6 Common Grocery Store Positions

There are a wide variety of positions open in the grocery store market.

These are some of the more common grocery store positions you can consider for your next job opportunity.

Grocery Store Cashier

The grocery store cashier interacts with customers and handles financial transactions. They process the payments from customers who have come to purchase services and goods.

Responsibilities of the cashier vary store to store but typically include scanning each of the customer’s items and either bagging them, sending them down the conveyor, or placing them back into the cart. With the use of a handheld device, the cashier can scan heavier items, so the customer nor the cashier have to lift them, and with the use of a scale, they can weigh, and price the produce.

It is the cashier’s responsibility to ask for identification should a customer of questionable age attempt to purchase tobacco, alcohol, or other age-restricted items. There may be additional duties requested by the management of the grocery store.

Grocery Store Bagger

Baggers at the grocery store perform several tasks within the grocery store with their primary job being the packing of customer’s items into bags and then assisting them with loading the bags into their vehicles.

The bagger position requires a lot of interaction between themselves and the customer, so it essential for them to be pleasant and polite as their actions significantly reflect on the store.

Additional tasks they may be asked to perform include retrieving shopping carts from the parking lot, putting unwanted merchandise back on the shelves, help customers find product locations or other tasks requested by management.

Grocery Stocker

Grocery stockers are often found filling a variety of grocery store positions with their primary task consisting of keeping the shelves filled with inventory. These grocery store positions can either be filled for day-time work or as an evening job after customer hours. This position does not often require a lot of contact with customers unless performed during customer hours when the consumer will often interrupt to ask the location of certain items.

The main task of stocking shelves also includes keeping shelves labeled, organized, and neat. They may also be required to set up displays and remove old products and replace them with new stock. It is also often asked that they keep aisles and the entrance to the store clean and organized.

Grocery Store Butcher

If a grocery store employs a butcher, they are often able to perform a wide variety of duties for customers. They can cube or cut down the size of a roast if the one in the display case does not meet your recipe requirements. They are also able to cut through bones if the meat in the case is too large and the customer will not be able to cut through it at home.

Some customers prefer a cut of meat without bones, so the butcher can also take out a backbone or butterfly a chicken breast. When a grocery store employs a butcher, a customer is often able to ask them to prepare a cut of meat to match any request.

Grocery Store Baker

In the bakery department, the grocery store baker provides premier baked items for customers. They often take and fill orders for special events such as birthday, graduation, anniversary, or any special event cake. It is often part of the bakery worker to finish products such as pastries or donuts and to package and price many of the bakery department products.

There are many safety and sanitation guidelines to follow in this position and will vary from store to store depending on what is offered by the bakery department in the store.

Grocery Store Manager

The manager of a grocery store is responsible for overseeing all daily operations throughout the grocery store. The size of the store will determine whether or not there are departmental managers or if one manages the entire store. Some stores have separate managers for different departments such as one for the health-food department, another for the meat area, and yet another to oversee the general merchandise area.

Whether a department manager or the manager of the entire store, it is the responsibility of this position to make sure all employees are working in a safe environment, they will need to resolve customer complaints and may be asked to develop marketing strategies to move specific items.

Managers are often asked to hire and fire employees as well as train new hires coming to the store. It would be this individual’s responsibility to ensure the store complies with food safety laws as well as deal with managing orders and working with vendors. There may be other responsibilities assigned depending on the individual needs of the store.

Conclusion

Working in a grocery store offers you the potential for growth in the retail market. It is an exciting career that provides you with the opportunity to relate and work with others. The wide variety of grocery store positions available allows you to expand as an individual and pursue a lifetime career. Now you have a better understanding of the most common grocery store positions, it’s time to search and apply for a job opportunity.