Former Employees Sue GameStop Over Security Checks
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I've never been searched and I've worked in England and Australia in retail, nor know anyone who has.Vault101 said:
They do however search customers who they have no valid reason to suspect "because they can't treat anyone different".. so there are probably companies who do do this BS.
I have a friend who's a gamestop manager and he's a saint IMO. Well, not really, but he's always nice to me, and his people like him. So yes, good manager are out there, but, your prolly right, they are the exception, not the rule, as at other stores, i've noticed the manager types are much colder and very difficult to talk too.Amnestic said:
Almost dragged one outside the store and kicked the crap out of him for being disrespectful to my mother, but i didn't want to get arrested. Instead, I put an edge to my voice and bared down on him. I was bigger, (6 foot, 250, and thick, think shrek) and pressed that advantage until we got the discount my card entilted me too, and an appoligy. (it was the Dreamcast launch, i'd spend somewhere in the ball park of a grand, and had a 10% discount card that was still good. I renewed right before the program ended and it was still vaild. Sent mother to pick up the stuff with a list and a grand in her pocket. She's a GREAT Mom. You don't treat her badly. PERIOD. I showed up after work and had a "chat" with the manager. Was told later buy the staff, whom i was firnds with, they were hoping i'd drag him off and kick his @ss, he wasn't very popular with them, but again, i know better then that. I'm just thankful he was easily intemateded. LOL.
So if there is any merit to the lawsuit, i say pin them to the wall. Employees have rights too, and most of the gamestop clirks are kids, so yeah, if there mistreating the kids, give it too them.
I do occasionaly have to show them my bag..somtimes Im in my "work cloths" and I think (seriously? do I look like Im going to steal somthing?) but I dont mind, and I guess as you said they cant single people outCraorach said:
its not just the searchign but crappy conditions and such, when they smile and serve but are secretly thinking (I hate you and I hate my job)
Because in N. America worker's rights are a huge issue? They were when workers began unionizing in the late 1800s and throughout the early 1900s and still are today.Dimitriov said:
Why take a break? Why give workers a break? Hell, if they don't like it, there's workers in China, India, Bangladesh, Taiwan, etc., etc. that will do 12 hour shifts for pennies.
It's important that workers have rights to breaks, fair treatment and reasonable wages to keep countries like Canada and the USA strong and healthy, both from an economical standpoint but also an emotional standpoint. If your country is successful, if you make a decent, liveable wage you are a happier, more productive person and society as a whole benefits.
You need look no further than the Occupy protests happening right now to see why worker's rights are important, including not having to be subjected to a security check while on break.
Workers rights are one of the reasons Western countries have to buy all their products from China now... not really a solid long-term plan. But that's a problem with the way capitalism is being implemented, not with the idea of treating people fairly.Zom-B said:
My point is that a lot of people out there would like to simply have a job. Period. Not just in the rest of the world, but in the US too. In principle, of course I think it's important for workers to have rights and receive fair treatment, but most of the people I've worked with in my life are so useless and lazy that I honestly don't understand why they deserve any of those benefits. The problem is the general sense of entitlement that exists today.
People are completely broke and unemployed, then when they finally get a shitty job they don't just suck it up, work hard and move forward. Instead they complain that they shouldn't have to be doing that job, or that they should be paid more, or that they missed two whole minutes of their half-hour break.
I would be all for them filing this suit if I had any reason to think that they were actually working, but sadly my experience has too often shown me otherwise.
Why should you have a half hour break if you don't actually do any real work during the time you get paid for? I genuinely can't understand that.
And yes, obviously this doesn't apply to everyone.
security checks?
last time I checked, gamespot was a games store - as in the trading of video games for currency - not a prison.
seriously why would you check your employees? was there a massacre I didn't hear of? Is there a link to bomb threats? Is this the extent of the patriot act? Isn't this also a violation of human rights?
those who are willing to give up freedom for securiy deserve neither, never forget that.
last time I checked, gamespot was a games store - as in the trading of video games for currency - not a prison.
seriously why would you check your employees? was there a massacre I didn't hear of? Is there a link to bomb threats? Is this the extent of the patriot act? Isn't this also a violation of human rights?
those who are willing to give up freedom for securiy deserve neither, never forget that.
