First of all I just wanted to thank everyone so much for reading my little ol' RGIS blog. I've had a fantastic time writing this blog, and an equally wonderful time reading all of your comments. It's been very educational and entertaining, reading everyone's stories about their own experiences working for RGIS. Without this blog I would have never been able to hear from Auditors and Team Leaders and Managers all over the U.S. and Canada too. It's become apparent to me and probably to most of you as well that no matter what district we're in, and regardless of which state or even which country we're in as well a lot of our RGIS experiences are quite similar. It's helped me a great deal to write about my time with RGIS, and I hope it's helped (and entertained) you to read this blog, as well as the comments left here. I feel like for some it's become a sort of catharsis. This blog has been for some a place to vent their frustration with the way a lot of things have been going with RGIS lately, and I'm very glad to provide a place for people to do just that. I know all too well how unfair things can get sometimes when you're working as a RGIS auditor or TL or even a manager. Sometimes you just want to scream with frustration. Aw, group hug!
Secondly, I have a tiny favor to ask you guys. Don't worry, it's nothing major. When you leave your comments here at this blog, would you please use a nickname instead of commenting as "Anonymous"? It's just that it would make it so much easier for me (and others) when leaving a reply. It doesn't have to be a terribly clever nickname; you could use something like "123" or "Shoe" or "Fungus", whatever. You can even change your nickname every time you leave a comment. It's just that when myself or someone else leaves a reply to your comment it's much easier and quicker to reply to a "Handbag" or a "Dog" than to have to type out "anon. at 4/7/07, 11:35 pm". Choosing the nickname option is very simple. When you leave your comment, you'll see that just below that box there is an option that says "Choose Your Identity". Just select the "Other" option instead of anonymous, and then you can have some fun and pick a nickname. Like I mentioned before, it can be just about anything and you can use a different one every time you leave a comment, if you like. And don't worry, just because you've used a nickname doesn't mean that anyone will know who you are. Unless you use your real name and then you're screwed. Of course you can always still post under "Anonymous" but wouldn't you rather have some fun and pick out a nickname? Of course you would! :)
93 comments:
Just something else I'd like to add that people haven't really brought up:
If RGIS did drug testing we would lose a LOT of employees.
Not Anon.: Oh, a few people have brought this subject up in several comments at different posts in this blog. I think we all realized that about drug testing after we had all worked at RGIS for a short while. A very short while, right? :) Once an AM said that very same thing to me, that RGIS could never really do drug testing, because then they would have no one working for them. In the field, I mean.
Some of the worst cases of drug and alcohol abuse that I have witnessed at RGIS was with DM`s and AM`s. There`s a big difference between an auditor who may be drunk or high on drugs and a person in a management position.Managers are in charge of large number of people; if they are impaired all their subordinates--TL`s,ATL`s, and auditors-- suffer, and look bad to our customers.(We had a DM who once showed up drunk at a PIV at a very large store, and got banned.That sure made the rest of us look awful.)
If RGIS does drug testing, they should start at the TOP and work down. The person who came up with this EAPH system must be on some hallucinatory drug!
If I remember right...maybe this changed, but I THINK there is a provision somewhere in the rules for drug testing in special cases.
Re:Drug test. We had an AM transfer to us from Colorado and it was very obvious he was a user. Well, after many close calls including nearly running over our auditors while barreling out of the parking lot he finally crashed our DM's van (after dropping everyone off at the meet site)and was finally fired. Gee, not too many people cared.
OTL: What happened to the DM that showed up drunk for a PIV? Did he receive any disciplinary action from RGIS? I'm guessing not much, right?
exauditor: Thank goodness he crashed the van AFTER he dropped everyone off. And finally, someone got fired!
Misfit:
The DM was never disciplined. A DM from a neighboring district had to run that inventory the next few times. That drunk DM`s successor told me that he ( the alcoholic ) must of had a lot of "dirt" on the OPS Manager, because of all he got away with during his time here!The last I heard he still was a DM somewhere with RGIS, although someone said he has since sobered up. Either that,or he must have some really incriminating blackmail going with his supervisors!
OTL: Typical RGIS response regarding your DM, yes? *sigh*. But lol! That talk about people having dirt on other people at work sounds sooo familiar!
Any RGIS auditor from Canada? I'm thinking of applying for a job during the summer/fall - can't work full time as I have to finish my studies. How much do they pay per hr in BC for newbies?
I haven't bothered to read through much, but if anyone has mentioned how to hack the RGIS Dell laptop, let me know and I won't continue. If no one here has, let me know, "the misfit" and I MAY decide to illuminate three backdoors into the wonderful RGIS portable.
Want perfect 5s on a PIQA, without that nagging cusomer service?
Find the last four digits of everyone's social security number in yours and others districts?
Get a really large boost in a raise with five minutes of work?
Ask, and it just may be recieved.
Then again, might just hold onto them until I can finalize moving over to another inventory service. The four dollar raise for going over there would be really nice...
magic fingers: "Illuminating three backdoors"? ??? You kind of lost me there.
(Misfit, I hope you dont mind this advice.)
Piper:
Google "Vancouver Forum RGIS" and your questions shall be answered. ( RGIS is just as fucked up in Canada as the U.S.!)
what dirt do you have on district 469 and 461 in north carolina
Why do rgis allow Area managers and team leaders to fight and steal at work and still remain with there titles
Are there any straight people working at RGIS. Over there years i have been here i have witnessed htat the majority of the auditors are not only gay but there are many couples here.
Windows isn't the most secure operating system out there. Even though I feel completely safe with my home computer and use Microsoft operating systems exclusively, there are ways to manipulate the portables through ways that must not have been forseen at FSC.
The calculator program is a huge security hole, but before I go any further, I want to say that customer data is completely secure. Employee data, not so much, but I've looked at it, and any data of value would be absolutely useless to the competition through the backdoors.
I use the word backdoor, because that's the one I'm more familair with. Like earlier it was talked about numbers being "plugged in", I'm used to hearing "sewing the sheets".
But the three things in mind can disable a portable or go into data that wouldn't normally be findable. Don't know if it's of much use, but having part of my social security number accessible by people who are total pieces of shit doesn't make me too happy. If people already know how to do it, doesn't matter if it's repeated. Kind of like how pictures of the new RM-1 units are supposed to be kept quiet are spread wide and far.
To clarify, one backdoor gets access to the directory tree, one to the notepad, through which programs can be corrupted or flat out erased, and one can be used to hook into the Internet, where malicious programs can be downloaded from.
magic fingers: I didn't like my SS# being out there too, when I was with RGIS. I guess they do it differently now, but when I was there we had to sign in on the time sheets with our name and SS#. Gee, weren't we trusting?
For many years,our district used to list everyone`s entire SS number on the roster sheets that they used to give to managers and supervisors.I wonder how many of those sheets got left at stores or thrown out into the recycling or garbage.
The only time social security numbers come into play is during hiring, and for the first few stores a new hire goes to until they get their employee number. Even then, on the time sheets people are only supposed to use the last four digits of their SSN, not the whole thing. Don't know how many times I've told new people, "Only write the last four digits of your social security number, not the whole thing."
"Are there any straight people working at RGIS."
Yes, myself and my veteran people are all heterosexual. Outside of my team, and my new hires, I can't speak for.
Everyone in my district is heterosexual, and I've never noticed any homosexual people working for RGIS from other districts either, although they may be hiding it. But it would make sense if they hired some gay people seeing how many store managers that RGIS services up here are in fact, homosexual.
