Thursday, August 31, 2006
Have A Good One! (Any One Will Do)
Sorry but there will be no new post this Saturday. I'm taking this holiday weekend off, and I don't plan on going anywhere near a computer for the next couple of days. Well, okay maybe tomorrow, but that's it I swear! So if anyone leaves comments for this blog during the weekend, they probably won't get published until Tuesday at the earliest. Sorry if this inconveniences anyone. Everyone, have a great Labor Day weekend, please drive safely and all that jazz. See you here next week!
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25 comments:
Have a good holiday weekend. Or better yet, I hope the one you had was good. Since this probably won't be read until after.
Would like to hear more of the wage cap being discussed earlier.
My district has always been stingy with raises.
Looking at a managers employee listing, I see the people who get recent raises. They've been the family/friends of the managers or the ones promoted recently. And that's been it.
I also heard about this 50 store crap. Of course they will wait until the last minute to start it. The version I heard in our district is if you go above aph in 50 stores you
auto get a raise. Yeah whatever... What about the people that have been here years and havent been given the 90 day test because "they didnt ask for it"
The thing I hate most. The thing that I really hate... Over the last year and a half or so theyve been trying to save money EVERYWHERE.
-Raises are very rare. I know a teamleader who wasn't given a raise and is still stuck at our 8.00 starting wage.
-We used to have a trainer for brand new employees. They would be in charge of training and orientation. LONG GONE
-Secretaries hours in our office has been cut cut and cut so much that there really is none now in the office. Managers take over the resposibilities they had.
-Districts here, not sure about elsewhere in country, have been merged. Territory for 1 district here is much larger. Some stores for me are an hour+ drive with no carpool options. And many of these stores rarely go over 3 hours. With gas prices you almost pay to work!
-Speaking of our starting wage, it was once 9.00 but was cut down to 8.00. When asked why, a popular manager answer was it was to discourage people from applying for job due to it's high starting pay! Haha whatever. I started at 9 dollars almost 8 years ago! 8 years later and its went down!
-Stores now are filled with as many 8 dollar people as possible. Higher paid employees, myself especially, have seen a dramatic cut in their hours. I know brand new people with less availability that me that get more hours. What? Do they think auditors dont discuss their schedule with each other?
Oh there's a lot more places where they are cutting money. But had to vent a little. I'll go over even more later.
This used to be a lot better job that has just been going downhill. RGIS is it's auditors. It's horrible what they are doing.
Dude, you should ditch RGIS & come to Quantum Services. Muy bueno filthy lucre, & no nights or weekends. Check it on the web. quantum-services.com
catty: I cheated, and took a peek at this blog today. Couldn't resist. Oh well, so much for no computers this weekend!
That's terrible about the raise thing. Your district sounds even worse than mine (no, how could that be?). RGIS sounds like it has gotten worse since it was sold. And I thought it was bad before! How do they hang on to people? I stayed because of two things: I liked the flexibility of the scheduling, and I genuinely liked to count stuff. I found it fun to do.
I think if RGIS continues on its current path they are going to have a mass exodus of auditors. Not to mention having a major hiring problem. Your manager sounds like a real whack job! Cutting the starting pay because they DON'T want people to apply for the (laughable) high starting wage? A TL still at his starting wage? Managers doing the work of office staff? It sounds like your district is really ripe for an implosion. Keep us updated, please!
Catty, I think they cut the secretaries in all the offices.
We now have one for 20 hrs. a week.
Our other secretary was given the option of going to 20 hrs and losing all her benefits, or to leave. She left. The managers fill in the other 20 hours. We have not heard anything about a wage cap but I'll see what I can find out in the field. As far as the 50 store rule, we were told it went into effect on July 1st. Supposedly, you are reviewed for a raise after every 50 stores. We have people who have hit the 50 and have heard nothing. We are now hearing that the team leaders raises will be based on several things: their own productivity, the percentages they cut in stores they run, and on the overall performance of their teams.
