[E Raul]

I had a job in Target which lasted 1 week and a half because I could not take it. Among the many, many things I disliked in this place, there were the walkie-talkies. I had to have one on me at all times (I worked in the backroom moving boxes, etc.). If I had to ask my supervisor (Leader on Duty) a question, I had no option to ask him the question without everyone else and their mom listening to what I was saying.

I believe I could have handled the pressure if my conversations had been kept private between my supervisor and I. One-on-one interaction is stressful to me but not nearly as stressful as a situation where I am being listened to by many others.

The following is just one example: The supervisor is talking too close to the mouthpiece and I can't understand ****. I am forced to ask several times that he repeat his inaudible comment. Was anyone referring to me as "that deaf new guy who can't hear ****"? Or "that dumb new guy who can't use a walkie talkie"? Was the supervisor one day going to scold me via walkie for not being a good listener as everyone else heard his rant? These were things that did not happen but were a possibility.

Has any of you had to work with a walkie-talkie without a private channel?

 

[Coat]

I've worked with radios a fair bit in the past. From my experience, if you cant understand what is being said down the radio there is a good chance nobody else can either.

I'm not sure if that helps, but they were probably all thinking your boss should learn to speak into the radio properly, rather than you being deaf or something

 

[bojadada]

Yeah, I work at target too, I hate the walkies. Our gstl usually talks too fast and her voice gets cut off, and I'm too afraid to ask her to say it again in fear of being annoying.

 

[bazinga]

Tell him to stop chewing on the walkie talkie.

 

[Lily of the Valley]

I am fairly certain others you work with also had difficulty understanding the supervisor, so I don't think anyone thought you were incompetent. I understand your feelings and concerns though and I know I have felt exactly the same. When I was younger, I had a job at a fast food restaurant where I had to speak a customer's order into a microphone and it was TORTURE. I held another job where I had to yell every hour or so to announce that a bin was out so workers could put their papers in it. I tried my best on both of these jobs, but my coworkers would constantly harass and ridicule me saying they could not hear me. I felt incompetent and I was a nervous wreck and had a red face the entire time I worked these jobs. Needless to say, I did not keep either job for long. I left both because I couldn't take the pressure. As for walkie talkies . . . I helped out once in the stock room of a store and was handed a walkie talkie and I HATED it. I was afraid to speak into it and respond to the person who was trying to communicate with me. I couldn't really make out what was being said either. I would never ever be able to hold a job where I had to use one of those things even if I was only communicating with one person. :blush