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General Question about Cages

Started by Freebird123, 23-09-19, 01:01PM

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lordadmiral

Quote from: forrestgimp on 24-09-19, 03:20PM
20 years ago when i started i was told similar, we were told about a guy in lincoln who could do a cage in 15 mins that took us 30......we told the manager to fetch him over then because we couldnt do it and never heard another thing about it.


I dont think a time and motion study has ever been done.

I worked in store where data been colected. Aisle by aisle  and number of cages worked every hour or so. About 2 yrs later company released 'Scheduler'. 5 minutes for a cage of vine and 45 minutes for a cage of crisps etc ;D.

Preacherpauly

Quote from: Freebird123 on 23-09-19, 01:20PM
I'm being timed to do a cage every half hour and these cages have a lot of different items for the section.  I've been on the aisle for 2 weeks.  I'm not as fast as some of the more seasoned workers but I thought I was doing OK until the manager said otherwise and asked me if I thought he should renew a temporary contract because I'm leaving cages at the end of the shift.  I  don't like leaving stuff for others to finish, but I genuinely thought I was doing OK at the speed thing considering I've just learnt where all the stock goes and stuff.   Not a lazy person in any way but I'm worried for my long term future at this place now   :(

Why would anyone want to work for pr**k* like this. If you put in a compliant who probably would just not take you on at the end of your probation period anyway.

New staff should not be getting this sort of pressure 2 weeks in.

Jobless

The manager can time you if he wants. If he's got an issue remind him you are only in the door. You could maybe complain as it is unreasonable to expect someone to be up to speed in just a few weeks. Do not bother youself with others. I have been asked the same question many times and the answer is simple I am not that other person.  :) If your task is the priority and he feels the need to time you and not the rest of the team maybe ask him to stop looking and his watch and give you a hand.  :-X Regards "why would anyone want to work for prk like this" just remember you do not work for the management you work for Tesco and the customers.  ;)

BakerBum

Quote from: Freebird123 on 23-09-19, 01:20PM
I'm being timed to do a cage every half hour and these cages have a lot of different items for the section.  I've been on the aisle for 2 weeks.  I'm not as fast as some of the more seasoned workers but I thought I was doing OK until the manager said otherwise and asked me if I thought he should renew a temporary contract because I'm leaving cages at the end of the shift.  I  don't like leaving stuff for others to finish, but I genuinely thought I was doing OK at the speed thing considering I've just learnt where all the stock goes and stuff.   Not a lazy person in any way but I'm worried for my long term future at this place now   :(

lol there is no 'long term future' ... aldi and lidl are recruiting and opening new stores weekly, just go there man

Jobless

BakerBum

Tell people this daily but they seem to think Tesco is an easier place to work. The same people are complaining to the managers about being overworked and underpaid.

oneboxwonder

I brought this up in 2012 at ADM with the national officer as I was ex time n motion guy in engineering workplace and again in 2016...their is NO fixed time on any isle fills it is too difficult to rationalise in set scales of time to location.......ask for the time and motion data.
' one ring to bind them '

optout

exactly this ^^

There is too much variation from store to store and isle to isle. I would just nod at the manager and say okay, and continue as usual.


Don't go by what other colleagues say either, most of the time they will exaggerate so that they look good (or so that they don't become the managers target), OR they will understate how much they do because they don't want to seem like a suck-up. Just do YOUR best and that will be enough.


Has anybody ever heard (first hand, not management rumour) of anybody being fired for being a little bit slower than others when filling?
I AM NOT A REP, BUT......

Red75

Those of us working twilight's have to be aware of the safety of customers. I reckon working cages takes 15-20% longer on the twilight shift than it did on nights. I find the most efficient method of working stock is to drag the cages to the shelf, where the cages aren't well split this becomes difficult. I try and work in a way that minimises walking, maybe walk about five miles in a seven and a half hour shift, working tins and pasta. It's difficult with customers loitering, I'll use the word loitering, because they seem oblivious to you working, or customers browsing for ages, you have to find something else to do for a minute, maybe a bit of facing. Don't feel safe working quickly on twilights as well. How many times have I had to apologise for almost bumping into a customer. My own observation is that par for a cage of tins might be an hour, pop 30 minutes, crisps/ toilet roll 10 minutes, homebake/ health and beauty an hour. These are averages a tablets cage or a mixed cage with things like herbs and spices will take longer, a bulky cage with nappies or pasta will be quicker. If you were to work to the letter of Tescos health and safety video you would never be quick enough.

