Posted by
Craig Freeborn on Friday, January 05, 2007 6:16:01 AM
Mom & Pop Corner Grocers
Company Memo
From: Mom and Pop
To: All Baggers, Stockers, and Cashiers
Subject: Elimination of Bagger position
Because of the recently passed increase in the Federal Minimum Wage, we regret to announce the elimination of the Bagger position.
Through the years, we have enjoyed providing employment opportunities to you, our “little family”. Some of you are working your way through college, or needed a few hours every week after high school to earn “gas money”. During school hours, Denise and Rose have worked the mid-day shift on alternate days while their own kids are in school. And of course, we all know Jack who has pitched in whenever someone needed to take a day off – it helped the store, allowed you some flexibility, and provided a little extra cash to supplement his retirement.
It’s not that we don’t want to give you a pay raise, but this government-mandated 40% increase is beyond our store’s ability to fund. The realities of the grocery business simply do not allow that kind of increase in our cash outlays.
Effective immediately, all bagging will now be done by the cashiers. If a customer needs assistance carrying her bags, cashiers will call for a stocker. Stockers will be expected to promptly stop their stocking activities and rush to the checkout line. Remember, “The customer comes first.”
We know this will increase the checkout time for our customers, and we will probably loose some of them to Super-Mega Store over on the State Highway. But we will be able to absorb the loss of a few customers better than we could subsidize a 40% pay raise.
Over the years, we have trained many baggers to become cashiers. This option is still available to all of you, and we are taking currently applications for one trainee. We will maintain a list of others who are interested as positions open up in the future.
We will, however, be forced to limit cashier training to one week. We have found that this is ample time for “fast trackers” to pass their proficiency checks. But many of you simply cannot memorize all the codes or master the keypad in that amount of time. If you are in this position, we will be happy to provide references based on your attendance history.
To those who do not qualify for a cashier position, or who can not lift the 75 pounds required of a stocker, we understand that Joe’s Burger Joint down the street is looking for a few good hamburger flippers. We wish you the best of luck!
Sincerely,
Mom and Pop
P.S. Be sure to pick up your final paycheck on the way out.