I have been with Kroger for three weeks. I applied and was hired with the understanding that I have a primary full time job and this would be a secondary part time job. Administrative Manager said they totally understood and that they should be able to work with my schedule.
First week, I received 10 hours - one 6 hour training shift (computer and paper work) and one 4 hour shift on the register. After my four hour shift I checked the schedule for the following week and saw that I had no hours. I spoke with a Customer Service Manager, who is a supervisor of the front end but not the scheduling manager, and was told the scheduling manager "couldn't fit me in". The Customer Service Manager was eager to have me come back to work as I did a good job and have availability during the week that others are not willing to work (8pm - midnight). She told me she would speak with the Administrative Manage and the Store Manager to figure out what they could offer me. She called me later that same day and said they would work with my availability.
This past weekend the new schedule came out, I was scheduled 16 hours, which is great BUT the weekend shift falls outside of my availability. At this point I have gone over my availability with several times, twice with the Administrative Manager who hired me and once with the Customer Service Manager. The scheduling manager I have talked to and I only met once, for 3 minutes during my first training shift. Assuming she knows my availability, as it hasn't changed since I accepted the position earlier this month, I call her to discuss the Saturday shift. First off, she is rude. She tells me my available hours don't work for her and this is a retail establishment so everyone works the weekend. Which I replied I understand Kroger is a retail establishment and I understand having to work a weekend shift; however, I have discussed my availability with several people and I am not available between certain hours on the weekend and I was hired with that being fully disclosed. She ends the conversation telling me just to come in as the schedule says and leave when I have to, which turns a 4 hour shift into a 2.5 hour shift.
I guess my question is this - if they hired me with me fully disclosing my availability and if she continues to give me slack about it, is there anything I can do? I don't want to continue to have a conversation about my availability every week when the schedule comes out considering my availability hasn't changed.
You're still on probation, if you leave early, they'll just fire you. Some managers won't work with people. My guess is the manager who hired you didn't think to much about the hours you could work. You could try the union, but thats dependent on the contract you work under. Many contracts are "needs of the business" and you have no say on the hours you can be scheduled.
Sorry, this is how kroger works. You tell them when you are not available and they will schedule you those hours. Or, no hours at all.
If you leave after 2.5 hours without a written statement to "leave whenever you need to", it will be job abandonment. You will not get a manager to write anything they say down.
Generally, new cashiers are scheduled as closers at my store. 6pm until 11:59pm.
If you have a full time job, I suggest you quit kroger and find another part time job. It just isn't worth the hassle.
Sorry kiddo but you have to work weekends if you're in retail. If you think you're too good for that, then get the hell out quick. Because you're in for a bad time.
Sorry, this is how kroger works. You tell them when you are not available and they will schedule you those hours. Or, no hours at all.
If you leave after 2.5 hours without a written statement to "leave whenever you need to", it will be job abandonment. You will not get a manager to write anything they say down.
Generally, new cashiers are scheduled as closers at my store. 6pm until 11:59pm.
If you have a full time job, I suggest you quit kroger and find another part time job. It just isn't worth the hassle.
Good luck with whatever you decide.
Agreed with all of that. Kroger's scheduling is one of the most confusing and worst in all of retail.
I certainly hope my next job is a "9 to 5" job. Even if it becomes monotonous getting up at the same time every day, doing the same thing every day, going home at the same time --- hey, at least it's stable and I can count on it.
Kroger may schedule me to work 5:30 - 11 p.m. one day and 1 p.m. - 6 p.m. the next. Or 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. one day and 6 p.m. - 10 p.m. the next. There's no rhyme, reason or logic to it. Well...there is supposed to be "logic" to it, that being their computer system looks at sales, customer rates, etc. all that bullcrap and then throws numbers around and prints out a schedule. Then you have a human being who approves it by signing off on it and printing it out for everyone to see, and sending it to greatpeople.me.
But the scheduling sucks. It's one of the worst parts for working for this company, besides the fact that the entire business has a corporate, neutral, uncaring feel to it and that you will always be overworked because none of the departments (especialy Front End) ever have enough labor to get the jobs needed done in an efficient manner.
Depends on who makes the schedules. For the first year and a half they were fine, always within my available hours and days. Then past few months, turned to crap. Scheduled on days unavailable, scheduled hours past my available hours, and every time I have to go to a manager and explain the whole damn thing again. And again. And it's like a big thing. And of course, when they do this, I wind up getting less hours, because it's not like they switch my shifts with anybody, it's just, okay, go home when you have to, don't show up when you can't. Still, I guess that's better than if I was an probation, where yeah, they'd just fire me.
Sorry kiddo but you have to work weekends if you're in retail. If you think you're too good for that, then get the hell out quick. Because you're in for a bad time.
I don't think I am too good to work weekends and I actually have no problem working weekends. I knew what I was getting into when I obtained a part time job, which is why I was very clear on my available hours during the interview and since being hired. I told them when they hired me I was available Saturday or Sunday from 6am - 5pm. Due to child care, I am available to work weekends from 5pm - 12a. She scheduled me Saturday for 2:30 - 6:30.
I don't think it is rocket science, you hire people who disclose their availability and then you fit them into the schedule based on that.
I'm not sure how universal this is, but usually if you're scheduled outside availability, it has to be OK with the employee. They can give you zero hours if you have a restricted schedule, but I think it would be out of policy to schedule someone when they are unavailable. I'd grieve it.
