When I began working at MBS I was a Temp employee working the winter break. The first problem I had was that I started working during a time they call a 'blackout' period where NO ONE is allowed to request days off. This meant I was told I could not get any time off around Christmas, so I got to spend my holiday away from my family. Mandatory overtime was in full swing and we worked 6 days a week. This did not surprise me since I was new. I figured this would be the case for all new hires, but I was amazed to find out that employees who had been there for 5+ years were not even permitted time off. My experiences with my coworkers were the best part of my time spent there. Without sounding too negative about this place I do want to explain my situation so that others know I am not just trying to hurt their ratings. I truly believe this place mistreats their employees.
Soon after the busy season was over I was asked to hire on to a permanent employee because my speed and accuracy ratings were exemplary. I needed a job through the semester at school so I accepted. I worked part time from 3-7 and had a good time through May/June. My ratings kept rising and I was receiving great reviews from my supervisors. I longed for more responsibility however. After graduation I was asked what my short-term/long-term goals were about staying with MBS. I told my supervisor that I just graduated and was looking for a job (who wouldn't be.) This lead them to tell me I would be passed then for a good promotion, which I was fine with since I had the hopes I was leaving soon. After a few months I switched to full time, working 3-11 since I had just moved in with my girlfriend and needed more income. I still had no luck finding new jobs related to my degree. More promotions were being handed out to other employees, I was never asked what my plans still were. The busy season of summer started up and it was beginning to wear on my relationship outside of work (since my schedule was 3-11, and hers was regular 1st shift. Meaning we never saw each other.) I asked my warehouse manager if it would be possible to switch to first shift after busy season and they had said it would be fine since I showed I was willing to work 2nd shift through the busy season. in August when the busy season was over I arranged a meeting and asked if we could have a conversation about getting on board with first shift, during which my manager assured me he would get a hold of the supervisors there to get me a spot, telling me he knew first hand how he knew it was hard to work opposite schedules. I figured this to be a good sign since I had no complaints against me, continued to show great performance on duty, and also waited out the busy season of the year. 4 weeks later I was led to assume they never intended to send any request and when I finally asked about the email he was supposed to have sent I was told there was no room and there was no reason to send an email because I wasn't going to be transferred. Would have been nice to know that instead of being fed empty promises. I soon applied for jobs internally to move to the offices as I had heard they frequently hire from the warehouse staff. After several interviews I wasn't offered a job, and I found out that pure time spent with the company meant more than possessing any type of higher educational degree when other employees were hired from the warehouse who had MORE experience inside the warehouse but LESS education than I had.
As for the promotions happening around me:
I was watching new employees get hired in and immediately began training for positions higher than what I was. Some of these employees couldn't handle the overload of information being thrown at them so they declined further training and accepted the position I was in. Now it was about 6 months since I graduated and I had no luck with a new job so I went to my manager to ask why I wasn't being asked to take more responsibility. When I brought this up I was told that I had been at the top of the list for multiple positions and was passed on because they didn't know what my long term plans were. Hmm, why hadn't they asked me instead of wasting time training new employees with no experience? So I decided to tell him I was having no luck and it "looked like I would be staying for a little while longer, and since I'm not allowed to move to days, I might as well be utilized while I'm on nights"
Within a week I was approached about a promotion, getting promised I would get a $0.50/hr raise. I accepted.
After the second paycheck when I did not see a raise to my pay I brought it up with my new supervisor who told me he would talk to the manager to make sure it was on my next check. Things continued as normal, learning a new role passed the time quickly.
After the third pay period (6 weeks) doing my new job I still had no raise and my supervisor told me the manager was "not going to give me one, and wait a month or so to see if I would still like doing the new job" or stay at the company in general.. something like that.
I was still performing this new high responsibility role though... for 6 weeks! The promise of a raise dangled in front of me like some cartoon.
The next week I was surprised to receive an interview and a contingent offer of employment by a company I hadn't even applied for. (I had not applied for any jobs in the past 3 months.) The company called my supervisors for a reference check and all hell broke loose for me. I was scolded for applying for a new job, and there for I "would not be receiving any raise, since you did this to yourself."
Can you really blame me for wanting a new job??
After it was all said and done I did not receive any back pay for the 2 months I spent at my new position, though I was promised by two managers I would get it. I was told by both of them that I was making a mistake by leaving and that the company tries hard to make you feel valued if I stayed. For the life of me I cannot understand the logic with that, wouldn't you want to keep employees with great work ethic, high efficiency, and cross trained to pick up anywhere that needed help? And in order to keep these employees, shouldn't you make them offers to make them WANT to stay (benefits, increase pay etc..) instead of dangling those things as 'maybes' if you stay?
I found out through talking to other employees that this treatment happens to ALL of them. Even employees who have been there 15 years or more! There is no working your way up through the seniority ladder, my requests had as much weight as my co-workers who were in their 17th year with the company. Management takes this approach: if we ignore your requests, you will eventually stop asking and forget about it.
I was incredibly lucky to leave that company when I did. I met a lot of incredibly hard working and honest people there and wish them all the best. It is the treatment toward those hard working employees that will forever leave a sour taste in my mouth.
I will resoundingly tell people not to work here if they can avoid it. And if they can't I sincerely hope they only are there a few short months.
It might be better working in the offices. But the warehouse workers are treated as replaceable parts of a machine. Steer clear folks.
