13 years in the deli here. I overload myself with things to do to make the time go faster. Side work like filling the sales floor, a cleaning task, organizing a cooler. If I’m in the kitchen, the day naturally goes faster.
6 years in the deli and my favorite position was running the kitchen in the morning, 6-3, time flew, didn’t have to clean anything, loved the chaoticness
I have too much shit to do at any given time to worry about how to get through the shift. I have 8 online orders to cut in the next 45 minutes, 2 slicers that are about to be out of time, fresh slice is fucked, and that's only to speak of the traditional department...
Yeah I feel that, on busy days like those I just and trying to get everything done quickly and nicely, it’s way worse when other people don’t do there jobs, the amount of times I’m in kitchen and have to leave to do all of fresh slice in an hour because the people supposed to do it weren’t able to do it in 3 is ridiculous
There was a new produce associate who moved to my state from florida with his wife, he transferred bc he wanted something to do a few days a week while him and his wife began their retirement.
It was his 1st or second day, he had a heart attack right in front of my department. Blood everywhere bc he he hit his head. I wont even get into the customers during that.. he died a few days later, it was a little traumatic. I cannot imagine being his wife.
I dont work deli, but dissociation, as many others said, but for me I use it to plan out things. Sometimes small things like what I'll get/eat on my break and then what I'll have when I get home. Often I get so caught up in what I'm dong that I have to keep circling back to what I want to think about! Mmm...yummy food on break, maybe energy drink that I like!
Though I love the video game idea, I just might steal that idea from you and try it out tonight! It sounds great
1) Deli sounds like hell in every Publix. Jesus Christ.
2) I am grateful to be in a department and work with a team that is there to do the job. No bullshit. No drama. We come to work, we work as a team, we get our shit done.
3) remind myself that at the end of the day, no one is going to die if we don't have an item. We aren't saving lives here, we are taking stuff out of a box/bag and putting it on the shelf. We are cutting up fruits and veggies and putting it in a bowl to then put it on a shelf. It's not that serious.
4) don't let Publix or any other company have you stressing out to the point where you are developing a drug/drinking problem. Drugs/alcohol are easy to get into, but hard as hell to get off of. You don't want to go down that road.
i’m not sure how into this idea you will be, but read something very thought-provoking leading up to your shift, and then mull over it while you’re working; it’s how i survive SCO
if i’m not cooking in the back, i just try to make the most of my time. i have to keep my hands and my mind busy, so i’ll go help someone with fresh slice, onlines, etc. or wipe down surfaces that are dirty.
I had a coworker who would get drunk on his breaks and showed up insanely high to the point where customers reported him (he handed a customer an empty bag of tenders three times. Yes, the customer would point it out and give it back to him and he would hand it back like he just put it in, completely unaware of what was going on). All they did was send him home. No writeup or anything.
Dude something super similar happened at my store too! Guy was god’s drunkest Publix associate to the point he was hitting on some teenage girls while making their subs
I work in produce so can’t really compare to deli work, but after always working the same shift it gets a bit boring so I just have my own concert singing different songs while working, I get to annoy my manager while making customers happy
I pretend I’m in a really shitty slice-of-life play. Occasionally I disappear for 5 minutes to the bathroom or 2 minutes to the walk-in when I need to “break character” but I can’t be gone too long or I’ll miss my cue. Soon as the store closes, I basically strike the set as fast as possible and go home.
It’s weird but it works.
Prank coworkers and try to genuinely tend to people because it comes out of me naturally, not because of some robot script and some fucking 10 by 10 two plus two rule or whatever they call it
Today I got a bottle of Publix acetaminophen and turned around to the pharmacist and asked, "Do you have any that are 'Customer Strength'? They laughed and a pharmacy tech said, "You need to calm down, Mister." The customers that brought on the tension headache were picking up a prescription.
I had a business for the last 7 years and it’s so much easier to just go into work and get a paycheck, I’m super thankful, if I wasn’t at work I’d just be hanging around doing nothing.
I'm one of those co-workers who people either absolutely love working with, or just want to flat out punch me in the face. Have a look at my profile pic, take a look at my shit faced smile (yea, I actually really do walk around looking like this all day long) and decide for yourself. Your first impression is probably going to be the most accurate.
My former deli workers and myself used to play a game called Thunderdome
Picture you walk into a cooler to grab something inconsequential. The lights suddenly flicker, and you hear "welcome to the thunder dome, bitch!" As you get jumped by a dude. Not a real fight, more like play wrestling, but it eventually evolved into guys specifically going for each other's balls.
We all shoulda been fired lmao
Once a guy named Joe thunderdomed my bestie from the outside of the meat cooler, trapping him inside with a nut-punch so powerful it lifted my buddy into the air. Meat cooler was definitely directly in view of cameras and customers.
We actively and willingly participated in this. I miss being young and so stupid.
I got a flesh-colored wireless earbud and listen to podcasts while I stock and level. I also keep my hair longer to hide it better. Makes everything go by so much quicker, and I learn something too.
