Actually, Front End hours have been cut and cut. Kroger apparently thinks customers easily flow thought the store and enter the FE in a normal easy going pace. Ask your CSM how many Cashier hours they are forecasted and how many they actually use. I remember a post from Dave Dillon years ago, they highlighted they added an average of 12 hours to the FE's. Cashing we have been told has changed over the years and became easier! Easier means it takes less hours ..........
Example:
2015 FE Hours 1500 Average a Week - 600k a week
2016 FE Hours 1400 Average a Week - 650k a week
2017 FE hours 1300 Average a Week - 725k a week
So remember more sales = more hours!!! 5% yearly increase.... which they justify with eliminating hours .....all those new hires are getting faster and faster.
Produce is the best department if you have a good DH and backup who know what they're doing and will teach you.
Same for meat. You can learn a lot in Meat and Produce. Other departments are just glorified stockers.
I wouldn't call people who bake bread or decorate cakes "glorified stockers".
Me either. We're actually producing something, and yet we get the short end of the stick every time. Produce is essentially no different then dry grocery, you just put the stuff on the shelf. Granted there's plenty of work to do, but it shouldn't be hard for anyone to learn.
Well, produce is a little different than dry grocery. Learning to properly condition and trim wet rack items (which is the most critiqued part of the store, and the most important minus the lead ins), and training your eye for culling bad product (different product have different tells; firmness, visual, smell)
