Shady Stuff at Hibbett Sports

[sracatback]

Have told many a spouse or parent who wanted to talk to me about a student's college work or attendance, "Sorry man, I feel your concern, but they're over 18 and there are state privacy laws covering these situations."

Take a chill pill and stay out of it. Your wife is the only one that can deal with it. It's ain't the military and there ain't no IG!

Unfortunately i cant stay out of it. My wife is 19 yrs old and hasnt experienced anything like this before. She asked for my help and i'm doing what any good husband would do and find an answer for her problem. If that means making her call them herself, then so be it but staying out of it completely isnt an option. As far as privacy issues and "they can only talk to her" situations then i'll let her make the call on that one. I mainly posted this thread with hopes that someone had been through this and had some advice.

 

[ThaMastaChief]

As the employee, a new one at that...looking for management positions and using 'leadership'...you attempting to handle the situation FOR HER is not going to fly with the higher ups... I hope you realize this.

You may help her with her decision of dealing with it, but I can guarantee you they aren't going to let YOU deal with it. I think it is a genuine thing you are doing helping her walk through this though...

It sounds if she is young and inexperienced with real world issues in the retail world. No offense here...it's not her fault...she's 19. It is unfortunate for her what she is going through, but scenarios like these are what toughens you up for the next time. Working for retail is FULL of being the low man on the totem pole and working your way up...to a place of being able to be off for CHOICE vacations...when 'they' want to take off....but unfortunately, the managers I know in retail don't even EVER get to take off two weeks during Christmas. EVER. It sounds like someone spoke good words to her without getting them in writing. I hope for your sake she has learned from that person to always get it in writing!

At the time this situation 'sucks' for you both, as you have your wishes for the holidays...and they ARE a worthy cause. However, 10 years from now you will be able to look back on this and smile as it was one of the 'experiences' for the both of you to walk through, with pure Wisdom earned from them.

As I stated before, thank you so much for your service to our country.
TMC

 

[sracatback]

Thanks for the replies from everyone. As i said i was looking for opinions and i got them. It seems that we're in the exact place i figured we would be. Up S#!t creek without a paddle. This will definately be a learning experience. Unfortunately she thinks all Oklahomans are not trustworthy. I know that's not true but its hard to convince her after all of her experience with them has been negative. We're not going to let it stop us from visiting family for christmas. She's still planning on working there until we find her another job. There are better opportunities out there we just have to find them. But i'm still not shopping at Hibbett anymore. there are cheaper places that are more honest out there. I guess this can be my "when life gives you lemons" rant of the day.

 

[rhodesbe]

Thank you for your service.

I must say that I am shocked that after only working there three months...she was told she COULD take off two weeks at Christmas, in RETAIL, in MANAGEMENT.

I know that most places don't even let you have ONE day off until after one year of employment. Especially in RETAIL, during CHRISTMAS, in MANAGEMENT.

I do hope you guys get the vacation you so desire with family. The time off in her industry just doesn't seem correct though.

I'd suggest this post says it all.

Retailers have taken a bath this year, and are looking for any reason at all to cut costs and overhead. Your wife might be 'crossing over' if she takes the leave as planned.

I'd suggest that, fair or not, your wife should expect to find another job fairly soon. The employer shouldn't lie to her; but I think they have. Do not have much of an expectation that she is promoted any time soon. They are just saying the things necessary to land people with skill and qualifications.

 

[El Pablo]

Unfortunately i cant stay out of it. My wife is 19 yrs old and hasnt experienced anything like this before. She asked for my help and i'm doing what any good husband would do and find an answer for her problem. If that means making her call them herself, then so be it but staying out of it completely isnt an option. As far as privacy issues and "they can only talk to her" situations then i'll let her make the call on that one. I mainly posted this thread with hopes that someone had been through this and had some advice.

A good husband would give her the tools to deal with it herself. Especially one in the military who can get deployed or worse.

The suggestion for you to stay out of it, was for you not to be the one that deals with her employer. That will do no one any good.

