The Dairy Dept in our store is always struggling so co-managers are always stuck helping out there. The store manager recently approached me to take over the dept and was wondering if any Dairy leads on here can paint a picture for what it's like to run the dairy dept on a day to day basis. Be specific please. It looks like they just want to throw me in there and expect me to figure it out on my own.
Don't take the position unless you know you already have the help. If the department is already struggling, then bringing in a new lead isn't going to solve anything. They just need a scapegoat to blame when things aren't right.
The Dairy Dept in our store is always struggling so co-managers are always stuck helping out there. The store manager recently approached me to take over the dept and was wondering if any Dairy leads on here can paint a picture for what it's like to run the dairy dept on a day to day basis. Be specific please. It looks like they just want to throw me in there and expect me to figure it out on my own.
I am the dairy lead at pretty busy store (always close to one million a week in sales or over it) and I can tell you it is one of the more stressful positions, however; if you can turn the department around it looks VERY good as it is a pain in the a$$ to do. Also, you have to be weary about dairy also... If you do a really good job they will try to keep you there for as long as possible because good dairy leads are difficult to come by, anywho, here's some tips that I follow that have helped turn our department around.
1. Make a gameplan for the day.... It can be as simple as just making a few bullet points reminding yourself of things or detailed lists...An example of a quick list I would do would be -Fill Front case milk - Parmesan Cheese/Velveta Cheese etc etc/
2. If possible, work your backstock before doing your truck everyday... It is CRITICAL to have your backstock under control in the dairy as basically all of your product has short shelf life.
3. Take your time ordering.... When I first took over dairy, the balances on everything were so out of wack I used to have to scan literally every item in the department to zero things out from coming in... I did this for a few weeks along with going through backstock and shooting lows and holes to correct balances to get my balances accurate so now CAO for the most part orders decently for me.
4. Keep an eye on your sale items / mega event items.... This is another biggie because dairy is a very busy department... Just when you think you have enough of those $1.99 kraft slice cheeses, one person will come through and buy 100 packs and now you have 30-40 customers who are irritated because they were bought out. Order aggressively on the sale items.
5. Be prepared to be frustrated. Every week there is usually a huge allocation(distribution) of items that come to the dairy...if eggs are on sale, you will get LOTS of eggs... if milk is on sale, you will get LOTS of milk...so your cooler can be very hard to keep in line.
6. Finally, realize that dairy lead is one of the crummiest positions in the store because of the amount of responsibility you have. however; you are still under grocery so you only get a very slight pay increase....DEFINITELY not worth it if you are in it for the money... But if you think you have management that is willing to work with you to promote you in time...It could be worth it. If your management is like most stores though they are just trying to find someone to do dairy so they don't have to keep their hair in it...which means they're gonna try and keep you there for a good while...
The Dairy Dept in our store is always struggling so co-managers are always stuck helping out there. The store manager recently approached me to take over the dept and was wondering if any Dairy leads on here can paint a picture for what it's like to run the dairy dept on a day to day basis. Be specific please. It looks like they just want to throw me in there and expect me to figure it out on my own.
I am the dairy lead at pretty busy store (always close to one million a week in sales or over it) and I can tell you it is one of the more stressful positions, however; if you can turn the department around it looks VERY good as it is a pain in the a$$ to do. Also, you have to be weary about dairy also... If you do a really good job they will try to keep you there for as long as possible because good dairy leads are difficult to come by, anywho, here's some tips that I follow that have helped turn our department around.
1. Make a gameplan for the day.... It can be as simple as just making a few bullet points reminding yourself of things or detailed lists...An example of a quick list I would do would be -Fill Front case milk - Parmesan Cheese/Velveta Cheese etc etc/
2. If possible, work your backstock before doing your truck everyday... It is CRITICAL to have your backstock under control in the dairy as basically all of your product has short shelf life.
3. Take your time ordering.... When I first took over dairy, the balances on everything were so out of wack I used to have to scan literally every item in the department to zero things out from coming in... I did this for a few weeks along with going through backstock and shooting lows and holes to correct balances to get my balances accurate so now CAO for the most part orders decently for me.
