Are Dunnes Stores mangers schooled at being A**holes?

Christian Troy

While I was there, it was as if I had to let them act as if they were smarter than me in order to get along with them! It didn't take me long to realise, that the manager who I was supposed to report to on paper, didn't want anything to do with me. He just directed me towards other manager that were beneath him.. which weren't very nice. I remember one of them once told me to get out of his face, and another said to me "I need you to get out and pull your finger out!" I got boyed a lot by one as he tried to knock me into place.

I don't really mind managers addressing a worker's mistakes more so than encouraging what they're doing right - but when 95% of the feedback (of a reasonably good worker) is pointing out what they wrong in a rather condescending manner, it becomes a bit much. I think I might have got a "good man" or two, but that's it. If I was a manager, I'd reaslise that a worker doesn't need to feel you breathing down their neck in order for them to get their work done. Why is this? I've also heard some very bad things about Dunnes!

As an example of how the manager were nasty, one night I was told to face off the "ends". When I was going around the store facing them off, I couldn't help but to face off the ladders too, which were right next to the ends. I remember stopping myself and thinking "hang on, he just asked me to do the ends". So I continued doing just that. This manager was in my head a bit, and as I was continuing, a voice popped in, which said "would it have hurt to do the ladders as well?". Ah ha, a dilemma I thought - I said I'll just do exactly what I've been instructed... thinking it wasn't a situation where I'd need to use my initiative.

So later while I was doing just that, he came up & said "hang on now, look at this - Would it have hurt to do the ladders as well?". I replied with a strong "No, you instructed me to just do the ends". I stepped closer and repeated the exact same thing. I replied "for all I know, you've someone else on that - and I actually planned on asking about that when I'd finished the ends." It didn't end well. Was he just trying to be an asshole?

The next week, I was called up to talk to my official manager (not the 'ends' guy). I remember thinking on the way up "why would he want to talk to me?" Then I realised, "I'm being fired aren't I?", and what do ya know! They called me on lateness.

Curb Your Enthusiasm

Sorry to hear all this. You should try Lidl - even worse. Just horrible. The way these companies treat their employees is just disgraceful. Zero respect.

Christian Troy

Curb Your Enthusiasm wrote: »

Sorry to hear all this. You should try Lidl - even worse. Just horrible. The way these companies treat their employees is just disgraceful. Zero respect.

I hear supervalu aren't as bad!

Stonedpilot

Curb Your Enthusiasm wrote: »

Sorry to hear all this. You should try Lidl - even worse. Just horrible. The way these companies treat their employees is just disgraceful. Zero respect.

Really?. Knew someone who worked at Lidl said it was ok..

Lux23

In my experience, a lot of managers in retail or maybe warehousing jobs are people that stayed in the jobs long enough to get offered a manager's position - lots of them aren't properly trained and seem to think a manager is someone who just throws their weight around or acts as close to a bully as possible. Years ago I had a job where all the supervisors/managers were lifers with a low level of education and they probably felt threatened by part-time students etc. so they acted like total w***ers towards us. The power trip they used to be on when doing a roster was hilarious. Always leaving holiday requests to the last minute. All of them were demoted or let go when the company went through a hard time in the recession.

EverythingGood

Stonedpilot wrote: »

Really?. Knew someone who worked at Lidl said it was ok..

Wife worked in Lild as a deputy manager, money was great, hours horrendous but generally speaking was ok, Dunnes on the other hand are a shower of *****.

TallGlass

Dunnes are notorious for this stuff.

If I was you, get a notepad and starting writing down these incidents and witnesses, get a constructive dismissal case. When they get hit in the pocket, they'll soon change there attitudes.

Chris.

I worked in Dunnes for three months over the Christmas years ago while in school. To this day I have never come across managers as pig ignorant.

Absolutely full of their own self importance, they looked and spoke to you like you were **** on their shoes. Dunnes wanted to keep me on after the 3 months were up, I said thanks but no thanks.

If you have ever read anything about the woman who owns the company, you would understand exactly why the managers are the way they are. It comes from the top down.

Christian Troy

TallGlass wrote: »

Dunnes are notorious for this stuff.

If I was you, get a notepad and starting writing down these incidents and witnesses, get a constructive dismissal case. When they get hit in the pocket, they'll soon change there attitudes.

