Duties and Responsibilities

• Maintains an atmosphere of enthusiastic customer awareness with an emphasis on fast and friendly customer service.
• Assists customers by making product suggestions, filling special orders, and providing food preparation suggestions.
• Answers and responds to incoming calls appropriately.
• Receives, resolves, and reports customer complaints to the Store Director as needed.
• Engages in suggestive selling through telephone interactions, in-store intercom announcements, and one-on-one customer engagement.
• Assists customers with special orders for cakes and bakery items, including personalization and custom designs.
• Decorates cakes according to special order instructions.
• Trims, cuts, and shapes cakes to required sizes.
• Ices cakes following a “No Black Hole” mentality, forms designs and figures, and writes messages using icing.
• Creates decorations using a flower nail and transfers decorations to cakes.
• Works within the transit program.
• Recreates, designs, and customizes cakes based on customer-provided online or magazine photos.
• Demonstrates advanced decorating skills including:
• Swags and drapes with fondant
• Hand-formed roses
• Simple gum paste flowers
• Simple bows
• Rolled, cut-out, marbled, and colored fondant
• Covering and enrobing cakes in fondant
• Whimsical and shaped cakes
• Advanced cake boards and design structures
• Understands and properly constructs wedding and groom’s cakes.
• Follows the cake manual and adheres to proper icing weight standards.
• Uses and follows the cake decorator production list.
• Meets production expectations of $90–$100 in retail sales per hour.
• Properly stores finished and unfinished cakes to maintain quality.
• May slice bread and prepare bakery items including proofing, baking, packaging, and icing.
• Implements efficient product demonstrations, preparation, and packaging techniques.
• Trains, mentors, and supports other employees in basic cake decorating skills.
• Maintains bakery case cleanliness, visual appeal, and inventory levels.
• Ensures cleanliness, sanitation, and safety of the bakery area, equipment, and work environment.
• Maintains proper temperature control during preparation, storage, and display.
• Assists with physical inventory every four weeks as required.
• Controls inventory to ensure quality, freshness, and proper stock levels; stocks and rotates product.
• Maintains and organizes the cooler and freezer.
• Builds displays and removes outdated or spoiled products.
• Implements promotional and seasonal displays.
• Follows company policies and procedures as outlined in the Albertsons/Tom Thumb Employee Handbook.
• Enforces proper code dating for all bakery products.
• Performs receiving duties including breaking down loads, verifying invoices, inspecting quality, reporting shortages, stocking, and rotating product.
• Maintains back-up cake varieties in freezer using production sheets.
• Completes and monitors daily log sheets, production charts, sales, labor, and required documentation.
• Controls shrink and costs.
• Ensures proper signage and compliance with labeling, federal and state regulations, company policies, and code dating standards.
• Complies with all workplace safety, sanitation, and organizational standards.
• Ensures safety, cleanliness, and sanitation of sales floor, freezer, cooler, prep area, equipment, and displays.
• Implements emergency procedures during equipment or computer software malfunctions.
• Performs all duties safely, accurately, and with honesty and integrity.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Skills and Physical Requirements

• Strong communication and interpersonal skills with a professional demeanor.
• Knowledge of company practices and Bakery Department policies and procedures.
• Ability to frequently lift, reach, and maneuver items up to approximately 60 lbs.
• Frequently bends, stoops, reaches, pushes, and pulls loaded hand trucks and pallet jacks.
• Performs repetitive arm movements involved in decorating, preparing, packaging, and displaying products.
• Manual dexterity and strong hand-eye coordination.
• Ability to stand for extended periods.
• Mental alertness to ensure safe and accurate work.
• Working knowledge of basic math, weights and measures.
• Knowledge of product variety, standards, perishability, sanitation, handling, and labeling.
• Operates bakery equipment including telephones, pallet jacks, hand trucks, knives, scissors, safety cutters, bread slicer, photo cake machine, mixers, ovens, microwave ovens, and proof boxes.
• Uses cleaning supplies and equipment; handles latex products.
• Operates computer software and electronic ordering devices.
• Adheres to company grooming standards and dress code.
• Ability to work nights, weekends, and holidays; schedules may vary.
• Reliable attendance required.
• Exposure to potential workplace hazards related to equipment and tools.

Work Environment

• Works in a controlled environment.
• Frequent exposure to high temperatures up to 400°F during baking.
• Frequent exposure to freezer temperatures as low as -20°F.
• Regular exposure to flour dust.
• Hands frequently exposed to water and cleaning agents.
• Occasional overnight or out-of-area travel may be required.