That one shift that almost broke me
Okay so this happened a couple of weeks ago and I’m still recovering. I was scheduled for a regular 2–11 in GM. Nothing out of the ordinary. Except I walk in and instantly hear from the TL that two people called out, another left early the night before, and freight was never touched. I head back to receiving and there are legit eight full pallets just sitting there, untouched. It’s me, one other associate who’s brand new, and a guy from CAP1 who clearly got voluntold to help. We spend the whole day busting it. Breaks got skipped (unintentionally), water’s dripping from a cooler onto a floor stack, and every 15 minutes a customer asks where the bike locks are. Then right around 7:30PM, we get told we’re being pulled to front end because there’s a rush and they need backup. I wanted to scream. Like actually scream. We never even finished three of the pallets. Came back the next day and—surprise!—they were still there. I don’t know how we’re supposed to stay motivated when stuff piles up faster than we can breathe. Do y’all just power through or actually speak up to management? #GMGrind #LongShiftVent
Speaking up to management will have little positive effect. Its not like any of it could have gone any differently. What needed to happen, happened. As for no one overnight finishing up the pallets, thats total BS and them taking advantage. One person could have easily been assigned to the remaining pallets. It sux when this happens and it happens at every single store from time to time in the exact same way. The unknown human factor is the culprit. People call out, managers realize there aren't enough associates available to take up the slack so the chosen few get the brunt of the anxiety while their "productivity" is challenged and then get pulled in too many conflicting directions by coaches that are competing to be savior of the day. And in the end, sh*t rolls down hill as expected. You'll get no awards or meaningful recognition. What you will get are plenty of hollow thank-you's and in the morning when the escapees make it back to work, it'll be business as usual with no reprimands. Another day has begun. And you'll be there with bells on, cuz you're Happy to Help. The coaches get the pats on the back because they delegated appropriately. No harm no foul and everybody gets to refer to the "event" as a day to compare the rest of them to. It's all so obvious and predictable. Your best mindset is to have thick skin, not expect a logical business model to be part of the process and have a chuckle over it. We are all trying to make it through our shift without getting coached. Especially the coaches. Keep putting in your best hours. Happily.
Absolutely nailed it and I couldn’t agree more. Speaking up often just feels like yelling into the wind. And like you said, it's not that the situation could have gone differently, it’s that no one really wants to change the pattern. I’ve seen this exact same cycle play out, where one or two of us get hit with the full load, while others somehow disappear when the pressure’s on. And the next day? Like nothing even happened. No follow-up, no adjustments, just that vague “thanks for being flexible” line that’s supposed to make it all better. The only thing I’d add is that the system banks on that goodwill. It counts on a few dependable people carrying the load without cracking. I’ve learned to work smart, not just hard, know when to step up and when to let something fall if it’s clearly not your responsibility to fix. Because if you always catch the dropped ball, they’ll just keep dropping it.
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