I have worked for Publix for a year and a half now. The Publix I started at was my first real paying job. I quickly grew very attached to my store and my friends that I made while working there. Sadly, I moved to Orlando a few weeks ago. That means that I had to transfer to a new Publix in a new area with people that I have never seen in my life. My boyfriend transferred to the same store as me since he moved in with me, but he was the only person I had starting at this new store. I have to say, it’s a very hard adjustment.

The first thing I had to get used to was the placement of literally everything. Not only were there two more aisles than my old store, but everything was placed so much more differently than my old store. What was on aisle 4 at my old store is now on aisle 5. What used to be on aisle 13 at my old store is now on aisle 11. Where the bakery and deli are at my new store, produce was at my old store. My new store has a customer service desk against the wall at the front of the store, while my old store had one of the circle desks in the middle of the front end. The odd placement of things extends to more than just the store layout, however. There are a lot of small differences that caused my first few days to be very disorienting. The places that my new store keeps their coupon books, receipt tape, closed sign, pens, etc. at the registers are very different. For a few hours on my first day, I didn’t even know we had coupon books. I thought they didn’t use them and I was furious. One thing that I do like that they do is give kids balloons. It’s a very cute idea.

The worst part of all is that transferring means I have to start my training all over again. I was fully trained in the front office at my old store, but because they knew I was transferring, they wouldn’t finish my training. Due to this, my title is still cashier, meaning I had to restart as a cashier at this store. They even took away my numbers that allowed me to operate the customer service desk. I have to work my way back up to the desk again. My boyfriend had it worse though. He had override numbers and was fully training in not only the front office, but also opening the back. Since he never got training in closing the back, his title was cashier as well, so he’s having to restart again too. He had 4 years of experience go down the drain. They took away his numbers too until we move back up to the desk. Then we can have them back. Who knows when and if we’ll ever back it back up soon though.

For the most part, I am not very happy with my new store. The adjustment has been hard, but I’m surviving. The people are super nice, but mostly boring, aside from a few people’s I’ve met. The managers are no fun, and my new team leader does not know how to manage people in the slightest. They do things I do not really agree with, but hopefully, once I finally move up to customer service where I’m most comfortable, I’ll be able to fully adjust.