The produce night shift
We turn to the reader’s file this week. I received an inquiry from a chain merchandiser, looking for tips to better handle the winter holidays. New Year’s Day and Christmas are very busy weeks in the produce aisle.
However, Thanksgiving week is certainly the busiest of the bunch on average. To save time, I forwarded a related article I scratched out a few years ago for Produce Retailer magazine.
The merchandiser responded and commented on the labor suggestion paragraph. One point I made was to consider scheduling an overnight shift.
She said they hadn’t thought about scheduling someone to work a graveyard shift in produce. “We do that with the grocery crew all the time,” she said. “That might work well.”
It does. It’s all about time management. Having the right people in the right place, at the right time. So whether the produce overnight shift is voluntary or compulsory, it has a place in streamlining tasks during the holidays.
The clerk, of course, should ideally be a self-starter. Someone who knows what to do, can work well unsupervised, and has strong experience. Like anything worthwhile, it isn’t easy.
Ideally, the overnight produce shift can include many things to ensure the holidays go smoothly. The goal is to have the clerk be able to get things done in the wee hours of the night, so that the day shift spends as little time in the backroom as possible. Consider: The last thing you want your holiday day-shifters doing is wasting time digging through pallets or spending a lot of time prepping product in the back.
Day clerks should be on the sales floor, where they can be most effective, keeping up stock levels and assisting customers.
The clerk may be tasked with receiving and breaking down a load. The night clerk can also do much of the prep for the holiday needs ahead of time; trimming celery, washing and crisping the leafy greens, cutting and wrapping melons, or anything to streamline day stocking.
An efficient night clerk can rotate and set up the wet rack. They can build spillovers on displays such as bag potatoes, cranberries, apples, citrus, or sweet potatoes. With no customers around to impede progress, a night clerk can finish the shift making sure the backroom is neat and organized. They can even take care of price changes and signing duties.
And if all is caught up, there’s always something to clean.
Holidays are tough enough under ideal conditions. A produce night shift (even if just temporary during the heavy weeks) adds a dimension of efficiency and organization. Labor dollars well-spent.
The only thing better is two night clerks.
Armand Lobato works for the Idaho Potato Commission. His 40 years’ experience in the produce business span a range of foodservice and retail positions. E-mail him at lobatoarmand@gmail.com.
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