I keed, I keed.
I just noticed that the comments on my last post reached the 100+ count so I thought it was time to start a new one. I haven't had the time lately to go over any more of my sweet RGIS memories and post them so I've just put this little bit of nothing here to fill in for the time being.
Has anyone ever tried searching for RGIS in Google Images? I just did and among the expected pics (audit machines, models in RGIS plastic burgundy polos) some weird stuff popped up. Fart Bomb Bags (farts in a bag, 12 count), a naked ass, weed and some really ugly sandals. What is Google trying to tell us about RGIS? Hmmm...
195 comments:
Hi, I just wanted to let everyone know that I will be unable to publish comments left between now and Wednesday (out of town and no Internet access!). But feel free to leave comments and they'll get published on Thursday. Sorry for any inconvenience!
Well that Explains whats wrong with RGIS....lmao
Hi
Hers one for you .Went to do a job last week in Aberdeen 5 hours North of Glasgow by car.Price for the job 60GBP!!!!
Cost to do the job 150 GBP!!
Account Manager says she should have scheduled the store with another in Aberdeen ! to save on costs??? but we were not given that choice in Oracle or have may other stores up North in November
Its crazy..these 30-60 quid jobs are crippling us whilst they all go off to Florida no expenses spared celebrating 50 years of Anarchy.D779AM
Hello, Blackstones Stock has dropped 72% since going public! What does this mean for RGIS?
D779 AM,
Be careful, ya never know who could be reading this......
But yeah, them small 30-60 quid jobs do kill us and need to be looked at in greater detail by our account managers.
"Celebrating 50 years of Anarchy...." haha, i like it. Id love to be a fly on the wall at that conference!! lol.
Irish Ops.
So, I heard an interesting little tidbit the other day about my "beloved" former team, the 404...apparently, in addition to smoking, there is now open drinking going on in the vans now.
What scares me is I've seen the way most of the drivers drive while sober, and I don't think alcohol is going to make it better. LOL.
"Tagpuller: Blackstones Stock has dropped 72%"
This has nothing at all to at all with RGIS. Wake up. The whole world market is down. You going try blame that on RGIS to.
404.. This is not a company policy. Email FSC. Once you have a reply from them. Post it here. In Fact RGIS just issued a NO Smoking in Van policy that all should have gotten. All RGIS buildings and van should be smoke free. If this is not the case. Escalate up to HR.
D779 AM,
Whats the district like now? I worked there about 18 months ago and left because the money was shit! Quite liked it but hours were a joke.
Don't Just complain..
get a grip. Blackstone stock is down by 72%. RGIS made 659 million dollars. These people are trying to make up their losses from their successful company. That is big business. don't kid yourself into believing it has nothing to do with RGIS. the effects are being felt. why else do you believe they are cutting pays? They are bleeding the successful company to pay themselves huge bonuses. Where do you think that money came from?
I saw the exact same thing happen about 10 years ago with a company my husband worked for. The business was a family business, owned by them for over 50 years and was extremely successful. They decided to retire and sell it.
An investment company from California bought it. They had other investments that were losing money. They bled this company dry. They sold it when it had very little assets left and walked away with millions of dollars after selling the real estate, and leaving the company with high rents to pay. The company who bought them tried everything to save them, but it was a losing battle. After 3 years of the original sale, this company went into bankrupcy. Been there. Seen it before. This is too much the same as far as I am concerned.
This blog is hilarious! Misfit - thank you so much for bringing back those RGIS memories! I'm from the Midwest area and it was the same when I worked there. Scandal rocked the District.....DM married w/kids ended up having an affair with some auditor guy. New DM was caught having sex (multiple people) in the office, charged with sexual harrassment by an auditor, his wife ended up losing her job (doctor) over the sex thing....corporate swooped down and interviewed (interrogated) every one of us. Come on - those of you who have worked at RGIS now this is absolutely too bizarre to even make up. But it worked while going through college I guess. More importantly, believe it or not, I met my husband at a January inventory (we're going back 15+ years), my best friend while in Hawaii as a Top Gun (now I'm godmother to her daughter). I just relayed this lawsuit info to my husband who said: yep, they did that then and it's about time they get caught.
Former Team Leader
Thanks for your comment TL TOO! Hold on there Don't Just Complain...You just don't get it!Blackstones stock price is tied directly to Rgis. Blackstone is our parent company, in other words we work for them. If their stock price falls that means they are losing equity(value). All these new crazy rating plans and pay schemes are all a part of the way they take money from the companies they have bought. Watch the movie "Wall Street", Gordon Gecko is Blackstone. What did he do to Blue Star Airlines? The news leaked out back in September that they were shopping Rgis aroung for a buyer.Stay tuned for that. Also think about this, if this economic situation keeps getting worse and retail stores keep closing.....will they need us anymore?
Anon @ 11/24, 7:22 PM: Thanks so much for reading and enjoying my blog! It's heartening in a way, isn't it, to discover that you weren't the only one to experience weirdness in your RGIS dist. I know that's how I felt when I first published this blog and read the comments left here by others. For years I thought, "Wow, it just must be my dist. that all this madness happens in" and then I read about other auditor's experiences and feel comforted. And/or frightened, depending on how you look at it. ;-)
That auditor's spouse losing her job over her husband's misdeeds, how in the world did that happen? And what was it like being interrogated by RGIS corp? Details, please! :-)
Wish I could find a photo, but nothing on Google, but there is a big sign on corporate HQ that says, 50 years and still counting.
Kinda witty, isn't it? Of course, it's only witty if people know who/what RGIS is.
Anyway, anyone seen the new RGIS anniversary book or the new training video?
They have pictures of people counting with RMs, and the RMs aren't even on the right screen to be counting.
In the training video, they have people counting the wrong way, bottom to top, right to left, etc., tagging wrong.
It's kinda comical.
Anonymous,
Good comparison with the movie.
When the California company first bought my husband's place of employment, the first thing they did is suggest a 15 percent paycut.
They claimed the company could not survive unless people took a cut.
Could not survive? They were extremely successful. And, my husband's company was part of a Union. Because people feared for their jobs, they actually voted for the paycut which only gave these people more money to play with. The part timers in the company were part of a pension plan. The full timers also. But, the full timers plan was administered by the Union, thank God. The part timer fund was administered by the company. They walked away not only having brought the company to the verge of bankrupcy, but with all of the part timers retirement money. Some of the people had worked 20 or more years. The full timers, at least, will still get their pensions. Sound familiar? We have taken pay cuts, managers lost their pensions, their bonuses. They are trying to get a bottom line that looks really good so they can sell it, and walk away with millions after basically destroying the company. And yes, with this economy, and stores closing, will there even be a need for us? And, they are taking full advantage of this bad economy. They are cutting pays knowing the people will probably stay because the job market is not good and unemployment really high. In a good econony, with paycuts, people would have walked out. And so, their profits increase, and the workers struggle.
Blackstone was hot sh!!t when it first went public. That stock came out at $45.00 then they took it off the market that same morning. They reissued the stok that afternoon at $24.00.(They never explained why they did that) The stock has been dropping ever since.Some guy on a business show said that Blackstone was a "mess" and being run by "crazy people". Can't find any inside info on the internet. Oh, thats OK ,the stock price tells me all I need to know about these guys, $24.00 down to $5.00 and change as of 4pm today.
Check this out: They don't fire anyone in my district......they just stop calling you with a schedule! You already have a RED shirt, so they just call you whenever they need another body. How fast you count doesn't matter!
You see they promised the store manager 25 people, he's still pissed from last year when came slinking in with only 15 people,when we promised him 25.Get it?!
Hey listen i was once a grey shirt......with a brown face! I was doing fine until i ran into a manager that forgot to wear his sheet. I thought his evaluation was wrong and unfair and i told him so! Wrong move. He did everything he could to get me fired. That wasen't the only one. I'm not a coward or scared of anything, i just got tired of the hasseles i ran into, that white gray shirts did'nt. That's a fact.
I just put my red shirt back on. I got my old part-time job back and work some weekends for rgis.And now here comes Blackstone! A black man screwed by Blackstone! Something ain't right about that!
Coming soon : "The Adventures of RGIS Area Manager Joe T-Bone"
(Joe won't mind if i tell a few stories about back in the day)
"Wish I could find a photo, but nothing on Google, but there is a big sign on corporate HQ that says, 50 years and still counting"
I had exactly the same thought! I work not far from that building, and every time I pass it I shake my head and laugh. I have RGIS PTSD even though it's been more than 15 years since I donned the blue smock of an auditor!
Whenever I'm bored at my current job, I just think "it beats counting cans of soup at 2:00 AM" and I feel better. Although back then it was the perfect job for me as a stay home mom--flexible, paid OK at the time, and I worked with a fun group of women.
My least favorite RGIS memory, aside from counting EVERY PIECE OF TEN CENT EMBROIDERY FLOSS at a Big Lots b/c the manager caught me estimating--I ended up being 2 off out of about a hundred skeins...was the January after I quit. One of my former co-workers, who was about the fastest counter in Michigan, was killed in a car wreck (supposedly nothing to do with working 100 hour weeks). Not even the TL and her close friends were excused for the funeral. January, doncha know.
The hell of it is that people WILL be fighting for these jobs. Nothing else out there.
Jesus, evem for this company, that is low
Just thought i would share one of my experiences with RGIS (in Covina) back in 04-05.
I was working a big store dont remember what one. Anyways ima try to make this one short and sweet After 12 hours and only 1 half-hour brake Im tired! I didnt eat on my brake cuz i had no food on me and no money. Oh and i had recent discovered a was a couple months pregnant. Anyways I hit my head on a display hard! It hurt real bad and bumped up. So I went to the Supervisor cuz thats what my dm?(i dont remember we just said grey shirts) I explained everything asking if i could please go home. She says no " I need you to stay weve only got about 2-3 hours left" and basically implies ima loose my job if i go home (I need my job im preg. w/my 2nd child is all i could think) So that bugs me right? But what pisses me off is the fact that Another DM (whom shared my same name) comes up to me and ask if im okay, I ask her why and she lets me know that the supervisor i asked to let me leave, went up to her and asked if she would like to go home because she heard she hit her head!
Anyone care to translate kitty's comment into English.
Man, no wonder this country is going downhill, because people can't grasp basic English.
Well I don't know how many of you all work at RGIS in Tennessee, but here they start us at $7.50/hr then $8.00 after training [it's dumb because u only have like 2-3 hrs. of training].
But as for my experience let me explain: I was on the search for a job and found an ad about RGIS on a job news site. I filled out an application online and the DM called me 30 mins. later! [they must have been really desperate] Because of the excessive traveling [gas here was $2-$3 a gallon] I told him that I couldn't work there. So about a week or so later he called me again asking if I were interested & I finally agreed to come for an interview. It was me and 2 other guys in the interview. The DM showed us an obviously old & crappy video about RGIS then gave us the aptitude test which was extremely easy and we all passed. He gave us our maroon shirts and proceeded to a Kmart immediately to begin out training. I received my check for $21 2 weeks later. I didn't get my first audit job until after a month passed since my training!!!! At that time I had almost forgot I had a job lol. I've been here for about 4 months now but will be quitting because of school. I love the people I work with but the long night hours and small checks don't get you very far.
EVERYONE PLEASE READ!!!!! today a rgis corporate guy was at our store and leaked confidential information to us from the last meeting... when one of our top guns said there's no where for her to go after top gun he said after your top gun your position is going to eliminated!!!!!!!!!!!!!! tops guns are going to be fired for no other reason than you make too much money.. this is true and was confirmed by my AM good luck to us all
@ team buddy
Not only that, they sure are quick to blame anything and everything but long hours and piss poor working conditions whenever there's an accident, aren't they?
How do RGIS full-time people make it during the dead months of november to december? My first year of doing this job, i was broke and busted. I learned that you have to have a other income or you will starve to death! the only thing my AM told me was that "things would be slow till january". boy was that an understatement!
Unemployment checks. (well, technically, under-employment)
I have to go to my first trainning session on 12/23. How did everyone get to each inventory each time. u mentioned that they picked ppl up.
YankeeNY: My first inventory was at a local shopping mall so everyone met there. Of course, being RGIS they don't tell you at which door of the mall you should wait. The inventory was due to start at 6 am so the mall was closed; the store employees were supposed to let us in. You would think that they would let you into the mall through one of the main entrances that was nearest the store we were supposed to inventory, but of course they let us in (at 6:15 am) through a door at the opposite end of the mall. Efficiency at its finest.
If your RGIS district is anything like mine (read: lousy) then make sure you know in advance all the pickup or meet up details. Where is everyone meeting (office, store or remote location), what time to be there, who's driving, can you drive yourself if you so choose, will you get paid to drive yourself or others (and how much), etc. And if you're meeting at a mall before or after hours, what door should you be at? Don't wait for your dist. personnel to pass this info on to you, ask ask ask! Good luck on your first inventory. That is, if you don't run screaming out of the training session first. ;-)
Speaking of training, the TDS people no longer train people at the district office.
They have to go into a store (usually a Kmart because both corporates agreed to it, although store managers hate having us in the stores training people, especially at Xmas).
Anyway, the whole application process is online, including the counting test. Then they are sent an email message what store to meet at for the next interview stage.
The next step has the TDS meeting people at a store for a test inventory. They bring a portable, access point and machines and go and scan merchandise. They even watch a few training movies on the portable (all 15 inch screens of it).
The TDS does have some discretion whether to hire the person after the store session, but that's the only place they can say yea or nay.
hmmm, you give me lots to look forward to. I have a interview on monday in faribault, MN with RGIS - i figured it wouldn't be the best job in the world, but, right now, i'm a elderly caregiver and i get shit for hours ( 12 hours a week) and i'm tired of wipiing old fogie ass so it's gotta be better than that. I am going to tell RGIS right out i want at LEAST 24 hours a week or it ain't happening. i probably won't quit my other job until they prove they do have hours for me. well, to me this is just temperary. I'm going to school for a admin. assistant diploma so i can be a receptionist somewhere while i work on my History major. i'm tired of dead end jobs as well. i'm not a dumb ass but it would help if i had a broader range of job skills. like hell i'll work with all those hispanics at the local burger king or mcdonalds! ( no offense, but there's too many of them where i live. why do they come to Minnesota? it's colder than hell here!!!!)anyway, i should start a blog about walmart.. makes me cringe about my time there!!! LOL!
PS: what are you doing now for a job? J/C.
oh, one more question: does RGIS do drug testing? i mean, i'm a good girl and all, but, you know... :P
Drug testing? You have GOT to be kidding! If they drug tested they'd lose half their workforce immediately, including their Area Managers. Why do you think some of these people work there? It's BECAUSE they don't drug test.
I left RGIS four months ago and quickly found that every employer in the area worth working for drug tests. Not a problem for me ... but when my former co-workers applied at some of the same places I had it was certainly a problem for them!
Looking back I can't understand how I managed to last as many years as I did - the crazy schedules, the lack of sleep, the hours of travel, the lack of a home life - I must have suffered from a near 10 year term of temporary insanity!
Thank goodness I came to my senses and now have a real job!
Just want to say - hey, cool blog. I just found this place today after getting nostalgic (I know sick... because it was not fun) about RGIS after seeing a bunch of auditors at a local grocery store at 10 pm on Friday night. They weren't even half done it looked like... maybe 1/5 of the store was tagged and they were still in frozen's and cards, Gen. Merch... but hey, I noticed that they were on break.
