Front-end staffing

yankeedog · Senior Member

Front-end staffing

mega-kitteh · Guru

Seems like it. At the one I work at, when it's super busy we schedule the bare minimum. EVEN on the main holidays. If we have a skeleton crew that is "alot" of help. On slow days we overschedule then management gets pissed off when no one wants to leave early. At night we have 2-3 checkers with lines half a mile long all meshing in together. One line went all the way down one aisle and started to curve at the very end. Only ONE out of the 4 Scott's were operating, and EVEN that line was long.

yankeedog · Senior Member

mega-kitteh wrote:
Seems like it. At the one I work at, when it's super busy we schedule the bare minimum. EVEN on the main holidays. If we have a skeleton crew that is "alot" of help. On slow days we over-schedule then management gets pissed off when no one wants to leave early. At night we have 2-3 checkers with lines half a mile long all meshing in together. One line went all the way down one aisle and started to curve at the very end. Only ONE out of the 4 Scott's were operating, and EVEN that line was long.

Thanks,

This lets me know what I need to do job wise.

Date: Aug 7, 2019

I am so glad that I retired from Kroger with 32 years. I was on the frontend and we always had enough help. I remember having a bagger on every register. I will not miss the holidays. As busy as the holidays get on holidays I do not envy how they are are going to do to get people through the lines without enough help.

Date: Aug 7, 2019

It's been like this for years now.

It's one of the reasons I left the front end for another department.

Been a lot happier since.

Date: Aug 8, 2019

I dont know how yall put up with that front end mess.

mega-kitteh · Guru

Sometimes we have no choice. I usually work as a day sticker and help in other depts. But because I am considered a "floating employee" I can "float" to the front end and be stuck there while happens ALOT lately. Trying to convince them to hire MORE people or order MORE shopping carts (we are EXTREMELY low...14 is considered "alot") is like explaining why wooden square wheels on a cat with no engine speed perfectly fine.

Date: Aug 8, 2019

LOL only 14 shopping carts? wow. Yeah management is just useless at these stores.

Date: Aug 9, 2019

They are very shifty and will ask us to turn on a dime but basically yea the walk-in customer is just another poor drudge. Dear customer, get a "loyalty card" using a fake identity, pay with cash and don't bring your phone on to the property unless it is wrapped in foil.

mega-kitteh · Guru

Anonymous wrote:
LOL only 14 shopping carts? wow. Yeah management is just useless at these stores.

Yep. We have asked numerous times to get more carts. Their response is to have us go out and hunt some down. Going as far as to follow each customer that is outside to their car to get their cart. Nope. Alot of the times I'll be pushing a cart to the holder and it won't even make it anywhere near the cary corral before a customer asks for it.

If I knew how to order on the computer for carts I would do it myself.

Date: Aug 11, 2019

You cashiers need to move faster. Stop talking to your friend next to you and VALUE US!

Date: Aug 12, 2019

Yes, I'll move faster and stop talking my friend. I do value you, very much. More than you'll ever know.

Thank you. Thank you for everything you do. If anything, my paycheck should be reduced for every second I'm not valuing you.

Would you like to see the breakroom microwave? If you ask me, it's missing a certain ...something.

FrontEndSlave · Guru

yankeedog wrote:
Yesterday at work when I clocked out at 7 p.m., there was only one cashier at the front-end.
There was a long line of customers waiting in line.
The other cashiers were at the u scans.
The FES called over the store intercom for the u scan attendants to pull small orders.
Is this Kroger's plan for the front-end from now on?

I think they copied it from Wal-Mart, where it looks like they have too many employees working when three registers are open...

Date: Oct 19, 2019

We now have three clusters of self check-outs at my store - a total of eighteen. They yanked out three more registers on top of the three or four they yanked out not too long ago to make room for another self check-out cluster. Front end has even FEWER cashiers and courtesy clerks scheduled now. Lines are often three, four or five customers deep and the lot is overflowing with carts.

I specifically AVOID going anywhere NEAR the front end at all costs because customers are regularly (angrily) looking around like, "uh... anyone gonna open another register?"

If Rodney doesn't care I sure as hell don't. Got my own stuff to do in my department.

EUID_Unknown · Guru

I have a feeling next years Stockholders meeting is going to be very interesting. What does "Feeding the Human Spirit" really mean?

Yes, its good to donate almost expired food to help others.
Yes, its good to eliminate waste to help the environment.

How are the associates spirits being feed? Remember, when everything In-Store was customer focused, not everything was "eliminate expense" focused. What happened to 1+1 Quevision? How its "well as long as you don't wait in line too long"... If perception is reality, a long way we have fallen.

4hourrush · Guru

Yeah, definitely no more "Faster checkout" that's for sure. Just today, I had a lady ask me to slice a loaf of bread for her. As i was rebagging it, she says "I don't even know if i should bother with it - the lines up front are backed up all the way to the cheese section". She took it but i told her i was sorry and i hoped she didn't have to wait too long up there. She was really nice about it too, she was just like so many others, wondering why there's not enough help.

And btw, Dairy is on the whole other side of the store from the checkouts.

Kroger-Employee · Guru

4hourrush wrote:
Yeah, definitely no more "Faster checkout" that's for sure. Just today, I had a lady ask me to slice a loaf of bread for her. As i was rebagging it, she says "I don't even know if i should bother with it - the lines up front are backed up all the way to the cheese section". She took it but i told her i was sorry and i hoped she didn't have to wait too long up there. She was really nice about it too, she was just like so many others, wondering why there's not enough help.

And btw, Dairy is on the whole other side of the store from the checkouts.

Hi 4hourrush, Yeah but did you not know that Front end Staffing is (apparently) much, much less important than reviewing huge quantiities of stupid paperwork every day???? See my rant here: https://krogerforum.activeboard.com/t65987866/reams-of-time-consuming-soul-draining-nitpicking-accusatory-/