describe your work environment today. I think we're all feeling the blow of reduced hours so I imagine we should get some good responses.
I'll start. 2 people on vacation this week and 1 of those people's hours just "went away." I'm not sure where they went, but I had to replace BOTH of those people on vacation. Over the past couple weeks, we've pretty much been behind every day. Slow people running truck so it doesn't get finished. The conditioner is having to stock the shelves because if he doesn't, it will snowball into the next day. This is pretty much the case in grocery, frozen, and dairy (I'm not sure about other departments). We desperately need another body or two in the event someone calls in, but they won't get us anybody. Yesterday, a guy called in so 1 guy had to order bread then go run dairy. Another had to run the bread, then sort the grocery truck (and make an order on top of that!). Luckily there was an evening clerk to run that grocery truck but our kmp truck that usually arrives Sunday evening, didn't show up until THIS morning AFTER our grocery truck (we do day trucks). I usually run the kmp, but today I had to sort and run grocery (it got there first). Conditioning isn't getting done. In the off chance it does get "done" the conditioner has such a mess on his hands that he can't possibly get it all finished. When someone calls in or goes home early, there is literally nobody to replace him (everyone has 40 hours and heaven forbid we get any overtime to get caught up). We still have to go bag for front end (why can't they just work harder, like we're told to?) Everyday the same thing. Management doesn't seem to care. I see people in other departments standing around talking. We don't have time for that. Management looks the other way. One might say "maybe they got their work done" but I know that isn't the case. Someone needs to come bust some skulls. This is ridiculous!
Well, at my store they kept calling a certain meat dept employee up front to cashier.......because she had previously worked front end, so had cashiered before!
I guess it would be best if everyone in their respective departments has NO cashier training at all, then they can't bug them. Although they can still call for baggers.......
So I don't know if they're doings this everywhere yet or not but my store manager has been doing the mini store walks every day. The goal is to be set to 85% every day. My store manager grades us hard and no matter how hard I try, im just not good enough for her and I usually only get us a 70 or a 75%.
BUT...
I wish I knew how other stores are doing on this. Every time I go in the store I came from for example, their tables are a lot less filled than mine are. Im thinking that my dept doesn't look bad in comparison. So am I just dealing with a hard ass manager or what?
So I don't know if they're doings this everywhere yet or not but my store manager has been doing the mini store walks every day. The goal is to be set to 85% every day. My store manager grades us hard and no matter how hard I try, im just not good enough for her and I usually only get us a 70 or a 75%.
BUT...
I wish I knew how other stores are doing on this. Every time I go in the store I came from for example, their tables are a lot less filled than mine are. Im thinking that my dept doesn't look bad in comparison. So am I just dealing with a hard ass manager or what?
Maybe that's your problem. They want the tables filled to 85%. Yours are too full. Yeah, I know that sounds like a stupid answer but this is Kroger we're dealing with.
So I don't know if they're doings this everywhere yet or not but my store manager has been doing the mini store walks every day. The goal is to be set to 85% every day. My store manager grades us hard and no matter how hard I try, im just not good enough for her and I usually only get us a 70 or a 75%.
BUT...
I wish I knew how other stores are doing on this. Every time I go in the store I came from for example, their tables are a lot less filled than mine are. Im thinking that my dept doesn't look bad in comparison. So am I just dealing with a hard ass manager or what?
Maybe that's your problem. They want the tables filled to 85%. Yours are too full. Yeah, I know that sounds like a stupid answer but this is Kroger we're dealing with.
Not stupid at all. The day before yesterday, I was asked to fill the Kaiser case with more cream pies by my back up manager. I did, took about 6 or 7 cases up there. Cause every time I tried to put them down. The folks that were getting samples kept yanking them right out of the case or my hands after a sample. So I started putting them in there 3 high. Turns out, that another back up manager saw me and told the back up manager that asked me to fill the case. That I did that wrong, because stuff in the case is only supposed to be two high. But that isn't always true. And with us having the pie sale still going on, you would think in order to move all that extra product we have in our freezer taking up space, they would WANT those pies to be 3 high. But no, it was TOO full looking. But I'm sure if I had it at 2 high the damn store managers would be calling down and demanding we fill it again pronto. Just silly the games they play sometimes.
So I don't know if they're doings this everywhere yet or not but my store manager has been doing the mini store walks every day. The goal is to be set to 85% every day. My store manager grades us hard and no matter how hard I try, im just not good enough for her and I usually only get us a 70 or a 75%.
BUT...
I wish I knew how other stores are doing on this. Every time I go in the store I came from for example, their tables are a lot less filled than mine are. Im thinking that my dept doesn't look bad in comparison. So am I just dealing with a hard ass manager or what?
