a lot of people think certain jobs are "easy" but until they've worked them they really can't say for sure.
In my case, DSD receiver, I do much more than you actuallly see. here's a quick list of my morning:
*up before 5am, clock in at 6 *do shelf review, return to dock to find 2 vendors and a perishable/grocery truck waiting *take care of the vendors (hopefully it won't piss off the perishable driver) *time for the truck, it's 6:15 and I'm unloading stacks of bread, anywhere from 5 to 12 stacks, and they aren't light! *now I get to do some walking, from trailer to produce and back about 5-7 times, followed by meat department (3-5 trips) then all the way down to frozen/dairy (8-10 total times) *load salvage, from one trailer to the other (can become time-consuming). ....finished with truck and it's only 7am (i've easily walked a mile or more and you are still asleep)
*more vendors *tie bale *watch vendors to keep them honest *clean up DSD rack (a lengthy daily task due to incompetent employees who can't figure out why putting milk, meat, etc on my rack is a bad idea...hurr durr) *well it's about time for other employees to arrive and ask me for this or that, as more vendors have arrived. *beer guy is here, I get to take the straddle stacker outside in the extreme heat or cold and unload his beer for him..yee haw
**most of the receiving process is simple but it brings a lot of curveballs that you have to be ready for but usually you can't see them coming... i.e. items that are not in the system, invoice totals and costs aren't matching up, printer jamming, wait on gun to reboot, etc.
usually the afternoon gets a little slower and I'll help sort the truck, but I still have to sweep and do my closing report before I can leave and many times I have to cut my break short because a vendor has shown up.
it's not nearly as easy as some people make it out to be!
now, somebody tell me how difficult your job is and things we don't know about it
The opening meat person can waist a good hour just to get paperwork and cutting tools scanned and inventoried before you can evcen start to cut meat for the day.
The opening meat person can waist a good hour just to get paperwork and cutting tools scanned and inventoried before you can evcen start to cut meat for the day.
true that! the same can go for grocery I guess, what with team stocking guides and shelf reviews, they've got a good excuse to "not have anything done" when the next guy comes in...at least that's how most people would view it
I push about 150 carts at night when closing because I have the laziest people in the world at my work. It's an awesome way to top off an 8 hour shift from 3-11.....
i did recieving and i was wearing way too many hats. shelf review, vendors, 3x a week peyton so running back and forth from floor to backroom, tieing bailor, checking in perishable matching labels, then putting away if no dept. heads around. cleaning the yard as well as back room, scan outs and markdowns. picking up dropped flats and pushing out carts left in the backroom. called up front to run a register after 11am. it wasn't worth the extra 50cents. it all depends who your boss is, the person that took over the job has a chair and don't do half the **** i did. **** em all i hate kroger can't wait to retire
So for me I waste as much time as I can get away with thank god for internet on your phone, Facebook Myspace Ebay and every now and again the quite polite **** you to HQ. But no matter how much time I waste there is still one guy in my department that mananges to waste his whole shift talking to ladies and still management wont say **** to him. So as for me I think what I do compensates the pay.
So for me I waste as much time as I can get away with thank god for internet on your phone, Facebook Myspace Ebay and every now and again the quite polite **** you to HQ. But no matter how much time I waste there is still one guy in my department that mananges to waste his whole shift talking to ladies and still management wont say **** to him. So as for me I think what I do compensates the pay.
