Slept in for work, didn't open retail shop on time! [blush]

[AprilDHarvey]

I've been suffering insomnia for years and years :( As in most cases, I go through good and bad cycles which can effected by stress, saying that I couldn't tell you the last time I fell asleep before 1am even during a good cycle. Most of the time I'd say I deal with it pretty well and I've found myself functioning on 4 - 5 hours of sleep, then catching up on my days off when I can sleep in.

However, this morning I slept in for work. I work in retail, in a clothes which is located in a large retail centre and today I had to be in the shop for roughly 8:40am and open the shop by 9am at the very latest. I was woken up by my telephone ringing at 9:13pm. It was my manager who asked me if anything was wrong and told me to get into work as soon as I could, I opened the shop at roughly 9:50am.

I have no idea how pissed off my manager is or if she's pissed off at all but a security guard who works for the retail centre dropped by shortly after I arrived asking for my name, he said "the people upstairs want it". Weird way to put it. When he asked why I was late I was still so out of it I blurted out that I had slept in, which is the truth. I'm just so worried I'm going to lose my job over this, do you think I will? I'm never late and I never phone in sick either.

Sorry if this is all jumbled and ranty with terrible grammar and spelling, I think I'm still asleep!

I didn't realise you couldn't use the little emojis in the headings haha!

Just be honest, you suffer with insomnia, but last night you slept for the first time in ages and slept through your alarm. I can't see them sacking you, and who only has 1 member of staff open up?

Just to check - you overslept? Or you slept at work? I've never heard that phrase before!

If the shop was opened 50 minutes late, your manager is probably going to be a bit annoyed at the moment, but she'll probably calm down. If you're usually a good employee, they'll probably either let this go completely or give you a warning, depending on whether more senior people will become aware and if action needs to be seen to be taken.

Presumably the people upstairs are the management of the shopping centre? It's quite normal for them to want your name after the shop opens late, they'll need to record this as an incident.

Try not to worry. I'm guessing that you've already sought help for the insomnia, but it's probably worth going back to your GP and explaining that's now negatively impacting on work and what can they do to help ensure that this never happens again. Your boss might also ask you how you're going to make sure this doesn't reoccur. I'd concentrate on waking myself up and making sure everything else is done on time/brilliantly today and try not to worry unless you get further reason too.

As a manager I would expect you to present me with a plan to prevent it happening again with a second alarm set etc.
With an honest apology, plan in place and I would leave it at that.

Oh man. This happens though and some good points about over reliance on one person.

The centre might have a lease condition about opening hours as they can be quite strict as its very important for overall retail performance that opening hours are regular..I wish I could get my local shops to understand this!

Be prepared for this a bit if it gets serious, and say that you have some simple systematic improvements that will reduce the risk to zero. suggest two keyholders turn up for opening and say something like 'the risk to lease agreements, lost revenue and brand damage might not be worth the few brownie points tiny cost savings of having only one person open make. In fact i would preempt this by meeting shopping centre management and asking if they require two keyholders for opening and/or which other shops do it , and if they should consider this to avoid problems. A great solution would be is schopping centre required leaseholders to not be vulnerable to this. Talk about security too, and how one person with alarms off, shutters slightly open and tills off has always worried you and that two keyholders would mitigate this too.

Let's face it, a slip, car accident blocking routes, dropping to give someone first aid, sudden severe illness, etc etc could all cause lateness easily and again two people turning up could solve this, even if the second isn't keyholder but is authorised to get security to open it.

I have massive sympathy as recently I slept through four alarms without any realisation at all, and no especially good reason for being tired..

"Just to check - you overslept? Or you slept at work? I've never heard that phrase before!" I overslept. Come on sleep deprived brain! Pull it together. I have been to the GP numerous times to no avail. I'll make another appointment and explain how it's negatively impacting my work. Thanks :)

"...and who only has 1 member of staff open up?" I know! I've always thought it's a flawed system. The company I work for has been around for quite a while, unfortunately it's had us operating under outdated procedures and equipment that I don't think will ever be updated.

Thanks Lanark2 :) That sounds like a plan, and I completely agree that there should be two key-holders to open up shop in the morning.

ap we always had one key holder to open up. (Not me). Really poor organisation and left us with no immediate back up and a deputy having to travel late to open up.

We have no immediate back up either, meglet. I can't imagine your deputy manager was very pleased!

If I were the manager, I'd be more concerned that the staff have time to be on Mumsnet on a Saturday! [shocked]

Is it not a busy shop?
Our staff have their phones on them but I'd be irked if a team member who was 50 minutes late for work was mumsnetting.

If I were the manager I would be worried that it would expose the fact that I always claim opening up allowance, and am supposed to be there , but have fixed it so no-one notices (cynical!!)

I'm sure (kind of) that for health and safety and security reasons there has to be 2 people to open a shop? As in, what if you tripped up inside and need immediate first aid etc.

But by the by, it wasn't intentional and hopefully it'll blow over. That was one of my fears when in retail management alongside forgetting the alarm code (I still have the odd dream about standing in front of the alarm panel not knowing the code!)

No there doesn't Shakey.
I open my own shop and I'm often there alone.
[hard]

I did that in a bluewater shop once, it was a bank holiday and I got the opening time wrong, we opened about an hour late I think. I'd heard horror stories of the fines for not observing the right hours so I phoned up management and grovelled. They were extremely unconcerned. Nothing ever came of it.

With 10 years' hindsight, I suspect they probably don't care unless it's a regular thing. It probably happens to every shop at some point. So I wouldn't worry OP.