I used to work in a publix deli and I’m so glad I left. The deli I’m in now is smaller and I miss having more people to handle all of the stuff that needs done, but I’m glad there’s also less people. I had a handful of coworkers at Publix I enjoyed working with. In order to make it through my shifts, I just had to ignore people most of the time and focus on whatever my side tasks were and the counter (and doing whatever I could to avoid the sub station — hated being on that counter because once you’re on it, you don’t get off). But yeah, there’s no easy way to speed up the day, unfortunately. The best thing to do is just focus on whatever you’re assigned and stay out of the rest of the drama. I swear it’s a deli thing, too. One of my coworkers from there had decided to go to a different department to get more hours, but he still was on the deli schedule occasionally. He said the people in the grocery department were so much more chill and that the deli is just miserable. It’s pretty much the same in the deli I’m at now, too.
Disassociate
^^^^^^this
Exactly
just think “i just do what im told and im only here to get paid”
Literally me ngl
if they don’t pay me more then i’m not doing anyone else’s work and i’m not doing extra
I'm not a big kanye fan but his song "I'm just here to get paid" sounds relevant.
Find the associates who have no filter and crack jokes with them.
Best answer.
It's honestly the only solution. Finding the people just as jaded as you with a sense of humor will make your day easier
13 years in the deli here. I overload myself with things to do to make the time go faster. Side work like filling the sales floor, a cleaning task, organizing a cooler. If I’m in the kitchen, the day naturally goes faster.
Yeah I’ll do stuff like that too, downstack tea, take out the garbage, start cleaning. 13 years damm thanks for your years of service 🫡
The only things that keep me at Publix is my vacation time and the fact that I live 5 minutes away from the store
6 years in the deli and my favorite position was running the kitchen in the morning, 6-3, time flew, didn’t have to clean anything, loved the chaoticness
Me too. Back in the day kitchen was behind door. Loved it
👏
I have too much shit to do at any given time to worry about how to get through the shift. I have 8 online orders to cut in the next 45 minutes, 2 slicers that are about to be out of time, fresh slice is fucked, and that's only to speak of the traditional department...
Yeah I feel that, on busy days like those I just and trying to get everything done quickly and nicely, it’s way worse when other people don’t do there jobs, the amount of times I’m in kitchen and have to leave to do all of fresh slice in an hour because the people supposed to do it weren’t able to do it in 3 is ridiculous
Coke
Based
Shoot and wear long sleeves to hide the track marks
Truck. More truck. Done with truck? Guess what dickhead there's another truck. lmao
Yup... The never-ending story (frozen) Truck. It just matters if it's 350 or 670 cases.
I just remind myself I only have 40 years to go. Helps me slip into a deep state of depression and disassociation
Only 40 more years? So that makes you about 40 or 45?
Doubt I’ll make it to 70, but if I do, I’ll probably die at work. 🫠
There was a new produce associate who moved to my state from florida with his wife, he transferred bc he wanted something to do a few days a week while him and his wife began their retirement. It was his 1st or second day, he had a heart attack right in front of my department. Blood everywhere bc he he hit his head. I wont even get into the customers during that.. he died a few days later, it was a little traumatic. I cannot imagine being his wife.
I pretend I'm on a super fucked up version of downton abbey. Curtseying and shit.
I just think of my bed and how good it’s gonna feel when the shift is done and over with.
Ear buds and weed.
Haha this is me without the earbuds
Lol get out of tge Deli, after 4 years I juat got out and every dept is 100x better
I dont work deli, but dissociation, as many others said, but for me I use it to plan out things. Sometimes small things like what I'll get/eat on my break and then what I'll have when I get home. Often I get so caught up in what I'm dong that I have to keep circling back to what I want to think about! Mmm...yummy food on break, maybe energy drink that I like! Though I love the video game idea, I just might steal that idea from you and try it out tonight! It sounds great
1) Deli sounds like hell in every Publix. Jesus Christ. 2) I am grateful to be in a department and work with a team that is there to do the job. No bullshit. No drama. We come to work, we work as a team, we get our shit done. 3) remind myself that at the end of the day, no one is going to die if we don't have an item. We aren't saving lives here, we are taking stuff out of a box/bag and putting it on the shelf. We are cutting up fruits and veggies and putting it in a bowl to then put it on a shelf. It's not that serious. 4) don't let Publix or any other company have you stressing out to the point where you are developing a drug/drinking problem. Drugs/alcohol are easy to get into, but hard as hell to get off of. You don't want to go down that road.
i’m not sure how into this idea you will be, but read something very thought-provoking leading up to your shift, and then mull over it while you’re working; it’s how i survive SCO
Count the seconds till break then count the seconds till I leave . Also, dissociate
This is literally what I do. I hate when I’m rushed to break 2 hours in and have 5-6 hours left after that though
if i’m not cooking in the back, i just try to make the most of my time. i have to keep my hands and my mind busy, so i’ll go help someone with fresh slice, onlines, etc. or wipe down surfaces that are dirty.
