Mahonri made a comment at my last post regarding an idea for a new post, and I thought it was a good idea. Mahonri mentioned loyalty at RGIS, and how RGIS used to reward loyalty from an employee. That is, how workers who had been with the company for years were treated differently than those who had been with the company for only a short time . But now, according to Mahonri, seniority at RGIS no longer means anything and everyone is treated the same.
I experienced a little of that myself, when I was still working at RGIS, but for a different reason. I started working there right after New Year's Day so at first there was a lot of work available. But as months passed and work slowed down I noticed that some people were still working more than me, even though I had made it clear I was available for work anytime, anywhere. I soon realized that a few auditors were being given more work than us newbies and that was because they were veterans at the company and were getting preferential treatment because of it. I don't remember having too much of a problem with that; it seemed reasonable that those who had been there longer would get the plum stores or just more of them. They had been there longer and had earned it. And as I continued to work at RGIS and improved my accuracy and speed I was given more stores too.
However that changed when my district promoted our AM to DM. That particular person was well-known in our district for chatting up all the new young female employees and once he was made DM he started giving lots more stores to any new girl he was infatuated with, even though she had only been with RGIS for a very short time and hadn't proven herself as a fast or accurate counter. And all because the DM had the hots for her. I remember there being a lot of frustration regarding this, not just from me but from the other veterans as well. It was as though all our time spent trying to improve our speed and accuracy, and spending months and years traveling all over three counties, and finishing one inventory at a store and going straight to another store inventory without going home, meant nothing. Of course, this was a different situation than from what Mahonri had mentioned but the feelings of resentment from the veteran auditors was much the same. What about all the years of hard work and little or no sleep and endless miles of travel that we experienced at RGIS? Did that mean nothing to them?
I'm curious as to how many other RGIS employees have experienced this. Are you a long time RGIS employee and now you find yourself having to compete for store assignments with auditors who have only been with the company for a short time? Do you think this is fair, or do you think that auditors who have been with the company for a longer period of time should be rewarded with the "better" stores or with more work than a newer employee? And if you're a newer employee, do you think it's fair that everyone is treated more or less the same? Or do you think that some employees might be right in expecting more because they've been with the company longer?
And finally, is it different for you and do you feel that loyalty from employees is still being rewarded by RGIS in your district? Also, just to play devil's advocate for a bit: does RGIS deserve any loyalty from their employees? I'll be interested to read your comments.
223 comments:
1 – 200 of 223 Newer› Newest»There's everything that you mention, but there is also, the matter of raises. When I first worked for the company, 96-01, I used to get raises, not as big as those who counted faster than I, but still I got regular raises. Now of course, how much you make is a set amount, based on how fast you count, and no regular raises. There's one guy who works with me, who is a top gon, and he has worked longer than me, and I don't know how much he was making before the pay rates were restructured into the ASET structure, but I'm sure he took a huge pay cut when that when it occured. This also means, that he makes the same as the grey shirt that I ride with, who is also a top gun, but only started, shortly before I returned in 2008. What I find most disturbing about that is that they expected, one of the fastest counters that I've seen, take a huge pay cut, after, working so many years, to get to where he was. Even though I do like working with RGIS, this says a lot about how they view their employees, and just how little they value their loyal employees. Of course this is only my opinion, and not the opinion of RGIS Inventory Specialists.
I'm a long time top gun who would kill to see new hires given MORE hours. Seems like once a month or so, my district hires 10 or 12 new people, then never schedules them because they aren't fast enough.
When things got really busy this month, my DM sent schedules to people who haven't worked at all since October! Those people probably didn't even know they still had a job with RGIS and they sure as hell didn't show up where they were scheduled. It just ended up leaving us short handed on days that were already expected to be 12 hours long. If they had been given just one or two small stores a week during the past few months, we probably would not have had this problem now. But, no, we can't put new hires in stores because then you run a risk of not "going green." And that's the only thing that matters!
oldtimer here. If you were good at your job AND been there longer, you could be counted on by the company to get the jobs done.That didn't mean more work. If you were a pet, no matter what length of service or skill, you got more work. eventually any company that screws their best workers will fail. They don't care about ASET levels, top guns at the C-level (execs)- They care about profits.
How do you treat your proven performers in contrast to your newbies? No doubt that's a tricky one.
When I was a manager at WIS I found myself in a constant juggling act, trying to encourage and impress upon both the vet and new employee on how important each were and how much I valued each of them. As far as hours awarded and scheduled, well, the core employee almost always won out. The vets always got their pick of the schedule; usually due to ability and consistant attendance. Management simply have to reward loyalty. As you well know, the front-line staff, the counters, are the backbone of the third-part inventory business. Although the front-line managers don't have a lot of say on the wage that is paid--a fact you probably know all too well--we could award hoursof work to show people how important they were to us. Sadly, that loyalty awards process leaves much to be desired when considered from the newbie's position.
I always tried to focus on training and development for our new employees. Although the job is considered relatively simple, there is lots to learn when you hit the floor for the first time. Although the vets would always garner most of the hours after the January rush, I tried to ensure that our junior people got as much training in the various job-site specific counts as they could take. The idea being that I was making their future prospects with the company a little more appealing; improving their chances at get getting scheduled for count-specific types of future inventories.
Again, sadly, we were always caught in a catch-22 situation, the lack of hours contributing to poor newbie-retention stats.
Oh well, such is life in the industry, eh.
Well, I've been around for a long time also. And I supervise stores.
The long timers mean nothing to the district I am in. It is and has always been about who 'the new favorite' is now. The Aset level pay scale made things about as bad as they can get. When you supervise stores, you see very quickly that the topguns are not necessarily the most accurate. They are fast and when they made the pay rate dependent on how fast you count, they created this mess.
"our topguns are our fastest and most accurate' is a quote from the company. No!!! They are your fastest and most of them are counting that fast because they are cheating. Some of our topguns are really good, fast, accurate counters but they are limited.
The assignments are based on ASET level now and it doesn't matter how long you have been with the company. And Misfit, there is one very major difference from when you worked. They gave raises based on loyalty, availability, dependability, etc. Now, you can work 24/7 with no days off in January, and if you were in stores where they were playing favoritism with assigning areas, and they always do, you can create a topgun from a new hire, and since they figure pay rates every 7 weeks, if you worked every single day in January, did doubles, and counted bad areas, your reward is that your pay will go down at the end of the period. Sound fair? Loyalty, dependability and availability rewarded by a pay cut?
This is what this company has become. And, this is my opinion and not that of RGIS, obviously.
I am an oldtimer, but I think a "newbie" who is accurate and counts fast and learns fast should be given lots of work. We all were "newbies" once. Newbies who don't show up and are innaccurate should not get work. The same applies to oldtimers. There are good newbies and bad newbies.
This form they want us to sign ("dispute resolution form")--has everyone signed it? This should be a big topic of discussion now. Anyone have an opinion?
I refuse to sign that document and its unfortunate that there are some that really don't understand the document and will just blindly sign it. I pretty much throw away anything that comes in the mail from RGIS unless its my pay stub of course
Excellent post,anonymous 1-15!Loyalty isn't worth shit at RGIS anymore.In the 1990's auditors regularly received at least two pay raises a year.Occasionally,we got a pay raise just before the January crunch time.This gesture went a long way in regards to auditor loyalty.People were more willing to go the extra mile,such as working a second or even third store in a day, when they knew that they were actually appreciated--and compensated-- by the company.Accuracy,reliability and availability mattered,not just raw speed with the accompanying batching and estimating that is rampant today.Also,when shorthanded,the management would pay individuals mileage--and sometimes even travel--pay to come to certain stores.Today,auditors are expected to drive further and further to stores with no compensation.
If you were available 24/7, it was not unheard of for a district to pay a person a couple of bucks an hour extra.It was well worth it when the DM could call in one or more of these people to help rescue a short staffed inventory.Now,RGIS expects people,even ones with regular full time jobs,to be available 24/7.That policy is so pathetically stupid.For example,a friend of mine who had been with RGIS for 16 years was dumped--continually given schedules that said "no work"--because he refused Target and Trader Joe's stores that were scheduled at 10PM or later.He had spent several years trying to explain to the DM,to no avail, that he had a demanding and responsible 9-5 job, and that he just couldn't work what amounted to graveyard shifts.However,he was available,as always, for evenings and weekends.The sad thing was that this guy was a good counter,very reliable--you could call him into a store on a moments notice--and had a good personality which stores liked and was good PR for RGIS.Obviously, the company does not value any of those attributes any more.....
i worked for rgis every day/night for 21/2 weeks. there was no training. out of 4 people hired at the same time, 3 have already quit. my supervisor was an ex-felon and ex-drug addict. again, we received no training whatsoever. when i tried to get my money from my pay card, i discovered the paycard had expire 8/11. The supervisor did nothing but berate and threaten the employees. It was an awful experience and the worst job I have ever had after 35 years of working.
Newbies used to have it easier in the old days. They used to have "team buddies" to help them out. Now, all they can turn to is the person running the inventory, and that person is usually so stressed out and busy that they have little time to help. The rest of us vets are trying to make our ASET numbers, so we don't have any time either although we might like to help. So what happens? The newbies end up blending areas and making other bonehead mistakes that we have to spend time correcting at the end of the inventory. Some of the newbies are so green its as if they haven't been trained at all. Basic stuff--"how do I switch to multi-quantity?" "How do I get my laser to light up?" "How do I transmit?" Etc. I'd love to help them, but the clock is ticking and my APH is sinking.
It sounds like RGIS is hurting their own inventories by making auditors worry about APH so much that they are unable to spend time helping out the noobs. I wonder if RGIS realizes this? I wonder if they care?
All this talk about newbies, reminds me of something that happened recently at a travel store. It was a clothing store, can't remember which one, they all tend to blur together after a while but like a Macy's or Dillard's. There was a guy who it was his first store, and he was asking the flow leader about how to transmit, and she looked at me and told me to show him and walked off. I didn' mind doing this, but really it's supposed to be the flow leader's job to do this. She acted like her time was too important to be bothered. None of the grey shirts from this area of the district would have that attitude. From what I hear they are given the adder, just so they can help out newbies and run the flow, and are even given a boost in APH to do this. So it makes no sense to ask some random counter to do what they are supposed to be doing anyways. I'm getting of my soap box now. Al opinions in the post are that of the author and does not reflect the opinion of RGIS Inventoy specialsts, or its employees.
I started in the 80's, the part time job is fine for me basically the hours and when I can choose to work. I don't make a lot of money with RGIS, just barley into the 5 figure gross a year.
The AsSET stuff is the demise of keeping long term employees. Once your Top Gun you have to fight to keep a pay cut.
The company does not want Top Gun's running stores. They want them counting. I'm not paid anymore for good customer service. I still walk into stores and get "Oh I'm glad its you". Or when a store runs crap the next inventory I find I'm assigned to run it.
Will RGIS, LLC reward me for that, NOPE.
They want me to count since I'm a Top Gun. I can five key the crap out of anything but put me in a Old Navy I can't scan myself out of a paper bag.
Back under Nicholson they would throw you a quarter or fifteen cents at the end of a quarter if you did well.
Under RGIS LLC, they just take money away.
Top Guns on a control desk do not get any extra money, any other AsSET level will. They still put me on a control desk is a large box inventory because I get the job done. There is no backup to corrections, the customer gets their printouts and we can close out the inventory without waiting t do corrections. RGIS LLC won't pay me for that and my district is hard put training someone up to my caliber.
I'm still here at but I don't know how much longer I can put up with the BS. If they do ever cut my AsSET level I will quit.
Reading about these pay cuts is something else that bothers me about the current incarnation of RGIS. When I was with RGIS (Nicholson-owned) I never heard of anyone getting a pay cut, ever. And very nearly everyone got some kind of raise, several in one year for some.
Nicholson, I know what you mean about 10 verses scanning. If I'm put into a 10 key store, I can come close to or even make top gun levels, but in the auto scan store, I struggle just to make specialist. When you get right down to it, it's amazing that any newbie can raise past specialist, since where one is placed is usually based on aset level. I sometimes think my AM tosses me a bone, by putting me in hardlines, if I'm close to dropping a level. All opinions in this post are my own, and not that of RGIS.
Well, Misfit, those days of raises are gone. It is all about speed. But the system is so bad that it is difficult to describe. I have people on my team who are experts but not favorites. They go into manager run stores and are always given one on one things to count.
Then at the end of 3 hours, they are told to leave because they are the bottom performers. and, at the end of 7 weeks their pays go down if they do too many of these inventories. They recalculate your Aset level every 7 weeks. If a review of your stores that you worked shows that you did not maintain the average for your level, you go down in Aset level and then your pay goes down. Your pay is like a yoyo going up and down depending on what stores you did and what you were assigned. The topguns are in the worst position. Once at that level, they have no place to go but down.