That was one good thing about our district at the time, they gave us 15 minute breaks every 4 hours... at first they didn't... but a lot of us just started taking the breaks anyway. I believe they finally got to scheduling them after awhile. Our state is very picky about scheduling 15 minute breaks for non-exempt employees.
I read the first two segments from the beginning of this blog in the archive, and will continue reading. I had to forward to a friend of mine who also worked RGIS who works at the same company I do. When anyone complains that this is the worst job they've ever done... we laugh and start talking about our inventory days. Any job is easy compared to those days...
I left the place mainly because lower/middle management got so horrible. The DM's and AM's i'm not sure which ones were which were okay, but below that things just got bad. I worked there 1997 through 1999... in the midwest... never was promoted to team leader, was asked many times, but I could not do it.
We had all sorts of turmoil going on that I just ignored... or at least tried to... but yeah, everything is easy compared to that place. haha
Nan: They never drug tested in any district I've worked for (I've worked for about 3). It's in the handbook that they will at their discretion, but they wont. If they did, I would be screwed.
From Jan-March, this is the busiest time for RGIS worldwide, so you're pretty much guaranteed your 24hrs a week. More if you want them. Quarter 1 earlier this year, I was averaging about 40-50 hours per week.
Happy holidays everyone! Only a couple more days till the no-sleeping and crashing in the office begins. Fun, fun, fun.
Let me tell ya Nan, if RGIS did drug test, they would have to close up shop. Take a real close look at the your fellow auditors.......oh yeah they use drugs. RGIS has to take whoever they can get. The turnover rate in my district has to be at least 70%. They hire a ton of people in December. Some of those people quit before they even do their first store! But they do get a neat looking RGIS shirt to add to their wardrobe. Then when the January stores startup, 20% of them decide that the job and the hours are not for them. Another 15% have personal problems like auto, baby-sitting, attitude, and drug and alcohol issues. So that really leaves you with about 20% of the new people you hired. Then only 10% of those people will make it through the year. So now you are left with 1 in 10 auditors hired in December still on the schedule the following December. If you really look at the hard-core RGIS people that we have in our district.... it would amount to about 40 people. These are the people that you know will show up at a store. This why they bring people from far away as 100 miles to do some stores.
That new training policy of training new hires at stores: is that company-wide, or just in some districts? That sounds like the first halfway intelligent thing RGIS has done, well, ever. We always used to say in my dist. that it would make so much more sense to train people in a store-like environment, with actual products on shelves and racks, than to just have them count pictures of blocks on a piece of paper or scan photos of cans of soup on a wall poster.
And drug testing? Hah! They SAY that they test for drugs but don't believe it.
Does anyone have any news on the Wren et al lawsuit?
Here is my story:
I was hired in 1988 when I 15 years old (child labor laws must not exist in ohio). After a year I was told that I should look for another job because I couldnt key without looking.
I moved to western NYS and worked there until I was 18 and graduated from high school. In 1991 I moved to upstate NY and looked up my local RGIS office. I quickly made ATL.
I have been to Hawaii twice, in 1995 and again in 2001. In 2001 I saw the AM that hired me in ohio, he was a manager in Hawaii... I dont think he remembered me.
My TL took became AM in 1998 and I took on the TL job. I ran almost all of the day time stores for the district.
In 2005 my old TL lost her job due to the office losing business. Right after that I told the office I didnt need to work there anymore and left too.
Since I left, the DM of 25+ years, who has a great guy, got forced to retire and they have been through 3 AMs.
Sometimes I think about going back to work there, but then I remember I like my 8-4 job and having weekends and nights off.
Great stories everyone. Good luck in the New Year!
RGIS count Woolworths stores in the UK.
Woolworths must be one of the top clients of RGIS, they rank second on the counts I did when working for RGIS.
Must be a big blow for RGIS now that they have gone bankrupt.
Wonder how much money was owed to RGIS by that organisation ???
Misfit,
I think the in store training is going on company wide. It is the first intelligent thing they have done and will probably be the last.
lol
As far as drug testing, it supposedly is a policy but I've never seen them enforce it in my district. We had an account that required us to drug test the pharmacy counters. No excuses. They had a list and checked to see if the RX counters were tested. So, suddenly, no one wanted to do the RX. Kept saying the account could not force drug testing and used that as an excuse not to do it. But, RGIS could have forced them because of this account and because we also have the policy.
By the way, those who went for testing because of that account,
had to fill out paperwork that came from rgis and not the account and results went directly to rgis.
In my district, only about 5 people agreed to go be tested. And, when the account insisted on 3 RX counters, and only 2 were there, the really smart area managers had to tell them no one wanted to be tested. lol lol If you were the account and rgis told you no one wanted to be tested, would you not wonder what the hell kind of people work for this company? We lost the account.
I think it may come to the point though that if our accounts require drug testing for their own employees, and insist on it the way this account did, then rgis will have no choice but to require it.
And, to anyone else who has been working for a while, are you finding them awfully quiet about what went on in Florida this year?
with the grapevine in my district, I have to believe they were all sworn to secrecy at the company meeting.
Could it be that they don't want anyone to realize what is coming on March 1 with paycuts, etc. and are afraid that they will be hard pressed to get people to kill themselves in January & February if they tell people what exactly their plans are?
Well this has been a good read. Sounds to me that RGIS is no differrent from WIS, were I worked for about two years. Now here I go again. I have a an interview with RGIS tomarrow. Even though I know all the downfalls of the inventory industry, it is still the only sure bet for income. Where I live here in rual PA, there are simply no jobs so it's take what ya can get. I want to thank everyone for all the comments and the greator of this blogg. Reading this as assured me atleast nothing has changed. It's still a crap job for crap money but atleast it's a job.
My AM has told some of our drivers about a recent accident where a 15 passenger van rolled over and killed all of the auditors on board. But for some reason, the AM can't or won't say where it happened. Does anyone here know anything?
TL Too: That's so funny! "Suddenly, no one wanted to do the RX." LOL!!! I'm not surprised the acct. was lost. If that sort of thing happened in my dist. (acct. insisting on drug testing) it probably would have happened all the time.
Countess, I hadn't heard about that accident, that's terrible. Anyone else have details?
I also worked for WIS back when they were Western Inventory. I was a crew driver. I was responsible for getting them to the hotel/motel/Holiday Inn then getting their buttts up and out of their rooms(which was not easy) and then getting them to the store on time. When i worked with the Detroit crew i carried a gun! When we got to the hotel the night before the inventory, it was party-time. Drugs, sex,hooking-up,orgies anything you can imagine. Gambling,drug dealing, theft, scams on local businesses, rapes and robberies. yes i said rapes and robberies. I had a couple that had sex in the back of the company van on the run from Erie,PA to Buffalo,NY. Oh they had a blanket to cover them up, but that smell was unmistakable(if you know what i mean?). RGIS is an old folks home compared to WIS in the early 90's.I could tell you stories you would not beleive! And they are all true.....I was there!. If you would like hear a few blog the question.
Hey, drugs are the only way some people can make it through the first quarter, especially AMs. We had one AM quit last year because he wanted to get some sleep once in a while. I manage by carrying a 90-count bottle of caffeine tablets with me, but there have been a few times I was tempted to try meth. Most notably, when we got sent to support a Walmart team (not our local one, which has a decent DM) for 3 days, and they wouldn't spring for a hotel room. 5-6 hour round trip each day, plus the 2 hour round trip commute from home to the office, stores running until 6pm or later.
I guess I'll find out about the new training procedures soon. My youngest stepdaughter goes in to interview tomorrow. I can tell you that they are now doing the 'math' test online.
is the fat idiot still running the district in the north east (D771)?
I only thank god I'm gone and with a company that pays better wages, everyone is really friendly, and potentially gives me a chance to come face to face with the idiot, now that he is more than likely to lose Zavvi (Virgin Megastores), all of his valuable Woolworths Stores, as well as Rosebys and a couple more accounts of companies that are going down!
If my employer is not able to get another member of staff to do the job i will be doing in 3 weeks time I will more than likely be coming face to face with an ex dm who i hate-EVERY MORNING!
Well today (1/9/09) was payday.I went to my nearest Walgreens and got my $40.00 from the no-fee ATM machine. But i do not have a pay stub. They say they are going to mail them to us. My problem is that i don't think my pay is correct. What do i do? I have never worked a job that does not give you a pay stub with your pay. We used to get them on-line a couple of days before payday. But now that we have these total access cards we longer get the pay stubs with the stores and hours worked on them. I see trouble ahead. Has anyone had any trouble with this new pay system?
There's an easy way around those pay cards. Direct Deposit. Money goes right into my bank account.
And if you don't have a bank account, you really should get one.
Anyway, how's everyone's hours been so far in the so-called busy season. Apparently they are really trying to hold back on OT. I've been right around 40 hours the last couple weeks, but no OT.
My DM has said this is the lightest he's seen Januarys.
Well no need to worry now, my union rep at my new job got me a transfer to another office and i got a better job, higher rate of pay and job security for good! lets see RGIS pay you people in the UK 12.99 per hour plus a night shift allowance, plus double time on sundays and time and a half on saturdays (I'm working permanent night shift)
One other good thing about my new job is that they have a booze draw every wed and thursday night with 5 prizes plus a cash prize of 200quid and all the proceeds go to a local charity.
I just applied for a job at RGIS in VA as an inventory taker. I am in college part-time and need the money. They just contacted me to schedule an interview. If someone could tell me what to expect for this job I would really appreciate it. Thanks.
Anonymous, that's pretty crafty how they apparently no longer give pay stubs or "pay advice" online like they used to. I left a year and a half ago, and I can tell you that just about every time I'd work over 6 hours and not take a 'lunch' break they would rip me (and everyone else, presumably) off. I would then have to call the DM about it. The missing money would be in my next check, but it was a bit of a hassle (and total BS).
New Training Program
Haven't seen enough of the new people to know how well it's working. One Team Leader wasn't impressed with how nobody knows how to log off their machines. Still -- I've helped new people in stores in previous years and they acted like they'd never seen the machines before. The idea might be fine but I think the biggest problem our district has in training is that the AM doing it isn't very good.
P4
Nobody knows exactly how the new pay scale is going to work. (i.e what the rates are, how much helper positions add, etc.) I've seen the chart of 'Standard APH for 2009' and 'Top APH in 2008' for various stores and noticed several 2009 'standard APHs' are higher than last year's top APHs. By the new classifications I don't think anyone is rated 'top gun' in our district anymore. I also don't see how they expect Big Box Districts to arbitrarily be 35% faster.
It's looking like this is a big excuse to lower salaries. Paying employees too much? -- just raise standard APHs and lower their level. The new APHs seem to also apply no matter what you're doing (example: today I was doing a wall of tightly packed belts and displays where you need to go up and down a ladder, several items had to be hand-keyed -- then I'm told I NEED to be up to 600APH doing this).
New Catch Phrases
Plan the Mix - Push the flow - Protect the 5
Does anyone know what this is all about? It's just a bunch of vague terms management's been saying but not really explaining.
Protect the five: Identify your top five counters in a store and make sure they make their APH goals and put them in areas accordingly.
Push the flow: is basically just motivating people to count faster and keep moving.
Plan the Mix: Putting the right people in the right areas. Top Guns in top gun areas, expert in experts, etc. Auditors are only supposed to be counting hanging clothes.
In other words, its all busy work that someone from HQ pulled out of their ass.
I've also noticed the expected APH increase over last year. We're now expected to count about a third faster than last year--for two thirds as much money.
D67 here,
I've just seen a bunch of these supervisor job aids. It looks like all clothing stores have been arbitrarily set to --
* Auditor: 550
* Specialist: 680
* Expert: 875
* Top Gun: 1000
Overall Store: 600 APH
This is for ALL clothing stores no matter what the merchandise and no matter how well they've prepped. These numbers are possible in well-prepped stores with tags in easy access, but if you're stuck in pants on hangars or folded shirts where you have to dig into each one and pull out the tags I don't see how anyone can get these numbers without ripping everything off the hangars and leaving a crumpled pile of shirts. And verifying? Who's got time to verify?
I like some aspects of these job aids -- proper placement to make the most efficient use of your people simply makes sense (and better team leaders have been doing this all along), but this whole 'protect the five' and the releasing the bottom 20% APH counters after 2 hours things don't actually get the store done any better or faster. They're just feeble attempts to doctor up APH numbers.
I really wonder how long the company will keep this up before realizing it's not going to work. I'm convinced they're going to lose all of their experienced people this way, especially when pay gets decreased. [I'm not even saying 'IF' pay gets decreased because this whole scheme is designed to decrease pay]
Well so far we have lost Goody's, Circiut City and Family Dollar. (Those are the stores i know of). The store closings are coming fast and furious! It goes without saying that this will affect RGIS. This may be the last good year RGIS may have for a long time. Who knows? At least 50% of the stores we have done so far this year have been overstaffed, leading to only a 2-4 hour inventory. I'm doing 10-15 stores a week and bearly making 35 hours. Is this a part of their master plan? Everybody's bitchin'.
And what's the deal with all of these Gray shirts in the stores counting? Busting their asses to count as fast as they can to get us out of the stores soon as possible? Don't they realize they are taking money right out of their own pockets? At they same time i realize that they are running on fear! And yes they are kicking people out of stores after 2 hours. What's the message here? You better learn how to batch or you will never make it! All the old-timers batch! And of course the pets won't be kicked out either. Also what happens if Blackstone tanks? All i can say is do all the stores you can and save your money, it's gonna be rough sledding ahead! There is a light at the end of the tunnel......but i think it's a freight train!
I haven't seen all of the job aids, but the Dots one was 600 APH for an auditor with Top Guns at 1000.
And Anonymous D67 said, I could see the best counters getting fed up and leaving for other employment.
Pay may be part of it,but the lack of hours would be a bigger part of it. You may be able to withstand the pay cut, even though you don't like it.
But a cut AND a cut in hours, which is happening because they don't want Top Guns (AKA the most reliable people) in auto scan stores.
Question: many people getting overtime this month?
Supposedly, they were cracking down on OT since its not insanely busy as it has been in the past.
The new regime at RGIS is convinced they can do all stores with new people, they don't believe they need the higher paid people. Sooner than later there will be one rate for Auditors and that's starting rate!
Job sucks started last night, terrible just terrible I doubt ill show up again
They did the "Plan the mix" routine at a Petsmart here last week. In addition to our usual flow (checkouts>perimeter>floor) the plan was to have a top gun do the canned food @ 7000aph, 4 experts do all the autoscan areas @ 1200aph, and specialists doing bagged food @ 1000aph.
Problem was, there was a shortage of experts, so specialists did their job and auditors did the specialists' job. And one auditor ended up helping the top gun finish up the canned food.
Anonymous, you are right. The new regime is convinced they only need new people and that they can carry the stores. I keep hearing about new people coming out of training scanning over 600 pieces an hour.
But....I have had 5-6 in my stores and I have yet to have one scan over 300. Guess I'm not getting those new hire superstars in my stores. lol lol I hope they are learning to run stores at their training sessions. If they get rid of all their experienced people, who the hell will run their stores? And, history will repeat itself this year like every other year. The new hires will quit before 2 months are up. Then what?
Their "plan the mix" only works if they schedule a mix of people in the stores. They want auditors to count nothing but hanging clothing.
