Saturday, November 28, 2009

Shoppers Drug Mart Politics

Usually, when a company asks an employee to take over a position that has been held by the same person for many many years, that new employee should adapt to their new environment and staff, right? Well, not if you're talking about Shoppers Drug Mart.

Last night I worked relief in a Shoppers Drug Mart (SDM) that has a new "Associate Owner" (slash "sucker"). The staff filled me in on all the gossip. The old Associate left the store to take on a cushy head office job. And the new guy comes into the new store for not even 2 weeks and has already started digging his own grave.

You think that as the new guy and new boss of a pretty large and decent staff, you'd want to keep them on your good side. But not this genius. He comes in and as one of his first acts of business, he decides to end the store's methadone program!! WTF?!?! Those meth patients are trying to get clean, and you walk in and mess everything up!! Of course, I'm working the first full day after they started telling their patients that they're going to have to find a new methadone store. Thanks asshole, now I'm working until midnight with a bunch of pissed off recovering drug addicts and the staff and I are getting an ear full.

So, why would this idiot choose to take over a store where there's methadone if he's to big of a pussy to deal with it? My guess: he's an idiot. But, an even better question: Why would SDM let a new associate take over a new store and start changing things around so drastically? My guess: they're idiots. But he's all they've got, and they're all he's got. Why? Say it with me: They're all idiots!

The whole situation gets worse because the staff are the ones telling the patients that they are closing the program and so the staff are getting yelled at. And who do the staff blame? The new guy. The idiot. And head office. The idiots.

This isn't an isolated incident. Every time I go to a SDM, there's some sort of political nonsense pissing all the store level staff off. Listen up Shoppers: don't piss off your store-level staff. They are your bread and butter...not the stupid idiots at head office in their cushy desk jobs with fancy offices and furniture (I've seen the fancy head office by the way).

So, what did I do? Naturally, I stirred shit up. I told the nice ladies, the technicians, to be empowered. I told them to say something to the new guy. And if that doesn't work, then speak to their regional manager. Worst case, get the pissed of patients to complain to head office and if necessary, complain to the college.

Call me a shit disturber. Seriously, call me that. Because that's what I am.

All Shoppers stores have issues. And the issues are typically all the same.

Too bad this hugely successful company are not smart enough to recognize it and do something about it. It's only a matter of time before it all comes crashing down.

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