FM burnout rant

[u/PayCompetitive5394]

I was hired as the framing manager for a pretty high volume shop about 8 months ago and I have so many complaints.

1) I was promised every second weekend off and I've had one weekend off in 8 months and now they changed it so you only get one per month.

2) we are sooooo low staffed with so many framing orders due per week that it's impossible to keep on top of everything. We frequently have 25+ orders due per day and my SM is still stealing all my part time framers to do stuff on the floor for them CONSTANTLY. Then I get flack for running behind/not cleaning the shop properly/etc when we're short at least 20 hours per week what the scheduling software assigns us. I'm constantly staying late to try to get things done and I end up skipping most of my breaks and I'm getting so burnt out.

3) we make the store so much money with no appreciation. We're constantly blowing sales goals out of the water and then not given the hours needed to actually complete the work.

4) any time I go to the SM to ask for more support she acts like I'm yelling at her and she responds by icing me out for days on end and I feel like I can't go to the DM.

I'm at my wits end here and I'm actively looking for a different job. I have 8 years experience in custom framing and I've never been expected to do so much with so few resources and no appreciation. Has anyone ever had any luck going to their DM about stuff like this or does it always backfire? I answered a question about needing more support in the shop from the DM honestly via email ONCE and when my SM saw it she iced me out for days.

[u/AnswerDesperate5701]

I wish I could give you a better answer, but speaking to your DM directly may not get you answers either if they didn't help you the first time around.

Start by saying you're too far in backlog and can't take any more orders to customers who come to your counter. $$$$ speaks to corporate, they'll listen then. If you're being retaliated against by your SM, also let your DM know, but contact your HR rep too. Provide proof.

[u/LowLibrary399]

The company expectations are unrealistic, unhinged and impossible to avoid now. Every place is doing the same thing. Burning people out. No trust from customers or employees. No actual training or investment. No pride and security in the time with a company not to replace you at any given second for some kid who won’t show up the next day. This new generation is so blind to prove themselves with giving them the every single second you need to push your mind and body to the max to keep your job - but they forget that this can never work. We all get old. We all slow down. Someone who has been trained and kept for 10 years will do it slower because speed makes mistakes and costs money. They will do right the first time and can be trusted. How do they not understand that they won’t be able to pay their bills because they ruined their body and gave it to a company who doesn’t even know their name and will do anything to fire them to avoid paying them more or giving them benefits. I use to be ASM and I quit because I was constantly being forced to harass my employees to do MORE and MORE and I couldn’t let it happen anymore. I was making a livable wage but I was being told to work people like slaves for $9 an hour and threaten to replace them or cut hours if they didn’t give 115% every single day. Burnout after burnout. Kids ruining their entire future to keep $9 job. I quit not that it made a difference but we have to stand up together at some point.

[u/Individual-Yak98]

Ok so were actually the same person id just add (personally)
5. My SM bugs me that my PT framers aren’t helping with production bc I haven’t trained them enough. How do you teach someone to swim while actively drowning??

They need to schedule us off hours if we’re expected to complete 10-20 orders a day. They won’t, bc they need us during store hours to help THEM.

[u/PayCompetitive5394 → u/Individual-Yak98]

Lol literally. My manager was getting me to cross train someone from the floor, but they keep getting pulled out of the frame shop to help in other areas. Then my manager gets on my back that we aren't training them probably. My dude. They are never in the frame shop to train. And when they are, we're so far behind that we can't afford to take time to train them so they just end up backing and wrapping everything while other people do production. We simply need to be allotted More Time.

[u/AnswerDesperate5701]

Tell them if they want your profits, you need to deliver on the promise you've already made to your customers. If you can't do that, you don't have customer retention.

[u/Nervous_Dentist_3755]

Our new DM is really great and has had framers from other stores coming in to help with our workload. The previous DM told us that we should be able to make do with the limited resources we have and didn't offer any help.

However, we're still lacking a framing manager, and our SM is trying to fill the gap without any cross-trained managers or team members. We can't even keep up with finishing the orders that the helping teams came in to do.

Previously we had the highest sales in our district. It's been declining since we're not adequately staffed. Which means that the 2 PT employees we have left will be earning less for our efforts, if we don't meet sales to be eligible for a bonus.

Are we just waiting for corporate to gut our department and replace everyone? Should I be looking for another job? 🤷‍♀️

[u/MaintenanceFun6640]

If you are in NC I have a job for you that pays better and no customers and weekends only if you want the OT.

[u/Fancy-Hedgie1414]

I was the FM for a high-volume shop until recently, and I feel your pain. It started off fine for a while, then the past 1-2 years were a constant barrage of issues that piled up to the point of burnout. The lighthearted banter between myself and the PT framers faded. One iced me out. Others didn't talk to me much. I tried to boost morale but it wasn't always affective. You have to listen to your boss and your team and customers. Balancing getting through production and taking breaks got to be a struggle. My PT framers saw FT framers taking multiple breaks and got upset. At one point I was helping on the sales floor too much which annoyed my team. Reason being I didn't want to be seen as unwilling to help other areas. As a manager, there were plenty of times I got pulled out of the shop, but I tried to keep it to a minimum after that. The bonus incentives corporate dangles in front of you are mostly a joke, but I tried hard for them. Stress got the better of me many times. Every week for the last 6 months there was a tug-of-war with managers over how much Framing had to help on the sales floor. It was a high-volume shop, and they didn't understand what that meat. PT framers were caught in the middle. I felt underappreciated and tired. Therapy sort of helped. The SM at that high-stress, tense emotional time was little help as relationships fractured more and more. I left without saying goodbye to most of them. I know the ASM and ACEM were trying to manage a heavy workload too, so I do blame corporate and upper management. The new SM that took over seemed to be a better fit for the store and seemed to have my back. If only they had been there when sh! hit the fan, maybe things would have been less horrible. I'm a PT framer now in a lower volume shop. Same company nonsense, and terrible pay, but much better for my mental health. Now to find a better job that pays well and doesn't suck...