so a little bit of background of who i am and my experience.
i used to manage a pizzeria before this and i have also worked courtesy clerk/day stock at another grocery chain nearby. there is a position open in the bakery i am thinking about applying for.
i consider myself a leader and a good example. i work extremely well with customers and even with difficult employees. i come in on time every day and stay late whenever they need me to. i work courtesy right now, but i am the only one that comes in on time every day and asks to cover shifts. and i am always working, whether or not it is slow i always am doing something to the point where i don't even remember my breaks sometimes.
so my question is, i really think i am at a point in my life where i would thrive working in HR and and take on more responsibility in the store. i am very level headed and am amazing at understanding the two sides of a story and i really want to see this store thrive.
by moving into bakery (which no one wants to move into, they are going to try to hire outside of the company because of this terrible shortage), do you think it would actually help me move forward in this job? is there any department i should go for instead that would be more likely to help me move up as i continue to prove myself? or is bakery a good move for me?
thank you for any help. i know every store is different but i want some real personal experiences to look at and think about. i want a better understanding of how kroger works with promotions and recognition for hard work.
so a little bit of background of who i am and my experience.
i used to manage a pizzeria before this and i have also worked courtesy clerk/day stock at another grocery chain nearby. there is a position open in the bakery i am thinking about applying for.
i consider myself a leader and a good example. i work extremely well with customers and even with difficult employees. i come in on time every day and stay late whenever they need me to. i work courtesy right now, but i am the only one that comes in on time every day and asks to cover shifts. and i am always working, whether or not it is slow i always am doing something to the point where i don't even remember my breaks sometimes.
so my question is, i really think i am at a point in my life where i would thrive working in HR and and take on more responsibility in the store. i am very level headed and am amazing at understanding the two sides of a story and i really want to see this store thrive.
by moving into bakery (which no one wants to move into, they are going to try to hire outside of the company because of this terrible shortage), do you think it would actually help me move forward in this job? is there any department i should go for instead that would be more likely to help me move up as i continue to prove myself? or is bakery a good move for me?
thank you for any help. i know every store is different but i want some real personal experiences to look at and think about. i want a better understanding of how kroger works with promotions and recognition for hard work.
Hard work does not pay off at kroger. Get out while you can
Kroger avoids promotions at all costs to save on wages/full time hours. They pretty much con regular clerks into doing department manager work. They do recognize hard work, consistency, and good employees. You're just rewarded by having more responsibilities and expectations with no compensation.
i want a better understanding of how kroger works with promotions and recognition for hard work.
It doesn't.
Working hard has only resulted in trapping me in my position because now they don't want to replace me.
You're just rewarded by having more responsibilities and expectations with no compensation.
Well, that too.
However, courtesy clerking is kind of terrible. It might be worthwhile to escape to a department, regardless.
One very dangerous question is "Why can't the bakery retain employees?"
Our bakery can't because they are strangled for hours. They don't have enough hours to get things done, and paychecks are so bad employees are having to quit. Switching to the bakery might only be setting yourself up for failure and financial strain.
Honestly, Kroger isn't really the kind of place where an employee can make a career anymore; it's more employment of last resort. I suspect you'd be better off elsewhere.
HOO boy. If I were upper management and you bringin all that extra, I'd run you around in big fetch-boy circles like you were a little trained doggie.-----And that's exactly how you're gonna get treated by THESE upper managers if you keep with that, so consider this valuable advice.
Best practices? Act like a dick. Seriously, evidencing the capacity for narcicissm, bullying of peers and subordinates and ass kissing amoung your superiors will take you very far with these people.
HOO boy. If I were upper management and you bringin all that extra, I'd run you around in big fetch-boy circles like you were a little trained doggie.-----And that's exactly how you're gonna get treated by THESE upper managers if you keep with that, so consider this valuable advice.
Best practices? Act like a dick. Seriously, evidencing the capacity for narcicissm, bullying of peers and subordinates and ass kissing amoung your superiors will take you very far with these people.
