A meat department associate is responsible for addressing customer needs and offering product suggestions based on the customer's preference. Meat department associates ensure the safe storage of the products, carefully loading and unloading the items from the distribution trucks to the appropriate area. They also assist with product packaging, price labeling, inspecting quality, and eliminating products that do not pass quality standards. A meat department associate may also perform administrative and clerical duties as needed, such as taking orders, processing payments, and updating sales reports.

Meat Department Associate Responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real meat department associate resumes representing typical tasks they are likely to perform in their roles.

  • Placed/Fil orders, maintain inventory, and manage department cleanliness.
  • Stock meat counter, dairy and frozen foods as well as general groceries.
  • Maintain, clean and sterilize, tables, deli slicers, and cutting equipment daily.
  • Clear shopping carts from lot, bag groceries for customers and help customers load groceries into vehicle.
  • Maintain and clean the meat dept, including saws, grinders, refrigerator, freezer and various other tools and equipment.
  • Used all equipment in meat department such as the refrigerators, freezers, slicers, and ovens according to company guidelines.
  • Act as role model for part-time employees by coordinating tasks, communicating information, and advocating for concerns to store management.
  • Perform basic home cleaning/ landscaping jobs such as: washing windows and cars, cleaning gutters, gardening, and rearranging furniture
  • Establish and maintain clean and hygienic environments by performing light-cleaning duties, including dusting, vacuuming, cleaning windows and bathrooms.
  • Perform financial data interpretation, analyze the results using analytic software libraries and client databases using SQL, LoanDQ and SFW.
  • Develop require SQL extracts used for reconciliations/reports.
  • Operate RF shipping system efficiently and accurately.
  • Collaborate with management to help maintain inventory levels.
  • Perform inventory and quality control using RF technology.
  • Maintain cleanliness of equipment floors utensils and sanitation regulations concerning meats.

Meat Department Associate Skills and Personality Traits

We calculated that 20% of Meat Department Associates are proficient in Food Handling, Customer Service, and Grinders. They’re also known for soft skills such as Dexterity, Physical strength, and Customer-service skills.

We break down the percentage of Meat Department Associates that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Food Handling, 20%

    Maintained and exhibited a solid knowledge and understanding of all food, adhering to standards for safe food handling and storage.

  • Customer Service, 11%

    Exhibited professionalism; courteously answered telephone queries while providing superior customer service that consistently surpassed expectations and positively affected the business.

  • Grinders, 10%

    Handle and Clean Meat Saws, Slicer, Grinders, Machines, and Knives.

  • Fresh Product, 8%

    Maintained fresh product for customers, by rotating and stocking meat as needed.

  • Food Safety, 7%

    Maintained department within strict USDA food safety and sanitation requirements.

  • Fresh Meat, 6%

    Wrap, weigh and stock fresh meat cases according to Food Lion standards using thorough knowledge of all cuts of meat.

Most meat department associates list "food handling," "customer service," and "grinders" as skills on their resumes. We go into more details on the most important meat department associate responsibilities here:

  • The most important skills for a meat department associate to have in this position are dexterity. In this excerpt that we gathered from a meat department associate resume, you'll understand why: "butchers use sharp knives and meatcutting equipment as part of their duties" According to resumes we found, dexterity can be used by a meat department associate in order to "unloaded trucks, forklift driver cash handling and customer service loss prevention and inventory teams"
  • Another commonly found skill for being able to perform meat department associate duties is the following: physical strength. According to a meat department associate resume, "butchers should be strong enough to lift and carry heavy boxes of meat, which may weigh more than 50 pounds." Check out this example of how meat department associates use physical strength: "conducted all property due diligence; including lease review, noi analysis, and coordination of physical and environmental inspections. "
  • Meat department associates are also known for customer-service skills, which can be critical when it comes to performing their duties. An example of why this skill is important is shown by this snippet that we found in a meat department associate resume: "butchers who work in retail stores should be courteous, be able to answer customers’ questions, and fill orders to customers’ satisfaction." We also found this resume example that details how this skill is put to the test: "break up boxes, sell frozen meat too the customers and take out the trash. "
  • See the full list of meat department associate skills.

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    What Food Clerks Do

    Food clerks are skilled employees who work either in grocery stores or supermarkets to assist customers with their food needs. In grocery stores, food clerks are required to scan food items for their customers and process their purchases as well as ensure that they have found everything they needed. They must assist in the store's inventory management by organizing and storing food merchandise in the backroom. Food clerks must also use their product knowledge to assist customers with questions and maintain customer satisfaction.