No folded. No walls. So, just maybe these people might count enough to raise their classifications to expert. But, once there, they will be the ones expected to do the tough stuff and they will have zero experience with it. So, down they go again.
We have a guy on my team like that.
new hire last January. We always gave him easier stuff. When the classifications came out, he was up to expert. So, now, when he is in our stores, we have to give him the harder areas. Guess what? He is averaging auditor levels. What a joke this whole thing is!!!
If there is one thing this blog and its comments make clear... There is a sense of camaraderie amongst former inventory services workers. The type of camaraderie that can usually only be acquired by surviving as a group through some harrowing ordeal. And if you’ve been away from RGIS long enough, you may even develop a form of “twisted nostalgia” over the whole RGIS experience.
The “RGIS experience” is most pronounced if you worked for them fulltime. One or two cycles through the busy season and you were well on your way to entering the “RGIS lifestyle”. A parallel universe where the world you once knew fades away and you are teleported with your crew in your little RGIS pod through town after town after Godforsaken town. Beyond your RGIS pod is the greater mothership that is your RGIS district. These two circles are the extent of your environment. The chaos of living on the road erases any semblance of a normal life, as your days and nights are filled with a flurry of stores, stockrooms, fast food joints, cheap motels, filthy/disgusting restrooms and cramped van rides.
Sleep is the most precious commodity in this parallel universe. The random, grueling schedule will only allow for a few hours of sleep between stores, as you bounce down the road in a stinking, crowded van. A dogged tiredness will creep into your life, and hound your every waking moment. Oh, you’ll try to fight it, but it will be in vain! Eventually, you will be worn down to the point where you are ready to collapse on the sidewalk outside a store, and just sleep right there like a bum. You won’t care!
Once the exhaustion takes hold of you, so will your terrible diet of greasy junk food. Instincts will kick in, as your body demands relief from the onslaught of fast food. Unfortunately, since time has no meaning in this parallel universe, you will often be eating between the hours of 2am and 5am. Once you’ve tried every disgusting convenience store food you’ve ever imaged existed, you’ll move on to the cold, stomach churning leftovers in the supermarket deli. The search for alternatives is just a fool’s paradise though, and you’ll soon resign yourself to the fate that awaits on the Burger King menu.
Around the third or fourth week, you will realize that your existence in this parallel universe and survival in your RGIS pod are not sustainable. Victims of this torture deal with it in different ways. Some implode, becoming quiet, unemotional automatons that go through the motions of work, and behave much like a sloth the moment they put down their machine. Some become psychotic, and begin fighting with anyone and everyone. Oh, you’ll be horrified at the diabolical ways middle aged housewives will war with the college girl sociopaths and visa versa. The battles that sprout in that cramped, stinking van will likely turn to wars that live for months, even years... And all the while, you’ll be forced to watch every spat as you are locked in that van like something out of the movie “A Clockwork Orange”.
By now, the van is completely trashed, and everyone is just one dirty restaurant or filthy restroom away from a trip to the hospital...
The size of your district and the state of your local economy will determine how long this agony will last. One day though, the end of the busy season will near. Your fellow prisoners in your RGIS pod will perk up a little, and the fighting will die down substantially. Most of you will cease discussing APH and shop talk, when you aren’t sleeping, and will begin to fantasize about your time off, and going home. You’ll think about that world you once knew outside the RGIS pod. You’ll suspect it still exists out there beyond the metal walls of the stinking van, but some part of you deep down will be skeptical. You’ll tell your self, “of course there is life outside of RGIS! It didn’t just disappear.” But you’ll be left wondering, somewhat.
A sense of peace will permeate the disgusting van, and will grow into joy with every mile that brings you closer to home. Those that can sleep will fall a little deeper than they slept previously. As the van pulls into your home city, everyone will probably be too tired for jubilation, but all will cheer on the inside. The freezing cold will be the final slap in the face, as you load your belongings and warm up your car... And then across the city to home... And eventually, BED.
Who knows when you’ll awake? When you do, however, you will no longer be in that parallel universe of the RGIS pod. You will likely marvel at how soundly you slept now that you are in your own bed. Your day will unfold euphorically before you, as it leads you back into your life as you once knew it. You’ll still feel the exhaustion, but you’ll be happy.
The day will vanish too soon, and as night falls, you’ll have to determine a time to go to bed... However, you’ll soon find out that you cannot sleep, because you are not “exhausted” enough. Sure, you’re still exhausted from the giant road trip that was your work, but you’ll find that you’ve grown accustomed to only sleeping when you are dead exhausted. Maybe, just maybe, if you have enough days off, you can ease yourself back into some semblance of a normal schedule, but it is highly unlikely.
You will be trapped in a vicious cycle of sleeping soundly one night, and having insomnia the next night, much to your frustration. The days after insomnia will be every bit as painful as was your life on the road. Eventually, you’ll add a new element to your personal life and your RGIS life, and it will probably be in the form of a drug...
But that is another chapter.
Hi,
Just stumbled upon this blog.. Great work. I unfortunately am a current RGIS auditor in the Milwaukee area and took this job after being out of work for awhile. I have worked at a competitor of RGIS called Washington Inventory Service in the past and knew that it was a short term, no fuss job to pay the bills.
However RGIS is nothing like that other company. My first 2 inventories were at Kohl's Department Stores, and was told that the APH count was 650 scans "no big deal, it's easy!" said the trainer. Well I do my first store and find out it isint so easy, and in fact, if you DON'T make the 650 APH, you get sent home at lunchtime. I was was also surprised to see that approx 25 people from the crew, including people who were there for awhile, were sent home as well!
And this happened again at the next inventory and the one after that. It also came to my attention that some people got these so called "finger lasers" - essentially a scanner that attaches to, duh, you finger and lets you zip through anything quickly without having to dig and reach and stretch for the UPC codes while I, not having one of these had to get my whole machine within site of the code for each item, a verry slow process.
Also, I'm not a young person, I'm in my 40's and find the lack of respect and out and out rudeness of the "management" to make me want to work even less for this company than I already do.
Also they frown on bathroom breaks, water breaks and in general situation where your not doing anything but chugging on.
I have to wonder what the cost of work related injury is? Back problems, foot and knee problems must be prevalent.
- BCZF
Well said, anonymous. We have a great philosopher in our midst.
Well, time for my two cents worth again.The past few weeks has been the worst I`ve ever seen in all my years at RGIS.Virtually every store that I had been associated with was a scheduling or staffing nightmare.We`ve had stores where the crew showed up, only to be told by the store manager that the inventory wasn`t scheduled for another one, sometimes two hours later.This included lots of stores scheduled at the malls` summer hours, not winter hours.Stores that us grayshirts personally gave the DM the PIV form with the requested S/R and S/F start times, and then he proceeded to ignore it and didn`t bother to inform the crew of the new times.Also, stores where we showed up for the backroom, only to find it empty. I also heard from several pissed-off store managers that directly confirmed their store time with our DM or AM, only to have felt doublecrossed, when we didn`t show up at the agreed upon time, or with the proper staffing.And,of course,the usual slug of excessively long(12 hours plus) stores and the 2 hour not-worth-your-time stores.Not to mention, the traditional January Area Manager quit-in-disgust ceremony.Yes ,it`s just another typical January out here, except that it keeps getting worse each year.
The thing that especially ticks off all us old timers now, is how they are continually pushing ad nauseum this productivity angle while Moe, Larry, and Curly in the office are bungling scheduling and staffing and costing RGIS hundreds of dollars weekly.There`s absolutely no accountability at the top.It`s amazing that the Blackstone/RGIS bigshots are totally oblivious to their bumbling underlings, and how their inefficiency is bleeding the company.Their only plan of action is to make the veteran auditors the scapegoats.To make it worse, Shep the Ops manager is now micromanaging some stores, by placing auditors by phone(!) and continually calling and haranging( "Put Joe in this section, Jane in that one. What`s their APH?" etc. ) the supervisors.We waste more time talking to him, and massaging his ego when RGIS`s interests would be better served if we were counting.Absolutely incredible!When I tell friends who work for companies with reputable management about our internal operations,they find it hard to believe that we`re still in business.
I live in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and joined RGIS in the Fall of 2008.
They treat you like little robots! Their team leaders and "management" are little dictators with no people skills. They have disgusted some of their clients who have observed their treatment of us and of their products ("call for a skew check and throw it on the floor"). All you need to become a Team Leader is a car and the ability to key/scan 500+ items an hour.
Caution - if you indicate you are available at any time, your name is dropped into their d/b and you will be working early morning and late night shifts with a token 15 minute break after 5 hours. They also cannot log you in before the Start Time even though they expect you to be at least 15+ minutes earlier.
It's a North American sweat shop and it behooves me that while we ban products produced overseas by sweat shops, companies continue to use their services. They can't make their targets anyway.
I hear their competitor, WIS International is worse (hard to believe) but they do pay more.
The only benefit is that you don't need any work experience (but then no one will hire you after you work for them anyways).
O T L, nice to hear from you again.
I'm glad to see your jan. isn't going any better than mine. This constant reminder about top 200 stores, and 600 aph, etc. is more than tiring. You are so right about the bungling idiots doing the scheduling. I have been running stores with auditor/specialist mixes and they are top 200 with 600 aph. Doomed to fail before you even go in the door. How in the world can you average 600 in a store with no major counters in it? Then, my bozo dm, threatens everyone running stores that they will be stopped from running stores if they don't start hitting the goals.
He schedules the people in there.
Then he threatens us if we don't hit the mark. He scheduled me to run a 3 person shoe store with 2 of the slowest counters around. then he was emailing me that the goal was 1200 and I had better hit it. With those 2? Who the hell was he kidding? Yes, these idiots are the ones costing the company the most money. Not the team leaders. Not the verteran auditors who are becoming the scapegoats for any stores that fail the goal. It is these idiots who schedule the wrong people into the stores to begin with. If you give me 12 slow people in my stores, then don't expect top gun results. If you ask me, the team leaders did a much better job of scheduling the right people in stores. This is all meant to reduce our pays in March and have an excuse to do it. "You didn't hit your goals, so your pay is being reduced" I also think they are setting these unattainable goals, and scheduling badly for a reason. The company is testing to see just how many stores would bonus when the program kicks in.
By setting the bar so high, they know ahead of time that they won't have to pay too much in bonuses. They can reduce pays knowing it isn't going to cost them much in bonus bucks in return. If the stores were hitting their targets all the time, you would see that bonus program go away before it even starts. I'll tell you one thing for sure, if they keep harassing me when they are to blame with their bad scheduling, then they can run their own stores.
Blackstone/Rgis, take a good luck at your management. They are the biggest hindrance to your profits.
O T L, are you guys forced to go on conference calls with Mr. Ops manager when you have one of those 600 aph stores? What a colossal waste of time. Listen to BS for 30 minutes when all he would need to do is talk to his incompetent management teams. We still have better counters sitting at home while little family friends, favorites, etc., work, who are not necessarily the best counters.
Plan the mix, protect the 5, push the flow.....it ain't happening guys as long as these incompetent idiots schedule the wrong people into stores.
Hey everyone. I just found this blog and I have found it both fascinating and frightening. I relate to so many of these horror stories...
I previously worked for RGIS for 2 years, and I just came back after working elsewhere for 2 years. Things are quite different now than I remember. After being back for only a couple of weeks I am reminded of all the things I hated before PLUS I have to deal with all this new crap. The awful new machines (what kind of cruel sadist designed these things?).. This goal APH garbage (does anyone actually reach these ridiculous numbers? Any real people?).. Plus our district's manager in charge of scheduling quit shortly after i was rehired, which means I haven't been able to get many hours, even though it's January and I'm sure there have been plenty of stores that could have used me... The guy quit almost two weeks ago, and I overheard today that they still haven't replaced him. I think it's ridiculous that they have ONE person scheduling EVERYBODY in our huge district. When I worked for them before, the scheduling would be divided up among TLs and that made a lot more sense.
I really think the company has something against petite people. The smallest polo shirt size is like a muumuu on me, about 2 or 3 sizes too big. The machine is too big for me to get my hand around comfortably, so I start feeling the pain after only a half hour. Even when I've been lucky enough to get a finger laser, they're too big, too. I can't quite tighten the strap enough so that it's not loose on my finger, and even then all that velcro hanging off gets caught on everything.
I haven't ever been involved enough in company business to notice any craziness there.. and most of the TLs and managers I've worked with have seemed like decent enough people (though, of course, there are always a few jerks). I think it's because of laws in my state, but we get a 15 minute break every 2 1/2 hours, and a half hour lunch break every 5, though we can choose to sign a waiver if we want to work through lunch. They usually stick to these rules pretty well, though breaks may sometimes come a little early or late.
Anyway, if I can help it, I won't be with them much longer. I only took the job as a temporary thing anyway.
Had an interesting thing happen at a Kohl's inventory Thursday.
Kohl's is run by a Big Box team now, instead of the local district.
Anyway, the area manager running the store was asked to leave by store management because of the way he was talking to his (RGIS) employees. The Kohl's employees went to their manager and said how they were offended/didn't like how the AM was treating his employees.
They placed a call to the Ops manager, who told him to leave the store. There were two AMs there from this Big Box team, so it didn't affect supervision much.
The managers also misplaced people, ie: having top guns count in specialist areas, etc.
They also kept sending people home if they weren't making their APH goal (even if they were only 100 or so off the supposed pace), which of course caused the store to last longer than it was supposed to. (They did give lunchs and breaks though).
Anon @1/22/09, 2:06 AM: "if you’ve been away from RGIS long enough, you may even develop a form of “twisted nostalgia” over the whole RGIS experience." So true: that's quite how I feel about RGIS now, and I guess even when I started this blog some years ago. At the time, working for RGIS was often hell (on company van wheels) but now that I'm long gone from all that I can look back on it with a certain hideous fondness for all the mad, crazy things that went on. I'm glad I'm gone from the company but I did obtain a lot of funny (read: pitiful, sad, nutty, frustrating, etc.) experiences from it so it wasn't all bad. Just about 99.9% of it.
OTL: "Also, stores where we showed up for the backroom, only to find it empty." Wow, I've never seen that one happen before. I've done inventories where we showed up horribly over-staffed and finished the back room of an REI in about 20 minutes, and the sales floor not due to start until an hour and forty minutes later. An unheard of 1 hour and 40 minute RGIS break! And they had to pay us for it too. Hah!
Anon @ 1/24/09, 10:11 AM: That was such a cool thing for the Kohl's manager to do, and the store's other employees as well. I'm glad some "outsiders" got to see first-hand how some RGIS auditors are treated. Good for Kohl's! Has anyone else ever witnessed a store doing this before?
misfit:
It`s hard to believe, but there have been more of the empty or nearly empty stockrooms than ever before.I believe it`s because RGIS management practices in recent years have shifted from careful planning and attention to detail, to being consumed by the APH/productivity hype that they are no longer giving enough attention to the day to day fundamental business practices that made the company successful to begin with.In the old days,a DM or AM would have given a store a courtesy call a day before the inventory.If they discovered that the stock was suddenly down or up, they would adjust the staffing or time, and the inventory would proceed smoothly, without a hitch.Nowadays,since it`s so apparent that Blackstone is desperately trying to find a buyer for RGIS,all they are trying for is quick profits--which means staffing with the newest/lowest paid personel--in a flawed attempt to make the company look more lucrative to a prospective buyer.
