So, as of right now, I am the backup Customer Service Coordinator at my Kroger, but I've been offered a spot in the deli by the head of the meat department. I was wondering how tough the deli is, and how hard the learning curve/adjustment would be from going from front end to meat department. Any advice? Should I do it?
The "tough" thing about the deli isn't so much the work, but often the drama of the coworkers that come with it.
While I'm sure it doesn't apply to ALL stores, even on this place you'd find stories of people who have either faced drama with co-workers in the deli, observed from a distance, or even became involved in it.
It's why the deli department has a lesser-known moniker: "PMS Land".
If your deli is staffed by level and cool-headed guys that will not break out in a shouting match amongst themselves (or even across the store, yelling at the bakery department), then you'll only have to worry about breaking down the machines and closing, at the most.
The "tough" thing about the deli isn't so much the work, but often the drama of the coworkers that come with it.
While I'm sure it doesn't apply to ALL stores, even on this place you'd find stories of people who have either faced drama with co-workers in the deli, observed from a distance, or even became involved in it.
It's why the deli department has a lesser-known moniker: "PMS Land".
If your deli is staffed by level and cool-headed guys that will not break out in a shouting match amongst themselves (or even across the store, yelling at the bakery department), then you'll only have to worry about breaking down the machines and closing, at the most.
Perfect description, and I can vouch for it. Everyone hates everyone, and if you don't, you will.
Everyone in our deli and bakery gets along just fine. It could be that it's not all women working in the department. The men are there to help balance things out. I can see how a department of all women could turn into a bit-ch fest.
Everyone in our deli and bakery gets along just fine. It could be that it's not all women working in the department. The men are there to help balance things out. I can see how a department of all women could turn into a bit-ch fest.
The deli in the store I worked in only had 1 (one) male in the deli. He couldn't do anything about the constant drama and bickering between the women. Thankfully, he's moved on and finally started his management training.
Everyone in our deli and bakery gets along just fine. It could be that it's not all women working in the department. The men are there to help balance things out. I can see how a department of all women could turn into a bit-ch fest.
We have guys here too and it's still a catfight paradise. Estrogen is powerful as hell.
We only have one guy in all of the deli and bakery in my store and yes it is a pms fest at times. Especially with a manager who thinks she does everything but starts crap with people all the time. I get along with most of the day deli people though. There's one night deli girl who just won't talk to me no matter what but i think she's a mute with everyone.
Before I got hired, the manager told me that it was a bit of a catty department. I didn't believe her, but I'm not stranger to cattiness since I was at an all girls' college for almost a year and nothing is cattier than a sex-crazed (straight) young woman with very little male interaction. But holy **** deli takes the cake.
My Kroger is a VERY small Kroger, we only have 3 check lanes, so the meat department/deli/bakery are all integrated. A lot of the times the meat cutter works the deli counter because he's the only one even there.
Don't work the deli if you don't like to work. It's one of the physically and mentally trying departments. Must like to do dishes and scrub floors. Not to mention enjoy making cookies, pies and marking down donuts as well as cleaning slicers extreme my well. If you don't like to work hard be a bagger. We are tired of training people who don't like to work!!
Don't work the deli if you don't like to work. It's one of the physically and mentally trying departments. Must like to do dishes and scrub floors. Not to mention enjoy making cookies, pies and marking down donuts as well as cleaning slicers extreme my well. If you don't like to work hard be a bagger. We are tired of training people who don't like to work!!
Woah. That is a TINY store. Do you have any uscans? How many people work in the store?
There's one store about 80 miles from here that seriously looks like a run down shack. It does 90k a week. It can't be more than 15k sq. ft.
Holy crap lol. My store does anywhere from 70k-100k a day and that's considered a smaller sales number for this division with all the big marketplaces and all. 90k a week....omg either that store has a very limited staff or they have no work to do. O_o I wonder what managers have to do to get stuck in a store like that, lol
Don't work the deli if you don't like to work. It's one of the physically and mentally trying departments. Must like to do dishes and scrub floors. Not to mention enjoy making cookies, pies and marking down donuts as well as cleaning slicers extreme my well. If you don't like to work hard be a bagger. We are tired of training people who don't like to work!!
Well, I was hired back in August and I've worked in the Deli except for one day at the beginning (when I finished the computer tests earlier so they had me bag the rest of the time I was supposed to be there). I worked 11am-5pm (or 3pm) at first but then was moved to nights after training (like all newbies I assume). So now I work anywhere from 2:30pm-6pm until 10pm. When I started we had one guy who worked mostly nights with me and another person. Unfortunately, he left for another job but now we have another guy who used to work up front. Honestly, I love all the night people I've worked with. When I've occasionally had to deal with the morning/afternoon people I've noticed that there is a lot more drama between them.
It is a lot of work. I don't know how it goes in the morning and afternoon but at night there is a lot of cleaning. We have a soup bar we shut down at 3pm, a bar that gets shut down around 6-7pm (depending on how busy it's been), our hotcase that gets shut down at 7pm. Between all that we have anywhere from 4-3 slicers open that we slowly shut down throughout the night. We also have three fryers we have to slowly shut down until 7pm, which is when the last one gets shut down. Plus dishes and every other thing that needs to be cleaned. I don't know the size of your store so it could be completely different for you. I know we have a smaller Kroger here in the same city where they only have two slicers.
Then there are the customers to deal with throughout the day too. We close at 9pm right now but work until 10pm so we get an extra hour to focus on cleaning and not having the worry about customers. There have been times (since I've worked) where we have been open to customers until 10pm but also had to leave by 10pm. Then we switched to being open until 9pm and also having to leave by 9pm. There were many days we had to work over because of that. Then it is how it is now where we are open until 9pm and we leave at 10pm.
If you work at a busy store (and closer to night) just be prepared to spend about an hour to two hours trying to clean something because you have to stop and help customers. Then you get the fun customers who want fresh chicken even after you've tried explaining that the chicken in the hotcase was literally just put in there a minute ago. Also the people who come two minutes before closing and want five different types or meat. OR the people who come in after closing and expect to be helped ASAP.
That's just been some of my short experience in the Deli.
The girls in our deli get along. One thing though, they NEVER get a break. EVER.
That's when they need to take it upon themselves to take a break. When emptying their garbage, take an extra 10 min or so. everyone deserves an UNINTERRUPTED break, even if they have to sneak it in. That's what I did when I was a courtesy/utility clerk on lot duty, and they didn't want to give me a break, I gave myself one.
