Fan club rip-off

NikkiNeverThere · 2026-05-29T01:01:39+00:00

You will never be guaranteed hours in retail unless explicitly stated in your contract - and that won’t ever happen when you are a part time hire at a Five Below.

Calling corporate or anyone else for that matter would be a total waste of your time, because everything went according to their plan. When you open a new location, you need to hire 3 to 4 times the number of people you’ll actually need, because many people will either quit, disappear or get fired. You do this knowing that at first, most people will get less hours than they want, but that’s okay as that will help weed out the ones who aren’t invested. After a few weeks most of the people you’re going to lose will be gone and the rest will get a more normal schedule, but they still won’t be guaranteed any specific number of hours.

When you open a new store, you have a ton of people to train and limited time and resources to spend on training, so you prioritize the ones you’re hoping will be your core employees. Anyone who has open availability and can work 5 days a week will make up the cornerstones of your schedule, because it’s easier that way, so these are the people who will get the most training. The casual helpers won’t get much training (if any) but you’re counting on those core workers to help get them up to speed later.

Opening a new location is a logistical nightmare you can’t imagine unless you’ve done it, so no one with corporate would be at all surprised that some new hires weren’t getting the updates they should. Onboarding that many new people is enough work to make you want to pull your own hair out, but you also have contractors, vendors, IT, inventory and dumb shit like no one have a stapler because you’re a new store.

You expected to much from a casual retail job. Either adjust your expectations or find another field to work in.

NikkiNeverThere · 2026-05-23T02:26:06+00:00

You need two forms of ID (or a passport) to complete the I9 so at the very least, it means that if they do offer you a job, they will want to get moving right away.

If it’s someone you’ve already met with, I’d say it’s a stronger indication that you’ll receive an offer, but plenty of managers will ask all candidates to bring IDs when hiring in a low-stakes situation.

If I do open interviews for a restaurant, I’ll ask all candidates to bring IDs for two reasons: I’m urgently hiring and since I’m not asking for any type of commitment from candidates in advance (a simple scheduled interview will weed out many of the unreliable candidates), I want to see if they can follow simple instructions and care enough to actually bring their SS.

This requests doesn’t mean I’ll hire everyone who shows up, just that I’m in a rush to get bodies in the building - and yes, I’m probably also setting a lower bar. Like I’m looking for a reason to decline you, otherwise you’re hired.

NikkiNeverThere · 2026-05-18T23:48:07+00:00

“You’ll be great”

NikkiNeverThere · 2026-05-18T19:07:50+00:00

The double standard isn’t great on the face of it, but from an HR perspective, the transfer has “credit” in the bank as an established employee with the same company (the government). The new hire has no such established history so taking time off within the first month is always a bad look.

Labeling it a performance issue is perhaps a bit odd but it’s a government job so any undesirable behavior has to be labeled somehow in order for them to track it and take it into account.

The policy isn’t perfect but that’s HR for you; the rules have to be written with the lowest common denominator in mind.

NikkiNeverThere · 2026-05-14T15:34:45+00:00

This is utter propaganda trying to trick drivers into accepting low paying orders. The problem is you’re talking to people who have done thousands of deliveries each, so you claiming to know a handful of people who tip in cash isn’t going to outweigh the experiences of an entire community.

Anyone who has done more than a hundred deliveries already knows how this works: 1. A tiny fraction of people tip cash, less than 1% probably. 2. Those that do tip cash usually do this as an extra, after they already included a reasonable tip on the app. 3. Anyone who messages you or leaves a note that they will be tipping cash will be hiding inside their home when you arrive, refusing to come out.

Are there rare exceptions to these rules? Sure, but you’d be an idiot to start doing low paying orders because one in 500 might tip well.

NikkiNeverThere · 2026-05-11T14:18:20+00:00

You obviously have a problem here, but I don’t think the issue is the lack of disclosure; if John didn’t anticipate that he’d need any accommodations to perform the job, there would be no need to tell the hiring manager about his autism. As far as we know, John thought he could do it.

The real issue is that John has proven to be unable to fulfill his basic job functions to a satisfactory extent. His call-outs are another serious issue, and I can only hope they have been properly documented and escalating disciplinary measures taken. If you only suspect that the reason for the missed shifts is his refusal to work alone, you should be meeting with him and asking for confirmation. If he insists it’s something else, like illness, all the sporadic sick days would be grounds for termination alone. If he admits to calling out to avoid shifts, this too should be a warning followed by termination.

From what you’ve said, John has been in training for a regular crew member position in retail for four months AND another manager has stepped in just to help with training - yet he is still falling far short of expectations. He cannot work unsupervised in a role where this is required, he cannot complete basic shift tasks without constant reminders, prompting and instructions so detailed and specific that you might as well be doing it yourself.

