Large Companies...

so far, from my experiences with Goodwill and Kroger, large companies fail at communication.

Goodwill:

the website is a nightmare if you want to find information about volunteering. why? because there is no information. searching for it is futile because it doesn't exist. I e-mailed them using their "contact us" link and was essentially told that I could indeed volunteer at the donation center a mile or so from my house. eventually, I walked in the place and spoke with an employee, who told me that I would have to go to a retail store; they don't allow volunteers in the donation centers. what? I sense a major failure in communication has occurred. thank the gods for the person who answered my call at the retail store. he gave me all the information necessary-- if he hadn't, I would have said, "screw Goodwill," like I'm saying to Kroger.

Kroger:

it seemed alright at first--wasn't difficult to find the application or store location. everything was hunky dory... until the part where one chooses which position one wants. I want to stock the store because I have no desire to deal with any shoppers anywhere for any reason. however, no such position seemed to exist, unless it's one of the 6 or so "clerks." utterly confused, I once again used the "contact us" link to ask which it might be. the reply was:

"Thank you for contacting us regarding this issue.  Unfortunately, the career section of the site and all applications are handled through Kronos, and they would need to be the ones to help you with anything to do with the online application.  To contact Kronos, either call them at 1-800-338-6321, or contact them by email at hiringhelpdesk@kronos.com. "

strange, but ok. so I contacted Kronos. the reply from them was:

"Thank you for your recent request.  Applicant and employee records are supported by, and are the property of, the company to which you applied. 

Please contact this company's hiring manager or human resource department to follow up on your application, just as you would if you submitted a paper application." 

 what. the. fuck.

moral of the stories: large companies aren't worth the time, unless, perhaps, you get lucky when you call them and are able to speak with a helpful or reasonable person.

edit: oh. my bad. there are 10 "clerks" listed along with 2 "stewards"