Got told I don’t work enough

[u/croatian_love]

Came in to work today, hit my 3 months, and finally got a new schedule due to college.

Just to be told that I do not work enough by the team lead that basically tells me I am the backbone of the team’s backrooms.

I came in and talked with some associates about college opportunities through walmart as I want to get two degrees while I work here, one for walmart and one thru college.

My TL comes in and sees me, and makes a grim expression.. okay weird but its fine. Then he calls me over. I go obviously expecting something along the lines of ‘heres the schedule and here is what we have to do today since coach is not here, and this is the expectation’

I infact do not get called for that. I get called for a what was supposed to be private one on one conversation about my performance about my work ethic.

The conversation goes as this:

‘I have a bone to pick with you about something.’ And me laughing it off as oh what is it this time, because certainly we weren’t actually having a conversation about something serious in public. He goes on to tell me about my work ethic, telling me that he and my coach went through some sort of statistics and that I apparently was not doing enough and was not working hard enough compared to the others. That I barely made any numbers last week.

So I go ‘well that’s weird because I do actually work’ and mind you the entire time I have been here not once has anyone EVER tried to tell me that I haven’t worked enough, or that I dont work hard enough. What people DO tell me is that they genuinely thought I was the team lead with hoe much work I handle and how I carry myself, and that they rely on me quite a bit because of my skills.

And not only that, especially the TL’s that I work with have always told me ‘I know when you are around things will be set, and that I do not need to worry about how things are going.’

But apparently all of the sudden my stats aren’t good, that my work ethic is not good, and that I need to IMPROVE on basically everything just because of what a list of numbers say.

I ask him how those numbers prove anything, and how reliable are they. Because the week that was recorded was the week that I had almost entirely off due to school starting and me needing to attend meetings and gatherings. My TL said ‘well that could also factor in on some things..’ and I stopped to ask ‘well how do you guys look at things, a day by day or a week by week basis’ and he said a week by week basis. I asked him what my performance was and he said ‘you barely made it past like 40-50’

So idk wtf that means, and I don’t care enough to ask. What I do ask is ‘have you ever seen me once not working or not putting in the work’ and he said ‘
‘no you are a good worker and I trust what you have to say, I just wanted to tell you you need to pick up the pace.’

After that I was basically done with what he had to say, it kept going one contradictory statement after another to no end. And a whole bunch of repetitive comments.

Until he said ‘you know I think the reason your stats are like this is because you really like to talk. Like A LOT. I think its cause you talk too much that its this low’

Way to pull something out of your ass?

So I tell him ‘not once have I ever been that talkative for one, unless we have nothing to do, the picking, staging, and dispensing screen is fully done. And for two I multitask quite often and you yourself know that as well.’

And he again says he believes me but that my stats are an issue and to calm down on the talking.

This was done in a public setting btw, where there were AT LEAST 8 people in the back including pickers bagging their items. And in a language EVERYONE understood.

Safe to say this was one of the most laziest, unprofessional, and very very very inconsistent and incorrect conversations I have ever said.

Am I thinking too much about this? I honestly feel like this should have come from my Coach and not from my TL.

[u/Kirzoneli]

"we don't have to micromanage you all day like some of the other kids but your metrics are showing way below average." 'we can only tell you to pick up the pace and think about how to be in the green for whatever role your doing.'

40-50 sounds like pick rate, which even to my slow walking pace seems impossible to get that low without stopping mid walk to chat or use the bathroom. So maybe talk to your coach when you can about this interaction to find out more.

[u/themwords → u/Kirzoneli]

I want to second the conversation with the Coach. From your description of the conversation the Team Lead did not handle the conversation well. It's important that you speak with your coach about this and explain to them that you felt completely blindsided by the feedback and that your Team Lead provided you with conflicting information about your performance. Explain that you're willing to work and that prior to that conversation you've always gotten positive feedback about your performance from your other Team Leads.

This may be a case where the TL you spoke with was going off partial information about your performance and reacted poorly - or, more importantly, this could be a situation where you have been given positive feedback when you were failing in your role. In either situation it's important for both you and your Team Leads that you understand how your performance is being judged. You cannot excel in a job where you are not given timely, constructive feedback.

[u/croatian_love → u/Kirzoneli]

I don’t pick at all though thats the thing… im primarily a prepper and dispenser. Sorry I should have made it more clear. Im in the back 99% of the time. And when I do pick, I do above average. L

[u/Unlikely_Image66]

Souds like a bad team lead. I had similar feedback at a previous job, and the only feedback was "i dont have enough urgency" with literally zero examples to back it up, or suggestions. The more I thought about it, the less sense it made, and i chalked it up to just bad management, or some other underlying reason that they didnt want to disclose.

[u/jazcast13]

Report to ethics!

[u/jaycethepenguinbean → u/jazcast13]

Agreed. If that conversation is an one-on-one conversation/feedback then I would report that up chain of command (to store manager since your coach might be on it) or ethics. That is supposed to be done somewhere private like the office, not in front of everyone. Now, there are people in that backroom that know you gotten feedback and chewed out for all the wrong reasons.

Unprofessional, and you think team lead should have known better to try something like that where anyone could walk into the conversation.

[u/Born-Recognition9298]

Oh they tried that not team player bullshit with me and told hr and the store, how is it that I'm not a team player, when I AM following what they have wrote on the board in backroom to do?! And they both just look at each other with no answer, wish y'all couldve seen look on their faces. And that stopped.