So I went to the grocery store the other day, Sunday to be exact. The place was packed and of 11 lanes only 3 were open. The line ups to get processed were fully blocking the walkthrough aisle. I know that as a former restaurant manager that labor costs are one of the most controllable cost to a business. Yet with everything in life there must be balance. So, after my grocery excursion I have to run to the drug store. When I walk in I notice that there is only one cashier on and what looks to be a long line up. As I get what I came for I start to move to what I think is the back of the line, no it is the BACK OF THE STORE. In the 70s and 80s we were saturated with customer representatives to the point that it was obvious why internet shopping was just around the bend. Now we couldn’t find a real life person to assist us if our life depended on it. No, let me correct that. We would eventually find that someone at the head of a huge lineup looking exhausted and in serious fear for their life as that their employers expose them to a violent mob all for the simple idea of saving costs. Needless to say I walked out of that drug store without the items I went in for because I refused to be held hostage by the store. I encourage all to do this whenever possible. MAYBE reality will return to the operators of all these places that rely on CUSTOMERS for business. —kp
This article appears in Jan 20-26, 2011.
so, we come to the point where anything and everything we need to purchase from any store now must be produced by our own two hands…
Great theory you got there. Have fun with your copper mine/electronics scratch building/farming/steelmaking/breadbaking/soapmaking/toothpaste factory. I’ll be working on my own version.
btw I agree with the principle, but goddamn- I think your execution needs work
You realize, OP, that these places don’t understaff just to piss you off — they’re understaffed because they don’t have enough employees. And it’s not uncommon to get at least one sick call for every shift. And it can be very hard to find someone willing to come in on a Sunday on short notice.
The store would love to have more lanes open, OP, but they just don’t have the staff to do it.
Also: the work ethic with teenagers is a lot different now. There’s a trend towards the current batch of younger people to not have part time jobs — these part time jobs would usually come from the customer service industry (cashiers, for example). Back in the 70s, too, you had women entering the work force and with little experience they ended up in these positions as well. Now that you have a lack of teens in the workforce and you have women who are taking other jobs because they’re more qualified, you don’t have the supply of workers to meet the demand.
Certain times of day are busier than others in grocery stores, etc. Try going in the early morning or in the evening (after 7pm). You won’t have to wait. Some stores are open until midnight.
Its worst in Bagless stores. You get to watch the cashier scan shit through and leave it in a pile, and then turn around and slowly put it in a bag. It pretty much doubles the amount of time that each customer takes. barf.
yeah that was the point, shop when its not busy and then as the customer you can feel good that you have accommodate these operators. When did kidnapping become an acceptable offense!?!? Retail operators ARE cutting hours to cut cost. But who pays? the customer everytime!!!! its bullshit!
o.p., i find this shit all the time on a sunday, and even a lot of time thru the week too.maybe someone has already said it, but what can you do, really?
these places know that you want their shit, so they make you as fucking pissed as possible sometimes, and the ones with the coupons are the worst, they dig and hunt and look for 10 minutes before handing over them, a lot of time expired to clerk. fuck, that just drives me crazier than i am. have the motherfucking things ready when it gets to be their turn.
LS: they don’t do it to fuck with you. They do it because they DON’T HAVE THE STAFF TO STAFF THE SHIFTS.
Usually because they don’t have enough people applying, because turnover is ridiculously high and because people routinely don’t show up for their shifts.
Firstly OP, Sundays are the hardest day of the week to find staff to work, and usually host the crankiest customers. I know this because I worked retail for a long time. Secondly, if grocery stores and drug stores don’t cut staff, they may be forced to raise prices to cover the difference. And I think we can all agree that the price of milk is already too high.
The price [of milk] is too damn high! 😛 http://www.jacktimes.com/media/files/2010/…