This is how it worked for me, I worked at kroger for years and they never let me reach full time and my hours went from 30+ a week to 24 hours then 16 hours and eventually 12 hours. I worked as hard as I needed to, definitely not the laziest worker, I got my **** done. I saw what was going on so I had already started college somewhere in the middle of all that and I am nearly done with my bachelor's degree in CS so then I quit. Kroger sucks but I still read this board once in a while to convince others to get the f out while they can. Stay in school kids.
the management at my store is actually not too bad (there are a lot of long term employees and the HR department is really fair) and i was told that you get promoted based on hard work. i know personally of one person who moved form courtesy clerk to assistant manager within six months. i think i am going to apply for the bakery department job regardless because i am a full time college student and working as a courtesy clerk is far too unpredictable in terms of scheduling in comparison to the bakery.
the bakery lost a long term employee recently and no one wants to jump into bakery mainly because it is "too hard". the manager of the bakery dept. is a sweetheart and we get along. would beat pushing carts.
does anyone have a positive experience moving up in kroger? i know it isn't my end game career at all (i'm a neuroscience major" but it would be awesome if i could make it work and somehow get closer to the top and get some more management experience under my belt. that's where i thrive.
so a little bit of background of who i am and my experience.
i used to manage a pizzeria before this and i have also worked courtesy clerk/day stock at another grocery chain nearby. there is a position open in the bakery i am thinking about applying for.
i consider myself a leader and a good example. i work extremely well with customers and even with difficult employees. i come in on time every day and stay late whenever they need me to. i work courtesy right now, but i am the only one that comes in on time every day and asks to cover shifts. and i am always working, whether or not it is slow i always am doing something to the point where i don't even remember my breaks sometimes.
so my question is, i really think i am at a point in my life where i would thrive working in HR and and take on more responsibility in the store. i am very level headed and am amazing at understanding the two sides of a story and i really want to see this store thrive.
by moving into bakery (which no one wants to move into, they are going to try to hire outside of the company because of this terrible shortage), do you think it would actually help me move forward in this job? is there any department i should go for instead that would be more likely to help me move up as i continue to prove myself? or is bakery a good move for me?
thank you for any help. i know every store is different but i want some real personal experiences to look at and think about. i want a better understanding of how kroger works with promotions and recognition for hard work.
Kroger makes promises, but they don't keep them. It doesn't matter what department you work in. I know 99% of the Deli and 50% of the bakery. I'm training for third shift bakery right now. I don't expect any gratitude or promotion out of it. I'm just trying something new, while still working in the Deli. I was promised a Lead position over a year ago and still have not received it. I'm not expecting it either. I will continue to work hard though. Only because that's me, not because I expect something out of it. Kroger only promotes lazy workers.
I was a cashier/office clerk for 2 years. They had to be desperate for fem. I never wrote a schedule or had any fem training. They promoted me to FEM. I was just barely keeps n my head above water. I thought about becoming a co-manager.... till I saw all the crap and how they got treated. Ive been a FEM for 10 years now. Would I do it again..... Nope tired of being Superman here to fix problems.
i want a better understanding of how kroger works with promotions and recognition for hard work.
It doesn't.
Working hard has only resulted in trapping me in my position because now they don't want to replace me.
You're just rewarded by having more responsibilities and expectations with no compensation.
Well, that too.
However, courtesy clerking is kind of terrible. It might be worthwhile to escape to a department, regardless.
One very dangerous question is "Why can't the bakery retain employees?"
Our bakery can't because they are strangled for hours. They don't have enough hours to get things done, and paychecks are so bad employees are having to quit. Switching to the bakery might only be setting yourself up for failure and financial strain.
Honestly, Kroger isn't really the kind of place where an employee can make a career anymore; it's more employment of last resort. I suspect you'd be better off elsewhere.
In my division, bakery clerks get paid an extra dollar an hour vs. other departments in an attempt to fix the staffing issues in deli and bakery depts.