Hello?? what does that last item mean? I've been told it will depend on their team's productivity, dependability and availability. So as a team leader, your raise will depend on what everyone else does? I've asked about the team leaders who do not run stores...and we have many who do not...what will their raises be based on? Of course, we are just being told about how raises will work but when you ask the questions, they never know the answers. Or, they don't think we will like the answers so they tell us they don't know. One thing is for sure, since so many different versions of the cap and 50 store rule are out there, do they really have such policies? Or is it just their way of eliminating raises?
Would love to hear from other people to see what they are hearing.
catty: we hear you about the raises. My sister is one of the districts top employees and hasn't received a raise for over a year, even the district is performing above average by company standards. She was told she is above the wage cap. The new 50 store business is a death trap for many auditors. You are issued an APH goal based on your current rate. If after 50 stores you have not met the target it opens the door for RGIS to start cleaning house of many of the old timers. We asked our manager what about team leaders, we are told that it will be based on your team's performance. But when the 50 stores go into effect? My brother-inlaw is a lawyer and he says that nothing is in effect until RGIS publishs the policy to its employees. So for now it seems that management is just holding on to the money. Our area manager is now all pissed off because she found out that she is not going to Disneyworld. We told her maybe if she gave away her raise she could go. She said there is an area in our division that went from 4 districts servicing to only 1 district now! The new DM is called a Regional Manager...can you say a slave. They didn't replace the management positions. Now they are talking about hiring from outside for all management positions. Our Area manager now plans to the whole week off while our DM is in Disneyworld, she said why bust her hump while he is getting pampered with a free vacation! So it seems its not just the field that is getting screwed.
Wow you guys. RGIS is sounding worse by the minute. Has most of this wage cap/cutting secretary hours/etc. been happening after the company was sold, or before? Just curious.
The smart people don't promote to TL until they've been there awhile, get a few raises under their belts :) ... I've been there so long that I probably make more than the few TLs we have left in our district. We're hurting for TLs, and ATLs but who wants to do it when you may be lucky to get 50 cents out of the deal and get all the lovely added on responsibility? It's nuts!
The 50 store rule. I have no doubts that I can keep up with the APH or higher, but I think my chances of getting any kind of raise is slim to none considering how much I make now. Heck, with that whole thing, you won't find me staying late or helping newbies, or doing anything other than counting! Wouldn't wanna' mess with the ol' APH ya' know. Pull tags? Seriously? Lower my APH?
Anyways, I'm pretty behind on the blog so I havent' read the discussion on raises, but I pretty much heard the same thing. APH will be determined over 50 stores and raises will be dished out or pay will be cut accordingly. Now I have to wonder, who is going to be keeping track of this stuff and how long will it last?
Misfit, the cutting of travel pay was before the sale. Everything else is since the sale. We are now hearing that my District will be merging with another district at the end of the month. I asked my AM about the wage caps today and he is always upfront with me but he said he has not heard about a wage cap. And, he is totally confused by the 50 store rule because our DM told him they are being very vague about it.
Anon at 5:58...do you know what the cap is? Also, have they issued anyone in your District their expected APH? My question still remains as far as team leaders are concerned. There are many times the TL's have trouble counting very much in their stores because they are dealing with issues. So, this effects their APH. Also, what about the AM's who selectively pick what you will count in stores? We have some that make sure their teams get the high dollar, quantity things always. This effects our APH also.
My husband has a point. If our APH will determine if we keep working or get raises, then we should be able to file grievances against the managers who give you the 'crap' to count in every store. They are, in fact, practicing a form of descrimination, aren't they?
The wage cap/secretary reduction/manager change in bonus structure/50 store evaluation all came into play after the company was sold. The first big cuts happened at HQ from what I heard. Big cuts! The boat sucks for many, but the amount of cuts that are going on for hourly employees really is the worse. I heard the travel pay was cut but that hasn;t happened in our district? I also heard that there are parts of the company that no longer issue per diem for overnight trips. That really sucks. We in our district just want to be told the real deal! Frustrated in NM. If the brass is really reading this blog...get your act together! This company is becoming an even worse HR nightmare.
Misfit:
After it was sold definitely.
So many things got worse after for us slowly and slowly.
