So I've written in here before about how a few months back I was written up for insubordination to a Front End Supervisor. I refused to sign the paperwork at the time and manager and co-manager were in the room with me. Co-manager told me, and I paraphrase, "You can leave now and we will be okay with that." It was meant in "Well, if you say right here and now you are quitting, we will leave on good terms" but the language said "We don't give a crap that you work here and can easily replace you."
This was the super-bi-tch that I have written about in past posts. The one who claims to have been with Kroger 20 years and the one who has it her way or the highway. The one who claims I shouldn't double-bag two-liter drinks despite the fact that if I don't there is a good chance the bags will rip with the customers. The one who claims that I should stand glass items upright when I bag as a courtesy clerk but forgets about a little thing called "gravity" and how items in bags will almost always fall over when placed in the cart, even if a person attempts to do it properly. The one who, no matter the circumstances, always says more can go into a Kroger bag despite the fact that Kroger apparently makes their bags out of bubble gum and the tears of orphans. The one who has made many people, mostly courtesy clerks, uncomfortable in Front End. The one who has a problem with me objecting to her in front of customers but has no problem at all rebuking me or telling me how to do things in front of them. The one who frequently bags or acts as cashier without wearing any sort of Kroger-related uniform. I don't even remember her ever wearing a name tag. She could look like a regular customer. Yea. That one. You probably have a super b-i-t-c-h like her at your store, too.
Well, super b-it-ch has a partner in crime, we will call him A-hole Man. A-hole Man panics at the first sign of dip. A-hole Man calls for other departments to come and bag an average of twice per day -- usually more. And usually when unnecessary. A-hole Man informed me a week or two ago that he can't bag when customers bring their own bags into the check-out line. A-hole Man whom I posted about getting caught in micro-management about a week or so ago. A-hole Man who comes out for one-minute "smoke breaks" outside the store when he's really using it as an excuse to micro-manage and check on courtesy clerks in the parking lot. A-hole Man who micro-manages Front End so much that you feel like you may as well be in the movie 'Office Space'.
Yea. That one. You probably have A-hole Man at your store as well. I think he is cloned in a lab somewhere and comes in various races. This isn't a race issue, but ours is African-American.
Saturday was a really bad day. We had thunder storms and LIGHTNING. As in, loud cracks above the store and bolts visible at the tree line. A-hole Man calls us in as courtesy clerks but then sends us back less than 35-45 minutes later, despite thunder rumbling and lightning bolts on the horizon probably no less than 5-10 miles away.
So we had that to deal with. And then A-hole Man apparently fired one of our newer courtesy clerk hires today so our parking lot schedule had to be re-adjusted on the fly. That meant poor communication, people not knowing when to be where, and A-hole Man throwing in his usual micro-management.
Sun sets. It gets dark. A-hole Man thinks it is going to rain and have a big storm again. So he asks .. excuse me, did I write asks I meant tells a courtesy clerk inside to come out and tell me to go to the other side of the parking lot. Did I mention I was the only one out there? Yep. Again. He didn't care about the possibility of me being outside in the severe weather. He wanted as many carts to come in as possible.
What am I getting at? Well it was a crappy day and I have experienced Super B-i-t-c-h and A-hole Man both. That wasn't fun and I was ranting to myself in the parking lot and to fellow courtesy clerks. Here's the reason for my post. A-hole Man asks Super B-i-t-c-h to bring me into the office and then he proceeds to get ANGRY with me and tell me he's "not playing my game" and the only reason he didn't fire me was because it "was hearsay." Yea I was ranting in the parking lot to a fellow courtesy clerk. There's my mistake. I figured since we were in the same boat that I could rant to her and not worry about it, you know, just one worker to another working a crappy job and ranting about the conditions we have to work underneath? Same boat, but I forgot that sometimes you find sharks circling in the water and crabs in the boat ready to grab on to their fins and tell them everything.
A-hole Man doesn't even give me the opportunity to speak. Tells me not to. If I had, I would have been fired then, I'm sure. A-hole Man tells me he can manage the store how he wants to manage it. A-hole Man tells me that if he tells me to do something no matter what I have to do it. (I'm personally okay with that, as a whole, but it's his micro-management style interfering with the tasks at hand that HE sets down that I have a problem with) A-hole Man says that if he hears anything from me again, he's going to fire me. No meeting. Just send me home and I'm gone.