Yeah, that's definitely the management's fault.
As a Gamestop employee, I know what they're talking about. As explained, if you step out of the store for whatever reason, you gotta empty your pockets and open your purse/hatchet/backpack/whatever to show you're not taking anything like, let's say, a small DS game. At out store, these pocket checks, as we all them, don't take longer than 30 seconds. Think about it: Empty your pockets, show its empty contents, show your bag, the manager peeks at it (They don't usually spend a lot of time looking through it because A) They know who to trust and B) That would look kinda weird, especially if you have something personal in there, and boom, you're done.
I honestly can't imagine how a pocket check could possibly take longer than...2 minute. And that's a lot as it is. Either the managers were being dicks or the employees are whiny. Seriously, did they really expect to get paid that extra 1 minute lost for the pocket check? It's just one minute; deal with it.
And by the way, Cali has that law but Texas doesn't (Dunno what other states don't). We could work a 12 hours shift and technically, we're not entitled to have a break. But to NOT have one would be inhumane. So, GS Cali guys? Just shut it. You guys got it easy.
EDIT: Like I said, it's both parties' fault. And here's how that could have been solved:
-Do a quick pocket check; unless you're working with known criminals, managers should know by then who's a menace and who's trustworthy.
-Do a pocket check, THEN clock out. At least that's what I do.
-Don't bring so many things if you know the pocket check takes ages.
-Talk to your District Manager (Unless he was also being a dick, but who knows?)
As a Gamestop employee, I know what they're talking about. As explained, if you step out of the store for whatever reason, you gotta empty your pockets and open your purse/hatchet/backpack/whatever to show you're not taking anything like, let's say, a small DS game. At out store, these pocket checks, as we all them, don't take longer than 30 seconds. Think about it: Empty your pockets, show its empty contents, show your bag, the manager peeks at it (They don't usually spend a lot of time looking through it because A) They know who to trust and B) That would look kinda weird, especially if you have something personal in there, and boom, you're done.
I honestly can't imagine how a pocket check could possibly take longer than...2 minute. And that's a lot as it is. Either the managers were being dicks or the employees are whiny. Seriously, did they really expect to get paid that extra 1 minute lost for the pocket check? It's just one minute; deal with it.
And by the way, Cali has that law but Texas doesn't (Dunno what other states don't). We could work a 12 hours shift and technically, we're not entitled to have a break. But to NOT have one would be inhumane. So, GS Cali guys? Just shut it. You guys got it easy.
EDIT: Like I said, it's both parties' fault. And here's how that could have been solved:
-Do a quick pocket check; unless you're working with known criminals, managers should know by then who's a menace and who's trustworthy.
-Do a pocket check, THEN clock out. At least that's what I do.
-Don't bring so many things if you know the pocket check takes ages.
-Talk to your District Manager (Unless he was also being a dick, but who knows?)
Easy fix: employees aren't off the clock until they get searched and are free to leave.Thomas Guy said:
So, what this lawsuit is really telling you is that there are a bunch of people who are working for Gamestop who aren't happy campers.
Not necessarily about this issue specifically. People (in general) aren't so legalistic to file lawsuits every time their legal rights are slightly impinged. There are a few, but not many.
Employee lawsuits generally come about because you have unhappy employees. Maybe you've been disappointing them on raises, or nickle-and-diming them on benefits, or messing with overtime, or introducing draconian policies to suck the little joy out of the job, or something else. When people are upset, when they don't feel like part of the team, when they don't feel trusted or valued, THAT'S when they get angry enough to sue their employers.
The specifics are almost irrelevant--unless they're taking 15 minutes of your 30 minute lunch doing a full cavity search, this is probably not Gamestop's number one employee complaint. It's either the straw that broke someone's back, or the one thing where someone discovered a fairly solid legal footing that they could use to hurt Gamestop.
But regardless, the fact that the lawsuit exists (even if it's meritless) is a sign things are Not Going Well in the Gamestop universe...
Not necessarily about this issue specifically. People (in general) aren't so legalistic to file lawsuits every time their legal rights are slightly impinged. There are a few, but not many.
Employee lawsuits generally come about because you have unhappy employees. Maybe you've been disappointing them on raises, or nickle-and-diming them on benefits, or messing with overtime, or introducing draconian policies to suck the little joy out of the job, or something else. When people are upset, when they don't feel like part of the team, when they don't feel trusted or valued, THAT'S when they get angry enough to sue their employers.
