"In addition to keeping prices down, Kroger said it is raising starting wages in some markets and adding more staffing in certain departments. The moves are intended to keep down employee turnover and generally improve customer service."
Yeah, things are looking a little less peachy for a company that proclaims itself as a leader in the grocery industry, eh? That's what happens when you let greed drive the company's direction and have out of touch bigwigs coming up with convoluted and pointless ideas that have pretty much zero impact on improving stuff at the store level. In my area alone, WinCo and Aldi are doing great business because of the low prices that they offer (which Kroger generally can't compete with) and Walmart Supercenters simply meet the "one stop shop" needs of people far better than the Kroger Marketplaces do (while again, generally offering better prices).
Plus, Kroger is totally blowing the whole order online and pick up curbside thing because Walmart doesn't charge a fee, whereas Kroger does - so not only do you pay more for your groceries, but you also have to pay a $4.95 ClickList fee. The e-Commerce market is booming and Kroger better get its act together or Walmart, InstaCart, Amazon and some of the other online ordering services are going to take away a majority of the business... which is what's already happening in my area.
There are serious food safety issues at the Kroger stores in my area that need to be addressed, like bad/rotten produce that doesn't get pulled from the sales floor, meat that is only a day or two away from the "Best By" date - or worse, past its "Best Buy" date (and yeah, it doesn't look fresh, as you can imagine!), expired yogurt... from not so fresh product to holes throughout the store, it's no wonder customers are going elsewhere. So yes, raise the wages so you attract better help (and hold them accountable!) and better staff the departments to not only improve the overall department but also have employees available to assist customers!
Wait too long, and by the time the problems actually get addressed, too many customers will have already written off Kroger for good.
Yeah, things are looking a little less peachy for a company that proclaims itself as a leader in the grocery industry, eh? That's what happens when you let greed drive the company's direction and have out of touch bigwigs coming up with convoluted and pointless ideas that have pretty much zero impact on improving stuff at the store level. In my area alone, WinCo and Aldi are doing great business because of the low prices that they offer (which Kroger generally can't compete with) and Walmart Supercenters simply meet the "one stop shop" needs of people far better than the Kroger Marketplaces do (while again, generally offering better prices).
Plus, Kroger is totally blowing the whole order online and pick up curbside thing because Walmart doesn't charge a fee, whereas Kroger does - so not only do you pay more for your groceries, but you also have to pay a $4.95 ClickList fee. The e-Commerce market is booming and Kroger better get its act together or Walmart, InstaCart, Amazon and some of the other online ordering services are going to take away a majority of the business... which is what's already happening in my area.
There are serious food safety issues at the Kroger stores in my area that need to be addressed, like bad/rotten produce that doesn't get pulled from the sales floor, meat that is only a day or two away from the "Best By" date - or worse, past its "Best Buy" date (and yeah, it doesn't look fresh, as you can imagine!), expired yogurt... from not so fresh product to holes throughout the store, it's no wonder customers are going elsewhere. So yes, raise the wages so you attract better help (and hold them accountable!) and better staff the departments to not only improve the overall department but also have employees available to assist customers!
Wait too long, and by the time the problems actually get addressed, too many customers will have already written off Kroger for good.
The produce and meat issue are a result of bad department heads. Mostly older guys who have been with the company for 25+ years and feel like they know it all.
the old timer managers are used to ordering heavy, stacking stuff 3 4 high hoping it will sell. well all that stuff that doesnt sell just sits there and rot away they cant seem to grasp the idea of ordering just enough to last them til the next truck.
Someone wrote: "The produce and meat issue are a result of bad department heads. Mostly older guys who have been with the company for 25+ years and feel like they know it all. "
WRONG...... (at least at my store). That might be the case at some stores, or contribute to the problem, but OUR problem in Produce is this:
Kroger refuses to give us anywhere NEARLY enough hours and employees to staff the department properly. PLAIN AND SIMPLE. We are VERY, VERY SHORT-STAFFED!!!!!!!!!!!!
I assume this directive is coming from higher up than the local store level. So there is NOT ENOUGH TIME to get everything done that needs to be done, such as checking all the product frequently for bruised/rotten/molding items, doing markdowns on time, rotating everything in the stockroom, stocking all the stuff on the sales floor and keeping it stocked adequately, making sure all signs are there and are accurate, etc. And produce clerks are often called upfront to bag or cashier, when MUCH WORK needs to be done in our own department. Kroger corporate is so stinking stupid, can't they see they are shooting themselves in the foot?
Someone wrote: "The produce and meat issue are a result of bad department heads. Mostly older guys who have been with the company for 25+ years and feel like they know it all. "
WRONG...... (at least at my store). That might be the case at some stores, or contribute to the problem, but OUR problem in Produce is this:
Kroger refuses to give us anywhere NEARLY enough hours and employees to staff the department properly. PLAIN AND SIMPLE. We are VERY, VERY SHORT-STAFFED!!!!!!!!!!!!