welcome to the forum. glad to see another of us isn't afraid to show dees nuts -pun intended-
it's funny how they pick on those who make less than $10/hour and let him get away with whatever he wants (making $12+
I run a floral dept that has a sign saying "Fresh Flowers" hanging right over the floral desk. The job every Monday (other than CAO Orders due after clocking in), includes cleaning 40+ display buckets, 5 main displays, arrangement case, floral case, vases and floral cooler. With interuptions from 50+ customers ignorant enough to mistake the floral desk for the customer service desk and managers, it takes 5+ hours to do. Every Tuesday and Thurday including CAO Orders, working truck (I work at a large Kroger) with interuptions from those same rich, yet ignorant customers and managers takes 4-6 hours to do. Every Saturday and Sunday (other than CAO/ODE Orders which take an hour to do in a hurry), filling customer pre-orders from birthday balloons to weddings takes 6-8+ hours to do, with interuptions from last minute walk-in customers too stupid to order ahead of time demanding their needs are met before pre-ordering customers and customers who still think the floral desk is where you pay your electric bill and managers. Every Friday I doll up potted plants and make arrangements (which customers just tear apart later when nobody's looking, completely negating my purpose there), inflate balloons for other depts displays, CAO Orders takes about 30 mins each with interuptions from you guessed it. Ignorant customers asking for tickets for the state fair that are NOT sold at the floral desk and managers. Wednesday is the only day available to make signs, print price tags (after waisting an hour or more hunting in other depts for my RF Gun and Printer when they have their own), and watering plants. Which takes 4-6 hours because of highly educated yet stupid customers who can't seem to understand why I don't sell stamps at the floral desk. And management. Plus I have an old backup that can't remember how make a bow or corsage. All this is during the slow summer months alone. FLORAL IS WORK! AND I'VE GOT NOT TIME FOR ANYBODY'S BULLS++T!
I run a floral dept that has a sign saying "Fresh Flowers" hanging right over the floral desk. The job every Monday (other than CAO Orders due after clocking in), includes cleaning 40+ display buckets, 5 main displays, arrangement case, floral case, vases and floral cooler. With interuptions from 50+ customers ignorant enough to mistake the floral desk for the customer service desk and managers, it takes 5+ hours to do. Every Tuesday and Thurday including CAO Orders, working truck (I work at a large Kroger) with interuptions from those same rich, yet ignorant customers and managers takes 4-6 hours to do. Every Saturday and Sunday (other than CAO/ODE Orders which take an hour to do in a hurry), filling customer pre-orders from birthday balloons to weddings takes 6-8+ hours to do, with interuptions from last minute walk-in customers too stupid to order ahead of time demanding their needs are met before pre-ordering customers and customers who still think the floral desk is where you pay your electric bill and managers. Every Friday I doll up potted plants and make arrangements (which customers just tear apart later when nobody's looking, completely negating my purpose there), inflate balloons for other depts displays, CAO Orders takes about 30 mins each with interuptions from you guessed it. Ignorant customers asking for tickets for the state fair that are NOT sold at the floral desk and managers. Wednesday is the only day available to make signs, print price tags (after waisting an hour or more hunting in other depts for my RF Gun and Printer when they have their own), and watering plants. Which takes 4-6 hours because of highly educated yet stupid customers who can't seem to understand why I don't sell stamps at the floral desk. And management. Plus I have an old backup that can't remember how make a bow or corsage. All this is during the slow summer months alone. FLORAL IS WORK! AND I'VE GOT NOT TIME FOR ANYBODY'S BULLS++T!
you sound about like our floral person who gets more hours per week than the dairy department and drug/gm respectively...both of which do WAY WAY WAY more business than floral. I'm not saying your job isn't difficult, but physically you don't have a lot of heavy items to lift like meat or grocery, but really, you water flowers a lot. our floral person does anyway...lots of hours in floral for watering plants when other departments have lots to do with fewer hours
I work part time on floral and my lead gets 40 hrs and i get maybe 20 a week. we work hard and never knowledge from mangement unless something goes wrong. I would like to transfer to another dept for i make 7.25 and the lead only makes 10.40 its slave labor. I asked mangement for a raise and was told no its up to the union but I know for sure that he has given raises to other people in the store. dose anyone knows how that works?