They can count way above what they need to in stores and they will never get a raise. I've got people on my team who are topguns. Let's say in a certain account, they need to average 6000 pieces an hour to maintain topgun level, but they average 10000, they won't get anything extra. They are crazy to count at those levels. The only people making money from topguns counting way above what they need to is the company. I've been around for many years and I remember that in January, you worked any store. Didn't matter if you counted crap, or if the stores were a mess. You worked as a team to get it done. Now, you think twice about certain stores because you know that keeping your average in a store that is known to be a mess will cost you. Sometimes it is easier to refuse a store that you might get 6-7 hours in but if you take them, your pay goes down for 7 weeks. As far as newbies, they are being trained to do auto one and nothing else. They do not even know that their machines have a quantity key when they start. And to the person that posted about team buddies, you are right.
You can't stop to teach or answer questions for the newbies because your Aset level is effected and your down time goes up.
As far as the dispute resolution form, please be sure you read it carefully. It clearly states that you are automatically opted in unless you sign and return the opt out form. The form you have to sign and return acknowledges you received the packet. In order to opt out, you have to return the opt out form by Feb. 15th.
Newbies vs. Oldies, well I don't think it makes a difference at all anymore. In fact, in my district you will see a lot more newbies scheduled because they are at the bottom of the Aset level and they are cheaper. They'll suck up the fact they don't produce as much because it is all about the pay scale. My DM's favorite saying is : we no longer pay for dependability, availability and longevity. we pay for productivity." That pretty much says it all. So, don't call me when you are suddenly short in all your stores hoping I can get some of the long term people on my team to drop what they are doing to go bail them out. And, they seem to be always short because of no shows. But, that is what they are paying for. Productivity. And it doesn't matter how productive you are if you don't show up for the store. That would fall under dependability. The company has created this 'go ahead and sink in your stores' attitude. No one wants to jump to their call anymore. Newbies might respond because they are new and want to make an impression. But, the oldtimers just do not care what kind of trouble they are in now.
There is no loyalty to the company anymore because the company has created an atmosphere of not having any loyalty to its employees either. Everyone knows that in any company, the people who have stuck it out for years and always been there for you are the ones who will always bail you out when you are in a pinch. But when you develop a system of pay that pretty much tells them you don't care about them and their loyalty, they stop caring about you too. "my opinion and not that of RGIS"
What they have done is base their pay scales on the old system of 'piece work' used in a lot of companies at one time. But the flaw with this is the old system of 'piece work' was based on people doing the exact same work.
My mother worked for a company during World War II. They made rubber rafts for the army. They were expected to produce 5 flawless boats in 1 week. If they were very good, they sometimes had them produced by Wed. so they could take 2 days off, or go to work and produce more for which they were paid more. Some took all 5 days to produce 5. But they were all doing the exact same job.
In an inventory, you are not all counting the exact same thing. If I go into an inventory as an expert and I am assigned all the tough areas that require digging and another expert, who happens to be a favorite comes in and is assigned shoes, for example, they will definitely hit the '1000' piece an hour goal set for expert in that store, but I probably will not. If you do too many of these situations in a 7 week period, they assess all your stores by some point system, and if for all your stores you fell short in their point system, your pay goes down.
But, the piece work system can never work in this environment because we are not all doing the exact same job. and that is why pays go up and pays go down. The old piece work system was based on producing flawless work and this one, however, is not.
Re/the Jan. 20th Anon poster, 9:15 about the Aset ranking system. Comparing someone who counts dump bins and auto scan areas with those given high Q areas is comparing apples and oranges, but the ranking/pay system does exactly that and that is why it is so frustrating for those habitually given the rotten areas to count. Like you said, it is not as if everyone were doing the same thing, like making rafts. We all do different things, and some are hard and some are easy and some people get the easy areas and some get the hard areas.
Also, Re: "downtime". Be careful about staying after inventories to help "wrap up"--track down missed areas, recounts, pulling yellows etc. I do that when asked but unless you are an adder, your APH will go down and your downtime will go up. Make sure the inventory leader lets the DM and AM know that you did this, and when you have your review, make sure you remind them.
RE: newbies. I have had many newbies come up to me for help. I try to help them if it doesn't take long. Some of the newbies catch on quickly, others are lost, but oh boy do they make mistakes. Some newbies forget to count the wings (sides) of endcaps, so we have to go around and fix that. Blending area tags is another common error. Miscounts are another, since the newbies assume that if they press the button, the laser will scan it. They don't notice that the laser isn't lighting (alt5 again). So when they do their backcount, they spend many minutes trying to find the missing item(s), but they don't know how to search. So guess who goes over to help them. Stupid me. The flow leader never seems to be around. (Errors and silly questions by newbies might make a good topic).
"These are my views and not necessarily those of RGIS LLC".
Misfit,this current post has the best and most insightful comments about RGIS in the 6 years plus that you have been publishing this blog! Great comments, everyone!
The aph system is ineffective. In certain stores its impossible to reach the required aph without inaccuracies incurring. What the customer wants is always important and if RGIS Clients want accuracy and dont want mistakes RGIS have to ignore the aph or else it will result in too many mistakes in stocktakes and clients lost.The only way you can achieve an aph of at least 800 before increasing it is if the store is prepped and the laser is working properly.
How did they decide upon aph targets for each store. Just because one person can get 2000 aph does not mean everyone else can.
I was in a store a few weeks ago and was in a section that I and many others believe should have been pre counted but it was not and thus my aph was affected.After that the machine started acting up. It froze when my aph was 700 and when rebooted it feel to 299. I feel if it had not froze at the end of the stocktake my aph would have been 1500 or 1600.
My supervisors and co workers are great. The only flaw I have is the aph system.Employees who want to achieve it to get a raise will do whatever it takes to get it which could result in contracts lost.
I batch items that are the same to get areas done faster.
Storerooms that have too much stock and which are not organised annoy me because you spend too much time sorting through stock instead of scanning.
Lasers not responding and having to use built in laser slows you down alot due it being heavy.
They may pay for productivity but in my district on at least one occassion they were down 10 people for a stocktake and that pissed them off big time.The majority of people who said they would be there actually turned up so that should be taken into account aswell.
Those who want to stay there working should be shown by supervisors what needs to be done to achieve aph targets. I know many people who see it just as a job and all they is do is go to a store and scan. Their aph does not bother them. I was never pulled abut my aph not reaching the store target. In fact I am being called to work when they are short staff.
Also you are never told what the aph target is. if you knew you might devise ideas on how to improve. Still though the job is just scanning stock. If they know they need 20 people just schedule them and leave it at that.
How are you meant to become a specialist or an expert if you dont know what you have to achieve in order to reach these levels?
You actually get reviews???????
Here we only get pay cuts (or maybe an increase). Why can't a DM give you a "heads up" if you are in danger of going down a level?
And if you think this is only MY opinion, you have another think coming RGIS!!!!!
I get a peice of paper every once in a while that shows what my numbers were for the quarter, but no actual review,where I sit down with someone and go over the numbers. However this is somewhat understandable considering the schedule and the distances involved.
One of the things about the aset level, thing, and others have pointed this out, is it doesn't take into consideration that not everyone is good at all kinds of inventories. Someone who is good at a financial inventory, or book store inventories, may not be as good, in a sporting goods store, or a store like Dillard's. It treats all types of inventories as being equal when they are not. It's a rare individual that can count equally fast in every type of inventory, and these are the ones that can advance easily in the company. Meanwhile, this approach, tends to lead to major retention problems, in the company, in fact whenever, new people are hired, I don't bother to get to know them very well, until they've been around for a few months, simply because it's more likely they will quit.
One of my major strengths in terms of the company is that I'll do the crap areas, like clearance areas, without complaint. Also I'm reliable, when I say I'll work I'll show up, and give my best effort, even if it's not at top gun level. Then again I've noticed, that at least in this area, it's pretty hard to actually get fired.
One guy, is always running late, or just doesn't show up. We had heard that he was fired, but at the next inventory, he was on the list of those scheduled, but to no ones surprise, he didn't show up, and wouldn't answer his phone. Yet somehow, I think he'll show up on the schedule again.
All in all, even with the whole aset level, it's all a case of the song remains the same. Like all jobs, working with RGIS, is all a matter of what you make of it, you can stress over it, or treat it as it is just a job.
All opinions are those of the author, and not those of RGIS, LLC.
The computer does the review, 7 week mark they warn you if you are dropping an Asset level. If you drop two in one period they are supposed to terminate you (hasn't happened yet in my District). You do not drop a level on the first review, at the 2nd 14 week period and you have not improved they cut your pay.
The only "good" cough cough barf barf thing is that at the first review if you went up a level they are supposed to raise your pay not wait for the 2nd review.
Now the BONUS PROGRAM was supposed to help with the Top Guns except I've work all January including doing overtime on 2 weeks (OT after 40 hours in a week PRORATED Time & a half) and have not done a single bonus store. Explain that?
Bonus program was touted when they cut our pay that we would make the difference, HAH. I haven't done a bonus store in months. They don't put me in Gaps or Staples...
Go figure...
I guess the best way to explain the Aset system compared to piece work would be this: If I am running a store with 10 experts (all the same ASET level), and there are good and bad areas in the store, someone is going to have to count the bad areas and they will not hit their average. And, that pretty much explains what is wrong with this Aset system. It may work with mixed ASET levels, or it might work if every single fixture was identical, but that is not the inventory business. As far as knowing what you are supposed to average in a store, the supervisor is supposed to post it near the TCA. Although, I don't see too many do it. In our District, we do not get a formal review. The system does it automatically after 7 weeks. You just get a letter telling you your ASet level is going up or down. They are required to give you a break down of your stores so you can see what stores hurt you if you ask, but in my district you can never get it even if you ask for the breakdown in writing. My opinion, not that of RGIS.
I was a long time team leader for years, and the final months of my working there, I ran 4 hour inventories that were usually an hour away. So I am getting 16 hours a week and filling my gas tank twice a week. maybe every 8 weeks or so you get a good week. I took on a night job at a store and they fired me becasue it "conflicted with availability" RGIS is a vile despicable outfit!!
I'm a newbie at RGIS and start Saturday. From looking at my schedule, is there anyway to tell if the store is having a 2 hour inventory or a 8 hour inventory? I don't mind going in at 5am Saturday but sure as heck would like to know if it's for 3 hours or 8 hours. Also, what's a 902 on my shedule?
MISFIT
What happened on page 2 of previous post??? It has disappeared and there was something on it I wanted someone to see and they couldn't find it.
Thanks
Mark, not really, after a while, and you become more familiar with things, and have done the store (or chain) you can get a feel for how long a store might take. Even then there are too many variables, like if everyone who is scheduled shows up, and how well the store is preped, to be able to really tell.
@dead horse: Page 2? Of the comments or my post? Could you be a little more specific, like is there part of a post missing and if so which one, or is it that there seem to be some comments missing? Let me know here and I'll try to find out if something went wrong. I haven't done any editing or deleting of any posts or comments.
We have a team leader that got promoted to an AM, her boyfriend is another team leader, who btw wouldn't admit that until she became an AM. Anyways, he gets special treatment all the time now. For instance, he may have a store that requires 15 people, and yet he will take every(~85) finger laser in the district with him to that one store, and there are three other stores running at the same time. He gets away with it. The best part is that he gets away with kicking people in the head in stores, yelling profanities, and being on xanax and passing out while on the clock. Yet if you show the slightest bit of questioning to his gf AM, you get kicked out of a store. Why are they even allowed to work in the same district? The last couple we had like that, got sent to two different districts, and they didn't even behave that way.
MISFIT
Page 2 of comments from previous post are missing. If you check at bottom of post it states 225 comments, yet when you turn to comments there are only 200. A week or so ago there was a second page.
I compliment you on this blog. There are so few places we can go to vent without having repercussions. Also, it's a good place to pick up helpful hints.
THANK YOU!
Loyalty is definitely a thing of the past. Ever since the company was bought out and the ASET pay structure and green stores went into effect, it has become a dog-eat-dog world. You can only get a raise if you advance to the next ASET level and for most veterans like me, their wages were cut tremendously. What's worse is that some people who were new only months ago may have the skill to key fast and advance to Top Gun and they make more than an Expert veteran. This is truly not fair. I get a good laugh out of the RGIS handbook which defines Top Guns as the "fastest and most accurate" counters because we all know it's not about accuracy for them. They cherrypick their way through stores to keep their numbers up and as a supervisor you have to "protect" them, which means assign them to areas that ensure they can hit a higher APH than anybody else, areas that the best Experts could count just as easily but definitely more accurate. More often than not, if a Top Gun sees an area that is not to their liking in their flow, they just skip it and assume it will be counted by someone else. I have even heard of Top Guns "reserving" areas by putting yellow tags or signing worksheets so that other crew members will assume the area is being counted or is done. Then they go back and count these areas when they need to boost their APH. It is ridiculous and we have lost some accounts because of bullshit like this.
