What do I do about broken policy at my Old Navy store?
Question:
I’ve been working at Old Navy for almost 6 months now, if not a little over that, and I’ve come to like my job in general. However, at the same time, I feel really frustrated that my store is so, well, awful, and it feels like a dead-end job due to the chaos within our employee chain of command.
Our Store Manager shows blatant favoritism to employees, has hired family (her son-in-law), frequently comes in no less than three hours late to work, and harasses the Operations department about not doing our job when our Shipment team frequently leaves the store a wreck. It seems like no one cares about doing their job right, and it’s really, really disheartening. I want to fix the problems, even if I am just the “little guy on the totem pole.” I’m tired of seeing my coworkers unhappy. I’m tired of being frustrated every day I come in to work to see that Man A isn’t doing his job, and know that he isn’t going to get in trouble because he’s friends with our Store Manager, or the same effect with Man B because he’s her son-in-law. This whole issue is made worse with the fact that apparently the Store Manager and our District Manager are friends, as I’ve been told countless times by multiple employees that everyone’s complaints to the DM have been shot down and ignored, or retaliated (which I find interesting, because I thought GAP had an Anti-Retaliation Policy…).
Anyone have any ideas on how to approach the situation in rectifying it? I don’t want to be the employee that runs away by quitting, or the employee that shuts up and just bows their head at what is, essentially, workplace corruption.
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2 Responses to What do I do about broken policy at my Old Navy store?
Document, document, document it ALL, but not at work. When you get home, keep a journal on a computer or hand-write it in a notebook. Do it every day so when the time comes to use it in court, you’ll have an established pattern of behavior. Write down the following:
Date it happened
Who was present, who said it, who witnessed it, etc.
What was said.
Where did it happen
When it happened (time)
Why did it happen.
Anything, good or bad, write it down.
If you’ve been with the company for 6 months, surely you know about Gap Code.
Call 1-866-GAP-CODE about any situation happening within your store when you dont feel comfortable talking to your direct manager. They are live operators from outside the company, available 24/7. Calls are free, confidential, and may be made anonymously.
Do yourself a favor and don’t tell any one at your store that you called b/c you know people can’t keep a secret and then people will know it was you who ratted on someone!!