On the reports, I always have by far the highest items per minute average (around 33 usually)..but I never seem to get first. Usually I'm around 5th at about 85-90% and can't figure out why im not up there.
Our manage told us that securing the order (nosale+signoff) makes your time go way down, and if I'd stop doing that, while waiting for customers..my scores would go up, but I've read on these forums and had others tell me that doing that makes my scores go up because it stops the clock..
What is the truth, to secure or not to secure...And what is bringing my scores down soo much?..if im 5+% ahead of anybody else in items per minute.
I was told that pressing eft and securing (nosale+signoff) both stopped the clock. I know for sure that eft does, but then if you're not done with the order and the customer swipes his/her CREDIT card (not debit) it will go through.
to bosst your score while no customers are around sign out of the register until another customer comes. this coming from a guy with 96.5% score trust me it works
Signing off between sales helped me get my score way up, and also if the customer is using a check, enter the sale amount and then wait until they give the check before you hit enter or clear to process the check.
On the reports, I always have by far the highest items per minute average (around 33 usually)..but I never seem to get first. Usually I'm around 5th at about 85-90% and can't figure out why im not up there.
Our manage told us that securing the order (nosale+signoff) makes your time go way down, and if I'd stop doing that, while waiting for customers..my scores would go up, but I've read on these forums and had others tell me that doing that makes my scores go up because it stops the clock..
What is the truth, to secure or not to secure...And what is bringing my scores down soo much?..if im 5+% ahead of anybody else in items per minute.
Well, On the reports. it's not just how many items per minute you scan, it's how many items per minute you scan in relation to the tender time per each order. YOu have to get the two numbers close together. Lets see an Example, If you scan 33 Items per minute, but the time it took you to do that was 1.5 minutes, then it's pretty slow.
I was told to secure the terminal, that helps, oh and when you take money, just tender the cash, close the till, then reopen it ( nosale, enter ) And give the coustomer the correct change. Also, to price check something on the register hit ( Signon, 6 ) then scan the item. To exit that move hit total and it will vanish, and no time is wasted on scanning then voiding the item.
Sorry if you already knew any of this, trying to be helpful. ^.^
Hey, Im an asst. CSM at a kroger in balch springs, dont listen to these idiots when it comes to elms scores, mine never duck below 130% every week.
The trick is to keep your tender time low, at least .40 or lower, and have a good items per minute of maybe 30 or more. Also, learn new scanning techniques.
example of one of mine,
when you get a good handfull of kool aid, separate the like flavors, then scan different flavors, not like flavors, they will scan much more rapidly.
Also guys, while were talking about elms scores, all the rumors about the little tricks and schemes like securing and hitting eft, they dont work. Dont aim for 95%..............go for over 100%
And while shutting the drawer and reopning it after the transaction is completed may lower your tender time, it is considered as cheating. If your DOC finds out, youll be in some trouble.
to bosst your score while no customers are around sign out of the register until another customer comes. this coming from a guy with 96.5% score trust me it works
I wonder if your csm knows about that, your signoffs per hour are supposed yo be less than 4
my score is consistently above 100% my record is 112.9
First for all of those told that press <random amount> check does not improve your tender time. That is the tender time. Same with pressing the eft?ebt button doesnt do crap for customer unload stores.. wait till the stuff is on the belt my floor supervisors usually go around unloading for customers. when i dont have a line i go around and unload it for them. You also score bonus points with the customer this way too or ask your courtesy clerk to do it since they dont have anything to bag yet. Group produce with produce and scan bars with scan bars. Rythym is key when scanning. Another thing know your produce codes saves look up time. If you cant find it ask your coworkers around you or call over to someone you think knows it. If your awesomely fast sacrifice a bit of your speed atr the end and dont hit total if your customer isnt ready yet. Ask how they are paying if its credit?debit?giftcard tell them that they can go ahaead and swipe it whenever they are ready if they are writing a check i learned how to do tender corrections but i wont tell you guys how because only supervisors should know how . Thats not a cashiers job Dont wait for their ID process the check first. I like writing the info on pieces of paper while the check is processing if they pullit out when youre putting it through just remeber to transfer the info later Do not use two checker numbers you cheaters who do that i got in major trouble for thatespecially when i did it too much and my other one ended up at the bottom of the chart ask for kroger card and coupons before you start scanning that way they arent diiging them out later at the nd killing your time.
It boils down to being very aware of what you are doing.
BUT REMEMBER ITS ALL ABOUT THE CUSTOMER FIRST SERVICE. MAKE YOUR CUSTOMER HAPPY BEFORE YOU MAKE YOURSELF HAPPY. BEING NUMBER ONE IS AN AWESOME FEELING BUT SPEED AND EFFICIENCY MEAN JACK CRAP WHEN THAT MYSTERY SHOP REPORT COMES BACK AND YOU FAIL.
Bull**** my manager told me to close the drawer..he told me do whatever works best for me! We get a bunch of meth heads and old folks coming in who do NOT know how to shop..most of them forget to bring their money in or they don't have enough on their foodstamp cards. SO..we need all the tips we can get!
