I'm under paid and over worked. Employees that can't put cans in straight rows or even in the right place. The younger employees that think that they should be praised just for showing up to work. Checkers standing around doing crossword puzzles or just talking to each other and ignoring customers. Tsg's, Key Retailing, and all the other useless bull we have to deal with(we are just selling groceries we don't have to reinvent the wheel every two years). Our milk truck truck driver who sits in his cab while we unload the delivery and then we have to go wake him up to get the paperwork. Having 5 dayshift people trained and certified on dsd receiving but they have to train a night clerk to replace the receiving clerk on vacations because none of them want to cover it.
#1: Had a bastard of a department head when I joined. He was a bully and it really colored my view of the store worse than it is. Don't get me wrong, it is Kroger and therefore sucks, but when I first started it just made the whole deal so much worse. So overall, I was hearkened to hate Kroger within days, instead of the weeks/months/years that it should have taken.
#9: Similar to the above, really. It seems that there are two general reactions I see to people higher up the seniority ladder. Either they are decent folks who just want to go home, or there are the people who just project anger and frustration at all times.
#11: Not just asking for more work than can be done within a given time, but knowingly asking me to do more work than can be done in a given time.
#3: At least one of them has an idea that they are of a greater breed than us pesants. When that one is around, morale is not.
#11: Regarding the guy who "under paid and over worked" I counter that while not a perfect stockman, I have been instructed on a number of occasions to just fill up empty holes with whatever product is around just to "fill it up." Either that or an outright refusal to deal with any backstock by some leads to some really bad stocking practices from the lot of ages. Frankly, I hate being told to do things wrong. I hate getting crap for trying to do things right.
i would have to go with the whole "just barely enough" scheduling (or in some cases not nearly enough), though this isn't a problem that's unique to kroger
My biggest complaint is that I have worked for Kroger 10 years and am still just a part time employee. It's true that I've never asked for full time but why should I have to ask them to do what is right? You show up all the time, do your job well, are reliable, dependable and honest and good things will happen for you right? Not at kroger.
I might be saying this because I'm still new and I haven't had to deal with a lot of the crap you guys have over the years but right now I need to agree with #9.
There's one co-worker who I really love working with. We work together really well and we usually get more done, she helps me finish my tasks if i get behind, and i help her finish hers if she gets behind. She's only been there a few months as well so ranks just above me in seniority.
There's another woman who I work with, and I don't know if she just hates her job or what, but she doesn't seem to like me much. I don't know what I ever did to her but she just seems to have an attitude. Like for example on Friday I called to ask for my schedule, because i only work 12 hours a week most weeks, and I wasn't there on Friday. I asked if she could give it to me really quick, and I heard a loud sigh into the phone like I really slowed her down that much?
But, the woman I enjoy working with has felt the same way before about her. She's told me that this lady leaves notes nitpicking about small things like putting a box on the cart the wrong way, etc. So it's not just me.
Wide variability in the amount of hours and when they are assigned really bugs me since it leads to leads to a lack of structure and daily routine, and since it prevents me from working a second job.
Maybe one day I go in at 7:00 am, maybe one day I go in at 8:00 pm. Maybe one week I get 12 hours, and maybe one week I get 38 hours. It also makes paychecks highly variable.
I don't know if we actually have any full time cashiers at all. The claimed 30/70 full time to part time employee ratio appears to be bull****.
Quevision pisses me off. More than anything, it appears to be an excuse to hire fewer cashiers or give them fewer hours.
ELMS frustrates me since the goal for express is entirely unreasonable.
I have to go with #8, because if the top is rotten, the crap rolls down hill.
if the top dogs would care, have a little sense, and run things right, all other stuff would fix itself.
the best troops in the world, can't win a war, with dumb generals.
by the same token, a brillent leader, can turn rif-raff into a eilte force. krogers leaders are selfish,lazy, and stupid. thats THE biggest problem with the company.
At my store, the biggest issue is that no one is held accountable for thier actions. I could make a huge list of examples from various departments in the stores but I think you all understand what I mean.
I narrow it down to how many writeups are done in my store. There are many for attendance issues and customer service problems but never I mean never for lack of productivity.
Coming to work is a condition of employment. You are not a good employee because you always show up on time.
If everyone just very simply DID THEIR JOB then life would be easier for all.
The sad thing is this is simple common sense. If employee X didnt do what he was assigned to do in the allotted time, he should be disciplined. Never happens at my store. This is a failure of management.
The undone work is passed to the next clerk. Soon you have a situation where all depts are running behind.
If you work at a store that DOES write people up for laziness, then you dont realize how lucky you are.
Biggest obstacle I have had, since I got a market to run 6 years ago, is co=managers. And I have had a lot that are good friends and would go to battle with but when it comes to needing them to do write-ups, Forget it. When you work in an area, ( Dallas area) that has trouble getting and retaining help, then forget it. MR`s district managers and those above them preach to get rid of the help that is not worth keeping but when it comes to the write-ups, co-managers just do not want to do much of that. Now it could just be the ones that I am around and not just company or district wide, but that is my perception. Had one that just did not want to but then wanted to hold me accountable. starting a file of complaints and documenting everything( copies to the union) finally got that co-manager moved and suspended. Can not run a department when a co-manager wants to bring back several employees, with one in my department, that walked out because they did not want to do what was asked of them in any timely manor.
