I'm a current woolworths employee working across most departments in the store, ask me anything you want and I'll respond in the best way I can :)
[AMA] I'm a Current Woolworths Employee
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I really smelt this comment.
smelley armpit staff?
Can you/ or the manager, mark down goods heavily as a store special so that you can buy it cheaply for afternoon snacks?
Yes technically anyone can do a markdown, however (officially) it is against employees rules to do that.
15 years ago I was able to mark down to almost whatever using those "Reduce to Clear Stickers". I was marking down cooked chooks to $1 each.
Do you know the times in the day they markdown certain items
Ie bakery, fresh fruit, chickens etc
How much care do you put into choosing the best fruit/veg for customers?
Any particular process for choosing substitutes? Is there training or does it rely on common sense?
I always make sure fruit/veg is fresh and will last whenever doing online.
Regarding subs, we have an algorithm which gives us suggested subs, however it’s not very good/accurate and we’re supposed to override with our common sense it if it isn’t suitable. Though some people don’t do this which means we end up with some really weird ones (I.e. dog meat in place of mince meat)
dog meat in place of mince meat
What’s your favourite recipe for the dog meat? Asking for a friend
Hot dogs
when you eat dog meat you end up with a poo-dle
I once ordered a litre of long life milk online. As the brand was not available, it gave me 6 small cartons of milk.
What's your favourite department to work in?
Fruit and veg is always my favourite :)
Not the deli? I only had one rule when working there, always go to work on an empty stomach!
Haha yeah deli is pretty fun too, but overall fruit and veg is best
Fruit and veg is always my favourite
Yes, that's were you find all the berry packs that often have mould growing in them…
Dammit, I have to agree with JV, in my experience Woolworths is way worse than Coles for having mouldy fruit/vege. Made an online complaint to WW once, with photos of the fruit, never heard back, slack customer service.
There’s been a real emphasis on ensuring quality in recent months in fruit and veg, so hopefully this improves soon :)
Nothing like sitting in the cool room on a hot day, enjoying a crisp apple. Ahh the memories.
ah those 18 month cool storage apples - taste like last year …
Can’t beat it :)
Any bargains?
Yeah sometimes…
Is there really robust competition in the supermarket sector? Asking for a friend.
Who do you think would win in a fight to the death, Jamie Oliver or Curtis Stone?
Ooh tough one, gotta stick with my man Jamie Oliver on this one though
Haiyaaaaaa!
Chilli Jam Disgrace!
Uncle Roger doesn’t approve.
I noticed during the evening mark downs a WW employee will rock up with a basket of perishables she hoarded and whispered to the staff doing the reductions to get the goods marked down by 90%. Just wondering if this staff collusion is common practice and allowed by the company or they just closed a blind eye to it.
Doesn’t happen too much at my store, but yes, some staff do this. Try not to blame them too much though, many staff are struggling to make ends meet and this can be the only way they can get by.
One of the most profitable business and doesn't pay their staff more than necessary. It really is tough world out there.
Not really that profitable, in fact the big 2 are some of the least profitable business on the ASX. Their profit margins after tax are only ~3%.
@I like freestuff: yeah but I've been told they don't purchase the stock - and charge shelf rental for space, which is why you see product company (not WOW) representatives carefully checking shelves in stores to make sure they've got the shelf width they're paying for.
and the risk of 'shrinkage' (shoplifting theft) stays with the supplier, so Colesworths only takes the cream of the profits while the suppliers take all the risk.
stuff like that. Kinda like when charities/NGOs can claim tax-free status as they 'don't make a profit' - while paying their CEO $2Mpa salary - yeah no profit was left after that …
@I like freestuff: Whilst their profit % isn't very high, they move massive volume - last year their profit was 1.72 billion dollars! They are hardly struggling
@kev98: Meanwhile they buy old and close to rotten fruit and veg at the markets cheap while they gaslight the population with their upbeat ads claiming to be the “fresh” food people .
Your current customer wouldn’t know that a fresh bag of onions will last months in your pantry or that potatoes last age’s because Woolworths fruit and veg buyers at the markets only buy stuff that’s close to being thrown out to save quite a few bucks .
Do staff hide the gift cards for their own family/friends to buy (e.g. recent EFTPOS ones) as I found none in any of my local stores :(
No I personally don’t see this happening, yet I don’t really know too well as I don’t really work around that area.
I've been into my Coles early and have seen people buying 100 of these 10 at a time…
That's probably where they all went then! xD
They're paying the debt to the ATO they just a text message about.
What time is best to get the markdowns?
Honestly depends on the store and their need to meet markdown quotas. Most stores will have a markdown routine, however (ie first at 10am and last at 5pm), if you ask the staff nicely they’ll likely let you know :)
What quotas do you need to meet for markdowns?
Are the results of customer feedback and complaints passed on to staff? Are there changes as a result?
