Perfect at Work

[disney1990]

Do you have a job? When you are at work, are you perfect when you perform your job? Do you ever make a mistake? When you do, does your employer deduct money from your paycheck because of your error?

How would you feel if your employer deducted money from your paycheck for every single mistake that you make?

Just wondering?

 

[DisneyBill]

Oh I can confidently say it would not happen more than once. I'd be moving along, immediately.

 

[Andtototoo]

I'm speaking of regular, hourly-based or salary jobs that are not tip or commission-based. Given that no one is perfect, I'd look upon that policy as a scam for my employer to ensure that I was never given the pay I was promised when I was hired. It's a tactic to screw over the employee and no doubt also designed to ensure high employee turnover so that raises (and therefore increased employee costs) are highly unlikely. And I'd be leaving asap.

However, when I worked on commission, if I screwed up, then no, of course, I didn't get my commission. The rules of commission-based income are entirely different than the hourly wage. Moreover, a commission-based income is never promised to an employee; the pay is determined by a number of factors including how well I did my job, but also including the weather (how many people were out shopping), time of year, the economy, the competition having sales, etc. Some weeks I made a lot of money; other weeks I didn't. That's the way it goes when you work on commission -- you can get incredible highs, but you also take the risk of incredible lows as well. If one wants a more guaranteed income, then commission work is not the way to go.

ETA: And of course, if I screwed up enough at any job, I'd be fired.

 

[Hrhpd]

Do you have a job? When you are at work, are you perfect when you perform your job? Do you ever make a mistake? When you do, does your employer deduct money from your paycheck because of your error?

How would you feel if your employer deducted money from your paycheck for every single mistake that you make?

Just wondering?

Since this refers to your posts on tipping, I will say that when I worked a commissioned job, yes, if I made mistakes and the sale did not go through, I did not get a commission. No, "oh you were busy, but we will give you the commission anyway."

My base salary was always secure, but my commission depended on the service I performed. Just like a tipped position.

Their base salary is secure. Nobody is taking that away from them. But if they majorly screw up somebody's evening, even if it is a mistake, they are not going to get that "commission" or tip.

Working a sales job, whether commissioned or tipped position is different than an office job. You have great rewards and conversly high risks. You have the opportunity to make oodles of money with excellent service. You also run the risk of losing money if you are sloppy in your job. It is a choice one makes to take on the risks, knowing there is the opportunity to also make a good salary.

If a server makes a mistake, they still have the opportunity to make it right, thus saving their tip. The server in the tipping thread did no such thing, therefore was justified in losing his/her tip.

A patron not leaving a big enough tip is not taking money away from a job. Tips are not mandatory. A server is not entitled to a 15+% tip, no matter what. They are earned. It is the risk part of the job. Not getting a big tip with every customer most of the time means that the server did not do enough to make the sale to earn that commission above and beyond his/her base salary.

 

[allison443]

Do you have a job? When you are at work, are you perfect when you perform your job? Do you ever make a mistake? When you do, does your employer deduct money from your paycheck because of your error?

How would you feel if your employer deducted money from your paycheck for every single mistake that you make?

Just wondering?

Wondering if this is related to the tipping threads....

Anyway, I took my job for an agreed-upon salary and agreed-upon duties. As long as I complete my duties, I am not subject to "deductions" as you call them.
Of course if I made a major mistake I could be fired.

What job has deductions from the paycheck for "every single mistake"? I have no idea what job that is.
If this relates to tipped positions, servers who make mistakes still often get tipped. I have tipped plenty of times when mistakes were made.

 

[Hrhpd]

I'm speaking of regular, hourly-based or salary jobs that are not tip or commission-based. Given that no one is perfect, I'd look upon that policy as a scam for my employer to ensure that I was never given the pay I was promised when I was hired. It's a tactic to screw over the employee and no doubt also designed to ensure high employee turnover so that raises (and therefore increased employee costs) are highly unlikely. And I'd be leaving asap.

However, when I worked on commission, if I screwed up, then no, of course, I didn't get my commission. The rules of commission-based income are entirely different than the hourly wage. Moreover, a commission-based income is never promised to an employee; the pay is determined by a number of factors including how well I did my job, but also including the weather (how many people were out shopping), time of year, the economy, the competition having sales, etc. Some weeks I made a lot of money; other weeks I didn't. That's the way it goes when you work on commission -- you can get incredible highs, but you also take the risk of incredible lows as well. If one wants a more guaranteed income, then commission work is not the way to go.

ETA: And of course, if I screwed up enough at any job, I'd be fired.

you said it much better

 

[dakcp2001]

Humans make mistake, period. No one is or ever will be perfect.

 

[tvguy]

Minor mistakes, they don't take money out of my check. Big mistakes, they suspend you for a day or a week without pay.
Do something good? 1 person a quarter is named employee of the quarter and gets $500.

 

[ronandannette]

Do you have a job? When you are at work, are you perfect when you perform your job? Do you ever make a mistake? When you do, does your employer deduct money from your paycheck because of your error?

