For real, every time I shop at a Kroger all the staff practically run up to greet me with this half cadaver-limp fish / 'please Jesus someone kill me NOW' affect about them, even as they say 'Hi, how afre you today?' Or 'Finding everything ok?'
I've taken to saying to them 'Dude, I know what you're going through with this. Props to you. Sincere.
Because enough dog t w a t c*untomers pitched bitches at Kroger Corporate, the company doesn't realize we don't WANT approached by the staff. Or the other customers. Or anybody! We just wanna shop fast and get back out.
It's the nature of the job. Kroger kills your soul. Your reprogrammed and reformatted and only a husk of what you once where. Most of us are just slaves to the paycheck. This job hollows you out and spits you out. Then you're left a miserable, unhappy, grumpy individual.
Regardless of how far you try to go above and beyond in customer service some @$$ hole always ruins it for you. This company punishes hard workers and scolds them if they make others look too bad. Hard work is never rewarded. The lazy incompetent workers always get promoted. The environment is a toxic environment. Sh-it that would get people fired at most others jobs is often over looked at kroger. It takes someone like 2-3 years to get fired. Most people are smart enough not to do the stupid stuff that gets you fired immediately.
Customers are either incredibly polite but quickly extinguished by not a nice person. Of course there's that one in a hundred @$$ hole that ruins your day. I didn't use to request customers to leave but I'm tired of being verbally harassed by stupidity.
With working retail I have come to realization that your average american isn't all that bright. Most can't even comprehend simple basic elementary school math or reading. Most just read a tag and think it's that. Not so. We have the right to deny price challenges. My store got so bad we all agreed to check challenges before doing them.
Other things that make the job miserable:
Pay. Most people start out at ten cents above minimum wage. Varies state to state and area to area. The pay steps between hours takes for ever. The union screwed new hires and it'll take them 8 years at a full 40 before most ever see journeyman pay. Most will end up quitting before that. Only 3% of people that hire in stay that long.
Advancement. There is barely any advancement if at all in retail. It's all done by favoritism in general. Some stores are very gender bias so it often goes to minimum wage new hire males.
Union. It has it's pros and cons. One plus is it's a lot harder to fire people for just cause. That's illegal in the union.
Hours. Hours are terrible unless you get your self in a good position. Most new hires average 20-30 hrs until about year 2.5. Even then people fight for hours. Availability is another issue. If you restrict your availability even the slightest your hours are dinged significantly.
Kroger is basically a dead end job with no future. It's a repetitious paycheck job where 100% of the job duties are repetitious. Grocery eventually chews people out and makes them miserable. It happens to everyone unless you can identify a personality change. Most can't.
It's the nature of the job. Kroger kills your soul. Your reprogrammed and reformatted and only a husk of what you once where. Most of us are just slaves to the paycheck. This job hollows you out and spits you out. Then you're left a miserable, unhappy, grumpy individual.
Regardless of how far you try to go above and beyond in customer service some @$$ hole always ruins it for you. This company punishes hard workers and scolds them if they make others look too bad. Hard work is never rewarded. The lazy incompetent workers always get promoted. The environment is a toxic environment. Sh-it that would get people fired at most others jobs is often over looked at kroger. It takes someone like 2-3 years to get fired. Most people are smart enough not to do the stupid stuff that gets you fired immediately.
OP here. You're spot-on about how favoritism = advancement and the crappy incremental raises. I worked for a competing retailer for a lot of years and I saw that company go from advocating workers to pull themselves up from the bottom, to walking right past them and grabbong the ass kissers who never did anything. ... As for Kroger's salary? Ridiculous! Wft yall got a UNION for? What a racket that is, can I apply for a steward position? Do nothing but collect dues from people's paltry pay checks???
Customers are either incredibly polite but quickly extinguished by not a nice person. Of course there's that one in a hundred @$$ hole that ruins your day. I didn't use to request customers to leave but I'm tired of being verbally harassed by stupidity.
With working retail I have come to realization that your average american isn't all that bright. Most can't even comprehend simple basic elementary school math or reading. Most just read a tag and think it's that. Not so. We have the right to deny price challenges. My store got so bad we all agreed to check challenges before doing them.
Other things that make the job miserable:
Pay. Most people start out at ten cents above minimum wage. Varies state to state and area to area. The pay steps between hours takes for ever. The union screwed new hires and it'll take them 8 years at a full 40 before most ever see journeyman pay. Most will end up quitting before that. Only 3% of people that hire in stay that long.
Advancement. There is barely any advancement if at all in retail. It's all done by favoritism in general. Some stores are very gender bias so it often goes to minimum wage new hire males.
Union. It has it's pros and cons. One plus is it's a lot harder to fire people for just cause. That's illegal in the union.
Hours. Hours are terrible unless you get your self in a good position. Most new hires average 20-30 hrs until about year 2.5. Even then people fight for hours. Availability is another issue. If you restrict your availability even the slightest your hours are dinged significantly.
Kroger is basically a dead end job with no future. It's a repetitious paycheck job where 100% of the job duties are repetitious. Grocery eventually chews people out and makes them miserable. It happens to everyone unless you can identify a personality change. Most can't.
@ Nature of the job: OP here. You were spot-on about favoritism and crappy wages. I worked in retail for many years and I saw the lazy ass kissers promoted time and time again. And as for Kroger, why yall even have a union?? What do they do for you? Barely above minimum wage scale you gotta wait til the next conract to make ANOTHER .10 cents, sheeeit, sign me up for a steward job where I get free money from union dues.
I landed in retail through life mistakes I made, and chose to ride out rather than correct. Because of that I was in for a very long time.
The first few years weren't too bad; I still kinda liked people at that point. But what happens in public service jobs is, their dismissive, classist attitudes towards you start to wear. Kinda like a chaff in your boot that's at first uncomfortable.....and eventually blisters into a disabling limp, where every forward step is agony. It created behaviors towards customers from me, such as:
Them: 'Where is _____?' Me: 'Aisle 7'. Whatever it was. Didn't matter. Aisle 7.
Carry some merch to their car for them, put it in, and as I close the door call out 'F**k you very muuuuch!'
I finally got myself together and got a real job out of retail some years ago, but I visit these forums as a guilty pleasure, reading the miserable experiences of others still inside. Psssst, hey: Do thoust as I did. Get out of that racket, you can do it
Thank you. I'm surprised we don't read more in here about k's devious and secretive ways. Whoever really calls the shots is always trying to screw everybody and police-state their way to impunity.
We know you have many options for shopping. Use them!
For real, every time I shop at a Kroger all the staff practically run up to greet me with this half cadaver-limp fish / 'please Jesus someone kill me NOW' affect about them, even as they say 'Hi, how afre you today?' Or 'Finding everything ok?'
I've taken to saying to them 'Dude, I know what you're going through with this. Props to you. Sincere.
Because enough dog t w a t c*untomers pitched bitches at Kroger Corporate, the company doesn't realize we don't WANT approached by the staff. Or the other customers. Or anybody! We just wanna shop fast and get back out.
Well a lot of them dont bathe more than once a week so that fish smell is coming from them.