Don't be silly.

As a guy won over 9k in a settlement at the steps of the court, I know what fights are worth picking, and which ones just make you bitter and looking silly. I've learned a thing or two from it yes, but not gonna take someone to court every time I get called a name.

I actually mentioned some of this at the time of getting fired. He said he'd take it into account.. which likely means nothing, but never the less.

Christian Troy

Chris. wrote: »

If you have ever read anything about the woman who owns the company, you would understand exactly why the managers are the way they are. It comes from the top down.

But she doesn't have an official "treat em mean" policy! Is it like the child who's abused, and then abuses their own child. Would the managers I was dealing with get treated like **** at any meetings they'd have with higher managers?!

Christian Troy

EverythingGood wrote: »

Dunnes on the other hand are a shower of *****.

But does it work? for the company? Would Dunnes be making lesser profits if they weren't a**holes.

ZeroThreat

Chris. wrote: »

I worked in Dunnes for three months over the Christmas years ago while in school. To this day I have never come across managers as pig ignorant.

Absolutely full of their own self importance, they looked and spoke to you like you were **** on their shoes. Dunnes wanted to keep me on after the 3 months were up, I said thanks but no thanks.

If you have ever read anything about the woman who owns the company, you would understand exactly why the managers are the way they are. It comes from the top down.

I remember some programme a number of years ago, Heffernan waffling on about how important her christian faith is to her and how it affects the way she lives on a day to day basis or something to that effect.

I guess she's trying to be the modern embodiment of William Martin Murphy - ie. fumble in the greasy till and and the halfpence to the pence and prayer to shivering prayer..

Ol' Donie

Worked in Dunnes about 15 years ago. Only place I ever worked where I was pulled aside to be told I had to let the supervisor know if I was going for a p*ss.

I've had many jobs over the years, that couple of months are the only ones I don't have a single good memory from.

Miose

I hope I'm not out of line in saying this. With the information you have given in your posts, I would find it difficult to hire you. Are some Dunnes Managers assholes? Undoubtedly. You will encounter assholes in every walk of life, in every job, it's how you deal with them that matters. If you have a chip on your shoulder, it is obvious, whether you like to believe it or not. If you want to hold on to your job, don't give them a valid reason to fire you!

Christian Troy

Miose wrote: »

With the information you have given in your posts, I would find it difficult to hire you.

Well of course! These would be a very stupid things to say in an interview... I wouldn't recommend it - they'd probably think I'd have a chip on me shoulder or something!

Miose wrote: »

Are some Dunnes Managers assholes? Undoubtedly. You will encounter assholes in every walk of life, in every job, it's how you deal with them that matters.

Stating the obvious. The question here, is whether there's a higher frquency of assholes in Dunnes. Feel free to point out how you think I dealt with them badly.

Miose wrote: »

If you have a chip on your shoulder, it is obvious, whether you like to believe it or not. If you want to hold on to your job, don't give them a valid reason to fire you!

I'm not entirely convinced with the way every other poster seems to disagree with you. The chip on your shoulder doesn't refute any point I made, nor does it add to the discussion any way.

Miose wrote: »

If you want to hold on to your job, don't give them a valid reason to fire you!

Again, a vague unhelpful thing to say. Sorry but you haven't really added anything here.

retro:electro

Worked in Dunnes all the way through college. My manager was for sure bullied in school or something because he was always on a power trip, had a massive inferiority complex and was the biggest arsehole I've ever come across. It actually pains me to have to shop there from time to time, and I recognise the same forelorn fcuk my life expressions that I acquired when I worked there. My manager used to tell us all how this is only temporary for him and he had "a big job coming up in Dublin" bla bla. We used to call him Del Boy.
Well four years later he's still working there and still being a pr!ck.

I think it's a prerequisite for the job that you need to be the most smarmist, most unlikable asshole imaginable who seems to think he's God's gift as well.

Miose

Christian Troy wrote: »

Well of course! These would be a very stupid things to say in an interview... I wouldn't recommend it - they'd probably think I'd have a chip on me shoulder!Stating the obvious. The question here, is whether there's a higher frquency of assholes in Dunnes. Feel free to point out how I dealt with them badly.
I'm not entirely convinced with the way every other poster seems to disagree with you. The chip on your shoulder doesn't refute any point I made, nor does it add to the discussion any way.
That's a vague unhelpful thing to say. Sorry but you haven't really added anything here.

