i've only been with kroger for 3 months and i already understand how horrible a place it is to work......meaningless key retailing......strangely scheduled inventories........crappy managers and understaffed crew

Any business that adopts practices like key retailing is ****.

My experience working at WalMart versus Kroger has been a lot different than yours.

     I started as a produce clerk at WalMart at $7.20/hr. After 8 months and still at $7.20/hr I was able to start with Kroger, in produce, at $8.25/hr.  I attained full time status in less than 4 months.  I have received regular raises and am at $11.25/hr now.  My  next scheduled rise will put me at about $11.50/hr, unless I accept the promotion to back up produce mgr. which has been offered to me twice.  Then I will make a little more per hour.       I noticed that your comparison between WalMart & Kroger was silent with regard to insurance benefits.  I am able to fully insure myself & spouse for $10.00 (Ten) per week.  Try that at WalMart!  And you can thank the union for that...no retail, health service, not-for-profit, manufacturer, etc. would offer our insurance packages at $5 and $10 per week unless a union negotiated it for you.   As for union dues, I consider them to be like insurance premiums.  We all pay pretty hefty premiums for auto or homeowners insurance while hoping we never have a serious accident, house fire, etc....but you never know. Likewise with union dues....I pay the small amount of dues each week while hoping I never find myself in need of union services...but you never know.    My 1st hour of net pay each week more than pays my union dues....my first 2 hours of net pay each week pays my union dues and my insurance premiums combined.  Put another way, by the time I take my 1st break on my 1st work day of the week, I've already paid for insurance & dues.   Oh, and by the way,  at my store we all get two 15 minute breaks and a 60 minute lunch hour every day.  So...is Kroger perfect?  Hardly!  But I wouldn't go back to WalMart for anything.  If you're still working at Kroger and dislike it so much why don't you go back the the darkside at WalMart...and you have my condolances if you do!

I have been with Kroger for 4 years, full time for roughly 3. I started as a bagger, moved to cashier, then moved to the Grocery Department. No, the pay isn't great, but folks this is AMERICA. People ALWAYS want more. Everyone is going to have different opinions, but as far as mine goes, overall I cannot complain about Kroger. If something comes up, such as sickness, a death, etc, store management will work with you! I am a member of the union and also have healthcare. Both of those are paid for within about 1.5 hours of work.

Uhnmmmm OK??? You MUST work for Kroger AND paid by Kroger. You do NOT start out at $8.25/hr at Kroger anywhere.

NOT only are you anonymous..you are a liar just like most of the 'managers' at Kroger.

The break schedule at my store is a bit better.

Less than 6 hours gets 10 minutes.  6 hours gets 15 minutes.  7 hours can have a lunch and a 10.  8 hours gets a lunch and two 10's.

Full time isn't something generally something that can be accomplished.  It would probably take years and years of 12 hour weeks and a sudden outbreak of plague to get someone enough hours.   My store is even bringing in people from other stores with high seniority to keep anyone from moving up.

Insurance around here is umbelievably cheap, but the strategy is to starve part timers of hours so they can't have it.  It might as well not be there for 70% of employees.

Yeah, it's a bad job with no future.  My seemingly unusual problem is that I love my coworkers and most of my managers, which makes it harder than it should be to get the hell out.

I have worked for Kroger for 5 years , before that I have worked many jobs non union, I have been fired from two for unjust reasons. Goodwill manager was stealing I was 16 and she wiped her whole crew out before someone could snitch. ( but someone did), tractor supply ( god forbid ) I worked there non union also and got fired after months of harassment from the NEW manager who wanted a new crew, for something silly. I worked for Meijer and if you think your job is bad DO NOT get tied into Meijer, even having a union, it makes it hard for managment to fire for unjust cause but they have a computer system that writes you up if your a min late, the cashiers used to line up in the hallway waiting to get wrote up and the turn over is crazy because of the write up system. You literally get wrote up almost every day. But that how I met my husband. Oh and did I mention that as a meat clerk I make more money then a tractor supply and goodwill manager. Each Kroger is ran different the store manager makes their own rules and the union has a problem regulating it. Some stores has dip ****s running it some have bitches. But there are a few with super good managment. And ALL the problems start from the top. I suggest if you are having problems at one Kroger store ask other employees from other store how they do and maybe go there. I do pay over 10 bucks a week for union dues and yes I have had to use it. But after all the ****ty union and non union store I have worked forkroger has been the best. I get pension, 401k health benifits , and free stuff. Trust me I am not saying its the best , I have been through some **** with this store that at one point put me on a self destructive path I felt as if nothing I did was right. But the grass is never greener on the other side and ALL retail treat you the same. But at Kroger that fades away and they pick on someone else. To me finding a retail job non managment that pays 13.30 and hr, is worth it. But it can be very stressful and it's not the work as much as the managers, and I do understand people that quit I have felt very very tempted. But they got me stuck with the pay and perks. So I suck it up and just remember its just a job. For them to fire you will take ALOT. Good luck at finding the green grass when you do let me know. I do know salvation army was a fun place to work. It paid crap , I'm sure it had something to do with a super awesome manager. As all places do.

