So you think you know what shrinkage is?
You will be pleased to learn that yesterday was my first day at Houseware Heaven. You will also be pleased to know that I spoke too soon when I ranted about their low pay. The base pay is actually $7.50 (a full 25 cents more than I thought!). And "commission" is actually 1% of the day's sales, prorated by the length of the shift. Apparently this adds up.
The commission is a "team incentive". Unlike that annoying tactic they use at Express (and elsewhere) where they ask you at the register if anyone helped you during your shopping. And then you look around and try to remember which skinny/sluttily-attired staff member slung ill-fitting clothes over your dressing room door. When it's a woman of color, or a curvy woman, you feel fascist for saying "the black woman" or "the fat woman", so you try to remember her name and then default to describing her dress: "ummm ... she's the one with the pink tube top and the stilletos ..."
But I digress.
During my first day I filled out lots of paperwork, and then I watched four training videos. The first one was a mandatory safety presentation, which gave illuminating instructions like: "if you're carrying a box down the stairs, and you can't see the steps, you should reposition the box or ask for help." The video also stressed the importance of reporting on-the-job injuries. It showed footage of a pony-tailed employee falling off a stepladder and unconvincingly writhing in pain while calling for help. At which point her co-worker (representing the company's commitment to diversity) saves the day, and then they both debrief with the kindly HR director. There must be some production company somewhere that specializes in these videos, they must offer a template storyline, and then the content is adapted for the venue (plane safety spiel, store training, Red Cross intro, etc.)
The other videos included "Passion for Product" and "Commitment to Customers". I didn't get to "Wrapping: Quick and Neat" (I'm guessing it's reserved for the holiday season). Nor did I get to watch "Glassware for Fall 2005", but all the videos are available in the breakroom, so there's still time.
The employee manual was also very informative. I learned that "shrinkage" is a retail term for the difference between the merchandise that a store stocks and the merchandise that is actually sold. "Shrinkage" is a result of "internal loss" (employee theft) and "external loss" (shoplifting). It also accounts for breakage of items (I'm not clear whether that is internal or external).
Anyway. I officially start next week, and am going to learn the cash register and practice working on the floor. I'm not exactly sure what I will do "on the floor", since I don't know anything about Fall 2005 Glassware or any of the other "product", (they say "product" in the singular).
I will keep you all posted.
Posted by Dori at 8:19 AM
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