This company makes a little under 2 BILLION a year and yet each and every year, or in the case of District Q, every new contract, they come up with ways of getting rid of full-timers and firing people willy nilly.
This is a company I've spent 15 years of my life with, and credit them to pulling me off the streets when I was 17, and since then I've given them the best I can offer in return, making sure they sell as much stuff as possible for profit, etc.
When it comes to making sales and the bottom line, I've been on their side. But their recent schemes they've been pulling against all of us, has me feeling very differently about them. Like I don't want to be on their side anymore.
And I'm full time, and I like to think I am worth the MEASLY 23k a year they are paying me.
It shouldn't hurt the chairman's paycheck at all.. and I extend this out to other employees who are doing the right thing.
Kroger execs need to get off our backs, shut the hell up, and let us put their crap on the shelf. They are the number 1 grocery retailer in the US, they aren't going bankrupt anytime this millennium..
Remember, companies exist for one reason: to make money.
Now, how they make money depends on what their belief is on what's the best method.
Some companies believe that the way to do it is to treat not only customers, but employees too, the best that they can, and that means paying employees a bit higher than average, and passing any savings to consumers.
Then there's companies like Walmart and Kroger. They believe that the best way to make money is to make as many spending cuts as possible, cut corners, and make sure that the bare minimum is reached and not go over that minimum.
Companies do have to make money, but that should not be their main priority. The purpose of any organization should be to improve life for all that are associated. If money is the main priority the organization is likely to fail eventually, in my opinion. People first, may costs more in the short run, but in the long run it always pushes a company to the top. If you study the top companies, I think you will find that "people first" was the philosophy that got them there. This is at least true, I believe, in many cases. Ukrops company in Richmond, VA was a good example of this until it was bought out by Martins. I do think that the United States culture is too centered on money and it does make it tougher for executives who want to do the right thing, but I believe that "people first" can still be a win win philosophy even in the US.
I, too, wish they'd take a more Costco based philosophy and not walmart, but alas that's not what the current executives deem best. Being a public company really prohibits personal values from being shown in how they are managed, as it'd most likely be worse in the short term for financials.
From a long-term standpoint, replacing a full-timer with 2 or 3 part-timers just won't work. The part-timers won't care about rotation, won't remember a damned customer (even their own parents), and they certainly won't care about the health of the company. Shelling out an extra $200 a week for a dedicated full-timer who can throw 60 cases an hour and reduce SHRINK is actually a pretty good investment. Especially when you consider that you're not having to give them a new uniform, drug test them, or send them to 20 hours of training every month, which I estimate would cost nearly $250 when all is said and done. I'm not saying Kroger should be giving someone $12 an hour to push carts, but they might want to give people more meaningful raises if their performance improves enough to justify it.
From a long-term standpoint, replacing a full-timer with 2 or 3 part-timers just won't work. The part-timers won't care about rotation, won't remember a damned customer (even their own parents), and they certainly won't care about the health of the company. Shelling out an extra $200 a week for a dedicated full-timer who can throw 60 cases an hour and reduce SHRINK is actually a pretty good investment. Especially when you consider that you're not having to give them a new uniform, drug test them, or send them to 20 hours of training every month, which I estimate would cost nearly $250 when all is said and done. I'm not saying Kroger should be giving someone $12 an hour to push carts, but they might want to give people more meaningful raises if their performance improves enough to justify it.
That's kind of the problem. Fundamentally, people have a hard time thinking far into the future, even when it comes to the health of companies(or the world for that matter). Sacrificing now, for a return far into the future isn't something most are willing to do. Not to mention when you have to answer to shareholders. "Oh, our profits dropped 75%, but we promise it'll pay off in 10 years!" That kind of philosophy only seems to work when the company is built around it, not changing to it after becoming established.
Not really about customers at this point, customer service is gone! Yes, they are making good money off the disillusionsals and the half-wits, since that part of the labor pool is not yet exhausted they'll use them! And the union is doing an extraordinary job! Why would anyone have the desire to work for them? Beyond belief!
Not really about customers at this point, customer service is gone! Yes, they are making good money off the disillusionsals and the half-wits, since that part of the labor pool is not yet exhausted they'll use them! And the union is doing an extraordinary job! Why would anyone have the desire to work for them? Beyond belief!
If this keeps up, Kroger will not have a future. It is a point to be recognized; No one is digging part-time work anymore. And Kroger's definition of part-time is anywhere from 20 hours to 8, and then have you off the schedule the following week, because lolELMS.
