In my times i can remember many times that I was always given advice to remember. But not all stuck with me.
#1 When i was new and learning the trade, I was told that if i stuck with kroger about a year then i would know enough to be able to go to other places and make real money. If not then I could stick around and have a career. Seen many leave to go elsewhere only to leave there with some coming back to kroger.
#2 It is not your money but krogers so do a head and do it their way and see what happens. I still use that philosophy when confronting those that still want to do things their way or I get to that point.
#3 Old dinosaurs die out and changing with the times will keep one alive. I have seen many stores and chains leave the area and some disappears or shrink in size because they never wanted to change any with the times and continue old ways.
Oh yes and the worst advice was do not trust the union as kroger had your best interest and the union is in it only for the money.
Well...don't know how long you've been with the company, but I've been with them for over 30 years. I figured, back then, I'd stay maybe 5 years, till I found something else. During that time, I got my insurance and married, and stayed...because of the insurance, and...there was nothing else to go to, at that time. And with those that leave and come back, in many cases, it's because they found out that they couldn't get away with the stuff they'd been doing at Kroger, and couldn't elsewhere. Such as coming in anytime they wanted to, and goofing off. This company is NOTHING like it was "back in the day." Like most management, all they really care about is how much money is going in their back pockets and getting their bonuses. Most know nothing as to what is really going on. And that reaches all the way to the top. I've seen those in zone management come in and re-arrange displays, and then the next day, another come in and change them around again. They all feel they have to put their mark on things. And as for the union. I worked at a non-union store years ago, and swore I'd never do it again. Of course they're not as powerful as they use to be, but still it's better to have them there.
My first day on the job(store grand opening) I was bagging groceries. A manager I had never met came up to me and told me it would go faster if I used two hands. By god , he was right. I try to pass this knowledge to all new hires regardless of the department.
Who knew some departments were set up deliberately TO LOSE MONEY!
Don't Cut your superior's orders or they might turn off your access to the Telzon guns w/o telling you!
If you plan to write a letter to your regional deli manager asking for a transfer w/o telling the store manager, expect him to come and call you King Tut!
Don't get on the intercom and make a page for Jorge when the guy's name is actually Raul - it might land you in trouble!
Your store's union steward might actually stab you in the back when in the manager's office fighting for your job and say "well actually, I'm surprised you didn't get fired"!
when being paged to go to the manager's office, it usually will not be a pleasant visit and yes you should worry a little during your walk!
if for some strange reason the store manager wants the entire deli to wear hair nets instead of hat, thats his call & and you might find yourself up in his office using your Wiengarten Rights and he might call you a FOOL!
Yes Kroger is a great company built with great people with plenty of advice to be had
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I am no longer part of the oppressed, evil workforce of Kroger! Can you say "Hallelujah"
The Boss told me to "Learn to eat sh**, and like the taste" before he took me off the schedule and caused me to lose my job. (No, I'm not trolling, I'm being serious)
Read your contract books and handbooks. Know them inside and out, and be prepared to quote/show management as needed. A lot of management don't understand the contract or don't care to follow it.
You're paying union dues, so if you don't feel your steward is helping you, go up the chain. Keep going until you get the response you want.
Two words: Weingarten Rights. Always invoke them, each and every time. Nothing your manager says is ever "off the record." Invoke your rights and stop talking. Treat it like you're talking to the police and don't say anything because they will use it against you. That doesn't mean they can't go through with discipline, but it turns the tables a little in a grievance.
Never sign anything but your check. Never let management threaten you with signing anything. Once again, anything you sign can be used against you.
Noting the company does is "in your best interest." EVER. Keep that in mind.
This is the best advice I can give from my 6 years in management.
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My views don't reflect those of anyone, not even me. I may not have even made this statement. It's all lies, all of it!
Wal-Mart doesn't need a union. It's unsklilled labor for Christsake, who needs collective bargaining for that? How this thing ever got kicked off in the first place is a mystery to me.
Grumpy1, let's start with you: You own a company where virtually any body off the street can perform your needed work, you're not going to fight a union? You'd be crazy not to. Applied trade skills/advanced college degree applicants make sense; they do what others cannot. But people who can stock cans of peas in their correct order/facing do NOT qualify for union protection.
Now let's expand the model to current America, where the Republican push is to kill all unions so that they can create more jobs: Got a problem there, too. Ten million jobs at Taco Bell or Hardees or McDonald's or even Wal-Mart does NOT equal "see, we've created more jobs". One third of the 300,000,000 people in this country drawing Public Assistance from their states supplying it does not help any business' bottom line. It's just scratching the itch, while keeping the beast alive.
Not quite the best or worst advice...just a few longtime observations, but one thing I've noticed above all else..."One size fits all", although well and good-intentioned, does not describe Kroger. I've been in many different Krogers, and despite words to the contrary, no one Kroger ever operates, or even looks the same as another Kroger. Some of the biggest stores have the smallest backrooms and coolers. Some of the smallest stores have pretty large backrooms. Comparing the same department in two separate stores is like comparing apples to oranges. Some stores carry a wider selection of products, due to their size, and someone will always ask you about a product that the other Kroger carries, and your store doesn't. Five questions people will always ask (At least in my store) are 1. Where is the peanut butter?, 2. Where is the horseradish?, 3. Where is the garlic?, 4. Where are the toothpicks?, and 5. Where are the restrooms? If I had a nickel for every time, I tell ya...And one more thing, there will always be one customer that is always looking for a way to get something for free and/or giving the front end clerk a hard time, but they are still customers, and at least for me, it's always "service with a smile"!
