Park Slope Food Coop

Subject: co-op

hi duffy's sis,

i really like to cashier also when I do a make-up. For a short while during my shift, I had a co-cashier and, one time, I had to stock things that didn't even have to be stocked and find 'make' work, and I was not happy. I did then learn how to do check-out during one of those times and can now offer to do that if for some reason I'm not cashiering.

That being said, sometimes some questionable decisions get made by squad leaders. If you were already set up and the other person was 20 minutes late, I agree, you should have been able to remain in that spot. It's hard to complain also in that situation. And then the person got to leave early, that's just ugh!

Sorry that happened. I think when you do make ups and especially just walking in, you have to be prepared for an 'anything can happen' type scenario. Which I'm sure you were but you thought you'd past the time when something could disrupt the situation.

I understand tho' being 'over it!' Good luck whatever your decision.

Slopehead wrote: You really need to be especially flexible when doing a makeup shift. I'm sorry, but as a squad leader I've got limited patience for makeups who come in with a sense of entitlement (I'm not directing this at you, it's more of a general observation). You're walking into another squad and asking them to accommodate you because you've missed a shift somehow - you're really at the mercy of that squad leader. It may seem unjust but a squad leader's first priority is to keep their squad happy and efficient. Makeups take a backseat to this goal.

yes.
the idea of people getting tweaked when they can't do exactly the job they want, on any shift but especially on a walk-in make-up :roll:

Duffy'sSis wrote: Ugh, I like to work as a cahsier and got there 10 minutes early before a shift and requested to work. The shift supervisor said I could pick a register and work but if a person who is normally on the shift shows up I have to give it up. Well someone did show up but they were 20 minutes late for the shift! They still made me give it up so I was stuck sweeping and offering to pack groceries for 2 hours. PS this person was also relieved from their register a full 20 minutes early and they took off. Not fair in either way.

putting the shoe on the other foot, let's say it's *your* regular shift.
you cashier, and you're always reliably there when you're supposed to be. then you're late one day.
the squad leader puts someone else in to keep things moving . . . it's all about the squad leaders taking the bigger picture and you not being too stuck to an "all about you" mindset.

great idea to learn both cashiering, checkout, and exit/entrance worker, if you like the seated jobs and hate to sweep or stock so much.

But really, what's so terrible about being flexible and doing whatever job for a couple of hours in a make-up?
If it feels that way to you, it's time to leave/leave of absence.

On the Trader Joe's comparison . . .
waiting on line in other grocery stores really makes you think about how it works at the Coop. I've always hit massive lines at TJ, but it feels like it's going faster since a. they have more cashiers b. there's a worker at the end of the line making you feel like things are bustling along. A 10 or 20 minute wait is a whole different experience there.
At the Coop it's more hit and miss, based on who you happen to be standing next to . . .

I'm sticking with the Coop 'cause it's closer to where I live, and it has waaaaay better produce and specialty items than any place else.
If I lived closer to Sahadi's, I'd probably feel totally different about that.

ANYBODY NEED MAKE-UPS? The annual inventory is coming up at the end of January. It's a Sunday night where everything in the store is counted at the same time. It's a good time to get in an FTOP or make-up shift.

i've been thinking of joining the coop. I live a block away and I usually shop at Key Food or Union Market. I don't shop in huge quantities and I'm not terribly picky nor do I have a voraciou appetite so my grocery bill has never been outrageous. Would you guys recommend that I join? The main draw i guess would be the low prices. But I've heard so much negative feedback that I'm having 2nd thoughts. I'm going to be upfront and say that I don't like slow lines, attitude or being told what to do by someone who's snotty just because they've been around longer. Basically I'm asking if the trade off is worth it and how much doe sone really save?

Just want to chime in on the topic, because I too quit the coop last year.

I was a member for 4 years. And I think the overcrowding is what made me leave. The last straw was when I tried to change my work shift (mind you, I was a full time graduate student with plenty of flexibilty) and could not find an open shift on ANY squad.

After hearing the horror stories of FTOP, I wasn't about to go that route.

Even before the whole workshift issue, my squad was very overstaffed. Alot of people just wound up looking for work and ended up dusting shelves or sweeping etc... to pass the time.

There are a few things I miss about the co-op, but there are other options and I've gotten used to life after the coop.

Really, I just felt that they were unwilling to change when they really need to and to me, that's a bad sign.

I've been living in Park Slope for several years now and I've shopped most of my adult life at coop and mercantile type stores and thought that naturally I'd enjoy the PSCoop, the community it creates and, not to mention the low prices, when I moved here. However, I've had a cautious attitude about the PSC ever since I took tours, most recently about two years ago and I've wanted to love this place, but am only saddened by what I feel is a ridiculous level of negativity and rudeness that the place either creates or reflects about Park Slope.

