I'm in kind of a shitty situation at work here
1 / 2
tl;dr
>I am the only employee besides the manager
>there is no air conditioning in summer / no heat in winter
>I work all day by myself on Saturday (manager doesn't come in at all. We're open 10+ hours saturday)
>I work more hours than the manager a week but obviously get paid less
>I work between 35-40 hours a week for "part-time"
>I need time off to get shit done but i cant get any time off
Originally I worked 3 days during the week + saturday, which was fine. I was going to school and studying. The other guy that was working here left, and the manager asked me if I could work everyday.
It's been almost a year and he has not hired a new person. I've told the manager time and time again to hire someone else but he has not done this.
I know it is not my decision, but when I'm alone in a store and get 10 customers waiting for me to help them, it gets fucking nuts. There is literally a line out the door. Sometimes it takes up to 30 minutes for me to help just one customer, and another 9 are still waiting for something - plus it's not always the same thing. I work in a third party pack / ship/ print shop, so could you imagine one person wants me to pack something worth $1000 while someone else wants to print 1000 posters or something and needs it done in an hour? Impossible - but happens every week!
I've only gotten one day off within 2 years - I had to ask 6 months in advance for it. The manager went away TWICE - January and February, leaving me by myself for 4 weeks total in the store. Opening and closing. Counting the money. etc.
I ask for a day off? "I need to see."
The guy takes off once a week and doesn't even show up on Saturdays. I could not go to work at all on Saturday and he wouldn't know about it since our security cameras dont even fucking work.
2/2
I need to make appointments.
I need to go shopping for new clothes ( because I'm trying to get a new job in my career field)
I need to get new glasses - haven't gotten new ones in 4 years
I need to clean up my house.
I need to do laundry.
I need to take my pets to the vet.
I need to replace my lost drivers permit.
I need to do a lot of work around the house because we're getting everything renovated
I need to practice driving during the week and not only on Sundays
I can't do any of this because I work 6 days a week.
It takes an hour and a half to get to work, and I work 5-6 hours a day, then another hour and half to get back. My hours are in the middle of the day till the evening - so by the time I want to do half the things after work, stores are closed.
If I wanted to do anything before work, I wouldn't be able to because I take public transportation and everything else I need to do is far away in the opposite direction
Basically
I need to work LESS so I can get other shit done.
I've worked for 3 years straight now. No vacation. No days off except Govt. Holidays. No time to do anything for myself. I haven't bought anything for myself either in 3 years. No games, no clothes, never went out to parties, never went out to see movies, never hung out with friends.
Literally wake up -> go to work -> go home -> go to sleep -> dont get anything done because exhausted from work or too late to do anything.
Can't change my hours either, the manager wants to get out of work early so he can go do things so I'm stuck with the late shift.
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I'm very close with the owner of the business ( not the manager) and I've spoken about this to him before. All he says is "tell *manager*" because he makes all the decisions.
That doesn't work.
I don't want to quit because the owner of the business would be an excellent reference on my resume for future jobs. I just don't know what to do.
>>17260901
Aren't there any legal issues, that you could bring up? Where I'm from, this would not be legal and the manager would be forced to hire more people.
Tell the owner that if they don't do something to intervene, you will be forced to quit. Really lay it on the line that the working conditions are unacceptable and that if something isn't done, you will be forced to walk out (and I assume the owner will realise that basically means the store will be unattended and will require new staff that need training and shit that will be a massive pain.)
Take no bullshit, if the owner tries to farm it off to the manager again you say back "I quit. Can I get a reference from you for my next job?"
Either you get the reference, or the owner gets shit done and asks you to stay.
>>17260901
Since your basically a one man union you can sit him down and tell him if you don't start getting time off you're liable to walk.
It sounds like you are:
Bad at time management
Being taken advantage of
Thinks your "friend" gives a fuck about you
Is a retard
You have a job you don't want, doesn't intent on keeping it, causes you a lot of trouble and you don't want to quit because a letter of reccomendation?
Fuck that shit, you have a low end job, why does this letter matters so.much?
Also, saying it again, neither the owner or the manager care about you, you are not close to him and he is using you.
>>17260939
>not wanting a reference after spending 2 years at a place that isn't fast food.
>>17260959
If what OP is saying is true he below a fast-food worker. They at least have rights and don't work alone.
Also, I forgot to mention
>I pretty much run the entire store by myself
>a friend that works in the same type of store as me but in a different one gets paid $11.75 an hour , working there for 9 months.
And
>manager re-writes the hours on my time sheet at the end of the week even after I signed the time sheet.
>>17260997
This is not worth it, getting paid less than 12 dollars an hour for that isn't good at all. You are almost a slave to a shitty system, get out of there now, become a waiter or something. You deserve better than your current situation and you need to fix it or you'll hate yourself in the future
>>17261027
So should I just say im leaving and then ask for a letter of reference anyway while I take a month or two to try and find work?
I don't want to be out of work for too long, it doesn't look good on a resume.
>>17261050
You are hopeless
>>17261081
you do realize that a gap in your resume , even if it is entry level shit, is bad, right?
the owner will definitely write me one if I ask.
>>17261093
Yeah, it can look bad. But if you are actively looking for work during that time, you can simply be honest about it.
op do you work at a PostNet? Its a copy/print/pack-n-ship that sounds similar to yours. I work there, and had a near identical dilemma. I solved it by closing on Saturdays
>>17261093
Yes, nobody will ever hire you again because of it.
You are an idiot. You let everybody walk over you because you are afraid of how it will look like.
You'll always be treated like you are now because you allow others.to treat like this over fear.
Have some self-respect and demand your rights. I would much rather hire.someone with self-respect and a gap than a human sandbag.
>>17260901
>>17260903
No wonder this guy takes advantage of you like this, because you have no spine.
like what >>17260926
you're a one man union. It's pretty obvious that this guy needs you because he's too lazy to do it himself. If I was a oneman worker I'd have this """""manager""""" spit shining my boots
