I like the idea that there are regularly scheduled raises, based on hours that you've put in, except for the fact of not being able to request a raise based on performance or other things. So my question (before my long explanation) is, is there a procedure or someone I should talk to, and a WAY to request a raise?
First I know most of us Should actually be paid more than we are. I'm constantly saying we are underpaid. However, this has come to a head for me recently when I learned that my store is now starting new hire cashiers off at $10.00 an hour. I started off at a different store at 8 something an hour almost 3 years ago. I think it was $8.25. I am now making $10.75. While more than the $10, I am still worth more than 75 cents more per hour than the people just starting. Especially considering how nearly useless some (not all) are. Add to the fact that I know some have been working there long enough to have gotten one or 2 raises, I am barely making more still.
If I would have started, even just upon my transfer to this store, at $10 an hour, I would be making even more than the $1 more per hour that I think I should get. I know $1 an hour raise is quite a bit. However, like I said, I would be making more than that by now IF they had started me off at $10 at this store. In addition, I am one of the Best cashiers/employees. I'm not trying to brag here, but just going off of what they are consistently telling me.
I've Almost Always got the Highest checker score. I'm Always among the top 3. Several times I've been in the top 25 checker scores for the Region. My produce scans are always high, which they are always pushing for. During the Heart to Heart (selling) rose donations, I am ALWAYS one of the top 2 sellers of them in our store. I was getting a minimum of 20 rose "donations" a day. That's thousands of dollars of profit for the store. We have now started the "Buy, Scan, Go" program, and I've been working as a "greeter" explaining this to customers and trying to get them to try it. I have gotten the most people to do it. Sometimes over 100 people a day. I've been told from the supervisors to the higher-ups that I am doing incredible on this, way better than planned. I've hardly ever been late, and in 3 years only missed 2 days of work from being extremely sick.
I've gotten lots of compliments and acknowledgment for all of those things and lots of stickers. However though I appreciate the praise, I prefer a raise. Also I haven't been motivated by stickers since the 1st grade.
Thanks for letting me rant. I hope this didn't sound like patting myself on the back. Again I am just going off of what I am constantly being told, and not my own inflated opinion. I would appreciate any help of tips on how to go about this, as I am not good at asking for anything, especially a raise. I never have done so, just accepted what was handed down. I've just recently (after finding out about the new hire pay) been passive about it. Letting my scores drop and not caring, so they will ask about it and I can bring it up. Realizing that's probably not the best way.
Kroger has a predetermined, "take it or leave it" payscale.
They reward hard working people with putting even more workload on them, because someone has to pick up a slack of lazy asses. They also hope that this will make them quit, so they can hire another newb and pay him the minimum, without benefits. Who will then quit before pay raise or benefits kick in, so they can hire another poor bast8rd for minimum wage and no benefits.
That's what they are about. Saving money on YOU. To get a praise, consider yourself "lucky".
Hey, I understand a business model based on profit. However good performance equals higher profit. If they replace me with a newbie with horrible checker scores, their profits are lower. It also costs more to hire and train new people (especially on a constantly circulating basis) than it does to keep good employees. On the Heart to Heart promotions, I was getting donations (selling) a minimum of 20 per day every day. That's over 1,000 profit brought into the store.
We also have an employee/FES who has recently informed them that she is moving (same area but further away) so will need to quit due to distance. They offered her a $100 a month bonus for gas. Honestly, she is one of the best. They are smart to do so to try to keep her. It shows that there is at least SOME understanding of spending money to keep good people.
But if they do stick to a "take it or leave it" payscale, then I will just stick to lowering my performance to 75 cents an hour over the worst new hire.
They don't care about making more profit by paying you more or giving you more hours > making you happier > more productive.
They only care about saving money immediately, no matter what. Even if that means not retaining the most productive workers and having to waste money on retraining new people which will then leave before they return any of the investment.
I have had many of discussions about this same thing with my higher ups. Like talking to a wall.
Some people have resulted to "giving them what they are giving you". No more and no less. For people that would love to give this company all their best, but the company refuses to accept, this is hard to comprehend.
1 dollar an hour is nothing. I'm not in retail but my annual raises are 3-4dollars an hour. I make over 110K and sit on my ass on a computer all day. Doesn't it suck that you only make 10 dollars an hour doing hard labor?
1 dollar an hour is nothing. I'm not in retail but my annual raises are 3-4dollars an hour. I make over 110K and sit on my ass on a computer all day. Doesn't it suck that you only make 10 dollars an hour doing hard labor?
Yes, and that hard labor helps makes me look lean and 'ripped'. But have you noticed how the majority of people who have a job where they sit all day in front of a computer, and are over 40, are almost always overweight and/or have health problems of some sort? I hope you are exercising regularly to make up for your "sit on my ass" lifestyle! Otherwise it will catch up with you and you will likely have more and more health problems related to a sedentary lifestyle.
