Fred Meyer horror stories?

[apocolypse101]

I'm trying to get a job at Fred Meyer for at the very least this holiday season. Any particular grocery store horror stories or SCs I should be on the lookout for?

[telecom_goddess]

I'm looking forward to these as I live in the land of Fred Meyer, although I never worked there.

[EricKei]

BG - Haven't worked FM, but I used to work for Kroger (their current owner) looong ago, as well as other groceries. Most are similar.

First: Good luck!

Assuming you've worked retail and/or grocery in the past...well, the usual.

- Whether they made it explicit or not, your job is likely temporary. If existing workers burn out, then yeah, perform well and you might get their spot. If not...don't count on it.

- Expect to be treated as a number; face it, you're a redshirt.

- Business will be triple or more than usual through XMAS eve/day (whichever applies); if the store is open on one or both of those days, expect to be required to work full shifts on them.

- Customers will be frustrated, harried, and even confused (q: "How could <ADVERTISED ITEM X> possibly be out of stock?!? You should NEVER be out of stock at holiday time!" -- a: "Because we only ordered enough of it to fill HALF of our warehouse, Ma'am, so we sold out in 30 minutes rather than 20; also, the trucks have a hard time getting here due to increased traffic.") Don't let them get to you.

- Know where to snag a manager/veteran worker when possible, and explain that it could take a while due to the increased business.

- Customers WILL suddenly be in a terrible hurry, even moreso than usual, once they get to the register (after spending an admittedly long time in line). Just smile and carry on, and don't take anything they say personally.

- People WILL show up at half an hour until closing on XMAS eve and demand to know why you're out of <insert incredibly popular food item here> or will want to order a $100 holiday food platter, which your store stopped taking orders for two weeks prior

- You will get the occasional rabid sales fiends, just keep your distance and make sure your rabies shots are up to date

- Check with co-workers/managers to see if the local customer base prefers "Merry Christmas" or "Happy holidays" or whatever

- Work on your plastic smile ^_^

- Whatever else happens, don't let the turkeys get you down!

[Sparklyturtle]

I shop there and I'm always nice.

[apocolypse101]

- Whether they made it explicit or not, your job is likely temporary. If existing workers burn out, then yeah, perform well and you might get their spot. If not...don't count on it.

- Expect to be treated as a number; face it, you're a redshirt.

Yeah, I know that I'll be a redshirt/barcode/sacrifice to the SC Gods. Unfortunately, the person I got in contact with for hiring, hasn't replied to my last email sent almost a week ago, so I don't know whether or not I'll get a job or not.

[EricKei]

If it weren't BF weekend, I'd say to call them now. Maybe try calling an hour before they open tomorrow/Monday etc until you reach them (assuming they Open); they should have at least SOME time to talk if they're in there at that time.