SAL Letter
So I went into work this morning, and was told I'm 'indefinitely suspended' until I talk to Gene tomorrow. Am I fired or what? Anyways... they let me do some of the paperwork for ordering last month, and I happened to stumble across the email addresses of the higher-ups for Moran Food Comp. (SAL). Below is a letter I'm sending them if I do get fired.
To Whom It May Concern;
Hello, I am writing to you in regards to Store #243, located in Seaford, Delaware. I have been employed at this store for over a year's time, and have noticed many things which I believe need to be brought to your attention.
This store is severely understaffed:
As I write this, there are two managers, three cashiers (including myself), and two people working in the meat department. As a result of this, employee morale is extremely low. Nobody wants to work seven days a week, which is what is being demanded of us. Laura Wisk, an employee of two years, recently quit because of this. Nicole Cooper, an employee of seven months, quit because of this. Other employees (whom I will not name, to prevent any retalliation against them) are about to quit as well. Is this the type of enviroment you want employees for your company to be working under?
Safety Concerns:
There are many concerns I wish to bring to your attention about this store's policies. Due to the fact that Gail Twilley prices her meat products at well over the listed rate, most items do not sell, and we get severely backstocked as a result. In order to prevent YTD sales from going down, Gail forces the employee to mark these items down, and put them on the shelf. When a piece of meat is reduced, it is done so because the product has become stale, out of date, or rotten. On Friday, November 16, 2001, a customer told Tony Torrelli that a particular package of chicken breast was starting to turn green; to which Tony replied "That's why it's reduced." I personally went back there to check on it, and indeed, it was turning green. The sell-date? November 5, 2001. This package was outdated by eleven days, and still on the shelf.
Customer returns/complaints are at an all time high for this store, as a result of this. It is not uncommon to have to return ten-twenty pieces of stock per day. These can be anything from spoiled meat (see above) to spoiled fruit (reduced, to avoid YTD sales going down), opened packages (reduced by ten cents per package; again, to avoid YTD sales going down), etc etc. The way management avoids filing these returns? They throw the damanged/spoiled product away, and give the customer a replacement. Is this any way to run a business?
Lack Of Lighting In The Parking Lot: As I write this, there is absolutely no lighting fixtures in the parking lot. The sole bit of light is provided by the Hardees' across the street. Add to this that the store is in a notably violent section of town, and it's only a matter of time before someone gets injured as a result.
Treatment Of Employees:
Employee's are treated like dirt, to be blunt. We are normally scheduled for two days off per week. However, 90% of the time, we are required to work on these days at a moments notice. On Friday, November 9, 2001, I received my schedule for the following week, and I was scheduled to have Saturday off. I had planned some activities with my daughter for this day. On Thursday, November 15, I was told that I had to work 12-9 on Saturday. I told management I had plans, and was told I would be suspended if I did not work. Being called in to work on my days off is NOT a problem with me; I understand things like this happen from time to time. However, this is routine procedure at Store #243, to avoid over-spending of alloted hours.
During the week of October 28 - November 3, I was asked to work overtime to train new employees, who were hired for Store #252, in Salisbury, Maryland. These employees came to Store #243 to train, as we already had everything set up. Again, not a problem with me. During the training of these employees, Tony Torrelli constantly forced me to do other things on the floor (stock shelves, rotate bakery, rotate dairy). In order to do this, I was forced to leave the trainees alone on the registers. The result? These new employees were completely alone, with nobody to ask questions when they needed help. The end result of all this was a shortage of nearly $200, due to lack of knowledge that I could have easily provided..... had I been allowed to.
And finally, the reason I am writing this letter. As stated above, I have been an employee of this company for over a year. During this time, I have missed a total of two days of work, due to being ill. On Saturday, November 17, while at work, I became sick, and when I came home, I took some medication and went to sleep. I was scheduled to be at work on Sunday at 9:00am, and I overslept, due to the side-effects of this medication. I called Tony Torrelli at 9:20am, and told him that I was sorry, I overslept... and that I would be there in just a few minutes. I was told "Don't bother" by Tony, and hung up on. This led to me being fired from the company. After working for the company for over a year, I was fired for this. Is this standard company policy? It's not at any other establishment I have ever worked at, nor at any establishment I have ever heard of.