The specifics are almost irrelevant--unless they're taking 15 minutes of your 30 minute lunch doing a full cavity search, this is probably not Gamestop's number one employee complaint. It's either the straw that broke someone's back, or the one thing where someone discovered a fairly solid legal footing that they could use to hurt Gamestop.
But regardless, the fact that the lawsuit exists (even if it's meritless) is a sign things are Not Going Well in the Gamestop universe...
Immediate dismissal is the actions taken against anyone caught stealing, you just need ways of catching those people before you can take action against them. The solution is obvious and has been stated before just do the checks before they punch out for break.Craorach said:
Doesn't Gamestop have the little security sensors by the door? If yes, then why are security checks necessary? Seems a little excessive to me.
Next think you know you're gonna have to go through TSA-level security before you can walk into the mall. Kids these days. -shakes cane-
Next think you know you're gonna have to go through TSA-level security before you can walk into the mall. Kids these days. -shakes cane-
I would never work in a place where they treated me like a criminal. I'd rather just be a criminal and be treated like a normal person. But that doesn't mean I want to be a politician.
Based on my experience, it seems retail deliberately attracts some of the absolute worst sorts of people and puts them into management. (And if you happen to be a competent and efficient worker, you get bent over and fucked twice as hard as everyone else, because like as not, you're going to be doing their jobs for them.)
It's not only common, but almost expected for Middle and Upper management to work around the clock not trying to find ways of making the work more efficient and safe, but loopholes in state labor laws to cut costs and enact policies based on that. This case looks like the direct result of that.
That's why Gamestop forces their employees to act as if they work on commission (when it doesn't really matter or help anyway) but pay them little to nothing in return. My brief stay working technical for Sears was a bit grueling at times, but it was nothing compared to the bullshit my friend at the Gamestop just a short walk into the mall had to endure.
It's not only common, but almost expected for Middle and Upper management to work around the clock not trying to find ways of making the work more efficient and safe, but loopholes in state labor laws to cut costs and enact policies based on that. This case looks like the direct result of that.
That's why Gamestop forces their employees to act as if they work on commission (when it doesn't really matter or help anyway) but pay them little to nothing in return. My brief stay working technical for Sears was a bit grueling at times, but it was nothing compared to the bullshit my friend at the Gamestop just a short walk into the mall had to endure.
Facts are, the law says you get those breaks, so companies have to either adhere to it, or deal with it when called out en mass by a class action suit.
They're not being whiny or slackers, they're just defending their rights, which WILL be eroded every chance companies get if they're not forced to treat their staff decently.
Of course, as one member of staff, it's a lot harder to demand your rights, who wants to cause trouble and know they'll be first out when they need to fire people.
As a group you can stand your ground and just ask for what you're supposed to receive without asking in the first place.
Yes, I got promoted to management in job, and realised all it means is you get hassled from below as well as above. After that I realised I wasn't management material, tho they kept me til I quit, I think they couldn't find anyone else dumb enough to take a management job with them. (threshers liquor store, now defunct)
Regularly got put in the situation of 13-14 hour shifts with no breaks, alone, decided 'fuck em' and just closed the store when I needed to go eat or use the bathroom. Got caught and chewed out, tried rational argument, got bitched at more. Carried on doing it anyway.
They're not being whiny or slackers, they're just defending their rights, which WILL be eroded every chance companies get if they're not forced to treat their staff decently.
Of course, as one member of staff, it's a lot harder to demand your rights, who wants to cause trouble and know they'll be first out when they need to fire people.
As a group you can stand your ground and just ask for what you're supposed to receive without asking in the first place.
Yes, I got promoted to management in job, and realised all it means is you get hassled from below as well as above. After that I realised I wasn't management material, tho they kept me til I quit, I think they couldn't find anyone else dumb enough to take a management job with them. (threshers liquor store, now defunct)
Regularly got put in the situation of 13-14 hour shifts with no breaks, alone, decided 'fuck em' and just closed the store when I needed to go eat or use the bathroom. Got caught and chewed out, tried rational argument, got bitched at more. Carried on doing it anyway.