Boundaries Up Front! BOUNDARIES UP FRONT!

I have some credit card debt that I’m trying to pay off, and while I have a plan in place to get it all paid off, I figure getting a seasonal part-time job will help me pay it off faster. I accept a position at a well-known department store, and my training shift for the first day is to be 10:00 to 2:00.

That morning, I am asked if I can come in at 11:00 instead. I say yes, figuring my shift is now 11:00 to 3:00. By two, I have finished most of my required work, and I alert the manager. 

Manager: “Okay. For your last hour, do you want to start on the training videos or shadow someone in the department?”

Me: “I would like to shadow the floor.”

Manager: “Okay. When you’re all done with your shift, then come upstairs so I can give you your name badge and welcome packet.”

Three o’clock rolls around, so I head back to the offices to get my stuff and leave. 

The manager leads me into another room with a computer and has me sign on. I figure it’s just to clock out since I’m not in the system yet and they’ll just use some computer software to manually add in the hours. But, she takes me to a training page instead.

Manager: “Just start on this video and work your way through.”

Me: “I’m sorry, but I thought this was being saved for next week and that my shift was over now.”

Manager: “You came in an hour late, though, so you would stay an extra hour to make up the difference.”

Me: “Yes, but I already did. Ten to two became eleven to three. It’s 3:00 pm already, so my shift is over. You told me that I would just need to come upstairs to get my name badge.”

Manager: “Okay, but I figured you would want to get some of the videos out of the way.”

Me: “No, I’m saving them for next week. I will be leaving at the agreed-upon time.”

She looked mad and gave me my stuff, so I went on my way. 

I figured she was trying to squeeze in my training all at once so I could be floor-ready the next time I came in and that I wouldn’t want to speak up since it was only my first day. But since this job wasn’t really necessary and was just a bonus, I wasn’t going to indulge in their game. The thing that kills me is that she was complaining about how hard it was to keep new hires and have enough staff for the holidays, but then she pulled that stunt, which taught me not to trust her and her practices.