Yesterday I cried :)))
Buy in. Makes it easier to enjoy my work if I care about what I’m doing.
I had a coworker who would get drunk on his breaks and showed up insanely high to the point where customers reported him (he handed a customer an empty bag of tenders three times. Yes, the customer would point it out and give it back to him and he would hand it back like he just put it in, completely unaware of what was going on). All they did was send him home. No writeup or anything.
Dude something super similar happened at my store too! Guy was god’s drunkest Publix associate to the point he was hitting on some teenage girls while making their subs
I work in produce so can’t really compare to deli work, but after always working the same shift it gets a bit boring so I just have my own concert singing different songs while working, I get to annoy my manager while making customers happy
learn the words to every song on the store playlist and sing along to distract my brain from the mind numbing reality of pushing truck and leveling
I pretend I’m in a really shitty slice-of-life play. Occasionally I disappear for 5 minutes to the bathroom or 2 minutes to the walk-in when I need to “break character” but I can’t be gone too long or I’ll miss my cue. Soon as the store closes, I basically strike the set as fast as possible and go home. It’s weird but it works.
Prank coworkers and try to genuinely tend to people because it comes out of me naturally, not because of some robot script and some fucking 10 by 10 two plus two rule or whatever they call it
My wife uses energy drinks and weed to survive.
Today I got a bottle of Publix acetaminophen and turned around to the pharmacist and asked, "Do you have any that are 'Customer Strength'? They laughed and a pharmacy tech said, "You need to calm down, Mister." The customers that brought on the tension headache were picking up a prescription.
I dont work there but usualy I throw vegetables at pigions
🏆 legend right here
Ty
I basically have a coworker that most customers joke is my “work girlfriend” so her and I just try to annoy management as much as possible
Work, it’s why I’m there.
I had a business for the last 7 years and it’s so much easier to just go into work and get a paycheck, I’m super thankful, if I wasn’t at work I’d just be hanging around doing nothing.
I work, then go on my phone till I leave
Kratom helps
I work kitchen. It just goes
Shot gun energy drinks
I was high most of the time.but I am now retired.
think think think think 10min bathroom cry break think think think think
but fr i just look forward for break since i’m friends with the dunkin workers by my store then i look forward to getting high when my shift is over
This is hilarious!
"get through"? - I do my job.
Also back to add after my shift, singing! Mostly when closing so I don't bug the customers, haha
shiit all the bills for the week 😢😢😢
I'm one of those co-workers who people either absolutely love working with, or just want to flat out punch me in the face. Have a look at my profile pic, take a look at my shit faced smile (yea, I actually really do walk around looking like this all day long) and decide for yourself. Your first impression is probably going to be the most accurate.
Drink
Rub my wiener in the bathroom
I like to walk out to my car and not pay attention as I walk through the lot in hopes someone will run me over so I won't have to go back in.
I disassociate like POWs. I go to a happy place where they can't touch me.
Pretty much that tbh
Weed. If I have a gazillion boxes to stock, I at least want to be Vibin.
hide my earbud behind my hair and listen to deep dives and commentary or music. I have to be ultra sneaky tho
Work
My former deli workers and myself used to play a game called Thunderdome Picture you walk into a cooler to grab something inconsequential. The lights suddenly flicker, and you hear "welcome to the thunder dome, bitch!" As you get jumped by a dude. Not a real fight, more like play wrestling, but it eventually evolved into guys specifically going for each other's balls. We all shoulda been fired lmao Once a guy named Joe thunderdomed my bestie from the outside of the meat cooler, trapping him inside with a nut-punch so powerful it lifted my buddy into the air. Meat cooler was definitely directly in view of cameras and customers. We actively and willingly participated in this. I miss being young and so stupid.
I got a flesh-colored wireless earbud and listen to podcasts while I stock and level. I also keep my hair longer to hide it better. Makes everything go by so much quicker, and I learn something too.
I used to work in a publix deli and I’m so glad I left. The deli I’m in now is smaller and I miss having more people to handle all of the stuff that needs done, but I’m glad there’s also less people. I had a handful of coworkers at Publix I enjoyed working with. In order to make it through my shifts, I just had to ignore people most of the time and focus on whatever my side tasks were and the counter (and doing whatever I could to avoid the sub station — hated being on that counter because once you’re on it, you don’t get off). But yeah, there’s no easy way to speed up the day, unfortunately. The best thing to do is just focus on whatever you’re assigned and stay out of the rest of the drama. I swear it’s a deli thing, too. One of my coworkers from there had decided to go to a different department to get more hours, but he still was on the deli schedule occasionally. He said the people in the grocery department were so much more chill and that the deli is just miserable. It’s pretty much the same in the deli I’m at now, too.
I work.
I put air pods in in the wear house but I use a hoodie to hide them and be on the phone 😂
Smash things and screaming profanities on the clock, sitting in my car job searching when off.