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Post Info TOPIC: Have you ever had a manager try to run your store into the ground?
Anonymous

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Have you ever had a manager try to run your store into the ground?
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I think most of us who work in the grocery business (or any other retail establishment) knows what a bad manager looks like...I've seen MANY of them come and go! You've probably heard about them coming and going...Haven't we all? But, I was curious if any of you have ever had a manager try to run your store into the ground at ALL levels? I'm not talking about the managers who try to make the employees work harder...and supposedly better...I'm talking about the ones who also put fear into the hearts of all the department managers and even rile up the tempers of everyone else, even some higher-ups...The ones who love to create "busywork" that in no way makes your store a better place to shop or work...The ones who aren't even afraid to make a scene in public! What about the ones that contradict themselves to the point of chaos? The ones that say one thing and mean something else...Or say one thing and do a total 180 the next...The ones where if you were to go into one of their "former" stores, the employees would offer their heartfelt condolences for your loss of sanity...You know, the ones who have no idea what's going on, other than every single other employee in the store who know EXACTLY what's going on...

And then, you have those customer comments...What if the employees are not the only ones who are seeing this bad behavior, but the customers, who notice and comment on the rudeness, ineffectiveness or just-plain boorishness and bad manners on the part of said manager, esp. certain customers who make it a point to know everything, good AND bad, that goes on in your particular store?

This is not an isolated thing to one store, one chain or even one business, either, as this article alludes to...

https://www.retaildoc.com/blog/7-sure-signs-of-a-terrible-retail-manager-employee-performance-management

It's one of the top reasons people leave companies...

https://www.npr.org/2017/07/17/537750774/is-your-boss-too-controlling-many-employees-clash-with-micromanagers

You don't have to specify the manager, but I wonder if any of the rest of you have had a manager like this and how did you deal with him or her?



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Greg Jordan: dumb and mean.


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And still gainfully employed . . . since this is such an ethical company.



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I won't say the store number but the store in the town i live in, the store i started at, is in this shape. The management team there has run the store into the ground, and the poor bakery manger there is running on a dept of 3 people but they won't give her any outside help, they blame her and put her on corrective action plans, the department is running 20% down vs last year and from the shape of the rest of the store i feel the whole store is probably down in sales... I don't know how any of them have kept their jobs right now. None of the management there now is ones that were there when i started. I've been told I do not want to return to my home store right now...

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From the 9 signs article,  numbers 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, and 9. I've seen them happen again and again. 



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the 9 signs article

What is that?



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Anonymous

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kroagrr wrote:

the 9 signs article

What is that?


 Nothing. it's just made up ****. 



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kroagrr wrote:

the 9 signs article

What is that?


 https://www.retaildoc.com/blog/7-sure-signs-of-a-terrible-retail-manager-employee-performance-management

It was one of the links the OP had posted. I meant 7.



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Anonymous

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OP here again...So let me throw another wrench into things...What if your said manager tended to focus on your department solely (say dairy, meat or produce) and even "HELPED OUT" (which is very unusual!) in that department, possibly...no...TOTALLY neglecting many other parts of the store? What if he or she had a...for lack of a better word...fetish for one department, almost to the point of it being his or her "pet project", but worse? What if this "pet project" department has ALWAYS been his or her "pet project" in every single store he or she worked at, according to other employees from those "former" stores? I mean...WTF? wtf.gifwtf.gifwtf.gif

Take this same manager...Imagine if you had an employee of the company who has been there 40-50-60 years or so who has gained a lot of respect with his or her crew and the said manager treats this employee as if he or she were no better than a dog who fetches? What if said employee were say, a department manager, rather than just a regular employee? What if this store manager treated this LIFELONG employee (dept. manager, say...) if he or she were no better than dirt and criticized EVERY single way he or she did things, specifically because it wasn't "the store manager's way" aka "the ONLY way to do things"...Never mind that said dept. manager has had DECADES OF EXPERIENCE doing things his or her way with no issues and even customer compliments! What if said store manager decided to give the dept. manager a bunch of busywork to distract him or her from say...making an order, writing a schedule, doing all the managerial things he or she is SUPPOSED to do? And what if the store manager has a very condescending way about him or her that makes EVERYONE ELSE feel like they're 5 years old and if they don't do things his or her way, they'll end up in a corner somewhere? Have you ever had a manager who treats everyone, including employees who have been with the company MANY years, like they don't know how to do their jobs or like college kids, fresh out of high school, who have no idea how the world works? Let's just say that I've been hearing some stories lately more than ever and know and have known people like this from first hand accounts of having worked with them...And this type of behavior is in no way limited to Kroger, which is sad beyond belief...no

And one last question, do you think this type of behavior is seen more in men than women or the other way around? confuse.gif

Let's just say that some tempers are beginning to boil according to the things I'm hearing and being told and if the said store manager keeps this up, a department manager or even a district head is bound to have a nasty run-in with him or her that will not be pleasant at some point in time here...

And for argument's sake, what if this particular manager has a way of coming into a store (as he or she has done often in the past) and causing many very good employees to leave that would have otherwise stayed, had it not been for him or her?

I'm curious to know how you all dealt with such a situation, if one like this has ever presented itself...Was the store manager ever terminated or demoted? Were they with the company or your particular store long? Does the company just not want to own up to the fact that these types of managers are EVERYWHERE??? I can name at least 4 or 5 managers in the last 10-20-30 years or more of working various retail positions in the business that were similar to the one I describe, and possibly another 5 that were precariously close to BECOMING like this person...disbeliefdoh



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Anonymous

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Not the top store manager, but one of the cos. This guy was a real piece of work. Total control monster, he was 1000 times worse than a mircro-manager. He was what I call a 'Needjatah'. As in, if you walked any where near him he'd be 'hey, I needjatah __________'. 

