Hey girls and guys! Does anyone have problems in their frozen food dept? I'm the frozen food mgr. @ Kroger store in Ft Worth,TX area. I can never get 7 days coverage in my department.On my off days, nothing gets done. After I come back from a vacation- the frozen dept. is always a disaster.
I would appreciate any suggestions/advice/comments.
My problem is with meat and deli depts overordering as well as heavy distributions. Those are all things I have no control over. Just had the freezer changed out and had to work out of a refer trailer for well over a month. What a disaster. The only real solution besides having more people in frozen is getting meat and deli their own freezers. If I only had to keep my product organized in my own freezer, the job would be a breeze. I am going to leave Kroger as I understand what you mean about nothing getting done on your days off. It sucks to have to come back to even more work than you left, thus never allowing me to truly relax on my days off, knowing I have to come back to a mess.
I don't know if it's the same where you're at but since the meat dept. doesn't butcher meat any longer, they have no need for the prep room (at least not as much room as they have) and that should be turned into a freezer for their stuff. Don't get me started on management. I ask them every once in a while to get someone to help me out and rarely do they comply, although I see them helping dry grocery depts all the time even though all those depts have help. It's an unfair practice and they have to know that. Unless you really enjoy it, get another job that's what I'm going to do because it's not going to change and the pay isn't anywhere near what it should be as they throw you under grocery therefore, you'll never be a dept head and can only get top clerk pay.
Anonymous wrote: My problem is with meat and deli depts overordering as well as heavy distributions. Those are all things I have no control over. Just had the freezer changed out and had to work out of a refer trailer for well over a month. What a disaster. The only real solution besides having more people in frozen is getting meat and deli their own freezers. If I only had to keep my product organized in my own freezer, the job would be a breeze. I am going to leave Kroger as I understand what you mean about nothing getting done on your days off. It sucks to have to come back to even more work than you left, thus never allowing me to truly relax on my days off, knowing I have to come back to a mess.
I don't know if it's the same where you're at but since the meat dept. doesn't butcher meat any longer, they have no need for the prep room (at least not as much room as they have) and that should be turned into a freezer for their stuff. Don't get me started on management. I ask them every once in a while to get someone to help me out and rarely do they comply, although I see them helping dry grocery depts all the time even though all those depts have help. It's an unfair practice and they have to know that. Unless you really enjoy it, get another job that's what I'm going to do because it's not going to change and the pay isn't anywhere near what it should be as they throw you under grocery therefore, you'll never be a dept head and can only get top clerk pay.
Sounds like those departments are not doing maintenance as they work out their stock. Keeping a careful eye on those numbers it the only way to keep the back stock under control!
In the last few months we've gone through a complete remodeling of the store, numerous resets in all departments. New frozen cases on the sales floor (went through that twice as they installed one run and then a month later installed back to back runs) the cases have gone down several times in the last two months (one time ice cream the other time a 30 door run which we lost ninety percent of at least) and then the endcaps went down with ice cream in them to boot and all three on the same compressor just like the thirty door run and like I stated before working out of a refer trailer for the last month while they installed a new walk in freezer.
I don't know about you but I can only take so much and I threw over 600 cases in under 15 hours and the cao numbers were all screwed up after that. There's no way one person can remain sane having to order, review shelves, condition, organize freezer, throw freight, do crew sheets, correct boh's etc. I don't particularly care to work 70 hr weeks and since I have no backup, I'm out. I've simply had enough.
I,m having the same problems at our store to. But I,m not a manager. I,m still waiting for them to find me a store for frozen manager. I help the person that is frozen manager and she is very sloppy so I have to fix up her messes. That,s pretty bad that I have to clean up after a frozen manager:(
That's like every vacation I've took. They don't want to hire enough for coverage and the responsibilty will always remain with you even though you are not there.
Frozen Managers are not even real managers, They are under the Grocery Department, so if they had someone cover your 2 days off Grocery would loose Hours (the department that needs it. Plus you have 2 damn aisles to take care of thats it, get over it.
The one post was going in the right direction. The Frozen position is no longer a manager, it is a lead for the dept. as is dairy and nutrition. And as frozen falls under grocery, it is the grocery manager, and the co-mgr. over grocery's responsibility to see that it is covered during your vacation.
Nothing new to me nether. too few hours. departments most always come in over the hour budget at our store or there is not enough people to go around.not getting anything done because were helping the front end get out of the mess they created. Employees that cronic-ly goof off forcing others to pick up slack.new manager now so things might improve.
One problem is the practice of having employees assisting up front when it gets busy. You can lose up at least a full 8 hrs. a week or more having all your help up front.
Really? Two aisles you say? How about 5 Endcaps and those TWO FULL aisles are ALL frozen unlike the rest of the departments that have a little on each aisle. Grocery dept main two aisles are canned goods and pasta aisle.
Those frozen food aisles are all 100% frozen food! You obviously never worked frozen in a store with a small storage freezer for 4 departments all with rather heavy distributions lol.
I know this topic is old, but I'm going to give my input. At my store, the frozen food department is ran by one guy and rarely ever worked by anyone else. If you work an 8-hour day, you honestly shouldn't have any trouble getting everything ran. Frozen is the easiest department, in my opinion.
I think the main confusion by both management and people of other depts who dont work frozen is that when you only have 1 guy working in frozen he doesnt have 8 hours to stock, he only has 4 hours because of the new key retailing rules. I could break it down for you but my point is, if you get in a 400 case load and you only have 4 hours to break it down and put it out then you woud have to stock 100 cases an hour to do it. Even 300 case load would require 75 cases an hour. Its just not possible.