4. Keep an eye on your sale items / mega event items.... This is another biggie because dairy is a very busy department... Just when you think you have enough of those $1.99 kraft slice cheeses, one person will come through and buy 100 packs and now you have 30-40 customers who are irritated because they were bought out. Order aggressively on the sale items.
5. Be prepared to be frustrated. Every week there is usually a huge allocation(distribution) of items that come to the dairy...if eggs are on sale, you will get LOTS of eggs... if milk is on sale, you will get LOTS of milk...so your cooler can be very hard to keep in line.
6. Finally, realize that dairy lead is one of the crummiest positions in the store because of the amount of responsibility you have. however; you are still under grocery so you only get a very slight pay increase....DEFINITELY not worth it if you are in it for the money... But if you think you have management that is willing to work with you to promote you in time...It could be worth it. If your management is like most stores though they are just trying to find someone to do dairy so they don't have to keep their hair in it...which means they're gonna try and keep you there for a good while...
Good luck!
I am a night Grocery Manager. Is that position not stressful also? Bake and cereal aisles are about the same size as the Dairy Department product count wise.
You have posted very good advice. It is sound. I too use a daily game plan at my $1million market place.
On #5, Doesn't Dairy get a distro list like Grocery? I can print out a list of products that are being distro'd and approximately when. Usually, I need them for the ends before they arrive. I also have lost a few distros and they do not get replaced. I have to fix BOHs and order manually to keep up on the sales.
I get along well with the day grocery manager so the department runs relatively smooth.
The Dairy Dept in our store is always struggling so co-managers are always stuck helping out there. The store manager recently approached me to take over the dept and was wondering if any Dairy leads on here can paint a picture for what it's like to run the dairy dept on a day to day basis. Be specific please. It looks like they just want to throw me in there and expect me to figure it out on my own.
I am the dairy lead at pretty busy store (always close to one million a week in sales or over it) and I can tell you it is one of the more stressful positions, however; if you can turn the department around it looks VERY good as it is a pain in the a$$ to do. Also, you have to be weary about dairy also... If you do a really good job they will try to keep you there for as long as possible because good dairy leads are difficult to come by, anywho, here's some tips that I follow that have helped turn our department around.
1. Make a gameplan for the day.... It can be as simple as just making a few bullet points reminding yourself of things or detailed lists...An example of a quick list I would do would be -Fill Front case milk - Parmesan Cheese/Velveta Cheese etc etc/
2. If possible, work your backstock before doing your truck everyday... It is CRITICAL to have your backstock under control in the dairy as basically all of your product has short shelf life.
3. Take your time ordering.... When I first took over dairy, the balances on everything were so out of wack I used to have to scan literally every item in the department to zero things out from coming in... I did this for a few weeks along with going through backstock and shooting lows and holes to correct balances to get my balances accurate so now CAO for the most part orders decently for me.
4. Keep an eye on your sale items / mega event items.... This is another biggie because dairy is a very busy department... Just when you think you have enough of those $1.99 kraft slice cheeses, one person will come through and buy 100 packs and now you have 30-40 customers who are irritated because they were bought out. Order aggressively on the sale items.
5. Be prepared to be frustrated. Every week there is usually a huge allocation(distribution) of items that come to the dairy...if eggs are on sale, you will get LOTS of eggs... if milk is on sale, you will get LOTS of milk...so your cooler can be very hard to keep in line.
6. Finally, realize that dairy lead is one of the crummiest positions in the store because of the amount of responsibility you have. however; you are still under grocery so you only get a very slight pay increase....DEFINITELY not worth it if you are in it for the money... But if you think you have management that is willing to work with you to promote you in time...It could be worth it. If your management is like most stores though they are just trying to find someone to do dairy so they don't have to keep their hair in it...which means they're gonna try and keep you there for a good while...
Good luck!
I am a night Grocery Manager. Is that position not stressful also? Bake and cereal aisles are about the same size as the Dairy Department product count wise.