The paychecks aren't any smaller than any other department, it's just there's more tasks that need done and not enough people scheduled to do it.
the management at my store is actually not too bad (there are a lot of long term employees and the HR department is really fair) and i was told that you get promoted based on hard work. i know personally of one person who moved form courtesy clerk to assistant manager within six months. i think i am going to apply for the bakery department job regardless because i am a full time college student and working as a courtesy clerk is far too unpredictable in terms of scheduling in comparison to the bakery. the bakery lost a long term employee recently and no one wants to jump into bakery mainly because it is "too hard". the manager of the bakery dept. is a sweetheart and we get along. would beat pushing carts. does anyone have a positive experience moving up in kroger? i know it isn't my end game career at all (i'm a neuroscience major" but it would be awesome if i could make it work and somehow get closer to the top and get some more management experience under my belt. that's where i thrive.
you might "get along" now but what happens when **** hits the fan (it does at kroger on a regular basis). You may want to rethink how your relationship would be. Our deli manager is ****ing bipolar and should've been fired years ago but she sucks corporate dick and still has a job
OP dont listen to these horrible so called employee. Most of them are just lazy and dont know what hard work actually is. Most of them are just failures.
Considering it's the position that is currently open, I say go for the bakery! It may lead to a full time position, which will help you get management experience more easily (in my experience, they seem to "promote" those that are already FT). When I first started, I was placed in the deli and I had full time within 6 months. I was made backup less than a year after that. Bounced around as backup in a couple different departments for another year and I'm now a department manager.
Definitely start communicating with your management team!! I know a lot of people on here are nay-sayers, but I've had a good share of managers that actually want to help you reach your goals. It just takes communication and a strong work ethic (and maybe some random luck).
You've gotten a lot of negative responses on this post saying that the work is hard and thankless, but honestly, it's all what you make it to be. If you have the drive (and it sounds like you do), you'll be fine!
thank you for being honest with me. i feel like a lot of people on here are kind of bitter and upset but really i'm just a college student trying my hardest to make ends meet until i can get a better job. kroger isn't my end game at all.
the bakery department application closed so i'm going to have to talk to my manager and see if i can interview for the position with her today.
I'm a bakery manager and i agree with the poster above, ignore the negativity.
Do I like the way the company is heading with running on skeleton crews? Hell no. i get mad at this company all the time, as does every full time employee who's been around a while.
But that being said, if you show that you are a hard worker, you can and will be promoted. Obviiously a lot does depend on how well you get along with store management, that much is true, but once you get your foot in the door in a department, you can talk to the department head, and if you get along with her, great! She can show you everything there is to know about a department, maybe even get you to meet your coordinator, and so on.
It took me 5 years to become a bakery manager, because i wasn't sure if it was what i wanted. Now, while i do get fed up with things (it can be stressful) i'm glad i also took the opportunity. it's helped me become a better person and i've made more friends than i ever would have, stuck in my old store.
Kroger avoids promotions at all costs to save on wages/full time hours. They pretty much con regular clerks into doing department manager work. They do recognize hard work, consistency, and good employees. You're just rewarded by having more responsibilities and expectations with no compensation.
thank you for being honest with me. i feel like a lot of people on here are kind of bitter and upset but really i'm just a college student trying my hardest to make ends meet until i can get a better job. kroger isn't my end game at all.
the bakery department application closed so i'm going to have to talk to my manager and see if i can interview for the position with her today.
Soooo, if A) we're all bitter and upset so our opinions are invalidated, and B) you're a college student just slumming at Kroger, above this company and certainly all of us, then C) why would you want advancement at a company you're above, staffed by people you're better than?
Yeah, I think it's pretty telling the overwhelming response is negative. Of course, you may beat the odds and actually get favorable results with Kroger. You can beat the odds winning the lottery too, that doesn't mean you should depend on it. The fact is most of the time upward mobility isn't dependent on how hard you work or how good you are. You're a sucker if you believe so. In fact, most people who do get promoted from such reasons are not actually those reasons, but more out of desperation from a particular store or situation.
Kroger isn't looking to promote besides at the salaried management level, which is only because the crap turnover assistant store managers have due to workload, 50-70 hour work weeks, and less pay than certain department heads when you account for overtime. Ever notice the lack of postings for hourly management positions (in store and on the career websites)? Wasn't like that 10-15 years ago.
The truth is, if you want to move up, learn good networking and social skills with people who can make that happen for you (store management and district coordinators).
