No displays up. Store is almost empty. I’m sure I’ll hear about how this location is the worst in the market for online service metrics.
Looking forward to lunch, too—except virtually every restaurant within five miles serves Coke, so apparently I can’t realistically grab something to eat while supporting the company I work for.
Then, one minute after my shift started, I got the call: two more stores added to my route today because of call-offs.
I explained that it’s my daughter’s birthday and that, after a 12-hour shift, I’d really like to get home to her.
The response? If I leave, I’d be “abandoning my job,” because today is going to be a 16-hour day.
No displays. Empty shelves. Missed service metrics. Call-offs. Sixteen-hour days.
At some point, you have to ask whether the problem is really the person standing in the store—or the system they’re being asked to operate in.