@ dead horse: Thanks so much for your kind words about this blog. I'm glad that people appreciate it and continue to post their comments here. It makes me feel really good. And I know what you mean about venting. Boy do I know! ;-)
I contacted Blogger Help about the missing comments and I'll let you know in a future comment here when they reply. If they can't shed any insight on what happened or why don't worry, I back up all the comments just in case. It might take me a while to go through them and find the missing ones but if worse comes to worse I can do that and repost the missing comments in a future post or something like that. Maybe I can just add them to this current post.
wow. i really enjoy your blog and was quite surprised to find a blog about rgis online. i last worked for the company in 2007 (in texas). some of the stories you wrote about made me smile and brought me back to the times and the characters i worked with back then. just got back from working/living abroad and i need some sort of income while trying to re-establish myself in the states. so, im gonna go back to rgis and try to get a job there for the time being. curious to see who is still there and fly under the radar. too much drama from certain team members from my recollection.
anyways, thanks again for posting your blog!
...carlos
@carlos: Thanks!
Here is a cray question for anyone that worked in the 90's early 2000's. Do they still have company picnics and Christmas parties? During those times they had 2 a year.
>>Do they still have company picnics and Christmas parties?
That was during the Nicholson era, each District got $500 for a party twice a year. My office even got two other's to pool their money for Christmas and we had it catered.
Some year they would take all TL and ATL (Asst. Team Leaders) out for dinner at a chain restaurant.
Now under Blackstone I don't know if they give any money from the company. I haven't seen any picnics or parties.
I don't know about the rest of the district, or other districts, but in this area, there are occasional picnics, and an annual Christmas party, but I haven't attended any. Also when we go and count the stores In Yellowstone, at least once, those who are interested will go up earlier, on the day before, to tour the park. Also the district sets up a group discount to Lagoon, once a year.
That's too bad, the district that I worked for had the greatest parties each year - something different each time. In the summer they would also pool 2 or 3 districts and have a huge one at one of the local parks. Everyone would bring their kids family. they had this Husband and Wife do the cooking on the grill and they would make massive amounts of food, burger, ribs, chicken, wings, you name it was at the picnic. They did have it catered once or twice but the best was when it was home prepared. Hundreds of people would turn out for these picnics.
Christmas Parties were ususally held at a local restaurant decorated with a Christmas theme and a nice buffet style dinner. I don't know where they got them, but they would hand out tickets and have 20-30 Christmas presents and every few minutes they would call a number and give away a present. They changed the place every year so it was always different. Good times back then !!
When a long time employee left the company they had this big going away party for that employee at a local restaurant. It started around 11am and went on until around 5pm. the place was packed with over 200 employees from various districts attending. The food, you would not believe the amount of food that was set up for this employee and the rest of us to enjoy that Saturday afternoon. Again great memories of RGIS. After reading some of these post, I wish that some of these employees could enjoy these times not the current ones that are so shocking to the ones that worked a long time ago when the job meant something and you could be proud and use the data entry skills to land a full time job.
@ Anons: Those parties sound so nice, especially that retirement party. I don't think my dist. ever did anything like that for any retiree but then they didn't hold on to too many people long enough for anyone to retire from that dist.
We had a picnic a couple of years in a row but I never went. As I recall the employees were required to bring something; my thought was, if the dist. is giving the picnic then why aren't they paying for everything? We would have a Christmas event every year but it was at the office and only cheap cookies were provided. Oh, and you were instructed to bring your calendar with you so that you could confirm as many January inventory dates as possible. Some party.
The best part of the summer picnic is where you get to throw water ballons at the AMs and DM. Most people really enjoy that.
Has everyone signed and returned the "opt out" form of the "dispute resolution" plan? Must be received by Feb. 15.
I would have loved to throw water balloons at my AM and DM but only if I could have filled them with something other than water.
Talking about loyalty. There was one account here in Canada this year, new customer, something related to lumber. So the pay was very good for the company. Crew supposed to stay somewhere on the north in the High Level area for almost a week.
Rumors were that customer was paying $50 per person per day just for meals. But I know for a fact that you can't set up more than $20/day pay in RGIS system. So when I asked one of the managers out of curiosity, their reply was that of course people would get paid only $20 and the rest is profit...
Didn't see a single doubt on their face that something might be wrong here. Its basically company taking food off your plate... For me that sounded kinda fked up. And that not the only example.
Don't know who actually did the job, probably crew from Saskatchewan... So if you guys read and recognize this job - check your numbers, ask the manager what was the actual contract. Doubt that they will answer though...
After reading this blog, I noticed there are quite a few veterans of RGIS who still work there. However, everyone including the "oldtimer" employees is saying nothing positive about working there. I recently put in an application for RGIS but after reading this blog, I don't know if I will consider if offered a job. One question to the auditors who has been with RGIS 3 years or more, if it's so bad, why are you still there? I'm just looking for some good points reference working for this company...
Anon, the short answer to you question about why I still work for RGIS, it's a job. I actually quit from there for about 6 years. I had been working in customer service and phone rooms, for about 5 years, and I was getting burned out, so on a whim, I reapplied, and took the job only because the AM I liked to work with was back in charge. In some ways it's not that bad of a job, not overly stenuous, odd hours, and interesting co workers. Also it doesn't hurt that I'm far enough down the food chain, and far enough away from the District office, that I avoid most of the politics, and crap. Add to that that the local job market sucks, in gereral, but especially, when your main skill sets are customer service, and inventory. Like I said, its a job.
I worked for RGIS for many years, and the first decade of it, I worked constantly, and had no life.... When it slowed down, and the company was sold, and changed machines, all the years of hard work were nothing....
People who work for RGIS the past 5 years have no idea. We use to work 17 hour days, because they wouldn't schedule enough people, then get 5 hours of sleep, often none, and go to another store...etc. etc.... But anyway, the years wore on me, and my keying slowed down, and business slowed, and they ran me off because I was paid too much........ And I never had any benefits.
About 4 yrs total working. Good stuff was travel all over the place.I went to some places that I would probably never visit by myself :) Saw a lot of stores "from inside". Met some really nice people, unfortunately most of them are gone by now, so I'm leaving too... hehe :)
Travel was a big one for me, probably wouldn't work for a year if was in a non-travel district.
>>I'm just looking for some good points reference working for this company...
For me, I work the schedule I want running stores. I hardly ever go to a store and just count and this is still a part time job for me.
The #1 reason even when I count, I don't notice the time passing. Yes a 12 hour inventory and you feel it but normally a 4 to 6 hour inventory for me flies by.
For whatever that is worth to you.
Anon, I kinda like the fact that the inventories have become a little more efficient, I don't miss the long days. I remember stores where I literally got home from work 24 after leaving to do the store, and not ones where we were put up in a hotel. Even then it wasn't as often with RGIS as it was with WIS. There was one time, the first time I worked with RGIS I went to a Target in SLC 3 hours away, and we went up early to help with the back room. The next morning we had to be at a Fred Meyers in IF, 45 min north of where I live at 5:00 Am When we left it was with the understanding that we would be the first to leave. At 2:30 Am they finally let us go, and the store was no where near done when we left (I latter heard that the crew was there till almost noon,) we had to basically race to the store in IF, to get there an hour late, but luckily we were the first to be let go at that store. Since you can figure out where I am from that story, I might as well say it I work with D431 in Odgen. I for one appreciate the fact that there seems to be more efficient planning when it comes to the inventories, in spite of the fact that longer days meant bigger paychecks, it also means being exhasted a lot. Also the slowing down in number of inventories, to an extent is beyond RGIS's control since so many stores have cut the number of inventories they have a year. Of course this is only my opinion, and not that of RGIS BTW, I'm going to the same Fred Meyer that I mentioned in the story, in the morning
I almost forgot to ask, out of curiosity. Are Target teams a company wide thing, or is it only being tried in certain areas? There is one here, I'm not on it, but I wanted to ask.
RE/ why oldtimers still work for RGIS.
For me, I like the fact that every day is different. I'm not stuck in some tiny cubicle. One day can go badly, but the next day everything goes well. I also (except for the gas cost) like to drive. Some jobs are an hour away, so I drive and listen to the radio. If gas prices get above $5, I'll probably only take nearby jobs unless they pay a gas allowance. RGIS isn't a bad job. There are many worse. Crowded backrooms are not fun, but then you get out on the floor and everything is mellow. Since the job is easy mentally, you can think deep thoughts and pretend you are rich, or make plans for the future.
I believe for this round RGIS is the sole exclusive vendor for Target inventories. Our Ops Manger was saying how we got all the stores but are making less money since they cut the price charged to Target to be exclusive.
In the East we are doing back to back Targets a lot of 2 in a row and sometimes 3 days in a row where it used to be just Tuesdays or Tue and Thursdays.
I have another question. I still hear about the Wal Mart team, from time to time, and even see some of them at one or two non Wal Mart inventories. I know there used to be a Home Depot team. I haven't heard anything about them in a long time Was that discontinued? As always the views in this post are my own, and not that of RGIS LLC
In regards to the topic of this post *Is there any loyalty at RGIS*. In general I'd have to say NO. But then you can say that about a lot of businesses & industries today. Loyalty doesn't carry the same weight as it did at the time our folks or grandparents worked. Just seem the reality of things.
To me personally there are some positives about working with RGIS. You do have for the most part flexibility of time you want to work as far as day, night or both. I advised my manager of the latest I can work & they are good with that.
I'm somewhat of a people person, so I don't mind going to the various events we do. Seeing & doing something different is fine with me. I've certainly become more familiar with my region than I have prior to being employed by RGIS. Stores & cities I've NEVER even heard of before. I get along with my co-workers & even try to help them if I can. Especially new people. Though I'm not on the upper ASET level, there are things I can tell them that makes it a bit easier on them.
There were some post I read where people mentioned that if you're not happy, why stay? Great question. My answer is not everyone has the option to leave. In many cases in my area (the northeast) so many have become victims of the current economic situation & lost their jobs. I know people that have worked 15 or more years for a job & were laid off. So jobs aren't as easy to come by in our area. They're out there but it's a challenge. Especially for people in the 35 or older group. There is a distinct discrimination out there hiring people in that group. I know. I'm in that group. I'm grateful that RGIS gave me the opportunity to work. Right now it's my only source of income & I have a family. So I don't have the luxury like some that can go home to their parents or don't really need to work. I do it to survive.
As far as negatives. YEAH! We have it in our area too. We have an incredibly high turnover rate. I attributed to a number of factors. Some just don't want to work especially seeing what the job is all about. Another being lack of work. We hired a few new people at the start of the year, yet I've heard from many they aren't getting any work. Which I personally don't get. Why hire if you're not going to give them jobs?
The two primary negatives in our area is lack of proper training & poor managing & people skills. In my observations. I know when I started I was taken to a store to get familiar with scanning, but it wasn't an actual event. When you actually do it for the first time it's nothing like that seemingly easy process that you did in the store. Granted it's hard to probably train people properly given the circumstances, but some should be done.
As far as communication. We lack it in our area with the managers. No one is on the same page & most don't have any people skills whatsoever. I've seen managers arguing with each other in front of our customers. Real professional. Plus there have been numerous times where we have gotten last minute calls switching jobs. I'm talking calls late at night when you're in bed early for an early job the following day. I just turned my cell off & phone down because that's not right.
I think overal RGIS ain't a bad place. For my area I think it's just a matter of better structure & organization & treating people like people. Of course more money is great too, but if you treat people right that will make the company way more successful & bring more money perhaps our way. Wishful thinking perhaps, but my opinion.
I'll tell you what would be a great morale booster: start a 401K savings plan for all auditors (at least for those employed over 1 year), not just salaried managers. It would help retention, and auditors would have some savings after working for a while. Maybe RGIS could match the first 2% or so, to help build the accounts. I worked for companies in the past where I was able to build savings of several thousand $. Will RGIS do this? I hope so. It would be good for the company as well as employees.
(These are my views and not necessarily those of RGIS LLC)
@Mahonri Yes there is still a Home Depot team....I'm actually a part of it. It pays way better money than the traditional side of things but has just as bad politics if not worse. I prefer to count the traditional stores. Working a Home Depot is backbreaking and kneebreaking work.
I did the first Home Depot Test Inventory, that tells you how long I was around, back when the Districts did all the Home Depots.
Tell you the truth, I only miss going in the night before doing the overheads which was just Keying prelist off the side of the boxes.
Hated the floor inventorynext day. Miss the pay not the work. HD Teams can keep the job.
I remember doing some of the Home Depot quite a long time ago, and I for one am glad that they do have a team to do them, because I wouldn't want to be on that team. Although, being on a HD, Walmart, or Target team, would have the advantage of getting more regular work, than those of us who do traditional stores. I tried to get on the Target team but wasn't selected for it. It does seem that just doing regular inventories, there are too many quiet periods for my tast. From what I hear theirs more stores for those who live in Ogden, where the District office is, but I don't think I'd like to live in Ogden though. I've been looking for a second job, but there are slim pickin's in this area.
Regarding the dedicated teams, there are numerous advantages (and , of course, disadvantages) to being on them. Primarily, it's fairly regular work, except for when you go dark-the holiday period, the occasional month or two when they're not scheduled, etc. This entails going back on unemployment or begging work from your local district. The travel is horrendous--the edge of the world and back. Many of the Target stores start salesfloor at 11PM, so if you are support team that's not so spiffy and you frequently leave after 3 hrs. HD has an interesting NEGATIVE adder role for the Crown Bolt counter who frequently has an APH of 15,000 and up to keep them from achieving TG status (thank you RGIS).
