Say no to crack, kids.

Because apparently that was what I was smoking when I thought working at a grocery store would be all right in an effort to earn extra money. As some of you know I've been working there since the end of February. Well I quit today.

Here are some of the observations of the work environment I was subject to in the last month and a half.

• A woman with a PhD in science was working there and felt she was above everyone else even though she applied for the job and did the same things as us
• Same woman went out to gather carriages on two separate occasions and was shat on by the seagulls, consequently causing her to say she would never do it again without protective gear
• Same woman walked out on the job when asked to get carriages again saying she didn't have to do this, she had a PhD! (hello, you're working at a grocery store!)
• All customer service people are supposed to share the duties of getting the carriages from the parking lots. 4 of the people I work with brought in doctor's notes saying they had various conditions that didn't allow them to do this work. These same people all go out to their cars and smoke two cigarettes during their break.
  
• A mentally challenged guy was hired to work weekdays and help out with carriages. The customer service manager ended up scheduling him only on weekends, when there are a thousand high school students working.
• The same manager (she's 25 and has always worked at this grocery store since high school. I don't believe she has a college degree.) only promotes and hires kids under 25. The most recent promotion was of a 22 year old guy who consistently showed up 90 minutes late to work. In the afternoons, a 17 year old high school student is managing all of the employees bagging and cashiering. And he got this job because he's cute.
• We are supposed to suggest the "extreme value" to all of the customers otherwise they receive the item free. The person who sells the most is given a whopping $5 gift card. The same customer service manager took away this reward because she felt some people were making up their totals. When asked how she could tell this, she said she couldn't, she just felt some people were.
• In order to receive sale prices in the store, all customers have to have a store "rewards" card. They do not have to pay anything for this, just fill out a form. In my job, though, I had to sign a sheet saying I would not make up a card number or use someone else's card if a customer forgot theirs, otherwise I would be fired. Therefore, I had to have customers yell at me and say they would never come back all because of a piece of plastic they didn't pay for. (Mind you in my training, the biggest message we got was "the customer always comes first".)
  
• The manager of the entire store always says with a big smile"Hi Heidi" whenever he sees me, as if he knows who I am really well. Well, he does this every time except when I have my jacket on and it's covering up my name tag.
• In all of my training I was taught by using passive aggressive techniques. All in an effort to make sure I knew I wasn't in a power position.
• The customer service manager gave me a ten page review that my trainer was to fill out to make sure I understood all the skills of the cashier/bagger job. When I asked, what I was supposed to do with it, she said "Just check all the areas that you're suppose to know (something the trainer was to do) and hand it back in to me." Very effective.
• Someone today walked out on the job after two years because she wasn't put on a cashier before someone else.
• I had to watch a stupid video during orientation all about team work. There was even a ten minute segment with a song about this. After a month and a half, I feel like I have just left high school all over again.

So anyway, I'm out. I'm not sure this really conveys exactly the experience I had there, but I suggest to anyone considering working at a grocery store to find another option. Even if it's panhandling.