And that, young Patrick, is why you should study extra hard in college so that you never have to work anywhere near retail ever again.

Patrick writes really well for a 16 year old. Think Ivy League, Pat! Someday you can buy K-Mart and shut them down.

Err, yeah, that's the kind of crap work you get when you're 16 isn't it? Shoot, I was running balers and forklifts and unloading trucks and fixing broken down refrigeration units at the Grocery store when I was hired to be a "bagger". I also had to clean the bathrooms. But I didn't know it was illegal.

I also worked at Kmart, for like 3 weeks, and I stole a box of golf clubs as compensation, still have them. Kmary sucked back then too.

Look at it this way kid.... if you ever needed a reason to go to college, this is it.

@Princess Sparkle Pony: Wow. That kid types incredibly well for a 16 year old. Well versed in grammar and vocabulary! He must remember that no retail establishment such as K-mart will ever be a "fun" or "enjoyable" place to work. I served time at the Wal-Mart/Sams club prison. Needless to say it was all the same. You bust tail, they bring you down a few pegs. They do illegal things, you have no control over it, either do it or get fired.

why would you clean stuff up like that? sounds pretty stupid to me. If they told me to touch leaking batteries I would've said to stick it where the sun don't shine and then call the Health Dept, EPA and local newspaper.

When I was 16 I worked at a Local Supermarket/ wanna be walmart. But the difference was it was a Union. The manager would say something to me and i would simply go.. "oh, well lets call my union rep and ask her what she thinks about that." but again that was union. Sometimes i miss that.

Yes Yes run from customer service like your running for your life, because you are.

"Mr. Coach Person! I just had an asthma attack while cleaning infants/soflines!"

"Sounds like you need some fresh air. Go bring in the carts!"

I worked in a warehouse when I was 14 until 18. I sweat my balls off in the summer and then froze them off in the winter. All for 6 bux a hour. My boss would literally curse me out in front of everyone for missing a spot when mopping a warehouse that is larger then a walmart.

So I think your main valid complaint is that you were not assigned the job you applied for.

oh man I just realized I sound like the "I had to walk to school in the snow barefoot"

I'm gonna go shoot myself.

@MercuryPDX: I think everyone should have to work a customer service job as part of the high school curiculuum. I think it'd be quite motivating.

I'm interested to know how long he worked there, under those conditions.

sound like a lazy kid that doesn't like work.

lets cry me a river.

I assume he didn't have to pay rent or anything. I would have just quit. Or filed a complaint.

@testsicles: He's referring to the fact that you have to be at least 18 years old to operate a freight elevator. I'm not so sure about a baler or a compactor, but I wouldn't be surprised if the same rules applied.

I worked in a movie theater when I was 16. It was pretty awesome but on more than one occasion someone crapped in the middle of the women's bathroom floor and I had to clean it up. I was so glad to be out of the house though that I didn't really mind.

@AlteredBeast:

I worked there for about 2 months

I'm an excellent driver.

@testsicles: Seven years of bartending and I COMPLETELY agree. :)

@Ben Popken: Sorry about that. I was in a hurry to get back to my movie, and couldn't find the mens.

LOL! My first job was a "stockman" at walmart. In other words.... lowest pee-on on the totem pole. Yep! I cleaned bathrooms, emptied trash, brought in carts, stocked shelves, operated the bailer (illegal at age 16), picked up parking lot trash etc.etc..

I lasted about a year & a half before one assistant manager (little bald man with a insecurity complex who liked bullying the stockmen) pissed me off so much that I walked out. And let me tell you.... it was the best decision that I ever made. I know people who have spent most of their life working at walmart. Sounds depressing doesnt it?

@Bladefist: That's nothing. I had to walk in the snow barefoot, uphill, both ways, while pulling a sled with my six brothers on it.

your 16 be quiet and do what your told. Remember kid thats gonna be your life if you don't get an education. Imagine doing that crap job because you have a mortgage to pay and kids at home to feed. Don't let it be like that. Let this be a brief glimpse of your possible future if you don't make good choices. So keep it in your pants and get an education. And, oh yeah, carry an inhaler will ya.

I had a similar experience, but mine happened when I was 18 at McDonalds. My boss was a McBitch and I was working my ass off but not doing that great. There are worse things to be bad at than McDonalds worker, I know, but I still felt like crap at the time. I kept getting moved around. Then the boss calls me in to start asking me stuff like, "Are you good at school?" (The answer was yes) and said, "I think service confuses you" and "It's time to shit or get off the pot." If I didn't get better in a week, she was going to fire me. She was a total jerk even before then, but that was it. I quit shortly after that. But it did teach me to be a little nicer to fast food workers and also, finish college.

@muffinpan: Grandpa? Is that you?

@Ben Popken: Ugh, I was a janitor and I don't care what women say, I ALWAYS was more scared of what I may find walking into the women's bathroom than the men's. Women are gross pigs when it comes to public bathrooms.

