I quit my job

[minrex]

Right now even college graduates are having difficulty finding work and are taking jobs that usually are filled by students. Employers have a huge choice of candidates for each position so those with minimal education or a poor job history, don't stand much chance.

Ugh, this is so true. I have a BS and almost have a Master's degree, and I'm currently working for $6.75 an hour at a gardening store, in a position that is normally filled by high school or undergraduate college students. I've been trying my butt off to get a full-time, "grown-up" job since November and I just have not been having any luck. At this point, I'm glad to have any job at all.

One thing I suggest doing when you get an interview is writing a thank you note immediately afterward and sending it to your interviewer. In the note, thank the interviewer for the chance to interview and mention, briefly, why you think the job would be a good fit for you (or, if you're not interested in the position afterall, politely say so, but still thank the interviewer). I've heard of places that will disqualify candidates if they don't get a thank you note after an interview. Plus it's just plain polite.

 

[FiaSpice]

One thing I suggest doing when you get an interview is writing a thank you note immediately afterward and sending it to your interviewer. In the note, thank the interviewer for the chance to interview and mention, briefly, why you think the job would be a good fit for you (or, if you're not interested in the position afterall, politely say so, but still thank the interviewer). I've heard of places that will disqualify candidates if they don't get a thank you note after an interview. Plus it's just plain polite.

True, that's what I've been told in my job seeking workshop. It's just polite and can make you stand out versus someone that didn't sent a thanks you note.

 

[searchand_dstry]

A lot of people are over here! They were hiring people STARTING at $10.50 a few months ago.. Its up to $11/hr now.

I have a friend who works there & I was told that starting pay they have listed is for managers, apparently. They start new workers at slightly above minimum wage!

 

[greychins]

I have a friend who works there & I was told that starting pay they have listed is for managers, apparently. They start new workers at slightly above minimum wage!

Well, considering minimum wage (in Indiana) is going to go up to (I think) $7.25 in June or July.... and I only make $7.40 now and just cannot STAND my job... I'll take a job at just above min wage. Esp since come a month or two and it'll be almost what I'm paid now...

One thing that kills me.... and maybe this is just around here.... every place around here is "supposedly" hiring. Like they say help needed and they want a cashier or a stocker or a whatever. And tons of people apply.... and (the workers there tell me that) no one ends up getting hired because there's already enough work. Now, I know at Meijer, they would rather hire two people to do 40 hours of work (combined) because then each person would be part time instead of one full time person (who would get benefits). But what is the purpose of saying they're hiring when they're not?

Also, wondering another thing. What is with the whole bait-and-switch process of job hiring? Now I've only worked at 2 jobs in my life, but I've interviewed for several, and here's how it goes. (1) Fill out an application, for a cashier (because sign says "cashiers needed"), (2) Go on an interview, where they say "well we really don't need cashiers, can you work in fashions??" and so on. Hence why I now work in the fashion department at Meijer. I applied to Petsmart a bit ago. I applied as a stocker, because it said they needed night stockers. Guess what they said at the interview???? "We know you applied to be a stocker but can you cashier instead?????" I just don't understand!!! Why don't they just say "I want a fashion worker" or "I want a cashier" - ask for the job they really need - cause let me tell you, I am agreeable, and if I need a job then I will take whatever, but I am MAD when I go into an interview thinking that I'm applying for a stocker position and they're interviewing me to be a cashier. I didn't apply for the cashier position, I applied to be a stocker, and maybe some people would ONLY want to be a stocker and wouldn't be agreeable to being a cashier. Wouldn't it make more sense to put "cashiers needed" and then the people who apply would ACTUALLY want to be cashiers??? Someone explain this???

/rant over.

 

[eroomlorac]

I don't get it either, Greychins. I worked as a cashier once in my life, in my high school days and I HATED it. People would yell at me for the price of items, they would yell at me for not having sale items on the shelves, etc. Hey, I'm just the cashier! I don't make the prices and I'm not in charge of ordering and stocking. Geeze. It was the worst job I've ever had. People would also try to steal things hidden in their cart or hope you didn't see the items they had under the basket of the shopping cart. Or they'd get up to ring out and hand you 20 items they decided not to buy. Or they'd not have enough money and one by one they'd ask you to take an item off the sale until they reached an amount they could afford. :hair:

 

[Melissa]

I have a friend who works there & I was told that starting pay they have listed is for managers, apparently. They start new workers at slightly above minimum wage!

Must be regional because thats what they were doing for new burger flippers and fry dippers and shake spinners here.. Maybe it was with experience some place else...

 

[Ash]

Must be regional because thats what they were doing for new burger flippers and fry dippers and shake spinners here.. Maybe it was with experience some place else...

You also have to take into account the cost of living. You'd get paid more in NYC than in some little town for the same job, due to the area it's in.

 

[Lil_Branchette]

I don't get it either, Greychins. I worked as a cashier once in my life, in my high school days and I HATED it. People would yell at me for the price of items, they would yell at me for not having sale items on the shelves, etc. Hey, I'm just the cashier! I don't make the prices and I'm not in charge of ordering and stocking. Geeze. It was the worst job I've ever had. People would also try to steal things hidden in their cart or hope you didn't see the items they had under the basket of the shopping cart. Or they'd get up to ring out and hand you 20 items they decided not to buy. Or they'd not have enough money and one by one they'd ask you to take an item off the sale until they reached an amount they could afford. :hair:

Same thing here. I work at Petcetera, and sometimes, I get customers who yell at me because they don't like the price, or we've run out of something and are awaiting shipment, or they can't find someone to help them lift a bag of dog food....