I work part time on floral and my lead gets 40 hrs and i get maybe 20 a week. we work hard and never knowledge from mangement unless something goes wrong. I would like to transfer to another dept for i make 7.25 and the lead only makes 10.40 its slave labor. I asked mangement for a raise and was told no its up to the union but I know for sure that he has given raises to other people in the store. dose anyone knows how that works?
it pretty much depends on whether or not the manager wants to give you the raise and more often than not the answer is no.,
out of curiousity, how much does your store do business wise in an average week? I ask because our floral gets a 40 hour person and like 2 more 20 hour people or something ignorant, it's way to much for a department that pretty much runs itself except for holidays (no offense) but I saw our floral person dusting off plants yesterday...yes DUSTING!!! I'm not saying it's the easiest job in the store, but those hours are better spent somewhere else
I am new to this forum, and I can see by the responses to the postings about floral here that floral gets little respect. No, it is NOT all about watering plants. Yes, they have to be watered, and dusted sometimes, too. But I work in a high volume store, where floral is right up front. We are expected to (and do) maintain high standards. Displays have to be attractive, clean, fresh and full to do any business. Half our day is spent on customer service. We don't just take items out of the case and place them in a row on a shelf. Those pretty arrangements don't just magically appear.
I get three trucks a week, plus usually a couple of dsd deliveries. That's at least 3, if not 5 or 6 pallets of floral on a slow week. Our staff consists of myself, and 2 part-timers. All buckets are cleaned once every week, plus again on the weekend if needed. We do lots of special orders. How many people in your store could make a $100 arrangement that a customer would actually buy? How about a gift basket? Doing a custom basket takes at least 45 minutes when you factor in time to gather items, placing into the basket, wrapping, all the while getting interrupted. Where's the bathroom, can I have a free balloon, and being paged to the phone when the call isn't even for floral.
Customers are constantly dripping water on the floor, even with the drip bags right in front of them. We mop and sweep up all day. No problem. They leave fresh flowers out of water, where they will become shrink.
We do weddings, funeral work, fruit baskets, balloons, fresh arrangements, potted plants, and in most stores, are regarded as the store decorating committee. The people who think that our job is easy should have to work in floral during a big holiday.
All this being said, I do enjoy my work. I am concerned about the direction of this company.
I started in Floral in December. (High volume store with a big department.) It's mid-March and I just put in my 2 week's notice. I'm quitting. The job is far more trouble than it's worth. I can't believe they get anyone who can do the job to stay in Floral at Kroger for how little they pay us. If you are thinking of working in this department, think again. You won't like it unless you're a glutton for punishment.
Thank you! I have been with this company a VERY long time, so for me the pay is better. I wouldn't do the job for any less. The job, if done correctly, is indeed far more trouble than most realize.
I work in the bakery. I have to bake the bread and make the donuts. While I'm baking the bread I also have bring up the deli/bakery frozen food order and put it away. When the department head is off I have to make out the frozen bakery order, scan it, and upload it. Finally, I have to do a breakout for the next day's bake. I have to be very organized and time everything around the bread. For example, I can't just go to lunch whenever I feel like it. I have to check the proofer to make sure there's not a cart of bread that's about ready for the oven. Often I will put a cart of bread in the oven, run to the back and start putting the frozen food order on trucks, and try to make it back to bakery with a loaded truck before the time goes off. Believe me, I go non-stop from the moment I clock in.
I work in the bakery. I have to bake the bread and make the donuts. While I'm baking the bread I also have bring up the deli/bakery frozen food order and put it away. When the department head is off I have to make out the frozen bakery order, scan it, and upload it. Finally, I have to do a breakout for the next day's bake. I have to be very organized and time everything around the bread. For example, I can't just go to lunch whenever I feel like it. I have to check the proofer to make sure there's not a cart of bread that's about ready for the oven. Often I will put a cart of bread in the oven, run to the back and start putting the frozen food order on trucks, and try to make it back to bakery with a loaded truck before the time goes off. Believe me, I go non-stop from the moment I clock in.
I am new to this forum, and I can see by the responses to the postings about floral here that floral gets little respect. No, it is NOT all about watering plants. Yes, they have to be watered, and dusted sometimes, too. But I work in a high volume store, where floral is right up front. We are expected to (and do) maintain high standards. Displays have to be attractive, clean, fresh and full to do any business. Half our day is spent on customer service. We don't just take items out of the case and place them in a row on a shelf. Those pretty arrangements don't just magically appear. 
