- The department is consistently understaffed and overworked. Tasks include taking out trash, closing the salad bar, breaking down boxes, cleaning up after produce employees who cut fruit, and restocking. This is especially overwhelming for the closer, who is expected to handle everything alone.
- Produce is not being properly rotated. Some employees—particularly those on third shift or the previous closer—fail to pull their items. As a result, the department is often left disorganized and in poor condition.
- Customers frequently disrespect the department by leaving grocery items in produce that don’t belong there. They also disrupt restocked areas by taking what they want and leaving everything else out of place. This creates extra work, forcing employees to constantly clean up and pushing closing duties later than scheduled.
- Employees are often called to the floral department when the florist is absent or unavailable. Meanwhile, many front-end employees are unwilling to help, choosing instead to socialize or not stay productive toward the end of the night.