I assume this directive is coming from higher up than the local store level. So there is NOT ENOUGH TIME to get everything done that needs to be done, such as checking all the product frequently for bruised/rotten/molding items, doing markdowns on time, rotating everything in the stockroom, stocking all the stuff on the sales floor and keeping it stocked adequately, making sure all signs are there and are accurate, etc. And produce clerks are often called upfront to bag or cashier, when MUCH WORK needs to be done in our own department. Kroger corporate is so stinking stupid, can't they see they are shooting themselves in the foot?
You can do a quality check on all produce as soon as you come in in the morning. It only takes one person to go around to all tables and pull the bad product. And it also only takes one person to train each individual in your department how to check quality throughout the department. There's not really any excuse for rotten tomatoes, molded product, or untrimmed lettuces after 9 AM at MOST, depending on when your dept heads come in.
Markdowns can also be done as soon as you come in. You lose a lost of product by not marking down eligible items, including fresh kitchen! Lots of stores don't do fresh kitchen markdowns and that is very bad.
You can do a quality check on all produce as soon as you come in in the morning. It only takes one person to go around to all tables and pull the bad product. And it also only takes one person to train each individual in your department how to check quality throughout the department. There's not really any excuse for rotten tomatoes, molded product, or untrimmed lettuces after 9 AM at MOST, depending on when your dept heads come in.
Markdowns can also be done as soon as you come in. You lose a lost of product by not marking down eligible items, including fresh kitchen! Lots of stores don't do fresh kitchen markdowns and that is very bad.
You must have a very small produce department if you think all that can be done by one person in the morning. I'm not in produce but I know our produce department has to have someone work overnight a full 8 hours to do all that.
"You can do a quality check on all produce as soon as you come in in the morning. It only takes one person to go around to all tables and pull the bad product. And it also only takes one person to train each individual in your department how to check quality throughout the department. There's not really any excuse for rotten tomatoes, molded product, or untrimmed lettuces after 9 AM at MOST, depending on when your dept heads come in.
Markdowns can also be done as soon as you come in. You lose a lost of product by not marking down eligible items, including fresh kitchen! Lots of stores don't do fresh kitchen markdowns and that is very bad."
WHAT?? You MUST work in a store that has a very tiny produce department. My store sells one million $ plus every week. Produce averages $10,000 to $15,000 a day. We don't have enough staff to do everything properly. You either don't really work in produce, or work at a store that (somehow) gets more hours allotted to them, or are just plain lying. BTW, fresh kitchen FRUIT is not allowed to be marked down. Vegetables (like the shredded zucchini, or veggie and dip trays) can be marked down. So, if you come in at 7:00 AM and only have one truck person and a front tables person (no one else) I am sure you have it all done by 9:00 AM? BULL!! You are probably a store manager/troll!
PS. and if you say "why are you waiting until 7:00 AM to come in (and start doing the fresh check, markdowns, etc) read my post again where I said we DON'T HAVE NEARLY ENOUGH HOURS / EMPLOYEES ALLOTED TO THE PRODUCE DEPT!!!!!. I am not kidding, I am not exaggerating. It is what it is.........we cannot get everything done to "Kroger standards" with the measly hours we are dealt. PLEASE, do you understand???????????????
Kroger refuses to give us anywhere NEARLY enough hours and employees to staff the department properly. PLAIN AND SIMPLE. We are VERY, VERY SHORT-STAFFED!!!!!!!!!!!!
I can attest to this. Yesterday at our store, there were 5 active cashiers at around 6pm. By 9pm, there was just just me... just one cashier, and 9pm was the end of my shift, and there was a LOT of people waiting to checkout. Customers were yelling at me cause I was telling them I had to close down. The CSM ended up having to go on register, and it was just them when I went to clock out.
It's been like this for a while now. Last week I heard a customer complaining about this to a CSM right in front of me, and all he could say to her was "I'm sorry, we don't have any more cashiers to put on the schedule."
You get hours earned for how much u guys do in sales. Either your dept manager do not know how to make the schedule or that you guys aren't getting enough sales to generate hours given a week
You get hours earned for how much u guys do in sales. Either your dept manager do not know how to make the schedule or that you guys aren't getting enough sales to generate hours given a week
The "hours earned" is no longer realistic because of the increasingly greedy, corrupt Kroger company.
Our store sales are up 10 to 15% over same time last year. Hours allotted are going DOWN DOWN DOWN. Fewer employees, skeleton crews the norm. You are probably a corporate troll, or are just blindly reading the "Kroger Script". Reality does not reflect what Kroger corporate thinks is adequate. Something has been going on the last few months..........and I think Kroger is trying it's best to squeeze hours down as low as possible. Trouble is coming if Upper Upper management doesn't wake up and wise up SOON.
