So this morning I had an awful experience at the Brattleboro Food Co-op, which I think bears sharing with anyone who shops there. So I showed up to put in my member hours at approximately 8:45 AM, when my shift was scheduled to run from 9AM - 11AM, now keep in mind this is would have been only my second time EVER having done member hours, despite having been a member for over a decade (I know, shame on me right?). Anyway, last month when I showed up for my first ever member hours shift I walked inside the Co-op through the cafe at about 8:35 AM, and walked up to the first employee I saw and told her I was there for member hours in produce and what I should do (note that, as with my regular job, and almost all aspects of my life, I am almost always early to arrive somewhere so as to not feel rushed by arriving last minute). Well the employee I spoke to said that I should speak to a guy whos name I now forget, and that he would set me up... so I walked over and saw someone in produce and told him I was there for member hours, and he and another guy there showed me what I would be doing and allowed me to go to the Deli to get a coffee before my shift...which was still at least a full 10-15 minutes BEFORE 9AM! And then I did my shift and both guys told me I did a great job and that they wished all member workers were as easy to work with as I was. Great, it was fun, time flew, I wondered why I hadnt done it years before then and I felt good about having contributed to the Co-op... so anyway, fast forward to this morning, totally different scenario! So as I said, I arrived for my member hour at around 8:45 AM (already knew what I would likely be doing and picked up coffee on the way this time), so I walked in like before and IMMEDIATELY made a bee line to the same guy I had worked with last time, who was over pricing bananas in the produce section. He looked up, saw me walking towards him and I said hey boss, hows it going to which he said what are you doing here?, which I took at the time as are you here to work with me?, so I said Im here to do my member hours with you. Well he looked at me and said no what are you doing IN here? to which I repeated Im here to do my member hours with you in produce, I signed up last night. Well I still hadnt put 2 and 2 together but he said to me did you just walk in here like youre an employee or something? to which I though he was joking so I said Well I am from 9 to 11 this morning and laughed. He then looked at me with a furious glare and said But what are you doing IN here, youre not supposed to be in the store until 9AM, youre NOT an employee, and youre not supposed to come in the employee entrance... okay, nobody told me that as there was no required orientation to work in produce, and being that THIS SAME individual was totally fine with me being in the store nearly a full half hour before it opened just 3-4 weeks prior, and so I asked him are you serious? Do you want me to go back outside and wait? to which he coldly and gruffly responded YES, and in fact I think Im going to escort you out of the store! which he promptly did. As he was shutting me out I turned and looked at him, still not sure what the problem was exactly and his face was beat red and he looked incredibly angry, so I asked him bluntly but compassionately, Dude, are you angry with me? because I didnt think it was such a big issue, and I had no problem going outside and waiting the 8-10 minutes until the store would open. What he said to me next crossed a line. He said, and I quote No, Im not angry with you, its just that people like YOU, customer and share holders, you all have this sense of entitlement, you walk around like you own the place and you think you can just do whatever you want in the store. Youre supposed to wait OUTSIDE until the store opens and then come in when we let you and go to share holder services to get your instructions for your shift (Never mind the fact that on Sundays shareholder services doesnt even have a person staffing it until 10AM, a full hour after my shift was scheduled to start). Okay, well at this point, I went from compassionate and confused to enraged! Excuse me Sir but, as a SHARE HOLDER, and of over a decade I might add (Member # 1426), YES you angry little vapid man, yes I DO own part of the store and you have NO right to talk to me like that! A simple Look, I know we let you in early last time, but really youre not supposed to come in before the store officially opens and so Im going to have to ask you to refrain from coming in before we officially open in the future would have been totally understandable. He then could have either asked me to go back outside for 10 minutes or just dealt with the fact that I was already in there and did what any good manager with an employee who showed up early would do, and put me to work a few minutes early. But thats not the case, so I told him that if thats how he felt about me and the members of the Co-operative that he could find someone else to fill that member hour shift (as there was no way I was capable of working with him in a friendly manner at this point) to which he said That would be just fine and locked the door in my face. Now for the record, no matter if he apologizes or not, I will NEVER work with him in produce again, NEVER! which is sad, but that said, 1)I want a written apology from him, 2)I want him to receive an official reprimand for talking so disrespectfully of both member and customers, 3) I want to not have to do my member hours for this month, as this was the only time I could do them before my working member status expires for this month, 4) I want there to be a staff person on shift in member services for ALL hours and days the store is open, and lastly, 5) I want there to be an official orientation for ALL members (not just for the kids room) where they are explicitly told what is and isnt expected of them, when they are and are not allowed to be/go in the store, where they are and arent allowed to go while they are doing there working hours. All of this could have been avoided had this last one been the case already, and had they not treated my previous early arrival as if it was no big deal... if it was, they should have said something back then in a calm and respectful manner and I would totally have respected it!
Posted on: Sun, 14 Sep 2014 14:21:35 +0000
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