Dept heads who think rules don't apply to them...and magmt who looks the other way allowing it to continue...and the bad example it sets for other employees. ~sigh~ and they wonder why newhires don't give a crap? seriously?
#1: Had a bastard of a department head when I joined. He was a bully and it really colored my view of the store worse than it is. Don't get me wrong, it is Kroger and therefore sucks, but when I first started it just made the whole deal so much worse. So overall, I was hearkened to hate Kroger within days, instead of the weeks/months/years that it should have taken.
#9: Similar to the above, really. It seems that there are two general reactions I see to people higher up the seniority ladder. Either they are decent folks who just want to go home, or there are the people who just project anger and frustration at all times.
#11: Not just asking for more work than can be done within a given time, but knowingly asking me to do more work than can be done in a given time.
#3: At least one of them has an idea that they are of a greater breed than us pesants. When that one is around, morale is not.
#11: Regarding the guy who "under paid and over worked" I counter that while not a perfect stockman, I have been instructed on a number of occasions to just fill up empty holes with whatever product is around just to "fill it up." Either that or an outright refusal to deal with any backstock by some leads to some really bad stocking practices from the lot of ages. Frankly, I hate being told to do things wrong. I hate getting crap for trying to do things right.
So I ask you seriously...why is this crap allowed to continue??? Tell me people, are these not universal experiences found in every store???
I think #9 has to be right up there. I work with a girl who is awesome. I've learned to get along with her, and I've helped her on tasks, and she's helped me. Same with a particular union steward, who's been awfully helpful to me, and vice versa. And yet, there's one in every bunch, right? There's one particular person who thinks he's much better than the rest of us, and feels he can order us around as he wishes. Well, if he just looks at me sideways, he's gonna get the evil eye! That's the way I feel about him. Funny thing is...he's changed over the years. I've known him a long time (before I worked with him), and he used to be a somewhat halfway-decent guy, but working in the same proximity as him has showed me what he's really like...Let's just say that if this guy continues to keep it up, he will literally have no friends at all, despite the fact that our steward says he has no friends now...And, of course, I love the employees who say, "I didn't come here to make friends!"...You know...that's all well and good, but when the sh** hits the fan, the more people you have on your side, the better, and the less people this man has on his side, the worse it looks for him. But yet he continues to think he's better than everyone else, and the fact that he's still working is a testament to the fact that countless times over the years, management has refused to step on anyone's toes...What annoys me the most is that some of us actually DO their jobs and more, despite words to the contrary, and yet are still scapegoated by those who refuse to do theirs. But since no one has the guts to deal with the problem, and to paraphrase Jack Nicholson, "They can't handle the truth", the problems continue. And you know what? I'm getting to the point that I don't care...I'm not making excuses...I come to do a job...I can do many jobs, and I do get praise from other people I work with, and I've worked for awesome managers (and, at times, not-so-awesome managers), so I'm not about to let one measly person get me down. Still, I'm dumb enough after many years in retail to wonder when it will all end, since it never ends. And yet, I'm smart enough to not let one man affect my life. There are people who I work with and admire that don't let things like this change them. They do use tact as a first resort, but are pretty much confidently bull-headed if that doesn't work, so I think I'll take a lesson from them, and keep on pushing. But still, there's a difference between being pushed, and being a pushover...Know what I mean? Can anybody out there relate??? Anyone feel where I'm coming from???
No, I don't think he was having a bad day. He's having a bad life! But, I have good news. It looks like he got his crap handed back to him on a silver platter. I guess there are a few other employees who have noticed his bad behavior, and he got "called out on the carpet" for it. His name has come up before, and I know that there are more than a few people who have noticed what he's doing, and I guess one of them must have had a talk with him, since I heard there was a meeting, with a manager or two present. I get the feeling that no one's ever spoken to him in that way before and told it to him straight, and maybe he was stunned. Maybe "Mr. Untouchable" will mend his ways, and cool it! Who knows? We'll see...But, in the meantime, I'm not about to worry about it. I've worked retail long enough to have seen things like this before. Someone from a non-union store once told me about a longtime manager who dared cuss the boss out, and got canned on the spot. I even heard of a cashier who did something similar. That's a definite employee no-no, if true. You don't do stuff like that! YOU JUST DON'T! But I can only speak from hearsay. Although, nothing surprises me anymore. Regarding this matter, though, I have a job to do, and it's all on him now. If he doesn't like it...too bad! My view is...If I can dish it, I gotta take it...That's on me...If he can dish it, he's gotta take it, too...That's on him...
Anyone ever worked for or with a micro-manager? If something's not done his or her way, it's not done right at all?
What about "the constant worrier"? Someone whose fears only rarely come true, but they have to project fear onto other people, either to make themselves look good, or fire up the employees, but in either case, everyone else can see right through him or her?
On the other hand, what about the inexperienced person who doesn't like to step on anyone's toes? The truly mild-mannered, who in a crisis, is fully unprepared?
I've worked for and with both types, and seen both sides, so I'm not sure which one's better...And not to be too harsh, I've seen micro-managers chill out, and seen the inexperienced gain confidence, so who knows?
