The 10 Worst Things About Working In A Grocery Store

I’ve worked in three grocery stores in my life. ACME, Price Rite, and Stop & Shop. They all stunk, mainly for the same reasons. Here are the 10 worst things about working in a grocery store.

1. Standing For Hours

I know it’s part of the job but my God can we get a stool or something? People think working in a grocery store as a cashier is easy. You stand in the same spot for hours and twist and turn until your body aches. It takes a toll on you after a while.

2. Complaints About Prices

I just love when I read a total to a customer and they question me like I made up the price. Listen man, I just ring people out. If you don’t like the price, there’s nothing I can do for you. I have no power whatsoever.

3. Scanning A Ton Of Items Just To Void The Order

When I do an order and for whatever reason it has to be voided it’s just a pain in my you-know-what. This is the worst because it’s a waste of my physical energy. I’m already at work on 60%, every minute that goes by my battery life decreases.

4. Being Expected To Stay Past Your Scheduled Time

Oh, this is trip. I was told at one of these jobs to shut off my light at the exact time I’m scheduled to leave. Here’s the issue with that: the longer I keep my light on, the more people will come into my line. I also can’t leave until I ring out each customer. If I’m supposed to leave at seven and I keep my light on until seven, I will have a line to deal with way after I’m supposed to leave. That’s not happening. Based on the amount of people and how large the orders are I shut my light off about five to six minutes early to make it out on time otherwise I’ll need a red card.

5. Needing A Red Card

A red card is a manager giving you permission to clock out when you’ve gone over time. Yeah, you read that right, you need permission to leave if you’ve gone about seven minutes over your scheduled time. What sort of backwoods pageantry is that? Many times I would have to go all over the store to find a manager, making me waste more of my time when I could be on my way home.

6. Needing A Supervisor And They’re Never Around

There’s honestly no autonomy working in a grocery store. You want to void something out? Call a supervisor? Need to change a price? Call a supervisor. However, when you call out to them they’re never nearby. After waiting and waiting and accumulating a line, you have to physically leave your register, which you’re not supposed to do, to find them.

7. Insufficient Break Time

For every four hours, you get fifteen minutes for a break. That’s not enough time to eat and go to the bathroom or sit down for two seconds.

8. Favoritism

Some cashiers do no call, no shows or the bare minimum and get away with it, you, on the other hand, have to do your job like you’re expected to. I call bs.

9. Not Getting Enough Hours

Isn’t it the greatest when you look at the newly posted schedule and see the amount of hours next to you name is in the single digits? Yeah.

10. Your Paycheck ≠ Amount Of Work You Do

And now, the absolute worst thing about working in a grocery store. In the words of Sophia Petrillo, picture it: It’s payday. You go down to pick up your check. You rip those little tabs open and look at the amount. You see a number way lower than you expected. You think about all the work you did this week, how tired it made you, and you see this number. You walk out of there with your little check and your day is ruined.

What are some of your worst experiences working in a grocery store? Let us know in the comments below!

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