Home Depot Employment

[wayfast1500]

Hey guys, I currently work for Home depot in NH.  Saturday I was pulled into the office after I was off the clock.  The management knew I was on my own time and I already finished my shift.  They wanted to discuss a issue that took place in febuary, it was not anything major they were not doing a investigation so why there was a few months between the issue and when they decided to discuss it I have no idea.  I was told they would adjust the time I was in there so I would be paid for it, but they never did.  From what I have read from other employees across the country contacting the headquarters in Atlanta about issues like this will just get you fired.  Anyone have any experience with anything like this?  I was thinking about calling the labor board, but Im not sure they can do anything.  Im sure no matter who I contact they will just deny it happened and I have no way of proving it happened off the clock.  For anyone concidering Home Depot as employment they have been ranked in the top 5 worst companies to work for, Ive been there for 3 years now and agree with that.  Im not a disgruntled employee by anymeans Im just getting tired of the games they play.

[A383Wing]

Exactly how much time did you spend in the office?

[ChgrSteve67]

Does HD have a HR department you can talk to about the incident?

If you are afraid you will lose your job if you talk to anyone about it I would just document the incident and the people that were there and time spent and keep quiet about it.

Better to be pissed off and have a job than to be unemployed.

Also its easier to get a new job while you have a job.

[skip68]

I would give a company a few minutes (15) on my time.  

[wayfast1500]

I was in there about 20 minutes, and they got rid of the HR.  They only have district HR and their pretty useless.

[Smokey Bear]

You've haven't screwed off for 20 minutes in the last three years? This is not a big deal. Let it go. Employers don't like employees who only "take" and never "give".

[A383Wing]

Yea...don't take a chance of getting fired for 20 minutes out of your life..it ain't worth it in this economy..

Be thankful you at least have a job

[wayfast1500]

That is true.

[ACUDANUT]

 Shoot, I give about 20 mins of free time everyday at work.

[Daytona R/T SE]

Just go bang one of the check out girls in the parking lot and forget all about

"The incident"

[Todd Wilson]

Just go bang one of the check out girls in the parking lot and forget all about

"The incident"

Yeah!!!!!!!!


Todd

[Marck]

It's 20 minutes, just let it go.. I can see the principle of the matter, but if you risk getting fired, then I can't see the importance at all...

My   

[wayfast1500]

I was sat down because they had a written statement saying I went over 5 minutes on a break.  I don't care about the 20 minutes worth of pay, I was kind of hoping them doing it off the clock would get something so rediculous thrown out.  I don't see why they would take 2 months to wait on such a small issue then have it be so urgent that they couldn't wait until I was working again. Customers catch me all the time after I'm off the clock and I'll still help them within reason.

[BrianShaughnessy]

WTF?   You work at home depot?    But you're not a).  Old retired guy or b). single mom   

[Cooter]

I've found that the worse the economy gets, the more the employers figure they can take advantage of their employees...Not saying you were taken advantage of, but I experience this everyday..I was even told when I "Should" take a sh*t at work...I was told that Even though I'm the first one there and usually the last to leave, I was not performing up to "My potential"..I've seen POS people that clearly don't give two rats asses whether or not they keep their job, won't show up on time if their lives depnded on it, get respect and I get sh*t on..I once read an employers "Handbook" on "Management"...It CLEARLY stated that do not worry about the worker that is there everyday, as he/she will ALWAYS be there and to focus your attn. on the employee that comes in late and try to "Mold" him/her into the employee you wish them to be..So, Basically, it was telling the management to sh*t on the good employees cause you can and to Cradle the ones that aren't worth two pinches of puppy sh*t....Now, I swore I'd never work on Commission ever again,. but yet here I am..My pay was cut By the hour $286.00 PER WEEK!
Now, with all this said, It really doesn't matter how long you've been on a job, how good you are, how dedicated you are, you WILL BE sh*t on by the company you work for it's just a matter of time and how badly....At some point you have to ask yourself if having a job is more important or simply Walking out..I swore I'd never be that guy that is vindictive enough to pull some underhanded sh*t, but the more I live and see employers taking advantage of their employees, the more I understand it. Not telling you to do this, I'm just telling you what helps me to deal....

I once sabataged a fellow co-workers cars engine after they tried to get me fired, I have sugar'd fuel tanks, etc..When an employers backs you up against the wall, sometimes you have no choice....

[Troy]

Yeah, those employers are always expecting too much...

It's always good to recognize the difference between the company itself and management. Companies exist to make money - not to make friends or pay your paycheck. Management is (typically) interested in self promotion - and sometimes to make the company money (if their pay is performance based). Be wary of salaried managers with no/poor incentive packages.