Soooooo yea. Long post, butcan he really fire me for "hearsay?" That fat bastard sent me back out into a thunder storm with lightning bolts I KNOW he saw and he expects me to be cheerful about it? We are pushing mobile lightning rods. And then he is interrupting my job as I do it, a job he knows I can do, which sets me back at least ten minutes while I try to do it? And gets all pissed off at me for "hearsay?"
If this A-hole gets angry over hearing "hearsay" even if it DOES mean "hearsay" that talks about how he should back off and mind his own business, or manage different, or go rot in Hell or whatever --- if it's that way for "hearsay" and he has that sort of angry attitude, THAT ALONE tells me he shouldn't be in management. Because people are ALWAYS going to blame management or supervisors. ALWAYS. I'm sure someone in Heaven is always pissed off at God for the clouds not being fluffy enough. People are going to bitch, whine, moan especially in Front End and especially when the work environment is an unsafe, negative experience.
I am going to go to the Head Honcho as soon as I can. I'm not sure of his exact title -- Store Manager, I guess. He's over A-hole Man and Super B-i-t-c-h and pretty much everyone and everything in the entire store. He runs the joint, in other words. I'm going to have to tell him that I don't feel as if I have a positive working environment in Front End and that I don't appreciate or feel it was appropriate that A-hole Man threatened to fire me because of something someone else said that I said. I mean, damn, if we go that route, if I have a co-worker I don't like, I just tell my Front End Supervisor that the co-worker said A-hole Man was a total pussy and couldn't run a store if he had his brain surgically placed into a robot body and could move at twice the speed of a human being. Or that the same co-worker said Super B-i-t-c-h always hangs out in the dairy section because someone heard she was sexually frozen. Something like that. And of course since he takes "hearsay" so serious, well, that's the end of that co-worker, right?
I refuse to play internal politics. But at the same time I can't have A-hole Man threatening my job because he's more thin-skinned than the onions we sell with the hamburger trimmings. And I can't work underneath a Front End environment or ANY environment where I feel as if I have to be paranoid and looking over my shoulder at every little thing, or that I shouldn't be talking to my co-workers at all because some A-hole co-worker might blab to my boss. But if I do THAT, then I come across as sullen, paranoid, or unfriendly. Can't win. Which is why I'm going to the boss's boss and see what happens.
I did decide one thing. If A-hole Man fires me, especially for "hearsay," I'll go to the union just to be a dick. Just to be a big enough dick to put v Man through everything that happens with the union. Whatever that is. I'm sure it's something, otherwise what do I pay them $7 per paycheck for?
This is why Front End sucks. This is why Kroger sucks. You get people in upper levels of management who are brainwashed to care more about the dollar and the corporation rather than the employee. A-hole Man couldn't care less if I had a bad day or the reasons for anything I did or did not say. He was just pissed off that someone said I was questioning his management and his management style.
-- Edited by FrontEndSlave on Saturday 9th of August 2014 11:13:01 PM
-- Edited by FrontEndSlave on Saturday 9th of August 2014 11:14:58 PM
-- Edited by FrontEndSlave on Saturday 9th of August 2014 11:19:45 PM
If you said it to his face then you could be canned for insubordination. I'd skip meeting the head honcho. You're not going to win this. The honcho will back his manager. Sounds like you need to watch who you talk too.
this sounds exactly like my store without the tattle-telling. The co-managers are on a power trip but our store manager's ok. If he starts to join the prick club then we're screwed. I can't believe how easy it must be to get into M1D and hold down a management position. Heck it's easier to get a unionized meat cutter fired than a manager it seems.
If you said it to his face then you could be canned for insubordination. I'd skip meeting the head honcho. You're not going to win this. The honcho will back his manager. Sounds like you need to watch who you talk too.