Kroger zeros in on the best workers and rewards those workers with... more work. Not more pay. No matter how good your attendance policy, no matter how outstanding your customer service and customer compliments are, no matter how much above 100% you give day in and day out, your pay will still be the same as any other clerk that's been with the company for a comparable amount of time (regardless of whether said clerk is just as productive as you or is far, far less productive/efficient at the job). You can ask for a raise, but there is absolutely, positively no way of getting one - at unionized Kroger stores, anyway. Not sure about Kroger stores that are non-union (as I believe reading on here, they do exist).
If you want a raise, you need to secure a promotion. Fewer and fewer employees nowadays seek promotions because the amount of work/pressure/lack of help & support ends up making the increase in pay not worth it.
Okay, accepting that it's not going to happen, I want it on record that I did submit a request. Just to avoid the "well he never said anything". Knowing that it's not going to happen, asking for a sit down with anyone is a waste of time. So I think writing out a statement covering the points I did here would be the way to go. I'm not good with confrontation, and if it won't do any good anyway, there's no reason for it over the nonconfrontation written way. So should I send a letter to the manager? Note to HR? Or just a note in the comments box, that I have to assume would be forwarded to the proper person? An email to someone? to HR?
As anon above said, only way to get a raise besides the raise you get for certain amount of hours worked, is to get a promotion.
Be careful though. They can promote you from front end to GM or Grocery, but you may end up with much less hours that you have now. So you will be making less money. On the other hand, GM and Grocery have better scales for pay raise than front end.
If you really truly want to advance in the company, best way is to ask for a sit down time with co manager and store manager. Tell them about your aspirations to move up and ask them how is the best way to go about it.
If you are a good worker, they have already noticed you and they will help you get promoted. At least that's how it is in my store.
I know I could get a promotion if I wanted. Since I'm not being paid my worth now, then with a promotion I would be getting more work and responsibility while still not getting what I am worth. I.e "If you're not pay me the worth of the work I do now, giving me more work will not solve the problem". Getting enough hours isn't a problem. We're always short-handed in all departments. I had a hard time getting them to cut my hours back when I wanted. It's not a matter of Needing more money. It's a matter of worth of the work. I can live fine on the amount they pay me per hour. The work I do is just demonstrably worth more.
I know I could get a promotion if I wanted. Since I'm not being paid my worth now, then with a promotion I would be getting more work and responsibility while still not getting what I am worth. I.e "If you're not pay me the worth of the work I do now, giving me more work will not solve the problem". Getting enough hours isn't a problem. We're always short-handed in all departments. I had a hard time getting them to cut my hours back when I wanted. It's not a matter of Needing more money. It's a matter of worth of the work. I can live fine on the amount they pay me per hour. The work I do is just demonstrably worth more.
Youre pretty much worthless. Learn and accept that now
I know I could get a promotion if I wanted. Since I'm not being paid my worth now, then with a promotion I would be getting more work and responsibility while still not getting what I am worth. I.e "If you're not pay me the worth of the work I do now, giving me more work will not solve the problem". Getting enough hours isn't a problem. We're always short-handed in all departments. I had a hard time getting them to cut my hours back when I wanted. It's not a matter of Needing more money. It's a matter of worth of the work. I can live fine on the amount they pay me per hour. The work I do is just demonstrably worth more.
That's not how it works at Kroger. It's not the sort of work environment where you can go to management, make a case for yourself as a valuable employee and management then decides on whether or not you should get a raise and how much. Everyone is on a set pay scale and there aren't any exceptions to that rule. So, you can either keep doing the same amount of work knowing full well your next raise is dependent on the amount of time that passes or you can scale back your productivity to a level that you feel equals what you're being paid. The third option is take what experience you have and apply at companies that either pay companies better or offer merit raises.
Kroger zeros in on the best workers and rewards those workers with... more work. Not more pay. No matter how good your attendance policy, no matter how outstanding your customer service and customer compliments are, no matter how much above 100% you give day in and day out, your pay will still be the same as any other clerk that's been with the company for a comparable amount of time (regardless of whether said clerk is just as productive as you or is far, far less productive/efficient at the job). You can ask for a raise, but there is absolutely, positively no way of getting one - at unionized Kroger stores, anyway. Not sure about Kroger stores that are non-union (as I believe reading on here, they do exist).
If you want a raise, you need to secure a promotion. Fewer and fewer employees nowadays seek promotions because the amount of work/pressure/lack of help & support ends up making the increase in pay not worth it.
I used to be one of the few people in the deli that cared. I was always the one running around doing multiple tasks and waiting on customers at the same time. Meanwhile my coworkers were either behind the wall slacking off or pretending to do busy work somewhere so they could avoid waiting on customers. More often than not I'd have a big line of people waiting and when I called for the other coworkers they wouldn't come back. All I got to show for it was more work being dumped on me. So I decided to stop caring and act like everyone else. The funny thing is that I get in trouble for things no one else gets in trouble for doing all the time.
