Did my first night of closing by my lonesome the other night. And to be frank it wasn't half bad once I was FINALLY able to get to doughnut slack out and slicing the bread(b/c with my luck when I'm on a 2 to 10, I'm the #1 floor filler and can't do anything else til that is done. And all these extra displays with our reg. **** takes a bit of time to fill).
But thankfully the bread wasn't too much to deal with nor was the doughnut case. And to a degree I didn't even mind writing on 6 cakes back to back(just about anyway). And even got through with the doughnut case by 8:30-ish. So was making good time.
The biggest hang up though, was cleaning that damn floor though(sweep, spray the foam wash(after nearly having to get pliers to crank the knob so it would come out in the first place), scrub the floor, inside both ovens, back where the tall boys are, under the tables, etc.) rinse it, and sanitize it, as well as make sure all the excess water was properly in the drains so there wasn't any standing zones for it.
Add to the floor BEHIND the counter was also the damn sales floor. Which is why I feel like they should have some kind of rule that if you have more than one Deli person on for their closing. Could you send one or 2 down(most especially this week as there are more bakery peeps over there now), to at least help with the sales floor. Cause by the time I was getting the tall boys and what one of my back up managers had left out earlier on the tables. The other back up manager and one of the older Deli workers was like "(insert my name here) why didn't you come down and ask us for some help? We'd have helped ya honey." To which they did in the last little while before we all left. But heck how could I ask them for help, when they were up to their necks finishing off stuff in chicken shop, running their trash, doing the floors, and tons of dishes too?
Not to mention, wouldn't it have made more sense for somebody in the dept. across the way that had tons of folks to over flowing, send at least one person down to check on the chick working on her own by herself? And I don't just mean to get a box of doughnuts or some free cookies either, geesh. All in all though, I got out of there at midnight. And thankfully had the good sense to clock out at 10:20(was shooting for 10:14, but all that powder residue from the gloves gave me hell when clocking out. Even after cleaning my hands a bit too).
WOW! Have to give you props if your cleaning the floors that well. Our bakery peeps spray sweep and spray it down with the foam, but don't make sure it goes in the drains and doesn't sanitize. I think it's funny you ask for Deli to help with customer service so that you can finish your work. Our Bakery peeps get offended if Deli walks over to even get cookies to give to the children. Some (not all) Deli peeps try to help Bakery often and all we get is dirty looks.
WOW! Have to give you props if your cleaning the floors that well. Our bakery peeps spray sweep and spray it down with the foam, but don't make sure it goes in the drains and doesn't sanitize. I think it's funny you ask for Deli to help with customer service so that you can finish your work. Our Bakery peeps get offended if Deli walks over to even get cookies to give to the children. Some (not all) Deli peeps try to help Bakery often and all we get is dirty looks.
Trust me, I've heard through the grapevine plenty of times about the floor looking all white and streaky when we first came to our new store. So they had to go step by step with us on the right way to do it for the floor. So I more than have it down by now. It's just keeping up with the sales floor when we are down to one person on closing that is the real biatch of a situation. That, and the fact that they won't let us start an hour or so earlier on slicing the bread. As that can a hell of a hassle too when they ignore the bake only 4 for the display rule and there is tons out there by the end of the night.
As for Deli coming over to help out. I personally don't mind them doing it at all. Unlike most Bakery peeps and our Pastry Chef that gets annoyed with them, because they don't hear their freezer door alarm going off(although to be fair, I think it's do to the fact that their's is back behind a closed off space and with so many customers coming up to the counter. Nobody really has time to run back there each and every time the alarm goes off like we do in the bakery. And given that Starbucks, chicken shop, and pizza shop peeps go in and out of there frequently. It's not like it's solely Deli leaving it open).
Hell I actually appreciate the help the older Deli ladies provide. But some of the younger ones, even though I get along pretty decently with them as well when I take my turn working over there. I don't know, they just don't give a crap and be like peace out when they are on closing(which again, I get you are tired and want to go home or whatever. And yes, everyone is responsible for their own work also. But if you have 3 or 4 people on your side of the dept. And there is only 1 person on the other. Wouldn't you think, you could spare a hot second and at least ask how the 1 person is doing? Need any assistance with anything? Type of thing). Cause honestly, unless your working chicken shop, Deli folks have their stuff pretty much cleaned up fairly quickly at my store. But only 3 of the older ladies over there will come over and ask what they can help with along with one of our back up managers. But aside from them, I wouldn't get nearly as much done, as we have so much cleaning to do at night and no longer have tall boys of stuff on reserve like we used to(I guess they must have learned somewhere along the way when we came to the new store, that some items were losing shelf life being out and not being put on the floor) But I found those reserve tall boys REALLY helpful. As you don't have time to go up and down that ladder all night reaching stuff on the higher shelves and moving those carts all around the freezer just to get what you need. You have to focus on more important things than playing Tomb Raider to fill the floor.
I'm sorry to hear that your store's Bakery and Deli don't seem to get along so well. I never got that though, I mean for two sets of workers to be under the same dept. cap to not get along, that really sucks and just causes more issues.
They don't get along because they are too busy blaming each other for stuff not getting done and too busy judging each other. I'm not really that kind of person. I just want to go to work do my job and leave.
I hear you and feel the same way. Just do the work, mind your own business and keep it moving. At most I'm learning how to do is to tune the others out. Cause the more I tap into their dramatic energy, it throws me off my own stuff. So I try and keep my head down other than asking a question about something or crack a joke or two. And back to it. The only peeps I actually talk/am friendly with are ones that I have worked with and actually do their work, and can tell if they are more genuine or not.
But yea, at my store we have folks that are all up in each other's biz. Blaming peeps for things not getting done, most especially when they aren't doing their share of the work half the time either. Not only that, I keep hearing more and more how folks aren't very fond of our DH(dept. head). So it's just amazing how ANY work gets done.