Maybe that's your problem. They want the tables filled to 85%. Yours are too full. Yeah, I know that sounds like a stupid answer but this is Kroger we're dealing with.
I think he meant the store manager is grading him on department walks (I forget the actual name, it's a little survey management does). 85% is the "highly satisfied" threshold they're shooting for. Which could be related to how clean the department is, how well stocked (out of stocks!), freshness, overall attractiveness from a customer and business standpoint.
As for the OP, my store is the same, as with every other store I know. Staffing issues, labor being cut, low morale, etc.. which snowballs into the exact opposite Kroger wants for its stores and employees (funny, right?). They're forced to put the work of 2 or 3 people on 1 person, which results in poor performance overall, loss in sales due to freshness, customer service, and stocked product taking a hit (frequently!) I suspect they do this at an attempt to make workers more productive, overwhelm them to a point where you're sprinting your entire shift. Essentially squeezing the most out of you. A business plan that will fail, as shown by their sales numbers and lost market share. But they'll continue hitting quarterly profit margins by simply cutting more labor ;)
As a cashier, Quevision often dips due to a lack of courtesy clerks. And cashiers. However, there's only so much one courtesy clerk bagging and one on carts can do. The other departments are reluctant to cashier or bag since it means they can't get their jobs done, resulting in write-ups. It's actually pretty funny.
this more work with less hours just isn't working well for us or the customer. Working great for the big wigs and the people at headquarters who come up with new BS for us to do. Our store is a wreck. Shelves are wiped because we don't have enough bodies to stock the trucks. Something has to change.
this more work with less hours just isn't working well for us or the customer. Working great for the big wigs and the people at headquarters who come up with new BS for us to do. Our store is a wreck. Shelves are wiped because we don't have enough bodies to stock the trucks. Something has to change.
I would agree with this plus. The world of the night grocery manager or lead or lead frozen clerk ------- With order evolution you can't possibly stock your load, your backstock, condition, scan out your damage, scan your residual, scan your lows and holes, scan your daily exceptions and scan your out of dates and then mark down your out of dates all while scheduling, building endcaps, cleaning backroom or freezer, breaking down other departments loads to get to the 4 or 5 boxes you have on the "bottom," an occasional ****ty stacked pallet that turns over, power equipment that didn't get properly charged up, not enough U-boats or dollys, produce/meat trucks that arrive 1 hour after you get to work that have to be unloaded by you and meat/produce guy doesnt come in for 3 more hours, as well as dealing with a customer wanting to know if you have any cream cheese in the back at 11:30 p.m., and all this while dealing with call outs, employees that are "special" or tired or lazy or have bad attitudes, must take some kind of test about corporate trade secrets or some **** like that, pulling bascarts off the parking lot because a couple of baggers didnt show up, resetting that goddamn fast alert system for the 12th time per night, and lastly looking for an RF as you don't have enough to go around and selfish people that work on the day shift hide them and mgmt doesnt do anything to ensure you have one when you come in. All this in 8 hours with no overtime. Yeah right.
this more work with less hours just isn't working well for us or the customer. Working great for the big wigs and the people at headquarters who come up with new BS for us to do. Our store is a wreck. Shelves are wiped because we don't have enough bodies to stock the trucks. Something has to change.
I would agree with this plus. The world of the night grocery manager or lead or lead frozen clerk ------- With order evolution you can't possibly stock your load, your backstock, condition, scan out your damage, scan your residual, scan your lows and holes, scan your daily exceptions and scan your out of dates and then mark down your out of dates all while scheduling, building endcaps, cleaning backroom or freezer, breaking down other departments loads to get to the 4 or 5 boxes you have on the "bottom," an occasional ****ty stacked pallet that turns over, power equipment that didn't get properly charged up, not enough U-boats or dollys, produce/meat trucks that arrive 1 hour after you get to work that have to be unloaded by you and meat/produce guy doesnt come in for 3 more hours, as well as dealing with a customer wanting to know if you have any cream cheese in the back at 11:30 p.m., and all this while dealing with call outs, employees that are "special" or tired or lazy or have bad attitudes, must take some kind of test about corporate trade secrets or some **** like that, pulling bascarts off the parking lot because a couple of baggers didnt show up, resetting that goddamn fast alert system for the 12th time per night, and lastly looking for an RF as you don't have enough to go around and selfish people that work on the day shift hide them and mgmt doesnt do anything to ensure you have one when you come in. All this in 8 hours with no overtime. Yeah right.
Wow! If we were using Order Evolution already, I would swear I wrote that post. I deal with every single thing you mentioned except Order Evolution.