Oh sorry, let me be more clear. If you are walking around in a subsequent (not to make assumptions - it could have been Dunnes too) job after getting a 9k settlement (regardless of the wrongs or rights of it) - don't give them a reason to fire you, you did.

If you think Dunnes managers are all assholes, get another job before they can fire you and leave you without a reference and a gaping hole in your CV.

It's the whole 'If you meet an asshole, you've met an asshole. If everyone you meet is an asshole, you're the asshole' theory.

Christian Troy

Miose wrote: »

Oh sorry, let me be more clear. If you are walking around in a subsequent (not to make assumptions - it could have been Dunnes too) job after getting a 9k settlement (regardless of the wrongs or rights of it) - don't give them a reason to fire you, you did.

I don't know if you worded the end of that badly or not, but how has the 9k got anything to do with that? Not even my family know about that! My comment didn't imply that the 9k settlement was actually from Dunnes! Are you saying that Dunnes would try to fire me if I tried to sue them!?

Miose wrote: »

It's the whole 'If you meet an asshole, you've met an asshole. If everyone you meet is an asshole, you're the asshole' theory.

No, just Dunnes interestingly enough... hence the thread!

Wanderer2010

It really does seem to be a big problem for Dunnes, these d!ckhead managers. I used to shop there up to a few years ago and I witnessed several instances of power trippy managers speaking down to staff. One time I was waiting at a deli and the worker, who was lovely and mannerly, came out to serve me and even before she had her gloves on, this thundering see you next Tuesday cow stormed over, hands on hips, and yelled "Mary- CUSTOMER. SERVE" as if poor Mary was a disobedient dog. What's worse, she looked at me as if she had such a hard job and oh, you cant get the staff these days, and rolled her eyes.

At which I jumped in "the girl was putting her gloves on, do you bark at all your staff like that" and she just stormed off in a huff. Fcuking hell, you are selling food to the public, not CEO of NASA. People really do think they are so important.

jcd5971

Christian Troy wrote:

The next week, I was called up to talk to my official manager (not the 'ends' guy). I remember thinking on the way up "why would he want to talk to me?" Then I realised, "I'm being fired aren't I?", and what do ya know! They called me on lateness.

Lux23 wrote:

In my experience, a lot of managers in retail or maybe warehousing jobs are people that stayed in the jobs long enough to get offered a manager's position - lots of them aren't properly trained and seem to think a manager is someone who just throws their weight around or acts as close to a bully as possible. Years ago I had a job where all the supervisors/managers were lifers with a low level of education and they probably felt threatened by part-time students etc. so they acted like total w***ers towards us. The power trip they used to be on when doing a roster was hilarious. Always leaving holiday requests to the last minute. All of them were demoted or let go when the company went through a hard time in the recession.

Some managers are nice some are not I'm sure, same as any other industry.

The comment about most having a "low level of education" seems petty to me.

Most managers in retail I know of have degrees, some in business some in completely different fields.

That being said I'm an assistant manager myself and i would never rule somebody out of a job,manager or otherwise over their education.

I think as you get older and mature you'll find qualifications and education isn't the be all and end all.

pilly

Christian Troy wrote: »

Well of course! These would be a very stupid things to say in an interview... I wouldn't recommend it - they'd probably think I'd have a chip on me shoulder or something!Stating the obvious. The question here, is whether there's a higher frquency of assholes in Dunnes. Feel free to point out how you think I dealt with them badly.
I'm not entirely convinced with the way every other poster seems to disagree with you. The chip on your shoulder doesn't refute any point I made, nor does it add to the discussion any way.
Again, a vague unhelpful thing to say. Sorry but you haven't really added anything here.

Since other posters did agree with Moise but didn't pipe up I thought I should.