Now if we have to emergency call off for a store we better hope a manager is in the office since there isnt a secretary. Not that it matters, for us its counted as a no show anyways. Notice or not.
I love this blog Misfit. It's funny seeing so many people across the country with the same complaints. We are always complaining, much like the stuff here, in stores to each other.
To the anon above misfit:
Up here there has been rumors of hiring AMs from outside. A manager here said that he was at a store in another district and met one. Said that the man didn't even understand how to transmit an audit to the ray.
And one last thing for today:
Scheduling here, not sure about you guys in other districts, has gone way downhill.
We used to have teamleaders or managers personally go through and make a balanced schedule. Was nice. If we had 2 abercrombies on I could request the one closest to my home. Was never a problem.
Now we have the computer make the schedule.
No more getting the stores closest to you. If auditor A lived next to store X, and auditor B lived next to store Y, you cant request a change when A is going to Y and B is going to X.
If the computer schedules you in a store you are locked into it. This also means a lot more nighttime inventory to morning inventory the next day. The computer doesnt care.
Stores are also overstaffed now by rule here. Smaller stores will always have 1 or 2 extra auditors in case there's a no-show Im told. Well for us that means a lot more 2 hour stores. (We get 2 hour minimum here, it was 3 a few years ago. Not sure why that was changed)
Here is a word for word copy of the letter I got from my manager when the scheduling was changed over. LOL enjoy:
Hi Everyone,
Listen up guys Iam going to need everyone's availability ASAP. I know your probably thinking that you already have. As you guys know, We have a new district manager for some reason the availability has been a confusion. That's why I need to know everyone's right away so I can give it to XXXX ASAP. There is no 24 hours call offs anymore you need to give us atleast 3 weeks if you do have a appointment or anything else you need to take care off we are going to need a written document noting that you were in such place that day. It's going to be pretty bumpy at first but we have to try to work together at this, So please try to help me get your availabilty ASAP to the office. We are not going to be scheduling you or anyone to stores that are closer to anyone's home, That is going to stop! I know some people go where they have to go and that's why this has to stop. Fair is fair guys. If you are scheduled for a inventory u must keep that schedule, That's why you have to send me your availabilty as soon as you guys can. If anyone has a question please email me.
Thank You Very Much,
XXX XXXXXXXX
I have been reading the latest posts about raises. I can't believe that they would lower the starting pay. In the northeast, the cost of living is so high, I can't even imagine that anyone except for maybe college kids would work for $8.00 an hour. The minimum wage in some states alone is $7.25.
They are certainly not going to have the best people applying for jobs, especially when they find out that RGIS offers no benefits. There is no health care, paid sick days, paid vacation days, 401 plan, or any other benefits offered. The price of gas is sky high and there is alot of traveling to be done when you work for RGIS. I wonder if they are cutting managers raises as well.
As far as RGIS filing a lawsuit against you Misfit, I don't think you have anything to worry about. They can't sue you for telling the truth.
They really need to look at how they are running the company and how a freeze on pay raises is going to affect the most important employees - their auditors. This is going to affect morale and January is right around the corner. If I still worked for them and was a TL and had not received a raise in a year, I wouldn't be running any stores in January or for that fact any other time. I wouldn't be going out of my way for them either.
Maybe RGIS is a good company for a union takeover.
Catty, we have heard this week that centralized scheduling is not working like they thought it would.
They are apparently going to go back to District scheduling or TL scheduling,in our Division anyways.
JKat, our District may be merging with our neighboring District in a short while. This will create a huge District with a lot of traveling.
To whoever wrote about the APH and 50 store review policy...cut pays??
You will see a major revolt if they start cutting pays. We are already seeing people refuse to stay when a store is done because they don't want to effect their APH. In a recent large store, the AM's pulled the tags because no one would stay. WE are also seeing people refuse to count really bad areas because of the dreaded APH review. We all know that every store has good areas and bad ones. Everything needs to be counted or that is how people felt about it before this APH thing became such an issue. Now people are refusing to count certain areas. Wasn't it better when we all worked as a team to get a store done?
