I was recently hired at a Krogers in Ohio for produce.
I was feeling pretty good about pay, because in my face to face interview I was told my 3 years of retail experience would boost me well above the starting rate of 8.15. "Probably 9.50 or even 9.60," were the exact words. Now:
I worked for 2+ years at a Winn Dixie in grocery, then produce. Started at 7.85, left making 8.15
Worked for 7 months at a Matherne's in deli. Started and left at 9.50 (this confusing thing to me. if you look up Matherne's, there's 3 locations total and only in Louisiana, yet it was more high paying that Winn Dixie and Krogers).
And today I got a phone call from the same person I talked to in the interview who told me I would probably start at 9.50 or 9.60, telling me i'd start at 8.55. Felt like a joke, a slap in the face. So my questions to all of you:
1. Have any of you had this experience? Where you thought your starting pay would be so much higher than it was due to previous experience?
2. It's a menial retail job, so I wonder if there's any negotiating I could really do. Do you guys think talking to someone store level or maybe even a union rep could possibly get me higher pay?
3. A follow up: have any of you successfully received higher pay than you were offered for such a low level job from talking to someone store level/a union rep?
I had a similar experience, though not as extreme.
I had 2 months experience at JCPenny and 2 years as a receptionist, before Kroger.
I was told I'll "probably" start off at 8.15 an hour upfront, and I would get a mandatory 0.15 raise every 3 months. It turns out, I started off with 7.85 an hour and DID get a raise after 3 months, but after that first 3 months, it became every six months. Whenever I would ask about that, management would tell me that "It's always been every six months" and act like I'm delusional or something, so I let it go. As of today, I make 8.45 an hour, and won't get my next raise until the holidays.
As far as the hourly wage goes, that is all controlled by corporate only. Your store management has no say in what your hourly wage is, so they really shouldn't have gotten your hopes up, but maybe they really thought corporate would say you're entitled to 9.50
-- Edited by Lane Hardy on Wednesday 21st of June 2017 07:27:17 PM
You gotta be a woman, black, mestizo, or senior before Kroger gives you any experience pay. I have never seen a young white man get experience pay yet.
We actually have a relatively new cashier whose a white guy who worked at McDonald's for 3 years that started off with experience pay of 8.50.
If the young white men in question have Kroger as their first ever job, or the previous job wasn't retail at all, then they don't get experience pay. I personally don't agree with that, but it is what it is.
Thanks for the replies guys. Something I didn't mention that may be important: I left my second job because the location I was at closed down with 1 day of notice for employees. Pay stubs are not available online, so maybe they weren't able to confirm my wages there and that's why I'm not getting as much as expected?
I assume my W2, bank statements, or tax returns could help.