If you doubt my math then here is a little exercise for you. How long to condition, break time, backstock, ordering, receiving, checking, bagging, helping customers with things outside your dept, cleanup, doing required paperwork, washing out that case that has gone out for the humpteenth time and a hundred other things that go on in the course of a day.
Its real easy when your on the outside looking in, everyone always thinks they have the hardest job. The truth is there are no easy jobs in Krogerland. Other depts are even worse so we all need help. If you think your frozen food guy or gal doesn't need help then your living in a dream world. Wake up and smell the melting load in the back.
__________________
The postings on this site are my own and don't necessarily represent the positions, strategies or opinions of The Kroger Co. family of stores.
Frozen foods. Why it matters and what to tell others who ask.
1. 7 day coverage
1 person = 5 days a week OR 2 people = a part time helper for truck nights only (leaving the department untouched 2 days a week)
2. Products out of place
Managers walk grocery daily for "store-walks" to place homeless product in carts for bagboys to take back. Frozen gets no such privilidge due to its highly perishable nature. We are left at the mercy of the customer's misplacings daily.
3. Conditions
Utility clerks are a huge help with keeping grocery side conditioned. The grocery department head will keep finding this person enough work to utilize all of his or her time. End result? Frozen food remains untouched or short handed with conditions. Add in the fact that usually grocery gets coverage 7 days a week. On non-truck nights usually 1 person runs backstock and the other person spends the entire night conditioning the department.
4. Truck processing delays
(If your store is setup like mine) Grocery gets to have the back room to break down their trucks while frozen pallets have to be dragged all the way out to the floor. Then to ensure temperatures remain safe, all of these carts must then be dragged back to the main freezer and worked 1 at a time.
5. Space limitations
Perishable frozen: Bakery, Deli, Meat, Seafood, Nutrition, Vendors: Nestle, Red Barron, Mayfield, Bluebell, Fresh Frozen 1 main freezer yet everything must fit inside it. Many different hands all needing this same space. Not everyone will have instant access to their carts or pallets. Rearranging of all of this backstock is a daily job sometimes taking up to an hour (or more).
6. Summery
Grocery gets to have multiple hands dipping in and out to help with their department. (Grocery managers, courtesy clerks, utility clerks, and even some pulled help from dairy and frozen all get the chance to work the glory that is grocery while frozen food is seen as a barren wasteland that few people wish to touch or help out in.
All of these little things matter. All of this stuff truely adds up when the sole responsability of the department is left up to 1 full time person and maybe a part time person who doesn't work as many hours and gets paid half as much as you do.
All grocery damages are usually scanned out by the reciever. (Another invisable hand helping out grocery now made clear.) Guess who ends up having to scan out frozen food damages?
Frozen foods. Why it matters and what to tell others who ask.
1. 7 day coverage
1 person = 5 days a week OR 2 people = a part time helper for truck nights only (leaving the department untouched 2 days a week)
2. Products out of place
Managers walk grocery daily for "store-walks" to place homeless product in carts for bagboys to take back. Frozen gets no such privilidge due to its highly perishable nature. We are left at the mercy of the customer's misplacings daily.
3. Conditions
Utility clerks are a huge help with keeping grocery side conditioned. The grocery department head will keep finding this person enough work to utilize all of his or her time. End result? Frozen food remains untouched or short handed with conditions. Add in the fact that usually grocery gets coverage 7 days a week. On non-truck nights usually 1 person runs backstock and the other person spends the entire night conditioning the department.
4. Truck processing delays
(If your store is setup like mine) Grocery gets to have the back room to break down their trucks while frozen pallets have to be dragged all the way out to the floor. Then to ensure temperatures remain safe, all of these carts must then be dragged back to the main freezer and worked 1 at a time.
5. Space limitations
Perishable frozen: Bakery, Deli, Meat, Seafood, Nutrition, Vendors: Nestle, Red Barron, Mayfield, Bluebell, Fresh Frozen 1 main freezer yet everything must fit inside it. Many different hands all needing this same space. Not everyone will have instant access to their carts or pallets. Rearranging of all of this backstock is a daily job sometimes taking up to an hour (or more).
6. Summery
Grocery gets to have multiple hands dipping in and out to help with their department. (Grocery managers, courtesy clerks, utility clerks, and even some pulled help from dairy and frozen all get the chance to work the glory that is grocery while frozen food is seen as a barren wasteland that few people wish to touch or help out in.
All of these little things matter. All of this stuff truely adds up when the sole responsability of the department is left up to 1 full time person and maybe a part time person who doesn't work as many hours and gets paid half as much as you do.
Good luck.
finally someone who "gets it" and all I can add is A M E N ! ! !
__________________
The postings on this site are my own and don't necessarily represent the positions, strategies or opinions of The Kroger Co. family of stores.
LOL I did not even mention the downtown it takes to pull product, pull shelves, de-ice, replace shelving, and restock frozen when the cases go down. I myself have deiced our cases in the last ten years in the triple digits. Over 100 times just myself. Take into account all of the times everyone in the store has deiced a case and its several hundred. They have refused to replace our freezers over the last ten years.
It's so nice discussion about frozen food dept, and also really nice above comments, which about frozen food dept, guys, i also want to say something about food, i also really like to eat food but specially, i like to eat spicy foods, like seafood and my family also prefer seafood, because, it's delicious ...
Some of our managers actually do check the frozen aisles when they walk the store.
The problem is that any misplaced frozen items get mixed into a cart full of cardboard and nonperishable put backs, and then the cart gets pushed into the corner by the put back shelf. And then it sits until it's all damaged.
I think it's hilarious that the managers themselves damage all this stuff, all the time.
I try to mark these things since I'm terrified they will just get refrozen and put back. Think shrink!