really cause i worked at walmart over 3 years sorry ass employees and i started at7.35 in 2009 and i work at kroger now starting at 8 a hour so please the only thing better at walmart is you get a hour lunch

I work at Kroger and have been there for 4 years and you're right. I started off 7.25 and I'm at 7.50.

I worked for Winn Dixie for 16 years . there is no way with the extent Winn Dixie human resource department goes to to make sure every employee is treated fairly that anyone would ever be let go for years of service.  And with the laws in this country that is just an impossibility. If a person was let go it was with a reason period.... 

 

Anonymous wrote:

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this is wrong because at kroger it's like this

 

 

7.25 an hour starting out.  This "union" company pays LESS than their non-union competition

They don't even tell you what the pay is until AFTER you accepted the position.  So basically, if you're on unemployment and you accept the position, THEN they'll tell you that you are starting at minimum wage!

.05 (no mistake, 5 cents) per hour raises EVERY SIX MONTHS!

you only get one break, a 15 or a 30

you can be "rolled" for hours if someone with more seniority is scheduled for more hours than you are! They simply take your hours and you're left without them!

The union makes sure that a person that's been there longer and doing nothing with their time will be promoted BEFORE a person who is new, yet does spectacular work for them.  

The union does nothing, what good is a union within a company that pays employees minimum wage?

Kroger will let you work off the clock! most department heads do!  

 

 

Meanwhile Wal-Mart (I used to work there, so I know this to be true)

- starts their cashiers off at 9.00 an hour, and 8.50 is the minimum for lot associates

-offer a better break schedule, on an 8 hour shift you get 2 15's and an hour lunch

-raises are a minimum of .40 

-No rolling hours

- your work performance determines how far you go within the company.  long as you're producing, you'll stay there

-you know what your pay is before you work

-wal-mart doesn't stand for you working off the clock - YOU WILL BE FIRED!!!

-there isn't a union to stand in your way and take your money

 

 

lets break it down

kroger starts you at minimum wage (7.25)

Target starts you at 7.50

Publix starts you at 8.50

Wayfield will start you at 8

Wal-mart starts you at 9

 

 

yet wal-mart is made out to be such a terrible company and kroger isn't.  Kroger is much worse to work for than wal-mart, especially if you have bills to pay.  

 

 

 

ok, now who's the bad company here???

 

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 bump for truth

Anonymous wrote:

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My experience working at WalMart versus Kroger has been a lot different than yours.

     I started as a produce clerk at WalMart at $7.20/hr. After 8 months and still at $7.20/hr I was able to start with Kroger, in produce, at $8.25/hr.  I attained full time status in less than 4 months.  I have received regular raises and am at $11.25/hr now.  My  next scheduled rise will put me at about $11.50/hr, unless I accept the promotion to back up produce mgr. which has been offered to me twice.  Then I will make a little more per hour.       I noticed that your comparison between WalMart & Kroger was silent with regard to insurance benefits.  I am able to fully insure myself & spouse for $10.00 (Ten) per week.  Try that at WalMart!  And you can thank the union for that...no retail, health service, not-for-profit, manufacturer, etc. would offer our insurance packages at $5 and $10 per week unless a union negotiated it for you.   As for union dues, I consider them to be like insurance premiums.  We all pay pretty hefty premiums for auto or homeowners insurance while hoping we never have a serious accident, house fire, etc....but you never know. Likewise with union dues....I pay the small amount of dues each week while hoping I never find myself in need of union services...but you never know.    My 1st hour of net pay each week more than pays my union dues....my first 2 hours of net pay each week pays my union dues and my insurance premiums combined.  Put another way, by the time I take my 1st break on my 1st work day of the week, I've already paid for insurance & dues.   Oh, and by the way,  at my store we all get two 15 minute breaks and a 60 minute lunch hour every day.  So...is Kroger perfect?  Hardly!  But I wouldn't go back to WalMart for anything.  If you're still working at Kroger and dislike it so much why don't you go back the the darkside at WalMart...and you have my condolances if you do!

