why do retail staff complain about "no staff"

Do retail businesses set staff numbers on the basis that Y amount of staff will not arrive? That reads as if stores are employing far more people that they really need to. A small margin for holidays and occasional sickness but not excessively so as that would add hugely to costs.

Employing staff isn’t just the cost of their wages. It’s employer’s NIC (now increasing), running the payroll, pension schemes, recruitment costs, training, employer’s liability insurance, statutory sick pay, the element of maternity pay that can’t be reclaimed from HMRC, equipment, uniforms and sundry other things.

An employee on minimum wage, which many retail staff are, would cost the business between £39,000 and £45,000 per year to employ - which is effectively doubling the wage costs per staff member.

Tesco has over 800 large stores and over 2000 small stores in the UK. Say it added another 20 staff to each of its large stores and another two staff to each of its small stores. That’s another 20,000 staff costing £45,000 each to employ. That’s 900 million a year so almost a billion a year extra costs. In 2023/24, they made 2.3 billion pre-tax profit. It would have to think very hard before adding another billion to the wage bill. And how would the other chains compete?

Before Christmas I was in Morrisons and using the self service. As usual, I had an argument with the till. I waited for 10 minutes or so. There was one member of staff to manage both the trolly self service and the basket self service. She was run off her feet. She told me there were just no more staff due in. Bearing in mind in was lunch time I asked to speak with the supervisor. He was busy talking to a mate (obvious by the language they were using). I waited! In the end I butted in an insisted on speaking to him. He had the gall to tell me he’d mention it to the member of staff! I was enraged! I told him he ought to be helping, not standing round chatting.

I complained online to the company. I had a call the same day from the store manager. I explained about the occurrence and made it very clear that it was the supervisor I was complaining about, not the member of staff.

I dislike self service but they can be quicker BUT they have to have enough staff on to keep them moving. They could take a leaf out of Aldi’s book where there are 8 self service and there is always a member of staff available.

Morrisons in my town is the same, staff always moaning and run off their feet, only couple of checkouts open, even on Saturdays, it really puts you off shopping there.
Also alot of the self service checkouts out of order, prices still going up though.
Hate shopping for food.☹️

Lucky you, ayse. I have been trying to get a response from Tesco for well over a month. They used to be very good but have now stopped replying to any complaint. All the call centres are now overseas, where there can be a language barrier, If you look at their website, there is no telephone number or email address for head office in Welwyn Garden City. I even resorted to typing a letter and sticking an expensive stamp on an envelope. They could not bother to reply. If anyone has any bright ideas how to get around this and speak to an actual human in head office, please let me know. Have you ever tried explaining "Welwyn" to a foreigner?!!!!

Have tried these: also, naming and shaming on social media really works. By this I mean Twitter or Facebook.

Back in the late 90s Asda opened a big new store in Cornwall. The employment situation was very bad at the time so the majority of us had never worked in a supermarket before, but were just accepting any job we were offered. We all had extensive training before the store opened, and the store manager was a man who's job was travelling round opening new stores. I was in the cafe, which was very cheap and hugely popular. When it was very busy we would put out a call for help with table clearing. If no one came we would put out a second call and at this point the store manager would arrive with his sleeves rolled up and bringing several department managers with him. He said he knew that the second call for help meant it was serious. I doubt if this happens now.

These days any one with "Manager" on their name badge is there to manage, even if they only have one member of staff they(the Manager) is not there to work,they are there to manage.
If anyone really wants to speak to the boss's of BT Tesco,Sainsbury,and transport company's etc,buy one share and you can attend there AGM'S and speak direct to the boss.

IWhen I have been in a situation that had problems, I would first of all look and see what the problems were. Then as I have been in charge of many staff I would look to see why there was a problem and decide what I thought might help. then I would act. Firstly, unless they themselves were not making any effort, I would never blame the staff who were there. As it used to be when I was head of communications, people complain to the person on the shop floor or answering the phones but they are neither responsible for the problem, nor have they the authority to change the situation.

e.g. On fridays the local Tesco had 12 check outs available but only 3 with staff there , and there were long queues. A man was moaning to the checkout staff, who was trying to serve someone else as quickly as possible. I asked the lady in front of me to watch my trolley, and went to the managers office. The woman there was on the phone quite busy. I waited for her to finish then said "you only have 3 checkouts available and there are lots of queues at al three. would you please send down more staff. She replied in a very off hand manner that they were on coffee break etc etc. So I just looked at her and said I have approximately £80 of goods in my trolley, You may put them all back as I have waited and now have no more time to waste. I started to walk away and she suddenly was galvanised to start dealing with it.. She called over a young girl and she came down with me to the checkouts. She opened up the checkout and I went to put my trolley first. The man who had been moaning said he should go first. But I said to him, you did nothing but complain to the wrong person, whereas i did something practical and got it sorted.