Now that I think about it, how many erotic homosexual stores have you guys audited? I've done a few... too many...
finger laser: "Erotic homosexual stores."??? Wow, we never had any of those. Had to be, well, interesting to say the least, yes?
Yeah, its not for the faint of heart, that's for sure.
I was going to write a description of the things we've counted but I'll leave that to your imaginations.
But I got to say, the RGIS staff was professional as everyone acted seriously, no laughing, vomiting or passing out this time. I don't know how I survived it either, but when I got home, I felt disturbed, I couldn't close my eyes to sleep, and was talking to myself all night.
But as we all experienced, the next inventory put an end to all thought, so I was back to normal after a few inventories.
We don`t do any real kinky stores here either. Although there was one adult(porno mags) store we did once a few years back.Our DM made the mistake of sending too many of our young guys there--we ended up doing a recount.This was probably because of concentration issues--the young fellers spent too much time looking at the magazine pictures instead of counting.
RE: www.rgisovertime.com. Today I spoke to Nathan Kauf at Schneider and Wallace lawfirm in San Francisco. He said there is a nation-wide class action lawsuit aginst RGIS and people are welcome to join the class. It is for non payment of hours, OT, travel, stand-by time, loading/unloading equipment,breaks/lunches,etc.etc. Go to the website and fill out the contact form if you want more info.
Here in Tucson there is an erotic place called "Fascinations" that RGIS does. Since I am in the "Geritol Group" everybody assured me that I would never be scheduled to do this store. Well, something happened and a bunch of regulators were scheduled out of town so the second string was called in.
The audit starts at midnight when they close. When I arrived I noticed a person in the back shopping. At first I thought it was a woman, but when I got closer, I saw it was a transexual and he/she said he/she worked at the club next door. Hummmmm? It left and the store closed. Well, we did the videos first. First, I got the weirdo movies (leather, whips, chains, etc.) Next were the gay and lesbian movies. When I finished those I called out "OK I'm ready for the ones with animals in them!" One of the other auditors chimmed in "God, you always get the good stuff, I wanted those!!" We laughed our butts off. The night went on and I saw lots and lots of strange stuff-but one of the young guys would explain how to use it (even though I didn't ask). O.K.
Lastly, I got these buckets (and buckets) full of some kind of arousal/tickler things with thin leather strips and feathers on the end of a little stick. Oh, did I mention that everything was auto quantity?? Well the stickers were so small that the laser couldn't read it so I had to sit and eventually lay on the floor and key all those suckers in. By now the AC was long gone and it was about 100 degrees in there.
We finally left about 6:00 am, but had a Pet Smart that night. Guess What?? I got those same exact arousal/tickler things in the cat toy section and they were less than half the price. What a Laff!!
az-exauditor: Lol! Thanks for my Wednesday laugh. That had to be one of the more "interesting" inventories you did. The part where you said someone described what some of the items were for, even though you hadn't asked for the description made me laugh. Also about the cat toys being much the same as the "Fascinations" toys. Too funny!
az ex-auditor:
I clicked on that RGIS lawsuit site, too.I was suprised that Mr.Koff called me the same day. He told me that there are already 78 RGIS people that have submitted claims so far. The suit also includes waiting time at meet sites, time not paid for putting equipment away/loading vans, as well as even the unpaid time it takes to put on your audit machine and laser! Also,any inventory whose start is delayed, and RGIS has not clocked you in yet, also is included. There`s a statute of limitations on it, going back three years from when you officially file a deposition.
I don`t do much carpooling myself, but I`ve been hearing a lot of complaining the last few months about people being not paid, or being underpaid for carpools.I suggest that anyone with issues over their travel pay join the lawsuit.You can find it by searching "RGIS overtime" on the web.
I believe I am the first one from my district to get involved. So I am trying to get others whom I worked with to op-in. Some are afraid of retaliation. But these are the people who have worked for RGIS for years and have gotten screwed the worst.
I only worked in San Diego for about 8 months and got a check for $500 from that law suit. The previous California law suit cost RGIS $20 million. They deserve it for all the lousey treatment of their auditors. If you worked anywhere for RGIS in the last three years you deserve to get some of the money you were cheated out of. Join in.
Hi,
I don't know if this is the right place to ask this, but has anyone here done the Target certification thing. Or certification for any other store. I read something about it either on this blog or another, and I seem to recall something about bonuses for auditors. Anyway, I've been with this company (RGIS) for a little over a year, and after seeing and hearing about all their little scams, I don't trust them (corporate and local management) for shit.
I've been doing a lot of Target's lately, and can't help but wonder if there is any bonus program (for auditors) that I am not being told about.
Hey guys,
I thought that I read something about a month or so ago on one of these blogs about a certification/bonus program (for auditors) for Target stores. Can anyone confirm this? Like any other observant employee of this company, I don't trust them for shit, and wouldn't be surprised if something like that was in effect, but not being conveyed to auditors.
I NEED THE SHEET OF THE MANUAL!!!!!!Send it at moichupastoi@hotmail.com
There is a Target bonus program, but it is mostly concerned with management (surprise, surprise). However, there is a little bit there for auditors. Some set aside for specific auditor roles and then something like four $500 rewards for randomly selected auditors.
Also, the way it's set up puts you even farther from cashing in since your store has to qualify based on the overall team's production. Regular Target's have to meet a minimum of 1200 pieces/hour and Super Target's must meet 1300 pieces/hour (and a few other easy things). With those minimums, your store gets one ticket in a drawing (3 maximum per store, again based on hourly productivity).
In my district we do inventory at a 24-hour porn shop at least every 3 months. It is usually a TL and another auditor starting at 4:00 AM. There are customers even at that hour. Not the best place to do an inventory. Has anybody else done inventory in some strange stores?
I have done two super werid inventories oddly involving rolls of some sort fabric.
First one was back east at a slowly dying chain called "Interior Alternatives" in Adams, MA. They sold stuff for interior decorating but to me, it was mostly rolls of fabric and bedding. There was 4 floors of it in this really cool old Industrial Revolution-era building and the first 3 or so floors were pretty easy but the last 4 hours of it was madness because it was all the giant rolls of fabric and carpet which you had to move to get at the barcode and like 30% of it had no barcode nor a SKU with the length, so lots of SKU checks. I didn't complain because it was during D354's "Slow Month" in December so I was happy to work 9 hours that day.
The other one is one I did here in D408 at a store called "Fabric Depot" The store sells fabric and stuff for sewing and crocheting. 50% of the store was rolls of fabric, which we had to use the scale to count all the fabric. This was the first inventory EVER I think I had to enter data on all 6 functions. Though for the first half of the store I was one of 6 people doing the precount sheets so I didn't see the madness until much later. And what drives me nuts is the fact we had to calculate the cost code by taking the price and subtracting 4.00 from it.
I do have to admit that this was our first time doing a Fabric Depot inventory so we should be better next time. Oh we had 4 different districts at that store too :)
Wow. So glad I found this blog. :-)
I too used to be an auditor for RGIS. Don't have any of the horror stories many people here have while being employed by RGIS. But it was indeed one of the worst jobs I've held. I worked for them from September 2002 - March 2003.
