Being called into work. (2 Viewers)

[steph@nie]

I think my boss knows that I can't say no to her, so she always calls me up to work. That said, I'm glad because I always make more money than anticipated on holidays etc because of the fact that I normally say yes and am reliable.

 

[miss_b]

My excuse is always i have to do something school related...

But the problem is, i have no time to make up a full lie...

I end up having to do a couple of hours anyway...

 

[llamalope]

I have told work when i am free.... and that i don't do short notice. So they sms everybody a week before and tell you what shifts you have for the following week.

its the best

although once I was called in 2 hrs beforehand to teach a class of advanced 1 and 2 ballet students... and i was like ... ummm its 3 years since i've done those exams, but hey! why not... we had a fun class.

 

[froggy_chik87]

i use to pick up shifts all the time, but now that im in yr 12, i never pick up a shift unless its on box office, and i have nothing better to do!! work has basically stopped ringing me now to ask if i can pick up...but i still get 2 shifts a week, which is alright...but if i do need extra shifts for any reason, there are always shifts to be covered!!

 

[greekgun]

With xmas holidays coming up, there calling me up like crazy. I ussualy accept most shift, but when i have something on and i say i cant come in they pile the guilt on and say "let me remind you that christmas is coming up and were really busy blah blah blah" and i just say ok because i feel guilty. If i say no, can they do anything, am i allowed to turn down a shift if their this hectic (im casual)?

 

[katietheskatie]

you can turn down any shift you want, they can't make you come in

 

[Stevo.]

Oh hi Katie. Nice bump(s).

 

[katietheskatie]

i didn't

 

[Stevo.]

Oh lol, sorry I only noticed you.

 

[alfonso22]

yeah this christmas time is getting hectic at work...

i work at target and i have been getting alot of hours and sometimes working 5 days a week...

for me they ocassionally ring me say once a month..

at my store its more a case of when you turn up there for your 4 or 5 hour shift..they ask you to stay til midnight which is like 7 or 10 hours...

which is even harder to say no becasue they are right there in front of your face....:S

so i just say 'yes',,,,...

and yes ..i write down my unavailibilities as soon as i know them but no.... they put you on anways..

i even reminded my manager and she said she told all the managers..but i still get shifts on wednesday nights which i cant do because i have sport...

it is really annoying..

i have to remind her again today that im definately not going in tomorrow...

 

[Gavvvvvin]

this is why i just dont answer the phone when work rings lol

 

[waysted]

On the rare occasion work calls me in i always say yes even if it's really inconvenient because i thought if i always say yes then they might start giving me more than 3 hours a week. Hasn't worked.

Stupid Kmart. Don't hire 50 people if you can't give anyone more than 3 hours a week. Yes, people will quit eventually, but probably only because $30 a week does not buy shit.

 

[greekgun]

this is why i just dont answer the phone when work rings lol

How do you know if it is your work ringing u?

 

[Testpilot]

Coles will generally call your mobile because they know they'll get you instead or mum/dad, brother or who ever. Simply have Coles number in your phone so it recognises.

 

[babikakez]

My work has hugely cut hours recently (ie I've gone from 19 hours on the initial roster to 5 hours in a matter of a week). I'm one of the worst affected, which is ridiculous because I'm on the third lowest payrate (we have 8 in total) and I can take responsibility for some supervision tasks.
But I think that what has realy screwed me over is the fact that I'm willing to pick up shifts with crap notice - i.e. 20 minutes. So this week I was supposed to only be working 9.30-2.30 Sat, but I've also been asked to do 2.30-5.30 Sunday and got called in yesterday for 3.30-6.30 (with about 5 hours notice - I don't have a problem with that).
But I think that while I'm willing to pick up shifts that I'm available for, its at the detriment of a decent roster. Anyone agree?

 

[CieL]

Coles will generally call your mobile because they know they'll get you instead or mum/dad, brother or who ever. Simply have Coles number in your phone so it recognises.

Ahaha sometimes I will call home to see if they're lying or not..

Once this guy called in sick last minute, said he was chucking up all over the place and all this exaggerated crap.. But someone else received the call and I wanted to call back to confirm, and also to organise another person on if it was the case.. But he didnt pick up his mobile..

So I called up home.. his mum picked up.. and said he was "out with his friends"

 

[CieL]

But I think that what has realy screwed me over is the fact that I'm willing to pick up shifts with crap notice - i.e. 20 minutes.