That's a bit paranoid, don't you think? Although paranoia does seem to be the issue of the day. With these two over me as management, I feel unwelcomed, unwanted, unappreciated, and that I need to be looking over my shoulder every time I go to work because of the fear of being written up or terminated for the smallest thing. That's not a positive working environment and not something I want to continue to be a part of with Kroger. I'm hoping at least the store manager, who knows me to be a hard worker, will at least listen to my concerns about these two.
If you said it to his face then you could be canned for insubordination. I'd skip meeting the head honcho. You're not going to win this. The honcho will back his manager. Sounds like you need to watch who you talk too.
That's a bit paranoid, don't you think? Although paranoia does seem to be the issue of the day. With these two over me as management, I feel unwelcomed, unwanted, unappreciated, and that I need to be looking over my shoulder every time I go to work because of the fear of being written up or terminated for the smallest thing. That's not a positive working environment and not something I want to continue to be a part of with Kroger. I'm hoping at least the store manager, who knows me to be a hard worker, will at least listen to my concerns about these two.
If you said it to his face then you could be canned for insubordination. I'd skip meeting the head honcho. You're not going to win this. The honcho will back his manager. Sounds like you need to watch who you talk too.
That's a bit paranoid, don't you think? Although paranoia does seem to be the issue of the day. With these two over me as management, I feel unwelcomed, unwanted, unappreciated, and that I need to be looking over my shoulder every time I go to work because of the fear of being written up or terminated for the smallest thing. That's not a positive working environment and not something I want to continue to be a part of with Kroger. I'm hoping at least the store manager, who knows me to be a hard worker, will at least listen to my concerns about these two.
Kroger doesn't care about turnover THAT much. Good managers (usually newer ones) think their bonus is tied to turnover, but it really has more to do with the same store sales growth, profitability, and overall sales. Overtime apparently plays a role too because it affects profitability. And when you have to hire a lot of people, it costs money in training, uniforms, and lost productivity. However, they don't realize that employees thrive in a comfortable store. I'd take a hypothetical bullet for any manager that truly wanted to make the environment more welcoming to me.
If you said it to his face then you could be canned for insubordination. I'd skip meeting the head honcho. You're not going to win this. The honcho will back his manager. Sounds like you need to watch who you talk too.
That's a bit paranoid, don't you think? Although paranoia does seem to be the issue of the day. With these two over me as management, I feel unwelcomed, unwanted, unappreciated, and that I need to be looking over my shoulder every time I go to work because of the fear of being written up or terminated for the smallest thing. That's not a positive working environment and not something I want to continue to be a part of with Kroger. I'm hoping at least the store manager, who knows me to be a hard worker, will at least listen to my concerns about these two.
So I gotta ask. Why continue working there?
Because at the moment I'm still searching out other prospects and leads. I wouldn't be there today if I had any other possibility. Even if it was minimum wage continuing, I'd take it. I'm sure whatever I find will treat me as a person and not an item. I still have myself to think of, my family, my personal life. Groceries. Bills. I'd rather make the meager farthings that Kroger tosses at us as they pass us in the street in their golden-gilded carriages than be making no money at all.
-- Edited by FrontEndSlave on Sunday 10th of August 2014 01:16:29 AM
Kroger doesn't care about turnover THAT much. Good managers (usually newer ones) think their bonus is tied to turnover, but it really has more to do with the same store sales growth, profitability, and overall sales. Overtime apparently plays a role too because it affects profitability. And when you have to hire a lot of people, it costs money in training, uniforms, and lost productivity. However, they don't realize that employees thrive in a comfortable store.
this sounds exactly like my store without the tattle-telling. The co-managers are on a power trip but our store manager's ok. If he starts to join the prick club then we're screwed. I can't believe how easy it must be to get into M1D and hold down a management position. Heck it's easier to get a unionized meat cutter fired than a manager it seems.
Dude, These pricks couldn't pay me enough to be gathering metal shopping carts when there is lightning overhead or on the horizon. Our store manager seems to be 'ok' as well. Hopefully I confirm that when I address my concerns about Front End and my managers.
If you said it to his face then you could be canned for insubordination. I'd skip meeting the head honcho. You're not going to win this. The honcho will back his manager. Sounds like you need to watch who you talk too.