Before that, I was employed at the concession stands (selling hamburgers, hot dogs, sodas, french fries, ice cream, etc) at the beach where I was paid 7.25 an hour. I worked 40 hours a week, sometimes more and receiving overtime pay as a result. I averaged around 1000-1200 a month from that job. When the summer was over, I was let go in September. Then I started looking around for a new job. I found RGIS advertising in the local pennysaver. They were offering 9.50 an hour (for full time workers). I applied and got the job.
I thought that at 9.50 an hour, I would be making the big bucks. Unfortunately, they only gave me around 20-25 hours one week, 10-12 hours the next week (some weeks, nothing or next to nothing), give or take a few hours. With RGIS I was earning only a little over 600 a month. I earned more at the concession stands and belive me, that was grueling hard work! (standing over a hot fryer or grill going at 400 degrees, while the temperature outside was 100 degrees, and there was no air conditioning in the place. Some customers passed out from the heat while standing in line! Then when we closed, it came time to throughly clean the place!)
Employee morale at RGIS was low, in the basement at all times. Our supervisors, whether they be AMs, DMs. or TLs, etc., all treated and talked down to us auditors as if we were little children. Even to the audtiors who were senior citizens. Employee turnover was high. While I stuck it out for 6 months before throwing in the towel, others didnt stick around that long. Quitting after only a couple months or couple weeks. Not once, but several times I've witnessed audtiors quitting the job their first day on the job! The first time I saw that was on MY first day on the job! Another fellow audtior was told by the TL, in a small clothing store in a mall near where I lived, to count the clothes that they had hanging WAY UP near the ceiling. He had to use a ladder to get up there. Halfway through the job, he got fed up with the assignment and asked the TL if he could be assigned to something on the floor instead. The TL refused. The auditor accused the TL of assigning him that job because he, the auditor was white (The TL was black). The TL denied this and after a few more words, the auditor took off his equipment and walked off the job. Never to be seen or heard from again. (The TL then assigned me to finish up the job of counting the merchandise up there)
I never got a raise. I recall them promising that after three months, you could take a test with the machine., If you pasased, you got a dollar an hour raise. You failed, you got a 25 cents raise. I never bothered to take the test. And I never got a raise of any kind. Typing has always been my achilles heel. I took one course to learn how to work in an office. I could do it all EXCEPT for the typing. They expected 60 words per minute. I could never get it past 25 words per minute. To this day I am a hunt and peck two finger typer. So, working those machines, having to punch in all sorts of numbers quickly with one hand while not looking at the machine, I just could not do. (I wasnt much faster with the laser gun) I marveled at the ones who could whale away so quickly at the machines.
Speaking of travel pay, I only got that once. I recall that they told us if we volunteered to use our cars to help drive fellow auditors to and from the job sites, we could earn an extra 2 doollars an hour. Unfortunately, our supervisors, the TLs, always reserved that prviliedge for themselves. Not once did I, or the other auditors, get a chance to drive our fellow auditors around. However, the one time I dd get travel pay, after we finished one store, me and another auditor were asked to go to another store about 40 miles away because they needed more auditors. And they promised us two auditors travel pay if we went down there and helped out. So we went. When we arrived, the AMs seems stunned and surprised to see us there, telling us that they needed no such extra help. They were just about all done. So, I drove home. And they did give me travel pay for that day as promised anyways.
I hated counting out clothing stores most of all. Doing the sales floors was pretty easy, but then taken to the back rooms where they stored all their merchandise! Those places were enormous! Cavernous! And the merchandise seemed to go on forever! And the clothes were packed in so tightly, one needed a crowbar to seperate it just ot get at the tags with which you were supposed to scan with the laser gun. And having to take clothes off the racks in order so that one could count them properly, and then putting them back, they weighed a ton! And one would ask any one of the supervisors what time we would be finished. Thier stock answer was always: The faster you count, the faster you will be finished. Which wasnt the case. The faster you finished, the faster they would find something else for you to count. Many is the time I would approach an AM completely exhausted, drenched in my own sweat (those cavernous back rooms had no air conditioning), letting him or her know that I finished a whole wall or something. And then they would point to another uncounted area. And I would think sarcastically to myself: "Oh, may I?", when all I wanted was to go home.
Oh, one got to count out a Victoria's Secret store, or the ladies underwear area of a department store, something of that nature. And everyone would be telling the same old jokes about how fun this job was going to be, but in truth it was just as monotonous as counting out cartons of milk in a supermarket.
And the AMs, all they did was walk up and down the aisles, prodding you to count faster. I would think to myself, "you want faster? Why dont you pick up a machine and help us count instead of just walking around?" And god forbid if you ever made a mistake or even paused counting for a few seconds. The AMs, or the DM would be on your back, loudly berating you in front of the client, among everyone else in the store. Before the job started, they always reminded us of putting up a big professional front for the client (and the clients customers if the store was still open while we counted). Then after the job started, they'd turn around and berate us right in front of the client for the tiniest little thing. Highly unprofessional. It's happened to me, among other auditors. They couldnt tell us in a nice tone of voice? They couldnt take us somewhere in the store away from the client (and/or customers)?
And the distances I had to drive, and in the middle of the night at that! 30 miles, 40 miles, etc. A few times the store I was assigned was close to me, but more often than not, it was a store in a far away town. The farthest I've had to go is 70 miles. Imagine trying to find a store at 3, 4 or 5 in the AM (or 10, 11 pm) in a strange place. Many is the time I've passed by the store while trying to look for it. Thankfully, I've always had the foresight to add an hour or two to my travel time. For example, knowing that a store would be about 45 minutes away by car, I would leave the house about an hour and 45 minutes, even earlier. That way it gave me ample time to hunt for the store in the dark when I arrived in the store's neighborhood. Because of that, more often than not, I was the first to arrive to any job site. I was never late to any job. (I came close once when my TL gave me a wrong address. I found myself in a cul de sac of rich people's mansions, towering over me and my little car. I eventually found the job site, on time, not too far away).
And, to top it all of...no health benefits, no vacation time, paid or not. No sick leave, etc. Nothing except for the hourly pay. (those of us who worked the 4th of July at the concession stands got time and a half even though many of us didnt have overtime pay coming to us).
Getting a lunch break depended on how many hours one was working and how large the store was. But there was one time when I had to count out a small clothing store starting at 6 in the morning. As me and the other early bird auditors waited for the TL and store manager to show up, we looked inside through the glass. And we all said: "Yeah, we'll be done by 10am". Sure enough we completed the sales floor by 10am. THEN they took us to the backroom where they had ten times the stuff in less than half the space of the sales floor! There was no room for all of us to count, so we had to do it outside the rear the store where the trucks come and make their deliveries. The store employees would bring out the stuff to us, dump it on our tables (a sheet of plywood on four overturned garbage cans), so that we could count it. All the stuff in the backroom kept us untill 6 in the evening. During that 12 hour day (it was rare, but not unexpected, to have a 12 hour day), whenever someone would ask the TL for a break (the store in itself was tiny, so we only had a TL. No AM or DM. The guy wasnt even my official TL), he would give us only 5 minutes! After 8 exhausting hours, I asked him for a break so I could grab a soda and a rest, and like all the others, he gave me only 5 minutes. I thought to myself, "to hell with him. I'll take as long as I need. I dont care if he fires me". And I did. Took somewhere around 20 minutes before I went back to work.
