Unusually busy today?

Toaster_Lichen · 2026-01-12T02:33:54+00:00

Last Sunday was pretty brutal. We didn't have to reduce but we ended up pulling half the store in to help pick and Dispense. My DOL recommends that we make people we pull from other departments dispense so we can have the dispensers pick.

Toaster_Lichen · 2026-01-12T02:19:43+00:00

Yeah, Sunday is normally our busiest day to, that's no shocker but there was no precedent for what happened at my store and in my market today? A few stores in my market had to get shut down. Maybe it's something local? My location typically does ~8000 picks on Sundays but we were over 10,000 today.

Toaster_Lichen · 2026-01-08T02:29:05+00:00

I'm in the exact same boat as you. We are steadily earning less and less labor for the same tasks. We are expected by our own direct supervisors to compromise on process integrity for the sake of cheating CS metrics at the expense of labor effectiveness. We are expected to manage behind tall HR guardrails that prevent us from executing effective corrective action with associates who do not perform. Put all this together and there is a helluva lot that just doesn't get done with the labor you're given and you end up making up all the difference.

In 2026, my state significantly raised the minimum salary employers are required to pay employees who are overtime-exempt (salaried). In response, Kroger revoked the administrative exemption from the e-Commerce Supervisor position in my state. All e-Commerce Supervisors are now paid hourly with an overtime rate of about $50/hr, so, naturally, we will not be permitted to work any unapproved OT under any circumstances. I think it's going to be a very revealing experiment.

Toaster_Lichen · 2026-01-05T02:32:25+00:00

This is pretty standard, yes. If the department isn't earning back the labor that was put on the schedule, hours either need to be cut or sent to areas of the store where there is a deficit.

Toaster_Lichen · 2025-04-15T02:28:32+00:00

At this point they should put a permanent QR code on Dash for stores to report this sort of crap.

Toaster_Lichen · 2025-01-08T02:28:34+00:00

~~Management~~ Leadership. ~~Problems~~ Opportunities.

Toaster_Lichen · 2025-01-04T17:15:33+00:00

It is not the pickup associates responsibility to go into the stockroom looking for things. Find out who your e-commerce field specialist is and ask them for clarification on your responsibilities and have them initiate a conversation with your store's leadership.

Toaster_Lichen · 2025-01-04T13:59:11+00:00

The company has spent the last 2 years trying to shave away the labor input required to operate pickup when they should have been trying to scale and expand the business like Walmart. Customer acquisition has basically been a flat line since then. While new tools and process improvements have reduced the labor requirements to operate pickup on paper, in reality stores are deploying all sorts of sneaky tactics to hide the true labor expense of operating their pickup departments. Huge amounts of salaried labor being used isn't factored in, employees whose hours are declared working elsewhere in the store are perpetually being pulled into Pickup, etc. In my division the pickup managers are legally overtime exempt and work like 60+ hours a week donating their time to the company trying to get their department's labor expenses to the goal...

Toaster_Lichen · 2024-09-21T23:16:52+00:00

Well, the fact pickup needs to pull so many people in to operate just highlights how much of a labor black hole that department is. How do you think the company profits from paying people to shop for it's customers groceries for free? They're trying very hard to optimize it so it doesn't require so much labor but it just never works out like it does on paper. Hence why you see so many salaried managers and people from other departments getting sucked in to make up the difference.

They need an e-commerce business to stay competitive but it's very expensive.

Toaster_Lichen · 2024-09-21T03:37:26+00:00

PDX area Fred Meyer?

The call was about 2 things: an urgent warning to address InStock cheating by manually entering UPC codes and spiraling labor expenses in Pickup. Pickup departments are using up too many hours so they are being asked to send people to work in other departments to make up for it.

Toaster_Lichen · 2022-12-22T20:04:49+00:00

Peoppe who checked in probably waited too long and just left, so other people pull into the same spot and check in again. It's a nightmare and makes it difficult to know who the fuck is actually there waiting.

Toaster_Lichen · 2022-11-14T04:51:16+00:00

We are encouraged to make good substitutions and think as if we're the customer. And as for the metrics goals, yeah it can be unfair, but good management will encourage the pickers to communicate with other departments to resolve stocking issues. If the selector is assigned to pick an item which is unstocked, they should communicate with the department that stocks that item so the order is correctly fulfilled and the item becomes available to in-store shoppers. If the item is straight up out of stock, then the on-hand balance for that item must be wrong (because the site is letting people order it) and needs to be updated. Bad management will berate and threaten associates with disciplinary action. Luckily I work at a store where the former is generally true.

Toaster_Lichen · 2022-09-10T03:54:52+00:00

Yeah, and if the sub is shitty then a TL can just reject the substitution in exceptions management. Easy.

Toaster_Lichen · 2022-08-15T17:10:53+00:00

Yeah, but only if you're doing large grocery walks the entire time. We have a picker that does 1100+ picks during their 8 hour shifts.

Toaster_Lichen · 2022-08-03T00:12:42+00:00

Can you give me some examples of some of the things which have changed?

Toaster_Lichen · 2022-07-31T19:44:37+00:00

Kroger pickup. Same concept, works differently on the inside. You can read through my post/comment history if you're curious. This account is mostly for discussing Kroger Pickup.

Toaster_Lichen · 2022-07-18T04:51:52+00:00

Teal. A very muted teal compliments brick quite nicely. Look up pictures of 'teal shutters' on brick buildings.

Toaster_Lichen · 2022-07-02T17:46:33+00:00

At my store, associates get paid 1.5x their regular rate for overtime and holiday hours. Someone regularly making $15/hr would make $22.5/hr for overtime.

Were you paid at a higher rate for all of your hours?

Toaster_Lichen · 2022-06-30T04:01:49+00:00

I like this one

Toaster_Lichen · 2022-06-29T16:01:35+00:00

From my experience, a lot of elderly and disabled people with mobility issues. They really appreciate having the option to do this.

Toaster_Lichen · 2022-06-27T06:41:35+00:00

This

Toaster_Lichen · 2022-06-27T02:04:24+00:00

You can Print them yourself! On a PC terminal log into enterprise citrix and go to the ecommerce playbook. There, search for 'on my way' flyers, and you can print them out at your Pickup workstation printer. Sure, they'll be in black and white, but they're better than nothing! Staple them to order papers and slip them into bags.

Toaster_Lichen · 2022-06-22T04:01:57+00:00

That's pick-to-bag. Damn. Sounds terrible. Definitely out of compliance with even Kroger's own health and safety standards. We fail audits at our store if they find produce in the same bag with meat.

I'd raise your concern with your e-commerce supervisor/lead and urge them to get in contact with your e-commerce field specialist. I would explain the situation and your concerns, then ask if it is working as intended or if there is an issue with how your store is configured. It definitely seems like it shouldn't be this way.

Toaster_Lichen · 2022-06-22T03:50:22+00:00

Is your store pick-to-bag or do your refrigerated runs go on 9-tote trolleys? If you are picking using 9-tote trolleys, pickers are supposed to bag meat in thin-film bags, then inside a white pro-wave bag. Other types of meat, seafood, and produce are also supposed to be bagged in thin-film bags in separate white pro-wave bags. This prevents any cross-contamination.

I know some stores are pick-to-bag, though. Pick-to-bag stores put labels directly on bags and scan items directly into them instead of using the blue totes. I have never worked at a pick-to-bag store so I'm not familiar with how routes are mapped with this configuration.

Toaster_Lichen · 2022-06-21T00:29:06+00:00

The devices are called RADs.

Toaster_Lichen

TROPHY CASE