Hi catty and everyone: You know, I can't make up my mind: was working for RGIS worse when I just had to concern myself with all the nonsense going on in my district, or is it worse now with all of the nonsense being done by RGIS HQ? I'm thinking...worse now. Wage caps, shrinking travel pay, 2-hour minimums, raises for TL's based on team performance...it just keeps sounding uglier and uglier. I REALLY have to wonder why anyone would stay as a RGIS auditor now. Do the scant benefits (not medical of course!) like flexible schedules and...um, what else is there? Oh, yes, I did actually like to count stuff. I found it fun, for some weird reason. But there's nothing that could keep me with RGIS now. It just sounds horrible.
catty, thanks for the nice words about my blog. I've been having so much fun writing it; I wish I had started it a long time ago. I too have been enjoying everyone's comments. Without this blog I never would've had the chance to find out that so many other RGIS auditors around the country feel the same way as I do. It's been very very interesting. Look out RGIS, the natives are restless!
jkat: Thanks, but the way RGIS is operating, they may just very well try it anyway! The emperor doesn't like to be told that he isn't wearing any clothes. And hmmm... a union for auditors? Could that work? Auditors unite! Where is Norma Rae when you need her?
The company was sold for a very specific reason... the Nicholsens know that within five years from now, inventory taking as it has been known will be dead. What will kill it is RFID. This is the technology that allows inventory to be taken basically by walking down an aisle of a grocery store. Every product will have RFID tags along with barcodes for identification purposes.
Sure, RGIS will most likely still be around... but have you noticed the kinds of things that are starting to be done now? RGIS is a staffing service. RGIS stocks shelves. RGIS secret shops. Pretty soon, that's all RGIS will be doing.
You won't need anymore highly paid auditors to count anymore. Counting will not be a required or needed skill. You can get away with only having the $8/hr auditors (or less) as the only thing they'll be doing is re-merchandising sections at CVS.
FYI, I've been reading this blog for a little while and really enjoy it. I too am a former RGIS junkie. 10 years of my life as an auditor, team leader, Area Manager and District Manager. I had planned on being an RGIS lifer. Anything for the company, blah blah blah.
As a manager, I started noticing right away that the people getting dumped on the most was the auditors. It SUCKED as a manager trying to convince people that 2 hours stores were a good thing. Especially since I was a former Auditor, the LAST thing I wanted was to only get a two hour job at 6 in the morning. I really don't understand how half the auditors out there even pay their bills. I know a lot of people do it for fun money but I really felt for the ones who actually relied on getting, forget 40, how about at least 30 sometimes less hours a week.
The moment I realized that the company doesn't give a rat's behind about it's auditors was when they did away with the auditor bonuses (remember those???) and health insurance (Yes, they actually had health insurance for auditors...)
I made the decision to leave RGIS after January of 2004 but needed to make sure I had the skill set to get another job elsewhere. Since this was the only job I ever had, obviously it was a bit scary. So I enrolled in a computer course and learned everything I needed to know about the computer world. (Of course I didn't tell my Ops that it was a computer class... didn't want to tip them off I was leaving...yet)
What absolutely killed me was when I actually told them I was going to school, they made me sign a letter that stated RGIS will ALWAYS come first, no matter what. The company is scared to death people will come to their senses and leave this crappy environment by increasing their skills by going to school. At that point, I actually resigned my position and stepped down to be an Auditor for the 6 months it took for me to finish school.
That actually was a fun 6 months. I was glad I ended up doing it that way because I had the freedom to do what stores I wanted and being a former manager, I was fluent in BS. I ended up getting a great job working for a small IT company and I would NEVER go back. I really did enjoy counting and the sense of completion each inventory drew but I'm glad that chapter of my life is over.
The only advice I can give any current auditors or newbies... this is a great "temporary" job. Don't fall into the same trap that so many have fallen into. There are better things out there than RGIS. Don't let anyone ever convince you otherwise. If they are, they're most likely blowing smoke up your butt to keep you around a little longer.
Stay in school. Get a degree and for God's sake, Don't work at RGIS full time.