Glad I'm rid of that job. How anyone can stick it out for years is beyond me.
moviesguy: Welcome to my blog! I hope you'll continue to read it, and leave your comments as well. I really enjoy reading about other people's experiences with RGIS, both good and bad. Unfortunately most of them tend to be on the bad side but oh well, I gues they're the ones that are more fun to read about, right?
haha great post movieguy. I think a lot of peoples experiences have been worse than mine.
When I started my district was tightly run and it was a great job. Lately things have moved downhill though. Since last year we have changed our DM 8 times. As for our managers, there are times I wont see them before they get transferred back out or fired.
Our district has combined with other districts in the area and now covers what 3 districts used to. This came with a TON of minimum RGIS pay workers who get favored on the schedule. They don't make it a secret to us either. We're told if we make over 10 dollars we are not allowed in some inventories.
"I gues they're the ones that are more fun to read about, right?"
So true. :-) I'm also reminded of the black dress shoes requirement. Which at first I obeyed. The result was that I came home with my feet in pain.
I am handicapped. I smashed my left foot in a fall from a ladder on an off the books job many years earlier. They had to operate to put screws in my foot, and I was in a wheel chair for many months. My foot has never been the same since. I cant run. I cant jump. I walk with a permanent limp. I cant stand on my feet for more than a few minutes without discomfort or slight, but manageable, pain. So being made to stand on my feet all day while wearing uncomfortable dress shoes, was horrible. After only a week or two on the job with RGIS, I switched to all black sneakers, deciding that the health of my feet was more important than the job. Thankfully, no supervisor said anything except for one TL who amusingly told me how he envied me wearing sneakers. Because he as a TL, was forced to wear dress shoes.
Even with sneakers, standing up for long periods of time could still be discomforting. There were times when I've tried to look in the store for something to sit on while I counted out the merchandise. One time at a drug store, I found a footstool. Perfect. And I continued on with my work. Then some bastard AM came along, saw me sitting on the footstool, and berated me for sitting down while working, and took the footstool away. Luckilly, a little while later, that AM was called away and someone elses TL (a rare nice one who unfortunately wasnt my TL, but whom I've encountered at an occasional job site) saw my predicament, got a chair for me from the backroom, and insisted that I sit down as much as possible while counting.
moviesguy:
Your former RGIS district sounds truly horrible--even worse than mine.The stories you told sound vey similar to ones I`ve witnessed and heard in our district over the years.As a matter of fact, we just had a person the other day on his first job say to hell with it and quit in the first hour.(He learned fast,unlike dummies like me who allow themselves to be used and abused for years!) It`s too bad you worked for them more than three years ago, because you are just the kind of RGIS victim they are looking for in the current lawsuit.( The lawsuit only goes back three years from when you join.)
moviesguy: Sorry to hear about your foot. So, in your district they specified all black dress shoes? In my dist. we could wear sneakers as long as they were all black. Of course, like a lot of the RGIS "rules" that too eventually went by the wayside and people wore black and white sneaks and received no trouble for it.
Misfit,
Are you only interested in auditor's stories? I was an AM and DM and submitted something a couple of days ago that dealt with some very, very significant problems that are happening in California - specifically that preference is being given to the nephew and mistress of the VP.
toaster: Oh, I'm interested in any stories having to do with RGIS, be they about auditors, managers or whomever. But please remember (and this goes for everyone!) to use first names or nicknames only, no surnames. Thanks!
Oh, ok, I can leave the surnames out.
I was an AM and then DM for RGIS for a loooooong time in California. About a year ago, I decided enough was enough and left. A few months ago, RGIS came to do an inventory at the store I work at (large mall store) and I was able to chat with a few of the people that I used to work with (AM's).
It seems that the new VP in Cali is quite the sleezebag. He came out to Cali and quickly fired several Ops and DMs in order to bring some of "his" people in. One of these was a new Ops, her husband who is DM of San Fransisco. The last was his nephew, who was brought in off the street as an AM in San Francisco.
I guess that Lana (the Ops) totally screwed up everything, but somehow had no consequences while other Ops were being fired for lesser things. It is now known by some of the managers that Henry (the VP) and Lana are sleeping together. Rick, on the other hand (the DM of San Fran) has done an ok job I guess, but he has two more managers than the office used to, with no extra business! Sounds like a good way to keep him happy while big VP is having fun with his wife.
To top things off, his nephew was just promoted to DM in Oakland just six months after he started (whish is fine if he is good), but somehow he is making $12000 more than the DM that was in Oakland before, and that DM had only been there four months. So, since pay is now based only on size of office and cost of living, we have to now assume that the cost of living in Oakland went up 20% in the last four months. I'm sure all the auditors will be gettting pay raises there as well.
"When I started my district was tightly run and it was a great job."
My disctrict too was tightly run. I hated the job, BUT I have to admit that the operation was well run as far as I could see. The DM, the AMs, the TLs, etc, all knew their job, had their equipment handy and running, Everything ran smoothly like clockwork.
"Since last year we have changed our DM 8 times."
Man, I hated my DM. Everybody did. A mean little SOB. He had a very bad attitude, yelled, and ordered everybody around in a very mean tone of voice. Whenever he directed that attitude towards the AMs, they'd smile and pretend to laugh it off. I guess that they thought if they complained about the DMs behavior, they'd get fired.
I encountered the DM on job sites not very often, but when I and the others did, we all tensed up at his presence. He'd stand there, looking over your shoulder with that mean look of his, just watching you work untill he decided to move along or someone called him away. Made one very nervous and tense. God forbid you made a mistake while he was watching. He'd tear into you.
One time I overheard two AMs talking about him. One of them said that he was having trouble at home with his wife who wanted him to quit because she couldnt stand the hours he had to keep. (I have no idea of what his schedule was). I thoguht it was very unfair of him to take out his marital frustrations on the rest of us.
" So, in your district they specified all black dress shoes?"
Yep, they did. The first couple weeks or so I obeyed that rule. Then for the next 5 and a half months went with all black sneakers. Many is the time I expected some supervisor to order me back to wearing shoes, but that never happened. If it did, I would have ignored such an order.
Hey Misfit, I just found your blog. Pretty funny stuff. I worked the St. Pete, Florida district for 8 months. I don't remember seeing anyone's car ever being tagged though. No morbidly obese auditors either.
The storm is coming. To those who have escaped from RGIS, please pray for the rest of us to be able to survive this summer.
toaster:
Do you have any good RGIS horror stories to share with us, from the management perspective? Surely,if HDQ is putting the screws on us peons with this EAPH and attendance business, there must be a lot of intimidation going on in the management ranks in regard to sales, profit margins, PIQA`s and so forth.( Our local management has been acting real edgy lately.)You must have at least a few good stories about Regional DM`s, OPS Managers and VPs!
I bet those poor auditors in D405 Oakland won`t be seeing much in raises, since they have to subsidize the VP`s nephew`s salary.
Also, you infer that the salary for a DM is in the 50 to 60K range. What`s the highest amount that you have heard that a DM or Regional DM makes?
Finger Laser, care to elaborate on that statement? Sounds pretty ominous. We in our District are seeing more and more no shows and cancellations. Everyone is fed up.
We had people in a Burlington Coat last week for 12 hours. And, the next day, a lot of them got the 50 store review letters telling them their eaph is too low. We are all used to those long days but to get a letter that you aren't doing enough after having one of those long days, is discouraging. And we all got emails today telling us to minimize your down time in a store.