I know I could get a promotion if I wanted. Since I'm not being paid my worth now, then with a promotion I would be getting more work and responsibility while still not getting what I am worth. I.e "If you're not pay me the worth of the work I do now, giving me more work will not solve the problem". Getting enough hours isn't a problem. We're always short-handed in all departments. I had a hard time getting them to cut my hours back when I wanted. It's not a matter of Needing more money. It's a matter of worth of the work. I can live fine on the amount they pay me per hour. The work I do is just demonstrably worth more.
That's not how it works at Kroger. It's not the sort of work environment where you can go to management, make a case for yourself as a valuable employee and management then decides on whether or not you should get a raise and how much. Everyone is on a set pay scale and there aren't any exceptions to that rule. So, you can either keep doing the same amount of work knowing full well your next raise is dependent on the amount of time that passes or you can scale back your productivity to a level that you feel equals what you're being paid. The third option is take what experience you have and apply at companies that either pay companies better or offer merit raises.
The post you are replying to is ONLY about my response to "take a promotion" and the fact that my point is NOT that I need more money. The fact that it's impossible to get a raise based on value or performance does not make "take a promotion (for which you will be given more work while still paid below your value) any more valid of an option.
Well update to close this out. I sent out an email to the store manager. CCed it to one of the assistant managers, and the lady who works in HR, and does the finances along with many other jobs there. Amazingly she came up to me the very next morning, early in the morning, even though I had only sent it out the night before, and told me she had already sent the request to the higher ups, and that she was going to back me on it. So I do appreciate her. They did end up scheduling me an unscheduled raise, to take effect on my next scheduled raise. However only for 60 cents more. I wasn't trying to highball when I requested a dollar an hour more. I'd be making even MORE than that if I had started at the $10 an hour they are now starting cashiers at. I hate tooting my own horn, but they are the ones always telling me I am the BEST employee they've got and using me as an example to the others. So I'm now going to stop caring about my performance, my checker score, and everything else. I will be doing a totally Adequate job. I do appreciate that she went to bat for me though. I will probably stay working at Dillons, but when I get the chance will see about getting a better paying job, and only working a few hours at Dillons, and give the rest of my availability and hard work to the other job.
Wow! You got a raise on request. I have never heard of such a thing, but then I do not work at Dillons. You guys must have different rules and contract.
Congratulation though, even if you are not happy with the amount. Considering that some of us get a 10 cents raise 2-3 times a year... I would be appreciative of that and do a same good job that got me the raise.
Kroger does not care one bit about your performance or good qualities. I agree that their greed is beyond comprehension and replacing you with a lower paid worker seems to be their first rule of good management. They will push the full time people with benefits to pick up the slack because even though they make crap for money, the greed of corporate America has no boundries, so they cant leave and get a better job. They will work people a zillion hours until their computer tells them to be sure to cut hours so they cant attain full time w benefits. And they dont really train anyone so replacing you with another employee apparently doesnt cost them anything because they do it all year long. besides they transfer managers around to different stores so frequently that no one who might matter really notices your good work.
I commend you for asking but it truly makes me wonder if you were supposed to have had that raise and maybe they missed it. I would at least check on that because maybe they owe you back wages.
Omg I agree 100% because I also work in the deli and experience the same thing every day. Its hard to not care when youre a motivated and caring worker that likes to provide good customer service. I dont think anyone should lower themselves to someone elses level because you are accountable to yourself. You just need to know that kroger is not going to reward you or notice that youre a good worker. But you can meet with management if you are truly interested in career opportunities and that would not be a waste of time. They can provide you with the information you need in order to get on a manager track. If those are your aspirations you definitely should meet with management. But dont ever forget that Kroger is out for Kroger and their stockholders only and somehow they have lost focus on longevity of the company depends on good customer service because they only care about the next quarter or next stock report and that means profits at the expense of everything else.
Omg I agree 100% because I also work in the deli and experience the same thing every day. Its hard to not care when youre a motivated and caring worker that likes to provide good customer service. I dont think anyone should lower themselves to someone elses level because you are accountable to yourself. You just need to know that kroger is not going to reward you or notice that youre a good worker. But you can meet with management if you are truly interested in career opportunities and that would not be a waste of time. They can provide you with the information you need in order to get on a manager track. If those are your aspirations you definitely should meet with management. But dont ever forget that Kroger is out for Kroger and their stockholders only and somehow they have lost focus on longevity of the company depends on good customer service because they only care about the next quarter or next stock report and that means profits at the expense of everything else.
Yall already making top dolla dolla bills. Yall go bonus points and 100 dollar in store credit numerous times. Hazard pays! Its high time yall give back and earn it!
Raises are set by the union wage scales in your union hand book. You must work through various pay steps to obtain the required number of hours to get a raise. Most have to work 3-5 years before they'll even see a raise. Most state minimum wage is so high you generally have to work through half of the pay steps before you even see a raise. Do closely watch your hour accumulation as I had a manager intentionally keep me at the lower rate of pay by deleting my accruing hours. I filed an ethics report against her due to wage fraud.
Otherwise it will catch up with you and you will likely have more and more health problems related to a sedentary lifestyle. 
