Work in the bakery department. A lot of times when we get something new in we get to sample it. Of course that doesn't mean we sample everything we get in and it doesn't mean you can just sample something because you're hungry and you want to try something, but there are enough times that make you glad you're there when the samples are available.
Having worked CC, checker, produce, checker again, a bunch of filling in in GM, freezer, dairy, and night crew...
Courtesy clerk was the most enjoyable. Or rather least stressful. Obviously the pay is crap, but it had a nice variety of tasks and you got outside. Granted, that was before CCs doubled as janitors and the actual maintenance people were tossed, and I got out right after the embarrassing "management needs to be able to spot you from across the store" reflective safety vests were introduced.
Checking wasn't horrible. Super easy, repetitive job, but customers can be incredibly frustrating and you'll hear the same stupid shopping jokes a hundred times a day. There's also a lot of down-time and standing around, which can both make your shift really drag some days and makes it hard to guarantee hours, depending on the seniority at your store. I do appreciate my time on the front end for getting me out of my shell, though. I'm still a shy person, but I used to be terrible and the forced interaction with people I don't know did open me up a bit.
If your store has a good produce crew, that's probably a decent bet for one of the least-worst departments. Dairy is similar; easy-ish job, but because it's another all-day department with more people, if your entire crew can't be relied on, your weakest link can become a real handicap for keeping the department running smoothly. That could just be me, though; I'm not bad in a team environment, but I've seen enough poor work that I really don't like relying on other people anymore. My sister was a bakery manager for a while, but grew to hate it and eventually quit from stress. Seems all department managers have it really hard these days, though.
I used to actually kind of enjoy freezer at my first store. It was my own little department that me and one other guy looked after with no one micro-managing over our shoulders. We had everything dialed in perfectly, rarely had more than a couple "controllable out of stocks," and management never hassled us over anything. Our department was consistently looking great. But I've since worked at two other stores, and management (both ASM and Store) have been supreme *******s at both, and it got me to hate taking on any responsibility at all so I backed off. The company in general seems to have been getting more and more of a pain to work with every year. Freezer is probably the easiest spot to guarantee 40 hours in, though, because it's usually only two people in there.Produce and freezer both involve daily heavy lifting, so you'll need to be good for that.
These days, I just try to avoid any job that requires use of the RF handheld or ordering, because using that is invitation for management get on your case no matter how good you are at your job. I recently landed me a semi-cozy "GHC" position my store manager created that has me coming in at 6pm to sort and work tubs, then a couple aisles for night crew before taking off at 3am or so. SM's an ass and isn't there during my shift, which is just fantastic. And because I'm still 'grocery/night crew,' I still get the best pay in the store short of management. $18.44/hour, plus a few hours of that overnight bonus dollar. I believe GM and checking top out down at around $15-16/hr here. Your store's pay could be different, though; I hear some states' grocery teams are down at around $12/hr - sorry, guys. That brings up a good point, though: if your store doesn't pay well, this company is not worth staying at. Get out before you become all miserable and bitter, and find something with growth potential outside of retail.