Anyway, sorry to hear about the situation. We have all been in a crappy spot at one time or another. As for me, I learned to stand up for myself when I was 18 and in the same boat.

 

[cowzrul]

This isn't the best time to be looking for a new job. In the last week I have had double the applicants. Monday I got 7 applications in a 30 minute time frame. I have a few active military spouses working for me and since I am retired military I do let them "take leave" without penalizing them; however, my managers can't take off from Thanksgiving until after the New Year.

 

[GLOCKinator]

Based on the fact you said she's never had anything like this happen to her, I was wondering her age until you mentioned it later. Hate to sound like a buzz kill, but "welcome to the real world".
A lot of problems arise for an inexperienced manager who makes promises that don't hold water, but things like this happen all the time.
Besides, I thought Oklahoma was an "at-will employer state" which means that an employer doesn't really need just cause to terminate a position. I could be wrong about that though.

 

[KYarb]

Thought I'd just time in since I work retail as well...

About the vacation, na ah. We're not allowed to take vacation from Nov 1 until after Jan 1. No hourly nor salaried associates are allowed.

About the promotion, it's what you would call SOP in retail for someone to work in a position before actually being promoted. We had one person who worked as a "temp" department manager for 6 months before actually being promoted. It sucks but it's the name of the game.

About the pay, she will not receive any type of retroactive pay whether or not she gets the promotion. This is retail's way of getting you to do the work without the pay. They run the so-called "trial" or "temp" period, and if you don't work out they're not out anymore money than if you were doing your normal duties. If the person does get promoted then it's looked at as more of a training session.

The only exception I've seen to what I said about promotion & pay is here at Walmart, regarding salary. Since we now have to go through an 8-week orientation before being placed in a store... There is no "temp" period with lower pay. As soon as you're accepted into the program you're bumped up to your starting salary. With hourly however, they still like to screw them.

The only option she really has if she wants the position is to go over the District Manager's head. Have her give the Regional Manager or Human Resources department a call and file a complaint or what have you. I must warn you though, it won't end pretty either way. At Wal-mart we have what they call the "Open Door Policy" which gives us the ability to go over anyone's head to the next level of management, or straight to corporate, without retaliation. I'll be the first to say it doesn't quite work as well as it should. If she receives the promotion she'll still have to deal with him, and if he finds out he'll be rather jaded. Just something to think about.

Hope it works out for the best, and thank you for your service. =)

 

[sracatback]

A good husband would give her the tools to deal with it herself. Especially one in the military who can get deployed or worse.

The suggestion for you to stay out of it, was for you not to be the one that deals with her employer. That will do no one any good.

Anyway, sorry to hear about the situation. We have all been in a crappy spot at one time or another. As for me, I learned to stand up for myself when I was 18 and in the same boat.

doing the best i can on this. i stopped myself from talking directly to her employer. she can handle that part. it's been difficult due to her inexperience in the real world. I have been screwed over in jobs that i've had and i know how it is. I'm just trying to let her deal with it while trying to make sure it gets done. She gets confused in these situations and needs all the help she can get. We were blind sided by this one. all the other stuff that would cause problems during a deployment or worse is covered.

 

[XD-9Guy]

I worked in various sales and retail positions all the way through college and time off at Christmas doesn't exist, especially 2 weeks worth. Anyone that told her that was going to happen was deliberately lying or ignorant of how the business works.

I quit my job at FootAction twice and and Wal-Mart 3 times to go be with family for Christmas. But I showed up on time and worked hard during the rest of the year and they were hungry for employees then, so I was always offered my old job when I talked to my managers. My manager once called me a di**head for putting him in that position, but he still gave me my job back. In this economy she may not be in the same position. If she can get something else lined up I'd say quit it - my family has always come before my career. If it's the difference between paying bills or not - then you have to take care of immediate family first... bite the bullet, work the holidays and get the DM to put her promotion in writing with an effective start date, preferably a retroactive date.