Most of the negativity will come from jaded Kroger employees who have been there too long and for one reason or another won't or can't move up within the company.
That's not saying that all of the negativity is unjustified, I wouldn't necessarily recommend you come to Kroger to work if you have other options or if you're looking to move up quickly.
But from my experience, how fast you move up depends partly on you and mostly on your store.
At some of the smaller stores, it is really unlikely that you move up within the company any time soon. People have been there too long and open spots just aren't generally available unless you're willing to commute any number of miles to another store.
With that said, a more busy and larger store is more likely to give you more hours and more likely to have more of a revolving door/more positions available to move up into.
It isn't a guarantee, but it increases your chances of moving up. I have associates that started at the same time as me and a few that started looong before me that are in the same position or just training to become office helpers (if it's not apparent, I work front end).
Meanwhile I transferred to a larger store and I am currently training to become a backup for the front end.
Despite what others have said, I believe that my work ethic has been a major part of my fast track to moving up. All management at every store I've worked at has recognized, appreciated, and rewarded my hard work. It's possible I've just been lucky to have mostly good managers, but I believe that it's not necessarily a rarity.
I would definitely pick and choose what some are saying. Like the networking and social skills most definitely will do you a huge favor attempting to move up or even move out of the company.
I will say that from my experience, i wouldn't reccommend going to bakery if you're looking to move up even further into positions such as HR. Your best bet is to have your bachelor's and use that to get yourself into those higher paying roles like HR, Co-Management, or even Corporate.
Some associates will tell you that the salary pay is worse than that of Department heads (I believe this doesn't even take into account overtime which would make paychecks worse in comparison) but I've been told the benefits are amazing for positions like that. Some examples that I've heard, matching 401k, better insurance overall, bonuses, etc. I can only imagine that Corporate is the same way, but i'm unsure about HR. Best of luck to you!
thank you for being honest with me. i feel like a lot of people on here are kind of bitter and upset but really i'm just a college student trying my hardest to make ends meet until i can get a better job. kroger isn't my end game at all.
the bakery department application closed so i'm going to have to talk to my manager and see if i can interview for the position with her today.
Bitter and upset? You just started at this company. Some of the people have worked at kroger for many years and know what their talking about. Get your head outta your ass already
I love how pretentious some people can be. As if they're the "only" ones working hard and trying to stand out. This is a fact, and it is a business strategy, Kroger's strategy is to incorporate management training onto regular associates/clerks so departments can run independent of a department head or assistant. What does this do? Cuts down on wages and full time status. Business strategy; another way to reduce costs and exceed budget goals for a company that's only real goal is to provide its shareholders stipends and larger market value. I have been a department head at this company for years and I have seen many clerks who show good work ethic get promises of promotions only to be conned into doing a manager's work for months, even years, under the guise of "training."
From a business and manager's perspective, if I see one of these people, I'm not thinking, "oh, let me see how I can promote this guy in order to get them full time and wage increases." I'm thinking, how long can I string this guy along doing free management work while not increasing my labor budget. Quit? Let me get the next guy in line. Don't get me wrong, I have seen people get promoted based on merit. However, the likelihood is you won't. It's not in their interest when you can get clerks to do the same work at a clerk's wage. Which is why I said they avoid promotions at all costs. There are exceptions to this rule, which is acts of desperation (e.g, our bakery manager just quit, we have no assistant and no one to take over from another store and our union contract demands we have a bakery manager on staff!) Oh, let me go fast track someone into the bakery management program and promote. I have also seen this happen.
As for benefits in the department head vs co-manager debate; the only reason you take up the co-manager position is to get needed experience in either a corporate position or plan on one day running your own store. I haven't seen anyone with less than a combination of 10 years as either department head (usually produce, grocery, and front end) and co-manager experience to ever receive their own store. Otherwise, the compensation (in our division produce, meat and grocery make at least $22/hr which can easily result in over 60k after OT/bonuses) and better work-life balance is definitely in favor of department head.
i want a better understanding of how kroger works with promotions and recognition for hard work.
It doesn't.
Working hard has only resulted in trapping me in my position because now they don't want to replace me.
You're just rewarded by having more responsibilities and expectations with no compensation.
