Marla did her share of register running when she was assistant. Josh needs to learn that retail management isn’t all office sitting paper pushing number crunching. The best managers I’ve had were working on the floor with the rest of us.
Managers who have worked their way up to the position have already done more than their fair share of register running, zoning, facing, returns, etc. They have earned the right to pass these tasks on to assistants, supervisors, and other employees.
The ones hired fresh out of college when the ink on the degree hasn’t dried yet…that’s a different story.
Our old top manager used to get out of these jobs whenever he could, but our current one would be down in a jiffy. Even our Chief of Operations would chip in if he saw us in over our heads.
I know, I was just saying that in support of your point. I’ve had managers like Josh before, but I’ve had more managers (thank the stars) like Marla.
And now the fun begins… let’s just wait and see how quickly Josh adjusts to Marla’s way of thinking. Maybe he’ll realize that they need to hire more people to run registers and since Stuart will listen to him…
It doesn’t matter. Both Stuart and Josh are corporate cogs who believe in getting the most out of the least amount of people. Like the boss in Blondie, or 9 to 5, they are both oblivious of the human element.
There was once an efficiency expert brought into Fox Trot who suggested to the father that his office have people type on an extra keyboard with their feet so that they could lay off more people.
Same story in my local Safeway. At 10 pm, they close all the automated registers (6 of them) and have a long line of people with a handful of items or a huge wagon full and only one register left with a human to run it. If it is stupid or doesn’t work, management must do it. No wonder retail is hurting in this country.
Then again, it is also a bad thing to have only the self checkouts open. I operate them and after 10PM for 2 hours I am the only thing open and I have to sign my register numbers into the self checkout, so I can not open a register. There are certain types of orders ($300 plus or WIC) that are easier on a register.
Then there are people who should never under any circumstances be allowed near my self-checkout machines due to the fact that they can’t read basic English or Spanish (we have both on there) enough to figure out what the machine is telling them.
Like the guy who insists on putting his own plastic bags on the machine (adding extra weight we use the scale system version) and it tells him to remove the last item, if he would just press “use my bags” first I wouldn’t have to fix him for his seven orders. He is a coupon guy and even though all the orders are different he still wants his coupons to be rung though in a certain way.
Then there’s the lady who will come to self-checkout during the hours we have cashiers open and curse at the machine and everyone around her, then at me if I am helping someone else who asked for my help first. I tried to get the office people to kick her out, their solution? appeasement. My solution now? I see her coming I call the one that appeased her down to self-checkout.
I think the primary issue with having automated checkouts available at late night hours is down time. When that one cashier has no customers he/she’s often down an aisle putting freight away or facing or some such thing. With self-checkout they typically have someone overseeing it, but that person can’t really walk away for any amount of time and have people just using it without them there. Ultimately I think the reasoning is that it might lead to confusion if they walked up to the self-checkout that was “open” and had to wait for someone to come up to unlock it to let them check out.
Remember, guys, Marla is running the store now. Stuart only has limited power over the day-to-day stuff as DM – if Marla is doing an efficient job, there’s not a whole lot he can (aside from simply making Marla miserable, of course). Josh is also relatively powerless, unless he continues quoting the policy handbook, which will only make Marla angry – Josh isn’t an idiot, nor is he quite Stuart, yet; he just might get on the bandwagon.
Short story long, the only thing that either Stuart or Josh can do is make Marla miserable, for the moment.
That’s overly optimistic at best. One of the reasons people who get promoted frequently get moved is that they and the people at their stores may have a difficult time behaving like they’ve actually moved up the ladder.
In other words, Stuart is probably going to have a hard time imagining that he isn’t still in charge of the store since he still works there and is now manager of the entire district.
I can’t say Josh will ever go “On the Bandwagon”, especially since a strip like this needs some source of conflict. But Josh is at least going to get some dose of reality right now…After all, Marla’s making him do nothing that SHE didn’t do when SHE was assistant, and frankly, should be expected to do….
I think one point that could be made here is that unlike Stuart, Marla won’t expect Josh to do EVERYTHING, which is what Stuart pretty much did to Marla.
I’m not surprised that Josh is grumbling about a “not very managerial position” It’s obvious that Stuart has “spoiled” him during Marla’s absence, and is now chafing over now being in a more subordinate position than he was than when Stuart was around. Even so, he’s lucky that at least Marla should be fairer to him than Stuart was to Marla.
That’s right. Many times Marla was behind a register in which no one but the other employees knew she was a manager. How many times did we see Stuart behind a register? Never.
I Remember a freight after inventory and we had stacks out the door, our Regional Manager took off his tie and went to work on freight.. and stayed until it was done.
hee hee hee
First rule of management: Never demand that a subordinate do something you’re not willing to do/haven’t done yourself.
To be fair, Marla has picked up quite a bit of slack if the store is understaffed. It is what both ass. managers and managers do.
Marla did her share of register running when she was assistant. Josh needs to learn that retail management isn’t all office sitting paper pushing number crunching. The best managers I’ve had were working on the floor with the rest of us.
Managers who have worked their way up to the position have already done more than their fair share of register running, zoning, facing, returns, etc. They have earned the right to pass these tasks on to assistants, supervisors, and other employees.
The ones hired fresh out of college when the ink on the degree hasn’t dried yet…that’s a different story.