Depends on the feedback, though if it is a recurring problem, it is more likely to be fixed.
How's management to work with? I've noticed at my local Woolworths some of the supervisors / managers speak to the staff quite poorly.
My experience has always been positive with management. Everyone at my store is really supportive and nice so it is a great environment 🙂. Though I have heard about some other stores, so it really depends on where you are.
Lol. My store manager once left me a vague threat to fire me if I didn't take more hours.
She obviously didn't because they're short-staffed xD
If you see that happening, you should probably pass on to regional/state management. Those staff members of usually quite young and don't know how to deal with this.
What makes you think that Op is into robots?
What is the best time to get the most markdowns on meat? I've seen some people on reddit get porterhouse steaks for $2
Are they reduced 20%, 50%, 80% over a period of time?
Usually before closing a final markdown is applied, the percentage can vary depending on the store
What's the biggest one you've done?
I think around 60% or so
How long before close?
The times vary. Most stores near me are either 2pm or 4pm with stuff discounted up to 90% off.
What is your favourite thing about RT3?
It’s not a too bad system, only that I feel personally the hours don’t currently align to stores needs, we do get decent hours but they should be changed to meet times of higher demand.
Im gonna need you to take this one all the way to the top 😂
Why does woolies often try to make bulk buy or multiple purchases req on their sales?
An example (although not current) would be like cadbury chocolate 180g being $5 at coles or 2 for $10 at woolies.
It just puts me off shopping there.
There are usually greater incentives to sell a larger amount of stock, so probably why they push bulk sales more.
How many people who said they will boycott Woolies over the Australia Day stuff are still secretly shopping at Woolies?
There’s definitely a few that’s for sure…
Do u still use the overstock report?
Yeah I believe so
Any idea why I often receive 4 or 5 bananas in my Woolworths delivery when I only ordered 3?
Is that a compliment or complaint?
I'm only charged for three, so I'm not complaining, just wondering why it regularly happens.
Online sells by quantity, but when picking in store it is sold by weight. Therefore the ‘weighted’ quantity may be different to what’s ordered.
That makes sense - thanks for the reply!
What are your estimated shrink and theft rates and how do you mitigate them?
Looking for some 100% off deals?
/$Not 100% sure, though it definitely has increased recently. Usually these days we have to do more bag checks just to make sure they aren’t stealing
And what do you do if you do a bag search and see someone has some high priced cut of steak in there?
What do you do if they say “yeah nah, I’m not opening my bag…”?
What’s the best way to get a casual store packing job to earn some extra dollars?
I think it would serve you well to familiarise yourself on how our marginal tax brackets operate
yeah my calculator indicates that with the new ATO income tax rates a taxable income of $160,000pa, while having a marginal tax rate of 37%, would incur an average of 25% tax on that income.
you'd need an income over $190Kpa to trigger the top marginal tax rate of 45%, and even $600,000pa would only pay an average tax of 40%
While the US had a top tax rate of 94% in 1945 - https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/59856/…
in Australia 'By the 1950s there were 29 tax rates and a top rate of 75 per cent. By the late 1970s the rate schedule had been stripped back to four rates with a top rate of 61.5 per cent' - https://treasury.gov.au/sites/default/files/2019-03/01_Margi…
If you owe tax at the end of the year when working part time I'd wonder if the ATO didn't know about a second income which wasn't PAYG so when they find out they hit you with the bill.
Probably ticked "claim tax free threshold" on the form despite having other income. Would have been under-taxed then owed on up to 18k income.
Yeah if you apply online or hand in your resume in store then they’ll most likely be happy to hire you. There’s always positions going in nightfill/grocery.
Not too sure on tax requirements but if that’s okay then you should be fine :)
Do you shop at Aldi like many of your colleagues?
Honestly depends on specials and where I can get the better price
What are your tips/hacks to get the most Disney wonder cards? Beyond the obvious spend / bonus products?
There aren’t really any tricks, I’d just try to look out for a kind cashier who’ll give you more :)
This! She gave me a couple extra packs tonight. :)
What is the policy on fresh products that disappoint? It doesn't happen very often but bought some mandarins on Saturday that are very hard to peel and tasteless (very dry). Can I just report this next time I visit Woollies and get a refund or do I need to carefully store them and return them?
Woolies have a fresh or free guarantee, so if you take a photo/video or take them back and show them they should give you the money back
Hi,
I’m trying to apply for a job at woolies in Liverpool and Parramatta as a shelf stacker however i can’t seem to get any job. I’ve tried going personally to the store staff with my resume but the staff refuse to let me meet the manager. I’ve given the resume to the store staff however i don’t get any calls. I prefer to do a simple job for a lady.
Thanks in advance,Yes i have also tried applying online but still no responses for the last nearly 6 months.
Id say keep on trying in store, they will take you eventually, just depends on when they need staff/are hiring
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How often do you take a shower?