Hello everyone, I am new to this forum but I'm really hoping someone can give me some sound advice. I am a team leader in a fast food restaurant. I have been in this position for about a year. Recently the store I was working in got closed down to rebuild a new store. Management members were given the option to take a layoff or work in another store during the down time. I chose the transfer and went into it with high hopes about what I could learn and accomplish from being in a different environment as far as demographics, working for a different gm and with a different crew.
Sadly, I can honestly say the last two months have been the longest nightmare ever! I had a really fantastic relationship with my old gm. We worked great together and I knew what she expected and wanted from me. It was really easy for me to anticipate what she wanted and needed in any given situation. That is not the case in this store however.
My new gm does not listen to me or anyone very much. She is very clearly in-over-her head and NOT in control of her crew or her store. Our regional manager is CONSTANTLY on her can for not meeting controllables i.e. labor cost/percentage, food cost, inventory etc. She's constantly running around wringing her hands and whining and totally absorbed in her own problems.
Meanwhile the crew is disrespectful, lazy, there's another team leader stealing money, inventory is disappearing, they're giving away food to friends and family and pretty much the tail is wagging the dog big time. They have an I don't care attitude because they know that they don't have too. It's not like she's going to do much about it, and in the event she does they'll just threaten to quit and she backs off every single time. She comes to me with big problems and asks what's going on, what's causing it and how can we fix it (are you kidding me? why doesn't she know?) and when I tell her what, where, and how she thinks it's just great and says OK that's what we need to do so you (what happened to we?) do that and get us back on track.
I know from sad experience this is a trap because when I make the changes that need to be made the crew bucks and witches and threatens to quit and they all stick together like glue including the other team leaders, and she backs down again and then I spend the next week or so with a giant bullseye on my forehead where I'm fair game for any kind of retaliation they can cook up. Trust me it can get gruesome. Worse than that she sometimes even chides me that I did not handle the situation correctly. Uhmm excuse me but aren't YOU the gm? I'm not an assistant manager!
Although by company standards I am qualified to hold that position, I don't because there's no openings. Her store doesn't make enough to earn an argm position in fact it's losing money (huge surprise) but she's basically got me functioning in that role. So I get all of the crap and none of the pay and I'm certainly not getting any respect. I'm fed up with being taken advantage of and being treated so badly.
I really want to make a difference in this store and help turn it around but I don't know how to deal with the crew and gm. They all should have been fired and if our regional manager knew what I know they all would be. He seriously would just walk in the door and boot them all and run it himself until he got a good crew in place. He's done it once before. I have a good working relationship with him and I have paper trails proving the theft, violations of company policies, and who did what and when so if I go to him with it he'll take it seriously and take action.
Here's the dilemma though, I have been talking to my old gm for advice and she has told me that if I do that I will be FOREVER marked as a rat. That's not what I want. She thinks I should just tough it out and keep my bases covered until I get out of there. I'm seriously considering just getting out of the company all together. I don't want to be a quitter and jobs are hard to find right now. I don't know what to do and any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Personally, I would accept a 'rat' title, but that is how my morally work. The store is out of control. I would have a sit down with the regional manager. Don't name any names, but tell him you have some concerns and would love for him to take a better look at the management of the store. That will open the door of communication and let him know you aren't interested in making waves, but thought he should have some first hand knowledge of how the general manager is running that location into the ground. If the regional manager runs your old location and new, gives examples of how it wasn't this way under 'so and so' your original general manager.

More than likely, although you may be deemed a 'rat', if the regional manager doesn't handle the situation properly, you will be acknowledged as a quality employee for having the conversation.

It comes down to right v. wrong, and regional managers are looking for employees and fellow managers that understand the difference.