Our old top manager used to get out of these jobs whenever he could, but our current one would be down in a jiffy. Even our Chief of Operations would chip in if he saw us in over our heads.
I was talking about Josh, not Marla…
I know, I was just saying that in support of your point. I’ve had managers like Josh before, but I’ve had more managers (thank the stars) like Marla.
And now the fun begins… let’s just wait and see how quickly Josh adjusts to Marla’s way of thinking. Maybe he’ll realize that they need to hire more people to run registers and since Stuart will listen to him…
This could get very interesting.
“Maybe he’ll realize that they need to hire more people to run registers and since Stuart will listen to him…”
…hahahaha! Oh, you optimistic person you!
Wouldn’t this last panel looked better with Marla speaking with just a slight hint of a smile?
I think there was a slight hint of a smile, but she’s trying to restrain herself. Marla has too much class to rub it into Josh..YET.
It doesn’t matter. Both Stuart and Josh are corporate cogs who believe in getting the most out of the least amount of people. Like the boss in Blondie, or 9 to 5, they are both oblivious of the human element.
There was once an efficiency expert brought into Fox Trot who suggested to the father that his office have people type on an extra keyboard with their feet so that they could lay off more people.
Same story in my local Safeway. At 10 pm, they close all the automated registers (6 of them) and have a long line of people with a handful of items or a huge wagon full and only one register left with a human to run it. If it is stupid or doesn’t work, management must do it. No wonder retail is hurting in this country.
Yeah, I REALLY don’t get that on the automated registers. I mean, it seems like that is the best time to use those things.
Then again, it is also a bad thing to have only the self checkouts open. I operate them and after 10PM for 2 hours I am the only thing open and I have to sign my register numbers into the self checkout, so I can not open a register. There are certain types of orders ($300 plus or WIC) that are easier on a register.
Then there are people who should never under any circumstances be allowed near my self-checkout machines due to the fact that they can’t read basic English or Spanish (we have both on there) enough to figure out what the machine is telling them.
Like the guy who insists on putting his own plastic bags on the machine (adding extra weight we use the scale system version) and it tells him to remove the last item, if he would just press “use my bags” first I wouldn’t have to fix him for his seven orders. He is a coupon guy and even though all the orders are different he still wants his coupons to be rung though in a certain way.
Then there’s the lady who will come to self-checkout during the hours we have cashiers open and curse at the machine and everyone around her, then at me if I am helping someone else who asked for my help first. I tried to get the office people to kick her out, their solution? appeasement. My solution now? I see her coming I call the one that appeased her down to self-checkout.
I think the primary issue with having automated checkouts available at late night hours is down time. When that one cashier has no customers he/she’s often down an aisle putting freight away or facing or some such thing. With self-checkout they typically have someone overseeing it, but that person can’t really walk away for any amount of time and have people just using it without them there. Ultimately I think the reasoning is that it might lead to confusion if they walked up to the self-checkout that was “open” and had to wait for someone to come up to unlock it to let them check out.
Just found this one where Marla was using a self-checkout and the machine goes crazy on her.
http://retailcomic.com/comics/august-12-2007/
Remember, guys, Marla is running the store now. Stuart only has limited power over the day-to-day stuff as DM – if Marla is doing an efficient job, there’s not a whole lot he can (aside from simply making Marla miserable, of course). Josh is also relatively powerless, unless he continues quoting the policy handbook, which will only make Marla angry – Josh isn’t an idiot, nor is he quite Stuart, yet; he just might get on the bandwagon.
Short story long, the only thing that either Stuart or Josh can do is make Marla miserable, for the moment.
That’s overly optimistic at best. One of the reasons people who get promoted frequently get moved is that they and the people at their stores may have a difficult time behaving like they’ve actually moved up the ladder.
In other words, Stuart is probably going to have a hard time imagining that he isn’t still in charge of the store since he still works there and is now manager of the entire district.
I can’t say Josh will ever go “On the Bandwagon”, especially since a strip like this needs some source of conflict. But Josh is at least going to get some dose of reality right now…After all, Marla’s making him do nothing that SHE didn’t do when SHE was assistant, and frankly, should be expected to do….
I think one point that could be made here is that unlike Stuart, Marla won’t expect Josh to do EVERYTHING, which is what Stuart pretty much did to Marla.
I’m not surprised that Josh is grumbling about a “not very managerial position” It’s obvious that Stuart has “spoiled” him during Marla’s absence, and is now chafing over now being in a more subordinate position than he was than when Stuart was around. Even so, he’s lucky that at least Marla should be fairer to him than Stuart was to Marla.
That’s right. Many times Marla was behind a register in which no one but the other employees knew she was a manager. How many times did we see Stuart behind a register? Never.
Well, once, if I recall — he was in the teen’s section ca. mid-2007.
…and it was a beautiful (and funny) thing.
Mid-2006 actually. And yes it was quite a funny series of strips.
http://retailcomic.com/comics/august-28-2006/
I Remember a freight after inventory and we had stacks out the door, our Regional Manager took off his tie and went to work on freight.. and stayed until it was done.
For those who forgot or did not know, Marla was the one that hired Josh originally as a seasonal worker. http://retailcomic.com/comics/august-12-2007/
crap I meant http://retailcomic.com/comics/october-4-2007/
damn double clipboard on linux.