Well, that too.
However, courtesy clerking is kind of terrible. It might be worthwhile to escape to a department, regardless.
One very dangerous question is "Why can't the bakery retain employees?"
Our bakery can't because they are strangled for hours. They don't have enough hours to get things done, and paychecks are so bad employees are having to quit. Switching to the bakery might only be setting yourself up for failure and financial strain.
Honestly, Kroger isn't really the kind of place where an employee can make a career anymore; it's more employment of last resort. I suspect you'd be better off elsewhere.
In my division, bakery clerks get paid an extra dollar an hour vs. other departments in an attempt to fix the staffing issues in deli and bakery depts.
The paychecks aren't any smaller than any other department, it's just there's more tasks that need done and not enough people scheduled to do it.
A dollar more an hour? Is this in your contract or is it something they just came up with? I do think that bakers and cake decorators should be paid more than regular clerks because it is a skill that not everyone can do. Believe me, I've seen people try to bake and not be able to handle it. I've also seen people claim they know how to decorate cakes and make something that looks like it was done by a 5 year old. We had this one girl decide she was going to decorate a cake instead of doing what she was suppose to do. I saw it the next morning and just shook my head. It was quarter sheet cake and it had like a half inch of icing on top and on the sides. The thing weighed almost 10 pounds.
It's in the new UFCW 75 contract. Deli/bakery starts out at $11 an hour now, other departments start at $10. And i know what you mean. I'm a bakery manager and i still can't decorate worth a crap, i can try to fake it when necessary but it's definitely a skill that's not for everyone. I'm thankful to have a great cake decorator. This was my biggest concern when going in for management training and i was told, oh it's ok, there's a lot of bakery managers who can't decorate... lol
I was in the process of getting into the management program at the Kroger subsidiary I work for, but a chronic illness derailed that. I had offered to stay later the night before a big shot visit. Towards the end I was about to pass out from a flare up in my condition, and the manager made a stink about how I wasn't committed enough and blah blah blah. I finally told him to forget about it, I'm not interested in being a manager. The piddling raise I'd get wouldn't cover the cost of medical complications down the road.
Kroger avoids promotions at all costs to save on wages/full time hours. They pretty much con regular clerks into doing department manager work. They do recognize hard work, consistency, and good employees. You're just rewarded by having more responsibilities and expectations with no compensation.
This is 100% correct unless you know somebody high up and are a great ass kisser and fitting a certain demographic seems to help.
The easiest way to get promoted at Kroger is to be friends with the store/managers.
The easiest way to do that is to be in frequent contact with them, which you do by being a head and attending huddles etc.
But don't expect anyone to recognize your hard work. It will go unnoticed, no doubt. You just need to make connections to move up here.
Agree 100%. We have a daytime grocery manager in our store that literally does zero work. He writes the grocery schedule and that is about it. He is a go-boy for the store manager or the co-manager managing the store when the store manager is not there. Guess what, they are about to put him in the co-manager training program, which is the first step to moving up in this company. He has zero college, isn't planning on going to college and does no physical work to help the grocery department, just throws it all on the night time grocery manager to worry about, who is working with about half the amount of crew actually needed to stay on top of the department. Everybody on night crew hates each other, points fingers, throws under the bus, etc, because nobody has enough time to do all the work asked of them, they are exhausted mentally and physically and fed up with the whole system. Store manager aware of this, previous store manager aware of this, however, nothing changes. It is not how hard you work at Kroger, it is how good you are at kissing ass.
thank you for being honest with me. i feel like a lot of people on here are kind of bitter and upset but really i'm just a college student trying my hardest to make ends meet until i can get a better job. kroger isn't my end game at all.
the bakery department application closed so i'm going to have to talk to my manager and see if i can interview for the position with her today.
Was going to stay quiet till I saw this.
Same here man, now I'm 33 and Kroger's won't let me leave. I've tried to go to classes for over 4 years Kroger's has moved my vacation due to the needs of the business or just flat out told me that my classes are not "educational leave" union is useless and here I am trapped and suicidal. Listen to these people. Get the **** out. I didn't, and now I rather chew on a bullet than clock into that ****ing place.