I really have to hand it to those who are on the dedicated teams, most of them really do their jobs well. They know their flows. When you count the same lovely stuff over and over you learn where the various barcodes are located and seldom have to turn everything upside down to locate them. Unfortunately, the HD teams count the same way in regular stores and that's a mess, sometimes requiring the inventory to be cancelled or redone at a later time (at district expense). The upside is few weekends and most evenings are yours (except Target, of course).
That being said, I love the work I do (just hate the company I work for) and THAT is the only opinion for the RGIS beancounter to assess.
Regarding the dedicated teams, there are numerous advantages (and , of course, disadvantages) to being on them. Primarily, it's fairly regular work, except for when you go dark-the holiday period, the occasional month or two when they're not scheduled, etc. This entails going back on unemployment or begging work from your local district. The travel is horrendous--the edge of the world and back. Many of the Target stores start salesfloor at 11PM, so if you are support team that's not so spiffy and you frequently leave after 3 hrs. HD has an interesting NEGATIVE adder role for the Crown Bolt counter who frequently has an APH of 15,000 and up to keep them from achieving TG status (thank you RGIS).
I really have to hand it to those who are on the dedicated teams, most of them really do their jobs well. They know their flows. When you count the same lovely stuff over and over you learn where the various barcodes are located and seldom have to turn everything upside down to locate them. Unfortunately, the HD teams count the same way in regular stores and that's a mess, sometimes requiring the inventory to be cancelled or redone at a later time (at district expense). The upside is few weekends and most evenings are yours (except Target, of course).
That being said, I love the work I do (just hate the company I work for) and THAT is the only opinion for the RGIS beancounter to assess.
Very interesting blog. I am contemplating a job with RGIS. After reading Anon's post about traveling and hour to different stores/not being stuck in a cubicle and someone mentioned being let go early for not making their numbers. I have some questions. How far do you have to drive? Do you get paid any mileage for gas? You drive an hour one way then work a 2 hr store then drive another hour home? I do not know where everyone live's but gas isn't cheap - ANYWHERE! And that sounds like you just worked to pay for your gas. I look forward to some feedback.
Home Depot is no longer a two day store. Its packed all into day. Only takes 8 hours with about 25 people.
If a company vehicle is not available to car pool in and you drive your own personal vehicle to a store from a meet site with other RGIS employees in the car then you get paid mileage. You only get paid for the hours that you drive AFTER the first hour of travel to and AFTER the first hour on the way back unless you are driving the company car or driving the car pool then you paid the entire time at minimum wage. The travel policies are pretty shitty. If you choose to drive yourself and there is company transportation available then you do not get paid mileage or time. If you ride in a company vehicle and ride under an hour then you don't get paid. If you ride for an hour and ten minutes, then you get paid for ten minutes.
Since we're a travel team, with the exception of a few local stores, and the stores in neighboring towns, we mainly ride in the company van. If it is less than an hour away but more than half an hour away, we'll ride in the personal vehicle. There are paychecks, in which I get more travel pay, than I do for actual work.
Thank you 2 those who answered - but it still leaves me puzzled. I understand the parts about being paid for travel time after an hour and riding in the company van to what everyone in the blog refers to as a TRAVEL STORE. Anon stated that if a company vehicle is not available and you drive other employees in your car to a store you get mileage - so my question is this - when would you get paid mileage (NOT TRAVEL TIME) for a store - 5 miles, 20 miles, or 50 miles??? The use of TRAVEL STORE is alittle ambiguous. No one actually states what distance is a travel store. I received an email asking me to pick a training date - so with gas prices rising daily any input regarding how far you are expected to drive to receive mileage pay would help me decide. At my interview I didn't get the impression that there were alot of vans available when I asked the question - and they never actually answered the distance question - like politicians - no straight answer.
Distance for travel stores usually varies by district.
In my old district, it started out at 20 miles, but eventually moved to 30 miles before they would schedule a meet.
2B or Not 2B:
Think about it... would anyone in their right mind expect this???
You go to the office, They tell you to drive at least an hour to work somewhere else - drive time unpaid, car expenses unpaid.
So you work at the other location maybe two hours at min.wage then are told to leave. Don't work for RGIS. Don't do it!
Most auditors now realize that with really high gas prices (over$4.00 where I live) it doesn't pay top drive 45 minutes or an hour (each way), burn 3 gallons of gas (almost $15) round trip, and then work for 2 or 2.5 hours (as some store now run) and collect $18 or $20 in wages. It basically means you are working for free. RGIS needs to either pay a travel allowance, or raise the wage. Otherwise, people will catch on that they are working almost for free.
As always, these are my views and not necessarily those of RGIS LLC.
My drive radius, or what they consider "local" stores is one hour away from my home in Canton, Ohio. They expect us to drive to the Cleveland suburbs to do stores. And then drive back home for free. I have a older car and that takes me 5 gallons of gas to get there and back. $3.75 times 5 = $18.75. They want me to do this twice a week = $37.50. This comes right off the top of my paycheck!. I can't afford to work for RGIS. We have people running out of gas on the highway and calling for help. When you are told to ride with designated drivers, you better be ready to help pay for gas. Right now most of the drivers want $5.00 per rider. I really can't blame them. The high gas prices and working for RGIS are not compatible. And by the way, does RGIS ever check the condition of these vehicles they expect you to ride in? They don't care, they just want anybody who is dumb enough, to drive their employees around for them! Loyalty, ha ha ha, they don't about loyalty...that's for suckers!
I only lasted 2 months with RGIS..April-may 2011..It Didn't take me long to figure out I was spending more in gas driving to local jobs than what I was making with my $7.50 an hour..No traning whatsoever and the most unsocial co-workers I have ever been around..This was Dist. #132 in middle ga...The 400 pound DM had her ex-husband as a gray shirt and what jerks they were..One time I spent 23 hours away from home and only got paid 5 hours..That did it for me..I don't see how this company can get anyone to work for them..I'd rather pick up cans on the side of the road than work for RGIS..They suck big-time.
i can comment on this as both a past and current employee. Yes there used to be reward for staing you dont see any auditors that have been here more than 10 years now. alot of vets were making $15 or more an hour and when RGIS started the ASET system if took most of them from making $15 or more to $10 or less. So they all quit.
Currently favoritism is still a major factor at RGIS as an auditor. unless you are really good(and by that i mean like 15K kspm 10 key good) then you need to get the cushy areas to get and keep top gun. I am lucky enough that i can do 15k, but most are not and need to get the multi or batch areas to get their ASET up.
The whole ASET system is basically like racism. if you are not top gun then you are not good enough to count in this part of the store.
I see people chasing people out of cushy parts of the store to try and keep the pieces for themselves. people who will only count high aph areas and the local management allows it.
it is a total joke.
RGIS, is certainly not the company it once was, but it seems how bad it is depends on which district you're in. So I guess I'm lucky to be in D431, because it sounds like from the stories here, that the DM and AMs, are fairly reasonable, in comparison.
A group of us recently went to a neighboring district, in Boise, to help out with a JC Penney's. I wasn't there when it happened but I got to here all about it on the 4 hour ride home, but appearently one of the people from here was yelled at for asking, the DM where the TCA was. As for me, I couldn't find my name badge, that morning, and I almost laughed when the DM suggested that I stop by the District office, 2 and a half hours away, to pick up a new one.
Mean Machine, how much APH, does 15k kspm equal out to, in a 10 key store. I don't think I've ever been tested in terms of kspm, but in 10 key I can usually usually average 9k APH give or take depending on how much I care that day (probably not all that fast, probably squarely in the middle of the pack.)
Also is anyone here in an OKC district, I plan to eventually move back their, and am curious what the district there is like.
rgis was always a joke,but at least you could make some money.spent a few years on a HD team and got up to 18/hr.Left to another co.with benefits.After my rgis lawsuit settlement,went back to rgis.Thought that the lawsuits would have made them change ways.RIGHT!!Much worse now.Pay is miserable,Had an AM in a trvel store make me clock out while on a ladder,as soon as I counted my last piece.Wasnt that why they paid out 26 million?Cant wait for the next round of lawsuits,they'll never learn,will never treat employees well.
Our previous experience means very lttle. Our worth to this company only encompasses the amounts of hitting goals in stores
(13 year vet who took a huge pay cut!).
Anonymous,for the first one, I doubt there will be another round of lawsuits Ain't that the reason, they had us sign the arbitration things? For the second, possibly different one, your'e right, about the company only caring about how you did in your last inventory. This kind of thinking, foster's a kind of cut throat competition, that ultimately not good. There used to be a sort of team work, but those days are long gone. Shame really, but everything changes, I guess. The views expressed are those of the author, and not those of RGIS LLC.
Mahonri you are correct I bet 99% of RGIS hourly did not "OPT OUT" of arbitration so they will never be another law suit.
You are automatically in arbitration unless you mailed in the form to HQ.
I would bet the average Auditor did not do so.
Hi all, does RGIS keep newbies into the year or do they cut them once they get most of the big stores done in 1st quarter? Aside from ASET rankings, not everyone can be a top gun and many newbies like me do this as a second part-time job. I'm happy doing 4 stores a week for $8/hr and I don't mind counting crap that top guns hate but if RGIS layoffs their newbies by April, then I need to start looking for another part-time job. Mark
Mark, I'm not sure about other districts, or areas, but here at least, RGIS doesn't in any official sense lay anyone off. You might start getting a lot of e-mail schedules that say "there are no stores scheduled for this week." After a few of these you might also get a letter from HQ, reminding you about working at least one store a month, even though, you haven't had any chanses to work. The worst period of this is the last half of October to the early part of January, at least here. During the slow periods, about the only ones who get work, are team leaders, and that's stuff they do monthly, small c stoes, and Wal Mart cost.
One more thing to mention, it sometime seems like it kinda difficult to get fired from RGIS. I may have mentioned this story before, but there was a guy who worked for the comapny, for most of the time that I've been back. He was notorious for being late, or simply not showing up. For the longest time it was a running joke if he would be there. One week the AM said that he was being fired, for his attendance, but then the next week, he was scheduled for a store, and didn't show up or answer his phone when the AM called him. I'm not even sure if he's still working, because this is the school year for ISU, so he may just be taking the semester off. Another example, is one of the team leaders, previously worked in a different district. He had simply stopped calling in, and when he moved here about a year latter, and applied, they found that he was still on the roster of the other district. One more thought, since I've bought a car, I'm probably going to have to find a second job, at the very least, by the time things start getting slow. The opinions of this post are my own, and not those of RGIS, or any other employee thereof.
Most of the team leaders here in my district live with their parents, friends or other family. They don't make enough to afford their own place. Most of the people that work for RGIS are stone-cold broke! They just think they are getting over because they don't work a "real job".
It is truly amazing what these people will do for this company. This is truly a twisted, dishonest company. No they don't lay you off, they just quit calling you for work. Hey, but keep the shirt.....and don't say we didn't give you anything!
There can be no loyalty at a company that gives no loyalty to its workers. I think the real question we should ask is what we should do about RGIS. I no longer work for that company but I know plenty of good hardworking people that still get mistreated on a daily basis by this company. So I wonder what we as former employees can do to help but most importantly what current employees can do to make our voices heard. Strike, petition, unionize, etc.? I would love to hear some ideas of what people think might work and why you think it would. And finally I just wanted to say thank you The Misfit for starting this blog page. I feel this is very theraputic and eye-opening for us all (at least it has for me). Keep up the good work.
Strangite Community of Christ and RGIS will never mix. Mahonri is just a troll.
Unionizing has been tried before, you find yourself quickly terminated for a no-show or some other infraction of the Employee Handbook like talking about RGIS on a blog.
Yes illegal but try to prove the termination was because of you promoting a union, not going to happen.
Anonymous, you are entitled to your view. I don't know how writing a blog about my religious beliefs, makes me a troll. I do work for RGIS, and have for years. I just got back a few minutes ago from counting a Smith's in Bountiful
@anonymous very odd comment to make. I don't think I've ever heard mahonri mention his religious beliefs once in this blog. Its actually kind of funny, I don't think in my last three or four years of reading this blog that religion has ever been mentioned. It has nothing to do with any of this.
There's a difference between loyalty and seniority.
I met/worked with several people who had "seniority" but no loyalty and vice versa. The ones with loyalty generally got screwed.
I remember one loyal guy who said we need to get this done and he could do it in under an hour instead of the 3-4 hours other people did. I let him do it, praised his efforts. He was fired a month later. No reasonable person would be expect to be fired for doing something much better/faster.
That's why I no longer work there.
I think Mahonri sounds like a very nice person, and I enjoy reading his posts. I see no troll.
So i gotta ask. My district seems to have a horrible time hitting man hours at calc stores.. is it illegal to 908 man hours to hit a store ...clocking people out for meal breaks ...etc
>>is it illegal to 908 man hours to hit a store ...clocking people out for meal breaks<<
Yes it is total against policy to sign someone out, give them a new machine with the supervisors ID and have them count and pay them on a 908. Or even sign them out 908 the time and and still have them count. It is against policy to add lunch breaks when not taken.
