I used to work for a gas station/retail company as a Shift Manager (think of “Race” cars). I had one month of training. During my training, my General Manager would print an “evaluation” based on my performance— she would get her information from my trainer who would share with her how I was doing and what I would need to improve upon.
Keep in mind, during the entirety of the month I was training, I worked my ass off to meet their expectations, even if they were unrealistic. Moving on, my first evaluation came in. I needed to work on staying on top of food (ensuring it’s always fresh, presentable, and restocked), greet EVERY customer that came in, among other responsibilities. Cool, sounds great! I thanked her for the feedback. My second evaluation came in, except this time my trainer wasn’t involved with this feedback as she was supposed to be. My general manager based this evaluation from her observation from only ONE shift working with me. It said the same exact thing, which confused me a little because I thought I was doing better. She did admit I was doing better, but “not enough.” It’s fine. I was worried however because if I were to receive a third evaluation, I would either be retrained or be terminated. Well, guess what, my THIRD evaluation came in saying the EXACT same thing. At this point, I was frustrated and I decided to speak up.
My general manager talked to me before she left for my third evaluation. She showed me my evaluation and told me that these expectations were not met. Apparently, the overnight Shift Manager told her the store looked rough when he came in (after my shift). Moreover, she noticed that I didn’t take out the signs “Cooking Behind Line” on the roller grill, which she claimed due to that, she cannot trust me with food. She called me a follower when it came to greeting guests because I would usually greet a guest when I’d hear an associate greet them already or I would not greet at all.
1) The store looked rough because it was a BUSY day. I only had three people and my trainer wasn’t helping with shit. Two associates from my team would be on register and one of them would be on kitchen. They would help with the conditions of the store here and there and I would be running around like crazy keeping the store in good conditions while helping my team during rushes.
2) The “Cooking Behind Line” signs were on the roller grill for an hour because I was prioritizing other tasks during a busy morning. However, I ensured the food was fresh, presentable, and restocked.
3) I GREETED every customer that would come in. Most of the time, I wouldn’t notice a customer come in because I would always be doing something I was focusing on. Cleaning, helping, inventory, etc. But I would at least acknowledge every customer when I noticed them. I explained to my general manager I would not always be able to greet every customer because that’s not possible. She said she understood that, but she kept berating me about not greeting a specific group of customers that I didn’t notice come in?
In addition, my trainer would criticize where I would place our team and would judge on my decisions. My team loved me, but my trainer claimed I wasn’t “strict enough” and my General Manager basically wanted me to be a perfectionist like one of our managers. They set unrealistic expectations for me. I have managed one of the busiest stores in the entire state, making sure that the guests were greeted and assisted, that the store was in good conditions, and the food was perfect. All on my own. And you know what? I did a pretty good fucking job for my first time “officially” managing.
Well, fuck them. There was clearly favoritism. After I talked to my General Manager, I went to the bathroom, tried to calm myself down because I was so upset, and then realized, no, this isn’t worth it, and walked out on my job. The only reason I did it was because my trainer (a shift manager) was working the shift with me, so the team wasn’t gonna be on their own. If it was just me and my team, I would work the whole shift. I have never walked out on my job, but the BS they were giving me along disrespecting me, was truly astonishing. After I walked out, a few days later a coworker of mine quit after having enough of their bs, too.
PS: I talked to my recruiter from my previous job, explained to him the situation. He said he’d talk to them and call me back. He never called me back.
Also, my GM would always shut me down when I tried to explain myself and every time I asked her for elaboration on what I would need to work on, her responses were always so vague. I felt like I was going crazy every time I tried to understand her.