AI wish any of the grocery stores near me were hiring, I really want to get the speed production experience. Congrats OP!
Oh my dear boy,
I have been a decorator for 11 years at Walmart. I would absolutely kill for you to work at my store. Without tooting my own horn, I am one of the best decorators they have. I have been to the home office twice for winning internal contests. If you can breath, they will make you a decorator. No experience necessary. It has been my biggest exasperation that they think they can pull anyone in off the street and make them a decorator. All you have to do is go to an interview that asks you pc questions that have nothing to do with decorating. you bring it up because they cannot. Be sure you tell them all qualifications, skills, etc. in order to get the best salary. They will jump on hiring you if they have a slot! We are VERY hard to come by, therfore you are in the driver seat. As for the job, personally I have been fortunate to work in stores that realized how much money I could bring in and they let me do whatever I could within the perameters of what I had to work with (equipment, cake sizes,etc). A wise manager put it well, "I could be as creative as I had time for". I hope this helps and I hope to see you in Bentonville.
And, yet most of the decorators I worked with STILL couldn't manage to do it. As I said before, Walmart is short on talented decorators or even competent decorators, I am sorry to say.
In my [cough] number of years in this business I've met very few decorators who can meet "optimal production", myself included. The few who can have some sort of inexplicable talent of being able to combine speed and eye for design. It's a rare gift. I can't tell you how many tips and tricks I've picked up over the years, and I still have issues with it!
Good luck to you; hope your day goes smoothly!
A
Original message sent by lunawhisper0013
And, yet most of the decorators I worked with STILL couldn't manage to do it. As I said before, Walmart is short on talented decorators or even competent decorators, I am sorry to say.
Since this original post was over a week ago, this will probably not be relevant for the OP. However, there may be someone reading that might glean something from my post so here ya go.
When interviewing at a grocery store bakery (Walmart, Kroger, Costco, Sam's Club, etc.) the main thing they want to see is SPEED. I interviewed at a Sam's several years ago where I had to ice and simply decorate a sheet cake to show my skill. While they loved my cake, they said I was just too slow; I was trying to be as fast as I could, but I was (as I typically did) decorating a product I could feel proud to serve. It took me about 5-8 minutes to ice the cake, do a simple border, an icing rose, and write happy birthday on the top, and it wasn't fast enough for them.
This is one of the many reasons why we as custom bakers, can offer a superior product to a grocery store;we can actually take the time needed to do the cake THE RIGHT WAY instead of the fast way.
Just my $.02. 
ETA: I just read the whole thread and saw you got the job..congratulations and good luck! I hope it all works out well for you!
A5-8 minutes is too slow?! Oh man, I'm feeling blue over this. At school they taught us that 7 minutes was industry standard. I don't thinkni could even very poorly ice a sheet cake in two minutes.
Well, in their defense it was several years ago; please don't take my experience at one store as gospel truth!
I just quit my job as cake decorator at Wally a few months ago. I loved the decorating part... even if there was little room (or time) for cool ideas and what not. But I learned a lot, I learned speed, and I learned to LOVE decorating <3 I miss that job so much. Wal Mart, on the other hand was the hardest part for me :( They no longer take good care of their employees, and it is a struggle to work there. I hope your store is better than mine was!!
Either way, good luck! I hope you enjoy your new job!
5-8 minutes is too slow?! Oh man, I'm feeling blue over this. At school they taught us that 7 minutes was industry standard. I don't thinkni could even very poorly ice a sheet cake in two minutes.
I want to say the standard is 5-7 minutes total, including stacking/filling/icing the cake. YMMV depending on the size of the cake -- there's usualy a few more minutes allotted for a half or full sheet, and a few more minutes on top of that for a special order. "Few" depends on the chain's production timetable.
At one of my old employers we weren't allowed to put a top border on a "case" cake -- that saved a minute or two. The "allowed" designs were very simple. Rosebuds were OK; actual roses-on-a-nail were discouraged unless you could make them fast. Balloons and daisies (the kind where you just use the coupler), along with squiggles, geometric zigzags, and streamers were the quickest designs to execute. We were also discouraged to use confetti -- I presume it was because of the time increment to pick up a handful and sprinkle it on the cake.
We had to make umpteen bags of different colored icing without couplers; instead, each bag had its own tip. It saved time not having to unscrew/screw on different tips.
The production timetable directly influenced payroll. If the total production wasn't accomplished on a given day (or days) for whatever reason, come the end of the week that percentage would be compared to whatever the payroll that had been earmarked for the following week. If the week's production wasn't met, hours were cut.
I don't think my walmart has this standard of 32 cakes a day. It would be impossible because they give out free cookies to any kid who asks under 14 so the decorators get interrupted frequently. I feel bad cause I am one of those ppl..but hey I spend at least $100 every time I go and they don't have to put up with a 3 and 1 year old..lol
However that would drive me insane if I was that decorator.
I don't think my walmart has this standard of 32 cakes a day. It would be impossible because they give out free cookies to any kid who asks under 14 so the decorators get interrupted frequently. I feel bad cause I am one of those ppl..but hey I spend at least $100 every time I go and they don't have to put up with a 3 and 1 year old..lol
However that would drive me insane if I was that decorator.
Oh yes, the free cookies...
And having to stop to bag/package product...or slicing bread...or taking a cake order...or doing price-and-put-out...all while producing X number of cakes within X hours...
This is one of the many reasons why we as custom bakers, can offer a superior product to a grocery store;we can actually take the time needed to do the cake THE RIGHT WAY instead of the fast way.
Just my $.02.
