* No benefits for three years as a part-timer.
* Cashiers are required to perform the "Move-It-All" policy, which is when someone leaves something in the shopping cart, the cashier is required to lift it and look under it for stolen merchandise. If you fail to perform the move-it-all, you will be fired (the company is actually in the process of installing motion sensor security cameras in their stores to automatically monitor whether cashiers are performing the policy). This doesn't sound so bad except S&F is a bulk item warehouse selling primarily to businesses. Most customers (I would say 1 in 3) come through with 6+ cases of water, 3 bag-in-a-box sodas, 5 5-gallon jugs of oil, 90 2-liters of soda, etc. I have known several employees who have suffered serious back injuries due to this policy. I have also been accused of being racist while performing this policy, and have been yelled at many times by regular business customers who are deeply offended by us checking to see if they are stealing each time they shop with us. In a year there I have only ever found one packet of $0.99 taco seasoning left in the basket, yet we lose over $200 a day to customers just walking out the door with items under a jacket, because we have neither an alarm system nor a security guard. Cashiers are expected to run after people who are stealing. One recently almost got run over by the getaway car.
* Never enough employees there per shift. There have been several occasions when only myself, one manager, and one service clerk were present for over three hours during a busy day.
* Registers are poorly set up. The bagging counter is tiny (only about a foot square...and yet we're a bulk item warehouse with most customers purchasing $100+ orders) and the bags are located underneath the counter at the level of my shins, maximizing back stress. For the first year I was there, we had no mats. We stood on the bare concrete for 8 hours.
* Not all stores have scan guns. The first store I worked at did not have them, and we were required to lift all items left in the cart onto the register - even 50 lb bags of carrots. We were explicitly NOT ALLOWED to use the Quantity Key (I actually had a customer once sarcastically ask me if I knew how to use the quantity key), and only allowed to type in the code if the item doesn't scan. This is in order to "minimize loss".