No one at RGIS does this, ever!!
As far as 908 hours, it's probably a gray area.
You're still getting your full hourly wage. It's just itemized differently on the pay stub.
It's definitely something you would have to watch very closely to be sure they are giving you full credit for all of your hours.
It's been a few years since I've been at RGIS, though. 908 hours are still paid at full wage, right?
As far as breaks, 30-minute lunch/meal breaks are always off the clock, no matter what the company.
10 or 15 minute breaks should always be paid breaks.
So I have a question. I have an interview on saturday and was wondering how this process is? Do they show you videos and then ask you if you accept the job and thats it?
Does anyone think there will or should be a class action lawsuit on the "ASET" system? It seems unfair to compare people on wildly different areas. The "topguns" always get the easy multi-Q areas, and the lower ranked people get the hard to count areas. Our pay and hours depend on these ranks, so shouldn't the basis of comparison be the SAME for all? Anononymous in Midwestern US.
Does anyone here know where to find or have access to a list of current district offices? I know that many of them have closed in the last several years and was wondering how many offices have bit the dust since my RGIS days (late 90s early 00s).
>>Does anyone think there will or should be a class action lawsuit
Can't ever file a class action lawsuit against RGIS. If you were an employee and all new employees get this paper that says "Open Door Policy" but in the small print you agree to arbitration and can not sue RGIS. Or course you can refuse to sign and you can't legally be fired but I bet 95% of RGIS Hourly Employees signed it without reading the fine print. Hence you do not have enough "mass" for a class action.
>>908 hours are still paid at full wage, right?
Dollar more than your base pay, no adder roles so it depends. Most would make more depending on if they had an adder role in the store and what it was and their ASsET Level.
>> list of current district offices?
No longer online but you can go to www.rgis.com and search jobs page under inventory taker, I bet most offices will be listed there as looking for people.
I want to be a topgun, but I am new at RGIS. Can someone explain the steps to be a topgun? Are there any shortcuts, or is it just hard work? Topguns seem to be so proud of their high status. I want that black ribbon! Thanks! Anon in Texas.
Mainly hard work, at least the ones I work with, got there that way. Some get there through short cuts, but that's officially frowned on by RGIS, but it still happens. I've seen what top guns and even experts go through, and though the extra money would be nice, I'm not sure its worth the extra headaches that comes with being a top gun
Oops I forgot to post on my last remark that that was my opinion and not that of RGIS Inventory Specialists LLC
@Peanut21: In the comment you left (not published yet) you included your email address which looks like it contains your actual name. Are you sure you want that published here? Just checking before I publish it.
As explained by RGIS, "Topguns are the fastest and MOST ACCURATE Counters". There are NO SHORTCUTS. BeFAST and ACCURATE. Topgun skills only come with hard work. Texas Topgun. ;>)
I was wondering what the rules were for 908 hours in Canada, Cause Ive seen some accounts were the AM, And DM, Take people off the store or smudge the time sheet to make a green store. And then pay their remaining hours under 908(not sure what its called here, but they paid me some other way on stub. So they can make a green store and you know what that means. The more green stores, the better your District is, The more awards you get at the end of the year along with those bonuses, Oh and do you think their employees got a share of that.
I am a long ago employee who was a "top-gun" to "top team leader", to "area manager" in under a year at RGIS. My loyalty to RGIS was beyond reproach. And then I got hurt on the job. RGIS repaid my loyalty by holding off on my back surgery for a year. Refused my continual medical care and tried to forced me to work when I physically couldn't. Those who worked closely with me and wanted me in those positions made every effort they could to degrade my reputation, my pay, and recovery. I will NEVER be able to have another job because of the damage to my spine and nerves in my leg because of the many years I had to fight the company. Alls they had to do was grant me the surgery so I could be fixed and return to the job I had loved so much. Their loyalty to me has left me disabled and unemployable. Be very careful. I was not the first person this was done to. The office does not care about you or your ability to feed your family. The only care that they make their percentage on every store so they can get their quarterly bonuses. The less you make, the more they do. Good luck to all.
As a very long time employee I must say that no one should look at this as a full time permanent job. I have always worked part time. I mainly keep it only because of the flexibility. There are no benefits, the work is hard, and the hours are inconsistent. I have seen many changes in the company. It has never been a great company to work for. But it used to be a lot better. The ASET system is structured so that only a few people can make the top dollars. Even that is not a whole lot. Top guns are protected and count the easiet areas. The rest of the store has to be counted, right? The lower rankings will never have a chance unless a top gun leaves and a space opens up. Loyalty, dependability, likeability...none of that makes a difference. I make $1.50/hour less than I did before ASET began. Therefore, I pick and choose the stores I work. I am not willing to injure myself because RGIS does not care. I too have seen co-workers get hurt on the job and end up unable to work and the company fight against paying for medical care. Do not get caught up in taking the job too seriously. Work it while you look for something else or use it as part time. DO NOT let the job become your sole source of income. Go in, count, go home and don't stress about it. Realize what the ASET system is designed to do. Set a limit as to the minimum you are willing to work for and when they bust you down to that, find another job.
To "injured and forgotten":
Meanwhile, the head of Blackstone Group (that currently owns RGIS) made over $2 BILLION (yes, BILLION) in salary and bonuses last year! Is something wrong here? Whatever happened to upward mobility, where middle class jobs were everywhere and you could afford things? Wall Street has diddled us all and we let them do it. Sheeple.
I was wondering what the rules were for 908 hours in Canada, Cause Ive seen some accounts were the AM, And DM, Take people off the store or smudge the time sheet to make a green store. And then pay their remaining hours under 908(not sure what its called here, but they paid me some other way on stub. So they can make a green store and you know what that means. The more green stores, the better your District is, The more awards you get at the end of the year along with those bonuses, Oh and do you think their employees got a share of that.
I work for rgis right now. I will work overtime and never get paid for it because they say their "clock" starts over at 5am. I worked from 10pm till 9am with no overtime...can they do that?
I'd look into the labor laws of your state, you might try checking with your local department of labor.
At a lot of companies, overtime isn't per day.
It's anything after 40 hours per week.
So it's not that your manager was wrong. They just gave a bad explanation of the situation.
The clock doesn't really start over. But, as is common in most non-union jobs, you have to work 40 hours before you get OT pay.
hey, they did the same thing to me, they banked my hours. Is that allowed?
Anonymous: "I worked from 10pm till 9am with no overtime...can they do that?"
Depends on what state you're in. Where I live, overtime kicks in once you've hit 40 hours in a week regardless of how many hours are worked in a single day. Other states (I think) require that overtime be paid anytime you work more than 8 hours in a single shift. If you're in one of the latter states, then no, they can't do that.
Correct, this is all State Labor law check with your state Labor Board.
I just worked 13 hours (large warehouse store), had two hours off and then worked 5 hours (super market) had had 10 hours off then worked again.
I will not make 40 hours in the week since I work again tonight but off until the weekend.
One thing I've noticed lately, and it's probably a coincedence, but I still find it funny. It seems that every time I put in an application, or go to an interview for a second job, within the next couple of days, I get an e-mail or call from my Am, with more work. I'm not complaining, but I find it interesting.
Well, I quit RGIS a little over a year ago because I'd had enough. We had gone through 2 district managers and 3 area managers during my 2 and a half year run this second time around. A couple of weeks ago, one of my former area managers called me to ask if I wanted to work for a new startup inventory service that he and the 2 district managers had started. They were successful in getting a few accounts to start with, and as I was working with them over the weekend (which was basically the first weekend there was any work for us), 2 other clients called us to state that RGIS had no showed their inventory, so now we have those clients.
I am not getting paid hourly as much, but I am getting paid from the moment I get in the van (no bs one hour here and back no pay), and I do not have to chase some number to get/keep a raise. This startup company is dedicated to customer service above all, and so far the customers we are working for have been very happy with what we have done, as apparently in the year I was gone, RGIS had been screwing up left and right. I have a feeling we are going to get many more customers in the coming months as RGIS continues to screw up.
In conclusion, if you're going to fire district managers and area managers with a combined 60 years in the inventory field, then don't be surprised when they come back to steal all your business.
RGIS deserves no loyalty because they give none nor do some of the managers have an respect. I understand some may stay because of the economy but I feel that is exactly why they feel their asses need to be kissed. The job is fairly easy but at times it seems I spend more than I make. Especially when driving. You spend X amount of money on gas and receive -X amount of pay. And they want dedication?
You could have a job lined up everyday of the week and still end up making less than $200. Sometimes you'll end up staying just 2 hours. Either because its a small store or you're just not counting fast enough to suit them. Would be a better place to work if,in my opinion, they were more structured and respectful. I'm not giving respect where it wasn't earned.
THE SUGGESTION BOX--Helpful suggestions for RGIS management (I'm sure they read this site):
1. Reward loyalty: Give 10% annual bonus or pay raise to employees who show up for every job during the year, or have the best attendance record.
2. Start a savings plan, like a 401k, so all employees (not just managers) can build a nest egg over time. Perhaps the comany could match the first 3%. Most companies do this.
3. Revise the ranking system to make it fairer, so all employees have an equal chance of advancing (or falling) in rank. This means give all employees a chance or counting easy (or hard) areas.
4. Pay for travel time over 30 minutes, whether you drive yourself or in company van.
Hope these ideas help. This will make for a better workplace. It would help retain employees. Turnover and training must be a big expense.
I guess the district I'm in is a little different, it's had the same DM since the 1990s, and pretty much the same AM, with the exception of the few years she stepped down, which was about the time I quit the first time. Of course there are times when we travel like 3 hours one way, to do a store that takes two hours to do. A couple of funny incidents in the last week.
Sunday we were coming back from doing a grocery store in Logan, and the driver of the van said, that she thought she saw WIS people, I lool over and sure enough, we were being passed by two van loads of WIS employees. Tuesday, we were doing the Trading Post in Fort Hall, towards the end of the store, come to find out we were also scheduled to do the Clothes Horse, but the only one who had been told about this was the TL running the Trading Post. So we downloaded the program, from the one portable he had, and went over there while he finished up there. Once we got there, about half of the machines froze up, so some of us were pre counting beads and stuff, while the ones whose machines still worked, were entering the info (it was a financial store.) Turns out, after he had sent everyone to the other store, he was informed about other stuff that needed to be counted. So by the time he got there, we had finished counting the other store, and were standing aound waiting for him.
THE SUGGESTION BOX Said:
1. Reward loyalty: Give 10% annual bonus
This was tried TWICE under the Nicholson's a 3% bonus on your gross if you worked 100 hours or more in a month period.
Why they got rid of it TWICE is that it DID NOT stop employee turnover. Those that stayed, still stayed and got the bonus. Those that left still left. Did not improve turn over numbers (they didn't go down) just cost them more money.
And that was under the generous Nicholson family not CORPORATE Blackstone bleed the employee to death.
There's loyalty in D355 I'm sure of it...just depends on who or what goes into your body.
I know of one TL who got a brand new car bought for her by one of our AMs and another TL who was blowing lines off his portable during a 70-hour work bender. I'd stay at my job too if I was getting a brand new car for blowing my AM and getting 8-balls dropped off in a McD's bag (takes I'm lovin' it to a whole new level).
I actually have nothing bad to say about either of these people (I have worked with them both, and both have been nothing but nice towards me), but I guess the old saying goes...it's not who you know, but who (or what) you blow.