Accuracy and integrity are a lower priority now, and the dismal results are pretty obvious to both the customer and the veteran auditors, at least to the dwindling few that are left.
TL too:
We`ve had a few of those conference calls. The main problem with those is that there`s always some asskisser sycophant who always claims that,yes indeed,an APH of 1000 or whatever is attainable.Of course, they are either exaggerating ( can you say suck up),or referring to a former multiple quantity program,not the current auto qty.one. Or,this brown-noser`s APH figure is what their APH was after counting that easy hanging bar during the first five minutes of the inventory, not the figure that existed after a 5-6 hour count.Naturally, this is what the OPS managers want to hear; they eat all up, and it just adds to their delusions!
Regarding the staffing issues, it`s blatantly obvious that RGIS is giving newhires scheduling preference over veterans. a lot of us old timers were underscheduled this month;when we inquired about it,the management claimed that there was just no work in our part of the district.However,I talked to a newbie who lived in the other end of our district.He told me that the management was going head over heels to offer him stores in our part of the district.So here you go.On one hand, their telling some of us there`s no work, while behind our back they`re filling the stores with newhires from out of the area.The management has even gone so far as to import auditors ( mainly newhires, of course) from out of the district to fill stores, why we sit at home wondering what the hell is going on.(I guess that the mileage/travel costs must not count against the bottom line percentage figures.)
Another thing that I`ve noticed lately in my district( but maybe not in everyone else`s) is that there seem to be fewer stores we do that have multiple quantity programs.In these inventories, experienced auditors with 10 key skills are exremely useful and necessary. I don`t know if it`s the slumping economy, or if RGIS is letting some of these stores slip over to the competition.But that`s another reason why a lot of us oldtimers have not been getting as many hours as in previous years.I`d like to know if it`s just us, or if some others in the RGIS serfdom are experiencing the same thing.
I've never shown up for a back room inventory to find it empty, but I did once get added to a store that was 90% empty.
We had an AM call begging for my little family crew of 4 to take a 3 hour trip to help out at a Hot Topic that was understaffed. I explained my truck was out of commission and I wouldn't have my car available for another 45 minutes. They were sending another couple of people in a company van and offered to have them swing by to pick us up. Thing is, we usually drive to that town because the office/meet site is about an hour in almost the opposite direction, (and because I get paid mileage) so we'd be getting picked up (if they found our house, not an easy thing) some time after my car got back.
So we drove down there and found the store was going out of business, had only a fraction of their merchandise left, and had been finished right about the time we got there. The TL running the store had called the AM to tell her not to cancel sending anyone else, but she didn't pass the word to us.
The good news was we did get clocked in and got our 2 hour minimum, and since we had a store in the same mall the next day the company got us a hotel room, at a decent hotel for a change. And the girls got a chance to check out the big discounts on what was left and do some shopping before we left town the next day.
Just a note I forgot to add on the Kohls/Area Manager story. And this is just icing on the cake.
The area manager's wife works with RGIS. She was in the store. Well, they had sent so many people home because their APHs were "low" that she had to keep counting while he waited for her in the car.
RGIS is a bullshit company full of lies..... my district was terrible the first half of the season..... but during the second half we were on pace to be the #2 Walmart team and thus get to inventory the Alaska Walmarts although not Hawaii we were all still excited to go and make all that extra money with the per diem...... well the end of the year came and we were had hit our goal and were the #2 team but in December when we got our upcoming season information, our DM had written a letter saying that we had lost the bid to a rivel company(WIS) im guessing..... even though we had been told all year that if we hit the #2 spot we would be goin Alaska! RGIS = Bullshit!
I've been to quite a few near empty backrooms lately too. In the worst one, we were scheduled four hours and it only took 40 minutes to count the whole thing. When I got my paycheck for that one, it showed that they had clocked us out for two lunches between the backroom and salesfloor so they wouldn't have to pay for the downtime.
As for these new hires that can't get the 600 APH? It's because the test is ridiculously flawed. They only have people scan for 15 minutes and then multiply the total by four and think that will give an accurate estimate of what people are able to do in a store. Anyone could easily get over 1000 per hour if they only went by the first 15 minutes.
To end on a positive note, my district did the right thing yesterday. We got hit by an ice storm that started around 3pm. There was a Lowe's going and management decided to do the whole store yesterday instead of having people try to come back to it on the icy roads today. I was in a grocery store about an hour from the Lowe's and was asked to stop and help them finish it when I got out of my store, but they finished before I got there. But the roads were so bad by that point that a normally two hour drive home took four and a half. I was really glad I didn't have to go to Lowe's this morning.
Funny story: There was an ice storm the day we did the same Lowe's last year. While those of us who were able to get out of our houses were at the office waiting for the vans one guy just got in his car and went home. Ten minutes later he called the office and left a message on the answering machine that he couldn't make it in because the roads were too icy for him to drive on. Of course the rest of us told the AM that he had already been to the office and we never saw that guy again.
They cut my pay by a $1 an hour said I was not counting at my ASET (Auditor Specialist Expert Top Gun)level for January.
I am running stores and getting constant phone calls about doing 600 pcs an hour which is more then DOUBLE what we did in the same store last year.
And now they tell me I still make too much and come November when this P4 or Pay 4 Performance pay plan comes out they will cut my hourly rate once again.
Oh ya ADDER ROLES, $0.25 for saftey supervisor, $1.50 if you run a store but I won't be making what I am making now let alone what a made back under the Nicholson's.
From back then I've lost $2.50 an hour and now they are talking more money from me even though the stores I've run have met their 600 pcs and hour Bull with LESS people.
Top 200 stores is where they count your average, I'm on a Multi Qty team but doing Auto Qty stores, please explain?
RGIS used to be a good part time job for me for many years, now I'm looking for something else, come November and this P4 pay bull where they do not respect the knowledge I have (restore a portable from USB backup when the hard drive failed while the AM was having a fit because he didn't know how to do it) is pure bull.
Blackstone justs wants to get rid of all the experience so their hourly cost is way less.
RGIS LLC, has lost accounts to WIS. They lost New York and Company and Family Dollar just to name two we didn't do this January on the East Coast.
Our Ops Manger is saying WIS is undercutting RGIS on the rate, I don't know who to believe. I do know I have work the fewest hours this January (only one week in OT) then I have in the past 10 January's.
They are giving finger lasers to new hires and leaving the experience people unscheduled.
TL in the East:
I suspect that one reason that RGIS is losing accounts to WIS is because they are so inflexible in their bottom line profit margin.Instead of lowering their rates to be more competitive, their philosophy is to first keep the rates the same but lower their LABOR costs.Thus,newhires are working at many stores while the veterans are underscheduled.As I`ve mentioned before, if Blackstone/RGIS really wants to get serious about reducing the labor costs, they should eliminate about two-thirds of their management.A much higher percentage of managers--not auditors,as the company propaganda claims-- are not earning their keep. It will save a hell of a lot more money than then the nickel and diming of the rank and file that is currently going on.
Here`s another example of our sloppy local operation, that I had mentioned in my last post.We had a major inventory cancelled in mid inventory(!) the other day, because of a disagreement on minimum staffing between RGIS and the store`s upper management.No doubt a considerable amount of money was lost in labor costs.In the old days, a simple PIV visit or phone call, would have resulted on a mutually agreed upon staffing, and the inventory would have preceeded smoothly.Even if there were a number of unexpected no shows,the DM in those days would have had a contingency plan in place to call in auditors or bring them from other inventories,if needed.Nowadays, there`s no planning, communication, or execution.It`s all a fly by the seat of your(DM)pants,operation now, hoping that a disasters don`t happen--which,of couse,do!
OTL: Regarding PIV's, are they not done at all anymore, or just done at the DM or AM's discretion? Even in my screwy dist. they were always done. Okay, maybe not done very well ;-) but they were done, even at stores we did on a quarterly basis. I can't imagine doing an inventory where a PIV wasn't done. That must be so rough on you guys. :-(
PIVs are done in my district, especially for all bigger stores.
This is just a sampling of the ones I know either the AM, DM or TLs have done in my district: Kohl's, Kmart, Walgreens, Big Lots, even some smaller clothing stores in the mall.
Again, bad districts or bad planning could be a district thing or regional thing, not all company encompassing, but who knows.
TL in the East: I'm also in the East and was wondering what happened to the New York and Company inventories this year. someone from my team contacted PICS, and a former RGIS dm answered his email. He recognized his name. They apparently have the BigY account now and the Advanced Auto Parts which were also ours. WIS got Family Dollars.
OTL: You are right on with the company not wanting to reduce their rates but are trying desparately to reduce their staffing. PIVS don't exist in my District. I was scheduled to run a store last week that I have always done with 11 plus people.
They wanted me to do it with 9. Uh, no!!! If I would have had no shows then I would be doomed in a store that has a 5 hour out the door clause. So, I said: get someone else to run it. I've done this store maybe 15 times and I know what I need in there. So, the dm did a quick visit, and suddenly I was at 13 people. Makes a hell of a big difference when you actually go to the stores.
It is like we are all waiting for some major disaster to happen.
Misfit: Here is what they are doing in my District. They have this list of stores that must, according to the owners, hit a 600 average. They are dividing the number of pieces by 600 and then by 5 hours, and that is how they are staffing. Of course, that is assuming everyone in the store will scan 600. We are running stores, going in blind, and short staffed, then when the magic 600 isn't hit, we are being threatened by the management.
Misfit:
It`s kind of a mixed bag now.In some stores (supposedly) no PIV is required.On others,us grayshirts are supposed to go out and do the PIV`s.The main problem now,as I`ve mentioned previously,is that there is no attention given to working out all the little details that can ultimately make or break the inventory.Things like the PIV forms with the agreed upon staffing/times not being reviewed by the DM and forwarded to the schedulers.Or,not having the proper equipment, such as finger lasers, in stores where much of the merchandise is on peg hooks.Or other instances such as when the store is a new account, and there is no documentation on how difficult a count may be, or how long the inventory will go.Even if no there`s no PIV required( not usually the case in new stores)one would think that at least a cursory visit or phone call would me made.There seems to be more and more of these kind of things, especially communication breakdowns, than there ever were before, and no one, at least in my district,appears to be making a genuine effort to remedy the problem.
As to PIV's, look at your procedures most are now PIC (Calls). I was asked to do 5 PIV's this January and to 908 the time. 3 were local accounts and 2 national. The only reason was the national account required the PIV form to be faxed and the local accounts the AM did the visit with the wrong store "manager".
One good side to the slow work, nothing scheduled Sunday night, I can catch the Superbowl.
I see the new BS RGIS has come up with is everywhere now. Sure, back then, we were abused, we worked long hours, we worked insane hours, we were called in the middle of the night, but the managers were at least competent with what they were doing, and were realistic. Sure, sometimes they pushed us, but at least they were profitable, they're not asking us how to use an RM/portable, or pretend to know how to run a store. The entire hiring from outside has really screwed up my district. They can do all the PIVs they want, they will still have no clue how long it takes for certain areas to be counted (backrooms), and what sort of people are needed.
My district has had 7 DMs since 2007. 4 of them did not have the capability of running a store. They have also fired most of the competent AMs, and replaced them with foolish people who have either been fired from their old inventory company, or have been working in retail their entire life. The new managers don't know the auditors, they don't know their abilities, hell they don't even know the city! How did they expect anything good to come out of this?
It's crazy have wasteful managers are now. There use to be only 3 managers who work 120 hours a week in January, and probably averaged 60 hours a week the remainder of the year. Now with 6-7 managers in the office, they're only working until their 1 store for the day is finished, and they run home.
I believe they also brought in another salaried manager to go in to improve training. This person does not have real RGIS auditor experience, yet was hired to improve everyone's APH? This is a clear waste of money going to someone with connection to upper management. They haven't promoted a TL or auditor since 2007, and they wonder why they're so screwed?
They're losing their best people, and they're losing several accounts. Yeah, we all know what's going to eventually happen, especially with BX now in penny stock territory.
Torontonian speaks the truth!
I spent a week in Toronto during the January rush a few years ago, and it was one of the worst experiences I've ever had with this job, and that's counting quite a few years of bullshit.
We've got our problems over here on the east coast, but the Toronto district takes inhumane treatment to the next level!
The new monthly ratings came out. 95% of the experienced (more than a year) Auditors/TL in my district DROPPED an ASsET Level. If this was under the P4 plan they all would have lost money. We had a few that dropped two ASsET levels (Expert to Auditor or Top Gun to Specialist) under the new P4 plan they would have to be terminated.
Only the TL that ran the store for the District (if multi-district the host district) did not get rated on that store.
Oh and you have to work 3 hours for the store to be rated. So all these stores they rush thru at 600 pcs + an hour under 3 hours where you count your ASSet off do not get rated and the ones you die in because you are short staff and don't count your ASsET level (we are human and get tired) will effect the bottom dollar.
Is this legal? A Fair work practice?
New credit report from S&P...
http://www.alacrastore.com/storecontent/spcred/699428
Title:
RGIS Inventory Specialists
Price: $400.00
Publication Date: Jan 30, 2009
Report Type: Full Report
Abstract: Vulnerable Highly leveraged Long-standing relationship with many customers; and Very high market share of inventory audit business. Very high leveraged capital structure; Weak cash flow protection measures; Weak retail environment will hurt sales; and Increased competition within the industry. The ratings on the Auburn Hills, Mich. based-RGIS Holdings LLC reflect its highly leveraged capital structure, weak cash flow protection, and Standard&Poor's Ratings Services' belief that the company has limited ability to expand profitability. RGIS is the largest inventory audit specialist in the U.S. and also has a broad international scope. In 2007, the company's two principal competitors, Western Inventory Service and Washington Inventory Service, merged to form WIS International. This has made RGIS more susceptible to competition, since
One thing the credit report did'nt mention was the poor state of RGIS management. The company's bottom line is under extreme pressure. Blackstone is still trying to sell RGIS. Hold on to your hats boys and girls...WIS International has approached Blackstone about buying RGIS! The problem was the financing. I know people inside WIS top Management, they said that Blackstone wants 80% of the asking price up front. WIS did'nt have it and could not get a third party that would come in with the money right now. The banks just would not pony up the cash in this tight credit market. Leveraged buyouts are not very hot right now. But don't forget this is how Blackstone bought RGIS! Nothing was official and the whole thing was just exporitory. Top RGIS management will deny an offer was ever made of any type. Consider this, if the retail enviroment continues to get worse, will there be a need for both WIS and RGIS? WIS has decided on a plan to take 30% market share away from RGIS this year! How? They are convinced that RGIS is crumbling from within.....they are watching very closely. He told me that Blackstone buying RGIS was the best thing that could have happened for them! I did'nt like the sound of that!
Very interesting.... I guess that means that us RGIS galley slaves will have to bail even harder on the APH bucket to keep RGIS afloat.
Even though it'd never happen, I think it would be hilarious if PICS managed to buy out RGIS. Think about it: RGIS apparently dropped AST like an anthrax-infected hot rock years back, only to have the same guys swoop in and gobble them up instead. The irony level would be off the scale! (Wouldn't happen, though; RGIS is too expensive, and from what I hear, PICS is still small potatoes.)
