I'm going to pop the big question???? Is my SM the only manager who sits in his office all day and runs these random errands? I can't recall the last time he was on a register or even helped a customer.
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We should all have a meeting and tell A.T and B.B how we really feel. I plan on finding another job and getting the hell out of here before the end of the year. All the hard work I do and this sad A$$ pay!!!
A.T and B.B are over their heads.
Texas and New Mexico
Where is this region?
R93 has frequent postings bc upper leadership (RM and GVP) only care about themselves and not their management team, not just store management team, all the other managers (CM, ASM and OM). If I recall, didnt our GVP send out an email to all of us asking for our input and advice about our stores. If I'm not mistaken, did he not say that he would reach out to us all to discuss once he received our feedback. Did anyone ever get a call from him or any response at all? If either of them cared about any of the managers, they would have followed through. Instead, they make promises or mislead us in taking a job that really wasn't what they said it would be.
Or a crappy RM. A team is only as strong as its leader.
Apparently because it has tacky whiny people working in it
Why does R.93 frequently have postings on this site?
Ha! My salaried sorry a$$ manager is never on a register and barely knows how to work one. Only thing he knows how to do is constantly ask A.T for more money when we are already over budget and down in sales. He wouldn't need more money if he would actually get up and work.
"stop whining". That's superior.
The ulitimate advice in that post is good, however. Find another job. this comany is terrible. It's not worth working yourself into a more meaningful position. You'll be paid too much and you'll be fired.
Stop whining and get a new job. However, you'll find out that all companies pay higher volume store managers more money. Instead of complaining, use your time at smaller store to gain more experience so that you can be promoted to a higher volume store.
Be careful what you wish for. Your manager on the register means you aren’t on the schedule.
large store managers get paid as sm3 or directors to oversee people doing the task. sm1 (especially) and sm2 do the work themselves.
I don't understand way managers are paid drastically different wages. I understand payroll budgets being larger for more staff but all managers should be on the same scale. I know for a fact that I do more than other managers in my region and get paid way less, there are even new managers that are making a lot more than I.
Having an SM also fill the role of CM, plus receiving, is insane. This is the most basic violation of loss prevention principles.
Now you have one person responsible for making order decisions, placing the order, verifying the order came in, and approving for payment? That one person is also a member of a group being leaned on to work harder with no raises.
It’s only a matter of time before some enterprising manager in this position sets up a fake textbook company, issues a P.O. for some texts, receives them, invoices, approves the invoice, gets paid, and returns them for store credit because the class was cancelled. No books actually need to exist.
It’s been done before, and this is a situation with no checks and balances, so it is probably happening now.
SM's for smaller stores who only have themselves and maybe one other hourly full-time manager are the managers that have to do everything themselves. These managers are salaried so if the work needs to get done then it's up to them to ensure it gets done no matter how many hours they have to put in. Now that hours in our region (93) are being looked at closely, staffing has to be reduced and the SM's have to carry the weight. SM's in larger stores that are lucky to have an OM, ASM and CM, these are the managers that have others they can rely on to do the work. These are the SM's that the RM should pay closer attention to. These stores dont need more payroll hours, the salaried manager in these stores need to step it up. Yes, they should run a register, it doesn't matter what their position is or how much they get paid. If you need to reduce staff, then they need to act like a manager and act like they are part of their team and help instead of leaving early all the time or leaving the ofc for hours at a time while the other managers do the bulk of the work. We have conf calls every week, we see each others sales, AR, payroll, etc. How can a large store constantly ask for more payroll dollars when they dont have the sales to back it up? Our RM seems to have different rules for each of her managers. Some of her managers only have to oversee their staff and not have to do any of the physical work, while other managers are made to do what they need to do to get the job done. Consistency is key, everyone should have the same skill sets to run a store efficiently and effectively whether you run a small store or large store.
Lets play some violins for those long suffering SMs -give me a break- for every good SM in this company- there was a poor one who showed no appreciation for veteran line employees- if they had many of those massive layoffs of fulltime line employees in store would have been much tougher for top management to make over the last four years- only a few cared what was happening to this company and the veterans- just some crocodile tears while being escorted out the door within 10 minutes of notice- in the end the company will mess you up too - just wait and see- you think your jobs are secure- soon it will be your time to pull those resumes out - your nothing special - not any better or worse than those that have already been given there 10 minute notice- you just think you are good and lucky - time to get humble guys-you, have seen nothing yet what the very top people in Follett will do keep there very high paying jobs by asking you to do even more.
Thank you all for pointing out that the SMs are doing a ton of work behind the scenes that no one knows about. Granted, there are probably some bad apples who legitimately do nothing. But I remember a couple of years back, my RM had us come up with this color coded chart of all the tasks that come into play in a manager's typical day/week/month, because you never really think about it. The amount of things on our plates was absolutely astounding. And it's only gotten worse since. I am thankful that I have a competent staff who can handle so many of those on the sales floor things so I am free to do all the back room stuff that no one knows about but that absolutely must get done.
There are many s.m. that also do the role of text manager, and shipping and receiving, along with all of their store management task. if this is the case, all of those task happen off the sales floor. Store associates are the staff hired to work the floor, wait on the customers, ring the register. Why would a manager act as a cashier? it is the lowest paid position in the store. would not be money well spent to have the highest paid employee doing the job of the lowest paid. dusting, vacubbing, taking out the trash..al task for the staff, not manager. Not that managers font or won't and many times have, but frankly, we have too much other stuff to take care of. So, while you mat think we are doing nothing, ask yourself who does the ordering, endless paperwork, schedules and payroll, campus relations, on and on and on.
Don’t forget the never ending training we have to do.
As a SM, I spend a good portion of my time responding to emails. While I agree that some manager may find a way to,sit around, there is a lot of work that can only be done at the computer such as emails, AP, 3wm, shrink busting, receiving, scheduling/timecards, oh, and did I mention the mountain of emails?
Yeah you'll get promoted - right out of the company. Who is the first reply kidding. I use to show up during snowstorms when the SM did not even bother showing up. Did management appreciate it -NO - they the got rid me a month later - eliminated my position after 20+ years- and hired part timers and relatives instead(supposedly against company policy)- its who you know in this company - not what you know in this company that counts- wise up and leave when you can if you are an ethical person.
I'm an SM and rarely sit at my desk for more than 5 minutes at a time. I would worry about your own work more than that of your colleagues. If you don't like the way things are, I would suggest trying to hone your skills so you can get into a position where you can influence change. Take all the examples of poor management that you have witnessed and turn them into a catalyst for your own growth. Let those examples inform your management style so your employees see you as a leader of a team rather than the boss in the office. With so much turnover at Follett, you are well poised to be promoted into roles with more responsibility. Go for it!