Today we had a courtesy clerk on every single register. It was nice, since our store seemed to be where everyone wanted to be today. I don't remember that god-awful Que-Vision dipping below 10 the entire day.
Anyway, about an hour-and-half before the end of my shift I'm assisting a fellow courtesy clerk bag a $300 + order. I grabbed a few of the plastic bags left on the register --- sometimes, the bags just don't "work" the way they are supposed to, and we are so busy and fast that we usually just stuff them underneath the back of the register where everything else is located.
Well jolly jolly me, I had the luck of having my bit-ch manager cashiering on the aisle next. She calls over to me "Don't put them underneath, press them out and use them again."
I call back to her, as careful as I can, "Yes ma'am, I know, but I can't because I don't have any place to put them." We had groceries coming down the belt all the way to the edge of the line. Two of those were large vegetable oil containers.
There was no place for me to take one of those bags, smooth one out, and " re-use " it.
My manager looked at me like if she had been in possession of a gun, she would have shot me. And I have no doubts she would have tried.
I have been telling myself all night that if this bitc-h tries to write me up for insubordination or ANYTHING related to that incident, I'm calling in the steward. Not only do I have a witness with the other courtesy clerk (and possibly the cashier), I also had a legitimate case. I could not do what she wanted me to, there was not enough space.
But this woman works on her own time on her own little bubble of a Kroger universe and sees what she wants to see. Which I guess does not have anything to do with shopping carts, because in 10 months I have never seen her go into the parking lot and retrieve them. Just a little rant there in the end.
I have told my store manager that if I can not transfer out of Front End, that I am going to leave the store. The manager and myself are going to hopefully have a meeting together sometime after New Year's. I am so tired of this woman and her Third Reich ways. Look, I understand if my boss tells me to do something that I have to do it. Okay. But when you ask me to do something that I know I can not do and clearly can not do because of the circumstances or lack of resources, you can not get mad at me for not being able to do the task, even if you were the one that told me to do it.
You should of just smiled and said "yes Ms. Bitch", no problem. Then you take the bags toss them somewhere on top of the customers groceries and keep bagging. It's busy and she isn't seeing what you are seeing. All she saw was you stashing some bags and she wanted them to be used not wasted.
I think you would get along alot better with her if you would just try for one day to just do what she says to do NO MATTER WHAT YOU THINK!!! Just do what she says. This constant tug of war you have with her has got to be wearing you out.
And give up on trying to control the stupid carts. Bring in what you can when you can and forget the rest of them. You get paid by the hour not the cart.
I hate to tell you but there is a Ms. or Mr. Bitch at every job you will ever have. Trust me.
Store managers don't get the carts, you can actually get them in trouble for that and get paid.
I worked with a store manager in the past that wasn't above going out and getting carts when there wasn't any carts in the foyer for customers. He'd first call the other departments like produce and grocery as well as drug/GM to help roundup carts, and after making the page, he'd be the first one out there. I've worked with co-managers too that would do that. Some members of management will roll up their sleeves more often than others and do what needs to be done when it gets overwhelmingly busy. Others... well, others feel it's more of their place to stand around with their arms crossed even though they could be helping surge check, bag or get carts. Frankly, I'd much rather work with a management team that is willing to work alongside employees rather than essentially stand around "overseeing" things. I know it encourages me to work harder, as I suspect it does for others as well.
Do what i did. Worked at Kroger for about a week and a half in the Meat Dept. Promptly told them to kiss my ass, dropped my white coat on the floor and walked on out. **** was so funny people were laughing.
Witnesses?.. FrontEndSlave, if you want to survive in Kroger, you cannot trust even the employees. (This doesn't mean be paranoid, just do not expect employees to bail you out in a pinch). And I think all district contracts have it where Managers can't perform ANY duties that a clerk should be doing. They see it as managers trying to cut jobs.
Witnesses?.. FrontEndSlave, if you want to survive in Kroger, you cannot trust even the employees. (This doesn't mean be paranoid, just do not expect employees to bail you out in a pinch). And I think all district contracts have it where Managers can't perform ANY duties that a clerk should be doing. They see it as managers trying to cut jobs.
They do it all the time at our store. They got caught big time using baggers as cashiers and had to promote two of them to cashiers LOL!!! (Our contract doesn't allow courtesy clerks to do that job) One comanager is on the register almost every single night. Cuts out the cashier hours.
