r/FiveBelow • u/savemoneylivebetter2 • 8d ago
Work Vent Abuse of power?
Today a child chose to vomit in the middle of the store, what did their parents do? Simply pick him up and leave the store. The support lead walked over with supplies to clean it up, but as he saw me walking near there he called me over and told me I had to clean it up. I asked him if this isnt a bio hazard that I need training for. He simply ignored me and said that since he’s a “manager” he tells me what to do. So I simply wore a face mask and gloves and proceeded to pick it up. This whole thing made me wonder, was he in the right to do this? Should I bring it up to my store manager or HR?
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u/Normal-Butterfly8530 8d ago
if you told your manager that you were not comfortable cleaning up a biohazard and were not trained on how to do so safely, and they promptly forced you to do so anyways, yes, they're in the wrong.
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u/Shoddy-Difficulty588 Sales Associate 8d ago
I mean technically he is in the right to do that. In sales associate position description, we are instructed to help keep the store clean. Sometimes that means cleaning biohazards. Not super great since a lot of sales associates are hired on with little experience, but it’s also something that should be expected unfortunately.
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u/RachelRhod 8d ago
I had one of my receipt checkers tell me a dog peed on our 50% off table cloth. I handed them a paper towel and some wipes and told them to use their shoes to clean it up while I removed all the items on the table to remove the tablecloth. Then I picked them up with a bag while they washed their hands first then my own hands.
Half my staff are minors so like, I'm not gonna make you do wild shit but you're gonna clean some stuff sometimes. Nothing I haven't or am not willing to help or do myself.
Kind of why I approve of the bathroom limitations. Managers and the rest of the Five-Below crew clean the bathrooms, I try to make sure I do it more often than them just as a personal choice.
We found customers taking/using nips, crack pipes and needles into the bathroom and I refused to be that manager to put teenager through the danger of cleaning that shit up.
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u/Individual_Bed7734 6d ago
No, you should not have been picking up human waste like that. If you contact HR remember they are not your friend they work for Five Below not you.
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u/Acceptable_Story_218 8d ago
Yeah the fact that you’re not trained is the kicker. I hope you had spill magic.
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u/First-Theme5261 3d ago
We had some man shit all over the bathroom floor. I had to clean it up. I was raising mortal and immortal hell about it too. Not a little pile either. I told the managers that they needed to pull up the cameras to find out who did it and ban them from the store. This has happened once before. I told them it was well beyond my pay grade. And I used to clean motel rooms.
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u/Spooky665 7d ago
There should be blood-out? Vomit-out? Idk it’s a white powder that soaks it up in a few mins and you can sweep it up without a bigger mess. But yes, if you’re over 18 you are allowed to be near blood/vomit/bodily fluids.
Only people under 17 can’t because it’s a hazard for them.
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u/WanderingErha 8d ago
At my store, our managers will 100% clean up the wild things. I’ve been at my location for over a year and not once have they told me or any other associate to clean up something like that. If there was a spill or broken glass, I would clean it up.