They, however, won't admit that pulling tags is down time. Instead they talk about using the bathroom before an inventory starts, and coming in early to get ready. Guess my District hasn't read the Texas lawsuit about that.
lol lol
toaster,
If that VP was previously from DIV2 (Midwest Division) a few years ago then I know who he is. Even as an AM, I only met him a handful of times. That was probably because my district was quite far from Division.
Well, I've been receiving updates of my team's eaph scores regularly now. One interesting thing I've noticed is this: some of my people who have not been meeting their eaph have actually gotten raises of as much as 50 cents. I can see the dates where their eaph changed.
Very easy since if they do a lot of the same stores, their eaph should remain constant. But, it changed. And some of these people have gotten letters that they are not meeting their eaph. But, they have gotten raises. Decided to confront my DM about it. He said that he can bypass the system to give out raises when he feels people should get them. Really?? so we are back to favoritism raises? The one problem I had with it is this: they are getting raises without hitting their eaph but my raises are based on their eaph. One is at 53 percent, got 25 cents, 2 at 70 both got 50 cents, one at 67 got 35 cents. When I asked my DM how that was fair since they are getting raises with low eaph but my raises are based on the 53 percent, 70, and 67 they are getting, he could not answer. For any team leader out there, watch this if they are providing you with your team eaph.
I got a raise outside the EAPH system. (I may have mentioned that before.) My DM said he felt that I deserved a raise and we both knew my team was never going to get me one.
The system is obviously not working. Too bad there is nothing we can do to make the people at the top see that. Do you ever wish the entire (working part) of the company would go on strike? I do.
Bizzy, the difference is you got a raise outside of the system because your team wasn't going to get you one. Some of the people on my team are getting them with a low eaph, but that low eaph is reflecting on my team averages which effect me and keep me from getting one while they do. We often talk about everyone staying out of work on one day, calling in sick or whatever, just so the company will see what happens without the people who actually do the work. But, everyone would have to stick together to make that happen.
Bizzy, are you in the Northeast Division? I am. You might be interested in going to picsinv.com.
They have just opened a Northeast Division Office. And, you might be interested to see that the man in charge of it was a former VP here in the Northeast who was, shall we say, retired last year.
He certainly has an axe to grind and knows the accounts in this area. The plot just may thicken.
lol lol lol
I just found your blog...OMG...I worked for RGIS for a few months. One of THE most horrific experiences of my life. I'm glad someone decided to do this. I know for a fact that copious letters were sent to RGIS HQ HR Dept and NOTHING was ever done about the insanity that went on in our district. I truly do NOT understand how this company is world-wide and how they stay afloat and actually make a profit. AMAZING.
I am in the NE. Are you talking about the guy that made the brillant decision that we all had to wear black pants to work everyday? The black pants that make us look like we've been rolling around in dirt and haven't washed our clothes in weeks after wearing them to one store? That genius? Sorry, I'm hard on people that make decisions and don't understand the outcome of those decisions (like everything this company does).
Rip: Welcome to my blog! I hope you'll continue to read and to leave your comments. :-)
Bizzy, lol. That's the guy. However, he got that idea from the guy who actually replaced him. When the NE Division took over the Eastern Div., they already had the black pant rule. this guy thought it was great and brought it to all of us. One of my first questions when he left last year was whether the black pant rule was leaving with him. Lol LOl My AM said NOT...the guy replacing him is from the Eastern Div. and he is the one who gave him the idea to begin with. That is why we still have black pants. Sounds like the 'brilliant' guy who gave him the idea is still the one running our division.
You ought to start us some new places to post material, misfit. :)
Between the favoritism, drunk driving arrests (second offenses) for a TL and an ATL - one of whom is still transporting not only other Auditors and equipment to and from inventories but the AM herself, the EAPH crap, and last but not least, the increase in batching and other methods of increasing averages at the extreme cost of accuracy I know a few people in our district that could assist you in writing a book.
Since I just sent them a link to your blog, they may!
I've been with the company a long time and when I started it was not only fun and profitable it was a halfway decent company to work for with halfway decent people to work with.
Now it's ... a job that most of us loathe (because of all of the issues - and there are many) but we don't leave because where else are we going to get a part time job that will pay us 12.00 an hour?
A lawsuit, eh? Three years back? Hmmmm ....
... a nic? Geez - one that won't be identifiable?
Does your district actually wear the black pants, though? We did here for about 2 weeks, maybe a month. Now about 50% of our people actually wear them and everyone else resumed our old dress code-basically anything other than jeans. Our district hasn't really tried enforce the issue. I don't really see how they can. When they can barely get enough people to show up for a store I doubt they will be sending us home. Firing us? Collecting unemployment might be cool.
And really, they have bigger problems to worry about than dress code. If they get all their other (more important) problems sorted out, I might consider showing up in dress code.
Bizzy: They revised the dress code somewhat here in the NW Division back in December.
This dress in black thing must be a new national directive. Hmm... we`re part of the Blackstone Group,so we must dress in black, or something to that sort.We had about 5 or 6 rookies show up at a big store last week, all dressed head to toe in black: T-shirts, pants, socks, shoes.Oddly, none had RGIS polos; our district is too cheap to give those out, at least right away.These newbies sure looked odd to all us veterans, sort of like the Men in Black response team.I`m sure it was no coincidence they dressed this way. They were probably ordered by the DM, and were too scared--most probably were on their first job--do dress otherwise.
Speaking of rookies, they are now getting first preference in scheduling in our district. The vets are lucky to get two or three jobs in a pay period--just enough to keep them from filing for unemployment benefits.Our DM is gambling that they won`t quit.Since almost every job is rookie heavy--even financial keying stores-- the stores are going long and flirting with disaster because of the unreliability (lots of no shows) and slowness of the new hires.But in our DM`s twisted mind he thinks he`s saving on the payroll costs.
Thanks for warning me about RGIS. I was serious considering RGIS as my next job but after reading your horror stories, I won't join up. After all, it reminds me of my job with Pride Industries last year.
Too many politics, cruel supervisors, whacked out hours that would killed sane man. I quit after 4 months. My back was killing me and politics games were getting ugly.
Again, thanks for setting up blog on RGIS as warning. I truly appreciated it a lot.
Black pants and black shoes here, except for those "special folk" that are exempt - you know, the ones the AM really likes. They come to work in brown sneaks, jeans, sans RGIS shirt even, and aren't sent home. Actually, no one is sent home for dress code violations, they just get a "talking to." They enforce the no earring rule for guys when the DM (or ops) is expected but never the no jewelry other than standard earrings for women rule.
You look like crap 10 minutes into a store with those darned black pants but the higher ups never see that, I guess.
Rampage: You're welcome! Glad I could help. :-)
Interesting that there haven't been more comments from the management level. They recently got their bonus' and just like our auditor raises many were less than impressed. Like the auditor staff they didn't understand how their bonus was calculated; most still don't. This is the group that is supposed to lead the herd. We have seen 4 managers move on becuase of the bonus situation. Now we have new people that don't know what the heck they are doing. I've been around for ages and one AM came and asked me to show him how to do stuff in Oracle! That ain't my job. This company looks likes its getting paired down to go public? Anybody hear anything about that?
Bizzy, black pants and shoes here.
My District enforced it until they merged a neighboring district with us. Obviously, their old DM did not. So, they started showing up with whatever they felt like wearing. And, my DM, in an effort to look like the good guy to these people, did not say a word. So, the auditors from our District started complaining because they had enforced it so strictly for us and now nothing was being said to them. lol lol As far as the bonuses, we have one AM who is bragging to everyone that he got a huge bonus. Uh?? I wouldn't be bragging about that too loudly since most auditors have gotten 0.
