Revelations from the late shift

Revelations from the late shift

Columnist and produce industry veteran Armand Lobato shares his insight and perspective.
Columnist and produce industry veteran Armand Lobato shares his insight and perspective.
(Photo courtesy of Armand Lobato)
by Armand Lobato, Dec 24, 2024

“It’s 10 o’clock. Do you know where your children are?”

This question was part of a public service announcement that began in the late 1960s, following the enactment of nightly youth curfews for minors in many cities, according to a quick internet search.

In a way, don’t we also think of our produce departments as our own children?

Picture this: You’re relaxing at home — after all, you have toiled all day in the store — and you’re watching the evening news with your feet up. Your mind drifts to what’s happening in your produce department. Are you wondering if your mid-shift person took care of all the to-do items you listed? Did your closing shift even show up?

It’s 10 o’clock. Do you know what shape your produce department is in?

The busiest time in most grocery stores, and by extension most produce departments, is between 3-9 p.m. You know, the dinner rush.

Many times this is the bulk of a day’s sales. You got the department ready, but how sure are you that everything’s set? One thing that helps produce managers alleviate these thoughts and worries is being there late themselves.

Now, granted you can’t be there 24/7; it’s why you hire, train and hold your people accountable.

However, many chains ask their department heads to work a late shift one day a week. I never scheduled a late shift quite that regularly, but I tried to at least work a late shift at least once a month.

Many department heads whined about working a late shift and asked why.

In short, it’s an eye-opener. If you choose to work your late-night shift, don’t pick a Monday or Tuesday. That’s taking the easy way out. I used to schedule my late night on a Friday, from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.

I trusted my early clerks to take care of things, but what about the late clerks? The pleasant surprise for me was how well they managed everything.

No matter how well you think you’ve got the produce department dialed in, when wave after wave of late afternoon and evening customers hit, it’s remarkable how hard your department gets shopped. That means produce clerks are compelled to hustle. One or two clerks covered the dry tables while the other clerk (in our case, the closer) worked the wet rack. Depending on the day, sometimes the late shift also included receiving the produce load.

Working the late shift gives you a far greater appreciation and respect for your late clerks.

Many times, this period includes the bulk of the shoppers that fill your till for the day. If you keep your eyes and ears open, you get to closely experience your evening, customer demographics and their shopping choices. Pay attention to their comments — good, bad, mixed.

Because you’re basically one of the late clerks yourself, it feels good to muscle out the ol’ produce freight and get things stocked, just like the old days when you were in the same late-night schedule, but with the eye of the manager you are.

Further, because I chose my late night on a Friday, I could make darn sure that everything I liked as a produce manager got done and got done correctly. This helped in two ways.

First, I was able to make a lot of mental notes as to what was working or not in the schedule, in the merchandising and in how the late-night clerks worked. I took advantage of this to spend time reinforcing what or how I wanted things done, so it became a real-time training period. Second, when I left for the day, it was basically set up for the next day, Saturday, when things really rock.

I had my thoughts together on what I needed to do when I busted the doors then on Saturday — what needed to be re-merchandised, how well everything was prepped or organized — and my next order was fresh in my mind, so that process went all that much smoother.

If it didn’t hurt so much to work late, then come in so early the next morning, I’d have probably worked even more late shifts.
Armand Lobato works for the Idaho Potato Commission. His 40 years of experience in the produce business span a range of foodservice and retail positions.









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