What would you do in this situation?
I make just above minimum wage as a Sales member for a large international department store. Been here just over 4 months. It's my first full time job after dropping out of uni.
They're opening a new location a few towns over and I was asked to be a part of the project. It seemed like an exciting opportunity; 2 weeks paid accommodation & travel, daily meal budget, and the store isn't open to the public yet so no customers.
However.
I get here, and there's no booking. Hotel says I need to preauthorize for the first week. It's a nice place, and i make about minimum wage… so I think we all know I can't afford it. I'm honest with them about my lack of money and they say once I get in touch with my company they'll reverse the transaction – crisis averted, I have somewhere to sleep.
Then this morning, I get to the job site. Not only was I not informed how to get into the building (front entrance still actively under construction despite store open being at end-of-month), I was told there would be people expecting me and they would give me the orientation/training needed to proceed. After 30mins I find someone who sort of knows what's going on, but then later get berated for having found them because apparently they don't know how it works either. So I basically wasted 2 hours being told I'm an unexpected burden. They placed me in safety “training” (I'd barely call it that – it was a group of 5 crowded around one screen [that's supposed to be individual training] and it was muted so I couldn't hear it) and I succumbed to the anxiety of the day and barely made it back to my car before a panic attack took over. I went back to the hotel to figure out wtf is going on.
Since I'm such a new employee – and my store is disgustingly understaffed – I am barely trained in my role let alone knowing the structure of the store and who tf does what in this “organization”. I didn't even know WHO to ask, who to get in touch with. My manager is on vacation. I finally email someone who responds basically by saying that it was correct I didn't have a booking, all they had confirmed for me was a rental car (which, wtf, cause I drove in my own car???) and they “double-checked, and yes its correct”. Like,,, I don't know who they confirmed with and I don't know where they thought I'd stay?? No one asked me anything, I assumed it was being taken care of.
With all that being said, it's resolved now. They want me to stay and are paying me for the day I didn't work. They'll reimburse for the hotel and put a different card on file. But I'm still so shaken by this. I'm so disappointed in my supervisors, and my lack of training. This is a company that I was excited to work for, a place with a lot of growth and opportunity. But covid seems to have had lasting effects on its structure and I feel… dejected.
I really just want to go home. I don't care if it ends up being fun, I want to quit entirely. This company needs me way more than I need them, they overwork me and I never get a thank you. But I love my coworkers and when I actually get to do my job, I really enjoy it. I don't have another job lined up though and it's a bad time to lose a steady (albeit low) income.
I don't know if I'm just ranting or asking for advice. thanks if anyone reads this far