I can't believe holiday layoffs arent around the corner as budgets and hours are cut, and the latest trend is to hire the youngest part-timers possible (the memo specifies a target age of 16!) to avoid offering even the most meagre, basic health benefits, as well as weeding out the older, more expensive workers who make at least $0.50 more than state minimum wage. Some workers are getting up to 4-6 hours per week on the schedule, with one cashier to run the front line, drive-up delivery AND the furniture section alone on a weekend-- busiest time for furniture!
Things are getting weirder at the "!" store and, contrary to the tannoy announcements every 6 minutes, everyday is not a "Party" at Big Lots! And, prices are going up all over the board. $3.75 for a 2 Oz jar of mayo that arrived in store with only 1 month before expiration?
What about all the "Fresh Finds" soup crackers that show up in 2021 with an expiry of 12-08-2020?
In a recent diversity training video, we get a look at Cousin Brucie's new, rounder figure, and his newly-redesigned "grill"-- he's had his upper and lower teeth done and they're looking sparklier than ever. Next step? A gold "glimmer" clip-on, perhaps? Livin' large, Cousin Brucie!
So, what happens when your store manager is out for 2 weeks, suffering from Covid? Cousin Brucie sends a Get Well "care package", loaded with outdated food, including a giant box of Ritz crackers that expired in August. Now, that's Class with a capital "C"!
The presence of Covid in the store that is taking out associates one by one is likely attributed to the lack of cleanliness in the restrooms, sewage bubbling up from the drain pipes and out of the toilets that don't flush down, but UP! Not to mention tiny, filthy and encrusted janitor closets with no ventilation, no proper PPE like nitrile gloves for cleaning, filthy and fecal-encrusted restrooms due to walls constructed of cheap textured tub-surround material (and, again, no ventilation), no soap, and break rooms the size of a Honda 4-wheeler with no wash-up sink or running water to be found?
Ever had your hands stick to a fridge handle when you go to open it? Sickening.
Zero sanitation of commonly used items like hand held scanners, computers and limited writing implements. Filthy and unsanitary warehouse areas crammed with couches resting vertically, on end, waiting to fall when you walk by. Improperly maintained air conditioning systems where the filters are not changed and the vents are clogged with black soot and germ-breeding dust.
And food left sitting out for hours in the tiny break room as "treats" for associates, with countless, dirty hands all over everything, since there's no sanitizing station, no wash-up sink or running water, and no sterilization practices to be found (especially in the last 4 months).
Are we supposed to "Live Big" or "Die Big" from mass infection? Or, worse yet, poison some unsuspecting customer with intentionally mislabeled and outdated consumables?
Come on, Brucie! We can see you're living it up! You can do better!