Never say never!!! I remember when we first heard that RGIS was gonna be bought by Blackstone, we said "Oh no, that would never happen!" But it happened! How about RGIS/Blackstone buying WIS? If Blackstone can't sell RGIS why not suck up it's competitor? It makes sense on a lot of levels. If the economy does not turn around by June/July, it may be panic time for Blackstone. Their stock is crap and they can't raise capitol. Something has to give! Blackstone is trying to ring every buck they can out of RGIS and the other companies they own. But you can't get blood from a turnip. After the pay cuts, what else can they do? Travel pay? Kick the grayshirts "rasses" some more? Layoff more people in management?Push the poor, broke , auditors to get out of the stores quicker so that they (the auditors) make even less money? At some point you reach a place where you can't do any more. Let's give Blackstone some credit, the former owners were not willing to invest the money that it took to bring in the new equipment (which we really needed!). But we must remember Blackstone did not buy RGIS to hold on to it. They are venture investors. They buy stressed companies, make them better, leaner, then they sell them for a profit! We will have new owners one day , you can bet your finger lazer on that! What will RGIS look like in 5 years? No one knows. And if anyone says they do know.......they are both a fool and a liar!
I think the FTC would object strongly to WIS/RGIS becoming one. It basically becomes a monopoly at that point since PICS doesn't seem to be ready to hunt with the big dogs.
In a totally different field that I follow, there are currently 3 major players. Two of them want to merge, and the FTC is suing to stop the merger.
teambuddy:
Anything can happen. Everyone thought that the XM/Sirius merger would get shot down due to a antitrust/monopoly violation.
Fast forward to 2009, we now have XM/Sirius (one company).
I used to work for RGIS. Everytime I counted something I thought of a new way to kill myself.
K: Lol, what a great new slogan for the company. "Come work for RGIS and everyday you'll think of a new way to kill yourself!"
RGIS
"R"eds and "G"rays "I"n "S"lavery
There's no doubt, something big will happen to this company within a few years. They just can't compete, and in my district and neighboring districts, the managers are just too inefficient, the people are too slow, and worst off, the managers strategy is to tell stores to go **** themselves if they want us to stay behind to recount an area or provide printouts. During these economic times, stores will go for the cheaper price, and RGIS will lose a ton of money trying to match WIS. They've already taken a good number of stores.
I have friends in WIS, and from what I've seen, they are far more efficient. I've visited a couple of financial stores while WIS was counting, and while the same store would require 25 RGIS auditors to complete, WIS did it with only 10, including a non counting supervisor. It would take the best top guns in all 4 districts in my area to match what these run of the mill counters did for WIS. I'm very impressed with them despite all the negatives that have been preached by our managers.
Sooner or later I'll be done with RGIS and will probably head over to WIS. A complete overhaul is coming, and I'm fed up helping these idiots (managers) figure out how to operate an RM or using the portable.
Well, after more than a year after their debut, my local RGIS district is trying to introduce the colored badge system.I find it amusing that the RGIS higherups realized that it wasn`t too bright an idea to brightly identify all the newhires and semi-competents with a big yellow swatch holding their badge( see the rgis slaves/rumors topic, for a picture).That would just cry out to the client: "Hey, I`m new and/or stupid, and I might not quite what I`m doing yet!".So now RGIS, for the sake of being discreet, has changed it--no more strip, just the relatively tiny badge clip itself is colored.It`s now really only discernable to RGIS managers, and grayshirts, if you look close enough.Only one minor glitch-almost no one, except mainly rookies who haven`t memorized their ID numbers, wear the stupid badges!Another point to ponder:The badge clip color system has an eerie resemblence to the inverted triangle/color system( the same colors!) the Nazis used in their concentration camps!("Work makes you free!") Hmm, I wonder where RGIS got this idea in the first place....
finger laser:
One thing for sure is that accuracy and customer service has now taken a back seat to APH in inventories.I think the customers are starting to wise up and wonder just what the heck is going on at RGIS,especially when they overhear the OPS Manager or DM continually calling the supervisors during an inventory demanding to know the current APH in the store.
O T L: you've got that right.
Accuracy and customer service are not even mentioned anymore. It is all about APH and achieving it no matter how you need to get it.
On one of our conference calls with the OPS, one of the things he said is: "You are never to tell the store you have a certain average to hit and make sure your teams don't discuss it with them either" Just maybe the accounts would start wondering about the accuracy of their inventories if they knew we were being pressured daily to get a certain APH. I haven't even heard the word accuracy mentioned this year.
My team did a store with an area manager yesterday. This manager was always very straight and by the book. She was suddenly coaching them in batching. Supposedly, our accounts are on board with our new methods. They are all wondering why we are suddenly going into stores with only half the staff we had last time. IF they were on board, then why not discuss averages in front of them? This company is so bad now, I don't even recognize it.
Misfit: The old days seem great compared to what is going on now.
It's fine if our managers ask about our productivity, but my managers say things over the phone such as, "Is the store manager beside you?" "is the store prepped well?" "Are they recounting fast enough?" "Why are you putting the clothes back neatly?" "Just leave it on the floor!" "Just scan something similar!" "Send the backroom people home now, so the salesfloor people will work the minimum 3 hours!" "Call me if the wrap up takes longer than 30 minutes! I'll tell the store manager you're leaving!"
TL Too:
Here`s another example of how RGIS quality standards are being thrown under the APH bus: The other day our DM (who very rarely runs any kind of store) took the place of a grayshirt and ran a medium-sized mall clothing store.The result was an inventory that lasted less than one hour; a real batch-a-thon. There probably also was some extensive use of multiple quantity keying in this auto scan store.I wonder just how many sku changes were missed when they batched the first shirt or pants in every pile, or quantity counted waterfall hangers, etc.While our DM is ecstatic over the APH for the store ( maybe a bonus was at stake?), someone at that store`s HDQ is scratching their head wondering why they have all those size small shirts, but no medium, larges and XL`s! We`ll see if we inventory the store the next time, or if they caught on to the shenanigans, and dump us.
Of course, the whole irony of this is that the DM still had to pay the crew the two hour minimum, so the excessive batching was unnecessary and not cost effective!
Does anyone know what these Productivity Acknowledgement Forms are all about. Am i right to assume that if i sign this form i am givivg them the right to kick me out an inventory if they see fit? They may decide after two hours that they can finish the inventory with less people, so i'm sent home! They do offer to pay you the 2-hour minimum. Thanks alot! So i got up at 3am, and went out into the cold to earn $17.00?! Or if "they" decide my APH is too low .....bye,bye! And then they state that if another team member is not working to the best of their ability or with a "questionable work ethic", i should turn them in. I can't because you sent me home! Is that my job to watch what other people are doing? Besides that, i don't have time because i'm busy working my ass off trying to keep up my APH so that i don't get sent home!
With all of the gray shirts counting too, who's watching the red shirts? Well now i know, we have to watch each other and rat each other out! What's in it for me? If run and "tell" on three people during the inventory what do i get? Nothing, but the other auditors will hate me! Come on RGIS why not just tell me you only need me for 2 hours. I won't take the store, but someone else might. At least it will show that you are trying to be honest and upfront with your workers.
I've heard that they have pushed back the March 1 bonus, etc. date to the end of March now.
There has also been some talk of closing districts or combining districts in some areas.
Anonymous: I'm having a problem with those Productivity Forms. First of all, if we all went into a store and counted the exact same things, then maybe this would work.
If, for example, 8 were scanning at 600 and 2 people at 300, then you could send the bottom 2 home because at that point they would be dragging down the store average and effecting bonuses, if and when they actually happen. But, this is inventory. Not everyone is counting the same things and that is where the problem exists.
If an AM is running a store, and I say AM because they play the most games with favoritism etc, and they decide to give a decent counter only dump bins to count, or only one on one merchandise, then at the end of 2 hours tells them to go home because their average is too low, then frankly I think that is a major issue. You can actually predetermine who you will give crap to count then send them home when that crap is done.
And the poor schmuck who counted that stuff only did it because he was told to do it, and then gets penalized and loses hours for having a low average. Legally, I don't think the company would have a leg to stand on if someone decided to challenge them. Maybe I've been on too many of these conference calls where they are actually telling you to choose someone to do the tough, slow stuff and then send them home when it is done. These poor people will not only lose hours, it will effect their aph for classification purposes, and kills them for getting a piece of the bonus. All this because someone chose to single them out to do the worst areas and they did them. See what I mean? Count the junk then get out!!! Let the others doing the easier things get the bonuses. And, if you are an RX counter, then beware. The RX is now averaged by the piece also.
Except, in rx you are counting half pieces. In some drug store chains, the RX counter may end up with the worst average and be sent home when the pharmacy is done. There are a lot of bugs in their little system. And way too much favoritism for us to agree to being sent home after 2 hours.
And just maybe, the person assigned those worst areas would have averaged decently in other parts of the store and gotten to stay. You see, in my district, the worst counters won't necessarily get the worst things to count. And a decent counter will end up paying the price.
I think the people in charge of this company need to take a good look at their management teams before they start programs of this type and expect them to work fairly and without legal issues.
I can confirm they are closing districts.
We also have the speech now at each store listing each ASsET level's expected APH and that if you under perform your APH you will be sent home.
The "Job Aid" clearly states in some stores to send the bottom "x"% home if sales floor is x% done and you will meet the time commitment (out the door 5 hours etc.
I am sure someone somewhere filed a complaint with some labor office about being let go early so now every store preinventory meeting gets teh following:
We intend to stay to the schedule provided as best as we can, barring any unforeseen circumstances, but it is a possibility that one or more Team Members may be released early from the inventory based on my review of the needed staffing requirements as the inventory progresses. If this becomes necessary, Team Members who are not meeting the expected APH may be the first to be dismissed.
I work for Rgis in the northeast. Twice now I have been taken out of stores for supposed low aphs. I have been here a long time. They have a dream crew that gets all the work but eventually these people will get tired of counting evry single store. And I dont think accuracy is their primary concern any more. And these 3 hr stores are for the birds. Especially when you travel 2 hrs to get there and they are "local". I hope someone else buys this company and gets rid of all the crappy managers. And we can go back to accurate inventories with people who care about the work they do and not cut corners. We are told in scan stores to count back our pieces. I dont think anyone does except me. But that makes me slow so I guess I will have to start cutting corners so I can keep working. I have collected more unemployment already this yr then I have in the past 6. Scarey
The joke of the Productivity Acknowledgement forms is that the worst violaters of the supposed RGIS quality of inventory standards are the managers themselves.On one hand,during an inventory, we are supposed to be watching and snitching on our fellow auditors who may be batching or loafing on the job, while the DM or AM is privately instructing certain cronies or grayshirts to batch the hell out of the same store!What are we supposed to do, report the cheaters to themselves? lol!
This early dismissal thing is pure BS, too. I`ve seen auditors who were called into a store on little or no notice get dismissed after two hours.There`s nothing like RGIS appreciation: "Thanks for coming in on short notice to keep this store from being cancelled, but we`re doing OK now and don`t need you anymore, so you can just get the hell out of here!"
This job has become very political now;it`s blatantly obvious in every manager-run store now.If you`re a relative or pet of the management, you`ll be counting the high piece count merchandise all night.And it will be highly unlikely that you will be sticking around to run down missing ranges, do recounts, or pull yellows, all of which can wreck a decent APH.Conversely,if you are not on the manager`s favorites list, It`s a good bet that you will be counting low quantity items all night, and that, inevitably, you will fall short of your APH goal, no matter your auditor classifacation.And, of course, you will be staying late to do all the post-inventory flunky work.It`s only a matter of time before another class action lawsuit, this time for discrimination.
Finger Laser:
As far as WIS goes, I can only hope they've shaped thier act up for thier own sake. Around here, every time we've gotten a client that was formerly serviced by WIS(Walgreens these days, but it used to be Home Depots and others), the story was the same. Short crews, bad hygiene, and batch-o-rama. Not to say RGIS isn't equally capable of all the above. Not at all. If the bad service shoe is now on the other foot, RGIS deserves whatever happens because of that. I work in in the West (CO, WY mostly) for whatever its worth.
Tl Too:
It`s interesting that we both view the overall RGIS situation the same way.
The thing that I find the most disturbing over this APH/Productivity classification is that it is almost an arbitrary decision totally at the DM`s or AM`s discretion.My issue with this, is that our management are carpetbaggers from out of the local area and really do not know the productivity capabilities of many auditors, outside of their inner circle of pets, friends, and relatives.There are a significant number of auditors in my district that have been around for 3,4,or 5 years and longer, and still yet to be classified.The management regards them as auto-scan auditors, or specialists at best, even though some of these people quantity key and produce in my stores at least at an expert level.These auditors get the auto quantity crap at nearly every manager-run store, and do it willingly, without hesitation. The one question I get from these people all the time is:"How am I supposed to know what my APH goal is, when they (the management) have never told me what my rating is?" When you ponder this question for a while, you can conclude that it`s probably is in the management`s best labor cost-cutting interest to keep these auditors in the dark for as long as possible, because the majority of them have already been producing at a higher RGIS classification level than what managemnt officially acknowledges.I think the average auditor would have to become quite assertive in order to get fairly classified--and fairly paid-- but few would dare to attempt such a thing in these tough economic times. Plus,I`m sure that management would have handy documentation of all the stores-from-hell ( you know, the trashy, poorly prepped nightmares with nearly inaccessible mechandise, massive sku checks, and of course, unrealistic APH goals) that you had poor APH`s in, to use to counter any argument one would have in trying to obtain a raise or better classification!
It's funny, they've tried making "super districts" in my region and have failed miserable. The problem was the TLs who use to work in the former districts no longer wanted to work for RGIS if it meant traveling 2 hours to the district office by themselves, or always being scheduled to work in another district. It was uneconomical for them, and refusal resulted in threats. As a result, the district shrunk, and there are not enough TLs or even auditors in those areas to cover the stores, so WIS has them now.
In my region, WIS definitely is the better Inventory Company in every sense of the business. They've acquired the best former RGIS auditors and understand how to train their counters to be efficient. They schedule their counters by having them confirm on a website instead of having a scheduler contact each person and await a reply. They're shown their productivity for each Inventory they've attended on the same website which is updated regularly.. They're evaluated for a raise based 50% on personal and 50% on overall team performance. They schedule by region, and if they are required to support another region, they provide travel and travel pay, which has now been completely wiped out in my district.
The problem I'm seeing not only from my district, but from whoever is in charge of HDQ is the people who are making the decisions were hired from the outside, meaning they've never came up the ranks as an auditor. These people have never run a store, they have never been through the hardships auditors face daily, such as counting with inadequate ladders in extreme heights, working in tight areas of a stockroom, no one to answer a sku check while counting an area that has nothing but missing skus, arriving before 6:00 AM on their own, going home late at night on their own, etc. Each one of us can write hundreds of pages of what is wrong with this company or the difficulties we endure daily but the people who are supposedly "leading" have no idea what it's like to be an auditor. How do they expect to train auditors to become more efficient if they don't have the fundamental knowledge of how to count themselves?
Sku checks?
I haven't called for a sku check in 6 months.The new APH/Productivity scam has made that a thing of the past for most of us. The only ones calling for sku checks are the pets, friends and family members!
You know, the ones that won't get kicked out of the store no matter what their aph is!
Yeah, there's been more than just talk of closing districts. D192 (San Antonio East) was closed nearly 2 years ago and combined with D158 (San Antonio West). It takes a good 6-7 hours to drive across the district between the east and west boundaries. Not so much north and south, as we bump into Austin South, Corpus, and McCallen.
