i hate it when that happens. the store managers job is to look good your job is to make money. so how did you handle that? i would have been really pissed i had to tell people no a few times today when asked for things we don't do anymore like bulk orders or sorry but i am really out of cumberland half hams.

number9manager and fdarn I see both sides of this argument, he made a customer happy but at the cost of making a meat dept person look dumb. I have seen cases where store managers step over the line and get market people in trouble just to make points with customers.

one off the top of my mind, no refund with out a receipt, meat man says no, store manager gives it to them, meat god gets piss at cutter when he sees it was refunded without a receipt

meatlady1 wrote:

---

number9manager and fdarn I see both sides of this argument, he made a customer happy but at the cost of making a meat dept person look dumb. I have seen cases where store managers step over the line and get market people in trouble just to make points with customers.

one off the top of my mind, no refund with out a receipt, meat man says no, store manager gives it to them, meat god gets piss at cutter when he sees it was refunded without a receipt

---

 It looks to me like the "meat god " as you say, is mad at the wrong person.

   I also agree that the store manager ,or any manager, should not make someone feel dumb when taking care of a customer. There are better ways of handling situations like this.

Merry Christmas!

apcowboy wrote:

---

I seen this on Face Book, Have any of you had a Store Manager throw you under the bus ???

A lady asked me if we had anymore whole spiral sugardale hams.

I said no sorry we don't

well can u price me 2 half's for the whole price.

Again I said no 3  times nicely.

Two minutes later the store mng comes in with 2 half's and has me price it as one

 

---

 As a non manager, what I hate is when no matter what decison you make, you might get in trouble. Normally (if we're out of wholes) I'd be happy to price two halves as one whole. UNLESS I've already been told to never do that no matter what. Things like that have happened to me a lot. You follow the meat managers orders. A customer gets mad. She or he goes up front and complains. Store manager comes back and sides with customer and you end up looking like a doofus. I had been meaning to post something about that.

I totally agree with making the customer happy. There is far too many places to shop and deals to be had now days. The customer you satisfy will remember and tell others and the customer shopping is the reason you even get to punch that clock in the morning. I have had managers override my desion and for me its a relief. I have also had them back me if its nessesary. Its all about communication and working together.

Very well said Big Beef and FemaleCutter96.  

I really doubt the Manager had any intention of throwing someone under the bus.
I think he was just doing his job and keeping the customer happy

I'm lucky I guess. At my current store the store manager is a hardcore vegan. He hardly sets foot in the meat and seafood dept. It's pretty sweet. He has 25+ years of experience and does offer advice or criticism from time to time, most of it warranted and helpful. He pretty much backs me up all the time and I do the same for him. As far as pricing 2 halves as a whole ham at whole ham price, no problem...there might be a 1/4 lb of ground beef accidentally on the scale with it...LOL!

Customer/Guest is KING! There are few exception to that policy. A basic business 101 rule. From my experience over the years , I have found that most Store Directors and department Leaders prefer having this type of opportunity handled at the department level. Meat cutters generally receive higher wages, possess skills and often a greater knowledge of the products they work with. Management, has a right to expect cutters to accept greater customer P.R. responsibilities. Most managers, do not want to be bothered with scenarios like the one in this thread. If a employer pricing policy allows for reasonable flexing, it is there for a reason! Deal with it promptly and locally.
The ONE unhappy guest telling TEN others rule applies here. However, one should never tolerate or support, any management interference that embarrasses a subordinate's dignity directly in front of a customer or team members.

apcowboy wrote:

---

I seen this on Face Book, Have any of you had a Store Manager throw you under the bus ???

A lady asked me if we had anymore whole spiral sugardale hams.

I said no sorry we don't

well can u price me 2 half's for the whole price.

Again I said no 3  times nicely.

Two minutes later the store mng comes in with 2 half's and has me price it as one

 

---

I think you should price two halves the same as a whole. Especially since often center slices were "stolen" from the so called halves. Your cost is probably the same too.

But the rule is the rule, not matter how crazy.

 I think Leon's situation is different than when it happenes to me. Leon was a manager and I'm not. It's Leon's job to make money for they store. His decision on this should be final. No store manager should override him, especially right in front of him and a customer. The store manager should have told her that "Leon is my meat manager. I trust his judgement on this". Maybe the store manager was afraid she'd go higher up if he said no? 

At the same time, they shouldn't make the cutter look like a doofus if he's following the rules.

And support the manager's decision on price related issues.

There is an exception I think should be seriously considered from store managers supporting meat managers, and that's when they have a "problem" with me that they have to resolve.

apcowboy wrote:

---

Brother Larry, this wasn't me, it was something I saw posted on Face Book

I seen this on Face Book, Have any of you had a Store Manager throw you under the bus ???

Myself as a manager I would have gave her the deal, Said Merry Christmas, save me the left overs, as a cutter with company policy in play I would have sent her to the store manger. As a cutter I always told them I didn't have the authority to do anything where it involved cutting a price and it was up to the store manager. saves a cutter a lot of grief and wasted time talking to them lol

As a manager I never had a problem like that when I was at work BUT I have seen a lot of cutters catch hell for stuff because of a store manager as i'm sure you and a lot of others here have.

---

 I wondered about that. I thought maybe you meant you saw the question on facebook and then you decided to share your experience.

One thing about this post, we got in a lot of good debating on it lol