Wow, can I speak in defense of the company for a minute? I'm a manager and have never heard of a wage cap. As far as the 50 store rule that is mostly true as well as the team leader/team raises. However, as managers we have the ability to assess and approve raises for individuals. We know who the people are that always stay to pull tags. We account for the auditors who are typically assigned the domestics portion vs. hardlines. As far as people becoming t/l's and not receiving raises well that is bad management in your district. There are guidelines to giving t/l their raises as they pass the modules and then run a certain amount of stores. I can assure you that my t/l's get paid well! We have 2 auditors that can count like the wind and they were making starting wage. We brought it to our ops attention and raises were approved for both of them.
In my opinion a lot of things sound like they come down to the management in your office. I'm sure there are a few grumbles here and there of course but overall we have a very happy content district. We know how important the auditors are to the success of this company.
Computer doing the schedule? Good lord that sounds like a horrible idea! That must be something that they are testing in your area? I have not heard of that. What a night mare for everyone.
I'm not saying that all the changes are great. But I think some of you have this misfortune of being in a district with bad managers. One of these reasons I always liked this company was because it promoted within. However the more I think about all the bad managers that are out there the more I wonder. Maybe hiring people from the outside that actually know how to 'manage' may not be such a bad idea?
I've been around a very very long time and have been through a lot of crap too. So what I'm seeing now is just more change that we need to get used to before we decide it's a bad thing or not.
As far as managers being hired from outside the company: Google or Yahoo "RGIS." You will find ads for area managers in various parts of the company.
The one thing you could always count on was that almost every manager had an idea of how things worked -- the general concept of running and inventory and how to operate the equipment. Some knew more than others, but you really never had a manager who couldn't operate a portable reasonably well, or who didn't know how to transmit a Ray, because they had all done it.
While it wasn't required that you be a team leader before you could enter the AAM program, it was pretty rare that someone without a gray shirt would even apply, let alone be chosen. Let's see what happens when you have an inexperienced AM running a fifty-person inventory, especially after the long-time auditors walk and aren't there to help.
68bug--I understand what you feel good about the district your in control of. You are right, much of it comes down to who you work for on all levels. I worked for RGIS for 25 years. I also know that what is being said here in this blog is more about the new regimes poor methods of communication than the actual matters. How can so many parts of the organization have such different versions of the company's wage policy. Here is a questions for you...do you know how your salaried managers bonus is going to be figured out? Normally at this time you would be in the final weeks before the end of the bonus period. If you were a good manager you'd know exactly how much your efforts were going to net you. Is that still the case? No, because they took away semi-annual bonuses for managers! That is why I left. And there is no real direction as to how your going to get your bonus now. They are testing theory's now, is what I have heard. Bottomline is everyone is getting screwed in some fashion by RGIS;field managers, secretaries, hourly auditors. RGIS is looking alot like Washington Inventory when they were bought...maybe that's it..RGIS is just being cleaned up to be sold again.
J: Interesting theory about the reason the company was sold. I didn't even think about how those RFID tags would affect the inventory service. Awww, poor RGIS! Slowly becoming obsolete. Hah! And thanks for reading my blog. Please continue to read, and to leave your comments.
That letter that RGIS made you sign. That's hilarious! I can't believe they'd do something like that. Then again...it's RGIS. Did they make you sign it in blood? "RGIS will always come first with me. If I violate this policy, I agree to give over my first born child..." You wouldn't still have a copy of that letter, would you? If so, please post it here!
68bug: Welcome to my blog! I hope you'll continue to read, and to leave your comments. If you've been reading all the comments, I'm sure you've noticed that there is a lot of discontent within the ranks. And it's not just limited to a few districts in one area, either. The problems seem to be all over the U.S. (and Canada too).
the refugee: Yes, it will be VERY interesting to see how "outside" managers handle working for RGIS. I'm very curious to see how that one works out!
68bug..welcome to this blog. Glad to see that your District operates so well. Yours is the exception and not the rule, however. I do have to say that my AM has also said that he hasn't heard anything about a wage cap.
To anon at 11:55...you have hit the nail on the head. This new regime has absolutly no skills at communicating their policies. you are right that there are so many interpretations of the wage cap and 50 store review, that don't you think it would be more than time for them to actually send out the new policies to their employees?? We, in our District, can not depend on our management to do it. They will always tell you what they think you want to hear and rarely give you an honest answer about anything.