I do wish they'd take location into account when scheduling. It's a little annoying to drive an hour or so to the south side of SA, only to find out that another location of the same store just 10 minutes from my place is being counted at the same time. (Usually staffed with auditors who live on the south side.)
The RGIS Commandments
Thou Shalt Not worry about accuracy.
Thou Shalt Worship the APH
Thou Shalt Keep The APH Holy
Thou Shalt Not Piss the DM off
Thou Shalt Take it in the ass from thine superiors
Thou Shalt Work the maximum amount as allowed by law ( sometimes more)
Thou Shalt not complain about thine lack of overtime pay in a 75 hour work week.
Thou Shalt not report thine managers to Labor Boards.
If Thou are found to be narcing on thine boss Thou shalt be fired for being late 5 minutes.
Thou shalt not point out a smarter way to do thine job, thy managers know what they are doing, for I am the Lord DM, and My word is Law.
Thou Shalt not complain about unfair treatment, Thine Managers reward and punish accordingly, thou must bribe thine managers with thine body or exotic substances to attain favoritism.
That is pretty much how it is, how it will continue to be, and how it will end when the company finally goes belly up. May we all have backup plans that work out in the end.
BatchMaster5000: LOL!!!!! Beautiful work.
I think that they should replace the Auditor`s Handbook with BatchMaster 5000`s RGIS Commandments--it`s brief and to the point,easy to understand, and, of course, absolutely true! It should be a required reading for all new hires.
just a little something i found on another inventory company's website:
What are the five secrets to accurate counts? ... How can we 100% guarantee accurate counts and a fair price? It’s very simple: accurate counts depend on accurate auditors...using the best equipment, within the best audit system. To hire and retain accurate auditors a company needs to respect the employees, and provide them with:
1. full-time jobs
2. living wages and benefits
3. job stability and a career path
4. ongoing training and skills development.
That’s what we do. That’s why we can provide a 100% No Quibble Guarantee.
Quantum Services ~ Auditors for Convenience & Petroleum Stores
3 compelling reasons NOT
to hire Quantum Services
ONE: You believe that shrink is the cost of doing business and cannot be reduced.
Thus, you’ve settled for living with the level of shrink you have...and that is okay with you.
TWO: You believe counting convenience stores is really no different from counting a big box retailer.
Thus, you believe, as many of our clients once did, that your audits are not important enough to require convenience store specialists.
THREE: Is there a compelling need to have audits conducted on weekends, evenings or crammed in during a couple high pressure weeks a few times a year?
If so, we are not a good fit. Our auditors are highly trained, full-time employees who work Monday thru Friday, 95% of the time.
One of the only good things about this gig is the bribing supervisors with bodily contact... At least in my opinion (and for us guys.)
Maybe that's one of the reasons I read this blog, is because I miss the easy avenue it provided for 'extra curricular' activities. Especially, when everyone is exhausted to the point of disorientation, the nightly binge drinking, and the nights in motel rooms on the road.
As an aging hipster doofus, it sure was about the only thing keeping me at the job. However, I can see how this might be a problem for women that work under a male supervisor. Also, a percentage were actually customers of RGIS. Lotsa MILFs working at various stores, and if you are running an inventory it lends itself to a little late night bonding you might otherwise not have the opportunity to exploit.
In fact, since working there, I still can have a good time in many parts of the state, through contacts I "met" while working for this outfit.
Anyway, I know some will disapprove of this post, as it does meet the criteria to be deemed immoral by societies mainstream standards, but it is a genuine part of life at the company.
I think it's too bad you had such crappy managers. I have been working for RGIS for about 3 months now and I love my job! I was a stay at home mom for the last 2 years and work nights only and I really have great managers! My DM Jim is hilarious and my area manager is really great-he is very easy to work with and caring. I love that I can go to work, do my thing, and go home with NO STRESS! I even like that I never get bored because I am in a different store every night! RGIS isn't bad everywhere-sorry you had a terrible experience!
Wow! I imagine you really liked your job! I work in the south, so unless you are into people with gold teeth and welfare babies, then you wouldn't have near the fun. Just the thought of doing those things with the people I work with makes my skin crawl! Was your side pouch full of condoms instead of yellow markers?!haha
The Lord Giveith and the Lord Taketh Away.
Not one of my managers, DM, Ops or VP has said anything about taking bonus money away. Now someone emails from HQ saying bonus is like a savings account. Hah more like the stock market.
Bonus is earned at the conclusion of the pay period because earning a bonus is a lot like having a savings account. When you earn a Bonus in an inventory, a deposit is made to your account, but likewise if you don’t, a withdrawal is taken from your account.
You will notice that additional categories have been added to the SOE, like “Bonus Dollars” and “Bonus Disqualifier”. These too are a part of the new Hourly Pay Plan.
I just recieved the e-mail about the new pay form and the new RGIS pay plan with the pay "Bonus", and Adder. The odd thing about it is there was not mention of how much you could earn. Does anybody know how this is supposed to work?
Anonymous at 6:20 a.m.,
I got one of those emails from headquarters today too. Never have any of our managers, DM or anyone else said anything about taking bonus money away but this email clearly states that. We were lead to believe that the bonus would be paid by event and if you didn't bonus for a store, then you just didn't get it. No one mentioned that if you bonus in one event, then they can take money away for another event. My question would be this: if you don't bonus in any store for a week, then your so-called bonus account will go into the negative.
What then? Do they take money out of your pay to pay themselves back? I know if I am busting my butt in a store I am running and we hit the bonus, and then the next day I'm in a store a manager is running and that store doesn't hit it, I am not going to be happy they are taking my money away that I earned in my store. Legally, I think they will be having some serious issues. Once you have actually earned something, they should not be able to take it away.
With P4 will come pay cuts. Now, they are bringing out a bonus program that will be nothing but a farce if they give money in one hand and take it away with the other. I know that I will not be going down in pay scale, and then owing them money at the end of a week, if that is what they have in mind. Hitting a bonus doesn't necessarily depend on anything we do but goes to store prep, good PIV's, and who these idiots schedule into the stores. Withdraw money!!!! I'm still a bit in shock from this one. I thought this company had sunk about as low as they can get, but I was wrong. They have now hit rock bottom.
I recently got the e-mail,too. This is just the latest RGIS scheme.It`s so laughable that the RGIS brass takes us for idiots.
Here`s how it`s all going to end up, at least in my district: The e-mail infers that the bonuses will be team based.So the DM or AM will be sure to put their spouses, kids, friends, and pets on teams that are heavy with the top gun types.Then they will be given the hardlines or high APH areas in each store.Presto! Bonus earned!(It`s not very hard to meet a certain productivity quota when you are given the best merchadise to count,and have top guns fluffing up the team APH and covering your back!) Now,on the other hand, if you`re one of the people like me who refuse to kiss ass and aren`t available 24/7 ,or won`t travel to hell and back for a two or three hour store, guess what team you`ll end up on? That`s right, the one with all the newhires and turtles!And then you and your team will be counting nothing but softlines and low APH items.You can forget about any bonus, that`s for sure.In the event that you and your team miraculously counted your butts off and qualified for a bonus,your DM only would have to give your team the extra shitty/low APH stuff to count in "bonus" stores during the rest of that pay period; your team`s bonus would consequently vanish.Very clever how RGIS`s Deptartment of Evil has figured out to screw us all coming and going.
RE: Body Contact
I can certainly see your point about the gold-teeth and welfare where you are, but that isn't a problem here.
Here, it is mostly college age people in the inventory biz, and the five state area demographics are like the following...
95%+ Caucasian
crime rate extremely low
95%+ would identify themselves as middle class
Also, wages are low across the board. So there are many people here in inventory and retail jobs that otherwise wouldn't consider that type of work in a larger market.
Hey, thanks for reminding me that there is at least ONE thing I like about this part of the country!
RGIS has also just sent out a dummy pay period SOE that shows the changes.If you have one,look very closely at it. The "John Doe" on it has accrued about NEGATIVE $300 in bonuses, for a column bonus grand total of ZERO dollars! Oops! I think the Company didn`t really want us to see that part, but it slipped out.Thanks for the reality check.
Of course I have yet to see anything in writing other then that email.
I was told if the "Store" bonused if the entire store APH was an "X" percentage over the required APH (600 for clothing) then everyone in the store that was not disqualified would get a "Y" bonus.
I don't know if adder role people would get "y+z" or just "y".
I also heard that Top Guns if they run a store will not get the Adder Role money for supervisor. They do not want Top Guns running stores.
I run stores 90% of the time, so if I get a pay cut to Expert the Adder Role better equal close to what I am getting now (minus the money they already took 1/2 a year ago) or I'll have to find something else.
RGIS LLC, is a lucky dog that they are starting this now with economy the way it is. People CAN'T leave since their are no jobs out there.
If anyone ever gets something in writing about this P4 pay stuff, please post.
We were told of the pay cuts this week under the new P4 plan--everyone's pay, regardless of how long you have been with the company, will be at different levels (between $8 and 11.50 per hour) and all of our TL's will be losing between $2-4 per hour when it starts, depending on their rankings. RGIS must be really struggling and needs money because we are owned by Blackstone and their stocks have tanked and they need to make the money up from all the hourly employees--like it's our fault RGIS lost money as we only keep working harder for them and get absolutely nothing. RGIS has cut everything from us and they keep cutting and their situation doesn't get any better...makes you wonder where the company will be in a year.
Looks like we're going to get shafted every which way. The word around here is that our DM won't be allowed rent as many extra vans for the busy weeks as she used to, so more auditors will be expected to take their personal vehicles to out of town jobs.
On top of that, according to my paycheck the mileage rate has been cut to 19 cents/mile. I'd never gotten less than 33 cents before, and when gas was really high they were paying 50.
Blackstone's Master Plan is to make RGIS a minimum wage company. The stock has dropped 81% in 12 month's. If the CEO can take a pay cut, you can bet we will too!
The pay levels will never be what they once were. With the economy in the ditch, what better time to pull this end run than now! You get's nothing...and you're gonna like it! We give,give,give and they take,take,take! That's the new reality!
Have heard a rumor or two that Washington has lost the Family Dollar account already.
Rumor has it that PICS has them now. So that took all of three months for Family Dollar to leave.
I was also doing a clothing store last week and the DM was saying how she was glad they switched from Washington to RGIS.
Reality check!
WIS has not lost Family Dollars, I work for WIS and Family Dollar is very pleased with WIS... not sure where your getting your information but it is incorrect.
Also, PICS does not have the infrastructure to handle an account as large as Family Dollar.
Hey, to that WIS employee two questions:
1. What is the turnover rate there?
2. You have found our blog... is there a WIS employee blog?
Reality check for that WIS employee.
How'd WIS do when they got the JC Penney account?
It lasted all of one store. They were kicked out of their second inventory because of bad counts, people falling asleep in the hallways or on the bed displays, people looking like they just got out of prison.
Have had many DMs say how much happier they were with RGIS counting their inventory instead of WIS.
"People falling asleep on the bed displays" in JC Penney's. OMG, if that's true then that's hilarious! I once fell asleep sitting cross-legged on the floor of a Whole Foods, counting the boxes of flavored teas. And once kneeling on the floor of a Long's Drugs counting the endless rows of deodorants. Why the hell are there so many different kinds of deodorant sprays, roll-ons and sticks?
Keep in mind that as the Top guns, experts, specialists, & auditors make their aph goals and the store goals the only place to go is up from there. They will just keep raising the aphs so people cant make the new pay scales and bonuses. Just how high will they go before people say enough is enough. Even with the bad economy you can only beat a dead horse for so long.
I've posted here before, while I was still working for RGIS. Thankfully I came to my senses after a little less than 10 years as a TL in the NE and quit last Sept - after the introduction of the miserable RM1's but before the latest round of insanity. My former district is fast losing their really dependable, honest TL's and auditors and the ones left are the druggies, drunks, ex-cons, sycophants and the batch experts, all of whom are still making their expected APH's. It's disgusting and I can only hope that their customers are paying attention. I can't even tell you all how happy I am to be away from the insanity.
wow, talk about the race to the bottom!
Hell, I made $7.50 an hour for RGIS...in 1992! As a team buddy (do they have those anymore?), maybe 3rd fastest counter on my team, nothing too special.
But they know that people are desperate now. Check out what's happening to the people who work for newspapers, being forced to give up a week's pay every quarter.
Management everywhere knows they can get away with abusing their employees because we are all scared to death about losing our jobs.
Misfit, Oh that JC Penney/WIS story is definitely true.
RGIS went in a week after (of which I was a part) and did the inventory they were kicked out of.
So I heard the stories firsthand.
Obviously, it probably depends on which area of the country your in which is the better company.
Happily an Ex TL:
The sad thing about the new RGIS is how oblivious most of the stores are to the con game that RGIS is pulling on them.For example, in the recent Victoria`s Secret cycle,USB memory sticks and the bypass code were distributed to all the crew.(This was for the Salesfloor, not the Stockroom!) Once it was apparent that the store was through with piece counts, or was not going to do them at all,the inventory became a free-for-all of batching, and no follow up piece counting.Rookies who had discrepancies, and had still done piece counts that didn`t match their machine totals, were told to transmit and keep counting--the supervisor told the naive auditors that he would "fix it" in his computer.(It`s rather difficult to fix something if it`s never been counted to begin with!)Very sleazy, and unfortunately, the stores were none the wise. Even more pitiful, is how all this cheating eventually is going to come back and bite RGIS on their ass in the form of lost accounts, as the clients, little by little, slowly wise up and catch on to the scamming.The RGIS management may think they are pulling a fast one now with the inflated "productivity"and APH`s, but in the end it will be self-destructive.
I took a look and the sample pay stub that came with this past Friday's pay.
Yup I think that bonus is bogus. If you bonus as Team or Individual in one store and then don't in the next they will take the bonus dollars back.
This my guess from reading the sample pay stub.
No one has told us yet what I'm going to make. I need this part time job, where am I going to go in this economy where people can't find a full time job let alone part time?
OTL: Oh yeah, the batching at a VS. Boy, do I remember that. Only we never got any memory sticks or thumb drives or anything like that. And our district (I don't think) ever batched on the floor. No, that special part was reserved for the back rooms. I still remember huge black garbage bags filled with the ugliest bras in the world, and me and everyone else batching the crap out of them. We would pick up one bra, scan it about 30, 40 or 50 times, whatever was your pleasure, and then throw it and handfuls more back into the bags. Whee, ain't countin' fun?
Misfit:
Batching now is no longer the exception, but the rule. The name of the game at RGIS now is to cheat as much as you can,depending on the vigilance of the store people.Most of the new grayshirts are being directed (unofficially, of course) by the management to do so.In my district,we have several of this new mutant breed.They`re very polite, give the store people lots of lip service, then absolutely cheat like hell behind the store people`s back.It makes some other old-timers and me bristle, but we know we can`t do anything about it because the corruption is so extensive and persuasive.If we were to report all this misconduct to Division or HDQ, we probably would end up being the ones terminated--the usual fate of whistleblowers.All we can do for the time being,is hope that a store sometime will catch the fraud in the middle of an inventory.