    In this section, we take a look at the annual salaries of other professions. Take food clerk for example. On average, the food clerks annual salary is $3,012 higher than what meat department associates make on average every year.

    While the salaries between these two careers can be different, they do share some of the same responsibilities. Employees in both meat department associates and food clerks positions are skilled in customer service, pallet jack, and product knowledge.

    There are some key differences in responsibilities as well. For example, a meat department associate responsibilities require skills like "food handling," "grinders," "fresh product," and "food safety." Meanwhile a typical food clerk has skills in areas such as "wine," "basic math," "taking care," and "store shelves." This difference in skills reveals how truly different these two careers really are.

    Food clerks really shine in the retail industry with an average salary of $33,240. Whereas meat department associates tend to make the most money in the retail industry with an average salary of $30,510.

    Food clerks tend to reach similar levels of education than meat department associates. In fact, food clerks are 2.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 5.5% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.

    What Are The Duties Of a Butcher?

    A butcher is someone responsible for turning whole or large pieces of meat into ready-to-cook or retail-ready portions that can be purchased by customers or restaurants. Butchers know how to cut meat, poultry, and fish properly, so they deal mostly with sharp instruments like knives, grinders, and other cutting equipment. Butchers are knowledgeable in the science of temperature and aging to ensure they are of great quality at all times and adhere to health regulations. They are commonly seen in wet markets, supermarkets, grocery stores, butcher shops, and slaughterhouses, but some are self-employed or have their own meat shop.

    Next up, we have the butcher profession to look over. This career brings along a higher average salary when compared to a meat department associate annual salary. In fact, butchers salary difference is $5,092 higher than the salary of meat department associates per year.

    While the salary may be different for these job positions, there is one similarity and that's a few of the skills needed to perform certain duties. We used info from lots of resumes to find that both meat department associates and butchers are known to have skills such as "customer service," "food safety," and "fresh meat. "

    But both careers also use different skills, according to real meat department associate resumes. While meat department associate responsibilities can utilize skills like "food handling," "grinders," "fresh product," and "product quality," some butchers use skills like "culinary," "safety standards," "food preparation," and "sanitation standards."

    It's been discovered that butchers earn higher salaries compared to meat department associates, but we wanted to find out where butchers earned the most pay. The answer? The finance industry. The average salary in the industry is $37,705. Additionally, meat department associates earn the highest paychecks in the retail with an average salary of $30,510.

    On the topic of education, butchers earn similar levels of education than meat department associates. In general, they're 2.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 5.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

    How a Support Team Member Compares

    A support team member is responsible for assisting and connecting with the whole department group in meeting the company's goals and exceeding performance expectations. Support team members' duties generally include performing administrative tasks, familiarizing and adhering to the company's policies and procedures, providing recommendations for improving customer's experience, developing strategies to increase the company's revenue and profitability, and maintaining a positive work ethic. A support team member needs to have a strong organization and time-management skills to support daily operations and do extra tasks as needed.

    Let's now take a look at the support team member profession. On average, these workers make higher salaries than meat department associates with a $2,444 difference per year.

    Using meat department associates and support team members resumes, we found that both professions have similar skills such as "food handling," "customer service," and "food safety," but the other skills required are very different.

    Some important key differences between the two careers are a few of the skills necessary to fulfill responsibilities. Some examples from meat department associate resumes include skills like "grinders," "fresh product," "fresh meat," and "product quality," whereas a support team member might be skilled in "safety standards," "dexterity," "manual dexterity," and "cleanliness. "

    Support team members make a very good living in the technology industry with an average annual salary of $34,517. Whereas meat department associates are paid the highest salary in the retail industry with the average being $30,510.

    Support team members typically study at similar levels compared with meat department associates. For example, they're 2.9% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 4.8% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

    Description Of a Journeyman Meat Cutter

    Now, we'll look at journeyman meat cutters, who generally average a higher pay when compared to meat department associates annual salary. In fact, the difference is about $2,280 per year.

    While their salaries may vary, meat department associates and journeyman meat cutters both use similar skills to perform their jobs. Resumes from both professions include skills like "customer service," "fresh product," and "fresh meat. "

    While some skills are shared by these professions, there are some differences to note. "food handling," "grinders," "food safety," and "product quality" are skills that have shown up on meat department associates resumes. Additionally, journeyman meat cutter uses skills like customer satisfaction, gross profit, customer relations, and cleanliness on their resumes.

    In general, journeyman meat cutters reach similar levels of education when compared to meat department associates resumes. Journeyman meat cutters are 3.1% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 5.5% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.