What is the atmosphere like in your store?
If I had to briefly describe the atmosphere, I would just say that we can't handle the lines. Complete madness.
8 replies (most recent on top)
in reply to the last post, youre right. jobs like this are like quicksand, the longer you stay the harder it is to leave until youre finally stuck
We can't even pull TM's from other departments at least in our area. There are rules about who can ring. There is only 1 TM in our store that isn't on C.S. who has been trained to ring from when she worked on c.s., but her emp i.d. is no longer authorized to ring. Store leadership and c.s. are the only ones that can ring. I've offered to ring but they won't train me. Thing that sucks is other places may have higher starting wages but for long term TM's we have already passed the salary cap of a lot of these places and as cr---y as our insurance is it's actually better and cheaper than similar stores. So we are kind of stuck unless we can stand a pay cut also we get tons of PTO. For example most ATL's that I know of are making over $20 an hour. TL's at Fresh time cap out at $20 and their insurance is garbage.
My store had literally 1 cashier working the closing shift on a friday. They had to resort to pulling TM's from departments to ring, leaving the departments unstaffed. Total dumpster fire.
The process of onboarding new TM's is so backed up in my region that even when we do find a qualified candidate it takes weeks to get them in. Then they work two shifts, see how F'ed everything is and immediately quit.
I mean, why not?! I can't blame them. Target, Costco, Walmart, Jewel, even McDonalds all have higher starting wages.
Other similar grocery stores in our area are entirely self checkout which makes sense with most customers in the area buying one or two bags max. The labor that the c.s. team doesn't use is directed to other departments that need help. There are so many more major problems with getting in-stock numbers accurate than self checkout. Theft is insanely high at our store without self checkout. Regularly I see someone standing in line for too long and then decide to steal instead of waiting. It doesn't help that the line is stretching to the store entrance. They should just make our store a dark store (customer free online pickup/delivery only) to alleviate burden on busier stores. TM's who may not be needed anymore could be redistributed among other teams and stores.
does anybody really like the long lines at the check out at walmart??? ever wondered why they go so slow??? no cashier assistants/baggers.... so while the cashier is ringing they have to stop every so often and start making bags and bagging groceries..its happened to us....amazon thought they could save money here by eliminating a low echelon position and turned our checkout "experience" into walmarts checkout "experience".......and when you get a situation where a customer service team is overworked and tm are goin on l.o.a by the dozen you get the massive shortage...amazon is good at reading data but terrible at analyzing qualitative experiences or work place efficiency...terrible...and those self checkouts are a theft and misring mess which throws off the order guide platform...
Oh and the customer service desk is nearly always closed. Only open for amazon returns. CS leaders poke around on the computer waiting for returns.
Our STL and ASTL's spend most of their shifts ringing at the registers or standing at counters covering breaks. Lines are longer than any previous Thanksgiving or Xmas but just on a regular Monday afternoon. We have a max of four lanes open and every line is backed up. Lines are so long they prevent movement throughout the store and we are unable to actually face, work load or b.s. because customers are in the way. One line is in the way of the entrance and exit and people can't easily enter or exit the building. Customers are calling the store to complain while standing in line or abandoning their carts and leaving. Our store is 90% foot traffic and they won't put in a self check out. One guy came in the door took a look around said "fu-k this place" and went right back out.
we have a lot of bad reviews because of this lol. literally no one works at night in my store... and i dont even care. i get paid the same anyway tbh