I thank you for your taking the time to read this, and hope some of these problems can be remedied.
Chad Connolly
To Whom It May Concern;
Hello, I am writing to you in regards to Store #243, located in Seaford, Delaware. I have been employed at this store for over a year's time, and have noticed many things which I believe need to be brought to your attention.
This store is severely understaffed:
As I write this, there are two managers, three cashiers (including myself), and two people working in the meat department. As a result of this, employee morale is extremely low. Nobody wants to work seven days a week, which is what is being demanded of us. Laura Wisk, an employee of two years, recently quit because of this. Nicole Cooper, an employee of seven months, quit because of this. Other employees (whom I will not name, to prevent any retalliation against them) are about to quit as well. Is this the type of enviroment you want employees for your company to be working under?
Safety Concerns:
There are many concerns I wish to bring to your attention about this store's policies. Due to the fact that Gail Twilley prices her meat products at well over the listed rate, most items do not sell, and we get severely backstocked as a result. In order to prevent YTD sales from going down, Gail forces the employee to mark these items down, and put them on the shelf. When a piece of meat is reduced, it is done so because the product has become stale, out of date, or rotten. On Friday, November 16, 2001, a customer told Tony Torrelli that a particular package of chicken breast was starting to turn green; to which Tony replied "That's why it's reduced." I personally went back there to check on it, and indeed, it was turning green. The sell-date? November 5, 2001. This package was outdated by eleven days, and still on the shelf.
Customer returns/complaints are at an all time high for this store, as a result of this. It is not uncommon to have to return ten-twenty pieces of stock per day. These can be anything from spoiled meat (see above) to spoiled fruit (reduced, to avoid YTD sales going down), opened packages (reduced by ten cents per package; again, to avoid YTD sales going down), etc etc. The way management avoids filing these returns? They throw the damanged/spoiled product away, and give the customer a replacement. Is this any way to run a business?
Lack Of Lighting In The Parking Lot: As I write this, there is absolutely no lighting fixtures in the parking lot. The sole bit of light is provided by the Hardees' across the street. Add to this that the store is in a notably violent section of town, and it's only a matter of time before someone gets injured as a result.
Treatment Of Employees:
Employee's are treated like dirt, to be blunt. We are normally scheduled for two days off per week. However, 90% of the time, we are required to work on these days at a moments notice. On Friday, November 9, 2001, I received my schedule for the following week, and I was scheduled to have Saturday off. I had planned some activities with my daughter for this day. On Thursday, November 15, I was told that I had to work 12-9 on Saturday. I told management I had plans, and was told I would be suspended if I did not work. Being called in to work on my days off is NOT a problem with me; I understand things like this happen from time to time. However, this is routine procedure at Store #243, to avoid over-spending of alloted hours.
During the week of October 28 - November 3, I was asked to work overtime to train new employees, who were hired for Store #252, in Salisbury, Maryland. These employees came to Store #243 to train, as we already had everything set up. Again, not a problem with me. During the training of these employees, Tony Torrelli constantly forced me to do other things on the floor (stock shelves, rotate bakery, rotate dairy). In order to do this, I was forced to leave the trainees alone on the registers. The result? These new employees were completely alone, with nobody to ask questions when they needed help. The end result of all this was a shortage of nearly $200, due to lack of knowledge that I could have easily provided..... had I been allowed to.
And finally, the reason I am writing this letter. As stated above, I have been an employee of this company for over a year. During this time, I have missed a total of two days of work, due to being ill. On Saturday, November 17, while at work, I became sick, and when I came home, I took some medication and went to sleep. I was scheduled to be at work on Sunday at 9:00am, and I overslept, due to the side-effects of this medication. I called Tony Torrelli at 9:20am, and told him that I was sorry, I overslept... and that I would be there in just a few minutes. I was told "Don't bother" by Tony, and hung up on. This led to me being fired from the company. After working for the company for over a year, I was fired for this. Is this standard company policy? It's not at any other establishment I have ever worked at, nor at any establishment I have ever heard of.
I thank you for your taking the time to read this, and hope some of these problems can be remedied.
Chad Connolly