a good kid . Never had issues until that day . Insubordination is just something anyone wouldn’t let slide . Paper trail or not. But the funny thing is he came back few months later and thank me because he learned a lot about working in a team. High schoolers they always think they know it all and then they realize they don’t .

 

[pellinore]

allnew2.....did you have any discipline? I mean, firing someone on their first really bad day....seems a bit severe.
What sort of thing did the TM say to get fired on the "spot?" (no pun intended.)

 

[allnew2]

allnew2.....did you have any discipline? I mean, firing someone on their first really bad day....seems a bit severe.
What sort of thing did the TM say to get fired on the "spot?" (no pun intended.)

Am etl asked him to take a pallet down and he flat out said it wasn’t his job even tho he is backroom. I came in and was told about it I went to the team member to seek and understand his attitude towards a task that he was given and explain he was upset . I said ok I get it just reminded him that as a backroom team member when an immediate supervisor ask him to do something even to get something for a guest it is his job to do so. We went on and put it behind us . Few hours later it was caf time I said it’s time to pull caf and he flat out said no because he was not in the mood. I said I know you have a bad day and maybe he should go home because we have things to do at work and I need him to work if he is here . Again no. And that was it . One to many no’s in one day.

 

[can't touch this]

I'm rarely in the mood to do anything, but I'm always in the mood to get a paycheck every other Friday. Funny how well that can motivate me!

 

[Times Up]

Am etl asked him to take a pallet down and he flat out said it wasn’t his job even tho he is backroom. I came in and was told about it I went to the team member to seek and understand his attitude towards a task that he was given and explain he was upset . I said ok I get it just reminded him that as a backroom team member when an immediate supervisor ask him to do something even to get something for a guest it is his job to do so. We went on and put it behind us . Few hours later it was caf time I said it’s time to pull caf and he flat out said no because he was not in the mood. I said I know you have a bad day and maybe he should go home because we have things to do at work and I need him to work if he is here . Again no. And that was it . One to many no’s in one day.

Well, at least it was multiple incidents, all in 1 day, but multiple incidents. That wasn't apparent from your post.

 

[LearningTree]

Depends on the situation and the severity of the infraction. Some issues go to PDDs or correctives first. The more severe issues go straight to a final warning or straight termination.

 

[can't touch this]

Another thing you can get insta-fired for is breaking shit on purpose. Back during my first Q4 right after they announced seasonal reductions, there was one guy who got a separation letter and got mad as fuck about it, and spent the next hour purposely chunking and slamming product around in a huff. He busted a few cases of Pyrex dishes and Ball jars doing this. ETL-log threw him out of the store on his ass and said don't bother coming back. He could've stayed on for another week and half (not dummy shifts) but obviously not with that kind of 'tude.

 

[Yetive]

Had a regular tm fired for stepping on a toy car. He was sick of collectors. He threw a car on the floor and stepped on it (in the backroom on camera). Thought he was being funny. Fired over a $.97 toy car.

 

[khaleesi]

Had a regular tm fired for stepping on a toy car. He was sick of collectors. He threw a car on the floor and stepped on it (in the backroom on camera). Thought he was being funny. Fired over a $.97 toy car.

😂 damaging an item. Unfortunately it’s a conduct violation.

 

[khaleesi]

So as a TL ,there are certain TMs I like more than others. Based on their performance and attitude when given a task. Some TMs do need to be micromanaged, others do very well with the simplest of instructions.
This idea of “everybody” is the same is BS. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Different ways of understanding and learning. So as Leader you have to exploit those strengths and crush the weaknesses.

Spot on!!! This is very true. You can tell who are your “top performers” and who need a little push every now and then.

 

[NKG]

Does anyone know if everyone is given a CA before termination ? It seems like some tm get chance after chance to improve and others are just gone. Is it always because they choose to walk out without 2 weeks notice or are some fired right now - get out ?( I don’t mean the ones stealing, of course they must leave immediately). I mean for performance/infractions reasons are tm always warned in advance with the opportunity to improve ? Anyone gone that was never notified of problems in advance and given a chance, a formal final warning CA?

If your in an at will employment state; legally your employer can let you go without probable cause. If you were fired for theft, insubordination, attendance or sexual harassment; most likely you won't be given a chance to correct the issue. If you feel you were unfairly fired then call the hotline. Very rarely are TMS given their job back due to being fired incorrectly. I bet someone somewhere has it documented why you were terminated.

 

[Far from newbie]

If your in an at will employment state; legally your employer can let you go without probable cause. If you were fired for theft, insubordination, attendance or sexual harassment; most likely you won't be given a chance to correct the issue. If you feel you were unfairly fired then call the hotline. Very rarely are TMS given their job back due to being fired incorrectly. I bet someone somewhere has it documented why you were terminated.

I don’t doubt that, I’m sure there is always someone somewhere who thinks they have a legitimate reason to make the decision to let someone go. I haven’t done anything wrong. I just feel that the last few months I can’t please everyone. As hard as I try someone is disappointed, annoyed or displeased. I have been given opposing direction from which whatever I do someone is mad. The team has made errors for which I was thrown under the bus for. I have tried too hard and tried to recoup some lost time by working through breaks. I don’t have time in the day to do everything that is asked so it may look like i’m Not doing what I am told to do when in reality an impossible load is being asked. I just wonder if I will get a heads up if it is decided that I can’t cut it even with my every effort to do my best, or if I will find out after my Black Friday shift that I am expendable. I haven’t heard anything officially but the mood seems to have chilled towards me. I may be imagining the whole thing but I sure would appreciate the chance to improve if that is needed. I would never want a job back after being told to go but I wouldn’t like being told to go without some warning or a last chance suggestion of how to prove myself.