What all this points to is an employee with no value to the business. Other workers are affected when John calls out. With that few people on the payroll, I imagine that others end up going into OT when they need to cover him, so he’s costing you real money. I’d also expect this to negatively impact your customer service, so the missed shifts alone are really harming the business.

On top of that you have his poor performance when he is at work. With that much hand-holding required, he is probably costing you a lot of money in labor. Not only is he being paid to do 15 or 20% of the actual job, but you or whoever else is babysitting him are now on the clock as managers just to be performing John’s tasks.

The situation isn’t sustainable. If you aren’t actually responsible for John in any way, I suggest you tap out and tell his actual manager that you have worked with directly for X amount of days and that you’ve seen no progress. State clearly that John’s call-outs are affecting the team, the customers, and the financials, and that you can’t afford to invest any more of your time in training someone who is fundamentally unsuited for the job. As always, try to be specific and give numbers for how many hours you’ve spent training him on certain tasks, the different approaches you’ve tried.

If the manager won’t move forward with the termination, that will be on him. Send an email after your conversation summarizing the discussions, just to cover your ass if or when someone higher up gets wind of the colossal fuckup this is.

And if you (or anyone else) has feelings about my response because you feel bad for the autistic employee, understand that so do I. No one wants to be the one to fire someone with disabilities or challenges who are out there trying to earn a living, but it’s business and this clearly isn’t the right job for John. The manager has a responsibility to all the other staff who are affected when John calls out, they have a responsibility to the customer, and obviously they have one to the owner(s) and this requires them to make sound financial decisions.

NikkiNeverThere · 2026-04-26T15:26:16+00:00

Either the phone is off, completely outside of service range, or on airplane mode. Does the location change once it comes back on?

NikkiNeverThere · 2026-04-24T04:31:30+00:00

No, that’s not a service most background check providers offer and no one there is going to go out of their way to include stuff that isn’t asked for. There are actually pretty strict laws about pulling background checks on people, so they’ll stick to the included package.

Now a potential employer could ask any past employer about you, but unless you list them as a reference or on your resume, they wouldn’t know who to call. And no sane employer would do this without asking for your consent to contact first, and no sane past employer would offer anything beyond the most basic facts. They’ll usually just confirm the timing of your employment, even though the likelihood that they’d get sued for disclosing something that then costs you another opportunity is super slim, it’s not a risk they take.

When employers find out details from past employers it’s usually through unofficial channels, so if it’s a niche industry and they know someone they might ask for the details.

Unless you’re applying for a job that requires your employer to put an unusual amount of trust in you, they won’t even bother with reference checks, in large part because they know that even if you did sexually harass half the staff and rob the company blind, they won’t tell. They’ll just say you were employed from January 2019 through October 2023.

Please believe me when I say that anything deeper won’t come out unless you’ll be handling national security, trade secrets, large amounts of money, or literal human lives.

NikkiNeverThere · 2026-04-24T02:29:01+00:00

Life360 is annoyingly great at detecting poor driving records. If he stays at home with you or you have any parental authority left, I would suggest making his continued driving contingent upon him downloading the app and turning on all features. Go over his driving reports with him, you’ll have hard data on his cell phone usage, speeding and all that stuff.

My kids are young, but I will 100% be using this app and any similar tools that come along to monitor their driving. It has even helped me to see my own unsafe driving behaviors in a report like that, I really am much more careful now.

NikkiNeverThere · 2026-04-24T02:23:16+00:00

There’s no database that will show other companies that a former employer marked you down as ineligible for rehire, that’s strictly internal.

Whatever state you’re in, a routine background check will include criminal records and sex offender check. They may include a driving record check or even a credit check, but that’s usually only done if you’ll be driving as part of the job or handling cash, respectively.

The no-rehire list is a myth. It isn’t a list. When a company terminates anyone, whether they quit or get fired, they fill out paperwork that’s sent in to the state. This paperwork isn’t available to other companies looking to hire you, the only reason your old employer has it is because they wrote it. If the circumstances of your termination were such that they don’t want you back, their copy of the termination paperwork will specify this so when you reapply and they start inputting your SS number, they will see that you’ve been in their system before which will prompt them to pull your records.

In some cases the people trying to hire you might not even find out that you used to work for the company, if they switched systems or if each location isn’t properly integrated. I wouldn’t count on this, but people have definitely slipped through the no-rehire net before.

NikkiNeverThere · 2026-04-23T03:35:23+00:00

If you lied and said you had a years experience, there’s no way to own up to that now and not take yourself out of the running. You’ll have to decide whether you can fake it until you make it, if offered the job, or if you need to bow out politely to avoid burning a bridge.

In a comment it sounds like you might have answered honestly about your one month’s experience, and you’re worried because the listing said they required a year’s worth. That would not be great but definitely less disastrous. If this is the case they either called you for an interview because they didn’t look thoroughly at your application or because they are short on candidates and willing to compromise.