District 306 (Huntsville/Hellsville, Alabama) employee here...."District 306: the Redheaded Step-Child of Chattanooga, TN"! Let me first start off by saying I was hired in May 2012 because the job market blows in Huntsville, and we have more graduating students than jobs to put them in. At any rate, things were going fine, I was killing my APH and had the usual minor f__k-ups that come with any job you just start. After working out the kinks, and doing what I was TRAINED BY THE D.M. TO DO, I had to take 5 days off for my brother's wedding (a fact which I mentioned repeatedly, both in the initial interview and several times thereafter). Upon coming back, the A.M. and her a__-kisser Cassandra started getting onto me for missing pieces (which I went back and checked...turns out it wasn't me, but store employees not knowing how to count past 15). No apology from the A.M. or her boot-licker Cassandra (who likes to call people out and embarrass them to make a name for herself on other people's backs, both with the managers of the stores we work in, the A.M., and the D.M. The moral of the story is, the ill-educated cads that run these districts and areas like to play favorites, and it's never about doing a good job, because I can name people who batch, miscount, and cherry-pick, and their only punishment seems to be more hours. At the end of the day, I have more of an educational background than Johnnie, Cassandra, and Jeff combined. When all is said and done, I'll be making more than the D.M. and A.M. combined, working a straight 40 while they're out 19 hours a day running through stores at 4 a.m. fixing the mistakes their a__-kissing employees make.
so you say 355 has no loyalty, well i am the tl with the brand new car, and i have nothing to hide, nor fear, so i encourage you to say this to my face, in fact i dare you, you are a coward, i am a woman, a real woman who earns an honest keep, i earned my vehicle with my blood, sweat, and tears. you are jealous and i pitty you. obviously you have not seen a real woman in your life when faced with one you have a delusional tale that i assume your feeble mind could only comprehend. you truly have a sad life to sit here and try to taint my good name-your rumors have hurt me and i will not lie, however i am a survivor and keep it moving with my head held high always, dont hate cause you aint, coward. again bring this to me personally as i will not waste another minute checking on this matter. check your own reflection, see who you are and what you need to do for you, lol, you can look at your reflection in my new car as i drive by you smiling
Same BS at D356 as the other districts. They treat long time employees like scum and make superstars out of new employees. and, they never learn from their mistakes. These new superstars continue to leave them when they find other jobs without a second glance. They tell the team leaders to 'escalate up' if they have issues in stores and when they do they either can't reach anyone, or if they happen to reach the DM will get 'f....ng deal with it' as an answer. They have an AM in charge of her son's team and the best from every other team are picked off to put on that team. If the team leaders try to be proactive and email the office if they foresee problems in their stores, they ignore the emails. Well, they ignore those they want to ignore and respond to those they feel like responding to. You go into manager stores and they assign specialists that they like and want to go up an Aset level to expert areas and if they don't like you, assign experts to auditor areas so your Aset will go down. They break every rule they make you sign in your handbook. They make you go on conference calls to listen to what you should do in stores, then they do nothing to help you if you have issues. You listen to how important it is to start hitting certain accounts then they don't give you enough lasers for everyone and force some to hold their machine putting the whole team at a disadvantage and make that supervisor look bad for not hitting the stores. But, the district makes money for the company so you are stuck living with it because the arbitration process would never work in this district. The open door part of it does not exist except for the chosen few. And many have tried to go higher up to complain in the past and they are basically ignored. It's difficult to see longtimers with a lot of knowledge who are extremely capable treated like scum for the sake of those with little knowledge who happen to be favorites. Doesn't matter what your Aset level is if they don't like you. Doesn't matter what you can accomplish as a supervisor. it is all about favoritism. And when their new favorites leave they always turn back to the old employees that they have always been able to depend on but they are basically telling them to go to hell at this point and letting them sink and refusing to help them out of their binds. I worked for a long time and recently left. You get really tired of the issues they create when all you want to do is go to work, do your job the best you can, and earn a paycheck. It's the constant games you have to play with these people that finally wears you down.
{Note: someone left the following post here as "Anonymous". I copy-pasted it and reposted it to remove surnames.)
Wanted to say something else with regards to District 306: One of the first red flags was that they hired immediately. No questions asked, no background check, piss test, etc. Didn't even want a resume or a list of references.
I have noticed that that the district manager Jeff and the area manager Johnnie have their "pets" who break the rules and get away with it based not on job skill, but ass-kissing skill (looking at you, Zack, Joy, Chantaye, . Johnnie (who is a female, by the way.....don't ask...I don't know why she took a man's name)constantly talks about "how great" Jeff is, and it's kind of sickening!
As far as "benefits" to this job: there are none. Other bloggers have said that RGIS does not care and you are a number....they are right! My team of lawyers and I would like to see them fire me for what I put online, because the First Amendment is stronger than their little Mickey Mouse arbitration papers.
Jeff, Johnnie, Casandra....if you're reading this, and you likely are, here are some suggestions for Dist. 306:
1)Unless RGIS is prepared to institute a "hazard pay" program, DO NOT let Cassandra, Jessica, or Charmonique drive the company vans. Cassandra in particular was trying to get ahold of her booty call, playing with her iPhone while zig-zagging 90MPH down the freeway.
2)Stop playing favorites! Annette, who's Johnnie's younger sister, gets to sit around running her yap while the rest of the Auditors are busting their asses to knock a store out and move on.
3)If someone feels they need a day off for their family or personal things, don't make their lives miserable when they get back, simply because you're pissed that they needed to take the same day off that RGIS has a big job at Wal-Mart. I know of two people who needed certain days off and were singled out and given a hard time when they got back.
4) And this has been said before about other districts....but BE GOOD TO THE AUDITORS! No one has to kiss Queen Johnnie and King Jeff's ass! Let people do their job. You have high turnover, and the only people that NEED to stay are the ones who have criminal records, drug habits, or both.
Personally, I'm a University educated individual who lives in a small town with little in the way of real opportunity. All I'm waiting on is that one phone call in response to my resume, and I'll be telling district 306's D.M. and A.M. where they can stick their jobs.....and I'll make sure to send a postcard when I'm on a beach, making more moola then all of them combined, while they're running stores with the dregs of society 19 hours a day, 6 days a week.
Well, I am a Team Leader with D355 (and the one who was accused of blowing lines off work equipment). Let me make this clear: whoever had to leave a comment tainting us obviously doesn't know the half of us or what we do to feed our families. I was going to remain quiet, seeing as how I feel sometimes saying nothing is best, but here goes: what you think you hear and what is the truth are two very different things. Sure, we all have faults, but to take to the internet with obvious untruths is a direct reflection of you (and not a good one). You say you have worked with us both, which means that obviously you're in our district, but at the end of the day, you are just a disgruntled auditor who probably sees people working hard and can't accept success. We both work EXTREMELY hard to survive, and to pit Team Leaders against each other isn't helping anybody. I'm glad the the other TL spoke out, and while the two of us don't always get along with each other, I am showing everyone what real loyalty is by standing up for my fellow TL. So yes, there is loyalty in D355, and it's not because of the reasons someone decided to post.
If anyone feels the need to question my loyalty to my district and its employees, they need look no farther than my call logs. When someone needs machines or batteries, I get it there no questions asked. I've been woken up at 5am after pulling a shift the night before asking for lasers or a portable, and I do it. Every time. I've pulled my kid out of bed at 6am to drive 45 minutes to drop lasers because the ones there didn't work. I've met people at 3am after work so they can have decent equipment for their AM store (my personal stash of RMs work awesome). Ever camp out at the office waiting for your AM or DM so that they can have equipment because the people that are supposed to drop don't? I have. My district is my second family, and while we may have our moments, I know I can call 85% of my fellow TLs in Waterbury, Milford, or Hartford in a jam and they will help. That is loyalty.
I encourage the anonymous blogger to come forward, for I have no animosity. I won't leave my name, but hey, if you're from my district, you know me, my car, my travel vehicle number, and probably my favorite band.
There's loyalty to people from your "own" district, i've noticed. Working with folks from one city (let's call it Steel City) from another (Youngs City), down near Steel City. The site manager from the Steel City district favored his own folks, letting them leave the site earlier and leaving us with a huge section to do. Eventually it ran the risk of us hitting rush hour, even though we'd been there since 6, and 9.5 hours with no end in sight. I walked off the site and was fired for my trouble. Lovely place, RGIS.
Looks like RGIS lost another account in Ohio/Pennsylvania area.
Giant Eagle had given about 20 percent of its stores to PICS at the start of this year.
They recently decided to give the entire chain to PICS. Think that contract starts in November.
Think Giant Eagle has 100-plus stores (mainly in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland) that go twice a year. The pharmacies and gas stations go quarterly.
So it's a good chunk of work/money RGIS lost.
Main reason Giant Eagle ditched RGIS: customer service and lower costing inventories.
Over two months after my “resignation” I got an RGIS letter in the mail today asking for me to please return their polo and name badge.
I threw away my polo and badge nearly a week ago. No one ever said anything about wanting this back went I left.
Will they charge me?
To the person asking if it was ok for managers to move hours to a 908 time sheet to make stores "Green". NO IT IS NOT OK! If you send a email to HR with dates and stores where it happened they will look into it and most likely fire the managers involved. It happened in my district. They called all the TL and it was a huge deal. I worked for RGIS for 12 years but have left because of all the madness...I used to love this job but ever since Blackstone took over it became a terrible place to work.I now work for WIS and no longer feel the pressure oh being the fastest.
Mew2:
You last worked their two months ago. You already got your final check weeks ago.
They wouldn't be able to get the money from you. Plus, they don't really want a used shirt.
Likely, they probably just got around to sending out a "termination letter" and closing out your file.
District secretaries only work 20 hours a week, I believe. Only so much they can do in that time.
That line about returning RGIS property is basically boilerplate.
My "termination letter" came about 2-3 weeks after I left. I only returned machines, printers, portables.
Even kept a couple media sticks they forgot I had. I also kept a couple reams of paper that I "forgot" to return.
Mew2, from my experience no. I know some people who still have their polo's over a decade after the quit. I myself, had a couple of them when I left in 2001, and when I re applied in 2008, one of the first question I was asked by my AM, was if I still had a shirt, I had a couple, which had been hanging in my closet all but forgotten, including one of the blue shirts with buttons.
I still have my RGIS burgundy polos, leather belt (with hooks on the side for holding the audit machine) and tag bag pouches too. Several years ago in a thrift store I saw one of those blue RGIS shirts that button down the front. It was the first time I'd seen one since viewing those ancient training videos.
Those leather belts work quite well with the RMs as well, too bad they stopped handing them out, any more.
I told my AM today that she can just go ahead and automatically opt me out of all future double shifts! I saw my lousy pay for all the 18 to 22 hour days I was putting in to make my AM and DM look better to the suits in Michigan. Maybe if they didn't act like assholes I'd do a better job.
I remember the old blue cotton RGIS shirts (early 1990s) that had buttons, pockets and a RGIS patch. The team leaders had shirts that were a darker shade of blue. These old shirts were more dignified in appearance than the red polos. The polos look like the ones they use at McDonalds. I was in a McDonalds once, and a customer asked me why his Big Mac was cold.
I told the customer to go to the counter, and they would give him a new hot Big Mac and a large chicken McNuggets, plus a large milk shake and large fries at no cost. I then left in a hurry.
@ Anonymous: Ha! At the McDonald's prank. :-D
I am a newbie. Not the best auditor really (I have been told I am slow but accurate). Stuck mostly in clothing counts. Now i have had three consecutive schedules with no work except for a 902 meeting coming in a week or so. Is that a termination meeting? I don't really want to was gas driving to it if it is. Wasted enough gas going to far away "local" counts where the gas costs more than the pay received in the 2 hour inventory.
902 might be training. Don't worry.
Hi Newbie,
I was one about 8 months ago too. I'm steady but slow. However, I'm reliable and always show up. The 908 meeting is probably a training meeting for 2 hours. I'd go. Each district is different but mine (24) is pretty good and they appreciate people showing up.
3 straight weeks wilth no work....yep you've been fired! We only needed you for a few stores. Good luck! And remember don't look at it as if we fired you......we just freed up your future!
Thanks for your time and your gas money, sucker!
RGIS Management.
no work for 3 weeks. Go find yourself a real job. These guys will starve u to death.
3 weeks w/no work seems a little long but also depends on where you are and the time of year. Labor day week there was almost no work. Newbies do take a little while to work up into the system. I was new before Easter and we had a 2 week lull though they did give me several training sessions during that time. I'm a part-timer doing about 3 or 4 stores a week which is fine for my situation. I've been here about 8 months now and while I'm just at auditor level, I'm reliable and since there's so much turnover, they appreciate that I've stuck around.
RGIS isn't a bad gig but alot depends on where you are and the co-workers (same as any job). If you're doing this simply as a part-time job and are flexible, it's not bad. Yes, the hours can vary (feast or famine) but overall, it's steady. I'm near a large city so there's nearly always work available except over the Holiday weeks(Easter, July 4th, Labor Day etc) If you're doing this part-time and have a regular fulltime job, you have to be really flexible especially at your day job. That's my situation so anything more than 4 stores a week is a lot for me. As part-timer, I don't worry about politics and APH. About 4 stores a week at $8/hr is ok for me.
This company is COMPLETELY disorganized and unprofessional! We had a guy who got fired for batching at a Rue 21 in Huntsville, Alabama this past week. Cassandra, who ran an Old Navy the next day told EVERYONE that this individual got fired. I would talk to our district manager, but "San" has kissed enough ass to be protected by our incompetent management team. The bullshit continues...
How much work you get is of course also a function of your availability. People that can work only nights and/or weekends end up with less work than those that can work anytime, especially mornings during the week (when there is often a shortage of auditors).
The hours are always slow on a holiday week. But, in my district, a very busy district, it doesn't matter what your availability is or how dependable you are when the work slows down. I have a team of experts and topguns. Supervisors tell me they never worry when my team is scheduled in their stores because they are so dependable. They are quiet. Rarely get involved in useless gossip that is always going on. They go in and do their jobs and leave. Yet, when the hours slow down, they will be collecting unemployment while the much less dependable get the hours.
It all depends on whose butt you are willing to kiss if you get hours or not. That is business as usual in my district. I am a supervisor. There are people scheduled into my stores at times that I always have to worry about whether they will show up or not. They have a history of not showing up. But, I will guarantee you that when November comes around, they will still get 2 or 3 stores a week while the people on my team sit at home.