Something I've always found useful: The Peter Principle is the principle that "In a Hierarchy Every Employee Tends to Rise to His Level of Incompetence."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Principle

Especially relevant to middle management.

I love it when people work at a non-skilled job (usually with high turnover) and complain about how they are treated. I'd bet that 90% of the employees in those jobs are useless and management needs a warm body standing there to keep the business open. They cannot offer incentives to keep good workers as it's such a rare occurrence that there's no precedence. I learned this first hand in the restaurant industry. When you get to a job where your performance means real gains for the company you'll be amazed at how attitudes change. If they don't, that company isn't where you want to be. Of course, in that situation, your (poor) performance can seriously hurt the company's bottom line so they are less forgiving.

When I was in college I refused to take any course where attendance was mandatory. My reasoning was that, if the instructor had anything useful to teach me I'd go out of my way to be in class. The threats meant I'd be bored and learn nothing so I'd be wasting my time. Had I gone to those classes I'd probably waste even more time complaining about how bad the instructor was. I sort of look at jobs the same way. If I'm an asset to the company they will forgive my shortcomings and I will try even harder to be a good employee (doesn't necessarily mean follow all the rules in the handbook). If the manager spends all his time measuring my performance by the book (not by real gains the company sees due to my employment) then they are either out of their element or I'm not doing a good enough job at maximizing my potential. Time to move on. Staying the course will only end badly for both parties.

In this case, I'd be ticked that 2 months later someone is worrying about a long break. If you take long breaks every day then that's another matter. The manager should have said something immediately and then dropped it. I once worked a job where, no matter how hard I tried, I was 3-5 minutes late every single day. Not some days or most days - every day. I carpooled with a friend so that made it doubly bad. This company had a points system so you got tagged for every "occurrence". My boss spent months fudging the numbers to help us out because (in his words) we did more before lunch than anybody else did all day. Plus we stayed late and bailed him out on weekends when things needed done. In the end, the complaints from others about our "special treatment" got us a suspension and we found different jobs instead of going back. The funny thing is, our jobs depended on a machine running that took 15 minutes for the operator to set up so, even being late, we stood there for at least 10 minutes every morning (nothing to clean either because we did that at the end of the shift).

The best advice I can give is to keep track of all the things you like and dislike about jobs and learn to recognize the type of company that you like to work for. (To do that you need more than 1 job of course.) Steer your career in the direction that offers the you the best "fit". I think this is what high school guidance counselors are trying to help you figure out but, with no previous experience, it doesn't make a lot of sense.

Oh yeah, anyone who messes with my "stuff" because they don't like me personally is a useless coward. Typically the fallout/revenge is much worse than whatever caused the initial act. Respect for other people's property seems to be dead.

Troy

[chargerboy69]

Just go bang one of the check out girls in the parking lot and forget all about

"The incident"

Or you could nail your bosses smokin hot daughter.

[bull]

I was sat down because they had a written statement saying I went over 5 minutes on a break.  I don't care about the 20 minutes worth of pay, I was kind of hoping them doing it off the clock would get something so rediculous thrown out.  I don't see why they would take 2 months to wait on such a small issue then have it be so urgent that they couldn't wait until I was working again. Customers catch me all the time after I'm off the clock and I'll still help them within reason.

So you got a 20-minute talking to because you were in trouble for going five minutes over on a break? Sounds like you made up 1/4 of that time already. If you've gone five minutes over three other times you and HD are even.

I once sabataged a fellow co-workers cars engine after they tried to get me fired, I have sugar'd fuel tanks, etc..When an employers backs you up against the wall, sometimes you have no choice....

Really? That certainly sounds like the right way to handle your problems at work.

[moparsons]

I thought it sounded like the perfect way to recieve a big frosty mug of whoop ass   

[Cooter]

Really? That certainly sounds like the right way to handle your problems at work.

You can say what you like Bull, but you know you've been in those situations as well as the next guy..You fu*k with me where I can't f*ck with you back, and I will get even, ESPECIALLY if it involves my money....
Everybody has been to the point to where they did some things they weren't exactly Proud of, but it sure did make you feel better. People say grudges aren't Healthy, well, I can say that if it takes me years, you do me wrong, it will come back around and I will have my day...You might not know it was me, but I will know it was and that's enough for me..

[nh_mopar_fan]

Yeah, those employers are always expecting too much...

It's always good to recognize the difference between the company itself and management. Companies exist to make money - not to make friends or pay your paycheck. Management is (typically) interested in self promotion - and sometimes to make the company money (if their pay is performance based). Be wary of salaried managers with no/poor incentive packages.

