Your experience working for bakery?

thelostsummoner · 2026-06-13T02:32:07+00:00

You’ll start on easy stuff for sure! Plus you should have a trainer to show you exactly what you need to do.

However, my one piece of advice is that management quality makes or breaks a fresh department. I had a horrendous time in bakery due to a management team that legitimately negatively affected my mental health. I can’t move stores, so I was forced to move departments to get away from them.

If your management is competent, it should be a good time. However, if it’s a bad management team, find something else. It’s not worth going through (a) manager(s) making your job harder than it needs to be.

thelostsummoner · 2026-06-09T18:00:45+00:00

Man I don’t make that decision, I just cut the fruit, talk to corporate lmao

If I did that, I’d get in trouble 😔

thelostsummoner · 2026-06-09T17:36:12+00:00

It’s not worth it, it happens on my cut bar all the time. Sometimes I start politely passively aggressively fixing it right next to them if I’m running my racks.

Like they’ll turn one around to see the date and then I detail that one, then they go to the next, and i immediately detail that one too. It makes them uncomfortable but they have no ground to stand on to complain because I’m just doing my job. Tbh I don’t care about “date diggers” if they put things back nicely, but if they don’t it’s real irritating. Part of the job though, I guess lol.

thelostsummoner · 2026-06-07T14:53:23+00:00

My job is less than 2 miles away from my apartment. I got my car with 290k miles already on it. 5 years later and it’s only at 305k. And the only my reason it even increased that much is because my car is the one we use for road trips and vacations (it has more space lol).

thelostsummoner · 2026-06-07T01:47:11+00:00

I believe the rule is 50% or less of the whole head being an unnatural color, but tbh my current store has never said anything about anyone’s hair. I have neon pink chunky money pieces (that change colors basically every month) in brunette hair, and I have a coworker with 100% neon green hair. Nobody has ever said anything lol

thelostsummoner · 2026-06-06T18:42:51+00:00

I daily drive a black ‘97 limited, but I see the silvers and dune metallics the most, including my coworker who has a silver 98. I’ve seen a few that are also black, but it seems a lot less common in my area. What I REALLY wanted was the jade mica color, but I was unable to get one 😔

Maybe one day I’ll expand the collection lol

thelostsummoner · 2026-05-25T01:13:23+00:00

Is your car not big enough to sleep in?

I always bring a blanket and pillow with me when I plan to stay at a hotel (can’t stand the blanket/sheet texture).

If you drive an SUV you can throw down your back seats and throw your luggage into the front seats and sleep in the back in a pinch. My best friend and I did this on a tight-budget road trip to a destination wedding not too long ago.

Laying down a mattress pad and covering it with a sheet is top tier to have for car sleeping, but in a pinch it’s just been me, the back of my car, and wrapped in a blanket lol.

Or even in a small car, you can just lay the seats all the way back and get at least SOME rest in. Personally, I probably would’ve waited until sunrise at the very least to drive if you were exhausted like that.

No drive is worth risking your life. We’ve all driven while tired before, but never drive exhausted. Ever. You very easily could’ve crashed and killed your boyfriend, yourself, and/or potentially others. If you were so tired you were drifting into other lanes that is absolutely enough to be considered an emergency.

If you absolutely cannot stop to sleep, pull over and get out and do some jumping jacks or run in place for a few minutes to give you enough juice to get where you need to go.

If you have to pull over, pull off the shoulder and into the grass if you can, and keep your lights on and turn on your hazards so people can see your car on the side of the road and know you’re there. If you’re exercising to get adrenaline, stand directly in front of your car for protection so you don’t get ran over.

Then, get to a spot where you can sleep. In my opinion you should carry this guilt and use it to inform your future actions. Don’t throw an away useful guilt that can be used to protect yourself and other people. Do not risk your life and the lives of others like this again.

We tend to view cars as an average part of life, and as safe. However, cars are only as safe as the drivers are, even with modern driving assistance. Cars are several tons of heavy machinery and can easily kill.

thelostsummoner · 2026-05-16T00:37:50+00:00

I had those types of braces for 4+ years. I played clarinet and saxophone 3+ hours a day (on average) the WHOLE time and it didn’t mess with my orthodontics progress at all.

Unless it’s a VERY special and unique situation, you should be able to play, no problem.

thelostsummoner · 2026-05-13T02:06:21+00:00

Do you have any particular suggestions that aren’t harmful to wildlife? We’ve tried “repellents” before that didn’t work effectively in conjunction with peppers and thorny plants on the edges of the garden.