That's a bit paranoid, don't you think? Although paranoia does seem to be the issue of the day. With these two over me as management, I feel unwelcomed, unwanted, unappreciated, and that I need to be looking over my shoulder every time I go to work because of the fear of being written up or terminated for the smallest thing. That's not a positive working environment and not something I want to continue to be a part of with Kroger. I'm hoping at least the store manager, who knows me to be a hard worker, will at least listen to my concerns about these two.
So I gotta ask. Why continue working there?
Because at the moment I'm still searching out other prospects and leads. I wouldn't be there today if I had any other possibility. Even if it was minimum wage continuing, I'd take it. I'm sure whatever I find will treat me as a person and not an item. I still have myself to think of, my family, my personal life. Groceries. Bills. I'd rather make the meager farthings that Kroger tosses at us as they pass us in the street in their golden-gilded carriages than be making no money at all.
-- Edited by FrontEndSlave on Sunday 10th of August 2014 01:16:29 AM
do you have kids? Whats your general living situation?
If you said it to his face then you could be canned for insubordination. I'd skip meeting the head honcho. You're not going to win this. The honcho will back his manager. Sounds like you need to watch who you talk too.
That's a bit paranoid, don't you think? Although paranoia does seem to be the issue of the day. With these two over me as management, I feel unwelcomed, unwanted, unappreciated, and that I need to be looking over my shoulder every time I go to work because of the fear of being written up or terminated for the smallest thing. That's not a positive working environment and not something I want to continue to be a part of with Kroger. I'm hoping at least the store manager, who knows me to be a hard worker, will at least listen to my concerns about these two.
So I gotta ask. Why continue working there?
Because at the moment I'm still searching out other prospects and leads. I wouldn't be there today if I had any other possibility. Even if it was minimum wage continuing, I'd take it. I'm sure whatever I find will treat me as a person and not an item. I still have myself to think of, my family, my personal life. Groceries. Bills. I'd rather make the meager farthings that Kroger tosses at us as they pass us in the street in their golden-gilded carriages than be making no money at all.
-- Edited by FrontEndSlave on Sunday 10th of August 2014 01:16:29 AM
do you have kids? Whats your general living situation?
No I don't have kids but I help to care for my elderly mother at the moment. I also have a vehicle but it is in need of mechanical repair so getting work outside of the city at the moment is a no-go. Basically I am searching in the area and have a few leads. You can bet as soon as I can get out of Kroger, I will. At this point I'm not sure I even want to give them a two-week notice. My high work ethic has kept me from walking off the job so far. But I only have so much ethic before I say the hell with it.
My advice to you would be to show up and do the job they want. The boss can't get mad at ya then. Keep your opinions to yourself. Save as much money as you can. Try to get your car running or sell it as is and get something else. You aint working kroger for the rest of your life, just take it one day at a time.
My advice to you would be to show up and do the job they want. The boss can't get mad at ya then. Keep your opinions to yourself. Save as much money as you can. Try to get your car running or sell it as is and get something else. You aint working kroger for the rest of your life, just take it one day at a time.
It's tough not to rant or get frustrated when 'the boss' is sending you out into weather that could potentially cause you personal harm. Even tougher when the same boss micro-manages you to the point of making it difficult to do the job in the first place. Tougher still when he's threatening to fire you based on "hearsay." At least now I know how to get rid of employees I don't like. I just go to my supervisor, say that the employee said something negative about the boss, and wait for that employee to be shown the door. Holy hell, how do people work under those sort of conditions? Thank you for the advice though. It was well-thought out and considerate.
My advice to you would be to show up and do the job they want. The boss can't get mad at ya then. Keep your opinions to yourself. Save as much money as you can. Try to get your car running or sell it as is and get something else. You aint working kroger for the rest of your life, just take it one day at a time.
It's tough not to rant or get frustrated when 'the boss' is sending you out into weather that could potentially cause you personal harm. Even tougher when the same boss micro-manages you to the point of making it difficult to do the job in the first place. Tougher still when he's threatening to fire you based on "hearsay." At least now I know how to get rid of employees I don't like. I just go to my supervisor, say that the employee said something negative about the boss, and wait for that employee to be shown the door. Holy hell, how do people work under those sort of conditions? Thank you for the advice though. It was well-thought out and considerate.
