What Are You Doing Right Now
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@thanksaj honestly it sounds like Staples really is a good place for you. You liked it there and you crushed that job. That assistant manager will likely not be there for long, one way or another. It's not the type of position that really tends to last a long time even normally.
Once you are there for a while and make it clear that you are there to be a rock star tech and not just doing it to grab the Asst. Manager job I think that things will probably get better quickly. Maybe not with this manager, but with the one who replaces him. A good manager wants a rock star tech making him look good and knows that. This guy sounds like he knows that he is not a good manager and is trying to make himself valuable by being a tech instead.
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Although I do have to say that the GM saying that a manager should not fix things too is not the sign of a good GM. I've seen the same thing before when I was a General Manager and the regional manager told me that I was only to "think and manage" and not to "do". Sure, that's a nice theory. But the reality was that I could not spend usefully all of my time managing people, good people don't need that much management.
If I became part of the team I became a better leader and I reduced the total number of staff that we had. We were the most efficient restaurant in our group by a huge degree. Best customer service, fewest employees, highest profits margins, happiest staff. A lot of it came down to that I didn't just manage and act like a monarch with serfs, I acted like a leader and was a part of the team.
I'm not saying that this Asst. Manager is like that, he just sounds like an idiot. I still knew that my team was all better at their jobs that I was and I was just there to help out wherever needed and managing was my priority. I was the guy who covered them on breaks and sick days or whatever. Or who hopped in when they were overloaded. This guy sounds like he wants to be the tech, in reality.
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@scottalanmiller said:
@thanksaj honestly it sounds like Staples really is a good place for you. You liked it there and you crushed that job. That assistant manager will likely not be there for long, one way or another. It's not the type of position that really tends to last a long time even normally.
Once you are there for a while and make it clear that you are there to be a rock star tech and not just doing it to grab the Asst. Manager job I think that things will probably get better quickly. Maybe not with this manager, but with the one who replaces him. A good manager wants a rock star tech making him look good and knows that. This guy sounds like he knows that he is not a good manager and is trying to make himself valuable by being a tech instead.
Yeah, I did. It feels like I'm going backwards in many ways, but I really did love this job. I'm excited to be going back. You are right though. Especially on my last stint at Staples, I needed very little management. I knew pretty much all the policies and procedures and the managers just let me do my job and pretty much never questioned my decisions, because I'd earned a level of trust. I don't think this assistant manager wants to be a tech. I think he wants to do whatever is necessary to be viewed as valuable/irreplaceable, and his stock just continues to drop.
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@scottalanmiller said:
Although I do have to say that the GM saying that a manager should not fix things too is not the sign of a good GM. I've seen the same thing before when I was a General Manager and the regional manager told me that I was only to "think and manage" and not to "do". Sure, that's a nice theory. But the reality was that I could not spend usefully all of my time managing people, good people don't need that much management.
If I became part of the team I became a better leader and I reduced the total number of staff that we had. We were the most efficient restaurant in our group by a huge degree. Best customer service, fewest employees, highest profits margins, happiest staff. A lot of it came down to that I didn't just manage and act like a monarch with serfs, I acted like a leader and was a part of the team.
I'm not saying that this Asst. Manager is like that, he just sounds like an idiot. I still knew that my team was all better at their jobs that I was and I was just there to help out wherever needed and managing was my priority. I was the guy who covered them on breaks and sick days or whatever. Or who hopped in when they were overloaded. This guy sounds like he wants to be the tech, in reality.
And I agree with that. The GM wasn't saying that the assistant manager CAN'T fix computers, but this assistant manager has been forgoing other responsibilities that are manager-only jobs to try and be "useful" at fixing computers, etc. The problem is that right now the department doesn't have any really solid techs, which is no surprise. Even walking in the door, I'm going to be the strongest asset our department has, and I haven't been there in a year and a half. Once I've been there a couple weeks and have the new ways of doing things down, I'm gonna be back in my groove.
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I also found out that a friend of mine, who was also EasyTech Expert at one time (I replaced the guy who replaced him), filed a formal complaint with corporate against this assistant manager because of something he did and how he treated him as a customer. Our store has always prided itself on being the best at customer service, especially under my watch. It sounds like they've lost some of that since I've been gone...
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Dealing with the insane complications that come with being a "citizen of the world." Taxes, visas, flights... ugh.
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Just found out that our remote application server has an HTML5 client. Also found out that it the client won't run on Chrome for Android. Either way it is pretty cool.
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@coliver said:
Just found out that our remote application server has an HTML5 client. Also found out that it the client won't run on Chrome for Android. Either way it is pretty cool.
Nice. Not about the Chrome on Android bit, but other than that, pretty sweet.
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This is crazy....
NY -> Cali -> NY -> Texas -> Spain -> NY -> Cali -> Texas -> ? -> Texas -> Spain -> Texas. That’s just 2015!!
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Good morning to all! Happy weekend..
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Good "morning"
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Looking forward to a satisfying afternoon! 99% done decomissioning an old server2k3 box which I will turn into a vmhost for my imaging server (FOG)
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About to go get my Assistant totally setup with a satellite office at her house. Cordless Phone, check! Desktop top, check! Monitor, check!
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I just discovered Skittles in the pantry! By day just got SO much better.
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Although only so much better as I will be flying out at 10:55 tonight and not arriving back home until 11:50 tomorrow morning. That is going to suck SO much. I'm exhausted already just contemplated the situation.
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@scottalanmiller I enjoy night flights. Few antihistamines and a scotch and I'll wake up where ever I'm going
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I kind of enjoy them. It's having worked all day, flying ALL night, no real way to sleep (I need a CPAP) and then having tons and tons of packing to do once I arrive that sucks.
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Ok, yeah, that's no fun
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Yeah, not so much. But at least I have Skittles.
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I have to walk a mile to the train station, with all of my luggage in tow, first too. I'll take the BART out to San Bruno and have dinner there with friends before going to the airport. Hopefully it doesn't pour down on my while I am walking there like it did on my walk into the office this morning.