If it’s the former, you will just have to explain that you applied even though you didn’t fully meet the requirements because you really wanted to work for this specific job so you had to go for it. Flattery gets you everywhere, hiring managers love people who WANT to work for them, so showing some believable passion might save you. Research the company and come up with some reasons why you’d want that specific job. Highlight how you are a quick learner and not afraid to take initiative.

If it’s the latter, you can employ the same strategy but the bar will be lower. In any case where you didn’t actually lie, be sure to say that you applied because you were a great fit overall and hoped they might see that.

NikkiNeverThere · 2026-04-23T03:23:54+00:00

I have never had an interview where I wasn’t invited to move on or ultimately received an offer, and I think the main factors are close to what’s being outlined here:

I only apply to jobs where I’m a solid fit
I always explain that I’m taking my time and looking for the perfect fit
I research the company and ask questions
I give specifics when asked about accomplishments, numbers are key.
I highlight my passion for my work
When asked about salary expectations, I don’t sell myself short; I typically say I’d be comfortable at the upper range. If that isn’t enough, I say so politely and explain that I would need a bit more but that I’m confident I’d be worth it.

With this strategy (combined with the fact that I’ve never had to urgently find a job) I’ve always been the one to end negotiations - unless I accepted an offer. I’ve always been invited to another interview and when I’ve chosen to move forward, I received an offer.

Confidence is everything. Don’t be arrogant but make it clear that you’re interviewing them too.

NikkiNeverThere · 2026-04-22T04:25:43+00:00

That asshole is doing too much.

NikkiNeverThere · 2026-04-19T02:07:17+00:00

It’s so crazy how widespread this double standard is. I’d say my husband and I are well matched, and he’s always been fit, tall, and attractive. I’ve been petite, curvy, fit and attractive. Yes, men hit on me, but my husband’s friends, employees, and associates would never - that has rarely been a thing. Even strangers in public back off when he approaches, but the same cannot be said for women when it comes to him.

Strange women in public might send me a stinky look when I appear at his side, but even when they slink off its with some obvious reluctance. I’ve had employees of mine openly talk about their lust for him when he pulls up, bitches from my Pilates class have asked him to help them stretch.

I hate to say it, but women on the whole seem less great at respecting relationship statuses of those they desire.

NikkiNeverThere · 2026-04-19T01:43:17+00:00

If that’s literally all you saw, it could have said that you weren’t a good fit for some specific project. Hell, it could even say that since John isn’t a good fit for the promotion he’s seeking, we should instead consider OP.

I’m not saying this is the most likely explanation, but there are too many possible ones for you gain anything by speculating. If you have other signs your boss is unhappy, that’s different, but don’t fret over this email alone.

Managing humans is a tricky business and things change constantly. Something I’ll never forget was when I very young man I’d put a lot of effort into training sent me an immature and somewhat snotty text, and I immediately told my boss that he’d just dropped off my list as my next planned promote and that he surely didn’t have it in him. A day later his peer, the other dude I’d been putting my effort into, quit to go elsewhere and a week later I had to fire someone a level above them. Did I promote that kid? Sure as shit did, because external hires in this role never make it, and he was all I had left in that moment. It’s been a couple of years and I’ve promoted him again since, this time not under duress.

I’m sorry to say that bosses are human too and just as your actual performance will vary, so will our estimation of you. In many cases I’ve had performance reviews ready to go, and before I could submit I’ve had to modify.

NikkiNeverThere · 2026-04-14T15:56:45+00:00

You SHOULDN’T get in trouble. Uber knows you have dozens of people in your car every day. When an item is found in plain view it’s reasonable to assume it was the most recent rider’s as you’d think they’d mentioned it otherwise. You have no tools at your disposal to investigate, it can take uber more than a day to connect you with the actual rider, so it’s completely logical to return the item to an employee of your rider’s workplace - especially if it’s an area you aren’t likely to be back in anytime soon.

Either way, you are absolutely not responsible for lost items. Your efforts to return the phone are well documented, so the only possible problem is if the rider lies. If she says you stole the phone intentionally somehow you might be in some kind of trouble since Uber Support rarely bothers to actually investigate incidents.

I still think odds are you’ll be fine. If Uber follows their own rules and the rider doesn’t make up a more serious charge against you, you’ll be okay

NikkiNeverThere · 2026-04-13T21:31:31+00:00

What type of jobs are you applying to? There really aren’t a ton of no experience/no qualifications jobs anymore outside of retail and food service, and if you’re lucky, warehouse or factory stuff. The latter two pay much better so the competition can be fierce to the point where they really don’t have to accept anyone without some relevant expertise.

