Could be because they can make life easier for you if they know, or just fun

I've been driving for Amazon for a few weeks now and here's what I got

  • We only see delivery instructions once we park by your building, so telling us which streets/gates to use on the way is useless.

  • Also, we lose access to them once we finish the delivery (basically right after we leave the package on your doorstep) so if you for some inexplicable reason have an INTERNALLY locked gate, have the code/button somewhere clearly visible because otherwise we can get stuck (like i was for a bit yesterday)

  • All that said, you can really make them useful by being clear and specific about things. If the keypad to open the gate is hidden behind some shrubbery, let us know. If it's a confusingly laid out apartment complex, tell us which way to turn as we exit the elevator because you could be the only person with delivery on that floor and we don't want to waste time walking to the wrong end of the building

  • Dimmer06 [he/him,comrade/them]
    ·
    edit-2
    3 years ago

    Everything in a grocery store is disgusting, especially the belt. This is probably true of every retail and food industry. We almost certainly don't have it out back and if we do we have one at the bottom of a tote on a pallet ten feet in the air. We've mostly given up on rotating product because the shelves clear so fast. Don't expect full shelves outside of 12pm-5pm. Before 12 we're trying to get product up from yesterday. After 5 is after they've been cleaned out by other customers. Employers won't admit it because it's cheaper, but self checkouts back things up and end up slower because customers don't bag nearly as quickly as trained cashiers with twice as many bagging stands. Don't leave stuff that's not supposed to freeze in a freezer. Don't leave frozen stuff in coolers. Don't leave cold stuff out. Customers leaving stuff where they aren't supposed to is probably 20% of damages. Probably half of damages is shit that comes to us broken. Eggs are particularly bad and we have to dump the whole carton if one is damaged, so we usually end up dumping hundreds of good eggs a day (I don't eat eggs but someone could). Sometimes the milk jugs have a few drops of milk on them- this is a pressure leak because of pressure changes en route or because there are ten other gallons of milk pressing on that one on the shelf. You can usually see an actual leak. We're super understaffed, untrained, and constantly bleeding veteran workers. I'm happy to help if I can, but I'm not customer service. If you want customer service beyond basic directions please go to the customer service desk.

    Also, many customers are mesmerized by treats and barely know what is going on in front of them. I've seen people walk around a wall of wet floor cones then step in poop because they are looking at the products. I've heard stories of people stepping on a dead guy. Please if you see a wet floor/hazard cone, identify the hazard or that there is no hazard before you proceed.

    Happy to answer any other questions about grocery stores if I can.

    Edit: Ooh I forgot, our inventory system is ridiculously dysfunctional and shrink (including shoplifted stuff) is a tax write off.

    • sovietknuckles [they/them]
      ·
      3 years ago

      I’ve heard stories of people stepping on a dead guy.

      Finally, a mistake I haven't made yet

    • D61 [any]
      ·
      3 years ago

      To add to the "grocery worker experience"...

      To customers... When I'm punched in, I'm not your friend. I don't need your life story. We can be polite with each other and cheery, but there is so much to do and so much of it won't get done anyway please don't make it worse. Every second I have to stop and "play nice" with a grown adult is less that I will get done during my shift, which will make more work for the next shift, which will make more work for me when I get back on shift tomorrow.

      If you need help, ask. I'll either be able to help you or not. I will tell you this. Don't keep asking me the same question that I just answered expecting a different answer. Don't make me stop my current task, walk to the back of the store, count slowly to 30, and walk back out to tell you that "nope, the thing I just told you wasn't available is, in fact, still not available".

      The grocery store is not the distributor, the grocery store does not make your frozen waffles, the grocery store does not run the farm that grows the green beans that are canned on aisle 3. The store places orders and either the order will be filled or not. If you, as a customer, feel powerless to get something from the grocery store that is out of stock, guess what, the buyers for the store don't have any more power over the distributors than you do over the grocery store.

      • YouKnowIt [he/him]
        ·
        3 years ago

        Dead people happen pretty much everywhere and people pooping themselves is more common than anyone would like. I worked as a grocery store cashier for a bit too, we once had someone on one of those motorized carts poop themselves. They left a trail behind themselves across the store, pretty gross day.