So there were a couple of other occasions when the same thing happened, to the point where as soon as she saw me coming the managress would say I am sending someone down now. I said to her you need to improve the situation for both your customers and yourselves. There are many young mothers who would love a job that fitted in with their childcare. You could offer a job of 10-2 that fits in with school times where a couple of people could go round covering for coffee breaks and lunches. The result would be less stress for your staff, better service for the customers, and you would get more custom if people knew that on their lunch break they could be served quickly. the end result for the part timers would be that as their children grew up, they would have learnt the ways you worked and then would be available to take on a full time job , where you know that you have already trained them . If someone has been with you for a couple of years and it suits their homelife you are more likely to keep them as staff anyway. A win win situation.

I moved house and had previously used the disabled buggy in Tesco. When I arrived here I went to the local Tesco and asked for the buggy to which they replied that they didnt have one as the store was too small. I spoke to the staff and gave them a couple of weeks to do something. Nothing happened so I went directly to the head of Tesco, used stick and carrot, as I explained the situation, the lack of effort from the head office etc, That disabled people also spend money and that I had done my research and there was no buggies at another supermarket either. They both had fold up wheelchairs, but as these give no support to the lower back they are absolutely no use to me and cause me more pain. So I persisted and they eventually got a buggy put in. In the beginning I was the person that used it most and a few other people also used it, but then I was spreading the word , so someone at a meeting said their mil was coming but they did not know how she would manage round the shop etc. She was pleased to hear about the buggy at Tesco. I have spread the word and now I sometimes have to wait for it to come back as it is so popular. So this is my way of working

1. give a fair chance, it may be a one off situation
2, think of what you are going to say, so what is the problem and what might be done to sort it out
3. complain to the right person, not the poor check out person.
4. At the time speak about the problem, but also follow up with a written complaint or thanks for problem sorted.
5. If you get no satisfaction , besides going elsewhere yourself spread the word and get others to do the same.Also contact the head office and explain why you are no longer a customer
6. use the local media. Making sure that you are sticking to the facts, send a letter to the local paper, speak on the local radio etc etc. I make it clear that i have no intention of dropping the matter and especially regarding safety. so at christmas I often have to speak to them about blocking aisles with the extra goods. I remind them that the buggy needs the space to turn properly, and more importantly they only operate the store with the fire certificate in place. If what they have done contravenes the fire certificate then the fire brigade can come in and insist that they make sure things are safe or they will fin themselves closed down.

if you are persistant but polite, they soon get to know that you will not be fobbed off and that something needs to be done. You are also making things better for the staff at the lower level who do their best and have to hear all the complaints but have no authority to change things. My methods are always from the "Do as you would be done by" ways. Once you are known by the staff , it also becomes easier for them as they know that you will persist until something does happen to improve the situation. I am sure that many managers think "oh no not her again!£ but that doesnt worry me. I feel that I have the right to be listened to politely and that where possible they will deal with problems and not just ignore them .Join me and if we stick to these rules things might improve , but at least we have tried to do something about them.

Just read the post about contacting Tesco. I am assuming it still works as I havent used it for some time, but if I dont get a reply I will send a letter recorded delivery. someone has to sign for that and you get a slip stating when it was delivered. Then wne they try to say they nave never received the letter you tell them that you have the slip to prove that they did receive if, and either they are doing nothing, or the staff that signed for it did not pass it on to the appropriate people. It works wonders as you have the proof that they did get the letter and then letters to the local or general newspapers will bring them bad publicity. I find that that tends to galvanise them into doing something.

Regarding recorded delivery and signed letters,I sent four recorded delivery to the Chairman and CEO to the two separate U.K. head offices and never got a reply,I did not think at the time to ask to see a copy of the signature that had been scrawled on my recorded delivery letters.

On a separate issue, to those parents/guardians who allow their children to sit in shopping trolleys whilst their parents/guardians do the shopping.Do parents/guardians not think their children's shoes have not stepped in something nasty outside on the pavements?
I would not approach any member of uniformed staff to express my concerns,if I could find a manager I would express my thoughts to them,parents/guardians please don't allow your children to sit in the trolleys.Just think next time you are putting your food and fruit and vegetables in your trolley.
There are enough bugs going around to cause stomach upsets without adding to them when it could be avoided.

Children in trolleys, usually eating stuff parents have got off the shelf and don't pay for. Everyone should have a receipt for goods leaving the store. No wonder shoplifting is so rife.no more armfuls of stuff in arms, should be in a bag, if they do not bring one, buy one.. Train managers better to handle staff. Saturday not one scanner available they were all in a trolley somewhere waiting to be taken back to their proper place. Its so sloppy.

Is this just a generalised moan about supermarkets?
Stop putting yourselves through the pain. Shop in smaller independent shops - OK it will cost you more but that’s the “price” of the UK’s obsession with cheap food. The big chains screw the farmers to the point where what the customer pays leaves him no possible profit. Cheap imports are the antithesis of responsibly sourced or humanely reared meat, thousands of air miles are clocked up to get you out of season fruit or veg and “convenient” plastic packaging adds to the landfill of the planet.
Vote with your feet- or keep going to Tesco/Morrisons/Asda etc and carry on subsidising their profits

On a separate issue, to those parents/guardians who allow their children to sit in shopping trolleys whilst their parents/guardians do the shopping.Do parents/guardians not think their children's shoes have not stepped in something nasty outside on the pavements

On this subject which has filled many pages of posts in the past, does anybody actually put uncovered foodstuffs in their trolley?
Mine goes straight into my shopping bags having been self scanned with the “gun” provided - but no doubt this will prompt another gazillion column inches about self scanning.

