"Home Shopping Clerk"
That's it. That's my
newest job title. ☺
About 10 months ago, I started working at HyVee. As some of you know, I
love grocery shopping. I had been known to say, "I'd do this for other people...paid or not!" And now, I'm getting paid to do it...for
real! Dream come true?! I'd say
yes.
The store is about three minutes from our house, so it was the one I shopped at before applying for the position. I always saw these home shoppers in the store, and thought, "I wonder if that's all they do..." So, I decided to just ask! The girl I asked told me that yes, indeed, she was
just there to shop for customers' online grocery orders. She also told me to apply
right away, because they were short-staffed and in need of help. I applied shortly thereafter and was hired about five minutes into my interview.
After some general training, it was
official! My schedule at HyVee is flexible, because they understand this isn't my
only job, so I'm able to work some weekday mornings and have afternoons open for teaching lessons, etc.
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Least favorite part about the job: the uniform.
At least they spelled my name right. |
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| First Day Flowers from my sweet hubby. ☺ |
People are always very curious about this position...so, I'm going to assume you might be, too...? Here are some
FAQs and answers:
How do people place their orders?
Everything is done
online! I've not actually taken the time to go through the process of placing an order, myself, but pretty much anything any HyVee carries is available to put on an online order. Sometimes, customers call to add things they might've forgotten, but that only happens occasionally.
How do you know what is on each order?
Technology. Haha. But really - each order is printed out, so there
is a hard copy, but we also have scanner "guns" that we use to scan each item as we put it in the cart. These make for a pretty fool-proof process - not only is there a picture of each item as you go along, but also, the gun won't let you scan the wrong item if you happen to pick up the wrong size, or something. Sometimes, though, there are more shoppers than there are guns, so there have been times I've had to shop "by hand" using the hard copy list to check UPCs, quantity, etc.
What if you don't have something on the list?
Customers have the option to "allow substitutions" or "no substitutions." If we are out of (or don't carry) an item on a list, and the customer allows substitutions, we can give them a different size/brand/flavor, as applicable, for the same price as the item they actually ordered (unless the substituted item is cheaper, that is). For orders
not allowing substitutions, items out of stock or unavailable are often "scratched" from the list, and the customer is not charged for these. There are certain cases where I may substitute a different size or brand, depending on what the item is (i.e. it is evident they'd need it for a recipe, the item they ordered is no longer available, period, etc.). I will often call customers to
double-check these substitutions.
How do you know exactly what they want?
It's amazing to me how many options of
everything are available to us, as Americans, anywhere and anytime...but esp. in grocery stores. There are so many decisions to be made while grocery shopping! Each customer's list is a starting point, but
several judgement calls are left to me, as the shopper. There is, however, a "comment" section that many customers utilize to make special requests, and these are
usually very helpful. My favorite/most memorable comment, to date, was something like, "3 green and 3 ripe bananas please" - in that moment, I knew for
certain I'd been preparing for this job my
entire life. My mom regularly requested we pick out bananas this way when I was growing up, and it was a habit I adopted for myself, as well. Other examples of customer comments include: requesting items they know we have in our store, but aren't listed online (because not ALL HyVee's carry that particular item); ripeness of avocados; special packaging for meat (i.e. 4 lbs. of ground beef packaged in 1 lb. increments); and one of my favorites (on an order allowing substitutions), "Please do not substitute anything but Fruity Pebbles for the Froot Loops with Marshmallows, or my grown husband will throw a fit."
Do you deliver the groceries?
I do not deliver the groceries; there are delivery drivers who do so. I do, however, take "pick-up" orders out to customers,
sometimes.
Do you receive an employee discount?
Yes! We have access to a 10% discount
coupon every pay period (every 2 weeks). We also have access to damaged (non-perishable) items that are sold at a
discount. Yes, I love these perks.
How long will you keep working there?
This is a question I've been asked more
recently, due to my current, growing "state." The answer: I'm playing it by ear. I have some great coworkers who have been willing to help with the (literal) heavy lifting part of the job, and so far, I've been up for it's activity level. I will not be back on a regular basis after our baby is born, but may stop in to help, on occasion - we'll see. There's been talk of a HyVee opening that will be for online orders, only, so my job at my current store may be liquidated soon...who knows. Either way, I'll continue to shop there and
enjoy knowing/recognizing several employees while I'm there!
This does not fall under the question category, but I want to
share it with you, anyway:
You may have seen something about this on Facebook at the time it happened. HyVee's everywhere had the opportunity to participate in a "Springtime Party" contest, and our store was one of the participants. The theme (each store chooses it's own) was "Kansas City," and each department was decorated as a well-known KC district/landmark/etc. I happened to be working on the day of judging, and it happened to be a slow day, so when I arrived that morning, my manager, somewhat guiltily, told me he needed a favor...and really, that he'd volunteered me for something. He went on to explain that our store would receive bonus points for up to ten different sample stations, and the bakery needed
help manning theirs. So, he was wondering/asking if I'd be willing to be the
sample lady. Of course, I said yes, and he went on to explain I'd be handing out Cheesecake Factory Cheesecake. I said something like, "Seriously?!" I think he thought I wasn't thrilled about it, and he said, "Are you sure you don't mind?" I said, "Of course not - this is a dream come true! For real." I've always loved samples and thought it would be
fun to be a sample lady for a day...and that day, I got to do just that! Of course, for only a couple hours starting at 8:00 on a Wednesday morning, I
didn't get a lot of traffic, but it was still fun...and yes, I got to partake in a sample...or
two. I was stationed by the donut case, and the most
interesting part of the experience was how many people came back for their Wednesday morning "treat" only to be faced with the decision of whether to buy a donut or partake in a bite of free cheesecake. Some chose the cheesecake, others stuck with their donut...but several (with my
encouragement) treated themselves to
both. ☺
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| My cutting/serving resources were limited, so the pieces were a little unconventional...though, no one complained. ☺ |
So, there you have it - another one to add to the
always-growing résumé! ☺ Happy to answer any other questions you might have.
Thank you, as usual, for reading and for your interest!
Shopper-ly,
Kensy
Favorites of the day:
feeling this wiggly/active baby boy moving inside me on a regular basis, now!
garage sales
being able to use Bed Bath & Beyond coupons at BuyBuyBaby