Just reading down these posts where people liken being a member of the PSC to an endurance test ("...you will not last long.") or bitchy squadron leaders, or stories about getting kicked out of line b/c you put something in your basket while waiting for a register. I mean, come on! Look at yourselves!

On one hand the PSC idea seems so perfect, on the other, so immature, mismanaged, and disappointing.

If the only reason to join is to save money and to get moderately better produce, or even *GREAT* produce for that matter, all the negative energy and sentiment this place brings to the neighborhood, as is reflected in this and many other posts I've seen like it over the years, it hardly seems worth it.

Lastly, the prices I saw when I took my two tours weren't amazingly lower...in my mind, my time and avoiding unhealthy environments, like the PSC seems to be, are much more valuable than 20% lower prices and fresher produce.

Many of you will disagree about the tradeoffs, but its harder to disagree that the PSC generates negativity. I mean...just read the things people write, and the justifications you come up with as to why you deal with what you deal with in order to 'be a member'.

So sad...

What's also sad, is that unless the Directors and Mangers figure out a way to put a better face on the PSC, or the members themselves start treating each other with respect, it will be a thing of the past in a few years, not necessarily by Whole Foods moving in, but by the PSC putting itsself out of business.

Resident wrote:
If the only reason to join is to save money and to get moderately better produce, or even *GREAT* produce for that matter, all the negative energy and sentiment this place brings to the neighborhood, as is reflected in this and many other posts I've seen like it over the years, it hardly seems worth it.

The only reason I am in the co-op is to save money on great produce, and it is totally worth it. For me. Those delicate flowers for whom working co-op shifts "generates negativity" would be happier if they quit. So would those who remained at the co-op, since it could easily survive with several thousand fewer members (which is what it had just a couple years ago), and the lines would be shorter. Seems like a win-win.

I quit. I miss the fresh produce--but totally take advantage of all the farmer's markets when in season--like the new one at 5th Ave. I resisted joining for years because after being a member of an Austin, Tx co-op, I thought it would be similar. HA! PSFC embodies the worst, meanest, and most severe elements of Park Slope Mushrooms. (Y'know, bland lookin people with a really toxic bite!)

Anonymous wrote: i think i'm going to attend a newbie orientation for PSFC and take it from there. I have a couple of questions for members:

1) How much cheaper is it, really? Say vs Key Food or a regular store
2) Can I get in and out in 10 minutes at 6pm on a weekday or are the lines crazy
3) How complicated is the work shift process? I have a very tight schedule so I would need the same job at the same time for a long a period as possible. Yes, little flexibility but at the same time it would be rare that I miss a shift and need to deal with makeups
4) Overall shopping experience - ok, good, bad - why?

1. Really cheaper. Especially for health and beauty items, beer, and luxe goods. The mark-up is 21% across the board. Price cheese at Bierkraft on your way out of the tour. The fresh mozzarela is twice as much there...at least that one time I ran in to get some (and went running right back out.)

2. possible, although doubtful. or are we talking about grabbing one item or putting together dinner?

3. a regular shift is the best thing -- if you can commit, you're in good shape. early morning receiving squads rock. as for the same job each time, read the bit from the squad leader at the top of this thread. just go play grocery for your 2 1/2 hours and don't sweat it. I also think the new "walker" job is good -- escort people to their homes and cars, walk the cart back to the store. Repeat, and occasionally tell people not to park in front of the fire station next door.

4. I like it better than Key Food on a Sunday, but that's not a high standard. BTW, I hope you're going to the one on Fifth Ave, it's way better run.

Back to the overall - the Coop doesn't have the Grocery Store Smell. I hate that smell. I love that the Coop is clean, and rated highly on that sort of thing whenever the tabloids or the Dept of Health has a look.

And I love that I've found all sorts of new stuff to have for dinner...and all of it is better for me.

The luxe/specialty foods are a big factor for me -- like teeny smoked wild Maine shrimp when they're in season, and fresh wild salmon FedExed from Alaska for under $8/lb. I love that the buyers are on top of all the seasonal availabilities...

The turnover is very high, so everything is fresh, including dry goods that could sit on a shelf getting dusty some place else.

And it still warms my heart to see Rastas and Orthodox Jews shopping together.

the why *not* to join -- if you don't buy that many groceries and don't care that much about the ones you do buy. if you have no time to put into a monthly committment. if organic/sustainable/etc means nothing to you. if you have a car and would rather go to Fairway. if you prefer the premade stuff at Trader Joes.