[BY DESIGN] [GTW] Retail Employees Not Retaining Assigned Task

Product: The Sims 4
Platform:Mac
Which language are you playing the game in? English
How often does the bug occur? Often (50% - 99%)
What is your current game version number? 1.46.18.1220
What expansions, game packs, and stuff packs do you have installed? Cats and Dogs, Seasons, Go to Work, City Living, Community
Steps: How can we find the bug ourselves? Play in this current version with a retail employee?
What happens when the bug occurs? In my retail store the employees are not retaining their assigned work task. I am playing a game right now and over the past less than half hour my time (maybe half of an employee shift) I have had to re-assign the two employees their work task. First my sim had to do it for each employee at the beginning of the shift, then I have had 3 (?) times that I have seen them loafing around and checked and they no longer had a work task (so of course by default they do nothing?!), so I had to re-assign them a work task. Actually, occasionally when they have hopped out of the assigned task at the beginning of the shift they come with the task activated of 'answer customer questions'. If memory serves, I think sometimes I find at the beginning of shift they have no assigned task and do nothing, and sometimes they have an assigned task of answering questions (which is pretty useless and not my first - or 2nd - choice).
What do you expect to see? I hope for employees who will be helpful for what is most needed (clean, ask questions, check out customers). What I expect is that they will retain the tasks I (my sim) assigned them from shift to shift, and from when they are assigned the task until I re-assign the task... at the very least until the end of the shift. Recently (last few weeks) it seems to happen very frequently if not always. I am not sure of the time since I had stopped using the retail employees since they are frustrating - in my experience.
Have you installed any customization with the game, e.g. Custom Content or Mods? Never used.
Did this issue appear after a specific patch or change you made to your system? Neutral/Not Sure

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gameplay issue

SimGuruNick
7 years ago
@SheriGR @crinrict This entire issue sounds by design. The role that employees are assigned to is not saved day-to-day. When they first arrive to work they're given a random assignment, which the player is free to change. If the employee starts slacking, you can stop that by assigning them a work assignment again, or by scolding them for slacking. If you scold them, they'll be assigned a random work assignment again (it does not save the assignment they previously had).

13 Replies

SheriGR
Hero
7 years ago
Sorry... this line was left in by accident from a previous draft but the post will not save my edits when trying to remove it:

I have only begun to notice this for the last 2-3 days, so I am assuming it was from an patch/update that was don
crinrict
Hero+
7 years ago
I've removed the sentence but you will need to put something in the comment box or it will not let you edit.

Three dots will usually do though :D

Is this after they're slacking ?
SheriGR
Hero
7 years ago
Thanks for the editing tip. I am not sure what you mean is this after they are slacking? The day that I was referring to in this post was the next day that they opened this same store again, so it is the 'Botanical Bakery' employees. If you use the game I sent the file for and open the store the next day, the same day should play for you that I was referring to (where the two employees do not retain the task). I had previously assigned the blond to clean the store and the other one to ring up customers.
crinrict
Hero+
7 years ago
Usually when they start slacking during their shift (the employees), you have to re-assign but that's by design.

So it's only the next day, not during a certain shift ?
SheriGR
Hero
7 years ago
The next day from the save I sent you is the day I was referring to. Can we have the employees come in shifts? I didn't know that. Is it normal to have them lose their assigned task often? In my restaurant the employees are more reliable, especially after they have raised their skills (except that waiters leave for a run (?!). I can deal with training or waiting for their skills to increase, but at least in the restaurant I know I have a chef, a host and a waiter, and none of them is suddenly going to stop doing any waiting or cooking or hosting. If they are at work they are there to work. I much prefer not having that particular aspect unpredictable (them keeping an assigned job). Maybe they can change it so I can hire an employee specifically to clean or a salesman, etc.?

Anyway, if the dropping the assigned task is planned by EA, maybe that part is not a bug... unless mine are dropping their task more often than EA planned it.
crinrict
Hero+
7 years ago
By shift I mean working for a day, then the next day would be a new shift. I do think they should retain their tasks but it seems it can happen that you need to re-assign.

Trying to find out more.
SheriGR
Hero
7 years ago
Yes, I believe the save I sent you they had just finished their day of having the store open. In that game I played then the night of sleep/recovery at their home then a couple of them went to the store mentioned and opened it the next morning, and that is the employee shift I was referring to. I agree, I think if the employees will retain their task shift to shift that would be nice, but if they won't retain it throughout the current shift I think I won't be using them anymore. So I am grateful to find out if this is a bug or intended. Thank you!
SimGuruNick
EA Staff (Retired)
7 years ago
@SheriGR @crinrict This entire issue sounds by design. The role that employees are assigned to is not saved day-to-day. When they first arrive to work they're given a random assignment, which the player is free to change. If the employee starts slacking, you can stop that by assigning them a work assignment again, or by scolding them for slacking. If you scold them, they'll be assigned a random work assignment again (it does not save the assignment they previously had).
crinrict
Hero+
7 years ago
Thank you Nick.

Going to mark this as By Design.
SheriGR
Hero
7 years ago
That sounds like what I have noticed, but the issue that I was referring to was a day when I noticed two to three times each that the employees were slacking (they had been working much better on other shifts), and they had no assigned task though I had given them one when I would check them. I was having the game checked for a 'frozen items' issue, so I thought perhaps this could be checked on since I had shared the game. Anyway, not a huge deal. If they are going to be this poor at doing their tasks I will probably fire them all and just use my sims. I may try a few more shifts and see if it improves. Thank you. Sorry I bothered you with a non-issue!