I wouldn't put anything past Kmart. I've posted here before about how there was a dead rat under my register (where it was not immediately reachable, but still) for over a week and I was handed a can of Lysol and told to spray if the customers noticed a smell. We also kept out the candy that the rats had gone through the night before, taking out only the bars that the rats had clearly gnawed through. I had to dump the rat pellets out of the candy boxes before the customers came in.

It is not a good place for the soul.

@MissPeacock: "I had to dump the rat pellets out of the candy boxes before the customers came in."

Poison pellets or crap pellets? Neither one is particulary appealing I suppose.

I remember fondly the early days of teen employment. My first day at a fast food restaurant, the manager noticed the dumpster was getting full, so she had me climb on top (of the dumpster) and jump up and down to compact the trash. Then I went back to serving food. Great times.

Between that job and roofing the next summer, I had all the motivation i needed to go to college. Now I can read the consumerist all day at work!

You know, all I really want to say is, for reason I can't explain, the picture for the article is fascinating. I love it!

OW!

If Rain Man could figure out that Kmart Sucks, why can't the rest of the country figure this out too. :)

@testsicles: Crap pellets. The thought that Kmart was going to do ANYTHING about their clear rat problem is hilarious. Actually, it was only when a customer saw one running around by the registers one morning and spoke to the manager that something was done.

@balthisar: I think it's fascinating because the parking lot in front of a Kmart is actually FULL and not empty.

Screw working shit jobs as a teen. I spent all my summers umpiring little kids baseball. Besides, the asshole parents its still the best job I've ever had.

@forgottenpassword: Yech, I know people who worked the stockman position at Wal-Mart and nobody had anything good to say about it.

Target treats their peons a lot better.

One would think we would post "my job stinks" letters from someone with a little more perspective.

@thesepretzels: I agree, nothing seems particularly horrendous about his experience, other than its a typical job at K-Mart. Your 16 and can't collect carts or clean up the aisles? Boo hoo. Find another job I guess.

A couple quick points of dispute:

1) The average line-level supervisor most likely does not know the age of their employees and will ASSUME the child is 18, thus old enough to operate age restricted equipment. Yes HR knows the age of the child, but HR is prohibited from broadcasting the age of the child. Tough situation. Thus, if the OP is going to cry over being forced to do something "illegal" the OP does have an obligation to vocally state his/her reasons of objection at the time of the incident.

2) The coach disagreed with the level of severity of the asthma attack. Must not have been very severe. A severe asthma attack would have prompted me to call 911 and I assume most other people as well. Oh, I agree that fragerances can cause and attack... would have cause my attack as well. But let's leave the word severe out of the description unless oxygen and drugs are being administered by emergency personnel called to the scene to treat the victim.

3) Giving notice often results in employees being immediately terminated from the work place. The company will refer to the action as "paid release" or some other phrase. Basically the company wants the departing employee to vacate the business so that potential wrong doings are minimized. This is especially common with employees that may have access to $ or inventory.

@thesepretzels: One might think we could all have a chuckle at an experience most of us shared at 16, lighten up a little for a Friday and quit taking things "Very seriously."

@testsicles: i know what you mean about about women's restrooms. being a chic myself, i see it all. the ones at Target... : poop on the floor, on the walls, used toilet paper that's been thrown around, used maxi pads and tampons out in the open. i just wonder what the hell these people are thinking.i mean, we have toilets, but you insist on smearing it on the wall???!!

My great aunt always says "Life's a Bitch and then you die."

@ssaoi: You did that too? I thought I was the only poor schmuck that was forced to stomp on the garbage dumpster to make more room. This was at a Winn Dixie in Louisiana. Glad those days are long gone, and I finished college. :-)

My first job was at a restaurant and it wasn't too bad, but I think I lucked out. Routinely the girls I worked with had to braid the manager's mullet... thank goodness I never had to.

@amv09: yeah, you do have to be 18 to run those at K-Mart, I know this because I worked at one. Our bosses were ok though.

@MissPeacock: If you look closer, you'll notice the cars in the parking lot and that should help you with the date of the photo

@crazybutch: OMG! I totally went in a Target restroom one day and saw an actual turd in the middle of the floor. I almost threw up, it was so gross. They have such nice stores, but the bathrooms are inevitably a war-zone.

I have a hard time believing anything said by somebody who says "Gosh, I just worked so hard, busted my tail 24/7, and they hated me, meanwhile, people who did nothing were treated like superstars!" I've seen managers play favorites, but even in my crummiest job (Wal-Mart) was this even close to being true. I bet if you asked everybody at that store the same question, they'd all reply that they work far, far harder than everybody else, and get compensated less.

My first summer jobs were working the counter at a Friendly's Restaurant, where you mostly make various ice cream concoctions for customers and also take the money from people who came in to eat. It was somewhat messy, and since I worked in a popular summer spot it was always very busy. But the people were nice, and since it was a chain with a decent reputation there was a good focus on safety, cleanliness, etc. Of course by the end of each summer I swore off all ice cream forever, but that never lasted very long...