Anyone here a Tesco dot com Picker?

[BigOnBooks]

I have an interview coming up for this role. I really need the job but haven't had an interview in many years.

Can anyone give any advice on what the interview could be like? Also what a job as a picker is actually like?

I’ve been a picker at another supermarket and the interview was pretty straightforward. I remember basically saying that I understood that customers expected me to pick items with the same care that I’d pick my own shopping so good dates, no misshapened items like loaves of bread etc I also spoke about my interest in food and was able to give some answers to situational stuff like “what would I do if I was behind on my work and a customer asked for help?” (The answer is always help the customer or find the person who can answer the customer query)

Also how long is interview? I'm so out of the loop!

I am. The interview was ten years ago, so might have changed a bit. It was a group one, an hour or two I suppose. Just think of an example of some good customer service you did once if they ask you and try to participate if there is a discussion. Someone did say to me that if you get to the interview, you have probably got the job but I don't know if that is true or not.

The job is ok, quite hard physically and you do have to meet targets. You will definitely get your steps in! The best advice I can give if you get the job is to only pick groceries you would buy yourself. no manky veg etc. Hope that helps.

Not Tesco but I have done it for another supermarket- it's surprisingly physical and you do need to be able to hit your targets.

Our interview was a big group then after an hour or two, you were told whether you'd passed the first stage - then you were asked to fill in your availability and what departments you'd prefer, then what job you actually got was picked from there.

I actually applied for checkouts but got offered something totally different- so be prepared not yo actually get a picker job at all!

Thanks,
Not keen on a group interview I must admit!

No, I didn't really like the group interview, but at least that way the focus isn't all on you. Good luck and let us know if you get the job.

Thank you @Metheven
I will do

Not to hijack but it's so interesting people saying to only pick things you'd want for yourself. Just this week I was wondering whether pickers are told to pick the short dated stuff, the tiny cauliflower etc that the 'real life' shoppers don't want. But apparently not, which makes the crap fruit and veg I seem to get regularly all the more annoying!

I’m just gob smacked that the interview process is so thorough. Bet they’re asking for a degree 🤔

I was a dot com picker until about a year ago. We were supposed to pick the longest dates, the nicest looking veg, to be careful about soft items getting squashed and to ensure that fresh meat and fish and items like bleach and toilet cleaner are in their own bags to avoid the risk of contamination. Substitutions should be sensible and that vegetarian or vegan items are substituted like for like.
However in the summer and at Christmas we would get lots of young people on a break from Uni and a lot of them really didn’t care at all and would just throw stuff in willy-nilly with no thought at all. There was also always at least one idiot who would give stupid substitutions because they thought it was funny. 🙄

I assume that pickers like that live alone (hence the small cauliflower) or don’t do their own grocery shop.

Do you have to choose the subs yourself? I thought a computer would suggest the sub.

@BigOnBooks I'm guessing the pickers just use their initiative eg if the organic cauliflower has run out then put a non organic one in.

The handheld scanners suggest a substitute.

Presumably a lot of candidates apply . How else are they to choose the best candidate ?

It's not thorough at all - they just get a load of applicants in a room to do stuff like role-playing and puzzle solving, then if you "pass" that stage you have a really short interview with a department manager and that's it - it just takes ages as there's generally loads of applicants at each "interview".

If you have common sense whilst being literate and physically fit why the heck does it need role play ? The exercises management put themselves (and others) through just to prove themselves indispensable is laughable. Competing for a NMW job that involves reading a label and depositing said item in a trolley really doesn’t need proof of problem solving ability.

The best candidate ? 😂

I got the job!

Does sound very physical though, so just hope I can cope with it.

Can anyone explain to me about the pick rate? The numbers I'm seeing such as pickrate of 180, what does that refer to?

Hope it not like an Asda one I attended..had to ask person opposite what kind of animal would you be and why ...this was for a 16 hrs cleaner role.

Congratulations!

The pick rate is the number of items you're supposed to pick per hour.

Was a picker for another store but very similar I’m guessing. Regards things like small cauliflowers sometimes that was just how the veg were and nothing you could do about it. As long as it was fresh and good you had to pick it and the customer has the choice to reject it. You couldn’t say it wasn’t available if it was.
The handsets to suggest alternatives if items aren’t available but you can use common sense too. Remember that as a picker you have literally seconds to decide otherwise it puts your times out and you get into trouble.
I loved the job but not the early starts, the interview process was surprisingly thorough and on a one to one basis. Examples of good customer service and how you would deal with a difficult customer were asked for plus a few random questions.
it is very physical and many of the longer term pickers had back problems, there is a lot of bending and stretching and sometimes heavy lifting.

Because how do they know you have common sense, are literate and physically fit without you demonstrating that?

Congratulations, I was picking for a different supermarket during the pandemic. The pick rate is the average number of items you pick in one hour, you will love customers who order 10 of one particular item as that pushes your rate up as you can pick them much quicker than 10 different items. You will find that your pick rate might be below 100 on your first day but it increases after a few shifts. I reached my 60th birthday during the time I was picking and although I could hit the target I had to push myself so when a different job became available instore I switched. If you're younger and relatively fit you should be okay.

@Leniriefenstahl your comments remind me of a guy I interviewed with for ASDA about 15 years ago.

He kept banging on about what an easy job it was and how the interview process was stupid as "anyone can work in a supermarket" and "have you seen some of the people who work here?l

He didn't get the job.

Working in a supermarket may not be rocket science but it's still not the job for everyone. I saw so many people come and go over the years because they thought it was "just a supermarket job" and they didn't realise how tough it could be.

They interview they way they do for a reason - because everyone thinks they can work in a supermarket and they need some way to figure out which people actually have the skills and common sense and which are just there because they think it'll be a piece of piss.