My team just recently were discussed with from a night comanager that our supposed goal to stock hourly is 85 cases an hour.
Tonight, I had 137 pieces and it took me exactly 2 and a half hours to finish it. By that time I hit exactly 55 cases an hour, which is supposed to be the minimum they want.
Where do they come up with these crazy times for pieces per hour? Not every item in the store comes in a case that you can just outright throw up onto the shelf as well as we are not supposed to leave boxes on the shelf either, so unless it's srp on the tag, we have to take out anywhere from 8 to 24 pieces a box.
By time constraints, we could be required to do as many as 24 pieces per case and 85 per hour, which means we are expected to put up 1740 pieces per hour. That's not including opening the box and nicely putting it up on the shelf.
Who is coming up with this 85 and have they ever worked in a Kroger before? It's understandable some are faster than others, but a goal of 85? That's crazy.
Currently withholding which store I work at before getting some answers
My team just recently were discussed with from a night comanager that our supposed goal to stock hourly is 85 cases an hour.
Tonight, I had 137 pieces and it took me exactly 2 and a half hours to finish it. By that time I hit exactly 55 cases an hour, which is supposed to be the minimum they want.
Where do they come up with these crazy times for pieces per hour? Not every item in the store comes in a case that you can just outright throw up onto the shelf as well as we are not supposed to leave boxes on the shelf either, so unless it's srp on the tag, we have to take out anywhere from 8 to 24 pieces a box.
By time constraints, we could be required to do as many as 24 pieces per case and 85 per hour, which means we are expected to put up 1740 pieces per hour. That's not including opening the box and nicely putting it up on the shelf.
Who is coming up with this 85 and have they ever worked in a Kroger before? It's understandable some are faster than others, but a goal of 85? That's crazy.
Currently withholding which store I work at before getting some answers
Your manager lied. They just want to increase productivity.
What are you stocking? Dry grocery, frozen, Dairy or Drug/GM?
You can't be terminated for not stocking enough if you are out of probation. Refuse to sign a write-up and grieve it immediately if your manager tries to burn you with one.
If everything is spotted, I am feeling good, my cutter blade is sharp and the wind is blowing the right direction, I can crank thru 80 cases an hour starting at cans/soup, then pasta aisle/international foods, bake aisle and then cereal aisle. I almost made a sick new girl cry because I had her conditioning behind me. She left a note on my truck apologizing for being too slow.
The DDP expects 45(kmp) to 60(grocery) cases an hour. The sign on our back wall by the communication center wants us to stock 55 cases an hour.
We are supposed to run grocery stock off of pallets. Peyton is ridiculous to do that with. With our new warehouse, our grocery is now nearly impossible to run off of pallets.
If you sort pallets onto Uboats, run directly off of Uboat. Do not spot. Peyton is more efficient to spot everything. Cereal and paper aisles are more efficient to spot everything off of the pallets. Pop, juice and water are more efficient to run directly off of pallets. The small aisles are more efficient to spot or break down onto Uboats and run from there.
If everything is spotted and all you do is run stock, you should be able to run 60 cases an hour and rotate if you have enough experience and practice(3-9 months).
If everything is spotted and you condition as you go, you should be able to run and condition 40 cases an hour(3-9 months). This time doesn't work well in aisles with less than 60 cases.
I am a night manager. Count your own cases. Do not trust anyone elses' count. Always try your best and continue improving your speed.
Organization is important too. Use a long shopping cart with shallow basket(dark grey). It holds more cardboard. Break down flats as you go. Tie plastic bag to pallet jack or shopping cart or Uboat and collect plastic as you go. I like to cut plastic off of canned items and organize them onto Uboats at the same time. Beans with beans and veggies with veggies. Then, I can zip down the aisle and not have to use cutter.
Give me an idea of the stock you are running and what aisles. Do you break down truck, spot or run off of pallets? If it is dry grocery, I might think of more tips that could help you.
PS. Don't post your specific location. State is good enough.
Kroger wants more productivity. I know my store managers want more but they realize night workers are hard to find. And, good one's even more rare.
All I can do as a night manager is challenge my coworkers to challenge their selves to improve productivity. Most don't give a rats ass if the work gets done or not. Just there collecting a pay check.
Let them have their goal but you do not have to meet that goal. If they have a sign with that goal, take a pic and send it to the rep. If you are being harassed or threatned with this goal or even getting written then contact your rep. Union is against these goals, don't let them bully you.
85 cases is ridiculous. i'm not the fastest but i've gotten to around 75-80 cases per hour and that was when i was absolutely busting my butt 100% full speed, which only happens when the planets align and i actually feel good at work. our minimum is 55-60 cases, which is what i usually hover around give or take. you shouldn't be going at a snail's pace, but you absolutely don't have to kill yourself for this crappy company.
85 is only achievable if everything is already spotted for you, you're highly experienced, and have no interruptions. In grocery, I can usually toss about 70-80 on typical center-store aisles like canned goods. However, that's with me really moving. That should in no-way be an expectation of normality.