Your attitude stinks to be honest. Petty squabbling and sticking strictly to instructions purely because your manager is an asshole will get you nowhere in life.

dee_mc

I have to agree with Moise and Pilly too - in the instance you outlined, you come across as rude and agressive, and really the more constructive way forward would have been to ask the manager, either at the time he gave his unclear instruction or as soon as you realised you were unsure, whether you were required to face off the ladders as well as the end shelves.
You come across as petty and as 'cutting off your nose to spite your face'.
To answer your question, yes, I've often thought that Dunnes managers seemed ignorant and rude to staff. But I've also noticed in my working life that if I'm unerringly polite and ask for clarification on unclear instructions, managers tend to learn to be more precise in their instructions. And if they're still behaving like a dick, then at least I know they're just a dick and not reflecting my own poor attitude.

Christian Troy

dee_mc wrote: »

But I've also noticed in my working life that if I'm unerringly polite and ask for clarification on unclear instructions, managers tend to learn to be more precise in their instructions. And if they're still behaving like a dick, then at least I know they're just a dick and not reflecting my own poor attitude.

I don't think this has got much to do with the actual thread topic by now. Perhaps some of ye think I've gotten 'too cocky' with Moise, and want to take me down a peg.

But never the less - you must remember that these managers know what they're doing & know the store like the back of their hands... there's no point in me presuming that they've forgotten something. With the situation I described, the way I saw it, was that if I wanted clarity on the instruction, I'd have to spend up to 5 mins trying to find the manager. Then I could ask him "do you want me to do the ladders too?". His reply would likely be a condescending "hang on now boy? what did I ask you to do?". While looking stupid, my answer would then be "you asked me to do the ladders", to which he'd say "so do the ladders". Who knows though... maybe if the same guy hadn't told me to get out of his face an hour earlier, I'd have felt more inclined to ask!

You might think it's easy with hindsight to know what would've been the best thing to do here, but to be honest I don't think you could possibly get it right with someone who's likely just being a bully. I'm not sure if you properly understand the situation I described, or if you're just trying to put me on the defensive. I do hope that most found the dynamics of my dilemma interesting and if they don't relate to it, that at least (if they ever encounter it) they'll be in a better position to deal with it.

dee_mc

Christian Troy wrote:

You might think it's easy with hindsight to know what would've been the best thing to do here, but to be honest I don't think you could possibly get it right with someone who's likely just being a bully. I'm not sure if you properly understand the situation I described, or if you're just trying to put me on the defensive. I do hope that most found the dynamics of my dilemma interesting and if they don't relate to it, that at least (if they ever encounter it) they'll be in a better position to deal with it.

But what can they learn from what you described? How to get fired?
I'm simply commenting that I've encountered horrid managers too, but if you can only be seen as a good worker who doesn't rise to the bait of such a cretin you have some hope if a situation is ever brought to a higher manager's level!
No matter anyway, I was simply stating my opinion, you can ignore or misunderstand it as you wish.

pilly

Christian Troy wrote:

I don't think this has got much to do with the actual thread topic by now. Perhaps some of ye think I've gotten 'too cocky' with Moise, and want to take me down a peg.

Oh so the topic of the thread is just "all dunnes managers are assholes" and anyone trying to give you constructive advice on your attitude is "trying to take you down a peg".

You have a massive chip there son.

odyssey06

You can get micro-managers hovering over your shoulders in all walks of life... you need to find ways of dealing \ defending yourself \ tolerating them. You can be lucky and avoid them - or unlucky enough that sometime you might need to endure one of them for long to get a reference \ promotion etc

Develop some useful phrases, "Ah I see it now, when I was doing X sure Y were just beside them, I'll chalk that one up to experience".

If all else fails, don't think of them as a person trying to get under skin \ in your head; think of them as a badly programmed robot who issues unclear instructions, disappears when you need them and hovers around when you don't. Don't get emotional.

BlinkingLights

Christian Troy wrote: »

I hear supervalu aren't as bad!

SuperValu are a collection of franchisees so, you've different employers in different stores. It's impossible to generalise.

2Mad2BeMad

I worked in smyths toystore for a christmas job a few years ago.

Their was 4 managers in the place when I started.

3 of them were absolute dickheads
1 of them was one of the soundest blokes you could meet

He was a hard worker, pulled his weight and helped floor staff when ever possible.

He got fired

The other managers done sweet f a.

Must be a requirement to be a manager.

Stheno

Nonsense thread closed.