I Don't Understand...why...

Yesterday, while at work, the owner approached me. He told me he was
looking at the store video tape and he noticed that I come to work 2
hours early. He said that if I lived in another part of the city, he
wouldn't have a problem with it. But I was told that I cnt come in the
store until 6 minutes before my shift. I'm looking at this in a number
of ways...with what this may mean.

I don't clock in when I come in the store, so I'm not stealing time. I
come in, have a cup of coffee, read the newspaper and then at 15 minutes
before my shift starts, I then clock in. He told me this. He said that
other large supermarkets don't allow its employees to do this and that
this other guy that use to work here, was stealing time. He would come
in, clock in and then sit downstairs and d nothing. He was fired. The
owner said that even though I don't clock in, its giving the deli
manager the option to come in when he wants to cause he knows that I
will be here to cover him. He wants the deli manager to be more
responsible and be at work. Okay, I can understand that but..

I have it in my ways to always show up early. I wake up every morning at
4am, even though I don't have to be to work til 9am. This is throwing my
way of doing things WAY off. The owner and I got into talking about what
other companys do, that they follow this rule too. I told him that all
the places where work, I was never told not to do this. I'm not
clocking in, so it was okay cause they knew that I was doing things in
order to get everything I need so not to be away from the counter.

So now, and this is what I gather, that a working person can't come into
work before his start of shift and WORK OFF the CLOCK, in order to have
his or her shit together. I don't understand this, but I will do what
I'm told. But in the same breath, the deli manager called in a coworker
a whole hour before his shift to work, but I can't come in the store and
not clock in. Strange. Gonna look more into this later today.
--michaelchappell