No Amount Of Free Snacks Can Counteract Terrible Management

I found an advertisement for warehouse work for a company that delivered beverages on order. The work involved the constant lifting of heavy crates, and because of this, they apparently had trouble keeping employees. I was called back within an hour of applying, and when I appeared for the introductory appointment, I couldn’t help but notice that on all of their vehicles (including their semi-trailers) there were large notices saying, “We need warehouse workers! Call [number] and start work tomorrow!”

No surprise, I was hired on the spot without an interview. 

All of this was in addition to employees being allowed to set their own schedules. (The only provision was that they gave you one full workday a week where you had to show.) Free drinks and snacks were also provided to employees. It was almost like they were saying, “There is no reason for you not to like working here!”

My first full day was spent getting to know the place and the protocols. When I came back to start my official work, the shift manager casually handed me a scanner, a PDA, and a small printer that would print out barcodes on stickers to attach to crates.

My first batch of orders beeped in on my PDA, and I grabbed a cart and headed away to retrieve them. Every time I would scan a crate, I would get an error. I desperately tried to remember how the procedure went and tried an alternative. Things became even more catastrophic as my scanner kept disconnecting from my PDA, then my printer jammed and I couldn’t figure out how to open it, then my PDA became unresponsive, and then, suddenly, out of nowhere:

Shift Manager: “WHAT THE H*** IS TAKING YOU SO LONG?! THAT ORDER CAME IN SEVENTEEN MINUTES AGO!”

Me: “I’m having problems—”

Shift Manager: “I DON’T CARE ABOUT YOUR PROBLEMS! DELIVERIES ARE EXPECTED IN 120 MINUTES — NO EXCEPTIONS!”

Me: “My scanner—”

Shift Manager: “We told you how to use it already! HURRY UP! Keep this up, and you won’t last the week here!”

Me: “But—”

Shift Manager: “BUT NOTHING! Get moving!” *Walks away*

In a panic now, I simply grabbed the rest of the crates without scanning them, but then I put them off to the side so that I could try to explain the serious problem I had. I approached the manager.

Me: “Okay, there is a problem with the batch I made—”

Shift Manager: *Looking at a screen* “Yeah, I see that! You scanned this wrong and did that wrong. Are you just walking around here asleep?”

Me: “The reason—”

Shift Manager: “I don’t want to hear your excuses! If this batch is not sent out on time, you’re f***ed. And I’m gonna tell them it was YOU!”

I walked away in exasperation, seriously contemplating throwing down my equipment and leaving. That was when someone passed by me; his name tag identified him as the general manager. Finally, relief!

Me: “Excuse me, sir. I need help with my work assignment. I’m confused about how everything is supposed to work. Can you have someone show me how it’s done correctly?”

General Manager: *Confused look* “I thought I… Hold on…”

He took out his radio and summoned someone over.

General Manager: “Stay here. They’ll be right with you.” *Walks away*

And who do you think walked up to “help” me?

Shift Manager: “You again? What now?”

Me: “I need help with—”

Shift Manager: “I don’t have time to bottlefeed you. You need to learn to work on your own! You just don’t want to try, and I’m getting pissed!” *Walks away*

I’d had enough. I ripped the equipment off of me and left the premises. When I got home, I sent the company an email and detailed my experience in full, ending it with, “If this is how [Company] tolerates managers treating their employees, then I’ll work elsewhere. Thank you for the opportunity anyway.”

I thought it was the end of that. It wasn’t. The following day, I got a knock on the door, and there stood a man wearing a polo shirt bearing the company logo.

Man: “Hi! I’m [Man], regional director for [Company]. Can I have just thirty seconds before you slam the door in my face? Thirty seconds — hear me out!”

Me: “Regional director?! Okay, wow… I’m listening.”

He explained that he’d gotten a copy of my email and was so incensed by it that he drove two hours to come personally apologize for that manager’s behavior, and he assured me that it was NOT tolerated by the company. He further stated that the manager was supposed to spend a few hours working next to me to make sure I was understanding everything, but for some reason just didn’t feel like it that day. He ended it with:

Man: “We would be grateful if you would rejoin our team. If you ever have a problem like that again, you can call me directly!”

I accepted his apology and agreed to give it another shot. And from then on, I never had any other problems while working there — especially not from that manager. As I was told, the regional director came and personally escorted him off the premises.

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