Hello all. About a month and a half ago, I applied to Kroger. I'd seen tons of Now Hiring! signs in every window of the dozens of Krogers in my area and I figured if they were promoting that heavily, they were hungry for workers. I'm hungry for work. Hard work, too. I chose 'Overnight Stocker' on my application, as there was an opening for it at nearly every store in a 10 mi radius of me. I got a phone screening after two weeks of applying, then had an in-person group interview a week after that. Nailed the interview, was told I'd hear back between a week from that day up to 3 weeks. I was also told that instead of the store I'd applied to work at in specific, I'd be shuffled to a different store because of the employee environment at night at that store wouldn't be favorable to me?! My eyebrows raised at that but I waited for the call. 3 weeks passed and I had applied else where during the interim. I got the call for orientation last second last week and my hiring manager was quite disorganized with where I should meet her, what I should wear, what documents I'd need. It felt like a constant game of phone tag trying to pin her down on what I needed to do.
Last week, I had the orientation. My fellow employees-to-be and I were vaguely told to show up Friday to see the store manager at our store, meet and greet, get uniform shirts, and so on. I showed up, met the manager and was told I needed to come back today to get the shirt and get the schedule. I go in today, asked for the manager on duty and waited 10 minutes before the manager on duty called the service desk associate to inform me that I should ask the FES for help. The FES was busy cashiering and once the she saw I didn't have shirt/nametag/etc, she said I couldn't work up front with her and called the manager again. The manager called the service desk once more to inform me through another associate that I should come back tomorrow at a dayshift hour (that I'm not truly available for and had that listed on my application and interview forms) to get a shirt/tag/etc because no one at night could help me... because only one person has a key to the cabinet/room the shirts are in and they don't work but a few hours a day. When I mentioned it'd be difficult for me to come at that hour, I was told to figure it out.
I've never experienced this level of disorganization from a company before (I've worked for other national retail chains) and I'm befuddled as to why I was turned away to even be trained alongside a buddy in the back while they get their ducks in a row.
Anyone have similar experience with this at their stores? Is this the norm or an exception?
They hire so many faces that they might have not known you were a night stocker. Although, they will use day stockers to run registers and bag. If you are asked to bag, just do it.
When you go in next time, make it clear you were hired as a night stocker.
Orientation is watching computer videos/training videos during the day.
I work overnight stock from 9pm to 7am most days. You might be able to go in at 11pm and speak with the night grocery manager to see if they can figure out when you are supposed to start working.
do A and get yelled at for not doing B do B and get yelled at for not doing A
only training there is when you do something wrong you get yelled at for not doing it right
But if you do the job right, then another manager comes along and says it's wrong. I used to have to say "ok, she is here today, I have to do it this way. Oh, he is here today, I'll do it his way." It's crazy. I swear one day a comanager told me I put the paper bags on the counter wrong. She moved them a teeny bit and said "here do it like this". I put them under the effing counter as soon as she left. lol.
OP, take the job for immediate income but keep looking for another job in your free time. You probably won't like Kroger. Just look how it's started out for you. It really doesn't get much better IMHO. You will never be good enough at your job for them.
Next time, I would go to the service desk (or call them) and ask for when the HR person is working that week. They hired you; it is their responsibility to get you started.
This is a bit worse than usual, but if you plan to stay at kroger for more than a week or two, get used to it. Very poor communication, the people who need to help you will always be busy.
I took a shot at going down to the store again this evening around 11, as was suggested above. The MOD said I'd have to wait to speak with the keyholder previously mentioned to get a shirt/nametag before I could work with him, either. When I brought up the fact that I have daylight responsibilities that make it difficult to keep dropping by during the day at random (hence the night shift needs) he said he couldn't do anything for me until I had shirt/tag. The hiring manager I was brought in by is out of town for the next week and there is no indication on her office voicemail as to who her backup is. Funnily enough, the same thing is true of the union rep - he's out of town until July. His replacement wasn't prepared at the orientation to answer basic questions about unions and didn't have the contract books to be given out, either. It's just been one strange clusterbomb.
The position sounded ideal for me given that I enjoy customer service, overnight hours, and how impressed I had been by the demeanor of the employees on my weekly trips to do my own groceries. I wanted to work for a company that seemed good to work for while I had an interesting schedule myself. But, if this is more the norm than an outside goof, it doesn't look like the kind of opportunity I should keep chasing. *shrugs*
You're working at the wrong store. If you're working over night as a stocker... what does it matter what you wear? The night grocery manager should be training you on putting things in the shelf instead of the FEM getting iffy about you not having a shirt. Wear a dark blue shirt put some scotch tape on it and write your name in sharpie.
Get in there, son!
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Would you like fries with th... I mean, your milk in a bag?
I've never experienced this level of disorganization from a company before (I've worked for other national retail chains) and I'm befuddled as to why I was turned away to even be trained alongside a buddy in the back while they get their ducks in a row.
Sorry for the shoddiness. Krogrr woefully undervalues and underserves its employees, and it doesn't deserve the many good people it (surprisingly) has.
Some Kroger stores and their subsidiaries have it together. Not all but a lot do. They aren't one of the largest grocery retailers in the world for nothing.
You're working at the wrong store. If you're working over night as a stocker... what does it matter what you wear? The night grocery manager should be training you on putting things in the shelf instead of the FEM getting iffy about you not having a shirt. Wear a dark blue shirt put some scotch tape on it and write your name in sharpie.
Get in there, son!
24 hour stores might require them to have a uniform on at all times, my store does.
for a day or two that should be fine though i'd think.
-- Edited by 4hourrush on Tuesday 23rd of June 2015 03:53:28 PM