As far as quality employers go, i hear there's a project being started to develop an inventory service that's an employee operated non-profit cooperative. designed specifically to resolve all the problems discussed on this blog and others, regarding RGIS and other inventory service corps.
no stockholders to worry about. customer retention and providing quality employment combine to create priority #1. environmental sustainability makes priority #1.1.
on point; as long as there is money available there's no reason employees can't all share in the same healthcare and benefits as a group.
there neednt be any managers making large salaries for offloading work onto unsuspecting laborers.
you want quality training, i'll volunteer my time to help you, if you'll volunteer to listen; it helps both of us in the end.
you need a ride to a store? i got 4 seats available in my car, just ask.
it's called cooperation, or teamwork. helping others to help yourself. philanthropy.
why not integrate these ideals into the core of the very business we're in. and saturate our environment with them--from bottom up and back down again.
note: psychopaths not welcome.
keep your eye out for it, i heard it'll be called COIS, as in Co-Operative Inventory Services.
COIS......it sounds so good. But until that happens, i still work at RGIS and all i get is BS! The Blackstone Group is working us like dogs and paying us like chumps. I hope the next generation of inventory takers get better treatment than we do.
If I carry passengers in my car to an inventory site, and am unlucky and get in an accident, could I be sued for expenses by the riders? Will RGIS pick up the bill and expenses? When driving to an inventory, are we covered by RGIS? Is it worth it taking passengers? Just wondering what company policy is on this. Anybody know?
There's a lot of legal stuff that could enter into this but my day job is insurance so here's my answer. You can always be sued for anything but if you're driving as an employee for your employer, the employer is obligated to hold you harmless(indemnify you). That's not to say passengers won't try to sue both you and the employer. If that happened, your primary auto insurer would essentially turn the suit over to your employer since you were driving on company business.
At any given hour of the day i would say 50% to 75% of all RGIS drivers are driving uninsured. They can't afford auto insurance. Think about this. I would say up to 40% are driving with no license or their license is suspended. it's dirty little secret nobody talks about.
Next time, before you get in that drivers car....ask to see their license and proof of insurance. Have your camera phone handy so you can take a picture of the look they give you!
Why doesn't RGIS make all employees prove thet have a valid drivers license and insurance? Driving is part of the job. Just wondering.
As a former RGIS employee, I would love to see The Misfit's thoughts on RGIS in general again and a new onslaught of comments.
RGIS people: don't be afraid to branch out if you can. Don't be afraid to miss work or even quit if you can tide yourself over on a shoestring budget for a while. Go for the new job. It's what I did after getting picked to run to NYC and NY state from Bergen County, NJ on my own dime. I told them where to shove it, enjoyed a little R&R, and then managed to find a job that challenges me and makes me happy. I graduated with a BS in accounting, went on to count Made in China merchandise with RGIS, and now make all sorts of gadgetry in an American machine shop.
Go for it! Hell, it could even pay less on paper, but at least you might not be going to bumfark on a toll road both ways (unreimbursed!) just to just make two and a half hours' pay.
@ APH=LOL: You are absolutely correct. Most RGIS employees (the ones who don't kiss ass for the hours) are mistreated and underfunded. Wonder what it would take to get a union in RGIS.
Speaking as a former Teamster Leader, here's how things would work at a Unionized RGIS:
1)You would be getting paid more: in my district (306, Chattanooga, TN), we start out at $8/hour as an Auditor. Unionized, we'd be making about $12/hour to start.
2)Benefits: let's face it: the substandard Nationwide crap that WE pay for now is an outright joke. With a Union, we'd be getting Blue Cross-Blue Shield, a REAL health insurance provider.
3)Hours: I can't speak for other Districts, but in mine it seems that the more ass you kiss, the more hours you get. I will call out names here. Holly, Kim, Cassandra/"San", Lisa, Greg, Charmonique, Meredith (among others) all seem to get primo hours while people who do well on merit are sitting home unused. Union scenario, the afforementioned people would be getting their hours staggered with everyone else's, regardless of how far they can stick their noses up the AMs and DMs rear ends. For example, Cassandra/"San" runs about 80% of the stores because she boot licks for Johnnie (our AM), and Jeff (our DM). It's certainly not because she's a hard worker, that much is apparent if you've ever had the misfortune of working with/for her.
4)Working 3 jobs in one day, with about 2 hours (or less) between stores: this would not happen. Anything after 8 hours a day would be overtime, hence, time and a half pay.
5)Speaking of pay, and this is a bone of contention between RGIS greedmongers in Michigan and the employees who make them 99% of their money for them: if we were Unionized, we would be PAID THE MINUTE WE GOT INTO THE COMPANY VANS TO HEAD TO A STORE, AND PAID FOR TRAVEL TIME GOING BACK TO THE MAIN OFFICE! None of this, "we'll pay you after the first 60 minutes" bulls_it! I agree with paying us the current minimum wage for that van time, because, let's face it folks, all we do (other than the driver) is listen to our iPods, sleep (in at least one or two cases in my district, smoke weed or drink), or gossip. But we should still get paid for that time REGARDLESS. If I'm carrying equipment to the vans, and I'm not on the clock, I'm working for free essentially. This is why I stopped carrying anything a month into my employment with RGIS.
5) We would not be walked on by the AMs, DMs, or the people who run stores: Just to give you an example, we have this ass-kissing, two-facced troll of a woman named Cassandra ("San") who runs most of the stores in my district. Why? God only knows.....although I'm sure she has something going on with our area manager, but that's neither here nor there. She's not a hard worker, and frequently (and loudly) calls people out in an attempt to not only embarrass them, but make a name for herself with the management team of whatever store we happen to be auditing that night. An example would be that we were running a Rue 21 in lower Tennessee, and "San" spent most of that evening trying to get a date with the district manager, Stephanie. We had some new people that night, and she would not help them. She was too focused on getting a possible date with Stephanie, while treating that newbie like dirt when they attempted to approach her with a legit question.
Anywho, these are just some thoughts on unions, and how RGIS is RIPE for them. Maybe Blackstone wouldn't have to deal with more turnovers than a bakery if they were actually decent owners.
You are dreaming that joining a UNION would get you that. Over 8 hours time and a half?
Heck city employees have to work 40 hours in NYS before time and a half in NY.
Just try starting a union, it has been attempted in the past. First store you no-show you are FIRED.
Any rule infraction you are fired. Go file a law suite claiming it was because you wanted a union. They just show where it says one no show and they can fire you.
same owner, but new ceo
http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20121003/FREE/121009959/rgis-names-replacement-for-retiring-ceo
That is NY, I live in Alabama. Time and a half would kick in after 8 hours. Would not matter if you only got 8 hours a week.
Speaking of overtime, I ended up with overtime last week. Sunday we had a grocery store, in Springfield Utah that morning. We had about 13 people, the van I traveled in, which was going to a second grocery store in the afternoon, a van that was going back to Idaho, and one local person. we were joined, towards the end, by another van load from Idaho, that had a different store, that morning. That store took about 6-6.5 hours. Following that, we had to go to a second store in Roy by 3:00pm, which was mainly people from Ogden, we got there on time. That store only took about 4-4.5 hours. From there we went to a hotel, which we got to a little before 9:00, and we had to be back up and leave for the next store by 1:40AM to be in Logan by 3:00Am. The store was about the same size as the first one, the day before, and for which we ended up with about 16 people to count. For some reason, the district, had only scheduled 9 of us, one of which had already quit, and another one who couldn't make it because they have a day job. So there were only 7 of us, actually more like 6.5 since one of us from Idaho could only count when not running the inventory. That store between breaks, and lunch, we left the store about 12 hours latter, with a little over 11 hours of work.
After that I had Tue off, then Wed morning, we had to go to Jackson Wy, to do the Mountain Resort stores (some of the others had to go to Jackson on Tue to do a store as well) that only took about 5-6 hours, it's kind of hard to keep track, because I spent part of the time walking between various stores, but still getting paid. At the end a couple of car loads to the hotel in West Yellowstone. I was crammed with two others into the back seat of an Impala, for the 3 hour ride (only to find out latter that one of us was supposed to have stayed behind.)Checked into the hotel and actually got some rest. The next day we went into the park, and I went to three of the scheduled stores, which meant that I spent most of the time riding from one store to the next with most of the stores taking about 3 hours each. So basically I got paid to ride around Yellowstone Park. We went into the park about 6Am, and we finally got to West Yellowstone to head home about 6Pm. We got one more day of Yellowstone trip in about a week. What's the point of all this, other than to brag, we all ended up with overtime, and I ended up with two per diems.
Oops everything I said in my previous post are my opinions and not those of RGIS LLC or its employees.
Wow, still bad at RGIS. I posted this a few months ago, but it may cheer some of you up, or maybe suggest it to your District for a Company gathering ( if they still do it)
That's too bad, the district that I worked for had the greatest parties each year - something different each time. In the summer they would also pool 2 or 3 districts and have a huge one at one of the local parks. Everyone would bring their kids family. they had this Husband and Wife do the cooking on the grill and they would make massive amounts of food, burger, ribs, chicken, wings, you name it was at the picnic. They did have it catered once or twice but the best was when it was home prepared. Hundreds of people would turn out for these picnics.
Christmas Parties were ususally held at a local restaurant decorated with a Christmas theme and a nice buffet style dinner. I don't know where they got them, but they would hand out tickets and have 20-30 Christmas presents and every few minutes they would call a number and give away a present. They changed the place every year so it was always different. Good times back then !!
When a long time employee left the company they had this big going away party for that employee at a local restaurant. It started around 11am and went on until around 5pm. the place was packed with over 200 employees from various districts attending. The food, you would not believe the amount of food that was set up for this employee and the rest of us to enjoy that Saturday afternoon. Again great memories of RGIS. After reading some of these post, I wish that some of these employees could enjoy these times not the current ones that are so shocking to the ones that worked a long time ago when the job meant something and you could be proud and use the data entry skills to land a full time job.
I still checkout jobs in my area and the way the ads read you have to be a Rocket Scientist to even apply for a job. It's no wonder they have a hard time getting new employees. So sad, it used to be a great company 25-30 years ago.
New Handbook with updated Drug Policy and arbitration re-commitment everyone has to sign by end of the month.
Who gives a shit about the "new" drug policy: most RGIS employees are ex-convicts and/or drug abusers, no matter what the owners say/write/do.
That's the first I've heard about this, at the last store some of those who went signed a form like that, but was saying that they hadn't actually gotten a new handbook. I haven't seen such a form, yet. It's possible I'm going to get one in the mail.
We all got them in our email from headquarters last week. And, they now want supervisors to have suspicion of drug/alcohol forms with them at every inventory. Supposedly, they want the supervisors to fill out this report if they suspect someone at their inventory is under the influence of some substance. They want them to call a manager who will take them immediately for a drug or alcohol test. That puts an awful liability on the supervisors. If you suspected abuse, only to find the person was on some sort of prescribed medication, then they could sue you. And, you would be calling managers to come get these people only to have them tell you they are too busy and can't come. What a joke!! The other part of this is the standard agreement to be drug tested for certain clients who require it and it is optional. If you do not agree, you will not be scheduled for those inventories. I used to have a guy on my team who showed up for almost every store drunk. He was in a manager run store one night and the store manager told the AM that she could smell liquor on him and that he appeared hindered. He was not sent home. He was moved to another store that was going in the same mall instead and taken out of this store. Reason: the liability of proving that he was drunk. lol lol
TL Too Said: then they could sue you.
Nope, 99% of employees signed the arbitration agreement. Can not sue RGIS or their employees if you are an employee you have to go thru arbitration.
Guys, for those of you that have or know someone that has, is it actually common this time of year to receive an empty schedule or would there be something else going on here ?
Yes, it's headed into the slow season (Nov-Dec) but after New Years, all hell breaks loose in terms of work load. Also typically not much work around Easter, July 4th and Labor Day.
Yes it is common, I don't typically get any work in November, and none in December until the week following Christmas. Then it picks up quite a bit in January.
Now is the time to rest up for January. I actually like this seasonal slow period, although the $ does dwindle.
Wow, no work for to months and you guys act like it's no big deal. What are all of you, Republicans? What do you guys do for Thanksgiving and Christmas? Do you just head to the soup kitchens and the shelters? Or do you live with your parents? i would love how you manage to live 2 months with no work, and then show up at the end of December like nothing happened. Amazing!
Yes I too have an empty schedule. Welcome to the 2nd half of quarter four.
We'll do a few Staples on Saturdays until Xmas but maybe one a week for 10 people. Other than that its marketing only.
If your office does financial grocery stores expect them the weekend between Xmas and New Years but come 1/2/13 I can work 2 stores a day weekdays and even 3 a day on weekends.
Anon 2:43,
Who said there is no money coming in? You file for unemployment, or more specifically, under employment.
And since you went political, I'll follow. It's exactly what the Democrats want -- you relying on government for basic necessities.
Yep, we've got a chain of grocery stores we do after Christmas and the at end of June. All are done within about 7 days. Otherwise it's pretty dead until after New Years.
For the full timers, this is like being a teacher in the summer. Need to save up for the lean months. Most of us though do this as a second job so we scrimp by and suck up hours in January/February. Also expect to see a lot of new hires in January/February but most don't last too long.
