Stow Rate Expectations Kind of Suck Lately…

I just need to vent a little because the past few days have been rough.

With this new system, I keep getting stationed at the worst stow stations. Yesterday, for the first two hours I was getting nothing but big items, literally one item per tote, most of them Gatorade or Water Bottles or Stuff like Coffee Makers. Half of the pods were already full, and the ones that weren’t had one open slot. My rate was under 100 the entire time, and I was so frustrated.

Then a PA comes up and says, “Hey, I see you’re struggling.”
Sir… I am not struggling.

1. I’m not Superman. I can’t realistically carry these heavy items back and forth while also doing the perfect body mechanics they want.
2. Do you see my items and the pods I keep getting??

I tried explaining that my items just didn’t fit anywhere, but he kept giving me “tips.” Stuff like, “Try to stow more items before sending the pod away.” Bro, do you see any items that actually fit?! And if I scan something else, I get magenta lights everywhere. It’s so demoralizing.

Then today was even worse. I already wasn’t in a good place mentally... personal life’s been heavy. I managed to get a bit better stow rate (I believe on average I’m around 265 with a good mix of items), but then a learning ambassador comes over and tells me he’s been watching me for 5 minutes and wants to “train me better.”

Except three of those five minutes were literally me waiting for a pod. He told me my cases weren't organized well and I needed more cases staged, but they were all huge fking boxes and there was no room for anything else. Then he just kept watching me, and honestly, that makes it 10x harder for me to function. I don’t know if I’m on the spectrum, but being watched or crowded like that really overwhelms me. Especially when he would step in, take the item and stow it literally where I was aiming to put it at.

Then a PA comes by asking if I’m okay, and I can’t even make eye contact. I just say “mhm” but then I completely break down crying because it’s all just too much. I hate feeling like I’m disappointing people, but I’ve been trying so hard and it feels like no one actually sees that. I’ve only been here a month, and I already feel defeated.

She told me to let her know if there’s anything she can do to help, but I’d had enough. I ended up using my intermittent leave to take the rest of the day off.

Honestly, they really need to reevaluate stow expectations. If someone’s rate is low and they walk by and see what kind of items you’re getting or the situation you’re in, they should just leave you alone. Not everything can be fixed with “tips” or “just go faster.” Sometimes, the system itself is the problem.

(Also, yes I cried at work today, somehow this is actually the first time that's ever happened and I am a big baby unfortunately.)