He constantly walked the store, was into everyone's business at all times, nothing ever pleased him, was lightening fast to write you up for anything, and would over ride his own boss on store management decisions (funny how that alone never got him burned).

Thing was, he was lusting for his own store; interviewed for several different opportunities, but never got hired. So we were stuck with him. And his bitter, hateful wrath at being turned down yet again. 

Last I heard (I'm looooong out of the retail game, praise God), he had stepped down from salaried and into hourly supervision. Dunno the back story, but I guarantee it wasn't voluntary...... 

For which I delight. I HATE prick managers like that no



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Anonymous

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Wow! This guy SOUNDS like a serious piece of work!!! I feel for you guys...

Who's got any more stories???



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It makes me wonder where they get some of these managers, if they worked up the chain of command or what because if they did ... shame on them.

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Anonymous

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TheDragoness wrote:

It makes me wonder where they get some of these managers, if they worked up the chain of command or what because if they did ... shame on them.


 Well, these types of managers, it seems, are rampant everywhere and according to this article, not very trustworthy...

https://www.forbes.com/sites/lizryan/2017/04/14/never-trust-a-manager-who-does-these-five-things/#5ca17983d6f7



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Anonymous

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OP again...OK, now imagine a manager REALLY getting on everyone's last nerve...Let me offer you up a scenario...We're dealing with a specific manager who has made it clear that making friends with people is not a main priority...This manager went and pulled the coffee maker out of the breakroom...Now, the union contract does not stipulate that the employer HAS to provide coffee, but I will say this...It's just a nice thing to help improve employee morale...This manager wants everyone to work faster and harder, but we're gonna have to bring in our own coffee to do it...Now, I could care less, since I don't really drink it, but we have a night crew that comes in exhausted (and probably much more since the night crew leader left for greener pastures)...We have a few front-end CSM's that have the baggers or other employees fetch them a cup on occasion...The bakery and deli people all go up and get cups in the morning and the frozen and dairy guys just drink it to stay warm, especially in this frigid weather...I'm not saying that it should be a right, but I've worked several other retail establishments in my life and one way or another, there was ALWAYS some free coffee somewhere and not all of them were union, either...Even if a department manager had to bring in a coffee maker from home, it was provided and the person that made a good pot was everyone's new best friend...Even my own father worked at a place where coffee and Absopure water flowed every day! One of my own physicians would even bring in free spiced cider to his patients in the winter around the holidays and it actually helped him get more patients! Not anymore! As our deli manager sarcastically noted after hearing the news, "Way to make friends around here!!!"...I get that this manager is new, but what I don't get is all the pettiness, the spiteful, condescending behavior and the utterly pathetic lack of humanity this manager evidently displays...and without seemingly a care, either! It's boorish and it shines a very bad light on the manager! Our union steward has a plan, though...Maybe set up a "coffee fund" that people can add to, so the coffee can keep flowing...If any managers out there think this is about saving money, well I have news for them...I can think of MANY other ways to save money in your stores and THIS ain't it!!! And we're not suffering for business, either...In fact, we're busier than we've ever been, even despite losing a few good employees (which haven't been replaced, either, by the way)! What I can see, though, is a definite lack of productivity coming, because this act is seen as "a line in the sand" by some that you just don't cross...Who wants to work hard for a manager that just doesn't care about the happiness and health of his or her employees, especially when those same hard-working employees get no thanks in the matter?

This manager loves to play mind and head games, too...Well, guess what???? I haven't played games since I was a kid and I DON'T plan to now! If I WANTED to play mind games, this manager would be on a mere beginner's level, whereas I would be on a much more advanced level, since I have PLENTY of experience in this realm...I've had a lot more retail experience than this manager will EVER see...I've even made friends with some FORMER (keyword: FORMER) managers over the years that have retired...The things that they have told me and I have learned from them about retail makes me GLAD that I am NOT one and never became one! The only way to fix the problem with managers is to change the corporate culture and make bad managers accountable! The ONLY way! But, it'll never happen...People are too afraid of these types of managers to make any meaningful changes!

Oh, and I recently heard that this manager who seemingly does not care how long everyone works got called to a meeting as to why the store was getting so much overtime...I don't mind so much since I'm looking at it as "holiday money"...Still, I get the feeling that there are others out there that are not happy with this manager, too...Still, no accountability and plenty of stepped-on toes...

All I can say is that if this manager has a run-in with someone down the line, either another employee, another manager, or someone higher-up, I get the feeling it's not gonna end very well...

More paranoia to come, my friends, I'm sure!no



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Anonymous

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And now...It's getting really weird...Have you ever had a manager come in to your store on his or her day off, just to spy on his or her co-manager, to see if he or she was doing their job properly??? If I was a manager, that's the LAST thing I would do (because at some point, you have to hold back and allow your people SOME autonomy), but that's exactly what the manager in question did today...In for a few minutes, too, and then gone! How's that for an untrustworthy manager??? When you're so paranoid about how well your co-manager is doing his duties that you've taken your eye off the bigger picture of what's going on, especially when the holiday season is just around the corner, THAT'S when you KNOW there is a problem...It's just that kind of thing that can rub some people the wrong way and shows a lot of deep-seated suspicion and fear on the manager's part...It also sows fear into the co-manager who is having his every move scrutinized and judged...In other words, in terms that EVERYONE can understand, it's DYSFUNCTION AT IT'S FINEST!no



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