Sorry, this is a long one, but it needed to be said:
I worked at a Super Target for just a little over three years. Initially I loved it, I was hired as a cashier and within 6 weeks I was promoted to GSA. A little less than a month after that, I had mentioned going back to college and my ETL excitedly said that they would start prepping me for a team lead position so I could get tuition reimbursement. Everyone loved me and my ETL and GSTL’s were all very impressed with my performance.
Our store also has an Optical department, which is not owned by Target. Our optical manager approached me one day asking if I would like to come and work for him instead. He knew that I had previous experience working as an optician and offered me $13/hr plus commission, better hours and better benefits. Most people would have said yes in a heart beat, but I was still pretty loyal to Target and we had just lost our other 2 GSA’s and were really struggling for coverage. I decided the most professional route was to tell him I would need to first run it by my ETL. I did, she was furious. Apparently the thought of losing one of her top performers really set her off. Instead of just telling me no, she put me on corrective action for attendance. When I had her pull it up, the only things I had been flagged for were “Leave Early”. We looked up the dates and they were all closing shifts. Our store closes at 10pm, we are scheduled until 11pm but stay until the store is done. If it is done early, we go home early. The ETL that is closing that night is supposed to adjust the schedule so no one flags as leaving early, but apparently they hadn’t been doing that. Despite proving my case, she said that it was already done and filed and there was nothing she could do.
Fast forward 6 months, I am off of my corrective action and have been nominated as top performer many, many times. I inquire about Team Lead development and I am told that I am ineligible because I was dating another team member. She told me that if I were no longer dating that team member then I would be eligible. I was going to break up with the guy anyway, so I decided “sure why not”. Well he threw a big hissy fit about it and would complain about it to anyone that came within 20 feet. I pretty much ignored him, and everyone else, because I really needed that promotion. I inquired about it again and was told that I was still ineligible and now on corrective action again for “dividing the store”. Basically, my actions of breaking up with him(which she told me to do) made him lose his mind and cause drama. I disassociated myself from it, but it still fell on my shoulders. This was the only job I had, and I have two kids to support, so I just sucked it up. Review time came around and I got an IE(lowest grade you can get) and a $.04 raise. The reason, the disturbance I caused with my personal life. The guy’s name was even quoted in my review. His review? Exceeds expectations, $.34 raise, not a word of the drama mentioned.
Instead of bringing me down, I use this as an opportunity to prove to everyone that I CAN be a Team Lead. I busted my ass, did the job of my GSTL and my ETL and all of my other GSA’s. I rose our conversion a full 1.5%, cross trained in every other area except production and Starbucks, rose our speed scores from a low yellow to a solid green and had absolutely perfect attendance. I inquired yet again for the Team Lead development and instead of being developed, got tossed into an interview without any preparation the very next day. Surprisingly the store I interviewed at said I did very well, however they were concerned with some past “drama” issues I had at my current store. So essentially, someone from my store called them and filled them in on stuff that happened over a year ago.
I am going to sum up the next year or so in one paragraph to get to the end of this experience. I was put on corrective action 2 more times for attendance, mostly due to “Leave Early” that the ETL’s didn’t correct in the system for closing nights and there was 4 days I missed throughout the entire year because either I was in the hospital or my children were. Doctors notes were provided, but I was told that it doesn’t change anything, I am still accountable for my shifts.
Now let’s look into the past 6 months. Back in May/June I was hospitalized for almost 2 weeks. Turns out I have Multiple Sclerosis. I was working the day I went in to the hospital.
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