File Maintenance has got to be the worst department at Kroger, in terms of the way we get screwed around so much. Any other File Maintenance clerks out there? I'm the backup file at our store and it's just me and the lead file, and I'm lucky to get 16 hours a week in there, plus his 40, and that's it. And for those who haven't worked in this department, the workload is unreal......anywhere from 5,000 to 7,000 tags a week....almost 500 signs to make and tear down a week....plus the stupid "Big Ugly" signs management forces us to make....and then every time something scans wrong or isn't in the system.....we have to take care of it....then there are the "weekly section audits".....every week we have to go to a ridiculously large section...like all the baby food or all the frozen dinners....and scan every tag to make sure it scans correctly....then record your findings and submit it to the main office....all that in just 50-60 hours a week.....completely not possible....and management acts like they don't even care...they just say "do the best you can".....one of our smart-ass co-managers actually told me that I was just being a baby and that he worked in file for 6 months and it was the easiest job he had ever had. Are. You. Kidding Me?!?!
Just wondering if there were any other file people on this board....or anybody else who knows what a crappy job it is. I was told that ELMS is on the negotiation table for the next Union contract.....I hope it gets overthrown or at least updated to where it distributes hours more fairly.
Not I can assure you that ELMS is not a tool for the big wigs. I have had problems getting my hours and a call to HR (in the houston, SWKMA, ) and they stated it is only a suggested guidline for managers to use if they wish to. This comes from our houston HR department head. Willieam Y.
Anonymous wrote:
I know what you mean i get my backup on wed ad day.elms is just a tool for the big wigs to use. i also have to check on a regular bacis.
Now I am in the meat department But our File clerk has issues because She feels they should be on a department lever and paid as a department head for all they have to do. And with the new ( kro-mart) manager we got, he is putting more work on her and taken away hours from her. Mckinney 488.
Consider yoursself lucky.. gettin to actually work Fil 16 hours.. It is only the head file and myself *backup at my store and the only time I am in there throughout the week is on Sat. nights.. and when the head goes on vacation.. so when he goes on vacation I almost feel like I am starting new.. I have to sometimes think what I am to do.. and as for my help I just get whoever they decide to put in there.. if they know the store or not..
And what's the deal w/ every other backup gettin the dept. head's pay and us just gettin .50 more on the hour.. all the headaches, work and trouble should be worth way more than that.. But then again that is just my opinion.
I will not disagree with you on any of that. I do know that the unions seemed to drop the ball on having file clerks as department heads and other things with that department. Just glad I am in the market so that thwey can not play as many games with us as other departments and labor. That is what we are trying to work on in our contract talks right now.
Anonymous wrote:
Consider yoursself lucky.. gettin to actually work Fil 16 hours.. It is only the head file and myself *backup at my store and the only time I am in there throughout the week is on Sat. nights.. and when the head goes on vacation.. so when he goes on vacation I almost feel like I am starting new.. I have to sometimes think what I am to do.. and as for my help I just get whoever they decide to put in there.. if they know the store or not..
And what's the deal w/ every other backup gettin the dept. head's pay and us just gettin .50 more on the hour.. all the headaches, work and trouble should be worth way more than that.. But then again that is just my opinion.
i have the same problem i am backup and only help eight hours a week and i see the stress it puts on the lead but whats worse for me is when the lead goes on vacation im literally working by myself, we have no third so i get screwed over and over again
I agree that FM should be it's own department and not fall under the front end. I'm the "back up" but I do the exact same work as the coordinator and still get 35-40 a week. For the past year, I've been completely solo due to my coordinator illness and recent death of her husband. I don't blame her at all. The thing is, I'm expected to step in a do the job of SF coordinator without any extra pay at all. I mean, we're talking weeks and weeks where I've had to be Kompass Captain and everything else. But because File Maintenance technically is part of the front end and not it's own department, there is no "manager" position for me to fill while she's out. I'm still considered the "back up"; it's b.s. Naturally, the union couldnt do a damned thing for me.
I always laugh when people ask me what time I get off work, esp. on Saturday nights (our ad breaks Sun here). I have to explain that I don't necessarily have a scheduled time to get off, it's just whenever my work is done. I hate that because no one asks me to stay and get the 5,000 tags up and all the signs done, it's just expected of me but I don't make equal pay for equal work, ya know?
File Maintenance is one of, if not THE most important job in the store. The prices have to be right or we end up giving it away, right? But we're treated pretty much like baggers. It's just wrong.
