pharmacy technician

pharmacist

deli manager

cashier

staff pharmacist

Quality Food Centers (QFC)

These days it's coming in and doing the books but a true typical day for a grocery worker is working with groceries and customer service 100%. I've learned lots of grocery book keeping skills here, floral skills and point of sales skills. I came to the grocery store with customer service experience already. I've liked all our management, some more punished by corporate it seems, wish management was treated better too. Workplace culture is rough, although I like the size of the QFC 's I work in it's still big enough to have gossip drama and people not feeling like we are working together with a similar goal. Not enough people lovers working together.  The hardest part of the job is working with people who get paid nothing, as far as I know these places don't have merit raises, I've been in the grocery stores since 2007 and the only reason I'm getting raises is because they are forced by a contract to pay me more for being their so long, so you have to stick it out to get paid, which makes it challenging to keep staff. The union medical I think is great and if you are lucky enough to value that over the minimum wage that's good. Often times we hire young so they are on their parents insurance and most people would prefer more money lol . I love people so the most important part of the job is being able to work with them. I am encouraged to take care of my customers and we work for such a big monopoly pretty much that you don't feel like you need to turn an honest customer away from a well deserved refund because the company is too cheap to give up the few bucks. I want to feel empowered to take care of OUR customers when I work someplace. I am a reflection of the company I work for, and when I need to face a customer and explain a companies policy that I disagree with then  that company is actually doing my person a disservice by taking  away my ability to truly help keep a customer. 
(I should never feel personally guilted into pulling money from my own wallet to take care of one of their customers, and we shouldn't be treating customers  like they are disposable, those companies deserve to go under ) 

My last job title as a 3rd PIC I was working in the deli dept. I set the cold case in the morning at 5am. I checked all the temp logs to make sure all the employees on all shifts were checking the temps on salad case, meat case and all fridges, if they didnt I would let management know. I set up all sinks, slicers, salad bar and re stock all supplies. I would start taking all the temps for the day. I would then go around and make sure all products are marked with a day dot, if a product was outdated, i would write the product down, weight it and throw away for shrink. Then I would take out all the salads in the salad case and put it n a roll rack and put in into the fridge to keep temp. I would then clean out the salad case, and check dates here too. I would the set up the salad case for the day. it usually would take me around 4 hours to do so. After that, the customers would start coming in and I would help them with Hot foods, checking out, slicing meats or making sandwiches. Right before my shift was over on mon, wens, and fri I would check out on the floor to see what I would need to order for salads and sandwiches, enter in on the scan gun and the onto the computer.

Ive learned how to work at a faster pace, how to handle many tasks at once, safety, products and how important each member is at this company. Management was great and understanding that grocery is not for everyone but gives people chances to do so. My co-workers were all very fast and been there for years and knows all customers who come in. The hardest part of the job was knowing how much product to order, for example I learned that I had to up the products I was ordering on friday because its busier on the weekends. Also how much salad to put into the case because some salads sold better than others.The most enjoyable part were getting to know customers that come in everyday, know what they want, listen to complains or just about they day, life or chit chatting. My co-workers were also amazing. They worked hard, listen when I told them to do something, knows their job, just a great place to be apart of.

I have had a great opportunity through this job to develop skills for customer service, connect with the community in the area, learn how to apply care for the needs of customers in practice, and learn my rights as a worker as well as the tenets of workplace safety.

I have also faced many challenges while working at QFC. The staff and management have displayed a consistent lack of concern for the safety of associates and customers while I have worked there. There has been an atmosphere of harassment, including openly insulting associates and clarifying that the perpetrators were doing so, which has been not only ignored by management but actively participated in and and encouraged. Customers with disabilities have been consistently treated poorly and not given the help they needed, sometimes in very dangerous ways. I have repeatedly had my schedule changed with no notification or warning ahead of time. I have been not taught how to do basic necessary tasks for my job, and have had to learn them myself while doing my other work. I have consistently had to go to great lengths in order to acquire basic things such as my W-2 forms or wages for hours I have worked, and have faced harassment, hostility, and cut hours from management for doing so.

I have learned a great deal from my time, and am excited to learn more from new workplaces in which I will be working with my co-workers to overcome challenges that may arise, instead of doing so alone. I am open-minded to criticism that comes from a desire to make the best work environment possible, for associates and customers.

This job position is fit for a first job only, or if you like being mistreated and abused. Cheap, Low-quality, over priced food with attitudes that match! Disgusting quality of "sanitation", managers and staff have no experience with health and safety violations. The only way they "pass" inspections is by controlling the inspectors by lying, cheating, and re-directing. All managers and staff are "slave driven"  which would explain their bad attitudes. If a manager or staff feels threatened by an employee, they act insecure and passive aggressive. Management and Staff are extremely unprofessional, immature, cliquey, and passive aggressive. They manipulate their employees into order by passive aggressively punishing them. I have been yelled and screamed at to respect their authority too many times to count. They like to see people suffer more than they themselves are. Customer service is a joke, I've had so many customers come up to me where it was safe and quietly complain (adding they would never be back). Employees are given $2.00 coupons, nasty expired free food in break room once in a while, oh and crayons with coloring sheets as incentives! Benefits are non-existent, so is over time pay (however you can count on working overtime)! Management (including HR) hides and refuses to communicate with you, because their too busy for their staff! This business would be a fine temporary work place for an inexperienced teenager that can stand up for themselves and then MOVE ON. No wonder employees are always striking.