 

[Jeanette]

I don't get it either, Greychins. I worked as a cashier once in my life, in my high school days and I HATED it. People would yell at me for the price of items, they would yell at me for not having sale items on the shelves, etc. Hey, I'm just the cashier! I don't make the prices and I'm not in charge of ordering and stocking. Geeze. It was the worst job I've ever had.

When I was a cashier, I had dog kibble (a bag came open and the lady freaked) thrown at me, change, bread, money and a can of sardines...
It was when I was having the strong urges to throw stuff back was when I quit...

 

[greychins]

I don't get it either, Greychins. I worked as a cashier once in my life, in my high school days and I HATED it. People would yell at me for the price of items, they would yell at me for not having sale items on the shelves, etc. Hey, I'm just the cashier! I don't make the prices and I'm not in charge of ordering and stocking. Geeze. It was the worst job I've ever had. People would also try to steal things hidden in their cart or hope you didn't see the items they had under the basket of the shopping cart. Or they'd get up to ring out and hand you 20 items they decided not to buy. Or they'd not have enough money and one by one they'd ask you to take an item off the sale until they reached an amount they could afford. :hair:

Oh I know!! Right now, I still work in the fashion department at Meijer... but as that involves casheering (both at the jewelry counter and the front registers when the managers call out "Team 133 to Service!!!!!" 12 times a day....as a result of not hiring enough real cashiers and thereby dragging the rest of us with cashier numbers from our departments to come up front when it gets busy) and stocking ... so now I'm qualified to work as a cashier, a general department clerk, or a stocker/merchandiser. Anyway, point being, because Meijer refuses to hire more cashiers, I spend about half of my shift every day I work up front on the register. Oh, and cashiers make more than I make - but they see no problem dragging us clerks from the other departments up front and paying us less for the same job that actual cashiers are getting paid more for...

Anyway, I totally know what you mean about the people arguing about prices and all that. People here don't read signs. The sign will read $3.99 Bermuda shorts, and they will pick up a tank top off the same rack and complain that it should be $3.99. Did the sign say "tank tops"? Didn't think so. I'm about to the point where I want to tell people to walk back to the rack, read the ENTIRE sign, and only come back if they really were right about the price. I once had someone with a big pack of paper towels. They swore up and down it was $8. There was no way it was $8, cause if it was, man was I getting ripped off when I was buying paper towels, lol. Anyway, they asked me to call back to check the price, so I did, and sure as...crap... the one that was $8 was a package that was LESS than HALF the size of the huge one they were holding. Surprise! Could have told you that. And then they got mad at ME! Should I be sorry that they didn't look at the shelftag? Or the size on the shelftag? Let me tell you, if a 12 pack is accidentally in the spot where the 3 pack goes, cause some customer put it there, that doesn't make it the 3 pack price. I mean maybe I know to check shelftags and check the quantity because I WORK there, but surely this happens sooner or later to everyone and so I feel they should learn? Or read the entire sign?

Oh and I HATE when they run out of money and you have to take things off the bill. I mean here it's one button "void item" but then I have this huge stack of items that they don't want. Cause, you know, they need that $8 mascara, but that $3 package of 12 rolls of toilet paper? Unnecessary. *rolls eyes*

The best one ever - the meijer here doubles coupons up to (I think) 50 cents. You would not believe the people that throw fits that we won't double (for example) a $1 coupon. And the phrase always used "well Marsh will." Um... then GO to Marsh??? And of course, these are the same people who say that Walmart carries some things we don't, and Walmart's prices are better, and Walmart's produce is fresher, this and that, well then GO to Walmart. Telling the cashier these things is NOT gonna change store items, prices, or policies, sorry.

Another thing - changing prices... if bananas are coming up $1 per pound and the customer says they're supposed to be 99cents, I can change that. On the other hand, when they say that outdoor grill of theirs that's ringing up $400 is supposed to be $200, I need management's approval (and people say this crap and just think I'm not gonna bat an eye and change the price). And then they get MAD when they have to wait for the price to be validated and for a manager to come in and put in the price change and all that....

Grrrr. I know they're just looking for someone to vent to, but seriously, whether I'm working as a cashier/fashion-clerk/stocker/merchandiser, I didn't make the prices, or the signs, or create the policies. Have a problem? Complain to upper management, who can actually DO something about it....

 

[TillyChinchilla]

Hahaha... I worked at Circuit City, and the number of customer issues were insane. I was a tech & imaging salesperson - but we rang up our own sales as well as occasionally helping out the cashiers on the "self shop" items. (We weren't on commission but had to make quotas) We had bins for $5 and $7 DVDs, and customers would toss ones they had been carrying around into the bin. When people would check out they would have a HUGE fit that the DVD rang up as $12 but it was in the $5 bin.. they wanted to talk to a manager. The kicker was there was always a weekly list ON THE BIN of the movies that were priced at $5 or $7. Arrg!!

When they didn't like the price on something... their first words were ALWAYS "I'm going to go over to Best Buy" .. like that was going to offend me. Best Buy was directly across the street from us.

Oh, and I there was a lady who tried to return a box that was a piece of a car stereo, and it had a brick in it!

 

[eroomlorac]

Holy cow, Jinul and Greychins. Awful stories. It was so long ago I was a cashier that I don't remember how awful it REALLY is.

 

[threewingedfury]

I can say that I actually got pretty lucky last week. I was searching around on Craigslist in my area and found a job sitting with an elderly lady for $7 an hour and I've made it a week through it and it's not too bad at all. On top of my other jobs I already have (tutoring, building computers, programming, sewing, notary, chacha) I think I can make it decently, but of course I can't wait until I finish at least one of my degrees.