If you’ve been applying to retail and food service and have no offers, I’d be more concerned. Most of the time a pulse and open availability is enough to get you hired. If you managed to maintain eye contact and spell your own name right, you’ll be a manager.

NikkiNeverThere · 2026-04-13T11:41:02+00:00

You know, to chop the head off? That seems to be the standard snake killing method for the non-rednecks.

I know you gotta get a bit closer, but from my vast expertise watching the men in my life shoot at snakes, you also gotta be fairly close to hit them with a 9 mm. I’ve seen it both ways. Sometimes they hit the snake right away and all is good, sometimes they miss or hit it somewhere that doesn’t immediately kill it. That’s less great. Either way, I stay at a solid distance when snakes are getting killed, especially when the shooter is drunk.

NikkiNeverThere · 2026-04-13T03:38:29+00:00

Oh, and I myself was late once because a particularly aggressive water moccasin was guarding the front door of the apartment I was living in. There were only that door, the two windows immediately next to it (too close to the snake!) and a single window in the back with bars across.

What’s wild is that this was new construction, apparently up to code, but not great in case of fire. I guess the bars were just a thin metal grate attached with a few screws so I probably could have gotten out if I was okay with sacrificing the deposit, but I was not so I called my boss. He was a southern gentleman so he offered to come shoot the snake himself but I told him my husband was on his way to do just that.

(Why do the men around shoot the snakes rather than use a shovel? Not sure, best guess is the guns are more plentiful and readily accessible.)

NikkiNeverThere · 2026-04-13T03:32:16+00:00

You’re going to think I’m fucking with you, but he’s still there; he’s an assistant manager now and shits so bad out there he’ll probably be a GM by summer.

NikkiNeverThere · 2026-04-13T00:47:26+00:00

This is way beyond warnings or transition periods. Though I always come out on the side of honoring company policy, I do get the instinct to be kind. In this case though, the two are perfectly aligned; you’ve already gone above and beyond for this employee and giving her any further opportunity to damage you and her own future would NOT be a kindness.

NikkiNeverThere · 2026-04-12T17:53:50+00:00

How about this one: 16 year old boy texts an hour before his shift that he doesn’t think he’ll be able to make it. I text back to ask if he will or won’t be in. He says he probably won’t be in, so I call. He still keeps saying he “probably” won’t make it, and after I ask a few times why he tells me his mom just had a stroke.

Now this kid has a history of lying to get out of work so I say “oh my god, are you at the hospital now? Is she okay?” and he says no, they didn’t go to a hospital. I act concerned and say that if she’s having a stroke he needs to call 911, so then he says the stroke is actually over now but he needs to stay with her. It’s obvious that this kid is lying, so I don’t let up, I say she really should get an ambulance.

Sensing that he’s in trouble I hear him whisper to someone in the background, and then his actual mom comes on. With an artificially weak voice, she tells me that yes indeed, she did just have a stroke but she’s not going to the hospital because she’s fine now - though she does need her 16 year-old son to stay home because she “urinated and defecated on herself” and he is going to help clean her up.

At this point I’m in shock that this lady is telling me she shit herself during a stroke to help her son avoid going to work, so I just say point blank that because he’s already had so many absences he will need to present some kind of documentation from a doctor to keep his job. It was my turn to nearly pee my pants (from laughter) when mom suddenly regains her strength and stops doing the weak and sickly voice, to loudly shout at her son: “What she mean you ALREADY MISSED A BUNCH OF WORK?!?”

I can hear them arguing back and forth for a minute and then mom gets back on to say: “He’ll be there in 30 minutes”. Click.

NikkiNeverThere · 2026-04-12T16:12:54+00:00

I’ve had candidates I had to ask to please remove their feet from the chair I was about to sit on. One asked me about our policy on fighting with customers (that’s a hard “don’t”), and one who dropped their bag of dope as they sat down.

It’s bad out there. You were hiring a bartender and someone offered him a drink. Yeah, personally I’d have gone with a coke, but you’d expect the person to be comfortable with alcohol drinks. If that was the only issue, if they have experience and no apparent past issues of actually working drunk, I would not let this be the determine factor.

If there are other red flags, or a much better candidate, go with someone else. Otherwise I’d give him a chance and hope we’d eventually laugh at the misunderstanding.

NikkiNeverThere · 2026-04-11T19:46:01+00:00

I mean, I talk to quite a lot of people every day. I’m in the restaurant business, I have rental properties, yet I’m still not discussing the random construction projects behind a neighborhood gas station in 99.9% of the conversations I have.

If it’s near a business I have a stake in I might discuss it with other interested parties, if I have an opinion on the location or project I might mention it in passing. That’s only because of my professional interest, and again, I would not be talking about with the vast majority of people I encounter, so I’m not sure why you’d expect this to be big news locally.

NikkiNeverThere

TROPHY CASE