If you feel that your life could be in danger you have the right to say "no". Within reason.
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Would you like fries with th... I mean, your milk in a bag?
My advice to you would be to show up and do the job they want. The boss can't get mad at ya then. Keep your opinions to yourself. Save as much money as you can. Try to get your car running or sell it as is and get something else. You aint working kroger for the rest of your life, just take it one day at a time.
It's tough not to rant or get frustrated when 'the boss' is sending you out into weather that could potentially cause you personal harm. Even tougher when the same boss micro-manages you to the point of making it difficult to do the job in the first place. Tougher still when he's threatening to fire you based on "hearsay." At least now I know how to get rid of employees I don't like. I just go to my supervisor, say that the employee said something negative about the boss, and wait for that employee to be shown the door. Holy hell, how do people work under those sort of conditions? Thank you for the advice though. It was well-thought out and considerate.
If you feel that your life could be in danger you have the right to say "no". Within reason.
He called myself and the other courtesy clerk off the parking lot when we had a large clasp of thunder almost directly above the store. Lightning was visible on the horizon and surrounding areas. Our store has two entrances, a main one and a secondary one. Due to the fact that everyone and their mother decided to shop that day, we were low on carts. We actually ran out on that main entrance. We couldn't bring carts in due to the weather. About 30, 35 minutes later we were sent back out. Thunder was still heard frequently and lightning bolts were on the horizon over the tree line, clearly arcing to the ground. In my opinion we should have been given more time before going back out. Add this to the fact that the 'lot schedule had been re-re-done at the last possible moment due to one of our courtesy clerks being sent home by this same A-Hole Man, and it was a fun day.
Felt like my life was in jeopardy? Dude. Our customers DON'T CARE. They will run you over in the parking lot and keep going. I feel like my life is in jeopardy any time I go into that 'lot for cart retrieval. In this particular instance? Meh. Hard to say. I suppose I felt like we were still in danger. But as shown on this forum many times, Kroger does not care. If we died while not at work, Kroger would demand to see a death certificate or write us up for not showing up for work and eventually fire us for not showing up. And even then they'd want the death certificate notarized and probably ask the doctors or funeral home if we were really dead. I have no doubts Kroger would use animated corpses to do the job of courtesy clerks if they could get away with it. Perhaps for all we know, they've tried. Billion dollar company that barely cares about human life and chases the almighty dollar. Yea. They've got a lab somewhere. Count on it. Probably in the mountains away from human eyes. :P
If someone is threatening to fire me over hearsay.....I would say "prove it". Most of these co managers are out of control ego maniacs with anger management issues. The amount of money that Kroger pays people in this position attracts the lowest of the low. Good people simply don't take this kind of position because of the low pay. Be careful with dealing with any part of management because they will throw you under the bus to save their own butts every time. Best strategy as an employee at kroger is to face the fact that you are working for a **** corporation who doesn't give a damn about you, you are just a number and look at it as a temporary position to use until you find something better. The stores are nothing but jungles full of snakes! As far as the Union....do not rely on them because they are just another arm of the company.
How long have you been with Kroger? I am curious about your age but not going to insist on it.
With the attitude you have, you are going to burn yourself out quick. Don't force yourself to stay where you do not want to be. Kroger is just a job. It is what you make of it. I choose to make the best of it everyday.
Definitely be careful what you say around co workers. If employees aren't complaining about how crappy a job kroger is, they are gossipping. And gossip goes thru the store quick..
If you want something better, use kroger as a stepping stone to get to somewhere better. Don't quit out of anger. Try to have a good attitude and look for better employment.
It isn't illegal for a manager or comanager to be an a-hole. We would need a special jail just for kroger if it was! :)
My store manager is very cool. The male comanager is also cool. But the female comanager is a fire breathing dragon! Always roaring, "this needs to be done, why didn't this get done?" I hate when she asks me cause I am a part time peon being spoken to like she should be speaking to my department manager. I know the answers. But, I can't change anything until they retire my department manager. I am supposed to encourage my coworkers to pick up the speed when I am in charge of the crew. My coworkers don't give a crap.
in my store you're not allowed to do carts when it's lightning outside. you also are suppose to refuse helping someone outside when it's like that.
but anyways. just quit. it's not the most important job in the world and theres many other jobs out there. youve gotten to the point where you cant stand it, leave. you only have one life.
in my store you're not allowed to do carts when it's lightning outside. you also are suppose to refuse helping someone outside when it's like that.
but anyways. just quit. it's not the most important job in the world and theres many other jobs out there. youve gotten to the point where you cant stand it, leave. you only have one life.