My $.02, just because custom bakers are slower, it doesn't mean they offer a superior product. Anyone who possesses the skills, experience, and speed to do it the fast way, doesn't mean it's not THE RIGHT WAY. I consider this a sweeping generalization that's not true. I'm certain others would be offended if I made a statement claiming that fast production decorators are doing it THE RIGHT WAY, and slow custom decorators take so much time to produce a product that they can't possibly know what they're doing to achieve anything worthy of being called superior. Afterall, most grocery stores have been been doing just fine THEIR WAY before "custom" bakers popped up, so who do you think has the experience? Experience equals speed - you get faster over time after experiencing high-volume production. Superior product isn't measured by fast or slow.
Hello everyone, well here is another update. I had my first day of orientation yesterday and it went pretty good. The management staff was really nice and friendly and this is one of the cleanest walmart stores I have seen, it is also in a really nice neighborhood. I have not started working in the actual bakery as I still have computer modules to do. Overall I think everything will turn out great and I am really excited!
A
Original message sent by Unlimited
[QUOTE name="rockymtnbaker" url="/t/760820/walmart-decorators/30#post_7417667"] This is one of the many reasons why we as custom bakers, can offer a superior product to a grocery store;we can actually take the time needed to do the cake THE RIGHT WAY instead of the fast way. Just my $.02.
[/QUOTE] My $.02, just because custom bakers are slower, it doesn't mean they offer a superior product. Anyone who possesses the skills, experience, and speed to do it the fast way, doesn't mean it's not THE RIGHT WAY. I consider this a sweeping generalization that's not true. I'm certain others would be offended if I made a statement claiming that fast production decorators are doing it THE RIGHT WAY, and slow custom decorators take so much time to produce a product that they can't possibly know what they're doing to achieve anything worthy of being called superior. [U][B] Afterall, most grocery stores have been been doing just fine THEIR WAY before "custom" bakers popped up, so who do you think has the experience? [/B][/U] Experience equals speed - you get faster over time after experiencing high-volume production. Superior product isn't measured by fast or slow.
There have always been custom cake bakers, it isn't anything "new" Do you think the Queen of England went to the grocery store to get her wedding cake? Or Clint Eastwood, or Arnold Schwarzenegger? (Just trying to think of older famous people here) Or Cary Grant? Heck, the movie he is in "The Wedding Present" came out in the 1930's, WAY before Ace of Cake's and Cake Boss came out and everyone and their mother saturated the market. I believe that cake in that was some big over piped royal icing tower, unless I am thinking of some other older movie.
A
Original message sent by rdjr
Hello everyone, well here is another update. I had my first day of orientation yesterday and it went pretty good. The management staff was really nice and friendly and this is one of the cleanest walmart stores I have seen, it is also in a really nice neighborhood. I have not started working in the actual bakery as I still have computer modules to do. Overall I think everything will turn out great and I am really excited!
Please let us know how many cakes they want out of you, and your "other duties" and what they will allow, and such! This is really nice getting updates on your progress ;-)
AI've worked as a cake decorator for Walmart before. As for the interview process it is pretty routine, they will ask about your education and experience in cake decorating, also there will be lots of " if this happened what would you do" questions and be prepared to give examples of past experiences of problem solving and dealing with troublesome customers and employees. You can make up a story too they just want to hear that you will keep your calm, get things taken care of efficiently as possible and keep the customer happy. Unfortunately they will probably not let you decorate a cake for the interviews. That only happens once you get the job. Also with Walmart you have to get through 3 interviews then a background check and urine drug test to be hired.
The job- you will be filling custom cake orders as well as decorating cakes for the front case, cakes with and without kits, as well as cupcakes and cupcake cakes. Also you will be responsible for keeping the case full throughout your shift as well as helping customers.
The only part I liked was decorating, everything else was stressful and irritating to say the least. Good luck!
If I remember correctly they wanted at LEAST 10 cakes in an hour. Mind you this was back in 2010.
That sounds about standard for keeping the case filled :nodding: As I said upthread, there's more time given for special orders and/or for cakes larger than the standard 8" or 1/4 sheet.
I will let ya'll into the "secrets" as much as I can! My first day at the actual bakery is Monday so there should be an update by Monday evening. I am really looking forward to it.
I'm looking forward to it!
I'm wondering if a speed icer is going to become your best friend...
There have always been custom cake bakers, it isn't anything "new" Do you think the Queen of England went to the grocery store to get her wedding cake? Or Clint Eastwood, or Arnold Schwarzenegger? (Just trying to think of older famous people here) Or Cary Grant? Heck, the movie he is in "The Wedding Present" came out in the 1930's, WAY before Ace of Cake's and Cake Boss came out and everyone and their mother saturated the market. I believe that cake in that was some big over piped royal icing tower, unless I am thinking of some other older movie.
Too right!
Okay everyone, here it is! First I got showed around the bakery section, where they place things and such. I got taught how to take orders. And then I started decorating. They just had me do quarter sheet cakes for the case and I could decorate them however I wanted. They did not let me do any ordered cakes though with the kits. My manager does not care how many cakes you ice in the time given as long as you do it as fast as you can. Also, roses are VERY hard to make with the buttercream they use, toooooooo soft. On the otherhand the whipped icing was awsome to work with! I then helped place labels on bakery items like bread, muffins, and donuts. Overall it was a great experience and I am really looking forward to tomorrow! Also, the frosting is too soft for roses but too stiff for actually icing. The first cake I made was not something I was proud of...The frosting was too stiff and it was really hard to smooth. But, my manager showed me a trick which made the other cakes a breeze. One thing that surprized me though was that they did not have any angled spatulas to ice, so I used a plastic scraper instead because I cant ice with the straight spatulas. And, the cake icer is your best friend! it makes things so much easier. Also, costumers like cakes with ballons and sprinkles instead of roses and such. I first I was getting a little discouraged because my cakes were not selling but they did.
(sorry for any typos and anything that does not make sense)
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