Sending recorded delivery letters to the Chairman and CEO of a large supermarket to complain about staffing levels is a complete waste of time and money. And buying just one share and attending the AGM will get you nowhere. Only the investors holding huge blocks of shares have any clout and much more important matters than staffing levels in your local branch will be on the agenda. You will not be able to ‘speak direct to the boss’.

dalrymple23

Lucky you, ayse. I have been trying to get a response from Tesco for well over a month. They used to be very good but have now stopped replying to any complaint. All the call centres are now overseas, where there can be a language barrier, If you look at their website, there is no telephone number or email address for head office in Welwyn Garden City. I even resorted to typing a letter and sticking an expensive stamp on an envelope. They could not bother to reply. If anyone has any bright ideas how to get around this and speak to an actual human in head office, please let me know. Have you ever tried explaining "Welwyn" to a foreigner?!!!!

try this
[email protected]

RosiesMaw2

Is this just a generalised moan about supermarkets?
Stop putting yourselves through the pain. Shop in smaller independent shops - OK it will cost you more but that’s the “price” of the UK’s obsession with cheap food. The big chains screw the farmers to the point where what the customer pays leaves him no possible profit. Cheap imports are the antithesis of responsibly sourced or humanely reared meat, thousands of air miles are clocked up to get you out of season fruit or veg and “convenient” plastic packaging adds to the landfill of the planet.
Vote with your feet- or keep going to Tesco/Morrisons/Asda etc and carry on subsidising their profits

Am afraid many can’t afford to shop for groceries in independent shops and on our high street there are no independent shops selling groceries. We are not hard up but have to watch what we spend and also help out our grown family so most of the time we have to shop where the prices are lower than in independent shops.
I think sone on GN are thankfully not short of a bob or two but not all of us are in the same boat.

My DD works for a small chain of independent shops. The owner recently explained how more money each of the shops has to make to pay the new minimum wage plus the extra national insurance contributions. It amounted to hundreds of pounds per shop per month. To cover this, each of the shops has to MAKE the extra money not just TAKE that amount. As a former small shop owner, I know that getting/retaining/paying the staff is the biggest headache of all.

Fair enough Babs but shoppers cannot expect low prices, whike at the same time still enjoy fully manned tills, ull shelves ( stacked while stores are closed,)

the level of "service" of back in the day while store owners these days are also being squeezed by NI increases, a higher minimum wage (cutting down on the teenagers and students ) staff shortages, energy cost rises and (bottom line) the need to show profitability to avoid closures. Do you rember when Aldi looked like something out of Eastwrn Europe? Cardboard boxes ripped open on the shelves for you to help yourself, no customer service, I'm not sure they even took cards. But cheap if that was what we wanted. For comfort and service I would occasionally "treat" myself to a trip to M&S!
We as shoppers may also have to prioritise - comfort and service? Or cheap?

Exactly Skydancer - in a nutshell!

Exactly Rosies and Skydancer. We can no longer expect to have it all - good service and cheap prices. Those days have gone.

I find that Lidl has a good way of deploying staff. It appears that all the staff, including managers (according to the badges) are trained to do more than one job within the store. This might include stock replenishment, removing cardboard waste or being on the till. Each person has an allocated till number and, if the queues build up, a member of staff already on a till will put out a call by number for a particular till to be opened.

There is always someone supervising the self check outs. When I engage in conversation with whoever is serving me, they speak positively about the company, mentioning good holiday allowances, sick pay and pension schemes. Perhaps I'm lucky in my choice of branch (Old Newton Road, Torquay) but it is a model from which other companies could learn, perhaps.

Lidl here is always short-staffed and the staff always loo stressed and pressurised.

Tesco staff here are friendly and very helpful.

No staff is because people don't want certain types of jobs. Several years ago I was visiting in a professional capacity a plant nursery. It was on the outskirts of a relatively wealthy town where unemployment levels were low. The HR manager told me several people would start the job on a Monday morning then go out for lunch and would never return. It costs a lot of money to process a new employee and in the end the firm would rather offer overtime as it is cheaper than offer jobs to people who will not stay. So to clear tables and pick up after people is not in the top 20 jobs people want. I'm told by a neighbour that one of the most expensive supermarkets in our area can't keep staff. She left after about 10 weeks .

Staff complain about "not enough staff" because there are not enough staff. Instead of giving them an entitled whinge, I try to be chirpy, polite and understanding. They're just employees, they're not responsible for sitting around a board table deciding on staffing cost-effectiveness. In any job these days, where people have to face Joe Public day in and day out, they must find it hard to resist braining some of the customers.

Re children sitting in trolleys:
1. If they are sitting, their shoes are not in contact with any foodstuff
2. That is the purpose of the seat part of the trolley
3. Where would you suggest parents/ grandparents/ caters put their small child if they need to go into a food store?
And no, not all adults would steal from shops by feeding their children goods for which they have not paid.