In my previous work experiences, I found that by putting in a considerable amount of effort, I was able to rise through the ranks at an alarmingly rapid rate. This was certainly the case for Landmark Theatres and NDC/Aradiant. I thought this would be the pattern for the remainder of my life. However, this wasn't the case at Walmart.
But it shouldn't have been that way. There were always opportunities to move up in the store. They seemed to always be looking for Customer Service Managers, Department Managers, Support Managers, etc. But the one position I had my eye on was working in the Cash Office. One of my favorite things to do when managing at Landmark was counting up the cash at the end of the night and making the deposit. I couldn't wait to count the money that Walmart raked in every day. I thought that with my cash handling experience, I would be a shoo-in for the position.
At Walmart, you have to be in your current position for a minimum of six months before applying for another position. After I'd hit my six months, I kept my eye open for a Cash Office position to open. My patience paid off. They posted an opening. I went and applied for it. But I didn't hear anything about it for a month. I finally got called in for an interview. During the interview, I was told that it was a part-time position and I would have to give up my full-time status to work it. I had a lot of questions. Namely, why would this be part-time? I can understand part-time cashiers, door greeters, overnight stockers and floor associates. However, this was something that needed regular staffing and they already had a small staff to start with.
I asked if I could work the Cash Office part-time and cashier the other 20 hours of the week. No, they didn't allow Cash Office associates to work the registers. Okay, how about working the Cash Office and another department where I don't have to handle money? No, that wasn't an option, either. Well, I guess I'm not going to be able to work the Cash Office because I need to work full-time. I would just have to wait for a full-time opening.
In the meantime, I decided that if I wanted to feel like I was moving up in the company, I would need to become a Customer Service Manager. At one point, one of the CSMs told me that at one of their recent meetings, they had discussed the possibility of who could join their ranks and everyone was pretty much in agreement that they felt I would make a good CSM. I have to admit this made me feel good about my performance as a cashier. One time, I was at the podium and the Store Manager was talking to the CSM about something going on at the Front End, and he made some comment about how it would get straightened out if they just made me a CSM. I couldn't imagine a better endorsement.
I decided to take the opportunity to ask how much of an increase a CSM got. The CSM I spoke to said, "Oh, that's between you and the Store Manager." What? I need to negotiate this? That doesn't sound right!
Something unusual happened after this. Ms. E, the Front End Supervisor, decided they needed a little assistance among the CSMs. She asked another cashier, Leenz, to become a fill-in CSM. There was no announcement for the position. They just started training her. This wouldn't have been a problem, but Leenz started working for Walmart after I had. I'll admit that yes, she was very smart and friendly and was definitely CSM material, but I couldn't help but wonder why I hadn't been approached.
So, the next time they had a position for CSM, I went ahead and applied. They had two full-time slots available. I figured that Leenz would get officially promoted to one of the slots and I would get the other one. I felt the interview went fairly smoothly because I was able to draw on my previous supervisory experience. About a week later, I was informed that I did not get the position. I found out that they selected Leenz and a woman named Barrd who had worked in Electronics. Barrd was a real surprise. She was capable of working the register in Electronics, but she did not appear to be someone who you would expect to be upwardly mobile.
I did not express any kind of discontent regarding the results of the promotions. I also did not mention to any of my co-workers that I had applied for the position. But I'm pretty certain that everyone had been expecting that I was aiming to be a CSM. When Barrd was being trained, I came up to her in Customer Service at the end of a shift and asked for a 3 Action. (This would produce a printout of what my till balance was supposed to be.) She said, "Oh, I don't have my supervisor access yet." I told her, "You don't need supervisor access to do a 3 Action!" I grabbed the 52 key out of her hand, stuck it in the register, hit "3", then "Action Code," followed by my employee number. The printout came up. "THAT'S ALL YOU HAVE TO DO!"
Barrd just stood there kind of stunned. All the other cashiers in the area appeared to be working hard to stifle their laughter. I got the idea they knew exactly what was going on. However, no one mentioned this incident ever again.
A few months later, there was a posting for both CSM and Cash Office. Each department had one opening. This was great! I thought I should be able to land one of these. I applied for both. I wound up being interviewed for both positions at the same time. This time, the Cash Office slot was going to be full-time. However, the CSM was part-time, but I'd be able to work as a regular cashier those times when I wasn't being a CSM. I would still get paid the same amount of money. I asked what the increase was going to be and I was told each position would be 50 cents an hour. Finally, a straight answer.
A week later, I was told that I was being promoted to the Cash Office. HOORAY! I would be starting my training within the next week. I looked forward to not having to work the cash register anymore.
I told Leenz about the promotion. She asked me how much my wage was going to be in the Cash Office. I didn't give an exact figure, but I told her that I would have been making the same amount if I'd become a CSM. I think she was kind of disappointed in her experience as a CSM and wished she had held out for the Cash Office. (As it turns out, Leenz later went to the Philippines for a month. When she came back, she stepped down as CSM and worked in the Jewelry department.)
But I found out that working in the Cash Office resulted in a whole host of other problems I had never considered.
I'll get into that in Monday's post.
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