While the pay was good, the benefits were almost impossible to get. When I first started there I think the requirement for benefits (such as health, dental, and vision) was a minimum of 28 hours per week average and everyone was averaging between 30-35 hours. After a year or two the minimum requirement was around 32 and everyone was averaging about 20-28 hours. All the while they continued to boast about how they're one of the top 50 companies to work for and how great their benefits are. If you complained about your hours they would only say to 'open your availability' (I even caught my manager almost say this before he caught himself because I had just opened mine to 7 days, open to close...) The management plays favorites with scheduling hours to part timers. I was always lucky to be on their good side so I averaged decently (around 28-30 hours) but some people would be getting 10-15.
They also play favorites with who they promote, especially to full time which was almost impossible to get at both the stores I worked in. Several times I saw very good employees get screwed by management when they promoted somebody else who was less qualified who would spend all day sucking up to them. I don't really blame them because this is how you have to play if you want to succeed here. I had to suck up to get my promotion and to get my hours but it's the only way.
While these reasons were enough to make me want to leave, there were two reasons why I finally left. Publix has a very conservative dress code. For men this means no beards, hair off the collar and above your ears, black slacks (which gets very hot when doing carts), no piercings, only naturally colored hair, polishable shoes, and you always have to smile. (I was once threatened by my store manager that if I didn't start smiling more I would be suspended!) Several parts of this dress code dictate how you can look outside of work. The reason why I quit on the spot was due to a lack of communication in my store. The last year I worked there the office was going through several changes, most of which we didn't know about until someone was written up for not complying. This caused several people in the office to become uneasy about closing and opening the cash office, always afraid that they would break an unmentioned change in procedure.
I would recommend this job to someone who is in high school and wants an employer who will work around their class schedule and look good on a resume. I would also recommend it to someone who wants to work their way up by any means necessary to a 50-60+ hour a week position. I have seen some people go from stocking shelves to assistant store manager in just under four years. But if you want a job that treats you fairly and/or provides you with opportunities to advance by working hard and not just sucking up you should look elsewhere.