It has gotten to the point where I have considered calling out and lying to them about the reason for it. And I have a high work ethic so to me that personally tells me that it's time to get out of there as soon as possible.
I already have an index finger on my right hand that frequently hurts. I crushed it in their stupid shopping carts a few months ago. I couldn't even tell you when I did it. It's happened more than once, I think. Anyway, when I bend it, it hurts, and sometimes when I wake up in the morning, I don't have full flexibility to it until I push myself to move it all the way. I am certain that this all results from nerve damage in the finger. That I didn't crush the bone, or bruise it, but did internal damage to it and didn't get it taken care of when I should. So when it healed back, it either didn't heal right or what I destroyed was already too late. I'll probably deal with this finger the rest of my life like that. It's not the worst thing in the world...honestly when it first started showing symptoms I was thinking it could be carpal tunnel syndrome. But that tends to affect the wrists and a significant portion of the hand and fingers. This pain is in a single finger.
Do you have the option of transferring to another Kroger? Even if that would require additional driving, it would be worth it if you transferred to a Kroger that had a better management team. While corporate dictates a lot of less than sensible policies that apply to all stores, not all members of management are the same. I have worked at the same store for over three years now and we've had about seven or eight different co-managers come and go and all of them were easy to get along with for the most part and would listen to concerns of the employees as long as you presented yourself in a professional manner. Our store manager has been known to go to bat for employees when the situation has called for it. If transferring is an option, visit some other Kroger stores in the area and just walk around and try to get a feel for the mood at each of the stores, during both slow times and busy times. Briefly talk to some of the employees and find out how they feel about their store, but don't pick a time when it might get them in trouble. If transferring isn't an option, you already work in retail, so why not look into working for the competition? The high turnover rate in grocery stores and retail chains leads to regular hiring cycles. Don't just fill out an online application and leave it at that, though. Fill out an application and then visit the store and ask to speak to either a member of management and present yourself positively. Don't complain about Kroger and come across as a victim. Instead, talk of your experience in retail and your work ethic. Above all else, keep it positive and show a desire to want to work for the manager and the store.
With the way things are at your current job, it sounds as if it's only going to get worse for you. Trying to fight back isn't an option. You need to either leave that store for another Kroger store or for another retail job, as you have experience in retail and that may help a little over applying for a non-retail job, or you need to do nothing, and I mean nothing, that gives management ammunition against you so that you can protect your only source of income for the time being. That means no complaining or negative opinions while at work. That means doing what's asked of you, as long as it doesn't jeopardize your health, and simply nodding. You can't afford to lose your job, so you need to keep your anger in check. Regardless of who is right and who is wrong, you hold no power while they hold all the power. Remember that until you secure either a transfer or a new job.
Ask for a transfer to another store because it's obvious that Superb*tch and A Hole Man are trying to get you to retaliate in a way that will give them grounds for not only immediate dismissal but also putting your name on the "do not hire" list which will prevent you from applying with another Kroger. The way A-Hole Man is behaving, he's pretty much begging for you to call him the "n word" which will get you fired and red-flagged before you even walk out the front door.
Ask for a transfer to another store because it's obvious that Superb*tch and A Hole Man are trying to get you to retaliate in a way that will give them grounds for not only immediate dismissal but also putting your name on the "do not hire" list which will prevent you from applying with another Kroger. The way A-Hole Man is behaving, he's pretty much begging for you to call him the "n word" which will get you fired and red-flagged before you even walk out the front door.
Actually, A-Hole Man transferred to another division this week. So now it's just Superb*tch. And, when I check my schedule for the upcoming week, since she falls under Front End, her schedule is on there, too. I am getting into the habit of making a note along side my own notes on my own schedule of when she works. That way, I can come in prepared.
