The Woolworths Thread (10 Viewers)

[sb26]

Need advice...

I'm relocating to Sydney for uni and I've been chatting with the CSM at Town Hall about a transfer. I'm full-time 38 hours but I want to work 10-15 afternoons and weekends. I asked him what his thoughts on the best way to facilitate that would be and he says drop your hours at your current store or drop to casual and then he'll consider it... then later if it suits his budget or rostering he'll 'possibly' consider a permanent contract again.

So my questions are

1) what happens to your leave balances if you drop to casual - meaning you tell your store you are no longer fulfilling your contract (w/2 weeks notice) but still wish to be employed on a casual basis - do they reset to zero? Do you get to keep them but not use them until you become PT/FT again?

2) is there any truth to the claim that you are not allowed to take annual or unpaid leave while living in another state? This is what my SSO says and said that my only option is to resign if I can't transfer before I move away.

3) does transferring respect existing contracts? i.e. if I'm on a FT contract and the new store accepts me, are they obligated to honor that contract or can a new arrangement (casual or PT) be organised?

 

[BSammy]

1) your sick leave drops to zero
and you get paid the balance of your annual leave
long service keeps accumulating even while casual

2) i don't know, that sounds weird.

3) not sure, i dropped to part time when i transferred just due to what hours were available.

 

[sb26]

I've done the confiscate staff discount card thing before...

It was a mother with her big group of kids using her daughter's SDC card but her daughter was the only one that wasn't there. It came to like $300 so I thought I would ask to check ID. I explained she can't use her daughter's card if she wasn't there but she kicked up a huge fuss and got a manager over herself and said it was allowed because everyone else accepts it and her husband works at Magnet Mart (technically owned by woolies but not really part of the brand) and she offered to phone her husband at Magnet Mart who would be able to verify... god... In my head I was like facepalming at the whole thing so I said "your daughter needs to apply for a separate card because this card can only be used by the person who's name is on the card" and the lady insisted it was a family card which anyone can use despite the (1) on the label and the code of conduct... Eventually the ASM comes over and tells me to scan the card anyway, what can you do.

Managers love letting fussy customers get the better of them. The amount of things I've been forced to return against policy because the customer has spat the dummy and asked for the manager... "The lady sold me the wrong smokes! *removes plastic wrap and opens packet despite the label being right there* You have to return it its your policy!!!"

 

[sb26]

1) your sick leave drops to zero
and you get paid the balance of your annual leave
long service keeps accumulating even while casual

Are you sure about this? Reading over the national agreement it says cashing out is only allowed for 8 weeks+ of A/L. I only have 64 hours. Or is it a different "thing" to cashing out

 

[OMGITzJustin]

I've done the confiscate staff discount card thing before...

It was a mother with her big group of kids using her daughter's SDC card but her daughter was the only one that wasn't there. It came to like $300 so I thought I would ask to check ID. I explained she can't use her daughter's card if she wasn't there but she kicked up a huge fuss and got a manager over herself and said it was allowed because everyone else accepts it and her husband works at Magnet Mart (technically owned by woolies but not really part of the brand) and she offered to phone her husband at Magnet Mart who would be able to verify... god... In my head I was like facepalming at the whole thing so I said "your daughter needs to apply for a separate card because this card can only be used by the person who's name is on the card" and the lady insisted it was a family card which anyone can use despite the (1) on the label and the code of conduct... Eventually the ASM comes over and tells me to scan the card anyway, what can you do.

Managers love letting fussy customers get the better of them. The amount of things I've been forced to return against policy because the customer has spat the dummy and asked for the manager... "The lady sold me the wrong smokes! *removes plastic wrap and opens packet despite the label being right there* You have to return it its your policy!!!"

wow, cant believe you actually asked to check ID let alone going into an argument in front of everyone and building up the lines. It was her daughter's card and I would have stopped right there... you dont have to go by the book with every single rule

horrible customer service imo

edit: the person still gave them the wrong smokes, its not the customer's responsibility to grab the right smokes, so you have to return it

no offense buddy, but you sound like the worst customer service operator

 

[djhol4]

So being trained up in service 10 and it looks like SVR numbers are on the horizon, and other supervisors are even putting a good word for me to the CSM

So I was shown how to do a return but they didn't show me how to do it with produce,
could someone please take me through the steps? tia

 

[nanakid12]

If they have their receipt, I usually just refund it as an Unknown Item -> Produce -> Produce EA for the price. Saves weighing it.

You can also weigh it and it will calculate the refund based on the price per kg, but you just lookup the produce in that instance.

 

[Katebrunner]

Need advice...

I'm relocating to Sydney for uni and I've been chatting with the CSM at Town Hall about a transfer. I'm full-time 38 hours but I want to work 10-15 afternoons and weekends. I asked him what his thoughts on the best way to facilitate that would be and he says drop your hours at your current store or drop to casual and then he'll consider it... then later if it suits his budget or rostering he'll 'possibly' consider a permanent contract again.

