While I agree with Ron Swanson most of the time, this is one of those times.
Hy-Vee's weirdest business decision yet?
- Thread starter JP4CY
- Start date
If Kevin and I are the only two in a foxhole battling against the bête noire that is the mini cupcake then it'd better be a big foxhole for two adult cake loving mf's.
The organizational structure has really changed at the store level. Many smaller stores and especially in rural areas no longer have store directors. They have store managers who are governed by a regional director. These regional directors are your old store directors who were successful enough to hold these newer titles, and store managers are younger individuals with little experience and even fewer qualifications. I personally know two current store managers as they both worked for me when I was an assistant manager at a store 8ish years ago and let's just say I never would have dreamed these individuals would have reached the positions they are now in.
This is not factually correct. Hy-Vee went with this method to save money. It's very easy to find store directors for those small towns if they can make a lot of money. Some of those small stores were highly coveted.
While I agree with your premise, this is the kind of attitude that got Hy-Vee into this mess. They have a large following of customers who WANT to be brand loyal to them but they are either so arrogant or stupid with their decisions and pricing, it’s forcing those brand loyal customers to go elsewhere. I know we have.
Watching people fail up is always interesting.
I've seen it happen too often and the result is rarely a good outcome.
And you know this because you now work there? I retired after 32 yrs and have had 6 family members work for Hy-Vee 3 in upper management (one is currently a department manager). So at this time I talk with the one still working and one other who works for a major supplier and works with the current stores. He still knows many long time management people and has worked with many new ones. He hears the problems these people have daily.
I'm talking about the old Store Director position.
Hy-Vee had no problems finding Store Directors, when they were getting paid $150k+/year, 30 years ago. Of course they have problems now, when the earning potential is so low. Most of those Store Directors 30 years ago were on commision and earned serious bank. Store Managers now have a base of $70k-$90k and can earn a bonus but it's small. This is straight from a store manager at hy-vee. Oh and they still work an insane amount for that money.
Shortly after I left they seem to be giving the management title to every position in the store. So you'd feel real important, but the pay said otherwise.
I don't know anything about positions below the head of the store. I don't know any department managers that are still with the company. I 100% believe you that these positions would be hard to fill, especially in small towns.
Don't they now have district directors instead of store directors that are responsible for multiple stores?
Yes. I think they have "shift" managers at each store but one DM oversees the old Director responsibilities.
Des Moines is a long ride in their horse and buggies. But you're right, I'm starting to see these stores pop up in Missouri and Southern Iowa.
The District/Regional Directors do, for sure. The most recent store I worked at, the store director at the time has since become the regional director and at one point over saw all 3 Hy-Vee's in Dubuque and the one in Clinton. From what I was told by people I still know that work that work there, nothing really changed except he would spend a day or two a week at one of the other stores. Otherwise he still had the same office at his former store and spent most of his time there.
Thanks for pointing out that I'm not the only one -- someone asked about CC adding to Hy-Chi. We don't do Hy-Chi much but it's in a long rotation. It's acceptable and cheap. Last time we were in a store to just get that, and I just about had to ABORT when I saw the stupid cardboard figure.
I am probably not petty enough to boycott, but it's a definite negative promotion for me.
Worked at Hyvee in high school, and granted it was roughly a decade ago, I haven't had HiChi since. The food sits out for hours and they only add water to keep it fresh on slower days.Thanks for pointing out that I'm not the only one -- someone asked about CC adding to Hy-Chi. We don't do Hy-Chi much but it's in a long rotation. It's acceptable and cheap. Last time we were in a store to just get that, and I just about had to ABORT when I saw the stupid cardboard figure.
I am probably not petty enough to boycott, but it's a definite negative promotion for me.
Kind of off-topic here, but I figured others may be in similar situation. I HATE the Iowa can redemption and think it's unnecessary in 2024. I also hate throwing away money, so I've always played the game of taking them back to Hy-Vee, which they seem to be making harder and harder. Last year, I heard about Droppett in Des Moines and signed up. I've now used their urbandale high school location 4 times ($28) and it works slick. They send you a bunch of stickers that you put on the bag, scan the bag when you get there, and just throw the bag in the big receptacle. It takes 4-5 days for the credit to show up on their web site and then you can either donate the money or after you have $15, transfer to a bank account. I use large outdoor bags that hold about $10 worth of cans(200).
The only sketchy part was that I had to store my banking information on their site, which I don't love. I have an old bank account that I rarely use so that's the one I used for the deposit account.
The only sketchy part was that I had to store my banking information on their site, which I don't love. I have an old bank account that I rarely use so that's the one I used for the deposit account.
It's beyond stupid. I just gave it up and throw everything into the curbside recycling. I've probably dumped $20, but my time is worth more than that to me.
I used to work at Dahl's and dealt with the can and bottle room more than I ever care to admit to (there is probably some PTSD from it). Because of that, I don't want others to have to deal with what I had to deal with.
Never been a fan of the HiChi, their pizza, or just about anything else they make either. Just very mid. Almost anywhere is better.