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 What state is your in? The Kroger I work for gives a 15 minute break if you work up to 6 hours and 45 minutes. When you work 7 to 8 hours you get two 15 minute breaks. We do not get lunch breaks. My Kroger is in Ohio.

http://money.msn.com/investing/post--wal-mart-holds-food-drive-for-its-own-employees

THIS IS ABSOLUTE BS FROM SOMEONE WHO WORKS AT A UNION OFFICE!  NO KIDDING AT ALL, THIS IS ABSOLUTE BS, ABSOLUTE BS!  KROGER WILL NEVER PROMOTE PEOPLE THAT FAST - THE UNION CONTRACT WILL NOT ALLOW KROGER TO DO SO!  YOU WOULD HAVE TO WORK AT KROGER PART-TIME WITHOUT BENEFITS FOR MANY YEARS BEFORE THE UNION CONTRACT WOULD ALLOW SOMEONE TO GET PROMOTED SO FAST.  WORKERS WITH SENIORITY GET PROMOTED IN UNION COMPANIES EVEN IF THEY ARE NOT A GOOD WORKER, PERIOD.  DO NOT WORK FOR KROGER PERIOD!!!  APPLY FOR JOBS AT ONLY NON-UNION COMPANIES - IF YOU WORK HARD YOU CAN INDEED BE PROMOTED QUICKLY UNLIKE THIS LYING INDIVIDUAL WHO SUPPOSEDLY WORKS AT KROGER DID.  NON UNION FOLKS!!!!!!!!!  DON'T GIVE ANY THUG UNION OFFICE YOUR HARD EARNED $10 OR $15 A WEEK IN UNION DUES FOR MINIMUM WAGE OR SLIGHTLY ABOVE MINIMUM WAGE.  DO NOT WORK FOR ANY GROCERY STORE WITH A UNION.  THERE ARE NON-UNION STORES THAT START PEOPLE OUT AT $10 TO $12 AN HOUR - NO KIDDING.  WHOLE FOODS STARTS PEOPLE OUT AT LEAST $10 AN HOUR, TRADER JOES IS $11.50 OR $12 AN HOUR AND ALDI STARTS PEOPLE OUT AT $12 AN HOUR - NO JOKING!

I AGREE WITH YOU. YOU'RE TOTALLY RIGHT! I LIKE WALMART. I LIKE TO SHOP THERE AND I WOULDN'T MIND WORKING THERE, EITHER. 

The union that represents Kroger employees is more interested in going after Walmart and trying to unionize Walmart than addressing the concerns and needs of its members within Kroger stores. Simple reason is because the union stands to gain a whole lot more by unionizing Walmart than it does serving its paying members at Kroger.

I worked for a union store in Texas for about 10 years. As a produce mgr there I made a little over 13 bucks an hour (started at 10.50 in produce with no experience)but the union contract at the time(mid nineties) had free health insurance. I left the store to work for a different chain within the company that was not union contracted. I make 15 + as a non manager. As a mgr I was also a union steward which isn't allowed. I payed my union dues and it was all quite pointless because the union didn't really do much of anything in my experience. I much prefer the non union stores myself but to each their own! :)

I've worked at Kroger for two months now and I can already tell how crappy it really is. First of all, at the Kroger I work at, they update your schedule the day before. Not only that, but they get mad when you sincerely say you can't make it BECAUSE OF THEM! I recently had this happen. I had to go down to my aunt'shouse to discuss moving there and mind you it's nearly 3 hours away. I had looked at the schedule the days before hand to see if I worked. To my relief, nothing was there. I thought I was ok to spend the night. On the day we were set to go back home, I checked the schedule again. I had checked it the day before too and nothing. When I checked it again, like I said, it said I had to work from 11 something to 7. I called where I worked and told them my situation. I thought I would be alright if I told them what had happened. Nope. I would never make it by the scheduled time. It's not my fault they decided to update the day before. I called them 2 hours beforehand so you would think someone could fill my shift. I would have gladly worked that shift if I had known about it. 

There are a lot more things that piss me off about Kroger. The whole giving more hours to people who have been there longer is unfair. So is the pay. The people you need to talk to are never there. You try and get them to be civil and it's pointless. I'm sorry I'm not perfect. I have a life too. I'm so damn tired of asking people if they have a Kroger card. Kroger and I are about done. Screw your fuel points. 

BagBoy wrote:

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non-union stores will always pay more. it's their way of saying "don't unionize so we can fire anyone who ****s up or gets too old."

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I made $9 an hour at Home Depot and - I swear this is true - one of their "training videos" tackles the subject of unions. 

Their take? "Don't listen to anyone who talks about unions, don't think about starting a union, if someone mentions 'union' go to your supervisor or management."

They're so scared ****less that they have AN ENTIRE VIDEO on how NOT to join a union and how evil a union could be if you joined.

(although, since Kroger's rarely helps, I suppose it could be called 'evil'...)