im 34 and started workin at kroger again i have 10 plus years at grocery stores but never the meat dept.i had to start out at min wage and would like to know whats the best way at going about becoming classified as a meat cutter so i can make more money and what would i make i heart the max is 13.10 thanks
what it is you are looking for, is known as "full time status". if you want to advance in the company at all, this is your first goal. i'm told it's really difficult to come by these days
then i suppose you'd want to talk to your department head about learning to cut meat. the more skills you have, the more valuable you are i got full time status (and full time pay topped out) about a year after i was hired. it's a matter of showing them you're able to accomplish things, not missing shifts, and not having customer complaints or problems with management
Under our contract down here in texas they no longer have a meat cutter classification, you are either a clerk, service lead (seafood) or marker manager or his assistant. Seafood and assistants top out at 13.10, market managers are about 5 bucks an hour over that and I think the clerks top out around 11.
I started working at kroger almost a year ago and started in the meat dept. I was rather disgusted when I saw my first paycheck too and that I was getting minimum wage, especially having 11 years in the active army and air force as well as reserves. I asked our dept. manager about getting classified as a cutter because I do know how to butcher animals to begin with. Now I'm enrolled in successor training and will eventually top out at little over 12 dollars an hour if I complete the training. I'm wanting to leave this ****ty company now! You won't get classified as a meat cutter for this company, only a clerk. They will teach you only how to do the store cuts. THey used to have an apprenticeship program years ago where they trained new cutters with whole sides of beef or pork and how to break them down into subprimals but the program was done away with so that the corporation can make more money for their own greedy asses and we can put a bunch of pre-packaged garbage meat on the shelf and sell it at ridiculously high prices! I'm not thrilled about making minimum wage especially when we have to work in the dept. that has the most moving parts and machinery to maintain. I'm not thrilled that we get ****ty pay to custom cut a pork loin or shoulder for some ******* and risk cutting ourselves in the process. I'm careful at my job and haven't had that happen. I hate the customers in the meat dept. because they are the dumbest customers I have ever met. The guys that were grandfathered in back in the day are making bank! But nowadays it's sad because no company wants to pay a decent wage for a good butcher/cutter. In a few years all the meat in the store will be pre-packaged like at walmart. I would much rather buy something cut fresh by someone who knows what the hell they are doing. Occasionally when we do grind our own chuck and sirloin, etc. it flies of the shelf because alot of people want freshly ground meat and not that pre-packed **** that we normally sell that looks like plastic and all of it is identical. Each butcher who does grinds has their own kind of pattern when grinding and the presentation is much better and it looks real.