I work at a Kroger in Georgia I have a 106% I've been cashiering for tree weeks my items per minute are 39. There isn't any trick to it. All I do is move my the items between both hands. Get the kroger card first, then ask cash credit or debit. They have the money ready. Of course you can't stop the slow people, but you can make the ones who have it ready speed up your time. I personally find that if you dont dwell on it and just move at a fast steady pace it works out for the best. Also you must know your produce codes!!!!!!! Hope it helps, also when you need to void the last item scanned rather than hitting void and re-scanning the item, hit void enter. Sorry if you already knew that
You want to know how to do great? I am always ranked in the top 10 for my district in the Southwest divison district 1. I average around 41 IPM and .65 Tender. And I have been ranked 1 in my district and operate at 125% efficiency. Impossible? Not hardly.
IPM is simple, know your codes, knowing the water codes is really important, know the scan bars. Scan fast, my fellow employees say it look like I am having a spaz attack. Let the customer load the belt up, and tell them why you are doing so, I tell them plain and simple, I am super fast. And then it gives them time to sort their groceries by temperature, and they get to watch you scan fast. SO MANY CUSTOMERS are entertained by how fast I can scan their items and get them in and out of the store.
Tender time, there is a cheat. (No sale-sign on) to secure the terminal, this freezes your time sinking your Tender. Pay attention to what the customer is paying with, most of the time hit the EFT/EBT button because, 9 times out of 10 the customer is paying with a card, which will make the transaction go faster. Avoid voiding items as this will boost the tender time. When ever the customer pays with cash, enter the amount and put your hand in front of the till, never allowing it to open. Make a note of thier change and hit (no sale-enter) to re open your drawer and give them their change, doing that after the transaction does not affect your tender what's so ever.
The last trick, you have to be competitive, it makes it work better. I find people in my store to compete with and we inspire each other, I won't let anyone beat me in my store. That's just how it works. And with hard work and practice, you will become a pro at snagging items and scanning them with percision.
You want to know how to do great? I am always ranked in the top 10 for my district in the Southwest divison district 1. I average around 41 IPM and .65 Tender. And I have been ranked 1 in my district and operate at 125% efficiency. Impossible? Not hardly.
IPM is simple, know your codes, knowing the water codes is really important, know the scan bars. Scan fast, my fellow employees say it look like I am having a spaz attack. Let the customer load the belt up, and tell them why you are doing so, I tell them plain and simple, I am super fast. And then it gives them time to sort their groceries by temperature, and they get to watch you scan fast. SO MANY CUSTOMERS are entertained by how fast I can scan their items and get them in and out of the store.
Tender time, there is a cheat. (No sale-sign on) to secure the terminal, this freezes your time sinking your Tender. Pay attention to what the customer is paying with, most of the time hit the EFT/EBT button because, 9 times out of 10 the customer is paying with a card, which will make the transaction go faster. Avoid voiding items as this will boost the tender time. When ever the customer pays with cash, enter the amount and put your hand in front of the till, never allowing it to open. Make a note of thier change and hit (no sale-enter) to re open your drawer and give them their change, doing that after the transaction does not affect your tender what's so ever.
The last trick, you have to be competitive, it makes it work better. I find people in my store to compete with and we inspire each other, I won't let anyone beat me in my store. That's just how it works. And with hard work and practice, you will become a pro at snagging items and scanning them with percision.
Why go to all that trouble? It doesn't matter if you do an outstanding job or a mediocre job. You're not being paid any more or any less than anyone else who has the same amount of time and seniority that you do. That's why I hate those stupid employee reviews. If I'm doing such an excellent job, then why don't I get paid more than someone who stands around and does nothing all the time?
I think it is sad we are all worried about performance scores instead of the customer. I believe that ELMS (Enterprise Labor Management System) was designed for a manufacturing environment anyway. Manufacturing enviroments are predictable or structured environments. Retail is unstructured. I believe that poor planning by the Project Management/IT management team is to blame for this. A proper system would use DSS modeling and not MIS modeling. ELMS is going to hurt customer service and lower furture growth of the company. ELMS does not take into account for any what if senarios. To do well using ELMS you have to work like a machine with no people skills. Some customers may be offended with this attitude. In the long run Kroger's customer base will deminish and along with it sales and profits. One negative will dammage a business for more than one positive. I think the Kroger Co. has forgotten how to take care of the customer. Why do you think they push customer first strategy so hard. They know that customer service is the first to suffer when cutting hours. I used to work for BIG BEAR for 11 years and I am seeing the same business tactics all over again. Trust me, it is going to get worse. The increase in price thorughout the store is used to control volume. This way the company does not need use so many payroll hours and still make sales. However, this will also create an increase in shrink, particularly in perishable departments. The company knows this, and it is the store managements team to ensure we all follow through with the wishes of the company. Don't take it personally, it is just business. You know when big business strikes when all they are worried about is thier bottom line, they force products and services on customers they don't want or need, they treat employees badly and they need as IS system to tell them when they can go to the can. ERP systems are the death of retail markets.
I was in the top 25 a lot of the time on the ELMS. But the ELMS program stresses people out by making them focus on what is not important. It is not important to have the fastest score in some thought up system. What is important is the customer. And the ELMS program seems to have lost sight of that by focusing on a piece by piece scenario. The customer is a person, not a transaction and they should be treated as such.
I know of a girl who is getting a 144.5 every week. Basically she will ask for their Kroger Card first and scan all the items. Have them swipe their card in the process of the order and have them out the next.
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My Views and Opinions do not reflect that of the Kroger company. I'm an indivdual expressing my 1st amendment right.
