I worked at Bestbuy for three months a year ago (just turned 18 a few weeks ago).
I was so happy when I quit. I did kind of quit suddenly -- no two weeks notice or anything. They didn't give me any hours for the schedule before that, and I already really hated working there, so I just quit. I did show up to work and tell them that I am quitting though. But it was really sudden.
I would say I was a great worker though. Didn't once call in sick. If it wasn't suddenly sprung upon me (ie a call at 4pm to work 5pm-12am), I would go in for extra hours if they needed it. The only reason I wouldn't if it was sudden was because I bused to work. I even went to work when we had a ton of snow outside and I still had to take the bus. I was the only one in my department (media) who showed up.
Onto what is probably my main reason for quitting -- public transportation. It sucks. Horribly. On the weekend I would have to leave my house about an hour and a half early to get to work on time. If I had a car to drive, it would've taken me about 15 minutes to get to work. What really sucked is when they would make me work from about 12pm-4pm on a saturday. I already wake up at 6 am monday-friday, I like to stay up late on my fridays and sleep in till 12 or so on my saturdays. But if I worked from 12-4, I'd have to get up at 9 to shower get dressed etc, then leave at about 9:45 to catch the bus. Then I'd work and get home at about 6. That's 4 hours of pay for what's a nine hour day for me. I wouldn't care so much if they worked me from 12-8 or something, but when I have to spend more time getting to and from work as actually working, it really sucks.
So yeah, I always showed up to work even if it was a pain in the ass to get there and I also knew my department really well. I really disliked the methods of Bestbuy though (walking up to -every- customer and pestering them, also you're supposed to offer subscription services way too often).
If you have any teens who show to work high or call in sick constantly, just fire their asses (if you can, I heard from my friend who worked at a grocery store that basically it was impossible for them to get fired cause of the union). Grades in highschool and attendance might be a good indicator of their work ethic. Maybe ask them how close they are, if they know if they're busing/driving, and if they know how long it would take them to use the bus. Some kids ( like me) might not realize how much time they would have to spend on that bus.
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