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  • My productivity at Kroger

    Kroger Senior Management is noticing how productive the cashiers are regarding their scan time at work.

    The problem I am having, which the Assistant Front End Manager noticed yesterday, is that there are customers who come to my line then leave to get something they forgot. That left me scanning their groceries and waiting for the customer to return.

    A customer did this yesterday. The Assistant Front End Manager told me that when this happens, the clock is still running after I scan their groceries while I am waiting for them to return. This affects my scan time, which affects my productivity.

    Customers ask me if it is OK if they do this.

    Since I was told why it is not a good idea, what should I tell the customer when this happens?

    The other option is to call for a Supervisor or a Manager to suspend the transaction so I can check out other customers and to also prevent the clock for running while not being productive. I do not want to do this in front of a customer, but I do not want my productivity to be affected as well.

  • #2
    If I was one of the customers in line... I would be more than pleased if you were to get a supervisor to suspend the waiting transaction. Why should those of us in line be forced to wait until the person manages to round up the missing items?

    So to me the right response is: "Sure - I'll just get my supervisor to suspend the transaction so I can look after the other people waiting in line".
    There's no such thing as a stupid question... just stupid people.

    Comment


    • #3
      Ditto to It's Me. Customers don't care about your productivity time.


      So pretty much what It's Me said. "Sure, but if you're not back by the time I finish scanning, I'll have to suspend your transaction so I can help the person behind you"

      Comment


      • #4
        Quoth April View Post
        Ditto to It's Me. Customers don't care about your productivity time.


        So pretty much what It's Me said. "Sure, but if you're not back by the time I finish scanning, I'll have to suspend your transaction so I can help the person behind you"
        And if the register freezes and reboots, which could happen, then everybody is kept waiting even more.

        Which is another reason why measuring cashier speed is insanely stupid.
        Knowledge is power. Power corrupts. Study hard. Be evil.

        "I never said I wasn't a horrible person."--Me, almost daily

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        • #5
          measuring cashier speed is insanely stupid.
          Aye -- but it's something they can measure-- it's quantifiable, even if it's meaningless. Thus, they do it and keep it around for future use. Remember, anyone and everyone at store level who isn't related to, or in a relationship with, someone higher up is expendable. Having a (toilet) paper trail just makes it easier to justify canning those ten- and twenty-year veterans with zero discipline issues or writeups, ever.
          "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad")
          "The difference between an amateur and a master is that the master has failed way more times." - JoCat
          "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!" ~ Carl Jung
          "There's burning bridges, and then there's the lake just to fill it with gasoline." - Wiccy, reddit
          "Retail is a cruel master, and could very well be the most educational time of many people's lives, in its own twisted way." - me
          "Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down...tell you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens...makes her a home." - Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, "Serenity" (2005)
          Acts of Gord – Read it, Learn it, Love it!
          "Our psychic powers only work if the customer has a mind to read." - me

          Comment


          • #6
            Yeah, the veterans are expendable--until they aren't any more.

            Which is the case at the swamp, and my job in particular. We're lucky if new freight team hires make it two months. Most quit before then, and usually do so by just disappearing.

            Also, point to ponder: if I'm expendable, then why can't I change my availability?
            Knowledge is power. Power corrupts. Study hard. Be evil.

            "I never said I wasn't a horrible person."--Me, almost daily

            Comment


            • #7
              I'm a Kroger customer. The lady in front of me today had forgotten her pasta. The cashier told her in a matter a fact tone that she could either pay for the groceries then go back and get the pasta, or suspend the transaction, get the pasta, then come back and finish the transaction. The customer decided to suspend the transaction. She got back right as I finished paying. THe cashier explained to the person behind me that the first customer just needed to scan the pasta and pay.

              The cashier's tone was authoritative but polite. She made it clear those were the only two choices. I have been thankful to the cashiers that suspended my transaction when I had some type of glitch. In my case it has been because of a problem with the bank card. Five people trying to get hold of the same bank they were having major server problems that day.

              Comment


              • #8
                I recommend asking your fellow cashiers, because there may other tricks to help you. For example, at *big box retail*, pressing "subtotal" would pause the clock on the transaction. Which meant I would pause it every time I was waiting for a customer t dig out their payment, or if I was bagging something unwieldy and time-consuming. From what your supervisor said, it sounds like that may not be an option, however.
                A lion however, will only devour your corpse, whereas an SC is not sated until they have destroyed your soul. (Quote per infinitemonkies)

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                • #9
                  Quoth kaherbert View Post
                  I'm a Kroger customer. The lady in front of me today had forgotten her pasta. The cashier told her in a matter a fact tone that she could either pay for the groceries then go back and get the pasta, or suspend the transaction, get the pasta, then come back and finish the transaction. The customer decided to suspend the transaction. She got back right as I finished paying. The cashier explained to the person behind me that the first customer just needed to scan the pasta and pay.

                  The cashier's tone was authoritative but polite. She made it clear those were the only two choices. I have been thankful to the cashiers that suspended my transaction when I had some type of glitch. In my case it has been because of a problem with the bank card. Five people trying to get hold of the same bank they were having major server problems that day.
                  Thanks for that idea.

                  I will use it the next time this happens.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Quoth bainsidhe View Post
                    I recommend asking your fellow cashiers, because there may other tricks to help you. For example, at *big box retail*, pressing "subtotal" would pause the clock on the transaction. Which meant I would pause it every time I was waiting for a customer t dig out their payment, or if I was bagging something unwieldy and time-consuming. From what your supervisor said, it sounds like that may not be an option, however.
                    Another cashier suggested pressing the total button when that happens.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Quoth snugglegirl05 View Post
                      Another cashier suggested pressing the total button when that happens.
                      This is exactly what I was thinking. When I worked as a cashier, hitting 'Total' automatically stopped the timer. If a customer ran off to get something, I'd just total up what they already had on the belt while bagging.

                      ETA - Some people back then called it gaming the system. But, since the system is already punishing you for factors outside your control, e.g. customer actions, you might as well play the game right back at them.
                      Last edited by Gerrinson; 07-20-2016, 05:59 PM. Reason: ETA: All thoughts in one post is polite.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Quoth Gerrinson View Post
                        This is exactly what I was thinking. When I worked as a cashier, hitting 'Total' automatically stopped the timer. If a customer ran off to get something, I'd just total up what they already had on the belt while bagging.

                        ETA - Some people back then called it gaming the system. But, since the system is already punishing you for factors outside your control, e.g. customer actions, you might as well play the game right back at them.
                        Yeah...

                        That is frustrating, but it is what it is.

                        I really wish that Senior Management worked as cashiers for a month at a particular location just to see what customers do.

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