Those "In training" badges must die!

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

I was at my local Staples tonight picking up a few things, the girl at the register had a name tag which said her name followed by "I'm in training".

I like the concept of this thing, to help employees understand that this person is new and still learning, unfortunately they cause more problems than they solve. The ones that just say "In training" or "Trainee" are even more demeaning. Even a new employee has a name for goodness sake!

BUT...

There's a growing number of customers who HATE dealing with new employees and the "in training" tag puts a giant bullseye on their chest. How many times have you been in line at a fast food restaurant and noticed the employee handling your line has a "training" tag on. Sure he's probably not taking much longer than the other cashiers to do his thing, but inevitably some customers will complain about the rookie taking the orders.

I am fully in favor of NOT forcing employees to wear these ridiculous tags as it just gives customers a reason to berate them/complain to their manager/be generally sucky simply because the person happens to be new.

I think companies should treat their employees with more respect than that.

[Pedersen]

Actually, the idea is so that customers will be more patient/forgiving, not less.

Not saying that it works, just that that's the idea.

[nicegirl]

i never wore that portion of the badge.

[king4aday]

When I worked at Walt Disney World and I was in training I had to wear a little ribbon that hung from my nametag that said "earning my ears." It was a little humiliating......but fun at the same time.

[Sarah81]

I become even more patient than usual when I see one of those badges. Now, I'm not an SC to the other employees or anything like that, but if I see that somebody is new, I'm definitely going to cut him/her a lot of slack.

So the idea behind those badges does work on some of us

[XCashier]

Actually, the idea is so that customers will be more patient/forgiving, not less.

Not saying that it works, just that that's the idea.

It depends on the customer. If the customer is normally the easy-going, kind, Golden Rule-following good customer, he or she is going to be patient and forgiving of the trainee. If it's the typical SC we complain about here, he or she is going to be an even worse bully to the newbie.

Sooner or later, the trainees are going to have to face the ugly reality that is the SC. It's always a very unpleasant awakening.

[Lace Neil Singer]

I had an SC on the very first day I worked at *supermarket*, along with a customer who swiped a load of bags. O_o Luckily for me tho, karma bit the SC in the butt. XD At the time we had the old tills that locked down if a person's credit card was declined; hers was and cuz it was slammed at the time, she had to wait for 10 minutes for a supervisor to unlock it. Served her right cuz she was yelling "Hurry up!" at me all the time and shouting, "For god's sake! Can't you do this any faster, I've got to get to a meeting!" Hope she was late.

[digilight]

With normal customers I think that those badges are great. They let us know that you are still learning the ropes and that we must be a little more patient. Unfortunantly SCs will fark it up like always. I have found myself when I get stuck behind a sc will be the one to comment to the clerk about what a dickhead/bitch that person was....I know they can't say it, and I'm sure it makes them feel better knowing that it wasn't just them thinking it.

[Becks]

I only had the "In training" badge once. At the dollar store.

Didn't make me no nevermind (man, do I sound like my older sister, or what?), since I was only there for 3 days...and the last day I was sent home early because of a lack of power.

If I see someone wearing one, I'll be even more patient. I know what it's like to be thrown to the wolves at a new job.

[LoneWolf]

I only wore the in training badge for a few days, people understood that I couldn't answer too many questions yet, since I still had to study up, but since I only work weekends, one guy who went to the store regularly started patronizing me and why I was taking so long. I shouldn't be doing a man's job anyway.

No matter what they come up with, with or without trainee badges, people will still find ways to try and pick the lock of the employee's mental cage which contains the evil beast that likes to give sucky customers a verbal and/or non-verbal ass whooping

[PepperElf]

They do that at the local Gaijin shops I go to here... had a new guy working at the mini-mart today, rather shy cos it was his first day on the job I think. In fact... I think I was his first transaction... but after reading all of the horror stories here, i went to him on purpose just so i could be nice to him.

the only thing i didn't like was that his mentor kept calling him 'sweetheart' which could be kinda demeaning... but i dont think she meant to be mean. i just hope the rest of his day went nicely.

[Raieth]

I actually swiped an in-training ribbon from the office and wore it for 2 years at zellers! I can tolerate the under-the-breath "Your not stupid your just new" comments easier then the out loud. "Your stupid" ones.

[Department stores *sigh*]

They didnt bring in Trainee badges until about a year into my life at Zellers. On off days if I felt a bit lazy or like pulling some legs I would walk around with a "In Training" badge on for a short part of my shift or when I needed to get work done. People tend to bother you less if they think your an untrained retail proffesional.