In your province, OP, it is against the Employment Standards Act for your employer to not provide you a half hour break for each period of work in excess of 5 hours, unless your union has agreed to something else, or there was an emergency in your workplace. Your regional manager made a judgment based on a snapshot of your department. Yes, in a retail environment it looks awful to have employees sitting around doing nothing. Your RM probably also assumed that your management team obeys the law. You should inform your RM that they don't.

today you're a cashier....what will you be tomorrow?!

You're a decent man. You didn't have to work that double shift but felt obligated to since John Doe had better things to do than show up to his shift. You even took a verbal lashing for the guy from the regional manager. Retail is very stressful and UNREWARDING for those who care about doing a good job. I've worked a lot of cashiering jobs and I'm sure I'll work a few more. If I may make a suggestion... don't work double shifts unless you absolutely have to. You can't be expected to work a shift that you weren't scheduled for. I've found that it gains you very little brownie points with management to fill in for a no show. The shift manager from the previous shift is happy he suckered you in to working and has gone home. The new shift manager sees that your ass is dragging and that your performance sucks. This entire misunderstanding you had can be cleared up but you aren't being paid enough for the extra aggravation. Retail is crazy and management is disorganized and incompetent. Don't fill in for Joe again because it is more likely to cost you your job than it is to preserve it. Your job experience will make you able to recognize good employees if you become a manager or start your own company!

first comment is a douche bag, and those accordingly. because it is the site grammar to put "today...FML" you guys are as dumb as her manager. pricks.

just today, you're a cashier?

Tore you a new what??? I wasn't aware "one" was now a noun! :O

pretty sure that's illegal, dawg. ask for a ****** break!! any shift you work 5 hours or more you are definitely lawfully entitled to at least a 15 minute break, im sure. when i have 4 hour shifts i get a 15 minuter.

That sucks. I worked as a cashier when I was in college and it was a real pain in the ass. You get yelled at by customers when prices don't ring up right even though you didn't put them into the computer, you get yelled at by your boss when customers yell at them for the prices not ringing up right. It's totally a pain in the ass job and I hope you don't have to work at it long term.

Enough comments about the phrasing...they all start with 'today.'

to be honest, you shouldn't have done that. you have to realize he doesn't work there everyday, he doesn't know and care. he is there check how things are going. he's doing his job. inspection is always a bitch. just watch what you do next time OP. you knew he was a regional manager. your life sucks.

Today, I'm a cashier. Tomorrow, i'm an unemployed crack ***** selling my body on the street!

Im sorry but YDI. I cashiered in a grocery store too, first of all you should have asked for a break. Often whoever is running the front end may get confused with who went on break & who hasn't, especially if a replacement is in after the main front end manager goes home. You should have let them politely know that you worked a double and haven't gotten a break yet. Secondly, you completely deserve it for sitting down while the regonial manager was there!! "Company" doesn't come in often but when they do everyone in the store must bullshit to show them that this is how the store looks & runs everyday, even though your department obviously slacks and does things their own way. I don't know where you work but if you worked a double then obviously your store isn't unionized since most grocery unions restrict to 8 1/2 hours a day, but you're still entitled to a break regardless.