Customer Reported Me For Not Working Off the Clock

[purplecat41877]

On Monday, on my way to the time clock, a customer was asking me where an item was. I told him I wasn't on and tried to direct him to the employee in the meat/seafood department. He said in a rude tone that it was nice shopping at <grocery store>. He even wanted my union number which I didn't give him.

The customer reported me to the store director for not helping him off the clock. The store director ended up letting me know that I can't tell customers I'm off the clock because I represent the company. I was told that if needed my time could be adjusted so I would still get paid for helping the customer. The FEM told me that the store director had to tell me that because he was the manager even if he felt I did the right thing.

[veniteangeli]

And yet, had you helped him off the clock, you would have got the old spiel about how that's illegal and they can't possibly afford/authorize the overtime.

[Arcus]

Sounds like he told you that just to get the SC off his back. Off the clock is your time.

[Food Lady]

That's bull. You did the right thing.

[Marmalady]

This is why I wear another fleece (or shirt, in summer) to work, and change into my uniform in the ladies' room - I got fed up with constantly being stopped either before I had started my shift, or afterwards when I was going home.

[Bright_Star]

Doesn't matter if you were representing the company. You were OFF THE CLOCK! & had you helped that customer then you would have been written up for working off the clock. It's like damned if you do & damned if you don't.
You did the right thing.

[sms001]

Concur with all of the above. SC (and management) look at it as "just a few minutes" but how often is THAT true? I think directing a customer to another employee is perfectly acceptable.

[earl colby pottinger]

Sorry, unless you are on commission and make money off a sales no matter when or where you do it, OFF-THE-CLOCK means you ARE NOT REPRESENTING the company.

You want me to represent you - pay me!

As already posted - you did the right thing! What next, helping customer even when the store is closed or you are shopping (off-the-clock) elsewhere?

[RichS]

Echoing all of the others - you did the right thing.

I work for a college. I also take classes. Representing the company, for me, means being the best person that I can while at the college.

Of course, some students recognize me, and want tutoring. I tell them when I work, and that they can schedule an appointment at the center. No way I'm doing anything without being paid.

[Becks]

Wait...the customer wanted your union number? WTF for?

[EricKei]

And yet, had you helped him off the clock, you would have got the old spiel about how that's illegal .

Yeah, yeah, you did the right thing and all of that ^_^ Agreed!

And in the US, at least, I would say that the store should be *thanking* you for the refusal to work. *Allowing* someone to work off of the clock, unpaid, even of their own volition, is considered to be the same thing as *forcing* them to do so (after all, a business that routinely forced people to work unpaid hours would probably be unscrupulous enough to claim that the workers volunteered to do it!).

Kudos to you! You just protected the company from a serious lawsuit!

[starsinthesky]

Can't you go to the union and ask them about it? I would imagine that they might not be pleased that you are being to required to work of the clock at customer assistance and request to be paid for it. Which as state above could be denied for a bunch of reasons.

[Ree]

I help customers off the clock all the time.
It's annoying, yeah, but they don't know you aren't punched in for work, or you're on a break.
(It helps that we get paid breaks, and if I get interrupted to help a customer, I can make up the time after.)

Like purplecat's management, though, it's kind of expected of us.

I was trained in customer service back when dinosaurs roamed the earth and Christ was a small child going to school, so I had it drummed into me that it just looked bad to tell a customer that you were on a break, or not on the clock yet.

It's when they clearly know you aren't on the clock but ask for help anyway that I get annoyed, such as the day I was walking with my freakin' lunch in my hand and a customer stopped me. They didn't care if my meal got cold.

That's when I want to go to their workplace just as they clock out for lunch and then demand they do something to help me out. (And if they don't work, I want to go to their home just as they are sitting down to eat and interrupt their meal. )

There have been times when I was really hungry, or really needed that break to go pee or have a coffee because I was about to lose my mind. If a customer stopped me, then, yeah, I would definitely tell them that I was just heading to break, but I would get someone to help them, and I have paged for someone to come.

If they got all snarly and complained to my manager that I told them I wasn't on the clock and I refused to help them, then that would really piss me off even worse.

[Sandman]

Report that manager and state what he stated to you. Demand he get written up (or fired) considering he just told you it's ok to work off the clock. I sincerely doubt that those "adjustments" would be made.

[Slayer]

Personally, I find it easier to just say "I don't know, I'm sorry, but [name] should know" and point them to that person.

Saying "off the clock" or similar just makes it sound like you don't give a fuck (even though it's true lol).

I've avoided SCs by doing that before. You didn't do anything wrong as you weren't working at the time. Getting a write up for that is beyond stupid.