"You can do a quality check on all produce as soon as you come in in the morning. It only takes one person to go around to all tables and pull the bad product. And it also only takes one person to train each individual in your department how to check quality throughout the department. There's not really any excuse for rotten tomatoes, molded product, or untrimmed lettuces after 9 AM at MOST, depending on when your dept heads come in.
Markdowns can also be done as soon as you come in. You lose a lost of product by not marking down eligible items, including fresh kitchen! Lots of stores don't do fresh kitchen markdowns and that is very bad."
WHAT?? You MUST work in a store that has a very tiny produce department. My store sells one million $ plus every week. Produce averages $10,000 to $15,000 a day. We don't have enough staff to do everything properly. You either don't really work in produce, or work at a store that (somehow) gets more hours allotted to them, or are just plain lying. BTW, fresh kitchen FRUIT is not allowed to be marked down. Vegetables (like the shredded zucchini, or veggie and dip trays) can be marked down. So, if you come in at 7:00 AM and only have one truck person and a front tables person (no one else) I am sure you have it all done by 9:00 AM? BULL!! You are probably a store manager/troll!
You are over complicating things or you haven't been trained properly. When you clock in, go to your produce dept, start your list of markdowns and once the list is over, go back through everything and get all that you missed plus fresh kitchen vegetables. Scanning out all the out of dates and doing all these markdowns takes an hour + 15 mins AT MOST and I work in a big store. As soon as you are done with that, take a banana box and go around culling product. Toss bad product away. That takes 15-20 mins. Now make a list of what stuff is needed on the sales floor and keep your list on you as you begin to inventory the back room for ordering. Keep the list of items that are needed so you can adjust your ordering while you do inventory.
"You can do a quality check on all produce as soon as you come in in the morning. It only takes one person to go around to all tables and pull the bad product. And it also only takes one person to train each individual in your department how to check quality throughout the department. There's not really any excuse for rotten tomatoes, molded product, or untrimmed lettuces after 9 AM at MOST, depending on when your dept heads come in.
Markdowns can also be done as soon as you come in. You lose a lost of product by not marking down eligible items, including fresh kitchen! Lots of stores don't do fresh kitchen markdowns and that is very bad."
WHAT?? You MUST work in a store that has a very tiny produce department. My store sells one million $ plus every week. Produce averages $10,000 to $15,000 a day. We don't have enough staff to do everything properly. You either don't really work in produce, or work at a store that (somehow) gets more hours allotted to them, or are just plain lying. BTW, fresh kitchen FRUIT is not allowed to be marked down. Vegetables (like the shredded zucchini, or veggie and dip trays) can be marked down. So, if you come in at 7:00 AM and only have one truck person and a front tables person (no one else) I am sure you have it all done by 9:00 AM? BULL!! You are probably a store manager/troll!
You are over complicating things or you haven't been trained properly. When you clock in, go to your produce dept, start your list of markdowns and once the list is over, go back through everything and get all that you missed plus fresh kitchen vegetables. Scanning out all the out of dates and doing all these markdowns takes an hour + 15 mins AT MOST and I work in a big store. As soon as you are done with that, take a banana box and go around culling product. Toss bad product away. That takes 15-20 mins. Now make a list of what stuff is needed on the sales floor and keep your list on you as you begin to inventory the back room for ordering. Keep the list of items that are needed so you can adjust your ordering while you do inventory.
Oh really? What time do you come in? How many other employees are working with you??
Close/Code dates often take a full hour and that doesn't include other markdowns. When will the fresh kitchen (new) be stocked? 45 minutes to an hour for that alone. 15-20 minutes to cull produce? I assume you must be referring to the small produce section at the corner Huck's convenience store, not a large Kroger. Culling produce PROPERLY for the ENTIRE produce dept will take at least 1 to 2 hours. Or are you meaning just the wet rack?
You are probably a Kroger produce coordinator, not an actual Kroger dept head or produce clerk, which explains your unrealistic expectations. I stand by my statements that we don't have enough help and hours for our department. If you worked in our shoes your eyes would soon be opened. Our sales floor is located quite a distance from the produce stockroom which also increases time in getting things done properly........lots of walking back and forth.
Everything this guy said is true. I laughed the first time I heard store management tell me culls should take 15 minutes (ELMS, boys.) Yet every corporate walk, they take 15 minutes just to cull the wet rack. My store does around 700-800k/week, produce will do 80k+, typical 500 piece loads on weekdays minus double load and 700-900 on weekends. Our produce only gets around 220 hrs/week, and it's been reducing every week yet we hit record sales. Hours are so short we end up having to cut corners, cut clean shifts, delay mark downs, etc.. How do we remedy these woes, I ask management? "Figure it out" "Just get it done" According to ELMS, we get more hours than we already should. Some days we'll have literally 1 produce clerk to run truck, cull, tables, mark downs, CAO/salads, all telxon scans, order/inventory and the occasional 1 man days for ad swaps/signs. They also want everyone to stop what they're doing; walk the department and engage customers at every top of the hour (wonder if we get hours in ELMS? nah)
