The front-end at my store isn't run well at all, and the supervisors always use Self-checkout as the scapegoat, blaming the self-checkout employees for not doing a good job and that it's the reason we get backed up a lot. The problem with them saying that is the fact that we're all the same self-checkout employees who have been working here for a long time, and we were doing just fine back then. The only thing that has changed since then is that our whole lineup of CSM/Supervisors are different than they were back then.
I came into work today, at self-checkout, and saw a black cardboard cutout with a paper taped to it covering the screen at the podium saying "Have you tried using the mobile device or integrated cashier first?" The opening booth person had the piece of cardboard flipped up off the screen with a clip so that she could actually use the screen to sign on to the self-checkout robots so she could change the tills, so I just went ahead and left it flipped up, since to me, it's stupid to have it covering the screen.
I was told that they're doing that to force us to use the screen less, since we're supposed to only use it 10% of the time, and to only use it for checks and absolutely nothing else. The problem is, that doesn't work. Yeah, I'm always out there with the customers and using the mobile device whenever I can, but so many things require the screen itself. Over-rides, checks, coinstar, anything that involves having to get into the till, selling stamps, etc. The ironic part, which I'm sure no one here would be surprised about: these same supervisors who are complaining that self-checkout attendants don't do their job right, don't do their own jobs.
I open every Sunday. At my store, the opening self-checkout attendant is responsible for making the cart schedule, terminal assignment, task list, and other various paperwork. The problem is that with our new CSM, we never have the schedules or break sheets in the self-checkout book anymore. I've talked to people about it, and I always get the same answers. "I was busy so I didn't get time to make copies of the schedules to put in there. But if the other person was doing their job and made the break sheets and put them in there, you'd be able to get your paperwork done." "I didn't have time to make the break sheets, but if the other person did his job and put the schedules in the binder like he was supposed to, then you'd be able to get your paperwork done." So what I wind up with is two people blaming each other, and me being left with an empty binder with nothing in it at all. So my only option is to walk way to the opposite side of the front-end and pull the schedules off the wall and then manually make a break sheet by hand based off of the schedule, and then fill out the rest of the paperwork.
I'm used to that by now, so that isn't too huge of an issue. I can stand at the podium in the morning and keep an eye on the customers and use the screen there to see what's going on and if anyone needs help, that way I can run self-checkout and get the paperwork done at the same time. With the screen covered, that means I won't be able to do that. One of the other reasons that it's dumb to have it covered is that I have days like today where it's simply not an option. One of the terminals had a problem with the coin dispenser, and despite me telling people about it multiple times and that I needed someone to come down and fix it, no one showed up to fix it throughout my whole 8-hour shift, so I was constantly having to give out change from my till, which requires me to use the screen to open.
To top it off, one of the supervisors who was off today decided to come into the store for a few minutes just to see what was going on, and walked over to self-checkout and took the clip off and told me I wasn't allowed to have the screen open like that, and started lecturing me about it. As far as I'm concerned, that's working off the clock, which you can get fired for. Yeah, some people might say that I'm nitpicking, but considering the fact that our store manager doesn't even allow us to talk about work-related stuff while off the clock to let the next person know what they're supposed to do, I'm just being honest. So I just went ahead and clipped the cardboard cut-out back up and out of the way again, since I needed that screen, and having to flip it up every time I had to give out change is just stupid.
Anyways, I know there are worse things that happen at Kroger, which I know first-hand since I work multiple departments, but this is just one of those "new policies" that is just completely stupid in my opinion. The whole point of the mobile device is so that we can be out there with the customers and provide better customer service. They're now taking it to the extreme and no longer care about the customer service and only care about being able to have a score on a paper that says "Look, our employees use the screen only 10% of the time." The mobile device is so much slower, and you can only help one person at a time with it. I asked my supervisor "What do I do then when I have two customers with a lot of coupons, and have other people who need help at the same time?" and his response was "Just tell the couponers to wait. I don't care about couponers." It just bugs me that they're literally telling me things like that, which equate to "I don't care about customer service."
Where are you located? Sounds utterly ridiculous to me. The monitor is much faster than that small pin pad. Many people I know have trouble seeing the pin pad.
I've noticed that in my store, there's a piece of paper on top of the screen. I didn't know what that was all about, but it must be a policy they're trying in more than just your store. Sounds stupid as hell.
The only things that can't be handled with the mobile attendant are actual payments, especially if you use the integrated cashier at the lanes themselves, which have every function the attendant station has. While covering the screen up like that is a bit much, they're not asking you to do anything they shouldn't, nor is it even anywhere near the realm of a grievable offense as the first reply suggested.