68bug, can you explain the 50 store review and TL raise policy more clearly to all of us?
68bug, obviously a lot depends on the managers -- not just in the district office, but in Division as well.
Some ops will let their DMs run the districts as they see fit, and as long as everything is running fine, they're happy. Others will micromanage every little detail of what goes on in the office. Of course, those managers don't necessarily accept responsibility for the failure of their districts -- that's what the DMs and AMs are for, since they aren't allowed to actually make their own decisions.
I worked for both types of ops, and a variety of different DMs.
As for the reasons the company was sold, what has been said may be true; however, the Nicholsons were not getting any younger, and I don't think they had anyone to carry on the business for another generation. What I couldn't figure out was why they didn't just take it public.
I *do* believe it will be resold. I've seen this happen with a lot of large family businesses. Company X is run for years by a family with its own culture and idiosyncracies, for better or worse. Then the company is sold to an investment group, whose first order of business is turn that culture on its head, all to make the company more profitable on paper on the short term. This involves cutting staff, trimming benefits, and forcing out long-time employees, especially in management and headquarters positions. Now the company is worth more on paper, the investment group sells the company at a huge profit, and somebody else is stuck with a business built for short-term profit and long-term failure.
I used to work for retail company where the exact same thing happened. The investors sold the company to another retail business which planned on merging it into an existing subsidiary, but my former business and the other subsidiary have both since disappeared, although there were other factors involved with that.
badlogo: Don't worry, you'll be fine (I think!). A word of advice: make sure you keep track of all hours worked. Don't leave it up to your district office to do that for you. Write down on a calendar or notebook the EXACT hours you worked for each store, and whether or not you took a break or lunch break. That way, if discrepancies regarding your paycheck pop up later (and they almost always do) you can point them out to your managers and be paid accordingly. Good luck and let me know how your first day was!
About 10 years ago RGIS tried to hire managers outside of the company in our region, and it was a complete disaster. They knew nothing about the equipment, and most of them had to have team leaders run their stores because they just didn't understand how to direct the auditors to get the store counted. The job was just too crazy for them. These people were use to having a life. Within 3 months 49 of the 50 managers had left. The lone manager lasted a few years and then left as well. Personally I don't think there's anything wrong with promoting from within, I just think the promotion should be based on more than butt kissing. Too many wackos who have no idea how to manage get promoted because they are buddy buddy with the managers.
anon. at 12:16 am: Wow, 49 out of 50 managers quitting. Or were some of them fired? Sounds like my district! I never thought that the 'hiring from outside' would work. You're right about the butt kissers getting promoted, but the 'outsiders' could never understand the crazy schedules demanded of by RGIS. No wonder 'the outsiders' didn't last.
Hey Gang,
Ok first the latest from Division about the subjects are as follows.....
50 store/1000 hour review is true when it's official roll out date will be is up in the air (as soon as i know you'll know)
RFID tags can work in some areas of inventory burt over all are to exspensive and time consuming to implement in a grocery store also can fall off get under shelves and give you falls positives on product. Would work well in a small music store but it won't be replacing any auditor any time soon give it another 10 to 15 years.
As far as the buy and then sell idea about the co.
Yes they down sized in alot of areas and now they just spent a crap load of that savings on new laptops new laser printers and new rf machines that are in testing. Sounds like there giving us better tools and cutting some of the dead weight....
And there is no salary cap that i've heard about.
My district has steady work good managers and over all a good feel to it... true i'd like to see us up another 10 - 15 people for the January Frenzy but we hold are own and keep smiling to the bank... I would like to see the health insurence return for the auditors it's about time don't you think???
Manager X
As for the outside managers, it sucks. Basically, they showed them how to run a computer, then dump the responsiblity of placement on TL's. And of course, they can't count. An AAM from my district shocked Auditor's from another when he grabbed a machine to recount an area.
I left when I was afraid that the latest January would have me seeing how much Jack and Coke I could consume and still function.
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