 

[Gain Detergent]

There was a lot of favoritism at my store, too. If the ETLs liked you, you could do no wrong and were basically safe. If they didn’t like you, you were held to a different standard, required to things that others in your exact job title were not, and micromanaged to the point of harassment. Really sad that your job depends on how well liked you are by leadership instead of your dedication and performance.🙄

I’m telling you. This whole fishbowl of a job is a huge popularity contest. It’s just like high school! There are ways to get people to like you more, might be a little fake and sociopathic but it works. Look up YouTube videos on how to Be more positive and likable. Put these into practice and pretty soon your TLs will be raving about you and giving recognition in every huddle 😉

 

[NKG]

I don’t doubt that, I’m sure there is always someone somewhere who thinks they have a legitimate reason to make the decision to let someone go. I haven’t done anything wrong. I just feel that the last few months I can’t please everyone. As hard as I try someone is disappointed, annoyed or displeased. I have been given opposing direction from which whatever I do someone is mad. The team has made errors for which I was thrown under the bus for. I have tried too hard and tried to recoup some lost time by working through breaks. I don’t have time in the day to do everything that is asked so it may look like i’m Not doing what I am told to do when in reality an impossible load is being asked. I just wonder if I will get a heads up if it is decided that I can’t cut it even with my every effort to do my best, or if I will find out after my Black Friday shift that I am expendable. I haven’t heard anything officially but the mood seems to have chilled towards me. I may be imagining the whole thing but I sure would appreciate the chance to improve if that is needed. I would never want a job back after being told to go but I wouldn’t like being told to go without some warning or a last chance suggestion of how to prove myself.

I think your over thinking it...

 

[Black Sheep 214]

I don’t doubt that, I’m sure there is always someone somewhere who thinks they have a legitimate reason to make the decision to let someone go. I haven’t done anything wrong. I just feel that the last few months I can’t please everyone. As hard as I try someone is disappointed, annoyed or displeased. I have been given opposing direction from which whatever I do someone is mad. The team has made errors for which I was thrown under the bus for. I have tried too hard and tried to recoup some lost time by working through breaks. I don’t have time in the day to do everything that is asked so it may look like i’m Not doing what I am told to do when in reality an impossible load is being asked. I just wonder if I will get a heads up if it is decided that I can’t cut it even with my every effort to do my best, or if I will find out after my Black Friday shift that I am expendable. I haven’t heard anything officially but the mood seems to have chilled towards me. I may be imagining the whole thing but I sure would appreciate the chance to improve if that is needed. I would never want a job back after being told to go but I wouldn’t like being told to go without some warning or a last chance suggestion of how to prove myself.

You don’t have to do anything wrong, if a member of leadership dislikes you, that can be enough to get you out, and it does sound like you are being put through that process. The opposing directions that set you up to fail no matter what you do can be the start of it, then comes assigning an impossible workload, so, again, no matter what you do you are in trouble. If the mood towards you has chilled, chances are whichever leader wants you out is submarining you to the rest of the management team. Chances are that you will not be fired without being performanced out, but if you get put on corrective, start planning your exit. Sometimes correctives are meant to help you improve, but sometimes they are no more than a paper trail to termination. ASANTS, but my guess is that you will be safe until after Christmas, and it does take time to performance someone out. Hope this ends well for you.

 

[IWishIKnew]

Another thing you can get insta-fired for is breaking shit on purpose. Back during my first Q4 right after they announced seasonal reductions, there was one guy who got a separation letter and got mad as fuck about it, and spent the next hour purposely chunking and slamming product around in a huff. He busted a few cases of Pyrex dishes and Ball jars doing this. ETL-log threw him out of the store on his ass and said don't bother coming back. He could've stayed on for another week and half (not dummy shifts) but obviously not with that kind of 'tude.

He's lucky the ETL didn't file a police report.

 

[Fix It]

I’m telling you. This whole fishbowl of a job is a huge popularity contest. It’s just like high school! There are ways to get people to like you more, might be a little fake and sociopathic but it works. Look up YouTube videos on how to Be more positive and likable. Put these into practice and pretty soon your TLs will be raving about you and giving recognition in every huddle 😉

I can only speak for my store: I’m fairly ornery most days and tell leadership no often, but I’m well liked at my store. You don’t have to be fake, overly positive, and “likeable”. You need to be able to get your job done to the best of your ability and have a reasonable explaination if you can’t complete that task or won’t do it. I’d rather say you should be approachable and reasonable; when TMs get defensive and give have half-assed excuses to why they don’t get things done or play the “blame game” it turns in to a problem. There is the human factor where we tend to gravitate toward people who think/act similarly to us, but work is work and I’d rather work with people who get it done over someone I enjoy shooting the breeze with. I’ve suggested to TMs who are on their ETL’s bad side to supervisor shop and ask other ETLs how they can improve their standing with the person they have an issue with. It takes initiative on your own side to improve yourself.

I digress: if you can get a CCA’d for it, a lot of times it can be a straight term depending on your standing and history.

TL;DR: I get big mad over store politics.