We've had the same "Use the handheld only" policy implemented over the past few months, though our FE manager hasn't gotten as desperate as to cover up the monitor (yet). Apparently it's a corporate thing (whoda thunk it), some high-paid genius thought that by using the handheld only, you'd force the UScan attendant to walk around the area more and talk with customers, instead of standing in one spot looking at the monitor (which to be fair, some attendants do, heck, the night crew guy just stands and Facebooks half the time). Never mind the inconvenience to both the attendants and customers when some tasks inherently take a lot longer on the handheld than on the monitor.
It's like that "No keying in PLU's" policy I posted about earlier, they're removing our tools to artificially push some metric up, without realizing the negative consequences it has on the rest of us. Or as Kroger calls it, business as usual.
-- Edited by Going 4011 on Sunday 26th of April 2015 10:12:25 PM
First off, tell the store manager that the supervisor was working off the clock by lecturing you. They SHOULD get in a lot of trouble for that if your store managers aren't half-wits.
If it gets to the point of harassment (which it pretty much is by now everywhere), gather all self-checkout employees and have them all including you file a harassment grievance to the union.
This stupid retarded policy is at our store too. They don't care about the customers, all they care about is some stupid retarded number game that says "Oh, I got the SCO scores up, yay." Stupid immature asses. I don't care what the managers have to say about me standing at the podium. Shut up, leave me alone, and let me do my job without you screwing my ear about pointless crap.
It just shows that Kroger is brainwashed by numbers and dollar signs.
We've had the same "Use the handheld only" policy implemented over the past few months, though our FE manager hasn't gotten as desperate as to cover up the monitor (yet). Apparently it's a corporate thing (whoda thunk it), some high-paid genius thought that by using the handheld only, you'd force the UScan attendant to walk around the area more and talk with customers, instead of standing in one spot looking at the monitor (which to be fair, some attendants do, heck, the night crew guy just stands and Facebooks half the time). Never mind the inconvenience to both the attendants and customers when some tasks inherently take a lot longer on the handheld than on the monitor.
Our front end coordinator has pushed the covered monitor thing. It looks ghetto.
As you say some things are inherently slower on the portable and if your handheld looses touch as often as ours does then you're going to be unhappy. Customers don't understand why ID checks take this. long. to. clear. from. their. screen. because there can be ridiculous delay. At the keyboard you can burn through mutiple ID checks fast.
Somebody probably on a floor at GO in cincinnati is in love with processes not efficiency.
It's better to act as a traffic director with a generalized known location than bounce from customer to customer making yourself dizzy in the process. Why am I popping over with the portable & asking customers to hit "large item" on screen to cut the intervention numbers when I could just clear it and let them move on with their lives?
Maybe I'm a rules Nazi, but I preferred to use the handheld, or "the crybaby" as we called it. I liked being in the middle and could check on things when the robots screw up. Granted, I was pretty fast on the handheld too. If I'm closing on Uscan, once the customers slow to a trickle, I'll go outside and watch Uscan through the window while I smoke a cigarette and BS with the overnight guys.
I don't mind using the handheld at all. I think it is easier. Usually, if I'm on self checkout, it is extremely busy. Not standing by the station means that I can do other stuff (scan alcohol, direct traffic to less busy registers, tell people that there are open self checkout registers, occasionally run the desk, etc.).
Part of that might be that I don't know how to use the station though. They just never taught me, and I only use it when taking payment.
i have people yelling at me all the time to stay away from the uscan podium. i can't answer to phone or do a check or someone yells at me. people are jerks to uscan people.
You can do almost everything at the registers using your integrated cashier mode. I only use the podium for checks, coinstars, and if I need to make some big changes/help while keeping an eye on the other registers. (like voiding an order, figuring out WIC, etc.)
You can do ID check at the register.. Just touch the very top right corner of the screen and either enter your password or scan your barcode. This will let you get into integrated cashier when you can't scan anything on the register (like when an ID is required or the screen says to give the cashiers the coupons)
At my store the Uscans are set up in 2 rows of 3 with the podium sideways. It looks really dumb for the cashier to be standing sideways at the podium because they can't watch the customers.
As for the tasks like cart schedule etc.. I'm not sure what to tell you. If your store was being run efficiently it would all be done the day before.
Integrated Cashier was useless to me. It's too easy with my fat fingers to hit the wrong button and screw it up more. I'd just step in and do the order myself.