So my questions are

1) what happens to your leave balances if you drop to casual - meaning you tell your store you are no longer fulfilling your contract (w/2 weeks notice) but still wish to be employed on a casual basis - do they reset to zero? Do you get to keep them but not use them until you become PT/FT again?

2) is there any truth to the claim that you are not allowed to take annual or unpaid leave while living in another state? This is what my SSO says and said that my only option is to resign if I can't transfer before I move away.

3) does transferring respect existing contracts? i.e. if I'm on a FT contract and the new store accepts me, are they obligated to honor that contract or can a new arrangement (casual or PT) be organised?

Where in syd are you going to be living? I'm not sure I would want to work at Town Hall. If I were you I'd think about applying at Coles Broadway, it's a lovely store - so massive and modern - and close to uni. My friend works there and really likes it, I've been thinking of applying, and it should be easy if you've got checkout experience. Then you can tell woolies to f*ck off lol.

 

[Katebrunner]

wow, cant believe you actually asked to check ID let alone going into an argument in front of everyone and building up the lines. It was her daughter's card and I would have stopped right there... you dont have to go by the book with every single rule

horrible customer service imo

edit: the person still gave them the wrong smokes, its not the customer's responsibility to grab the right smokes, so you have to return it

no offense buddy, but you sound like the worst customer service operator

I agree totally Justin, I think sometimes we take "the policy" too seriously at the expense of customer service.

Like one time our old bag of a supervisor absolutely went off at these 2 girls who were taking photos of eachother. The no photos policy is obviously there to stop competitors and the like from taking pics of our displays/prices etc, not to prevent a couple of kids from having fun. Like there photos were nothing to do with the store, they just happened to be *in* the store. The old bag should have used some discretion and comon sense instead of going on a power trip.

I know I've been guilty of "applying the policy" too harshly sometimes, and need to remind myself to have some perspective.

 

[T 360]

edit: the person still gave them the wrong smokes, its not the customer's responsibility to grab the right smokes, so you have to return it

no offense buddy, but you sound like the worst customer service operator

Once it leaves our hands, you are actually not allowed to refund Smokes without a Managers approval (well, at my store at least). No Refunds on Smokes whatsoever. If you have been doing refunds on them, then IMO you are in the wrong.

 

[sb26]

wow, cant believe you actually asked to check ID let alone going into an argument in front of everyone and building up the lines. It was her daughter's card and I would have stopped right there... you dont have to go by the book with every single rule

horrible customer service imo

edit: the person still gave them the wrong smokes, its not the customer's responsibility to grab the right smokes, so you have to return it

no offense buddy, but you sound like the worst customer service operator

It's a $300 sale, why wouldn't you check ID... If you don't you're not doing your job right. It was just a mother and her family? Well maybe I would have let it slide if she wasn't so rude and determined to prove me wrong, the new kid 3 months into his first job who was only doing what he was trained to do and who was not rude at all to their face. If I'm polite and calm and act understanding the whole time while I deliver the bad news which I was doing, then I don't have any trouble sleeping at night for my apparently bad customer service.

We have rules in place for a reason... The fact that it says in the SDC card policy that misuse of the card is possible grounds for termination makes it clear that that is what corporate thinks about this kind of thing. I always cringe when I see people use returns cards to the value of $100+ and I'm left to think that whichever store issued that really needs a stern reminder that the customer is not right 100.00%. I'm a fairly lenient supervisor but there is a point where you can't just let people push their way around the rules, you're being paid to protect the company's assets as well. Almost all customers are polite and respectful and put away the VIP attitude when talking to staff but if you think you're entitled to free shit all the time and shout that opinion crying about managers and complaints then that's when staff need to draw the line and stick to the rules.

To the smokes thing... customers have to take some responsibility for themselves. It's not their job to pick them from the shelves, but don't they have some responsibility to check if they have the right product before they go ahead and rip the plastic off, tear the inside foil and open them to look inside and after all that still not seen the name of the brand glaring them in the face...? If they miss all that, it's their fault and they shouldn't yell at the poor service staff to fix every one of their problems. Groceries, fruit and veg though, are a different ball game IMO... tobacco is a restricted product. What about opening up a bottle of alcohol and then trying to return it?

 

[nanakid12]

We always exchange smokes if we've sold the wrong ones, but never refund them.

 

[BSammy]

So being trained up in service 10 and it looks like SVR numbers are on the horizon, and other supervisors are even putting a good word for me to the CSM

So I was shown how to do a return but they didn't show me how to do it with produce,
could someone please take me through the steps? tia

If they have their receipt, I usually just refund it as an Unknown Item -> Produce -> Produce EA for the price. Saves weighing it.

You can also weigh it and it will calculate the refund based on the price per kg, but you just lookup the produce in that instance.

really?

if they have their receipt it's easy

press refund, press return item.
type in the weight on the receipt (with decimal point and all) then press the "weight" button then go to the item lookup screens for the item, ok the price (or change it if their receipt says different) and it's done

especially if the item is a return and going back on show, you know for stock counts.

