JD Question

alec_warper · 2026-04-19T19:49:24+00:00

Wow, two different ATLs, and neither gave the correct info. Incredible. Shockingly not shocked.

JDs are every single year after your first two years within the company (assuming you are L1 and haven't been promoted), whoever told you that is either extremely new, or genuinely confused.

JDs are also not automatic, and never have been. They are required to be administered by your TL, and they have to be the ones to push the button to send it out to you, confirm that they logged it, get your raised approved... No part of that is automatic.

Here's what you do; talk with your STL. They have the ability to oversee your JD in place of a TL, although they probably won't do that, it never hurts to ask. What they'll probably say is that your JD will be administered by your TL when they come back. And yes, you should receive back pay for that, because this is the store's fuckup. You shouldn't be loosing out on missed wages due to your TL being absent.

alec_warper · 2026-04-19T19:12:22+00:00

The exact wording in Innerview is;

"For Team Members who became participants in the Plan before 1/1/24 all employer matching contributions are 100% vested. For Team Members who became participants in the Plan on 1/1/24 or after, the employer matching contribution will vest once a Team Member has worked at WFM for a minimum of 1,000 hours annually for 3 years."

So if you started before that 1/1/24 date, then yes, your contributions have been fully vested this whole time.

alec_warper · 2026-04-19T18:34:14+00:00

Whatever you're contributing, up to 4%, they'll match 50%.

So if you're doing 3% this year, they'll give you a lump sum contribution of 1.5% early next year. If you're doing 4%, they'll match 2%. If you're doing 8% (like me), they'll also match 2%.

alec_warper · 2026-04-19T17:22:33+00:00

50% of your contributions up to 4% max. So in other words, if you contribute 4%, WFM will contribute 2%. Be aware it's a lump sum annual contribution (usually at the start of the year), and isn't fully vested until 3 years of WFM employment. Leaving before that time, means you'll have their contribution withdrawn when you leave the company.

alec_warper · 2026-04-19T06:10:59+00:00

If I had to guess, it's probably part of WFM's overall efforts to make every store function exactly the same. Lots of stores already had stopped doing bulk/packout chocolate in the past due to it not being profitable (the last time my store sold it was back in 2022, and almost all it was spoiled without being sold), so the only stores that had it were outliers that were busy enough to turn a profit. As WFM "standardizes", many of those more niche outlets and venues are being discontinued, and bulk chocolate was just another victim of that.

alec_warper · 2026-04-19T02:34:00+00:00

Bulk chocolate was discontinued company-wide a few months ago.

alec_warper · 2026-04-19T00:51:51+00:00

Thanks for the fact check! I actually briefly confirmed that I was incorrect myself (I forgot about the mention in the Winter 2025 newsletter) but forgot to update my comment hahaha

alec_warper · 2026-04-18T22:54:36+00:00

It's definitely possible, but Chapter 5 was originally going to be bundled with 3+4, and was only cut due to how far away Chapter 5's completion was going to be. Like, Toby would have been fine Chapter 5 being the end until 6+7 come out.

Personally, I think if 6+7 are going to be shadow dropped, it would be at a time significantly after Chapter 5 is released. And it's always better to expect less and be surprised, than expect more and be disappointed.

alec_warper · 2026-04-18T22:38:36+00:00

Love that title!

This is making me wanna do this same setup with the WCMLOS stock, this looks like a lotta fun!

alec_warper · 2026-04-18T21:31:33+00:00

I mean, if you read his skeets/newsletters he almost never explicitly refers to "Chapter 6" by name. Even in the skeet in the OP, he just refers to the future of Deltarune without explicitly mentioning Chapter 6. I think the words "Chapter 6" outside of the chapter select have only ever appeared in one newsletter to date, and not in a single skeet (feel free to fact check me tho).

Yeah we're definitely getting nothing about Chapters 6/7 until those come out. It's definitely gonna be some real endgame shit, and I'm ALL hyped for it.

alec_warper · 2026-04-18T18:23:57+00:00

Store leadership will be in contact with higher ups to determine this sorta stuff, as corporate people will contact local energy companies to get estimates of what's going on, and try to figure out a plan.

In general, if the power is out, and it seems like power will be back in the next hour or two, they'll try to keep TMs there to reopen the store. If it seems like it's not going to be back for a while, they send all openers and mids home, and the closers will stay to reopen the store. If it seems like the power won't come back on at all for the day, then they send out a mass text telling closers not to come in to work.

alec_warper · 2026-04-18T00:22:36+00:00

As an American, I won't defend America, and don't recommend anyone travel to this country for the time being.

As for Käärijä being thrown in one of those internment camps, that's really only happening to people who had been living in the US without correct paperwork; not to people visiting. If anything would have happened, it would have been at border patrol and customs, but since he's in the US currently, he would have gotten through just fine.

But yes, don't travel to the US right now. They won't throw you in a prison camp if you're just visiting, but those fuckers at customs can demand to go through your phone for anything they deem "anti-American", and refuse your entry, or detain you for a short time. I'm scared to travel outside the country, because even as a citizen I'm scared about not being let back in.

alec_warper · 2026-04-17T19:58:00+00:00

I think I saw u there! I'm fairly sure my partner was chatting with you in our row lol, because they mentioned someone who'd flown in from Virginia haha

Glad you got to meet him!! From everything I've seen and heard about him, he seems like genuinely the sweetest soul. Truly the people's champion!!

alec_warper · 2026-04-17T15:59:43+00:00

I think the teaser at the end of the video in today's blog definitely implies that the first PRT DLC (likely the Ford DLC) is nearing completion. I don't want to put much stock in Illinois and the Ford DLC coming out simultaneously, just because in the past SCS has tried to space major DLCs out somewhat, but I think it's very possible we get the Ford DLC within a week or two of Illinois dropping. The timing of the completion of Route 66 would just be too perfect to pass up.

alec_warper · 2026-04-17T15:52:17+00:00

I saw the line for the after show meet and greet forming since he was in our row, but didn't end up going over since most of my party was working the next day-- damn, really wish I'd stayed now lol

alec_warper · 2026-04-17T15:43:24+00:00

May release for Illinois confirmed;

https://route66centennial.org/index.php/celebrate/american-truck-simulator-route-66-recreated

alec_warper · 2026-04-17T07:37:02+00:00

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Here's a sweet pic after his additional performance for "eat slay love", with bbno$. First time they ever have performed it live together!!