QFC is great because you have job security, a union that protects you from being fired and the work is fairly easy(for semi compact minded people). They like to say that their job positions are only "part time" but sense the turn over rate is so high...you always get 32+ hours if you actually show up, work and follow directions.(most of the time)

QFC has a fair dress code. Tattoos and piercings are ok. LGBTQ+ expression is accepted and celebrated during Pride.   If you work in the grocery department of the store it is better because it has a good union. Unfortunately if u work in other departments in the store(like the deli)...They make you wear a hairnet and you get really greasy and gross and you make under minimum wage because the union dues are high and they dont give raises. You would be making more money at Subway then The QFC Deli department. 

Diversity is taught to employees. They talk about how to speak in the workplace and "unconcious biases". This is one thing that I was impressed with.

If you are someone who has high expectations and high standards for your pay, morale and co workers and visual work environment...dont work here. If you need a basic job, benefits and you dont have high expectations for your workplace. You might like it here.

A great pharmacy to work for that has amazing teams of people that will support and teach you the ropes. I would personally choose QFC over wallgreens or cvs based on how many people leave those stores to join ours due to the better staffing and better wages here. 

Though the benefits are not the greatest, about 2 months to get insurance, that has a decent perscription plan ( the irony) and okay health insurance. 1 year to get 4 paid days off and 2 personal days. A total of 6 paid days off after 1 whole year is a long time. We also get some paid holidays, New years day,  Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas day. Requesting time off requires about a 2 month advance.

The training is pretty standard just 2 or 3 days on a computer then your shadowing for a week. Will take you 3 months to feel like your beginning to understanding, 6 months to be confident and 9 months to feel like you can work alone. 

The insider information:
Quenn Anne, Northgate and potentially West seattle area pharmacies are your best bet for first time experience learning in a pharmacy. Slower paced, and more time to teach ( generally).

More fast paced pharmacies: UW village, Capital Hill, and probably more that I haven't been to. Can still learn and grow at these pharmacies but better for more experienced techs to start here.

a typical work day for me when is was in the bakery was me coming in and logging into the cash register after i clocked in. then going and helping people with lottery tickets because the bakery at the store was pretty much the service desk. so i would help people get backed goods out of the bakery case, also do the tasts that the manager left for me like slice bread and such, and clean up the backery and wipe everything down befor i left for the night. i learned how to write on cakes, use bakery equipment, learn about lottery tickets, and how to make different types of coffee. management was nice and well organized and communicated with each other well. everyone there was very nice to each other and willing to help each other. hardest part of job was beginning or end of month, the amount of customers would increase dramatically, kind of hard to keep up with them all. the most enjoyable part of the job was helping a customer find the item or the right baked good they wanted and seeing them be really happy. especially with there was a thing they wanted written on the cakes, and to see their happy faces when i showed them the writing.

When i received this job, i was in a very bad position in my life so I was looking for a job that paid the bills and not a job that i knew that I qualified for. During the time of my hire, I had almost ten years of hospitality/customer skills on my belt so i was more than qualified for the position that was a level entry and also could have been considered an advanced sales position. I was hired being paid minimum wage, which was given to myself and some of the team that i worked with. I did stay with this company (happily) for about six months, because i was taught something new and was able to open a cheese monger position with this company. (as this was just being rolled out when I started) 

After some time, my starting wage and advanced experience was affecting me so i wanted to leave with no hesitation, while my supervisor and store manager asked me to stay. 

I found a job with little efforts at the Crowne Plaza with help from my friend that was working there in a different department, but more had to do with my work experience and dedication to work with pride, passion and integrity.

A typical day at Q.F.C. started with me going in and mapping out what I was going to do based on what the store was low on. Then I would go to the back room and bring stock out to the floor. I would also assist customers and bag groceries on an as-needed basis. I learned a lot about customer service. Q.F.C. has always been about going the extra mile for customers. They train on this, they applaud your efforts for doing so as well. Management was fair for the most part. One of the biggest challenges with them is that with there being three different store managers in just as many years, it made it challenging to get promoted. My co-workers were awesome people, I'm in touch with some of them today. The hardest part of the job would have been the variety of different hours I had to work. It wasn't always consistent. The most enjoyable part of the job would have to be the accolades I earned. Q.F.C. has its own company news letter called "View on the Q". They would pick what they felt was the best customer comment card and publish it. I was featured in it twice for outstanding service.

A typical day at work starts early at 7am. I go in and get the full service case ready with ice to arrange the product on top of the ice  in an appealing way to attract the customer. I accept new product from vendors and order new product from suppliers for the following day, fill the self service case, organize product in coolers and freezers, communicate and work with co-workers from other departments, train new employees to learn the responsibilities and expectations which are required in running the department and keeping it clean. The hardest part of my job is getting all of the duties and tasks fulfilled during an eight hour shift because these change on a daily basis as is required as per any given day. The most enjoyable parts of my job are looking at my lovely full-service case, a work of art, and having customers tell me that I have the best seafood in West Seattle and my co-workers say how beautiful it looks. Also I enjoy the relationships that I have built with my co-workers.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Pharmacy technician 1 salary reported	$24.52 per hour
Pharmacist 9 salaries reported	$71.82 per hour
Deli manager 3 salaries reported	$21.50 per hour
Cashier 3 salaries reported	$20.92 per hour
Staff pharmacist 2 salaries reported	$64.50 per hour

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