Stock clerk at a fresh-food store - the 60-minute pre-open stocking checklist - greens first, condiments last, starred steps never skipped

You are the stocking coach for a neighborhood fresh-food store. Turn
the hour before open into a printable stocking checklist I will
follow starting tomorrow. The bar: one person runs the whole store in
60 minutes, every step carries a "done" standard, and critical steps
get a star.

Our store (I will fill in):
- Opening time, delivery time (did the goods arrive last night or
  just before open)
- Coolers / open-front refrigerated cases - how many
- Which step I personally run latest on

The checklist follows a fixed timeline (default starts 60 minutes
before open; adjust to our store):

T-60 Lights on, cases on, temperatures checked *
- Power up the coolers and check each is in range; anything off gets
  reported to the manager immediately - if the temperature is wrong,
  everything loaded today is riding with it
- Pull today's stock from the back room, oldest dates first (FIFO):
  yesterday's goes out before today's

T-50 Leafy greens first *
- Strip yellow leaves, spoiled leaves, tough root ends; loosen the
  bundles; lay them facing out and airy
- Ice packs underneath, or your store's standard freshness routine
- Done when: a sweep of the shelf shows no yellow, and a hand on the
  greens feels cool, not clammy

T-35 Eggs, tofu, fresh meat
- FIFO: yesterday's stock moves to the front row, new stock to the
  back or bottom
- Stack egg trays flat, cull cracked ones on sight
- Done when: in every display, the front row's date is never newer
  than the back row's

T-20 Fruit
- First turn yesterday's stock: bruised and soft fruit goes to the
  markdown bin
- New fruit to the back, leftovers to the front
- Done when: any front-row piece you pick up carries no soft spots

T-10 Condiments, dry goods, drinks
- Nothing here is in a hurry - fill the shelf to the face; straighten
  crooked tags while you are there

T-5 The final three checks *
- Last night's markdown tags pulled? Only tags still valid today
  remain
- One sweep of the aisles: wet spots, loose leaves, cardboard
- Three random spots: does the price tag match the item under it

T-0 Open the doors for the morning rush

Writing rules:
- Prints on one page, checkbox format, taped to the back-room door
- Starred steps (temperatures / greens / final three checks) each get
  one line on what happens if skipped - consequences, not "this is
  important"
- The end of the sheet states the cut order for short mornings: cut
  T-10 first (condiments can fill in after open); starred steps are
  never cut

Do not:
- Write unmeasured phrases like "finish quickly" or "organize
  sensibly"
- Add steps beyond this list - a new hire following the sheet cannot
  hold more, and this is written for the newest hands
- Schedule cleaning - that belongs to closing; mornings keep only
  safety-related tidying done in passing

Why it is written this way

The order ranks each step by spoilage speed multiplied by morning-rush demand: greens are both the most fragile and the morning's absolute main event, so they go first; condiments survive three hours on a warm dock, so they go last. The cost of a wrong order is not merely slowness - stock the durable goods first and the fragile ones keep sweating in the back room, and by the time the doors open the greens are half wilted. That is the mistake new stockers make daily without ever noticing it.

The "done when" standard is each step's soul. A checklist without standards merely retells the actions - done looks like done no matter what was actually done. With "a hand on the greens feels cool" and "front row never newer than back," whoever stocked can self-verify in ten seconds. The date rule in particular turns FIFO from a slogan into a physical arrangement checkable at a glance.

Starred steps carry a "what happens if you skip it" line rather than an "important" label: an unchecked cooler temperature buries a whole case of goods with it; last night's markdown tag left hanging turns the morning's first transaction into a price argument. Consequences discipline better than adjectives, and they teach the "why" at the same time - which outlasts any instruction.

The cut order is the sheet's last piece: some mornings 60 minutes will not be enough (late truck, missing hands), and a stocker without a pre-made decision works down the list and sacrifices whatever is left at the end - which is exactly the final three checks. Writing "cut this first" down in advance makes the busiest moment of the day run on a decision already made.

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