Case

Case

n. An ITEM'S standard-quantity shipping unit. Usually but not always implies an outer covering of CARDBOARD and/or plastic that protects contents during shipping, yet which is removed before the ITEM is THROWN to the SHELF.

NOTE: There's no set quantity for a Case's contents, and packaging varies widely. For example, a 35-pound bag of dry dog food may come with no outer packaging except that which the CUSTOMER purchases, yet is COUNTED as 1 Case either when THROWN or BACK-STOCKED and put in the GUN. (Same goes for 12-packs of soda pop, by the way.) Canned dog food may come 12, 24, or 48 to a Case on a CARDBOARD tray entirely shrink-wrapped in plastic. Bags of cat food may come 6 or 8 to a Case, all bagged in plastic. BOXED cat food may come 12 to a Case, enclosed in a sturdy CARDBOARD BOX. Variations are endless.

WATCH OUT: Some ITEMS—for instance, a few baby food juice assortments, etc.—may come as CUSTOMER-purchasable Cases, which you should be careful to not break open.

Other ITEMS—for instance, foil pouches of tuna—come in tray Cases, where only the retaining tapes on the bottom should be CUT, to allow the butter-dish style top to be removed before the tray gets slid into its HOLE on the SHELF.

Study all unfamiliar packaging carefully to avoid inconvenience, and so no hasty or accidental cut turns such ITEMS into STORE DAMAGE.

TIP: Divide & Conquer. It's OK to conserve CART space by putting more than one thing into a CASE, but...

Always give the next guy a break by writing “MIX” on the outside of the CASE to warn him there's more than one PRODUCT inside. Then, on the inside of the CASE, always make it very clear where one ITEM ends and the other begins. Two popular methods:

1. Stand one group of ITEMS on its head, and/or
2. Slip in a scrap of CARDBOARD as a divider between the two different things.

EVIL-STOCK-DUDE can slow you w-a-y down by not marking MIXED PRODUCT CASES, and thus cause you to sometimes have to waste steps and backtrack. Or, by not clearly dividing similar-looking contents, he may hit you with the ultimate snag of having to individually orient and read every LABEL.

TIP: Keep Your Balance. Ordinarily, you habitually take ITEMS out of the middle of a CASE first, to keep the sides strong just in case the rest gets STACKED on a RUNNER, or whatever. (See Mid-Case Goes First, below.) However, there's an exception. If the CASE is being balanced on your lap, on a stool, or on a SHOPPING CART, etc., it's better to take from opposite corners first, and then alternate sides or edges so the center of mass of the entire CASE stays about in the middle. This minimizes the risk of the whole thing toppling over and breaking.

TIP: Mid-Case Goes First. If balance (see Keep Your Balance, above) is not an issue, always try to take ITEMS from the middle of an H-CUT CASE first. This keeps the ends and edges tight, and not only maintains the package's integrity, but also makes it more stackable if it ends up on the SPECIALS CART or in OVERSTOCK.

TIP: Support Your Case. Whenever possible, support the CASE you're WORKING and you'll be able to THROW using both hands, which can be a lot faster.

• For a low HOLE, sit on a stool or CRATE with the CASE on the FLOOR or in your lap.
  
  
• Slightly higher, put the CASE on the stool or CRATE while you kneel, or squat with the case on your thighs.
  
  
• For average heights, set it on the end of a RUNNER'S shelf, or, if you're careful, you can sometimes even lean the CASE between your tummy and the SHELF.
  
  
• For top SHELVES, set it on top of a STACK of other CASES at one end of the RUNNER while you stand beside it on a stool.

The main idea is to keep both hands free, and to always minimize the travel distance between the CASE and the HOLE.