Would you let your teen work at a grocery store?

[Anonymous]

I worked fast food as a teen and yes there are also sketchy adults working there. But it didn’t affect me in any way, all the staff were pretty civil. I worked in some restaurants as a young adult and sure, the chefs are all coked up and the line cooks are ex cons, but unless you are partying with them after work, it’s not an issue at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I worked at one when I was 14. So did my older brother. So did a bunch of kids from our high school. I still remember some of the codes.

Tell her not to get too friendly with the deli guys and don't walk into any walk-in fridges or freezers. Oh, and wash her hands when she gets home - money is filthy.

Me too! I've used one produce code as a PIN for the last, oh, 25 years.

Working at a grocery store was the most flexible of the crappy jobs I had in high school/college (which included fast food, summer camp counselor, bank teller). Thre were so many cashiers that I could give them any kind of availability I wanted and it was easy to ask for time off. Might be specific to that store, of course, but it was a good job for me as a teenager who was also busy with school activities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here.

I have never worked in a grocery store or a restaurant, which is why I asked for advice.

However, I have heard anecdotally that restaurant workers (gross generalization, I know) might be taking drugs and that it can be a high pressure environment. My kid does not handle pressure well.

Great idea to start soon PT. We will look into that

It’s a great place to learn how to multitask and handle pressure. Those are essential skills

[Anonymous]

I would not. I know it’s snobby, but I associate it with the lower class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:16YO DS hasn't started search for summer job yet. I have heard restaurants are not a good idea and retail is struggling. Lots of grocery stores near us. Do they have summer hiring? Might be PT during school as well. What are the pros and cons?

Retail is struggling because they're having a hard time filling positions. Why aren't restaurants a good idea? Sounds like you're looking for a reason for him not to work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would not. I know it’s snobby, but I associate it with the lower class.

Well I hope you're at least a big tipper.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't just let them. I would encourage them. I worked in a grocery store (Wegmans, like others here) from high school through college. Flexible shifts, scholarship - it was good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We found that grocery stores in our area won’t hire for summer only. They want the kids to stay during the school year, which doesn’t work for us.

Why not? Every teen I knew including myself had jobs in high school. Why can’t yours? Let me guess. AP classes and travel sports LOL

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We found that grocery stores in our area won’t hire for summer only. They want the kids to stay during the school year, which doesn’t work for us.

Why not? Every teen I knew including myself had jobs in high school. Why can’t yours? Let me guess. AP classes and travel sports LOL

NP I only took 2 APs in high school and still got into a college DCUM would be okay with. Times change. It's not the 90s anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would not. I know it’s snobby, but I associate it with the lower class.

+1. They do internships with my friends.

I tip 15-20% and have never been rude to a retail worker or server in my life. Even if they bring me the wrong order, I am apologetic about disturbing them, and often add the cost to their tip in case it gets deducted from their paycheck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We found that grocery stores in our area won’t hire for summer only. They want the kids to stay during the school year, which doesn’t work for us.

Why not? Every teen I knew including myself had jobs in high school. Why can’t yours? Let me guess. AP classes and travel sports LOL

NP I only took 2 APs in high school and still got into a college DCUM would be okay with. Times change. It's not the 90s anymore.

There is more academic pressure, so schoolwork takes more time. In addition, there is a much larger pool of older workers willing to take low-wage jobs. Locally-owned businesses tend to be more understanding, but many national chains don't want to deal with workers with limited availability. They want you to be available for as many or as few hours as they give you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I will offer a different perspective. I worked in both a grocery stores and restaurants in high school and college. In some cases I found that the management and long-time staff treated the high school and college students poorly. I eventually wised up and got a job in an office answering phones and cleaning filing cabinets. It still paid about minimum wage but was much more pleasant.

This is good perspective.
It does depend on management and your teen. And times have changed from when we were young and the schedules were put out in paper every week vs. a very gig / texting economy now where people mess up shifts.

I was good with the cash drawers and ended up working in customer service and doing the cashouts at the end of the work day before the night shift came on.
I had a friend who worked across the way at the very small walgreens or CVS or whatever and I was kind of jealous of her being a one-woman shop. It was often just her up front. No managers. Or she was the manager for that shift! I don't know if that exists anymore. Drug stores are all very large now.

[Anonymous]

Grocery, retail, or restaurant are all fine for a summer job, OP. You are way overthinking this.