How would you feel if your employer deducted money from your paycheck for every single mistake that you make?

Just wondering?

As this relates to tipping; restaurant patrons are not the employers of waitstaff and do not have an obligation to be responsible for their compensation. Tips ARE NOT mandatory service charges and a customer is not in default of any agreement when they elect not to pay them.

 

[cornflake]

""How would you like a job where, every time you make a mistake, a big red light goes on and 18,000 people boo?" - Ken Dryden

 

[beaucoup]

when I was a head teller at a bank, most days I balanced the vault & my drawer to the penny. It would be months before I was off even change.

So, I guess you could say I didn't make too many mistakes. Perhaps that's why I was the head teller & trainer for new tellers who would go to other branches?

I was expected to be accurate by my employer, and more importantly by our customers when handling THEIR money.

Mistakes happen, but we had methods in place, that when followed, usually allowed us to find the mistake & fix it. Following procedures & having an audit trail is very important. Even when adding 1+1.

 

[luvmy3]

As this relates to tipping; restaurant patrons are not the employers of waitstaff and do not have an obligation to be responsible for their compensation. Tips ARE NOT mandatory service charges and a customer is not in default of any agreement when they elect not to pay them.

 

[Disney Doll]

People in most jobs get paid for performance. Soemtimes the pay is more immediate (ie-tips) and sometimes the pay is more remote (ie-you did a good job this year so we are going to give you a raise). Frankly, in my job as a nurse if I made multiple errors, I would not get paid because I would be fired.

Those who earn their living based on tips should realize that performance is an integral part of being paid extra in tips. Your performance (ie-service) willl determine whether or not you get paid extra (tipped).

In the tipping thread, there was not one mistake, there were multiple mistakes. Realistically, I can forgive a server one or even two minor mistakes, & I am capable of differentiating between the server's mistake and the kitchen's mistake so as to not blame one for the other. I'm willing to go pretty far in giving a server the benefit of the doubt but just as there are customers who will stiff servers who have given good service, there are also servers who will provide minimal service to customers who aren't running up big bills by drinking a lot of booze etc. I've been on both sides of the aisle.

But the bottom line is that I don't tip for bad service.


Now if you are talking about a different kind of job where every mistake means you get money taken from your paycheck, then it should be in your contract, employee handbook, whatever document outlines the "regulations" of the position, you should have been made aware off that upon hire. If those paarmeters don't exist, & this is something you were never informed of until after you were hired, then you might have a case.

 

[disney1990]

Thanks for trying to turn this into a thread about tipping, which it is not.

I was recently on a Disney cruise where the Captain trailed too close to Hurricane Sandy. Our ship sustained tens of thousands of dollars worth of damage to the ship and to merchandise. Disney offered discounts to every person on the ship on a future cruise - therefore, costing Disney even thousands more. Everybody makes mistakes - some more costly than others.

 

[Allison]

Thanks for trying to turn this into a thread about tipping, which it is not.

I was recently on a Disney cruise where the Captain trailed too close to Hurricane Sandy. Our ship sustained tens of thousands of dollars worth of damage to the ship and to merchandise. Disney offered discounts to every person on the ship on a future cruise - therefore, costing Disney even thousands more. Everybody makes mistakes - some more costly than others.

What does that have to do with your question about money being deducted from paychecks?

 

[npmommie]

Do you have a job? When you are at work, are you perfect when you perform your job? Do you ever make a mistake? When you do, does your employer deduct money from your paycheck because of your error?

How would you feel if your employer deducted money from your paycheck for every single mistake that you make?

Just wondering?

Yes I have a job, no I am not perfect. But I strive for perfection, LOL.
If I make mistakes in my job I will be fired, maybe not the first mistake, but if I continue , yes I am gone.

 

[scrapquitler]

Do you have a job? When you are at work, are you perfect when you perform your job? Do you ever make a mistake? When you do, does your employer deduct money from your paycheck because of your error?

How would you feel if your employer deducted money from your paycheck for every single mistake that you make?

Just wondering?

I worked as a cashier and as a bank teller. You can be fired for your drawer being off too many times, but at least in my state it is not legal for them to deduct money from your paycheck for it.

You might want to call your state labor department to find out if this is legal. And I wouldn't work somewhere that had a policy of taking money from me for any error.

 

[MickeySP]

As I work in law enforcement we try to not to many mistakes

Humans are flawed and wil make errors. Job security here.

 

[disney1990]

My daughter works in Washington DC in one of the top hospitals in the country in coronary care in ICU. Mistakes can't be a part of her life. One error and her patient may die. She said to me one day while she was in school, they allowed us to get a 90% on the drug exam and still pass - 90% won't be good enough when we are actually working. Time doesn't allow her to get a second opinion before she does her job - time is life or death. But, a mistake could end her career.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Some mistakes are worse than others. Creating a software bug in a word processing program may cause hours of pain to a customer, but nicking an artery during surgery can kill someone. Which reminds me of a joke:

What do you call someone who got all "C"'s in med school?

Doctor.