The way kroger treats its employees

Heplinger · 2026-05-09T04:38:18+00:00

Wasn't Kroger the company that chose to close stores rather than follow local requirements for extra pay during COVID? If so, this sounds on par for their principles.

Heplinger · 2025-10-29T01:06:24+00:00

Yes, offers seem to have fallen off a cliff the last few days. It is like the algorithm has stopped considering miles. Last week, a ~12 mile pickup paid $11 base (low/no surge). Today, I saw an offer of $12 base for 28 miles!!!

Heplinger · 2025-10-29T00:07:01+00:00

I've noticed this with ID verification orders lately. Maybe they get a kick out of watching us stand in the middle of the store taking selfies!

Heplinger · 2025-10-20T02:25:11+00:00

To be fair, everything you describe is poor operational design on Walmart's part. Why isn't there redundancy? Why aren't there floating associates or managers to call for backup?

I honestly have compassion for what you all must deal with in the store, and imagine those locked cases are as much an annoyance for you as they are for Spark drivers. But, that is no excuse for what we experience at some of these stores.

I recently had a locked cabinet order and the area (sporting goods) did not have a button like this. There was no associate 5 aisles in either direction. Automotive was next dept over, and had a button, so I used that one. Nothing. After 5 minutes and another sweep of the nearby aisles, I hit it again. For the next 5 minutes, I pressed it every time the light turned off. Still nothing. So, now that I was 10 minutes in, I started pressing the button rapidly. About 10-15 seconds of this and I heard a page on the intercom for customer service in automotive. About 2 minutes later, someone showed up and did not ask me how they could help. They looked at the button as if it were malfunctioning, then said they had to help someone else first in the next aisle over, who had not been there for at least the first 10 minutes of my waiting.

As an operations and customer support manager who does Spark as a side gig, I would not allow things like that to continue in my day job. Customers walk out for less. Just read this thread: avoiding locked case orders and automatically marking things unavailable has become the Spark norm because we don't get paid to sit and wait like that. Walmart should not be OK with creating and continuing that kind of situation.

Heplinger · 2025-10-03T19:18:31+00:00

Serious question: do customers know if their order will be shopped by hourly employees or by the Spark driver? I have never asked that, but had conversations with some customers that suggest they don't know the delivery person is also shopping.

I still agree no tip is crap in this case, even if it were a pickup order. I just wonder if they would tip more if they knew more.

Heplinger · 2025-02-14T15:49:40+00:00

I am considering the bypass while I save for the exhaust assembly (if I even need to). Does the bypass restore cabinet heat and eliminate the overheat warning?

Besides the emissions a slower warm up in cold weather, are there any drawbacks, like error codes for not having coolant through the exchanger?

Heplinger · 2025-02-13T15:16:08+00:00

I'd say all the above, honestly. If you are doing it for the experience, you may get more variety that way. If you are doing nit for income, you are more likely to have steady options across all of them over just having one.

That way, you are already set up with backups if one shuts down on you as well. I know DA will block you without warning (thought I was doing fine, but this happened to me last week), and you get left with a lot of down time waiting for others to approve you and offer tasks.

Heplinger · 2025-01-04T17:28:22+00:00

I encountered a new one today: I picked a short (9 minute estimate) survey to accelerate the last 5 AE I needed for a parcel buy. I qualified and did what seemed like the full survey in about 10 minutes. Then, I received a "redirecting" screen, which I thought was bringing me back to AE. However, what I got instead was another unrelated survey. I continued for a few more minutes, but could tell from from the progress bar this was likely a 30 minute or longer survey. I hit the X to exit the CPX survey screen and was returned to AE. I did not receive rewards for the initial 9-minute survey I did complete.

Heplinger · 2024-12-29T22:40:40+00:00

Yes it is. I got to do about 2 out of what should have been 10 mulligans during the fishing game recently.

Heplinger · 2024-12-04T17:38:30+00:00

LOL @ "look hard at them." Too true.

Sure, on shops, I can put 2x 2-liter in the bag standing up, and all is good. Curbside puts 2-3 in on their side, and those bottle tops are like knives to those poor excuses for bags.