Redshoes

Some work fast but more goes on back stock. If there is a case on shelf they don't put out more. It would fit on shelf, not an overfill but it's quicker to not put it out and they have cut corners. Then there is the whole rotation thing, much quicker not to do. Then it's quicker and easier to work when you know the aisle well. Not only can you find it quicker but you can group things better and take a batch of stock to a fixture that is all closer together. Some face as they fill too, makes it easier at the end of night but not everybody does this.
Quicker does not always mean better. Sometimes quicker can be mixture of all of the above but the call on when and how to do so comes with experience.

ElderEnclave

I'm not sure why your manager or whomever told you.

I work in an Express and from what I know you don't have a time limit on per cage. If there's just one person doing a cage it can take anything between 20-30 minutes maybe longer. You have to remember you're job role is to help customers and make their experience the best we can. Meaning whilst your doing a cage you may get asked by a customer where something is, you may have to answer the bell to go onto the till to help get the queue down.

The only time you have a time limit (Supposed to) is Fresh (Chilled) and Frozen where you're only allowed to leave them out of the cold-area for a maximum of 20 minutes. That's probably where you're getting mixed messages.

Also remember you can only work on one cage at a time. 1 per person.

ElderEnclave

Quote from: Freebird123 on 23-09-19, 01:20PM
I'm being timed to do a cage every half hour and these cages have a lot of different items for the section.  I've been on the aisle for 2 weeks.  I'm not as fast as some of the more seasoned workers but I thought I was doing OK until the manager said otherwise and asked me if I thought he should renew a temporary contract because I'm leaving cages at the end of the shift.  I  don't like leaving stuff for others to finish, but I genuinely thought I was doing OK at the speed thing considering I've just learnt where all the stock goes and stuff.   Not a lazy person in any way but I'm worried for my long term future at this place now   :(


I don't know what that manager is expecting... Is there another tesco near you? If so ask them if they have any positions available as you would like to transfer to that shop. Or talk to the area manager when they pop in. You could talk to your person manager who should be displayed in the warehouse near the offices.

Jobless

Take as long as you like there is an excuse for everything  >:D

lackofinterest

Quote from: ElderEnclave on 30-09-19, 01:32PM
I'm not sure why your manager or whomever told you.

I work in an Express and from what I know you don't have a time limit on per cage. If there's just one person doing a cage it can take anything between 20-30 minutes maybe longer. You have to remember you're job role is to help customers and make their experience the best we can. Meaning whilst your doing a cage you may get asked by a customer where something is, you may have to answer the bell to go onto the till to help get the queue down.

The only time you have a time limit (Supposed to) is Fresh (Chilled) and Frozen where you're only allowed to leave them out of the cold-area for a maximum of 20 minutes. That's probably where you're getting mixed messages.

Also remember you can only work on one cage at a time. 1 per person.
maximum of 20 mins  ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D. more like 2 or 3 hours in our store :-X

lordadmiral

#38
Yeah thats about right. 2hours of working time then 1 hour break and another hour before cage is back to freezer.  ;D
Years back we had cold chain audit with tons of cages out and people without knowledge when asked questions. Red within first minute since guy walked in.

TheOLDone

Paul and Steve is that you ?? :-X :-X :-X :-X

[admin]Do not ask other members to identify themselves. Nomad[/admin]

NightManager

There are many valid comments to the original question...
I've worked for the company for 12 years and get that there are still some managers with people skills out of the dark ages...but surely a manager should be able to ask a colleague how they are getting on and give them a target to work to without it being treated as a grievance issue?
As for the "getting in his grill" comment...brilliant! Why as an adult would you be like that...you take exception to the way a manager acts and then act in a intimidating manner...
As a Lead Manager I fully understand that every aisle (not isle!) is different, the state of cages and the level of presort delivered all impact the time taken to work a cage as does the experience of the person and ultimately their desire to do their job.  And I'm not stupid enough to expect every person to be able to work at the same rate...we are all only human after all...
Unfortunately there are many people who don't mind taking the money every 4 weeks but seem to resent having to do anything for it...if each person works to the best of their ability then that's a perfect outcome!!
And last point...as a manager I would never expect anyone to be able to do something I couldn't!

