Quote:
Originally Posted by Theliberalvoice
Hey guys,
I am writing here because I need some guidance. I lost my job at Target after working there for about a year. I got fired because I rang myself for gum during break.
I honestly did not know it was wrong when I did it. I thought that it would be no big deal since they got their money. But anyways, I walked into work last week and they called me to the office and told me I was fired for ringing myself up to the total of around $320 dollars.
The thing is I only rang myself up for gum couple times. I never rang up stuff up to $300 dollars. I only bought gum. I offered to show them my credit card statement (I never carry cash) to prove I never rang up $300 dollars worth of stuff. She said "It is against company policy...you must leave."
I told her "I am sorry..it will never happen again. I honestly did not know." The boss told me I had to go anyways. I got really confused because:
1) I have NEVER been written up before at Target for the whole year I worked there. I was never disciplined even once.
2) I was a top performance worker. They grade you at the register and my score was ALWAYS 100 percent
3) I got people to sign up for their Target Credit Card more than other people in the store
4) I was cross trained in all departments
5) I know I was not a bad worker. I was getting 30ish hours.
6) I fail to understand why they could not have given me a warning. I have NEVER created any problems for them. I was always happy to assist guests. I called off only ONCE in the year I worked for them. I came in on days when I very sick and they even had to send me home and thanked me for coming in even though I was sick. I was hardly ever late. I have never been over 10 minutes late although I always was on time.
7) I am sorry for getting all ventful on here but this is the first time I got fired. I have been working since I was 15 and now I am 21. I am a hard worker and have never been fired. In fact when I quit my previous jobs, the managers have always told me I can go back whenever. There was always a spot for me. I have awards from Burger King and Target (Places I worked).
8) I also want to talk about the fact that other coworkers I know have been written up at least 1 or 2 times before they were fired. I remember one coworker Michelle** told me she had a feeling she was going to be fired. She was written up 4 or 5 times. I did not even have ONE write up.
9) I asked if I am would be able to get unemployment benefits. They said "maybe" but if I got fired, I don't think I get it, right? I feel so terrible. I am a college student who used this money for lunch and gas to get to school.
10) Also, my coworker called me and told me that everyone at Target now knows I was fired. I thought management was supposed to keep it quiet? I thought I was guaranteed confidentiality?
Can someone PLEASE explain to this girl?!?!?
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Since someone bumped this in the last few months, I will chime in; I doubt that the OP will read it, but I will anyway. I will address the issue in parts; I have read the thread; therefore, I will respond accordingly, using reference from later posts. You will not like what I write, as will few of you, since many of you use emotion, as opposed to logic. The problem here, is that the concept of personal responsibility has escape our society. The paradigm has shifted from personal responsibility and accountability, to excuses and blame.
1) You were never disciplined, until you were caught violating a code of conduct. Prior behavior has zero bearing when an offense is committed that should be regarded as behavior requiring automatic termination. I have worked retail, and I have worked at Target; you would be fired at any retail place.
2) You may have been productive, but you were not a "top performer"; top performers do not intentionally violate code of conducts. First of all, employees are not supposed to be on a register during break. Secondly, you stated that you understood that it was not acceptable to ring family members; ergo, common sense dictates that ringing your own transaction is even more unacceptable. Based on what you have stated, I do not believe that you were ignorant of the rules. I believe that you knew the rules; did it anyway, and thought that it wasn't a big deal since you "only rang yourself up for a pack of gum twice while on break". You were caught, and therefore, were fired. The $300 is not relevant; this is a merely a weak attempt to coverup your mistake and be reinstated. Merely ringing your own transaction is enough for termination without warning; I am not sure why Target would need to add anything else. I have been a supervisor, and I have worked retail; this is not acceptable anywhere. I would have fired you as well. Use common sense; take responsibility, and move on; do not blame anyone else. There is no warning for that type of behavior.
Also, I call BS on your ALWAYS 100% at the register. I worked as a cashier at Target; when a customer writes a check, or forgets their pin number, you get an "Red" rating. If the customer decides to void an item, you get a "red" rating. Unless you are perfect, your production will not receive a "Green" rating all of the time. Obviously, you are not perfect, nor is anyone else. Unless your store had some lenient grading system, I am calling BS. Our top employee averaged a 95%; I averaged a 93.6%.
3) You got "more people to sign up for their Target Credit Card more than other people in the store"; good for you, you were not the worst at selling it. I do not know you; I assume that you were meaning that you were one of the top sellers. I was OK at it, but I didn't suck. Anyone can claim anything online. Again, this has zero to do with your behavior.
4) It is great that you were cross-trained; I know many who were cross-trained and promoted to supervisor......and were fired with cause.
5) Bad workers can get 30+ hours. If you are in a protected group, or if you are full-time, you can receive hours, even with poor job performance. Most employees who see their hours being reduced are ones who fail to show up to work consistently.
6) This was a major offense; regardless of how small the transactions allegedly were. Therefore, you deserved to be terminated without warning. If a manager allows you to do it, then he has to allow everyone to do it. I know people who were fired for the same reason. "You never were more than 10 minutes late, but you were always on time". Target has a five minute grace period before you are considered late; ergo, if you were "not more than 10 minutes late" you were not on time. You cannot be ALWAYS on time, yet "not be more than 10 minutes late". It's impossible. Color me suspicious on your claims.
7) I am older than you, and I have NEVER been fired, though I was close. I found a glitch in the system, where someone could log in as someone else without knowing the password. Hopefully, this is the ONLY time you are fired.
8) How do you know that other people are being written up? You never revealed the reasons for them being written up. Certain offenses are less serious than others. You know this. A written warning is different from any other disciplinary action (some are seen as "counsels"). A counsel or an informal "write-up" is a warning; A written warning is serious, and for the most serious offenses, immediate termination is appropriate.
9) If you got fired with cause, most states will not allow you to receive unemployment. I do not believe that you deserve unemployment; this is taking from the taxpayers who work and FOLLOW THE GUIDELINES, something that you failed to do. The company will likely not fight it, but if they do, you do not have a case.....at all.
10) People are fired for many reasons. It does not take long for the word to spread; generally, people who are fired are found out very quickly. If you were fired, chances are, you went to the office while on the clock, and then suddenly left. People are going to know that you either quit, or were fired. There were managers who were fired, and people found out, and everyone knew. No manager or leader has to say anything; if you are fired, people are going to know. I doubt that your store manager who fired you said anything; someone else did, and word spread. Besides, if you were fired with cause (like you were), then you deserve the consequences, and one consequence is that everyone knows. I worked retail for years; everyone knew when someone was fired. The managers said nothing.
As for the $300, I honestly do not know what to believe; I found some untruths to your claims; ergo, I find it difficult to believe you. If they made a mistake, they did, but regardless, you were fired, and fired with cause. Try that at Burger King, and see if you keep your job. It sucks that you got fired; however, I believe that you knew, and you were caught. Take responsibility, and use caution when you take an action. If you have to think twice, chances are, you should not take that action.
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