Fired over not meeting sales quota

by Karen

(Arizona)

My company is trying to fire me over not meeting their sales quota. They gave me till the 26th of this month.. tomorrow.. to hit this goal and there’s no way I’m going to be able to do it.

The store moved locations recently and has very slowly started to pick up. Before it was pretty slow. There’s only 3 of us working. One gentleman is Mexican and bilingual and the other two, including me, are White and not bilingual. With working in AZ, I’ve noticed that the bilingual has the advantage here. But the other guy.. I’m the only girl.. has around the same numbers as me. The Mexican has over the quota. But with being the only girl against these two guys is hard enough to try and get sales in a slow store. But they’re wanting to fire me and have issued their final written warning. I’ve even showed improvement in my sales but they say it’s not good enough.

The manager loves my attitude and doesn’t want me to go. He knows that the store is slow. But if they fire me over not meeting this quota, I’d like to know if I have any chance to try to get unemployment? We’re a military family and it’s actually harder for me to even find another job. I’ve been looking for 2 months for another job and no luck. So I’ll need all the help I can get with unemployment issues.

Hi Karen,

Document back to the employer the things you believe are “out of your personal control” which are having the effect of you not being able to meet the sales quotas.

Inability to meet sales goals are caused by more than a failure to perform. Counter documenting employer discipline with reasonable alternatives to the employer’s contention that it is somehow your fault and by virtue “misconduct connected with the work is how you lay your case out .. before it happens ..

This is exactly what the employer is doing with their documentation .. preparing a case for denying unemployment.

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Mar 25, 2010
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Fired over not meeting sales quota…conti

by: Karen

In both my warnings it says that “I have an outstanding personality and have been punctual. Although we feel your personality is an asset to our team, (the company) cant afford to employ me if I do not produce the minimum sales/commission expectation.” Gave me a deadline and told me what I have to be trending or I’ll be terminated….

This is stated in both the Expectation parts of both letters. I refused to sign the first one at first until the manager told me I would be fired on the spot if I didn’t sign. So I signed. I know signing them puts me at fault. But at least with me showing effort by improving my sales a lil bit at a time, and the store being as slow as it is, do you think I have good odds at getting benefits? It’s like I don’t know what to do or even say really if they try to turn this on me.

Also, I had to leave work a few times due to medical reason and my house getting robbed but didn’t have a medical excuse. I have all my medical papers and police report to back it up. And then they said I had inappropriate work place conversations.. which with that I don’t even know what I said and he didn’t even tell me! I guess I’m just lost when it comes to this mess. Any help is defiantly worth having and deeply appreciated!!

Hi Karen,

Just so you know .. if you are required to sign write-ups or face discharge for insubordination for not signing .. somewhere on the form there should ber something that says signing does not mean you necessarily agree.

Regardless, if an employee is written up and they believe the discipline does not state the facts correctly .. they should always counter document (I suggest email) and ask that the response be added to their personnel file.

Being an employee doesn’t mean we have given up the right to “respectfully disagree with the employer’s assessments of a situation or given up the right to make an attempt to protect ourselves from less than fair actions of an employer .. just in case we need unemployment benefits .. or maybe something other kind of claim against an employer.

I always think it’s helpful to think of yourself as self employed and your business is leasing yourself out. If you had a business .. you wouldn’t think twice about taking care of it .. so why should “at will” employment be any different.

No one looks out for us .. but us.

It’s always the perception of who has the power that tends to make us act like we have no options.

If you have the ability to sell (which I am completely bereft of:) maybe the problem isn’t you .. but the things the employer is doing or allowing to happen that is the cause .. or maybe it’s just the stinking economy.

Whatever the case if you work for someone else you had better put “protecting yourself” above all else because getting fired does not always mean what the employer has to prove it means to stop you from collecting unemployment.

And that would be intentional misconduct.