I've had that happen..
We had some new CSM [awhile back, she's gone now] and she was a nub at rosters and EVERYDAY she'd do something wrong and always have to call up people who aren't rostered.
Before she came, I was working a nice solid 20-30hrs around uni.. once she came, my hours dropped from ZERO - 5hrs.
And all the time she would call me up first because I lived 5mins drive away from work and she knew I had my own car. All the time the convo would go like this:

Her: I need you here. Can you work today?
Me: When does the shift start.
Her: Right now.
Me: NOW?!
Her: Well.. 5mins?
Me: I just woke up.
Her: 10mins?

Stupid whore. How bout you roster me on in the first place then all this shit wouldnt of had happened.

 

[^CoSMic DoRiS^^]

I've had that happen..
We had some new CSM [awhile back, she's gone now] and she was a nub at rosters and EVERYDAY she'd do something wrong and always have to call up people who aren't rostered.
Before she came, I was working a nice solid 20-30hrs around uni.. once she came, my hours dropped from ZERO - 5hrs.
And all the time she would call me up first because I lived 5mins drive away from work and she knew I had my own car. All the time the convo would go like this:

Her: I need you here. Can you work today?
Me: When does the shift start.
Her: Right now.
Me: NOW?!
Her: Well.. 5mins?
Me: I just woke up.
Her: 10mins?

Stupid whore. How bout you roster me on in the first place then all this shit wouldnt of had happened.

oh man, i hate that. i live like a half hour drive from the shopping centre (and i gotta rely on the bus :S), but work used to ring all the time at say, 8:30am, wanting to know if i could be there by 8:45 for a 9am start...the last morning bus leaves my street at 8:25ish (and no buses on weekends, either)...so i'd be like 'er, you have to wait till my dad gets home from work to give me a lift, so i won't be there till at least 10am'...and they'd chuck the shits, give me the 'we're soooooo busy' guilt trip and it was like well what do you want me to do?! charter a private helicopter?! lol.

 

[shinji]

Lol @ CieL.

i used to have this problem all the time... they used to call me up and lil ol' me kept on saying yes to get a good reference on my resume. mmm. But the manager got transferred elsewhere and i don't have her as my reference dangit. lol.

Another note though, is when they ask you to stay back during work..
This happened to me once. . i was working a 10 hour shift (woolies; deli) and then they asked me to stay back till 10 because they desperately needed me to. stupid ol' me agreed and i had to open the following morning...

needless to say i was dead the following day. lol.

I usually say that i'm busy when they ask me to work and i don't want to. haha. And no they can't ask what you're doing. lol. they have no right to know about what u do in ur private time. mm. IE; not needed to say "I'm going out or blah blah blah"

Once though, they callled me up when i was at my friends house. it went like this:

Manager: Kent can you work today?
Me: umm, i'm at a friends house atm.
Manager: but we deseprately need you.
Me: err.. i don't know what time im going to be back and i'lll have to walk back home to get ready and then walk to work.
Manager: can u leave now?
Me: (thinking WTF?!) um. i'm currently in the middle of something. sorry.
manager: oh .. its' alrite... cya
Me: Bye.

-------------
Lol.

 

[babikakez]

Another note though, is when they ask you to stay back during work..
This happened to me once. . i was working a 10 hour shift (woolies; deli) and then they asked me to stay back till 10 because they desperately needed me to. stupid ol' me agreed and i had to open the following morning...

needless to say i was dead the following day. lol.

Last Thursday, my dept manager rang us at about 8.45pm. I was one of two supervisors working, and we were in the middle of an express alert. I answered the phone, but put him onto speakerphone as the phone cord wouldn't reach while I did something else. This is how the convo went:

Dept Manager: Oh, I'm glad you answered the phone. Are you able to start at 7.30 tomorrow morning?
Me: Uhhh
Duty Manager (who was nearby and could hear the phone): if your staff are finishing at 10pm, like Jess is, the earliest she can start tomorrow is 8am. They need a 10 hour break, you should know that.
Dept Manager: but its only half an hour. It won't hurt.
Duty Manager: no. Thats not the point.
Me: well, I doubt we'll be able to find someone to start at 7.30. Maybe someone will start at 8. But I won't. If you split the shift in half I'll do the afternoon portion.
Dept Manager: fine. Call me back. I just need 7.30-4.30 covered tomorrow. Make sure its done.

In the meantime, I ran around, madly asking people to start at 7.30. What my dept manager doesn't realise is that not one of his thursday night casuals drive, and are hence reliant on parents or public transport. Also, most are still at school. Eventually, the best I could do was 8.00-12.30, and I agreed to do 12.30-4.30. But he was so pissed off when I rang back, that I decided, on the spot, that I was not going to work the shift that I agreed to. Its funny how my sinuses became blocked overnight, and were miraculously cured by saturday.