Publix Reviews

Pros

Free stock. I have $42k in Publix stock that I paid NOTHING for.
Just got a dividend check for $1k from stock that I paid nothing for.
Tuition reimbursement (Publix paid for my bachelor's degree)
Great pay for dept. managers and up. MUCH better than other grocers.
It is easy to get time off if you have a good relationship with your manager. You can cover for eachother. I have worked for several other companies in the grocery industry around the country. I can now see that Publix does so many things right for their employees and to maintain their brand. A lot of managers complain (I did) that they don't have enough hours in their department to be effective. Publix runs with about twice as many hours in every department than the store I work for now (with comparable sales and customer count). Try running a grocery dept on 160 hours a week, or produce on 150. It's nearly impossible. Our store constantly looks like crap and nobody cares because there is nothing to be done about it. There are just no employees there to do the work. I always say "if this were a Publix, a lot of people would be getting fired right now." Publix stores are so clean, and the shelves are full. Other company's stores look like a garage sale. Publix has a great image and actually do things to try to live up to its mission statement. I regret the day I ever left Publix and I am thinking about moving back to Florida just to join them again. They are not perfect, but they are WAY better than the rest. If you are going to make retail your career for life, stick with Publix. They are doing things the right way. I used to complain about Publix policies all the time (so much so that I actually quit), but I now have perspective and a new respect for Publix.

Cons

If you become a manager, Publix owns you. Your life revolves around their needs (as with any retail manager). They will send you out of town to help with grand openings with almost no notice, when they have known about it for weeks or months. They will also cancel or make you reschedule your vacations if something comes up (like a grand opening). Schedule is rough. 11 hour days at least, closing and then opening, coming in at midnight or 3am, whenever the store needs you to work, that's when you work. 401k match is weak, but that's because they give you so much stock for working there. Dental plan sucks! I could never find a dentist who even accepted it. There are some incompetent managers that are not dealt with. Senior management just waits forever for these managers to screw up so they can get rid of them. This takes up valuable managerial positions and keeps a lot of qualified people from getting their shot. Deal with it directly. Pay below department manager is not that great. I was working 55-65 hours a week and making $44k a year. When you break that down hourly, it is not really worth it. But if you stick it out until you reach that next level, you are set for life.

Advice to Senior Management

Be more considerate of your manager's time and personal lives. I know the store comes first, but we are people with families too. Just a weekend off every now and then would go a long way. And maybe cap the number of hours a manager can work. 50-55 hours is PLENTY, 60 -70 is getting a bit like a sweatshop. Besides that, Publix is doing a lot of great things, keep it up.

Pros

Competitive pay was a lot higher than any other job in the same industry. The opportunities for growth were excellent and top level managers make loads of money.

Cons

Some of the managers can be highly unqualified and a rather nuisance...but that is just about anywhere. They also don't have a very good training program.

Pros

- - Friendly customers and associates
- - Promotes from within
- - Employee owned business
- - Great stock

Cons

- - Incredibly low pay for non-management
- - Too much politics involved in promoting
- - Takes a while to start to see the great benefits

Advice to Senior Management

Give more recognition and respect to the associates. They are just as important as the customers. Stop being buddy buddy within the managers circuit of a city.

Pros

Coworkers were excellent, pay was twenty-five cents above minimum wage. Atmosphere was ok as well. Management (immediate) was very helpful and provided lots of guidance.

Cons

Senior management (store manager) was not helpful or friendly at all. Stores are cutting full-time hours so as to not pay any benefits. 401(k) matching is miserable, with 50% matched on the first 3% or $750 annually.

Advice to Senior Management

Publix management-
The departments in the stores don't socialize or even know what the heck the others are doing. Those people were like strangers when I worked there. Fix this. Also match more for the 401(k).

Pros

Promotion from within allows for more appropriate and knowledgable associates to enter management and run the company properly. Benefits even for part-time are fairly generous. Company takes pride in it's associates and works to treat customers they way they should be treated. Pay raises available every six-months. Evaluations are given in regard to work performance. Job class training program in tact to ensure consistent training. Associates are coached and counseled instead of just discharged ( given chances to improve. ) Safe and ethical workplace.

Cons

Progressive discipline can sometimes be TOO lenient ( eventually, you can only coach so much before it's time for discharge. ) Pay raises aren't very generous. Associates are sometimes promoted based on favoritism or a willingness to do the job, not neccessarily based on performance. No raises for promotions to leadership positions ( non-management ). Attendance and punctuality policy is too lenient and punishes the associates who have good attendance, as they must pick up the slack constantly. Some manager's fail to execute and enforce policies.

Advice to Senior Management

Do your job consistently, enforce the Publix strategy and coach and counsel associates who do not perform ( verbally and on paper! ) . Store Manager has TOO much power and often not knowledgable about individual departments. Department managers should be able to hire within their departments and discipline appropriately. Some managers do not have any leadership skills at all.

Pros

money is a good thing

Cons

hours are a bad thing

Advice to Senior Management

If you are single work hard and move up before you get a family

Pros

Great benefits, awesome skills acquired.

Cons

Not all stores treat you the same. Had the pleasure of experiencing polar opposites.

Advice to Senior Management

Treat all employees the same.

Pros

Flexible schedule and some really awesome coworkers.

Cons

Managers show favoritism in almost everything. Evaluation scores that don't reflect the same managers comments right next to the score. (A comment saying how you do a great job and then a score that says you did a below average job.)

Advice to Senior Management

Stop sucking.

Pros

Publix offers decent pay for work performed. After one year of service they also offer stock options and health benefits. Overall Publix is a good place to work.

Cons

Publix has very few downfalls. The only ones that I can think of are that even if you are working full-time hours on a consistent basis, your status is still listed as part-time. It seems to take an unreasonably long amount of time to advance within the company.

Advice to Senior Management

Offer more advancement opportunities based on more than just time on the job. Take a closer look at performance to make advancement decisions.

Pros

If you are a productive person, this is a great place for you with so many opportunities. I see a lot of people with so little time working at publix get promoted. Obviously, we all think we are the best things in the world, but if you don't get move up, it's because you are not good enough or you are not ready. Multitasking is a must for someone who wants to move up. Great bonuses, such as quarterly inventory bonus, dividend check once a year and christmas bonus. If you work in the meat department like I do, you can sometimes get over time. Once they know you do a great job, it is most likely you get promoted at the deserving time. I am a full time meat cutter and waiting anxiously to take a management test for the first time. Common sense is a must. Publix favors good, honest people. I was reading at other reviews and says that favortism is big at publix. This is what I find not true. There was a manager at our store favored young pretty girls and even had a club with them and made other people felt like crap. They all called Human Resource and that Manager was out within a week. You need to initiate actions when you find something is not right in the organization with a lot of people involved. We are all different people with different issues. Overall, this is a great place to work at with so many opportunities only if you have a good attitude.

Cons

Have to work the weekends unless you put in the time a way from work form a couple weeks prior. Sometimes closing at 10 and opening the next morning at 6 or 7am sucks. Require a lot of team work to maintain a great department, so if someone from your department calls in, you are all out of wack. Right now 15 cents raises suck. It used to be really good raises when you deserve it.

Advice to Senior Management

Whoever that calls in a lot should get fired. That's it. They are so many people that cares and want an opportunity in the company and we still have to work twice for those lazy people that likes to call in a lot because they are drunk and not responsible enough. A person with so many injuries at work should get fired. It's dangerous and expensive to keep them. Also, when young managers get promoted, teach them how not to flirt and overly friendly with specific people. It's annoying for other employees who are professional.