And, he would have gotten nothing if the auditors were not in the stores to do the inventories. He would have gotten tossed.
Hey bizzy,black pants...
What part of the country are you from? Because is was told that 3 divisions area managers were lucky to see anything above $1000 for a full years worth of effort. I listened to an area manager last night in JCP talking about how she didn't get a bonus but the other 2 managers did. We have worked with them before and she is the better of all. Word is it came down to the VP chosing how much to give everyone. If the info from the person talking about the west is true that manager may have got the mystery 5figue bonus thats said to be out there.
Hey sideliner:
The word up here in the Northwest is that the Regional Manager just got something like a 15 thousand dollar bonus,while his AM`s got less than a grand.This same asshole treats all the oldtimers like shit-no raises, less hours, more travel,and is pissing everyone off and slowly fucking up all of his districts.But he must be kissing the right ass.
There were no five figure bonuses for AMs out on the West Coast. A couple DMs got something that big, but all got less than they would have under the old system. Even Ops bonuses were pretty pathetic.
I'm from NY state.
I don't know that they've changed anything, but bonuses used to be some kind of formula. I don't remember the specifics. I believe it was a percentage of their salary, the percentage was determined by how much over a certain magical dollar amount the office was. The magical dollar amount had something to do with the sum of the salaried employees. So all the area managers in one office would have the same percentage, but differing amounts of bonus depending on how much they actually made.
I could see the idiot owners changing the system for salaried bonuses. I cannot see them just randomly letting VP's decide how much each person gets. They (the owners) seem very likely to have a forumla in place for things like that, much like our raises. And I doubt the jerks would give out any more money than necessary so that more goes in their pockets.
My AM said their bonuses are still based on a formula but not the way they used to be figured. Their bonuses are now based on how much they personally make for the office. Or the percentages they cut in stores. It isn't based on the office's profits anymore. So, if you have some AM who is running a lot of small, team leader type stores, he isn't going to do to well. Also, they used to have a bonus program for AAM's based on I think 4 percent of what they earned. These were like the bonuses we used to get way back when. Our AAM is livid. When the AM's and DM got their bonuses, he inquired about his. He has been an AAM for well over a year.
The DM told him it would probably come a little later. When it didn't, he called the Ops manager and was told that they eliminated the bonuses for AAM's when they eliminated full time secretaries. However, no one ever told the AAM that. Great company, don't you think?
There is no formula for individual bonuses anymore, unless a specific division has set something up.
There is a formula about how much bonus a full DIVISION gets. Then, the VP determines how much each Ops Group sets. Together with the VP, the Ops decide how much each district gets. The Ops, together with each DM, determine how much each AM gets from the District pool, and the DM gets the remainder. There is no formula. It is essentially now a popularity contest. The worst Ops in our division got the most, because she is in good with the VP. Some excellent DM's and AM's got jacked, some crappy ones got nice bonuses.
But - overall, the bonuses are MUCH, MUCH, MUCH lower than before. And yes, AAM bonuses have been eliminated.
I swear my DM is on coke or crack or meth. he talks a lot, sometimes non-stop an dpretty fast all while fidgiting with his clothing or hair. he's scatter brained, forgets what he told someone yesterday, loses his keys....this is funny...he once threw out the key to the van in his fast food trash...LOL
Ahh, favortism raises....they go on in my district big time. I wish I could say what my district number is but I fear for my job. I once posted something on myspace in a rgis group forum and I got called into the office for it.
We also have other sorts of favortism going on. The AM's pets get all the good people at her store and the other TL's get the newbies, the oldies and the slow pokes. Same store, same night and little miss kiss ass gets all the keyers. Oh, and she constantly has new people on her team yet she supposedly has gotten 2 raises for her team's EAPH. yeah right.
I wish we had a 12 hour burlington coat...we had a 16 hour one. Why you ask? because our DM is too cheap to call around and ask for help. he doesn't want to split bill. he claimed that no one could offer up any help but I called some AM's and DM's that day and they said our DM never called them to ask for help. I TOLD EVERYONE. He hid for a few days then sent us an apology letter with out paycheck.
Misfit:
I've read most of your blogs and reader comments and must say I'm very surprised by the overall quality and quantity of the posts. After working at RGIS on and off for the past 9 years, I thought most of the people who've worked for us have bee a bunch of functional illiterates, but this blog proves me wrong. Keep up the great work!
Many of these stories I've read on here are universally RGIS that seem to happen in every district. The alcoholic DM, the drug-addicted AM having an affair with the drug-addicted team leader who do drugs in the company vans during breaks, the auditors who show regularly hungover or buzzed,the auditor who got a no-show excused with a mugshot, the favoritism, the nepotism, the unjust EAPH system, the attendance policy that's never followed, the batching, the cherrypicking, the lack of communication, the lack of authority, the dress code and policy violations, the ball-dropping, the crappy new machines, the stores that take forever vs. the stores that don't take long enough are just a few of the common issues that seem to plague or have plagued my district an every district to a certain extent.
Currently, my district's doing okay. All of the alcoholic and druggy managers have transferred or were fired (for missing a Kmart he was scheduled to run after missing other stores, NOT for smoking dope in the company van). I like my current DM. He's a soft-spoken guy who overstaffs the crap out of every inventory. I love that, but most of the auditors hate it because they're averaging 7 stores at only 24 hours a week. So basically there's a lot of getting out of bed way to early in the morning or staying up way too late at night for what's typically a 3 to 3 1/2 hour audit. And I'm talking big stores too. We've done a Kohl's in 4 hours and a Kmart in 5 hours because everybody and their mother (and sometimes grandmother) are showing up at these inventories (people I haven't seen in years and who I thought had no chance of being rehired). The following example will illustrate my point. We'll have a store that requires 12 auditors. My DM will schedule 20, 4 won't show up, and will still have 4 extra auditors. But it's a fair system because almost the same people work everything, so everyone with the exception of a few TLs are getting about 24 hours a week unless there's a Wal-Mart or something special going on. And interestingly enough, in my state, it takes under 20 hours to qualify for underemployment. Most of the auditors in my district would file for underemployment if they could, but almost everyone is getting barely 20 hours a week so they cannot receive those benefits. But I must give my DM credit and say that with a few exceptions, he doesn't penalize those that make too much money by not giving them stores like I've read in the some of the comments. Most people are getting the same amount of hours no matter how much they make. However, because there's such a buffer at every inventory, if someone doesn't show and they're a half-decent counter, they aren't reprimanded at all. For example, on Sunday I thought a Borders started at 9 PM and it actually started at 8 PM. I arrived at the meet site only to find a bunch of cars and no people. So I went to the store myself and showed up 30 minutes late. No one said anything or cared because they didn't really need me anyway. I'm confident had I not shown up (even without a excuse) at all that I wouldn't even have been asked about it. So I guess my district is atypical in that regard. There are rare firings, but it's pretty random and happens to only people who don't produce much. We have a team leader who doesn't show up to most of the inventories she's scheduled for but is deemed indispensable because she runs a major account. I guess I should be glad that the attendance policy is so relaxed, but what was the point of signing that paper a few months ago if it was just complete bs?
