Pay increases in grocery stores as a result of Coronavirus

[klkla]

Vons is contacting retired workers in Palm Springs area to come back to work temporarily.

[Bagels]

Kroger is giving every hourly worker a $300 bonus ($150 for part timers). And the Kroger nearby me is offering free grub indefinitely to all employees. It appears to be mostly stuff from the deli (I’m not sure if it’s stuff that didn’t sell, or cooked fresh) but it’s served family style, which surprises me...

[storewanderer]

After much pressure Kroger is also doing the $2/hr pay increase through April. So Kroger employees actually have had it a lot better than any other retailer in this mess. First, they were allowed unlimited overtime if they wanted it. Then they got a $25 gift card (complained...). Then they got the $300 or $150 bonus (complained... that they were not getting the $2/hr other retailers were giving). So now they get the $2/hr too.

It is not compensation for someone who gets sick, but it is still a lot of incentive to keep people working and push them to work hard.

And that is probably why Smiths got restocked so quickly once the warehouse shipped them items to restock. Or why Smiths had every checkout open at night in the busy first few days of this mess a few weeks ago, when competitors had 1-2 lanes open and lines going down the aisles. They gave incentives to get people to help the customers, and go and get the stores recovered. I am not sure this strategy worked for them everywhere but it seemed to work here in NV. And it is why competitor stores with tight expense controls and lower staffing levels have struggled to get basic grocery categories restocked a week and a half later.

[arizonaguy]

After much pressure Kroger is also doing the $2/hr pay increase through April. So Kroger employees actually have had it a lot better than any other retailer in this mess. First, they were allowed unlimited overtime if they wanted it. Then they got a $25 gift card (complained...). Then they got the $300 or $150 bonus (complained... that they were not getting the $2/hr other retailers were giving). So now they get the $2/hr too.

It is not compensation for someone who gets sick, but it is still a lot of incentive to keep people working and push them to work hard.

And that is probably why Smiths got restocked so quickly once the warehouse shipped them items to restock. Or why Smiths had every checkout open at night in the busy first few days of this mess a few weeks ago, when competitors had 1-2 lanes open and lines going down the aisles. They gave incentives to get people to help the customers, and go and get the stores recovered. I am not sure this strategy worked for them everywhere but it seemed to work here in NV. And it is why competitor stores with tight expense controls and lower staffing levels have struggled to get basic grocery categories restocked a week and a half later.

Most of the Fry's stores around Phoenix are poorly stocked in many center store categories. I really haven't noticed much of a difference in out of stock levels between Fry's and Safeway (but the 2 Safeway stores closest to my house tend to have decent staffing levels).

[storewanderer]

Interesting. Smiths in Reno area is in great shape (was not in such great shape 2-3 weeks ago when center store shelves were literally 95% empty). I guess the Las Vegas warehouse they opened for dry grocery last year was well stocked. I shopped there yesterday and was able to get everything I needed (could have gotten two items I skipped since my hands were too full too- which I wish I'd have gotten given the competitor I tried to get them at after was out). I was able to buy all produce I wanted (apples, broccoli, onions, garlic), rice, pasta, chicken, a few other dry grocery items, a couple frozen meals, milk, yogurt, water, tortillas.

[BillyGr]

After much pressure Kroger is also doing the $2/hr pay increase through April. So Kroger employees actually have had it a lot better than any other retailer in this mess. First, they were allowed unlimited overtime if they wanted it. Then they got a $25 gift card (complained...). Then they got the $300 or $150 bonus (complained... that they were not getting the $2/hr other retailers were giving). So now they get the $2/hr too.

It is not compensation for someone who gets sick, but it is still a lot of incentive to keep people working and push them to work hard.

And that is probably why Smiths got restocked so quickly once the warehouse shipped them items to restock. Or why Smiths had every checkout open at night in the busy first few days of this mess a few weeks ago, when competitors had 1-2 lanes open and lines going down the aisles. They gave incentives to get people to help the customers, and go and get the stores recovered. I am not sure this strategy worked for them everywhere but it seemed to work here in NV. And it is why competitor stores with tight expense controls and lower staffing levels have struggled to get basic grocery categories restocked a week and a half later.

Most of the Fry's stores around Phoenix are poorly stocked in many center store categories. I really haven't noticed much of a difference in out of stock levels between Fry's and Safeway (but the 2 Safeway stores closest to my house tend to have decent staffing levels).

One has to think at least some (maybe most) of the stocking issues resulted from delays in the items arriving. After all, when the sales increased so dramatically, even if the stores had enough in their warehouses, they likely didn't have enough trucks and drivers to send everything to each store at the same time since they were trying to get what is likely a normal week's worth of deliveries (or even more) made each day.