I just started with Kroger last month. I worked as a cashier over 20yrs ago which did not qualify for experience credits to increase my pay rate. I have over 12yrs experience as a customer service and I am currently a buyer at my day job, I deal with vendors every day, which takes great customer service skills. Does Customer Service count towards cashier experience?
Kroger likes to be very nitpicky when it comes to experience pay criteria. The company is extremely stringent and technical when it comes to determining what counts as "valid" retail experience. See, Kroger wants to start you out at the lowest wage possible. The company doesn't want some new hire coming in and starting at, say, the middle or upper top of the pay scale that normally requires five or six years to achieve (most employees will have quit long before reaching that level on the pay scale). There was a co-manager at my store at one point who openly admitted that Kroger is bad when it comes to applying experience pay and that the company will often drag it out for six to nine months in the hopes that the employee grows fed up and drops the subject matter or quits all together. Kroger stalls in an effort to avoid paying out the experience pay (and eventual back pay if the the employee is lucky enough to have a union rep that's worth something). This saves Kroger money in the long run because not employee that is entitled to experience pay is willing to fight for it. The aforementioned co-manager said that's one of the reasons Kroger can't keep quality help and I agree. In the past, this co-manager worked for a competitor that apparently gave deserving new employees experience pay on day one (with no hassle) and this co-manager said it was a shame and just plain wrong that Kroger wouldn't do the same for its new hires.
Thanks for the info. I'very only been with Kroger for a month and I'very noticed a lot of shady things as far as how they treat their employees. I accepted the job with Kroger because of the flexible schedule. I am working just to pay off few unexpected bills. I only plan on working here for maybe 6 to 9 months depending on the hours I get. It may not be worth fighting for the pay increase. I'm not knocking anyone for working at Kroger but I make $27 an hr at my day job so it is tough working for $7.30hr and giving up my weekends. I guess we all have to do what we have to do.