Something I've always found useful: The Peter Principle is the principle that "In a Hierarchy Every Employee Tends to Rise to His Level of Incompetence."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Principle

Especially relevant to middle management.

I love it when people work at a non-skilled job (usually with high turnover) and complain about how they are treated. I'd bet that 90% of the employees in those jobs are useless and management needs a warm body standing there to keep the business open. They cannot offer incentives to keep good workers as it's such a rare occurrence that there's no precedence. I learned this first hand in the restaurant industry. When you get to a job where your performance means real gains for the company you'll be amazed at how attitudes change. If they don't, that company isn't where you want to be. Of course, in that situation, your (poor) performance can seriously hurt the company's bottom line so they are less forgiving.

When I was in college I refused to take any course where attendance was mandatory. My reasoning was that, if the instructor had anything useful to teach me I'd go out of my way to be in class. The threats meant I'd be bored and learn nothing so I'd be wasting my time. Had I gone to those classes I'd probably waste even more time complaining about how bad the instructor was. I sort of look at jobs the same way. If I'm an asset to the company they will forgive my shortcomings and I will try even harder to be a good employee (doesn't necessarily mean follow all the rules in the handbook). If the manager spends all his time measuring my performance by the book (not by real gains the company sees due to my employment) then they are either out of their element or I'm not doing a good enough job at maximizing my potential. Time to move on. Staying the course will only end badly for both parties.

In this case, I'd be ticked that 2 months later someone is worrying about a long break. If you take long breaks every day then that's another matter. The manager should have said something immediately and then dropped it. I once worked a job where, no matter how hard I tried, I was 3-5 minutes late every single day. Not some days or most days - every day. I carpooled with a friend so that made it doubly bad. This company had a points system so you got tagged for every "occurrence". My boss spent months fudging the numbers to help us out because (in his words) we did more before lunch than anybody else did all day. Plus we stayed late and bailed him out on weekends when things needed done. In the end, the complaints from others about our "special treatment" got us a suspension and we found different jobs instead of going back. The funny thing is, our jobs depended on a machine running that took 15 minutes for the operator to set up so, even being late, we stood there for at least 10 minutes every morning (nothing to clean either because we did that at the end of the shift).

The best advice I can give is to keep track of all the things you like and dislike about jobs and learn to recognize the type of company that you like to work for. (To do that you need more than 1 job of course.) Steer your career in the direction that offers the you the best "fit". I think this is what high school guidance counselors are trying to help you figure out but, with no previous experience, it doesn't make a lot of sense.

Oh yeah, anyone who messes with my "stuff" because they don't like me personally is a useless coward. Typically the fallout/revenge is much worse than whatever caused the initial act. Respect for other people's property seems to be dead.

Troy

Amen brother on all of the above.

When I had my business I quickly learned that your employees will RUN YOU if you give them an inch. My rules were strict, fair and applied equally to all. Those that had an issue with them didn't last long. The first year, I had a dozen full-time employees and had close to 100 W2 to mail out. I went through a lot of deadwood to find the people that wanted to come in every day and do a good job. Those people are like gold and I did what I could to retain them.

I also learned the hard way that, when dealing with entry level employees, 90% of the time enticements and rewards really had zero effect on attitude or behavior. I used to offer a daily bonus for showing up every day. Basically, it raised their hourly rate for the entire week by $2.00/hr just by showing up every day. I still couldn't get some to show every day. Then, when the paycheck came, they complained that they didn't make enough money. Some would call in and say they couldn't make it in because they "had things going on". WTF does that mean? Some didn't even bother calling in. The next day they walked in as if nothing had happened. I walked them to the door. Told them up front, the first time you do not show and do not call, you've worked your last day. Some of these losers would then go apply for unemployment which, if granted, would drive up my contribution %. I appealed every single one and won every single one.

Sold the business a few years ago for a tidy little sum and never looked back. It was a real learing experience.

[wayfast1500]

WTF?   You work at home depot?    But you're not a).  Old retired guy or b). single mom   

It was one  of the best paying part time jobs I could find to get me through high school. I've always put in 110%, never late, go in when called in ect, no customer complaints I've had numerous customers compliment me to my boss.  They switched management about a year ago and it got real corrupt.  They started a lot of performance punishment.  I have a few interviews comming up for some welding jobs which is what my degree is in so I should be out of there soon.

[PocketThunder]

Hey that reminds me.  Remember the women of home depot story in that one magazine a few years back.   i cant quite remember which one it was at the moment..      http://money.cnn.com/2004/07/06/news/newsmakers/homedepot_playboy/

[ChgrSteve67]

They don't look like this at my home depot.



I would work some overtime for free.   

[wayfast1500]

If they looked like that at mine this topic wouldn't have started lol.