I'm in food distribution. Everything is on fire. I've posted here before. Covid has broken most of the senior staff we have. People are quitting left and right. Six people over fifty have retired, and there are no real replacements. I make just over $20 and hour. I've been going to interviews but nobody is offering over $20, and I just got a new car.
The managers are trying to underpay all of the new people they're hiring, and that's why we're suffering. The new girls make 1000-3000$ less than me.
I tried to put my foot down. I told my bosses that I wasn't willing to do multiple jobs. We were severely understaffed at this time last year. I told them to figure it out because I wasn't willing to do accounting or reception. We've burned through two rounds of newbies so far. Now, we have… enough staff kinda but everyone is overworked. Now, I have to run reception for two hours a day. Reception is a full time job. Don't let anybody tell you otherwise. The receptionist is the first person that deals with angry, confused customers. They also deal with constant email spam, creepy solicitors in person and on the phone, and paperwork. I was told that I have to do my job and reception during those two hours… because I have the most spare time. Yup. I finish my work early and spend the rest of my day waiting for mistakes to fix (pricing/delivery complaints etc.).
My reward is another job and no pay raise.
The woman who called me stupid loudly under her breath is in her sixties. She is the last elderly-ish woman in my department. Everybody else retired because the office is too fast now. Every day there is a disaster. When I got hired there was one problem per week tops. This woman should be retired. She has two fake hips, but she keeps working so she can send money to her daughters and grandchildren. All of them live in a trailer park because well…the economy. One of her daughters is suffering through an expensive/dramatic divorce as well.
When she called me stupid I left, because I am not stupid. This situation is stupid. I missed one email about a substitute item that is supposed to be added on in place of a missing cup. That's it. I am not in charge of subs. I was also running reception from 4-5 so I had way less time to check my e-mails. So when I asked someone nicer than this woman to re-forward me the email I heard a muffled “stupid” and angry clicking behind me. I had to stay in fifteen extra minutes to sub that cup, and I left without a word. For some reason I was being punished with more work again, even though I was literally covering another position.
My company was bearable once, but now I don't make enough money to survive and expectations have never been higher. They're sky high. The woman who thinks I'm stupid does overtime almost every day, because she can't quit. Because she feels obligated to help her kids, because they're stuck in a crap financial situation. Even though her kids work full time they can't afford anything, because they had kids. I didn't say anything to this woman. I should have, but life is so dang sad lately.
I don't want to crack again and take a job that pays less, but I want some kind of change.