I know I eventually need to grow up and get a real job. I cherrypick the top stock and walls every inventory, so I really loathe counting. However, I really enjoy the people I work with. Everyone in this district (myself included) is whacked out of his or her mind. There's so much comedy and drama that it feels like I'm in the studio audience of the Jerry Springer Show. And that's why I stay in addition to being able to count in my sleep (seriously, I finish an area sometimes and wonder how it got done because I don't remember counting it even though I just completed it, which shows you how alert I am at work).
Anyway, my AMs are okay too. One of them is a RGIS veteran who's shacking up with the aforementioned druggie AM's ex-wife and the other one is a young kid who was hired off the steet because he's related to 1 of the higherups in the company. He didn't have a f-ing clue of what was going on at first but is learning fast and not as much of an asshole as he was when he started. I can deal with idiots in charge, just not the assholes who used to be my managers.
Anyway, this is too long, but I need to chime in about the new RM-1 machines. THEY SUCK! They are supposed to have an external laser capability in theory, but it doesn't work in practice. I was in my first area at NAPA scanning belts and hoses on the ceiling and I must've scanned 25 pieces before my machine shut down on me. Seriously, I went to scan the next item, and it wouldn't scan. So I look down at my machine and its rebooting. So I had to re-download (which took 10 minutes) and enter all the startup info. before I could resume counting. Then 2 minutes later after I resumed counting, it happened again. And it happened to everyone. The glitch was discovered. Apparently, the thing that connects the laser to the machine is very delicate and any slight movement will cause the laser to become unhinged, which, in turn, causes the machine to reboot. And everyone was wondering the same thing. Why didn't research and development take care of this glitch before dispersing the machines to the districts? Anyway, although there were all kinds of other problems, the built-in laser works fine on them. It has good range. Unfortunately, it's so big that it gets heavy and cumbersome after awhile. You literally have to put it down sometimes to be able to get to the stuff you're counting because sometimes you need 2 hands. And the keying will be more difficult too. Everyone's APH will go in the can. Sure, the machine does all kinds of cool things i.e. you can check the progress on the inventory and transmit without going anywhere, but who cares if it doesn't allow for an external laser that's crucial for an efficient inventory? I hope they get the glitches fixed because I don't see the point in doing an inventory with defective equipment.
Finally, I'll leave you with my favorite RGIS story. There was a 21-year-old manager who was also in the Army Reserves. He got called to Iraq for a 2-year tour of duty. He served it, came back, and his job was still waiting for him (because it would've been illegal for RGIS to not allow him to return to the same position). Well, when faced with the opportunity to resume as an AM, he was so scared that he reenlisted. That's right! He went back to Iraq. He'd rather run the risk of getting killed than be an AM. If that little story doesn't tell you how bad RGIS is, I don't know what would.
Peon: Thanks so much for your kind words regarding my blog! I've had a lot of fun writing it, and just as much fun reading the comments from everyone. One of the things I've most enjoyed about this blog is hearing about everyone else's experiences regarding RGIS, including yours. I haven't much time at the moment but I plan on commenting on your post very soon. You had a lot of interesting things to say! Thanks again. :-)
I know all about drunk AM's. We have an AM who is almost always drunk. Not always on the job, but if you call him to come help you at a store and he was previously at home/not working he will show up drunk and reeking of liquor. He trained me on the portable while he was drunk. I happened to be at the office and the DM called him at 6 in the aftenoon and asked him to show me how to use the portable so I could run my first inventory, a 1 -person hallmark/post office. He hiccuped the entire time, each time letting out a puff of his alcohol breath. He's till with us.
We had a DM that was on something, possible meth, maybe sometimes coke or crank. he talked really fast, paced around very quickly, chewed his nails to the bone, and itched himself alot, like he was always twicthing, fidigeting or scratching at his hair or arms or chest. he was a scatter brained dipshit. he was finally demoted after 8 months of nothing but fuck ups and 15 hour stores. He was there almost a year and only turned in 2 monthly vehicle logs. he coudn't do paperwork. he never turned in his receipts, never turned in his expenses so we could get paid for our tolls and paring fees. It was just awful. Now he's gone and we have an overly anal paperwork freak who speaks in monotone.
I worked for RGIS in New York and Florida. When I was in New York, I did like the job. Only stayed about six months though. When I moved to Florida, well, that was a different story. I happened to find a district in the area in passing, and thought I'd give it a try again. Soon as I said I was a former employee, the AM was overjoyed. "I'm gonna make you a grey shirt!" She said. Only if I knew what I was getting into. After working about 9 months for the company, I decided to give the TL position a try. I read all literature and was started off slow, with small inventories. Within a month, I was running 5 stores a week, getting up 2:30-3:00 in the morning, dealing with auditors who did not know how to count, or auditors who didn't care. I vented my frustrations with my superiors. "It will get better." I was given a team and had to call or e-mail to confirm schedules. Riiiiight. No one returns calls, or you're getting cursed out and questioned by who picks up the phone. Because the DM & AM uses the vans for personal uses (because they can), most of the time the crew was left to drive themselves to jobs. I had to stuff equipment and ladders and lasers into my car.When I ran into issues at a inventory, and contacted my superiors, most of the time it was with an "figure it out yourself" attitude. I even was asked to pull auditors off the clock because they were in overtime! Then I have to explain myself to a pissed-off manager.Might as well put me in front of a firing squad! During the time when a close relative died, I missed a day of work. They knew I was mourning. Only to show up the next day and be told by the DM that I was not needed that day, when we were almost always understaffed. Then received a nice e-mail when I got back from NY saying that I was written up for a no-show. I stepped down a couple of weeks later. I was fed up with the nonsense. I actually found this site by mistake when I was trying to contact HR at RGIS to tell them about their underhanded management. I was advised long ago to say something but didn't want to come off as a snitch. I got kids to feed. I no longer work for this fine establishment. I'm no hater, but I'd go back to flipping burgers first. Trust, I got more if anyone is interested. I could write a novel!
Download: Thanks for your story. Maybe you can start your own blog. I was a TL for several years and most of the time it does seem like a thankless job. One of the other things that bothered me, as I'm sure you as well, is that managers don't always make the best choices for new team leaders. I'm sure you did a great job, but I have been shocked over and over at some of their choices. Just because someone can count does not show leadership potential. Many of these people are rude,irresponsible, always late and unprofessional,constantly talk on the job, do drugs, etc. Or they are related to a current TL or manager, which they really work to their advantage. Yet they are entrusted to represent RGIS in the field. One guess is because of turnover. When January is coming, we always need new team leaders, therefore anybody who has worked longer than a week seems like a good candidate. I have made recommendations to my DM reagrding new potential TL's, but most of these people don't want the headache. If they were given at least a $1 raise for taking on the added responsibility, those who deserved the opportunity would be more willing to take it instead of the previously mentioned numb-nuts.
My district had to help out the Home Depot district after they fired all but 4 auditors due to drug usage.
Well, my district is still DM less since Snapp quit.
That put my Area manager into even bigger a$$hole mood. I know that he hates his job and just wants everyone else to feel miserable too.
Sigh. Come Thursday, we'll be back to the grind when it comes to work. Hopefully I can survive till I find something better.
I worked for RGIS for years, 10 years as a manager and briefly as a DM.. I did like working there for the most part. I tried always to treat everyone with respect and when the inventories were long and ugly I tried like hell to keep upbeat with silly jokes. I would never ask anyone to do something that I myself would not do , including pulling tags at the end of an inventory. It was not easy and often got me into trouble. At the end of the day I was drained. RGIS took everything ounce of energy from me. The more I tried the more was asked. I had to leave because it was just to much.