 

[Katebrunner]

It's a $300 sale, why wouldn't you check ID... If you don't you're not doing your job right. It was just a mother and her family? Well maybe I would have let it slide if she wasn't so rude and determined to prove me wrong, the new kid 3 months into his first job who was only doing what he was trained to do and who was not rude at all to their face. If I'm polite and calm and act understanding the whole time while I deliver the bad news which I was doing, then I don't have any trouble sleeping at night for my apparently bad customer service.

We have rules in place for a reason... The fact that it says in the SDC card policy that misuse of the card is possible grounds for termination makes it clear that that is what corporate thinks about this kind of thing. I always cringe when I see people use returns cards to the value of $100+ and I'm left to think that whichever store issued that really needs a stern reminder that the customer is not right 100.00%. I'm a fairly lenient supervisor but there is a point where you can't just let people push their way around the rules, you're being paid to protect the company's assets as well. Almost all customers are polite and respectful and put away the VIP attitude when talking to staff but if you think you're entitled to free shit all the time and shout that opinion crying about managers and complaints then that's when staff need to draw the line and stick to the rules.

To the smokes thing... customers have to take some responsibility for themselves. It's not their job to pick them from the shelves, but don't they have some responsibility to check if they have the right product before they go ahead and rip the plastic off, tear the inside foil and open them to look inside and after all that still not seen the name of the brand glaring them in the face...? If they miss all that, it's their fault and they shouldn't yell at the poor service staff to fix every one of their problems. Groceries, fruit and veg though, are a different ball game IMO... tobacco is a restricted product. What about opening up a bottle of alcohol and then trying to return it?

Sb26, I think you'd last about 5mins in a sydney store. Customer service is everything in the big city.

 

[Wooliesinventoryguy]

Does anyone know how to ask for a contract. I personally am on a part-time contract but there is a 16 year old at my store who has been there a year, he works well, I hear it from the bosses and they really like him. He works on check out too but recently he has been telling me he is getting really fucking pissed with the amount of times he has been told he's getting a contract and doesn't(he has been told by both check out and longlife hes getting one). He gets rostered all over the place as in his hours are always getting fucked up by both departments and I feel sorry for him. He told me yesterday that if he doesn't get a contract soon(in a month) he will resign and look elsewhere. Something that annoyed him heaps was the fact there are worse workers that have been there for less time that all got contracts. I know a few of them are fucking bludgers. I see it happen constantly so does anyone have advice I could give this kid?

 

[Katebrunner]

Does anyone know how to ask for a contract. I personally am on a part-time contract but there is a 16 year old at my store who has been there a year, he works well, I hear it from the bosses and they really like him. He works on check out too but recently he has been telling me he is getting really fucking pissed with the amount of times he has been told he's getting a contract and doesn't(he has been told by both check out and longlife hes getting one). He gets rostered all over the place as in his hours are always getting fucked up by both departments and I feel sorry for him. He told me yesterday that if he doesn't get a contract soon(in a month) he will resign and look elsewhere. Something that annoyed him heaps was the fact there are worse workers that have been there for less time that all got contracts. I know a few of them are fucking bludgers. I see it happen constantly so does anyone have advice I could give this kid?

Tell him to threaten to quit. If he is really that good they will cave in quick-smart!

 

[BSammy]

so we have new tickets again

the tickets themself look good i think, but the font is bad, especially the lowercase letters so bad.

 

[nanakid12]

really?

press refund, press return item.
type in the weight on the receipt (with decimal point and all) then press the "weight" button then go to the item lookup screens for the item, ok the price (or change it if their receipt says different) and it's done.

I was never quite sure how to do that! Thanks mate, I'll keep it in mind

Although we don't care to much for SOH in produce... we just chuck produce in the $3 trolley, or if its really bad, just throw it out.

so we have new tickets again

the tickets themself look good i think, but the font is bad, especially the lowercase letters so bad.

I like the new tickets! They look fresh sort of annoying that we finished putting up all the special tickets on the old design, then had some of the new tickets to put up, and most of them were just replacing tickets we had JUST put up.

 

[djhol4]

so i just got shown how to do put through large orders, u know when people from local organisations, schools etc. come through with order forms and you have to fill it in on the carbon paper, and one copy goes to the customer, one get put in the big folder, and the other under the cash draw on the register etc etc.

Im still a little hazy on the process tho, could someone talk me through in steps? thanksss

 

[Wooliesinventoryguy]

so we have new tickets again

the tickets themself look good i think, but the font is bad, especially the lowercase letters so bad.

Personally, I don't like them. When we had the original ones where the everyday saver was called long-term price cut, I preferred it like that. I think ever since more savings was introduced, the branding has gone a bit wild. I did like the re-design of the tickets, but I think the new design is unnecessary. I think branding is a bit all over the place at the moment but I think they'll get there.