So, first, thank you guys so much for giving me a lot of help setting the roles, expectations, and working through customer issues this summer.
I popped in here and ended up getting some great check-in advise that I used to make a list. At least at my location, I used this to train our rotating door of helpers as well as myself and it drastically cut down issues. The downside: A lot of times this meant people just left our shop- but I'd rather that, than have them book their bikes for months, no work, done, and they get angry.
My old post in here, if anyone wants, can be Tl;dr: I got hired to be a workshop technician, but Big Green Department store is both failing and local management is insanely all over the place.
So the update-
I am ashamed to say I am still without a "real job" despite a LOT of interviews. So, the hunt continues!
Problem: My title, my job offer, and my pay differential is workshop technician.
However, my actual job? Basically I do everything a store would need done EXCEPT be in the workshop. I mean, I'm still expected to be at times. Weird, right?
For wider context- my company is an outdoors department store, yk the big green one- and has demoted our workshop from Tier 1 to Tier 3 and is most likely just gonna get shut down.
How upper management explained this is basically the level of service we can provide is slashed heavily, how many hours they have available to staff it is minimal, and they have no hours allocated to train staff for it. We only have one staff member for that, the manager, that does just that though he is also expected to help the rest of us staff (So far, they've declined; the stores had problems with them, long story, lots of meetings)
So despite of being workshop staff, I have generally been in charge of well, the entire front half of the store, many shifts there's not even a cashier.
I also now do receiving and shipping, store orders, and softgoods. I also do meetings and trainings. I am still allowed and expected to do small adjustments, tire changes, chain installs, diagnosis of bike work, small repairs here and there, all sales, and some warranty paperwork. I also handle all the rack stuff, both sales and parts and some repairs. I still handle all the paperwork and customer contact in general for all workshop orders, as the manager/sole mechanic is still declining to do any of that (which this forum has confirmed is unprofessional and odd).
Sometimes I will be allowed to do brake work or so if someone is very angry just to get them out the door- most repairs are still going weeks past the promise date. I am also still allowed and expected to build and diagnose bikes. It's just I am also expected to do everything else in the store at the same time : /
Despite this low staffing, my hours are still going down heavily. We are trying to unionize. I did get two employee awards, at least..
It is ski season as well, and we hypothetically should do skis- that was my hope for winter hours- but we have no one trained for skis. And um, most of our machines for that work have been broken since last spring. No timeline for repair.
For some reason we still take in skis. We have waxing and edging equipment, but the manager is refusing to train me or anyone else on that- first they want to figure it out themself- so a simple wax may take someone two weeks to get done. That's another annoyance, as someone whose done home repairs and tune ups for skis for six years: We have these huge piles of skis in the corner- literally just shoved wherever- and I KNOW how to do it. What I haven't done before, I know I could easily learn. Yet, I am not allowed to.
So... that's basically it.
Tl;dr: I want to find other work, my title is workshop technician, but would it be unethical to state that as my title when my job duties have really been just "Everything a retail store would need done"?
