As objectively as possible, where do I begin....
-When you hired as a store-level manager (or above) by Kroger, stay goodbye to your personal life. Literally. Co-managers work an average of 50 hours per week with most of those hours occurring on nights, weekends and holidays. The work schedule varies from day to day and week to week so there is no set schedule. As a store manager, your life is structured around Kroger. There is no work/life balance whatsoever because Kroger will become your life. You literally belong to them.
-The compensation is fairly weak. As a new co-manger, you'll probably start out at 40K (or slightly more or less depending on experience). Not horrible...if you were working a common 40-45 hr, Mon.-Fri job that payed overtime. But since you are not and you are on call to work anytime Kroger needs you to, this wage is quite unfair.
-There's opportunities to "grow" within the company. However, a promotion is not easily attainable. There's a lot of personal politics involved with moving up the Kroger ladder. And because of the relatively poor nature of the job, most exit the company before they even have the chance--and experience-- to advance.
-This is not a job--or company-- for a college-educated person with tangible skills. Most store managers are under educated workaholics with very little integrity who stuck around because they had no where to go (except another grocery chain, maybe). As a new, college-educated co-manager, this sort of individual will most likely be your boss. Your co-workers will mostly be just as uneducated and generally unskilled. Put two and two together and you have a workplace atmosphere that's filled with ignorance and not-so-sudden jealousy and intimidation.
-Speaking of work atmosphere, be prepared to be in a daily cross between The Jerry Springer Show, Honey Boo Boo and a bad high school soap opera. Professionalism, on any level, is nonexistent. The place is rife with non-stop gossip, fraternizing, drama, petty competition and just overall negative vibes. With the exception of the baggers in the front end (mostly bored high school kids and/or equally bored retirees), for everyone else, Kroger is their life because ...well, they're always there. Literally.
-As a co-manager, you are essentially a glorified stocker and babysitter. This is not stimulating, professional work for a business-minded professional. It's menial and low-rank labor work. You'll soon see that you're not running a business organization. You are a cog in the machine that makes sure everything runs smoothly on a low level so that the suits on top can make even more money.
-No accountability whatsoever. As pointed out in the Pros section, it's VERY hard to get terminated or laid off from this company. That's a pro for anyone who wants to keep a steady paycheck coming. It's a con for the hard workers who have to deal with (and in my particular case) work over the many lazy, unmotivated associates--and managers--down on the store level. These lazy individuals are the way they are simply because they know they won't face any real consequences for their actions. Unless they upset someone higher than them on a personal level, which is of course, very professional.
-Despite giving away your life to slave away in a grocery store, except to be quite unappreciated. Upper management (district manager, department coordinators, etc.) will nit pick everything you do without much constructive criticism. Nothing anyone does is good enough. It's also important to remember that most of the department coordinators used to be in-store employees there's a lot of politics and favoritism there as well. For what its worth, I've seen dept. managers literally curse out and physically intimidate the store employees (including managers) who they disliked and have off-the-job lunches and parties (and sometimes, romances) with the ones they "liked". As noted above, there are no professional boundaries whatsoever in this company.
-Integrity and honesty are two of the company's corporate values BUT there are rarely practiced. There's very little of both with this company.
All in all, I would NOT suggest Kroger to anyone UNLESS you are beyond desperate for a salary and benefits. Yet, even then, it's a waste since neither Kroger's salary and benefits package is sub par compared to other, more lucrative companies. It is most definitely not a job for anyone who is educated or skilled. There is a reason why the co-manager position, in particular, has such a high (over 60% last time, I checked) turnover.
