Have any of you been doing the safety pin thing? We have a safety pin with like 4 other safety pins on it and if you go past an employee and see that they don't say "hello" to a customer you are suppose to ask that employee for one of their safety pins to put on yours, and if they see you not saying "hello" to a customer you have to give them one of yours. Now....how is this suppose to be a good thing? As I see it while you are getting or giving a pin 1 or more customers go past with out a "hello" because you are messing around exchanging pins. Plus you now have pissed off a coworker. I just don't get it. You are suppose to get a free lunch if you have the most pins at the end of the week. What if there is a tie? ha ha What if you buy safety pins and put them on your own? Can anybody explain the logic in this? How stupid....my opinion....any other opinions on this matter?
That is probably one of the most absurd things I have heard of. Then again, my store is falling apart our heads so I guess it can't be too bad to put up with. How long is it suppose to last, just this one week?
If our store was doing this and an employee asked for one of my pins, I would say "no." How are they going to prove I didn't greet a customer? And what's to stop someone who really wants a free lunch from lying and saying that the other employee didn't say hello just to get their pin?
While we're not doing anything with pins (doesn't that look... I don't know, kind of unprofessional?), we have this thing going where if an employee is seen not acknowledging a customer, he/she is given something to wear around his/her neck and has to wear it until he/she spots another employee that has failed to acknowledge a customer. It's pretty stupid. Store level management is panicking because the mystery shops aren't going well and the receipt tracker is stagnant well below the target goal, so they're scrambling to come up with ideas to get more employees to say "hi". What these high-paid empty suits (not necessarily store level management, but more so corporate level) don't realize is saying "hi" is only a small part of the equation. You can't magically fix all the other problems in the stores by getting more people to say "hi". There are customers literally telling us and corporate in the survey that they can't find what they need because we're out of the product. Okay, address that cause by better staffing the front end so that people aren't being pulled regularly to surge cashier/bag/get carts and by paying a competitive wage to retain help so that help doesn't quit to go work for the competition, like Walmart, Target, ALDI and Costco, or other better paying jobs in general, like an Amazon Fulfillment Center. Not only does paying a competitive wage help to retain people to work the department, but by paying a better than competitive wage, you attract a better quality worker than you do at minimum wage level (not always true, but sometimes, it is. Yes, there are great employees that work hard that do work for minimum wage).
Saying "hi" will not help much if there are holes throughout the store.
Saying "hi" will not help much if a department isn't fresh (produce, meat, bakery to a lesser extent).
Saying "hi" will not help much if a customer grows frustrated due to a long wait at check-out.
Saying "hi" will not help much if a store is dirty/disorderly/not well maintained.
You can be the freaking friendliest store in town with the most outgoing employees in retail, but if customers frequently can't purchase one or more products they want, are unsatisfied with the freshness of the product and cleanliness of the store and find the check-out process unpleasant due to long lines/being dragged down to self check-out by an employee when preferring a regular check out and not well trained check out staff, the customers are going to go elsewhere. Saying "hi" is the "no cost" answer to the problems Kroger stores face, in corporate's view. Corporate likes it and pushes it because it doesn't cost a penny to implement. It's not the answer though. Right now, it may even be doing more harm than good, because it's slowing down already overworked, understaffed departments, further complicating the out of stock/not fresh & full problems, as well as adding additional stress and pressure to employees that can't ever catch up because there's too much work, too few employees, and too many directions that they are being pulled in (help the front end, help the focus department, fulfill STAR obligations, fulfill Cultural Council obligations, help with donation fundraisers, etc...).
As long as the money keeps rolling in, the bigshots are going to continue to be blind to the problems. You can only ignore problems for so long though, and the problems Kroger is facing are only going to grow as time goes on.
-- Edited by GenesisOne on Tuesday 15th of September 2015 03:43:23 PM
While we're not doing anything with pins (doesn't that look... I don't know, kind of unprofessional?), we have this thing going where if an employee is seen not acknowledging a customer, he/she is given something to wear around his/her neck and has to wear it until he/she spots another employee that has failed to acknowledge a customer. It's pretty stupid. Store level management is panicking because the mystery shops aren't going well and the receipt tracker is stagnant well below the target goal, so they're scrambling to come up with ideas to get more employees to say "hi".
they're pushing this "acknowledge every customer" into the ground. If there are 3 grocery clerks working different aisles and each of them says "hi are you finding everything ok?" wouldn't that get annoying to the customer? That example doesn't even include clerks on the floor in other depts. I like being acknowledged when I shop somewhere, but I don't need every damn associate asking me if I'm finding everything ok. I think just a hello and a smile is sufficient but I have noticed that when it draws closer to the end of our period for getting our bonus checks, management sure has everyone out there acknowledging and giving handjobs on the way out the door to get a good survey response.
Sorry I'm a little disgruntled, I'm always polite and friendly but STILL haven't made the board for personal mentions. Hell a couple of new hires who hadn't been there a week made the board. WTF do I have to do to get a customer to put my name down? I go above and beyond and think I'll have one in the bag but that all changes when the customer gets to the front and the "checker of the century" is doing his act and circles his name on the receipt. I can't give out receipts!!! it's BS
I think having to wear something around neck is not professional either. At least the pins you can hide low on your apron, or in your pocket. I will not participate in this nonsense.
I still shop at Kroger and I don't get 99 associates saying "hi". A store manager or one or two associates throwing a smile? Sure, and that's perfectly fine. As someone who actually doesn't like people and just want my **** and to get out as quickly as possible, this works for me.
They don't consider the customers' side of the story sometimes. Being acknowledged is nice, but there is a such thing as too much.
Someone has a kid in college who just did went through Orientation or RA training. We do that every year at my university. It's fun there because it's used to remind people that Mrs. Carter got her Doctorate, so if you say Mrs. Carter instead of Dr. Carter you lost a pin, or when we moved where the Housing Office from one building to another. It's fun in that context. Terrible in a Kroger context.
Have any of you been doing the safety pin thing? We have a safety pin with like 4 other safety pins on it and if you go past an employee and see that they don't say "hello" to a customer you are suppose to ask that employee for one of their safety pins to put on yours, and if they see you not saying "hello" to a customer you have to give them one of yours. Now....how is this suppose to be a good thing? As I see it while you are getting or giving a pin 1 or more customers go past with out a "hello" because you are messing around exchanging pins. Plus you now have pissed off a coworker. I just don't get it. You are suppose to get a free lunch if you have the most pins at the end of the week. What if there is a tie? ha ha What if you buy safety pins and put them on your own? Can anybody explain the logic in this? How stupid....my opinion....any other opinions on this matter?