OTL: Well, that's too bad. I can still remember when I first started at RGIS and being properly shocked that my TLs and AMs would encourage auditors to batch (of course, always out of earshot of store personnel). It's funny, though; they wouldn't tell the newbies to batch. No, they would wait until you'd been there awhile and then gently urge you, encourage you to batch, but only in certain stores, and in certain areas (back rooms and high volume, low dollar sections on the floor that they knew wouldn't be recounted). It's almost as though you, as an auditor, had to go through some sort of initiation period before they could trust you to cheat. Ha, that's ironic, isn't it? I felt bad about doing so (batching) for quite some time but unfortunately I became hardened and cynical to such things and would blithely batch along with them. God, I'm so glad I'm not there anymore.
If anyone thinks that WIS is so much different than RGIS, then you are fooling yourself. I've worked for both and what I've found is that it depends on the people around you and above you. If you have a good DM at RGIS and a good DM at WIS, life's good. If they suck, life's bad. Each district is different and has its good and bad side. I do know that in these times both companies are strategically positioning themselves for different accounts. WIS targeted Family Dollar after RGIS took all the new target stores. It is a simple math game. And realistically we need each other. If there was only one company not only could they set the rate for the stores, they will lower our wages further. I will say this, that poor Team Leader owes RGIS 300.00. Sucks to be them. We go online sometime first part of April. Will be interesting to see how much I get cut and if I ever bonus. And yes, I do hit my marks 75% of the time. It can be done. But you do have to work your butt off for it. And store managers talk about the other company just as often. I know that WIS has had to bail out RGIS just like RGIS has had to bail out WIS in certain accounts. And managers have come up to me and said that WIS has done a better job and RGIS has done a better job. Like i said, it all depends on the store, the store manager and the inventory associates actually counting the store.
Misfit:
Well, I think that most grayshirts, when running stores, are smart enough (in a self-preservation way) not to instruct newhires to batch, but there are some of the "new breed" supervisors that I wonder about.The main problem with newhires is that it`s "monkey see, monkey do".They`ll see another auditor batching, and start doing themselves, with no grasp of the principle( same size/color/style).They also often don`t realize that batching may be unofficially acceptable in one store, and absolutely forbidden with dire consequences in another. Then,the next day in your store, you have rookies counting piles of different sized clothing all as one sku--no small problem if you`re running a 100% printout store.
One would think that the store people would catch the batching, but usually they are obsessed with just the piece counts matching, not the sku integrity.I am continually amazed how some auditors are brazen enough to batch when store people are right next to them doing piece counts,and even more dumbfounded by how clueless these associates are to the batching!If the store manager is smart enough to ask for printouts, the aforementioned supervisors will either print out an area counted properly by honest oldtimer, or some easy small area or endcap.If the store happnens to ask for a detailed printout in an suspect area that probably was batched, then the "slick sups" will then claim that, by procedures, they are not allowed to print out areas--or just a limited number of them. Or, when really desperate, they will claim that their printer is broken, or that they are almost out of paper, etc! Anything to get the heat off their back.I`ve seen several Area Managers that were particularly good as this conning maneuver!
There are ways to batch AND still get the correct count.
Say, you scan one large for the eight larges in the stack, and then a medium for the four mediums.
But I'm guessing that's not going on that much and the incorrect way to batch is happening.
Hello to all, I have been working for RGIS for 3 months now and I literally wanted to quit 4x now. The only thing keeping me there is this cute guy I love working with. Otherwise, I would have chunked the deuces a long time ago. It's pathetic but I literally batch the hell out of certain stores to boost my APH just so I won't be sent home early,lol. When I'm counting, all I think about is him and those long lovely rides back home on the van with him : - ) It's so halarious because I'm like the only auditor that would not be sent home early everytime. I know it's sad but I had to do what I had to do. Am I the only one that has done this? I do agree with you(The Misfit) about the initation phase. Took me a month before I caught on to the tricks. And it wasn't until I did my 2nd Dollar TRee when I put my newly learned skills to the test. Boy did I batch the hell out of that joint. I got tired of getting the bullshit low APH crap to do b/c i was an auditor and was drove because I kept on hearing the DMs or whoever was running the store b**ching about getting my APH up, so I got smart. You give me bullshit to count, I will give you bullshit results. They wanted their APH and I gave it to them. They thought I was gonna auto scan all those gift bags, Aaahhh! Wrong Answer! Can anybody say Multi-Qty?????
And even had the nerve to put me on flowers....Need I say more? When I flew through that stuff, they were amazed at how high my APH was for an auditor. They soon started giving me high APH areas. I guess you really do have to go through an initation, it's called Batching and not doing recounts,lol
3 things to always remember:
1)Remember to batch
2)Recount? Okay sure! Can't remember the last time I did one of those things.
3)Sku Check? Forget about it, just move on.
So far the only good thing I got from RGIS is meeting the cute Guy : - )
Yay! RGIS!!!
Anyway, I have a Books a Million coming up real soon. Any tips on counting this store since it's my first time?
If you don't batch, then we don't trust you! Why are you not batching? Are you a undercover plant from HQ? The new APH policy IS my license to batch!!! This company is as corrupt and two-faced as they come. In order to move up in this company you have to leave your morals at the door.Running to RGIS HQ is a waste of time, they are in it too! They know that you can't possibly make your APH, let alone your so-called "bonus" without cheating and cutting-corners! They will good cop/bad cop you all day long on that one. You either get with the program or you can't work for us! Girl scouts and boy Scouts are not welcome!!!!
RGIS it is all about the all mighty APH.
Before Blackstone it was the percentage you cut in the store (Gross). Now you can cut a 20% but as long as you make the APH for the store they are happy. Where is the profit in that?
Just the other day a team member was sent home by a AM because their RM said they were counting 30 pcs/hr.
The RM had rebooted and the counting stiff didn't know to Alt-8-Minus to get back her average. The RM was reporting to the portable 30 pcs/hr so she was sent home 2 hours into the inventory.
This AM doesn't know an RM from a finger laser and actually believed what the computer was reporting.
You will hold the APH holy above all else!!
Hello5:
Just how do you do an alt 8 minus to get your APH average back? My machine rebooted last night in a store in which we were constantly doing alt 8 minuses to switch programs. My APH never returned, despite all the alt 8 minusing,and the time on the machine also said that I was in the stores 7 hours longer than I actually was.So what exactly do you have to do? No one else knows how to fix it , either.
;
If you've done Borders or Barnes & Noble you can do Books a Million. It's pretty much the same thing, except that IIRC Books a Million has less non-book crap.
The one I did was a pre-opening inventory, and their manager was positive they would have few if any pullback items. Yeah, right, I got something between 50 and 100, and there were probably a thousand or more in the store.
Oddly enough, I did a Barnes & Noble pre-opening count earlier this week, and the manager admitted he didn't know what all they had and there were probably some pullbacks on the shelves. I didn't find a single one, and I didn't see any stacked on the floor anywhere.
There are two ways to look at APH. And the one on the RM is usuallymore accurate unless the machine reboots. Why didn't the person running the store do a productivity report. That is not as accurate during an inventory but it at least gives a snapshot. The reason why it isn't as accurate is because it only tracks pieces that have been transmitted, so if you haven't transmitted in a half an hour or so then it will be off. I did a whole gondola at a big lots and my AM came over and said that I was only doing 250 pieces an hour. I then showed her the machine. I was at 3000. But if one seems out of whack. The other one should be checked. We have AM's that already know what the APH is going to be for the most part in inventories. The productivity report is the accurate report after everyone has TCA'd out.
If the RM has lost the the correct time, your average on the RM is shot. You will have to go with the TCA hours and total pcs your counted as reported by the portable (Display Total/Auditor and your last name).
BTW, they just released the new averages and ASSET ratings Friday, haven't heard what mine is yet. Also rumor P4P pay plan is now pushed to the end of April for my office.
With the ratings they also changed the store averages, and yah you guessed it they went UP per hour.
I saw that our group APH average in a big office supply store account just went up by more than 15%, to a level which most auditors can`t achieve.This is beause this is one of the many stores that RGIS does in which the stockroom (which contains a significant percentage of the total pieces for the store)is prelisted; thus the overall store APH is grossly inflated by the stockroom totals.Only the select few people who get to count in the back, or get the highest APH salesfloor areas,like the pens, will make the APH goal. The others, especially the poor slobs stuck counting the furniture and auto-quantity software will be screwed.It`s pretty devious how RGIS Management sets these goals knowing that the majority of auditors won`t make them.
It will be interesting to see--once most auditors get wise to this flawed system--if competition, besides the usual nepotism, evolves for getting the plum stockroom assignments.It won`t be long before we start hearing stories of auditors giving favors (servitude, cash, maybe even sex?)inreturn for getting the best APH areas to count.Of course, this has often been rumored for years, so it really wouldn`t be anything really new.....
OTL, they have also found a way around the prelisted backrooms.
We got emails with adder roles.
A new one is: backroom counter, no extra money for this adder role.
This adder role is for prelisted backroom counters. They obviously are going to track it by adder role and the person doing that will not have their average look inflated. Of course, it is a non paying adder role. And, because they are doing it by adder role, the person doing it will actually be screwed. You own the adder role for the length of the inventory. So, if you do prelists in a backroom, then count a ton in the store, you are still on the adder role which will not effect your personal average. They don't want the average for the person inflated. If it were an event on the TCA, it would make a hell of a lot more sense. These people could sign in to the prelisted backroom, then sign out of it and into the store. At least, their store average would count towards their own personal averages. This way, the schmuck with that adder role won't even qualify for a "bonus" or a bogus bonus. We are now seeing them raise the average of stores that we have been hitting. They are raising them by a lot. Eventually, so you can't hit a bonus, they are going to set them so high that no one will achieve them. They have zero intention of paying bonuses. All they want to do is lower the pays, and make it sound like you will benefit from it. But, if they lower everyone to auditor/specialist classifications and they take huge paycuts, just what makes them believe people will count their butts off to try to reach their averages. There is a target average for each class. I know if they lowered me to specialist, I would take a huge paycut, but they aren't going to get expert/topgun counting from me for a lowered pay. I am going to shoot for the specialist goal and take it easy in stores. How can these people actually believe this will work?
TL Too:
Very interesting. Do you know if what the "adder" counts in the Stockroom figures into the APH goal for the entire store? If it does, then RGIS has a real scam going:the adder inflates the entire stote APH, and not even he/she will benefit. I guess RGIS wants to guarantee that almost no one can make their APH/bonus. Hell, If I were an "adder" there would be absolutely no incentive to count my butt off on the salesfloor, since nothing counted towards my APH--I`d just take my time out there.
Regarding the of lack of incentives: If everyone works hard only to get a pay cut or no raise because of the increasingly inflated APH goals,most people will just slow down. You are exactly right in your assessment. If they are going to cut our pay 10 or 20 per cent or whatever, it will be in our best interest to slow down and make the store go 10 or 20 per cent longer to compensate.RGIS has unsuccessfully tried similar tactics in years past, and the auditors(at least the ones with a brain) always revolted by slowing down.
Yes stock room/backroom prelists are counted in the store APH.
Think of a large warehouse type store on the east coast that have two initials. The overhead prelists are counted in the overall APH for the store.
I know of two store in the same district one made the APH and one did not and it all came down to what was on the prelist. If the store that did not make it have very little in the prelist and the store that did had much more.
Needless to say the people who came early and did the prelist had a huge APH, there was no adder role for prelist/backroom only store supervisor, flow lead and portable operator (or whatever they are calling it now).
And the new top 200 list had that APH for min for the account go up.
BTW, I was told the billing store supervisor, portable operator and recounter adder roles are the only ones in an "event" that they will not count the APH of for pay raises. These three will still bonus if the store gets bonus but not make any individual bonus or the APH count to pay cuts/raises.
If you are a flow leader adder role you have to lead the flow and count your APH. Worse the sweeper picking up the left over worse areas still has the APH counted towards they pay level.
This is just crazy. No way to motivate if you ask me. The rich (top guns) wills stay rich and the poorer (Experts/Specialists) will get POORER (have their pay cut) IMHO.
OTL,
I'm not sure about the effect on the store average. I'm quite sure it isn't to our benefit though.
I just reviewed the email and they do not mention anything about the store average. There are actually 2 non paying adder roles. One is backroom prelists, the other is DT dump bin counters. DT being Dollar Tree. I'm not sure if you have any in your area, but these stores have dump bins that they have auditors precount and prelist and others go around putting them into their machines. On a recent conference call, the Ops said to send those people home after they have precounted the bins. They are not using an audit so they have basically an average of zero for the store and that puts them in the bottom 2 percent. I'm assuming they were having trouble getting people to do this now because of the effect on their ASET rating so they created this non paying adder role which also allows them to track that these people counted nothing and the reason why. I have to probably assume that the backroom prelist counters will also probably be sent home. We did a big box store recently and the backroom was on sheets. The person keying them in went home when they were done and I never connected it to this adder role at the time, but that was probably why. of course, they don't tell you ahead you will be assuming these non paying roles so you could drive 2 hours, take on those adders and go home after 2 hours because you got those roles.
Those dump bin counters are really getting screwed. They are counting nothing for their averages, aren't getting any extra money for the adder role, and if the store does bonus, they get nothing and the people that they precounted all the junk for, and who just had to key them in, will get the bonus for not doing the work. Quite a system!!! Why do I see more lawsuits coming from this?
Slowing down is the only weapon the poor RGIS auditor has. While they keep tinkering with ways to keep us humping and trying to achieve the unachievable, the auditor has to see for themselves that they are being taken advantage of. Even the kiss-asses and pets, can only take so much. Oh sure they talk the company line, but in private they tell others how unfair and corrupt these new policies are. In my district, whatever the portable says, that's what your APH is!. They will not go to bat for you!If anyone out there makes the "Bonus", can you please tell us how much it what was. I would like to know because i will probably not ever make it no matter what i do! The only thing i ask of RGIS is to be fair, give me a fair shot! I'm not asking for any favors! Just be fair!!!
It's official. As of today I will be making 50 cents an hour less that what my starting pay was more than 3 years ago.
I'm not holding out hopes for bonuses, because until June we only have 4 stores (Walmart, Home Depot, Borders, and Justice/Limited) that are eligible for bonuses. I've only been tapped to support Home Depot once, and I didn't enjoy the experience. I used to support the Walmart crew regularly, but that hasn't happened this season. As for Justice and Borders, there aren't that many of them around and we've already done most of them this year.
@Hello5... I wouldn't be too sure about top guns staying rich. In our district, top guns will be making just a bit more more than I was making last week as a specialist.
@TL Too... In my district they've stopped having the dump bins at Dollar Tree precounted. Everyone counts their own dump bins as they go.
When I first started doing Dollar Trees, the AM running them would have the dump bin counters keep a list of how many pieces they counted in each bin, and he would use that to generate an APH for them on the portable. Apparently that got to be too much work so we just started plugging in an APH of 600 for each of them.
The last vestige of fairness was stamped out when the Blackstone Group aquired RGIS.
Well,I`m hoping that RGIS applies a similar program to their management employees: you don`t make your store APH, then your salary gets cut.Plus increasingly impossible APH`s to maintain. (We`ll see if management is still as enthusiastic as they are now when that happens!)Then, we can all go down in flames together.