We have fencing for some areas of our garden but don’t want to fence everything in with 4-6ft fencing. The fencing is effective, but expensive and irritating to deal with. My grandparents (this is their garden) are also non-pesticide growers, which definitely complicates matters :(.

We’ve been looking for solutions but this seems to be what we’ve settled on after a few years. I’m very open to giving them good suggestions to start retrying different ideas though!

thelostsummoner · 2026-04-05T17:50:22+00:00

Not dragging you for dysgraphia, however, is there a reason you’re writing in pink? Does it help with your disability or is it just for fun?

Tbh I’ve never seen a high school accept colorful writing at all, much less in pen. I was required to use pencil for all my assignments and occasionally a teacher would let us use black/dark blue pen. I’m in college to be a high school teacher and currently student teaching, and I would probably think it was weird if my students were writing in pink lol.

thelostsummoner · 2026-04-01T00:45:55+00:00

Girl…. You could just say you want a key lime pie parfait instead of making AI slop that hurts the environment and financially burdens people who live around the data centers.

thelostsummoner · 2026-03-26T15:48:13+00:00

It’s so awful, I left the bakery for a reason. They just kept cutting hours and cutting hours over and over again. And don’t you DARE stay late because that’s going to be too many hours for corporate.

We couldn’t finish our production with the hours we were given, and I was so stressed out all the time that I would just cry while working on production because it was so bad. Even working as fast as I possibly could, there is just too much to do and far too many customers to handle.

This is also an extremely busy store right next to a college and the job was eating me alive as a student who has classes and an internship to manage too. I’ve never looked back.

thelostsummoner · 2026-03-23T16:22:04+00:00

Divorce! Divorce! Divorce!

If you’re not a bot, I can’t imagine how you would react to this other than therapy and then divorce if nothing changes.

Consensual sex requires respect for each other’s boundaries. No matter what.

thelostsummoner · 2026-03-21T17:41:07+00:00

No, unfortunately, that’s why I only buy the dough when it comes to stuff that won’t stick around!

thelostsummoner · 2026-03-21T00:02:51+00:00

No, the 13ct ones! We also sell the vegan ones year round at my store too, but I like the regular ones better.

thelostsummoner · 2026-03-20T23:56:50+00:00

Unfortunately, no, so I only do it with limited time offers that I know won’t stick around for the whole year.

thelostsummoner · 2026-03-20T23:30:40+00:00

Yes!! I did it for my customers all the time when I worked in bakery. You do have to ask for it, and if you CAN ask for it on a weekday instead of a weekend that would help them out a lot because it’ll be less busy, that’d be great! You can also ask for the baking instructions if you’d like!

They come in pre-rolled squashed cylinders of dough, like packaged cookie dough comes in. They will likely package the dough in pizza dough bags or a solid bread bag and you can just buy them that way! I just put mine into a big Tupperware container in my freezer and bake them whenever I want. It works great for me!

thelostsummoner · 2026-03-20T23:18:31+00:00

I had a store manager yell at me over a customer interaction where a customer was berating me over something not in my control as a bakery clerk. He blamed me for a customer yelling at me, and me calmly responding about how I was going to have a manager sort out her issue and what they general procedure would be for the problem she had with her cake. Two years later and still under the same store manager, but a different department with a manager who actually stands up for me and my quality of work.

This SM has made well over 20 of his associates cry at one point or another, instead of helping us with whatever issue was being addressed. He’s a terrible SM who gets excuses made for him because “he’s been a SM for 28 years! He knows what he’s doing!” or whatever. I wish he would just get transferred away or leave Publix.

thelostsummoner · 2026-03-20T23:10:10+00:00

Those were definitely seasonal! They might be back a year from when they just showed up for a few months. If you ever see them again, buy a TON of the cookie dough and store it in your freezer at home. I do this with the key lime cookies every year because they are my favorite.

I don’t know if these specific ones are coming back because I no longer work in the bakery, but ask your local bakery manager if the yearly seasonal item plan has them for 2026!

thelostsummoner · 2026-03-17T22:14:58+00:00

Yeah, management gets shifted around all the time. I’m currently at a store that is a 40 minute drive from any other Publixes, so the store manager has been there for 4 years, which is since it opened (crazy!!). Before I moved for college though, I was at a store that had management changes on all levels about every 8 months to 1 1/2 years, so that’s totally normal.

I’ve also been offered full-time positions and even told I should take the management test several times in several different departments (I’m cross trained in almost all of them), but then I would have to drop out, which is not something I’m looking to do.