You have posted very good advice. It is sound. I too use a daily game plan at my $1million market place.
On #5, Doesn't Dairy get a distro list like Grocery? I can print out a list of products that are being distro'd and approximately when. Usually, I need them for the ends before they arrive. I also have lost a few distros and they do not get replaced. I have to fix BOHs and order manually to keep up on the sales.
I get along well with the day grocery manager so the department runs relatively smooth.
From what I've seen of our Grocery manager, it would be a lot less stressful if you have a team of decent co-employee's (co-workers title is earned). If you have a mediocre team, which is usually the case with Kroger, it will be a pain in the ass.
As far as #5 I can always check the allocation list or even check the sales paper to see what I'm going to be getting... If eggs are going on sale for .77c I know that I will be getting 2 pallets of eggs usually on the monday before the sale... It will say exactly how much in the allocation menu though. As far as items on the ad planner, they seem to be sending all of mine on Sundays now so I have had to cut back Sunday trucks so my guys can finish the trucks...Usually get around 50-125 cases on average of distribution now on Sundays.
We have one grocery manager and an assistant grocery manager at our store, which they both work overnight....The grocery manager will sometimes be in the store till 11-12 or so however.
The Dairy Dept in our store is always struggling so co-managers are always stuck helping out there. The store manager recently approached me to take over the dept and was wondering if any Dairy leads on here can paint a picture for what it's like to run the dairy dept on a day to day basis. Be specific please. It looks like they just want to throw me in there and expect me to figure it out on my own.
I am the dairy lead at pretty busy store (always close to one million a week in sales or over it) and I can tell you it is one of the more stressful positions, however; if you can turn the department around it looks VERY good as it is a pain in the a$$ to do. Also, you have to be weary about dairy also... If you do a really good job they will try to keep you there for as long as possible because good dairy leads are difficult to come by, anywho, here's some tips that I follow that have helped turn our department around.
1. Make a gameplan for the day.... It can be as simple as just making a few bullet points reminding yourself of things or detailed lists...An example of a quick list I would do would be -Fill Front case milk - Parmesan Cheese/Velveta Cheese etc etc/
2. If possible, work your backstock before doing your truck everyday... It is CRITICAL to have your backstock under control in the dairy as basically all of your product has short shelf life.
3. Take your time ordering.... When I first took over dairy, the balances on everything were so out of wack I used to have to scan literally every item in the department to zero things out from coming in... I did this for a few weeks along with going through backstock and shooting lows and holes to correct balances to get my balances accurate so now CAO for the most part orders decently for me.
4. Keep an eye on your sale items / mega event items.... This is another biggie because dairy is a very busy department... Just when you think you have enough of those $1.99 kraft slice cheeses, one person will come through and buy 100 packs and now you have 30-40 customers who are irritated because they were bought out. Order aggressively on the sale items.
5. Be prepared to be frustrated. Every week there is usually a huge allocation(distribution) of items that come to the dairy...if eggs are on sale, you will get LOTS of eggs... if milk is on sale, you will get LOTS of milk...so your cooler can be very hard to keep in line.
6. Finally, realize that dairy lead is one of the crummiest positions in the store because of the amount of responsibility you have. however; you are still under grocery so you only get a very slight pay increase....DEFINITELY not worth it if you are in it for the money... But if you think you have management that is willing to work with you to promote you in time...It could be worth it. If your management is like most stores though they are just trying to find someone to do dairy so they don't have to keep their hair in it...which means they're gonna try and keep you there for a good while...
Good luck!
Thanks for the insights. I'm a Grocery adh already so my pay isn't an issue and will stay the same. Grocery is in such great shape so they feel they can put me in dairy for the time being. I just like the challenge of seeing if i can turn around a struggling dept that i previously had no idea or clue of running. Previously, i was thrown into Frozen and loved figuring everything out from scratch. Dairy seems more of a challenge though but i'm still intrigued to see if i can do it. Any other insights you guys have will be greatly appreciated.
