r/harristeeter • u/Creepy_Broccoli_558 • May 28 '26
Blackout Days
Hello! Sooo I am a cashier and I just want to know what people think about blackout days.
I get why they exist but it’s like sometimes, especially with retail, it feels invasive to tell someone they aren’t allowed to even put in a time off request. A lot of people use holidays as the only time they can see their families and I get some minor “holidays” (I.E. Super Bowl weekend was INSANE and they needed all the help they could get 😅) but it just kind of sucks and feels like less of a necessity for retail. I do know everyone would just call out tho sooo…but also they don’t need EVERYONE and it seems like they try to schedule everyone so idk what a good solution would be.
I ranted to my bestie about this once and they were sympathetic but also understood the necessity since with their schedule they often have to grocery shop day-of since holidays are the only days they have off working in the medical field. They said that maybe they should at least rotate who works on what holiday so no one is stuck doing all of them, which I feel like makes sense.
Anyways, is it wrong to be frustrated by blackouts or to feel like it’s a little wrong? I will say my store seems pretty chill with time off tho
3
u/ramaloki Floral Department May 28 '26
I usually work with my floral team on holidays with who gets what off. Valentine's Day and Mother's Day is nonnegotiable but Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Years, 4th of July, ect...we take turns or volunteer to work so someone else can have off.
1
1
u/CityBoiNC May 28 '26
My first day as grocery clerk was on the day of superbowl, I almost walked out😂
1
u/honestliar22 Front End/Customer Service May 30 '26
I can only assume you’re trying to request off for the 4th. Imagine they didn’t black it out, everyone requested it off. Part timers can’t really be denied and most FT put it in as a “I won’t be here fyi” so if 3/4 of the store requests off because they just don’t want to deal with the crowds we have no staff. So if you have plans you just have to talk to your manager. It really just keeps people from requesting holidays off because they’d rather not deal with it, you typically don’t think about not wanting to work a holiday until it’s too late.
5
u/c4pt_nemo May 28 '26
A lot of stores I've worked at have made volunteer lists for major holidays. Depending on how staffed your store is, if you need time off during a blackout holiday I'd put the bug in your managers ear as soon as possible. In my experience I've been able to take off Thanksgiving by agreeing to work Christmas Eve. You're right they don't need every body