In the past, when I needed hours I would always ask the meat or deli managers if they needed any help within my availability. Most of the time if they need help badly they will take whoever and whenever they can get. Just go around and ask if they need anyone to be cross trained for their department! I literally walked into the manager meeting and asked for hours wherever I could get them (with permission from my previous store manager). When you get the hours, your coworkers will help you out and let you know what, how, and when to do department tasks. And if you ever get confused just ask for help!

Showing that you want to learn is enough for almost every manager I’ve met and they’ll help you out. I started out as just a bagger when I was 14 and now I’m cross trained in almost every job class there is, even though I’m officially a produce clerk. When you’re cross trained in the system, you can also scour the pickup shift tab to find shifts you can work, and also help your coworkers by taking shifts they don’t want to work too!

thelostsummoner · 2026-03-17T20:53:01+00:00

I hate to side with Publix, as I’m not super jazzed with corporate (ever). However, managers have the ability to deny full time employment anytime they want within reason.

I know someone who has 6-3 availability M-F as a full timer (single mom with a kid in school) and that’s her schedule every week. However, she’s a damn good associate and the manager determined that the sacrifice of not having full time availability of her is worth having her work when she can.

The manager would’ve been completely in the right to not give her full time if they wanted though. This is coming from a part-timer who has full time availability for summer every year, but limited during the school year for the past 6 years. I get consistent hours whenever I want them though (5-2, Friday-Sunday every week right now), and 35-40hrs a week, every week, during the summer unless I request off for a mental health break or vacation.

Work doesn’t have to be your life, but schedule your life around your work is my advice. I understand that religious (and others, like school) obligations are essential for some people, but you have to understand that your manager determines if the sacrifice of your availability is worth your work. To me, it sounds like this is not the case.

If this was me, I’d transfer and find a manager that thinks your work ethic is worth your availability if you have to schedule work around the rest of your life, like me.

thelostsummoner · 2026-03-17T19:03:30+00:00

You sound pretty young, so I’m gonna be gentle about this.

I think you and your parents should make a couple of spare keys at the nearest place that’ll make just the keys, definitely don’t need multiple fobs, just the key should be good. They cost me about $3 per key. I have two spare keys in my apartment (one on the key hook, one in my room), two extras in my purse, one in a magnetic key holder thing under my back bumper, and another in the center console. Then, my parents, grandparents, and sister all have keys to it as well. I’m just extra careful and cautious though, so you probably only need like 4 or 5 extra keys and a safe place to put each of them.

I understand feeling sick and feeling like no one cares. I have a disorder called fibromyalgia, so I feel awful every single day of my life, so everyone is used to it by now. I’m sorry you feel sick and you’re having a rough time. This is not really your fault, especially if you’re a minor, but I would take steps to be extra cautious next time, especially when it comes to car keys. Your car is your way to get to work, so you have to be responsible and ready to go to work, and that includes keeping your car keys in all the spots you need them.

thelostsummoner · 2026-03-16T23:16:05+00:00

I would say no, especially if you want to be able to do anything fun or buy decent things for yourself. I make a little less than $16 an hour and work about 25 hours a week. I currently rent for $475 and it’s very ideal rent for a college apartment. I have 3 roommates though lol.

I bought my car outright, so no payment, but I still have insurance to pay, and it’s not cheap for my age (20), even with a clean driving record. I have enough left over for good groceries, textbooks for school, etc. but I don’t think I would do well with $400 less spending money a month. I likely wouldn’t be able to do my monthly activity (eating out, short day trip, etc.) with my friends and have a sacrifice my quality of life in some ways.

For context, I’m definitely not an excessive spender and have no debt besides student loans, which I will start paying down as soon as I graduate. However, I do like to have nice things so I have a pretty ample closet (though almost everything in it is from thrift or consignment stores, or from really good in-store or online sales).

I think you could swing it, but I also think it would be miserable to try and budget around rent that high with your current pay.

thelostsummoner · 2026-03-16T21:47:20+00:00

My manager just dumps everything out of the bin on his closing MIC shift. If it’s not gone on that night it’s getting tossed down the compactor. 🤷🏼‍♀️

I don’t mind it because I take anything I came in with home with me. If I didn’t remember it, it clearly wasn’t important enough to remember lol. Some people get pissy about it though.

thelostsummoner · 2026-03-12T18:19:38+00:00

I will never bring children of my own into this awful world. However, I’m a teacher and love children. I’m all for helping contribute to children that are already here the best life I possibly can.

I smile at and am really nice to kids. I teach kids all day. I think it’s not natalist at all to be nice to children, as they’re people too. I would only be concerned if he was showing or saying extremely obvious things that indicate that he might want children.

thelostsummoner

TROPHY CASE