So what is going on in the minds of management? ? ? ?

I am not sure what they are trying to do at my store. It seems that they may be trying their hardest to make every one, and I MEAN EVERYone, angry or fed up with the store. The workers are having hours cut like crazy and having to work harder and harder to keep the few customers that the store tries to chase away.


What do you accomplish when you keep cutting hours?

Well, you may save on wages, but..... the workers are getting tired and frustrated because they just see a line of angry people and take the brunt of the complaints.

Let me walk you through a customer experience as even I have experienced it at my store:


The customers are on their way home for supper and they stop in, quickly, at the store. They stop at produce, where, because hours are cut, they have to dig through the strawberry containers to find some that are nice looking and not moldy. (No one is there to take out the packages with bad berries in them)

They go to deli but there is no one there because they are covering hot foods. Another frustrating situation. Next stop is bakery and they have to wait for the one person working there to get back from her break because that's the only time she could take it as she's been running her a** off doing two people's work.

The customers end up waiting in longer and longer lines because there aren't enough cashiers to serve them. One regular and one on express??? And a customer service person that can help, only as long as they aren't selling lottery, doing money transfers, answering the phones, renting Rug Doctors, handling complaints, writing rain checks, auditing trays, or paging for a carry out, which can't happen any too quickly, anyway as the grocery clerk is out collecting the few buggies we have left.

So they wait in the line, some patiently, some not so much, and finally get to you and you scan an item that the price is questioned. You page the dept., and they don't answer because they are chasing buggies, having their break, covering somebody else's station, or don't like to speak on the phone. If you can, you run and check the price or in most cases you are lucky enough that the other cashier knows the price and can holler it to you. Or, you have to make an educated guess because you don't want to lose the sale and you don't want to hold people up. You are also handling question from customers because you are in one spot and they can't find any one else.

* * * * *

I have had several customers tell me that they come to our store because they DO NOT like the competition. So why do we try to chase them away?

• Why are we getting some strange manufacturers that haven't been heard from before and making the store look more and more like a bargain basement with out the bargain prices?

• And a lot of our prices are the same as our low price sister stores? Lets drive the customers to the competition there as well ! ! ! ! !

• Why aren't we listening to customers when they ask for a certain item to be carried in the store?

• Why do we insist that they put up with being treated so badly? They are NOT going to keep doing that. Sure the customers that walk to the store will, but the ones with cars? Its just a short drive down the street for them.

Anyway, I am really concerned about the future of our stores. I have even gone so far as to personally write to them with a location that would be ideal for them to open a new store. It is in a section of town where there are new apartments going up next to already established ones. The area has money. There is not another store along that stretch of roadway until you get to the next part of town. More than 5 KMS.

* * * * *

Well that's the rant for the day. Just wanted people to know why work has not been fun anymore. Also it doesn't help when some of the few people we have are kept on when they are constantly late for work or show no consideration for their fellow employees, by being late for work or late back from break.

THE END