Seems a good place to ask this question. So does Oracle run every district or just mine? I've worked for RGIS for about 6 months now. I actually dont mind the job. I've had alot worse anyways. I have a old friend who I hadn't seen in years when I started. He was the AAM until RGIS decided that position doesn't exist anymore. Any way so my buddy tells me that I'll never get a raise. Tells me that everytime anyone asks the DM will reply with its not up to me it's up to Oracle. I didn't really believe him when he told me this.
Fast forward to about a month ago. I was "promoted" to Assistant TL. I am always the guy that shows up early to make sure the equipment is in the van, make sure van had gas, stays late incase there was missed areas, pulls tags etc, etc. Started being trained in on the portable, hadn't run any stores though. So fast foward to two weeks ago I was again "promoted" to TL after one had decided he had enough and walked in the middle of counting a GAP. Ran one store with assistance from my former TL. Proved I could run a store on my own and got my first store alone. Granted this was only a one person store, a Cole Vision (Target optical). So after I finish the store and go back to the office to download to HQ I ask my DM when I can expect my 3-month review. Remember I've worked there for about 5 months now. He tells me that "sorry man, it's not up to me, its up to Oracle" I'm a bit pissed about this but can't really do anything as I can't afford to walk out like the previous guy.
Two days after I ran that store I was straight yelled at for my driving and I didn't fill the van with gas when I got back. The problem with my driving has nothing to do with my actual driving ability, it was because the TL who likes to think of himself as AM (since he's sleeping with the AM) is a foot taller than me and had to move the seat back when he got in. "You sit too close to the wheel, thats a safety violation, next time I'm going to have to write you up." I told him sorry I'm pretty sure its more of a safety violation to not have your feet touching the pedals. As for the gas deal, no I didnt fill it up, I only drove it 8 miles. I figured the guy who has been using the company van as his own personal vehicle should have filled it up when the dummy light came on telling him it needed gas.
disgruntled: I don't know the answer to your question about oracle. But about that tl who threatened to write you up about a safety violation.... OMG what a joke!!!!! That dude can probably never get a job anywhere else with any kind of leadership so he's throwing his weight around at this job thinking he's some kind of big shot. I see it all the time. It's a joke. Don't count on any raises.... sorry.... not at this job. Good luck to you.
Just finished an inventory at an auto parts store in the Chicago area. Terrible working conditions since this store, if you can call it that, is mostly a garage that services state of Illinois vehicles. Filthy, dirty, $8.50 an hour, and prima donnas that cherry pick their areas to keep their APH high. Why do they act this way at RGIS? Becase they can...
You mentioned poor ladder technique, and monkeying up rolling racks. That had its inevitable effect one day when I was on duty.
Jonathan was a whip-thin man, in good shape and all. That didn't help, though, when his big fat class ring got caught up on the steel overlap on a rolling rack. There is a medical term for what occurred-it's called 'ring-induced avulsion degloving'. Panic and arguments ensued (I had first aid training at the time, and I roared at a bystander to run to the food court, grab me a cup of ice--JUST ICE--and a plastic bag, to pack the amputated finger for the ambulance. One of the whales countermanded the order, saying ice and WATER to pack the finger. She played the "I'm older and smarter than you, shut up" card. She was wrong, the first thing the paramedic did was grimace and pour out the fugging water...and Jonathan can now only count to nine.)
Managerial response-ban ALL climbing from ANYTHING until the official OSAH investigation could be completed.
That lasted...oh...until the next inventory. Whereupon the client manager noticed that we were staying landbound and his crew was doing the monkeywork.
I was in earshot to hear
DM: "We had an industrial accident the other day, so we have banned climbing from things."
Client: "...That's not what's in your contract. Your people had better climb, because mine aren't."
Ten years ago, RGIS didn`t give a rip about safety. If you had stepstools at all, most of them were missing at least some rubber tips, and consequently were wobbly. A few others had bent steps on them. Since that time, it`s obvious that RGIS has been cited for some safety violations, and probably has lost at least a couple of lawsuits by employees injured on the job.Now,we have more stools, most of which are in good condition. And the management is always harping on us about safety.After the above described finger incident,it`ll be intersting to see what happens when a manager catches someone climbing a rolling rack.
I work for RGIS. As far as "are there any heterosexuals that work for RGIS" yes i am one and i know of a lot more. But i did have an experience at a target i was working at. I thought i would share this. I was in B flow (counting clothes) and my district traveled to another district to help out. at the beginning of the inventory there was a gay guy and a lesbian girl having a conversation right by me. i don't know about you all but I have a problem concentrating when people are talking around me. I can't hear the beep on the machine. Yes i know how to turn the volume up but it didn't matter on this particular occasion. The lesbian was talking about how she started dating this girl and that the girl bit her lip and it hurt. The guy said i am sorry about that she said don't be I liked it. Then the conversation went on about their sex lives. Very inappropriate talk. Later during the inventory other coworkers were brought into their conversation about their sex life. Needless to say, they were talking about selling this "special" lotion. they were talking about "cum" lotion. and they said they will dye it to your favorite color. And they take Food stamps for it. I was completely disgusted. I told my DM and my Am about it. They let the district we were helping out know. I even told my flow leader but he didn't care. I will never work with that district again. They are very unprofessional. Yea yea i know how are you supposed to be professional when you work for RGIS. but guess what you can. I am a team leader and I love my job. I only took this job for part time work....but now that i am a team leader i am getting close to 40 hours a week.
Not anonymous....Just something else I'd like to add that people haven't really brought up:
If RGIS did drug testing we would lose a LOT of employees.
I agree with you. We wouldn't have alot of DM or AM either. I think they should do a full back ground check drug test. I mean come on we have to have a brain to do this job. I have issues in my district right now. I am a team leader (grey shirt) and i had an employee (maroon shirt) come up to me and say I had to be careful thru this inventory i said i know you told me you hurt your back...he said No because of this and pulled out a glass pipe used to smoke pot. Come on!! why would you bring that to an inventory and take the chance of it falling out of your pocket and then show it to a grey shirt that you had it on you the entire time. Really??? Drug testing would be a good idea because this guy drives the company vans everywhere. Just saying....
I worked out of the Ogden office from 1992-2008. When I first started we used to get bonuses twice a year. The cheapskates took away our bonuses. They chested us out of so many things its not funny. They even cheated me out of a promotion I had been promised for four years. The job was given to a person a person that had only been working for two months and had no idea what to do. I had gotten married and actually said no to a couple stores to spend time with my family. The bitch of A DM got jealous and as punishment gave the job to a useless, know nothing idiot. They both PaID the price and I quit running stores. They lost a lot of business and I laughed in their faces.
Lol so true
Here's a new one. I think someone is trying to scam me using a spoof RGIS email address on it and some name Shante Guftason trying to trick me into giving out my SSN number for the rehiring process because there are too many of me same named in thier system . I did reapply recently using like snag a job or one of the job sites online and haven't heard anything about a job offer. So either someone iS hacking my emails which would indicate my recent application for RGIS or someone inside the company is a scammer or their system is so retarded they really dont know better and not to ask someone for their SSN number of someone who is so on to this bullshit I've notified the district attorney not to mention other people in high places with mad computer skills who work for the fbi and homeland security.
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