This comment is for Anonymous on Nov. 11@2:43 PM. I'm not sure how it is in your state, but in my state, you can collect unemployment when you get little (under 20 hours a week) or no work. Most of the people in my district get through the light and "no work" weeks by collecting unemployment, which is paid weekly and is about the same as working 20 hours a week for simply filling out a 30-second form online once a week. In recent years, RGIS has started to contest claims, but it's just a one-on-one phone interview with a mediator at a designated time. As long as you do the interview and answer the questions, you'll win your case and get your unemployment. RGIS is supposed to have a representative at these unemployment contest hearings, but nobody from RGIS ever picks up the phone when the mediator calls them. I encourage anyone who's eligible to do so to file for unemployment. It's your right as an employee, and I've always looked at it as a retainer fee. The retention rate in my district is very high, and I think one of the reasons for that is people are able to file for unemployment during slow periods. The high retention rate helps expedite the inventory process, which, in turn, helps RGIS's bottom line. So everybody wins.
Most of us file for unemployment benefits. Even if you work a bit, you can receive partial payments. I already filed for this year since we had no work the week of hurricane Sandy.
Anonymous: "Wow, no work for to months and you guys act like it's no big deal. What are all of you, Republicans? What do you guys do for Thanksgiving and Christmas? Do you just head to the soup kitchens and the shelters? Or do you live with your parents? i would love how you manage to live 2 months with no work, and then show up at the end of December like nothing happened. Amazing!"
There are a variety of ways to deal with the end of year slow down. I think most collect unemployment benefits. You could also get a seasonal job. Most retail places need extra help this time of year. The truly disciplined might put the extra money from the ridiculous amount of overtime we get from Jan thru mid-March into savings and live off of that at the end of the year. I keep telling myself I'm going to do that third option, but it never works out.
About the off-season at RGIS (October - end of December).....and it's a good thing that this is the latest topic on here: I got screwed out of unemployment because there is virtually no work in my area at ANY time of the year, so "I didn't work enough to obtain benefits", according to the incompetent people at Alabama Unemployment. At any rate, I called up my boss (District 306, Chattanooga, TN to Huntsville, AL), and she stated emphatically that RGIS had nothing on the schedule. I didn't work for two and a half weeks under the assumption that my boss, Johnnie, was telling me the truth. Upon returning to work, I queried my co-workers, and they stated that they were getting at least 3 stores per week. I contacted the chicken-shit, butt-kissing sack of monkey crap that is my District "Manager", and this is the email,
verbatim, that I got from him:
"Each employee has a different ability/speed and availability. Each of these factors determines who works when and where".
Despite the fact that my ASET level is Expert, my "boss" is essentially telling me I'm too slow....in reality however, and this is with all managers in my District: if you don't suck ass, you don't get the hours.
DESPITE the fact that I have a higher education level than all 3 of my "managers" combined, and I'm still killing everyone else's APH, despite being put in shitty areas by the lead store runner Cassandra, I'm still not getting the hours all of the underachieving ass-kissers do. Gotta love RGIS (mis)management.
How come nobody mentioned the fact that once u get back to work after Christmas, u still won't see a pay check untill the middle of January 2013. They hold back 2 weeks.
All i'm saying is that this is one of the many things they don't tell new people. The old timers won't tell u anything because they like playing the "I've got a secret card". As a new auditor u should be told about the slow period. This is why people don't stay. It's not what they tell u , it's what they don't tell u.
Got my RGIS paycheck Friday. $7.34 after taxes for 30 minute equipment inventory. Paying 30 minutes gets them around minimum wage I guess...
I have a two person shoe store next week and that's it. Oh December equipment inventory coming up in two weeks....
This is a multi-million dollar company. They could pay you a minimum of $20.00 for your troubles. How can you pay a person $7.34 in this economy with a straight face. You want to know the real problem with the U.S. economy? The lack of jobs paying a "Living Wage".
Anonymous said...
This is a multi-million dollar company. They could pay you a minimum of $20.00 for your troubles. How can you pay a person $7.34 in this economy with a straight face. You want to know the real problem with the U.S. economy? The lack of jobs paying a "Living Wage".
Mon Nov 26, 06:47:00 PM 2012
I agree! Corporate greed somehow thinks it's ok for management to earn ridiculously high wages for the minimal amount of work input they actually provide. Funny how most companies give the people who make 95% of the company profitable the bottom rungs in terms of wages and benefits. I guess they'd rather pay the General Manager thousands per week to sit on his ass in an air conditioned office and provide little. I know this because my dad is a GM for a disc manufacturing warehouse, and he makes about $350,000.00/year to do very little but take a 2 hour lunch, and watch other people work.
Low wage workers are organizing and strikes will follow. People just can't live on these meager wages while the fatcat management gets fatter. Open your eyes and take a good look at your fellow RGIS employees...we are all poor and broke.
Just bearly gettin' by. Living paycheck to paycheck, payday loan to payday loan. They talk about falling off the Fiscal Cliff. I got news for you, i work for RGIS , i fell off the cliff a long time ago.
Go find another job, they say: Really at my age. Age dicrimination is alive and well my friend. The team leaders and AA's and DM's , don't let them fool you, they are barely making it too.
RGIS must increase our wages!
To the Anonymous posts:
I too am an underemployed auditor for RGIS. If I were a business owner I would pay the lowest wages I could get away with. The RGIS auditor is easily replaced.
I'll keep my low paying job rather than give money to a "union". Speaking of corporate greed - do you know how much money the union bosses get from the low paid little guy? Look it up. Unions do nothing but increase the cost of most goods and force good American corporations overseas where the labor is not overpriced like GM employees. Thank God I work in a state that doesn't force workers to join a union! I don't want my money to go to some union thug or democrat politican.
Bottom line, you knew what your pay was when you were hired at RGIS. Don't expect more and you won't be disappointed. It's just a business and they need to make a profit.
In response to: "I too am an underemployed auditor for RGIS. If I were a business owner I would pay the lowest wages I could get away with. The RGIS auditor is easily replaced"....
Spoken like a TRUE RGIS-lover. Or maybe you're a DM, AM, or someone who rose through the ranks by kissing ass, as most of the untalented cads who run RGIS do. At any rate, thank God you aren't a business owner, because you seem to have the knack for greed like most business-owners. Yes, I know RGIS has to make a profit, but they also need to pay their employees more than they do now, which they are capable of doing. This pay includes travel time from the SECOND they get into company vans. Think about this: Unions would not be necessary if companies stopped paying their "Managers" way too damn much, and increased bottom-feeders' pay by $2 to $4 more per hour. Unions are PRESENT because of corporate greed, NOT because they just want to make a measly $20/month.
I just received an interview invite for Florida, any comments?
This is all very good information to have. I have worked for RGIS for just over a week now. The big inventories and schedules are starting tomorrow. I will give this job a chance just like any other but it is good to know what to watch for and what may be in store. Working in a district in Ohio. I am depending on this job until I can get back into a better job. So far what I have noticed is that every grey shirt that I have met seems to have a major attitude, a stick up their ass. I suppose that this is because of the high turn around rates with the company and they don't care about new people until you have proven yourself. I have worked in another field where this is an issue. Unfortunately that attitude drives off people. The lack of communication is already apparent and I hope it will not continue. After my third day there, I was contacted and questioned why I hadn't shown up to work on the previous day. Funny because I did work and I was actually a driver for other employees. How does a mistake like that happen? Good luck to all of you and wish me luck. I'll keep watching this board for advice and offer up what I can.
You know... There are other companies out there that treat their employees well. It's not just the industry. There is no status quo except for that of RGIS's.
I just did my training at an undisclosed store and I really was in awe of how I messed up.. I used the finger laser to scan the barcodes and at times it would not scan the item and I had to wait a cool 3 seconds to click again for the laser to work. And then I had to double count and see if I got the right amount and always got 2 less than the amount I counted.
Yes I am a noob, I'm new, but I'm so scared shitless since the supervisor took a count of our current aph from the training session.. I am hoping that I don't mess up when my schedules comes out.. I believe I shall go slow for the beginning but I just don't wanna get yelled at when actual work comes along.. Anyone give me some technique info on counting and scanning items.. Yes I know the whole push and pull, scan and flip but can anyone please share their techniques or training?
I also work for a district in Ohio. Been here about a year now doing this as a second job. It's not a bad job. We have good people in the district and no attitude to speak of. We all come in, do our job and go home. The turn over is either because newbies aren't able to work the crazy hours or those doing this as a second job are finally able cut back to just one job. After a year here, we still have most of the regulars we had a year ago.
Well after getting a few stores done I have a few comments to make. The job itself is a very simple one, if you can count, add and multiply then you should be on your way. What surprises me is the lack of accuracy. I was counting chips in a grocery store. Another new person comes up and doesnt even touch a row of chips and gets his counts. Now I know you can tell if a row is packed, figure out how many chips can fit in a row and multiply it out. This guy just looked at the face of the section and got his count. I spoke with someone else and he was doing the same thing in other sections. I believe that someone like that won't last long, that he will be discovered and corrected or will be removed. What about the stores until he is found out? How many "top guns" count at the required speeds and have a high accuracy? Is it possible, or is the company setting unattainable goals and overlooking the obvious? Sorry, I am jumping around a little bit but it's a sad situation to see.
@ MD: That kind of "counting" was very typical in my district. Usually it was either the top guns/pets of the AM that got away with that sort of "counting" (I guess they thought they were "too good" to actually spend time counting something) or it was a noob that didn't know you were supposed to actually count stuff accurately. Sometimes a noob would try too hard to impress everyone and cut corners when they were counting.
I just wanted to add that I noticed the comments were getting close to 200 at this post and I will start a new post soon. Thanks to everyone who continues to visit this blog and leave their comments.
I have been working for RGIS for 5 years now. I have worked out of 217 in PA and 143 outside of Tampa Florida. With the dedicated teams, it makes things much easier to keep consistent work minus the holidays (after Thanksgiving to January 2). With being a top gun, I really don't get special treatment. I literally will count anything that they throw at me. Whether its seasonal, autoscan or the best multi-count areas, I still manage to make goal and above without sacrificing my accuracy. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of stores who just don't care about prepping, cleanliness, or the inventory numbers and that makes accuracy and APH requirements harder. I have been very loyal to the company since I am in college and it fits my school/family schedules quite well. Being on the CVS/Walgreens team helps with the early hours and long drives. Work always starts at 7 and usually have no more than 55 minutes of driving one way. I actually love the driving minus the gas expense. It is a way to wake up, blare loud music, seeing the sunrise, ect. My district doesn't play the "you've been here the longest so you get the best". Granted, there are some favortism issues in my district, they usually are rectified quickly. I must say, I have an awesome DM, great AM's and a huge district. My co-workers are for the most part, awesome. I believe the pay per performance system has weeded out a lot of the non-hackers but at the same time, screwed a lot of the people that truly pulled in their worth. In the end, its a job. It sucks sometimes but I would rather have a sucky job than no job. There is loyalty in the company. I see it every day. I work M-F in the mornings with weekends off. If I need time off to take care of personal matters, they work with me. The same goes for 99% of the 155 people we have in our district. :)
RGIS is the worst company I have ever worked for. Just curious if the poster still works there? I read some of your original posts about RGIS and laughed myself to death because of how true it is. Honestly, working for that company was the lowest point of my life.
Other people seem to think its an ok gig. Maybe it depends on where you work? RGIS, of course, had an office in my town, but the jobs were always somewhere else. Luckily, we car polled 99% of the time. Honestly, I hate that company.
It seems like its own world where people could be in control and get away with stuff because they have been there for 10 years and no one cares to fire them. There was a married couple who would always leave work early. One of the team leads was a sad sack of a man. I saw him get chewed out by a 20 something manager at abercrombie and fitch. Overall, I have nightmares of that place.
Ive been working for RGIS for a month now and I hate it. Good news is that I got a new job lined up so I am quitting RGIS ASAP. I'll never forget my first day. My manager walks up to me and says I need to get my APH up 50 by items. As soon as he said that I rolled my eyes and knew it was one of those jobs, great lol. My next shift they are already giving me warnings of my termination because my accuracy is down due to my speed. So make up your minds what you want lol. I felt like I was in highschool working for this company with all the cliques and politics that go on behind the scene. Well peace out RGIS dist 548 I won't miss you. I would never recommend this job to my worst enemy.
Don't candy-coat it! When you end up working for RGIS you have hit rock bottom. And that goes for me too. How did you end up here? What are you willing to do to get out of there? They need new people, but they hate them! The people that have been there for more a year develop these ego's and sense of superiority that is truly amazing to behold.
Why? because they can count things? My experience with Rgis was not good, but i worked for then on and off for 5 years. The #1 thing that drove me to find other work was the lack of fairness. No matter how hard or well i worked for them i could not get them to treat me or others that worked there "fairly". Then i figured it out, the people in management get treated so bad that they treat everyone below them bad. Pretty soon the whole apple is rotten to the core. That my friends is RGIS "Rotten to the Core".
Fine, don't believe me, sooner or later you will get the "RGIS Treatment". Because they don't want everyone to stay. Just like a hooker, they only need you for a little while.
You've already hit rock bottom. Walk away from RGIS and start you're new life.....you can do it, don't be afraid.
I'm not saying these things to be mean. I'm saying them becuase i've been there!
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