The actual paying adder roles won't kick in till p4 starts in your district. That is why the non paying adder roles may not be appearing in some stores yet. As far as store supervisors, if you run a store, your average counts towards your store average but not towards your ASET rating. I know in my case, I often count the most in my own stores and it is doing nothing for my ASET rating. The only time what I am counting goes to my rating is when I am in a store run by someone else. So, you can run a store, hit their goals, count your butt off to hit their goals, and it is doing nothing for your own pay raises or average. I had this conversation with my DM recently. And I was told they were trying to figure out what to do when the paycuts happen with supervisors who haven't counted in anyone's stores but their own. Their ratings are showing as auditor. We have team leaders who run stores daily so they rarely appear in another store. This email with the new adder roles have the safety director adder now eliminated also.
The directive we got also tells you which classifications can be put in what adder role. For example, an RX supervisor or RX counter can never be a topgun or topgun teamleader. They are now showing classifications of auditor, team leader auditor, and so forth. The team leaders seem to have a different classification with this new directive. It will be interesting to see what they do with the pays for those who have no average because they have counted only in their own stores. These people could be counting at top gun level and it isn't doing anything for their ASET ratings.
The bonus is a per store thing, not an individual thing.
If you hit the APH for the store, every person in the store would get xx amount more per hour.
Example: Top Gun makes 11.25, store makes their APH, so they add .68 cents to that persons pay for that store. So they'd make 11.93 plus any adder roles.
The more you go over the store APH, the more the bonus per hour increases as well.
I have worked for RGIS for 4 years and today was the final straw..I quit! I hope this company tanks!
Their new pay scale sucks! My pay was cuy by .69 an hour and we all know how often they give raises lol.I rec'vd my letter April 1st telling me of the pay cut...that was effective March 4th!!!! Yes and I'm tired of working like a robot with no rest breaks!
Anonymous:
Are you just throwing out a random bonus figure there, or is it really a 6% bonus that is conditionally awarded in selected stores? If so,it sounds like a great deal--RGIS cuts most auditors pay by 10 to 20 percent in ALL stores, then awards a 6 per cent bonus in just a VERY FEW stores.I can hardly wait for the new bogus,er, I mean bonus, system to go into effect!
I believe the correct corporate spelling is "bone us", not bonus.
OTL
Not sure if that is the percent or figure in every store.
In the handout the district office handed out, it had a Walmart time sheet as an example, since they've been using it for awhile now.
If the store reached its minimum APH goal, everyone got 68 cents more per hour. And it went up from there every 1000 APH.
anyone know what the adder roles will pay?
Well, we got our news in my district about the paycuts. my pay is going down 28 percent and I already took a pay cut earlier. We have gotten most of the literature on P4 also.
Adder roles:
Store supervisors
small stores (less than 15 people) 3.00 an hour
Medium stores (15 to 30) 4.00
Large stores (30 above) 5.00
Could sound good if your pay wasn't going down by more than the adder. Also, everyone will be at ASET level pay. No extra for being a team leader. The only extra you get is the adder role in your stores as supervisor, or if assigned an adder role in someone else's store. Only 7 stores are currently set up for bonuses. By summer 75 will be, and then more as time goes on. So, you are taking the cut now, but you really can't bonus till summer unless you are in the 7 stores set up.
As far as bonuses, they will be different in every store. Also, it will depend on the ASET levels in the store. You should be able to see a bonus calculator on your TCA transmission pages. When they kick in, after you transmit your TCA, you can hit bonus calculator and it will tell you how much you need to average with the ASET levels in your store to bonus and how much the bonus will be. You and I can be running the same store but you may need to hit a higher average to bonus if the people in your store have higher ASET ratings than in mine. What it all translates to, is this is just more BS. Huge paycuts, with no chance at bonuses till later. No team leader pay. And, you are working for a much lower pay in someone else's store. The other adder roles are all over the place.
Once interesting thing is that the supervisor adder roles are less for topguns. They really don't want them running stores.
After 16 years, occasionally I have pangs of fondness – mostly for some of the people, not the hours, not the pay and certainly not the BS. I love this blog and return every now and then to see what’s happening. Thanks for being here to remind me in weak moments that it was 7 years of my soul being sucked dry.
It's begun. At a store this morning one of my co-workers was clocked out at the 2-hour mark. He went out to his car, changed shirts, got the rest of his work shirts out of his trunk, then went back into the store and handed the shirts and his belt to the AM.
One of the better TLs has already stepped down, and another is ready to at the slightest provocation.
What is the pay for each aset level?
Auditor: District Starting Pay
Specialist: DSP + .50
Expert: DSP + 1.50
Top Gun: DSP + 3.00
Anonymous,
the pay rates for each ASET level depend on your district's starting wage. It varies throughout the country.
Auditor: District starting pay
Specialist: starting pay plus 50 cents
Expert: starting pay plus 1.50
Top gun: starting pay plus 3.00
So, if your District starting pay is for example 8.00 then it would be:
Auditor- 8.00 Specialist-8.50
Expert- 9.50 top gun- 11.00
With zero extra for team leaders.
They have all dropped to their ASET levels. I think what is shocking a lot of team leaders is that they were told they would get 3.00, 4.00 and 5.00 adders for running stores. Some actually thought they would get that above their current rate of pay. When actually, they are lowering the pays by that much. So, if you earned 14.00 and are dropping to 10.00, supervise a store for 3.00 adder, then you are making 13.00 in that store. And, that is actually 1.00 less an hour than you made before to run the same store. Can I say we will be a lot more selective about what we run?
If we have stores that are always a problem, then I guess we won't want to run them for less money than we were making before. I know I won't. And if our pays dropped to 10.00, then that is what we get in someone else's store. But...10.00 worth of counting is what they will now be getting. What is killing everyone is those adder roles since January.
Those adder roles were not paying.
So, if you were a recounter in a store, your average was going down and your new pay is based on that.
Also, if you are an RX counter, BEWARE!! Those are averaged by the piece. Uh?? half and full?
tenths? You are counting half pieces. Some of our RX counters have taken a major hit in their averages and their pays. Not too many happy people here. Oh, wait a minute!! There are some happy people. Those people who really can't count, got special and favorite treatment since January and were given things to boost their ratings. They are all getting raises. we have some that went from auditor to topgun in just 2 months. Legitimately? NO!!! Take them out of their managers stores, and you get auditor averages from them. Topgun? Yeah!! Right!!!
Would i be right in assuming that RGIS could have as many as 100,000 pay disputes per pay period with this new system. With supposedly 300,000 auditors worldwide it's very possible that one third of those people may not agree with their paychecks for many reasons. If these inventories and all of the events, and counts, and bonus monies are not calculated correctly, there will be hell to pay! And if you do have a pay problem, how long will it take for them to fix it? We all know what the Rgis Payroll Department Motto is "Stall them, And Stall them some more, until they Give Up!"
Hi, I am a TL in PA, this means I would receive a 3 to 4 dollar pay cut!!!! No Way!!! On top of the one I already got! I guess its time to find another job.
I noticed that the comments total for this post are now over 170. So, question for you guys: do you want me to publish another post so the comments can start afresh, or does the post count even matter? Does it bother anyone to scroll down a long list of posts?
Misfit
I say keep this post going and the number doesn't matter.
Still waiting in my office for the ax to fall.
I took a $2.50 pay cut before January, this seems to mean another $2.50 all depending on my AsSET rating which management has still refused to tell me or give me anything in writing.
Of course no work during Easter, nothing this past weekend my next job is Sunday and a travel store 3p meet for 7p start. Will get 4 hours travel to the store and amazingly the Starship RIGSVAN will travel back in 55 minutes so they don't have to pay return travel.
To Misfit,
Start another post IMHO and thanks for this site.
Misfit:
You can publish another post if you like. I don`t mind scrolling through the comments; it`s kind of interesting to read how they all evolve from the original post.You should consider publishing a "best of Tales of a RGIS Auditor" with all the great anecdotes you have received!
Well, we`re still waiting for the hammer (pay cuts) to fall in our district.In the meantime,the management is scheduling us for some phony class, supposedly to improve our APH/counting skills, but we all know that it`s just a front to give them an excuse to downgrade our pay. There`s three of us who have something like 60 to 70 years total inventory experience between us; we can hardly wait for the counting "tips" that the management will give us! In the meantime, our district is run as sloppily as ever. We showed up at one a store a few weeks back, only to find out that it had gone out of business and was closed!Chalk up yet another fine quality PIV by District 4**!
have visited many times .mut now comment on recent pay cuts. too true in SoCal. Misfit--please start a new post-tired of scrolling. more later
we have had pay cuts of over $4. long standing TLs reduced to specialist ASET level. Only a few raises. DM forced to tell over one third of current auditor of cuts. Many after 3-4 yrs reduced to start rate. Dependibility, accuracy, reliability are notion from a bygone era. We are now licensed to BATCH. Seriously, if you are not counting, clock out and go home. You are only hurting yourself. Do not do any function other than count. Do not stay to make sure that TL gets safely to the car, in that nasty neighborhood, at 2 AM. RGIS sure as hell does not care. Do not pull yellows. Do not do recounts. Do not hang walk thru reports. NOTHING!! Any hourly that does any good deed is STUPID! We are easily replaced by newbies at minimum. Experience is worth nothing. I wish we would get our settlements on the old, big lawsuit so the next wave of suits can start. My grey shirts are gone and burgundy is my color of choice till something better comes along. Stick it to 'em! Catch y'all later
TL from Pa,
That is exactly right. Our team leaders are taking $3.00 to $4.00 decrease. Mine is going down by 4.00 and I took a cut earlier. My pay is going to be exactly what it was 9 years ago before I became a team leader. Even the raise I got to become a team leader is gone.
When I asked about team leader compensation, I got the answer: you will get adder roles for running stores. What? Everyone, except managers,running stores will get the adder roles. Even regular auditors. What about that little extra money for when they call us with schedule changes, looking for extra people, etc. At that point, we aren't getting adder roles. Answer: your 908. Again, everyone running stores turns in a 908. And, you are taking a cut in 908 also because it is at your new rate. But, then don't bother us in your manager stores to help out if we aren't getting adder roles in those stores. We are just getting paid what everyone else is. And, if the managers look to us to help them research areas, etc., keep in mind that you are getting paid less and it will effect your average in the store without an adder role. They are going to figure the payrates out twice a quarter. So, for your help, you may be screwed next time. When I'm in one of their stores, I'm going to just be a counter, and any knowledge I've gained over the years of running stores, I'm going to leave at home.
lol lol
Yeah it's time to start a new post.
So far I seem to have everyone beat. I'm making less than what I started at over 3 years ago. A few years ago, they shifted district boundaries around and put me in a lower-paying district. I kept my higher starting pay with the move, and picked up a 21% raise a while later.
Now they've wiped out my raise and then some.
I believe the long list of posts is a deterrent for newcomers. It is a lot to read, and a bunch to scroll through. Also, it encourages the constant shop talk about pay stubs and the new pay process.
Now don't get me wrong... I'm positive the new pay system is a HUGE issue among current RGIS employees, however, the FORMER RGIS employees far outnumber the current. And the pay issues, while amusing and totally not surprising to use former employees, just aren't THAT interesting. Sorry.
Maybe the blog should have a spot for current RGIS issues, and one for general reminiscing about the RGIS experience.
And to those stuck with this new pay system... Good luck, be patient and weight the consequences before you throw your RGIS shirts in the AM's face and walk out the door.
Most of us former employees quit when there were more jobs out there and the economy was still reasonably good.
Hold on TL from PA,
I was told 908 is paid at DSW + $4. That is District Starting Wage plus FOUR dollars NOT your hourly wage (AsSET Level)
They want to cut down 908 time to nothing.
Of course since my District hasn't started the plan I have not seen anything in writing.
As to the class, they make you sign a non-disclosure agreement, just repeat yourself "Push the Flow, Protect the 5" and you will do fine.
Hello5,
We had our Flow and Deployment Training earlier this week. Nothing was signed by any TL there.
But you are right about 908s. It is DSW plus $4.
Well, rumor is our pay cuts are coming April 25th. We haven't been told by management yet. My pay cut is also $4. I think we should have a major slowdown, and when they ask why- tell them we need the hours to make up for the paycut. So, what is the adder pay? and is it the same for all adder roles? One AM tried telling me that there were a lot of good points to the new system, I just had to wait to hear it all laid out. Yeah right!!
to anonymous who doesn't like the "shop talk about pay stubs and new pay process".... if you don't like it then why do you read this blog? It's a big deal to all of us who are living it and this blog is a big help to us.
Why in the world would they pay more for 908 than time in a store?
Good afternoon, everyone. So nice to not feel lonely. Just finished loading store for tonight. iPass is so much fun, what with the dropped connections, etc. Thank goodness I don't have to that nasty old system that we had the calls that went thru easily, fast and without interruption. iPass is soooooo much better! Confirmation on the 908s--yes, they will be $4 above starting wage--yes, they will be closely watched for abuses (HAH). One of our TLs is getting a $5 cut because of ASET, should have been $5.50 but DM managed to refute that due to extenuating circumstances and RM approved it. By the way, that TL runs a satellite office and has 15 yrs. with our beneficent RGIS. Thanks to Misfit and all of you for posts & comments from around the country -world. It's not so lonely anymore.
Ayup.. as soon as I saw that first vague pamphlet about P4 I knew it would ultimately mean pay cuts. I just got word mine is down by $1.75/hr. They say if I work hard and get to the next ASET level I can get back to a pay cut of only $0.75 during the next review in mid-May.
The boss also talked about bonuses and adder roles making up for it but I'm not counting on it.
If you have a router, it's quite easy to upload for any store at home, including big stores, like Kmart, Kohls, etc.
You don't even have to use Ipass for that. Just connect through option No. 5 (Internet). Takes about five minutes or less to upload most stores.
Also, RGIS is now the sole provider of inventory services for Kohls nationwide.
Just found the site tonight, and loved it!!
I am a very dedicated (five years) and accurate counter (not very common, I know!) and have been a Top Gun for quite some time. Our district has the usual problems I think, but the scheduling nihgtmare in particular seems to get worse all the time.
YESTERDAY I received a letter saying that I was only counting at an Expert level, and therefore my pay would be cut by over a dollar an hour, starting TOMORROW. Since I've only been averaging about two hours a week lately, it's not like the money(or lack of) is going to kill me, but it's the principle of the thing. RGIS just isn't worth the hassle of working there anymore.
So I went in to quit today, ready to hand in my shirts and stuff. But I couldn't do it. Once again there was NOBODY in the office on a weekday, lights out,doors locked. I couldn't even find anyone out smoking in the parking lot like usual. So for today, I am still a RGIS employee, even though I don't plan on doing any work for them again....
Anyone get their pay stub for Friday 4/17 Payday?
I heard a rumor they didn't print Company wide.
Of course the email pay stub was the best thing since sliced bread but since it was illegal in some States they stopped it for everyone.
I worked for RGIS, and they are scum suckers. They dont pay their employees right, and if their leaders gave a shit they would start charging more, so they can pay employees more. Dont expect them to give it to their employees if they ever charge more. There are lawsuits all over, and I feel there should be a lawsuit for any poor soul who has ever had to live and survive on a job like this. Society forces labor, Personal and Dependents needs force labor, and it is safe to say that the idea of working this job is no better than slavery.
Hi the Rgis district 162 has no structure they dont no how to place people nodont follow the dress code no speeches dont protect the five dont worry about the aph I mean the list just goes on and on its just unreal
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