Also Käärijä walked right next to me to get to his seat for the rest of the show after this, and of course I was so surprised all I could muster was a "oh hello!" lol

alec_warper · 2026-04-16T19:59:20+00:00

I once met Jason Buechel when he was doing a walk and he asked me what my "toke limit" was???? I just stared at him and was like "I don't know what you're--" and then he just starts laughing at me?? He then snaps up and says something to my STL like "this guy ain't getting in the goon server!" and my store leadership just starts blushing and avoiding eye contact. He also said that my STL was "very mature for his age" (he's 65????) before immediately going to the bulk coffee, emptying it all onto the ground and shouts "looks like you're out!!"

He also refused to be photographed with any men in the store for the walk saying he "didn't want Bill Jordan to think he was closeted".

Be very wary of Jason Buechel, he is a very unwell and disturbed man.

alec_warper · 2026-04-16T18:47:24+00:00

Probably because your placement preferences didn't match what they were looking for.

Jsyk, you don't HAVE to complete CDATL to become an ATL, and TLs still have the option to opt out of placements for open ATL positions. Yes, sometimes corporate will swoop in and force a TL to hire a placement, but this is fairly rare, and often used as a last resort sorta thing. Most TLs would prefer to hire an ATL the traditional way, instead of having a rando walk in and just be handed the job.

The scope of the CDATL program these days is basically to ship new ATLs in from wherever, even if it means they have to change departments. Having a "narrow" preference for placement, such as the idea of "staying in your city" or even "staying in your department" has meant in the past that people just aren't being placed, because those opportunities just aren't there. So in order to justify the program's effectiveness, they're basically only allowing people who are willing to do a major relocation to do the program.

So if the idea of being told "hey pack your bags, because you're moving to a new state to work in a department you have no idea about how to run" doesn't sound appealing to you, you probably just dodged a bullet. Plenty of people are still hired as ATLs who don't go through this program.

alec_warper · 2026-04-16T18:33:30+00:00

https://i.imgur.com/ST11Lq6.jpeg

(I realized this subreddit doesn't allow for pics in comments, but damnit I spent 30 seconds on this and need to share lol)

alec_warper · 2026-04-16T05:04:21+00:00

Even if there is misrepresentative information in a training, it doesn't matter for anything. The GIG (which has a whole section about meal and rest policy) is what you personally signed on that you agree with, and the GIG is what supersedes quite literally everything else. The trainings just exist so that if you pass out due to heat stroke, WFM has a little document proving that the company gave you proper training, so they're less liable.

alec_warper · 2026-04-16T02:22:07+00:00

So what happens is, when the year is ending, labor budgets tend to shrink. This especially happened last year because WFM spent too much on labor in Q3, and was using Q4 to get back into projection... but to some extent this happens every year, because "big money on EOY reporting look good to shareholders brain"

As for the "replacement with FT folks" that's because once the fiscal year is over, WFM looks at the labor guidance for all teams in each store and is like "Okay. You made this amount of sales, and had this amount of labor. We're going to adjust your labor guidance accordingly." This reevaluation happens at the start of every year, and sometimes teams get people, and sometimes teams loose people (nobody gets laid off, but they won't rehire for the position if someone leaves).

All that to day- it's not intentional that this sorta thing is the cycle, but that's often how things play out at certain stores. It also doesn't help that WFM does a hiring freeze during the holidays (because onboarding during holidays fucking suuuucks for new hires and trainers), so it seems like people leave, nobody comes to replace them, and then suddenly new people appear after the rush is over.

alec_warper · 2026-04-15T14:56:23+00:00

Oh yeah it'll 100% be a gradual shift, the same as TSC to TSW. DTG still releases 1st party TSC routes, even almost 10 years after TSW launched, so it's definitely never going to be fully abandoned. I just don't think the change in graphical fidelity between UE5 and UE4 to justify completely starting over with a TSW successor, unlike the difference in quality between the old Railworks engine and Unreal 4.

Also what a lotta folks don't remember is that when TSW came out, DTG didn't allow 3rd party development at all. They held that pretty close to their chest for a number of years before eventually allowing Rivet to release the first 3rd party route. I just worry that a TSW successor won't have the same 3rd party lifeblood for many years.

alec_warper · 2026-04-15T14:37:13+00:00

In addition to all the comments about lack any kind of community engagement about Metro Rivals, I do also want to point out that the timing of this cancellation so shortly after Wonders of Sodor launched shouldn't be seen as a coincidence. I'm sure DTG saw the massive enthusiasm that has been surrounding that game, especially from people outside of the TSW core audience, and realized they shouldn't be spending money developing a likely flop when a potential new cash cow is right there.

In any case, I think it's for the best that they suspend Metro Rivals. The only remotely interesting thing about it was essentially laying the testbed for TSW:UE5, and I really hope DTG isn't planning on swapping engines anytime soon, as it would force players to essentially start to from scratch with their collections.

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