NightAndDay

A process for everything, yes as a manager you can give them "a target to work to" under an SYP plan, but before initiating the process, the manager in question has to make sure they're not being selective on who they are "managing".

As for the get in their grill comment, this is the appropriate response for the managers who don't follow process, those who says rods to process and force resignations through chiller chats.

As a senior consultant I know first hand the amount of managers who don't follow or understand process.

NightManager

'Getting in their grill' isn't an appropriate response to anything...and hopefully anyone who thinks that it is isn't in a position to influence or lead anyone else.

If managers are unable to follow the process or don't understand then that is down to poor leadership in that store...and I can only speak for myself but if any of my managers were acting in such a way it would not be tolerated...and in fact would never become an issue!


Redshoes

We don't work in a perfect world. We have good stores and bad stores. Good managers and bad managers. The culture is different in different stores. Some managers have a recruitment/retainment issue and others have colleagues who turn down offers to move. Some are staying where they are for as long as they can as they don't want yo move over to a certain manager, they have a good one and want to stay with them.
Somebody once said to me that you can have a good job but work in an awful atmosphere and hate it and likewise have an awful job but work with a great team. I know what I would prefer.

NightAndDay

#44
Quote from: NightManager on 04-10-19, 03:03AM
'Getting in their grill' isn't an appropriate response to anything...and hopefully anyone who thinks that it is isn't in a position to influence or lead anyone else.

If managers are unable to follow the process or don't understand then that is down to poor leadership in that store...and I can only speak for myself but if any of my managers were acting in such a way it would not be tolerated...and in fact would never become an issue!

I don't think you've ever worked in Express going by your comment, arrogant 20 something kid Store managers are the norm in Express, with Express being stripped out as it is, they have little oversite in how they conduct themselves, by "getting in their grill" I mean be challenging and confrontational, it might not apply in superstore, but in Express it is a dog eat dog world.

Chiller chats, out of process disciplinaries and forced resignations are the bread and butter of the Express SM mantra.

BlueBoo

I'd love to see how someone can fill a h&b cage with 150 lines in it (anything over £5 in value tagged or put into safer cases) in 20 mins lmao

optout

Did the OP follow any of the advice on here,and if so what was the result?


I AM NOT A REP, BUT......

Freebird123

I've read all replies, thanks to all x.  I'm still being told its half-hour per cage.  I am getting faster, due to being there a bit longer, but its constant, how many cages have you done, you need to get finished, even to the point of writing down the number of cages I get through! I totally get that deliveries have to be put out and not leave work for others in the morning but what am I supposed to do when I leave at 7 and cages full to the top are bought out to me at quarter past 6 when the deliveries are late!

I'm not a lazy person,I am going as fast as I can with what I have but it's never good enough and it's very demoralising  when you are constantly told its not good enough.  I try and face up as I put stuff out, I'm also doing two team fills per night.  I've been with the company over a month and I've already had enough and it shouldn't be like that.  The colleagues are nice but I go home feeling like a piece of c**p because management don't think I'm good enough!

NightAndDay

#48
Follow the advice on this thread, request to see where it stipulates 30 minutes a cage, the time limit for the cold chain rule isn't the same for working any cage. If you're being harrassed and victimised, then they're not doing their job properly, don't tolerate it, grievances are your friend (If you feel you can talk to them about their conduct do so, but I'm a much less forgiving person who gets off on frustrating managers by complying and pointing out the policies they must adhere to.) Also, if there are others who aren't completing cages in the timeframe stipulated by said manager, then point this out to him/her and that you won't tolerate further harrassment.

Preacherpauly

Lets be honest, there are only a couple of people in my store who bust a gut to get their cages done then they complain when they have to help others.

Some isles are easier than others. A cage full of pizza boxes is going to take no time at all but a cage of ready meals where you have to move everything to date rotate is going to take a lot longer.

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