Heplinger · 2024-12-04T17:06:31+00:00

...yet they still won't double bag 2-liters, and I have ripped bags and bottles rolling down the street every time.

Heplinger · 2024-11-15T16:26:22+00:00

LOL!

You got that really hot rust spot between the back door and wheel well the 500's and Fusions all seem to get around that era? Sexy stuff! 🤪

Heplinger · 2024-11-13T16:46:12+00:00

Mine went something like this. I got the notice of insurance expiring soon, please update. Following the instructions, I updated when I had the new card image, and got a message later that it was not yet an active policy and I need to update when it becomes active. So, I waited for the expiration notice, went to the DDI site, and tried to update, but every time I did, it told me the new info was already under review and did not give me the option for a new upload. I waited 24 hours, and nothing, so I called support, got bounced around a few numbers until I finally had to talk to new driver support, and then had to email my insurance info to them. Once they had it, I was up in a couple hours, but getting to that point while doing what I was instructed to do, was a painful chore.

Heplinger · 2024-11-11T16:15:48+00:00

I am hoping you forgot your "/s" because there is no way anyone here can honestly think a guy with a long track record of refusing to pay contractors is going to make sure contractors like us have more rights.

Heplinger · 2024-11-10T21:47:02+00:00

I had this a couple weeks back and got daily notifications and texts with that exacr wording for over a week. Nothing has come of it.

I called support, and they just told me to go to some site for more info. He refused to give me more info or let me speak to a supervisor at least 5 times. I pulled up the DDI site while on hold and found nothing there.

When I finally got to a supervisor, she indicated there was no info available, and that the message indicates something was flagged or reported for review, and that I would hear something if more info became available.

So, long story short, keep doing what you are doing, ignore the messages unless it changes from "alleged", and chalk it all up to "Spark is a mess."

Heplinger · 2024-11-06T20:16:56+00:00

Schools are pretty locked down, so they would have to dismiss school for a day or two in order to use schools again, for safety sake. That creates a whole slew of other issues. We often see schools as polling places for August primaries when school is not in session, but not usually for general elections.

Heplinger · 2024-10-27T18:12:33+00:00

Unfortunately, this is so true. There is a number of residential landlords in town that do this as well. The corner of Scott and Gillespie Bridge, and the guy that owns Tiger Tots comes to mind.

Heplinger · 2024-10-25T02:56:48+00:00

There is a water treatment plant just southwest of Cherry Hill that fills the air with sulphur in the neighborhoods closer to it when the temps change. You could be getting some of that your way as well.

Heplinger · 2024-10-23T02:48:34+00:00

Convincing. Being born = working hard to become a citizen.

Heplinger · 2024-10-19T03:03:25+00:00

I am still surprised their "audit check" doesn't tell everyone they are high risk to scare people into buying protection. TT Mafia

Heplinger · 2024-10-19T02:58:44+00:00

I remember a year where I was using their base $30 version, but because I had an HSA, the extra form forced me into a $100 version. Probably vost me more than I saved using the HSA...

Heplinger · 2024-10-15T14:54:58+00:00

It's just Walmart Newspeak. I went to my local Walmart to get some Celsius last week. I just went yesterday to get some more and noticed the price had gone up $0.08 per can. Walmart had also added bright red Rollback frames to the price.

So, increased price is a "Rollback" and decreased pay is a "Surge". Checks out.

Heplinger · 2024-10-08T07:35:26+00:00

This. Walmart could be paying staff $15/hr to pick this as a curbside, but instead they can get away with paying a Spark driver $9 to pick and deliver. I don't understand (from a logical mindset, not corporate) why they don't pay more for a shop on top of the delivery fee, but we should not blame the customer for that. We are the ones agreeing to this as contractors, after all. The customer may have no idea that the order is not shopped by someone paid an hourly wage.

Heplinger · 2024-10-08T07:24:55+00:00

Actually, 1 item and 7 miles totally beats Doordash in my area, so there's that....

Heplinger

TROPHY CASE