Walgreens Who do they think they are??!!! Westland, Michigan

I have been in a similar situation. Keep talking to the manager, as long as he has confidence in and belives in you things won't get worse.

Tell him, nicely of course (it helps if you go to lunch once in a while or similar), of your disatisfaction and ask if he will give a good recomendation if you go looking for a better position.

Make sure you tell him that you feel you are ready to advance and feel you need to move to do so. Make sure he knows its not him you are wanting to move away from.

Finally, Karma is a (&^$%$#&#% so be nice to those who are not nice to you and allow them to be known for what they are, trust me in a retail store everyone knows who everyone else "is".

Good Luck and work hard

As someone who has worked in several Walgreens' stores, I'll attempt to give you some advice to get the most out of your career with Walgreens'.

As you know, the creation of the Store Team Lead position along with the elimination of an MGT per store has meant a much bigger role for former SIMS Coordinators and other team members who have since gone on to the STL position.  In most stores, the position is not easy, and will require a full 40 hours each week.  A few things I've found that have made my STL's jobs' easier:

-Have Cosmetics do their Smart Counts for items in their departments; They are more familiar with product locations/overstock status
-Do Price Changes Daily;  Don't wait for the number to grow to the triple digits
-If you are closing by yourself, have the morning/mid manager assign tasks for the other closing employees;  you should check periodically to make sure they are doing their tasks, but at least you shouldn't have to be "finding" work for them to do
-Perform scan outs after bays have been pulled:  This will vary from store to store, but often the bays are split amongst the managers; if an employee's bays are not being worked on a regular basis, this is something that should be discussed with your EXA/Store Manager

As far as the interpersonal interactions go regarding the STL position, this is one of the areas that corporate has tried to limit, particularly when dealing with disciplinary action.  disciplinary action is something that is reserved for management.  If you find that certain employees on your shift are not performing or conflicts are arising, then you should consult with your Store Manager to see what solutions/advice is available.  The employees under your watch may not see you as an authority figure, but they should expect that you will relay an issues to management.

Regarding the conflicts with your new EXA, I have found that management that does not get along with the other employees tend to be moved often.  While she is at your store, I would try to remain as courteous as you can.  Even though you may be working hard, if you are regularly visibly upset with your EXA, your EXA may misinterpret your feelings and it may negatively impact how you are viewed as an employee.  If it gets to the point that you feel that it becomes a hostile work environment, I would advise that you speak to your Store Manager.

One last note I have pertains to your obvious dislike for performing the STL job functions.  If you feel that the current store is putting too high of a burden on you, I would take advantage of STL openings in nearby stores in the Detroit area.  If you are uncomfortable doing the tasks that are synonymous with all STL's, I would advise that you look at moving to a different department.  If you have been with Walgreens' for 8 years, odds are you have experience with Photo and/or Cosmetics.  Another possibility if you are interested may be to pursue a PTCB license.  Stores are always looking for qualified technicians, and certainly there are opportunities for increased pay as well.

I hope your experience as an STL improves, and I wish you luck with Walgreens'.

-Chris in Portland

In all honesty, I really love the company I work for.  Which is Walgreens.  For me it's not a matter of forcing myself to wake up and go into a job I clearly hate.  In fact any job I hated that much, I left...simple as that.  I am an assistant manager for Walgreens, and I can see where you're coming from.  But consider these factors in your situation.  You say that your EXA has you in her cross hairs.  Appearently she thinks youre not doing anything.  This is also something, as you stated, that comes from the clerks as well.  First, an employees opinion of what THEY think youre doing, doesn't matter.  It sounds 100% harsh, but you are THEIR supervisor.  You have things that you need to do and they should ALWAYS have something keeping them busy.  Second, if you feel an EXA is creating a hostile work environment call LP. 1866 NO LOSS.  This was set in place for YOU!  This is YOUR defense, esp. if you feel your store manager isn't helping the situation.  You should have no fear of an investigation if you're doing what you need to do to get your job done.  Also, think about this.  You say employees think youre sitting around doing nothing, but then you turn around and say the EXACT same thing about YOUR fellow co workers.  Maybe it's time that the people in your store STOP focusing on what everybody else is doing, and START working towards a common goal.  I'm blessed to work in a store where we pull together as a team.  But I recently just transferred from a store in a similar situation as yours.  Every body thinks someone else is out to get them, so they spend their miserable little lives scheming petty schemes to get others in trouble.  STOP pointing fingers and start taking your JOB and your HAPPINESS into your own hands.

And SIMS...tooootally sucks, there's not a person in this company that wouldn't agree with that staement, but in the end....it's your job.  I started as a clerk, and I see exactly why employees think the managers stand around doing nothing. From that point of view, it really looks that way.  But think of all the crap you have to put up with as an STL.  Now take that crap, and add it to questions like, where does this go, do we have this? did you do your cash counts?  why is this drawer short?  does that guy looks suspicious?  are the employees staying busy?  IS THE STL staying busy?  How do I get all this stuff out of the stockroom.  Then after you finish adding all that stuff onto your plate add these things, my hours just got cut by 4 hours a week, so now I have to do more in less time, that other assistant manager standing next to me, may not be here next week, and when they leave, ill have to take over responsibilities too, because NO ONE else is going to replace them, or even better,  the assistant themself may not have a job at the end of  the week.  Then add some icing to the cake, not only is it bad enough that  an assistant has to deal with that stuff on a daily basis  WHILE ANSWERING CALLS, they have an STL accusing them of not doing anything, putting THIER jobs on the line.  That is exactly what those assistants in your store are going through right now as we speak. 

 If you think you can do it better, step it up and get a promotion.  Until then, you do what you need to do and learn to leave work at work