NASHVILLE, TN—Her formerly cheerful voice suddenly becoming clipped and terse, Kroger morning supervisor Deanna Albas reportedly dropped her friendly cashier persona Thursday in order to address a struggling trainee. “Run the transaction over again—no, no, you void it first, and then I enter my code,” said Albas, who moments earlier had smilingly directed a customer to the baking aisle but was now sighing audibly as she nudged the new hire aside to access the register. “I can’t look over your shoulder all day long. I have my own job to do, you know.” At press time, a now-beaming Albas turned back to greet the next person in line as though he hadn’t just witnessed everything.

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