[beachmouse]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

Interesting so apparently then trucks arrive kind of whenever and they then have to scramble to get product out. While you mention Whole Foods that hasn't been my experience there either other than a few random folks restocking or refreshing an aisle or two but certainly not large groups.

I first heard of it from an article from very high sales volume Whole Foods having problems keeping key items in stock and making customers unhappy, and the discussion that followed was about other chains moving to similar reorder systems. And not all Whole Foods turn over product quickly enough (mine is kind of low volume outside of condo changover Saturdays during peak tourist season) for just in time to be a problem as it is in those very high volume locations.

[kokonutty]

Originally Posted by RexLan

bs .....

What do you see as "bs?" The part about it being improper to take care of a customer before others who had been there longer? Or is it the part that management has the responsibility to adequately staff the store?

[Carolina Knight]

Originally Posted by DanielAvery

If a business like a supermarket or other big-box store decides to do overnight stocking (rather than doing it during business hours), it would require hiring an additional assistant manager who would supervise an overnight crew of mostly full-timers. Very few people would be willing to rearrange their lives doing an overnight shift without getting full-time hours and get paid a lot more than the typical daytime stock clerk. Supermarkets, more than most stores, don't like having a large number of full-timers with benefits packages who are not available for "flexible" schedules--they like hiring lots of cheap high school kids who don't need a lot of hours or benefits. The "overnight manager" typically feels like the stepchild of the family, and is always trying to get "promoted" to daytime work. Only the very largest/busiest stores (like WalMart or Home Depot) can justify such labor expenses. Smaller place like Publix could attempt to shift the re-stocking to early morning or late evening, but they would have to bypass high schoolers or college students and employ other age groups since that schedule would not work for them.

The 'just in time' strategy is a necessity for stores that intentionally build smaller (sometimes non-existent) back rooms. The small back room is the corporation's way of forcing the employees to order only enough to fill the shelves on the sales floor, rather than insecure department managers hoarding large overstocks of items in the back room in an effort to avoid getting in trouble for running out. It also ensures (typically) that the stuff is fresher, since it hasn't been gathering dust in storage. The trade-off, obviously is that you will have more out-of-stocks in general. The inventory manager (the buyer) can't predict when some random customer might show up and empty your shelf of a particular item--and with nothing else in the back room, you'll have to wait for the next delivery. There is also the drawback of running out of things quicker if some emergency occurs and your next (replenishment) truck is delayed by that emergency.

Publix has its own fleet of delivery trucks, so I'm sure they can control when those trucks arrive at their stores much more than a smaller company that hires an independent company to deliver their products. The smaller stores just have to stock when they can, because they are at the mercy of their distributors.

Overnight stocking has challenges. If there is interest from potential hires to work overnight and with decent pay and compensation, some positions could be filled and product would get stocked quicker.

Winn-Dixie had its own fleet of trucks and distribution network until being acquired by BI-LO. Its fleet and distribution was contracted out to C&S Wholesale Grocers. Having third-party distributors increase the risks of deliveries running late with late notice or no notice.

Publix has a good distribution operation. Each distribution center has specific warehouses that can support a quantity of stores regardless which division they are in. It has been over one year since it opened its latest distribution center in McCalla, Alabama. Stores as far away in Virginia are being served by the Dacula, Georgia, distribution center.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by gypsychic

Must be where you shop, I have no issues in mine, at least not on any regular type of basis. I have seen restocking issues in just about every store however, including ALDI and Trader Joe's (neither of which I shop any longerP)

Trader Joe's and Aldi I get since they're about a fifth the size of a traditional Publix, and in the case of Trader Joe's probably exceeding or at worst equaling the typical Publix in terms of revenue.

[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by kokonutty

What do you see as "bs?" The part about it being improper to take care of a customer before others who had been there longer? Or is it the part that management has the responsibility to adequately staff the store?

From my experience, this happens when the line is full and someone shows up at the back of it with only one or two items. A manager or CSR will suggest taking care of that person at the service desk, hence making the checkout line move faster. I've never seen anyone complain over this. The person in front with a cart full of groceries is not going to get upset over the person behind with a handful of items being taken care of elsewhere. I call this good service, and it's something that Publix does that I enjoy.

By the way, I don't think I've ever had to wait over 5 minutes in any Publix checkout aisle, unless during the Holidays or something. They have a pretty solid system, despite the lack of self-checkout.

[sinatras]

Originally Posted by Arcenal352

From my experience, this happens when the line is full and someone shows up at the back of it with only one or two items. A manager or CSR will suggest taking care of that person at the service desk, hence making the checkout line move faster. I've never seen anyone complain over this. The person in front with a cart full of groceries is not going to get upset over the person behind with a handful of items being taken care of elsewhere. I call this good service, and it's something that Publix does that I enjoy.

By the way, I don't think I've ever had to wait over 5 minutes in any Publix checkout aisle, unless during the Holidays or something. They have a pretty solid system, despite the lack of self-checkout.

By the time Publix embraces self-checkout, the rest of the retail world will have already moved on to checkout-less stores.

[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by sinatras

By the time Publix embraces self-checkout, the rest of the retail world will have already moved on to checkout-less stores.

I like self-checkout when I'm in ****ty stores like Wal-Mart and Winn-Dixies, which tend to only have two lanes open with 8 EBT-recepient customers with carts full of junk in each of them, taking forever to unload/load their stuff. Otherwise, if the lines move as fast as they do in Publix (generally,) I don't mind the lack of.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by sinatras

By the time Publix embraces self-checkout, the rest of the retail world will have already moved on to checkout-less stores.

I don't see it happening at Publix quite frankly. I think many shop there because of the masses of people working there and the need to feel catered to with no lines along with the option to have someone else roll out and help unload your groceries.

[sinatras]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

I don't see it happening at Publix quite frankly. I think many shop there because of the masses of people working there and the need to feel catered to with no lines along with the option to have someone else roll out and help unload your groceries.

There are not enough people who want to be coddled.

There are far more people who want to save time by going in and out quickly by checking out with their smartphones.

Walmart expands smartphone checkout to Winter Springs store - Orlando Sentinel

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by sinatras

There are not enough people who want to be coddled.

Publix's continued success would seem to suggest otherwise.