March 13, 2009
Q: Why is the commissary only open for express shoppers from 8 to 9 a.m.? I work a 12 hour night shift and get off work at 7 a.m., which means I have to wait two hours to buy my family groceries there or buy all my food at the Autoport. Why doesn’t the commissary better accommodate the needs of Sailors who work nights?

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A: Thank you for your recent Action Line question regarding the operating hours of the Yokosuka Commissary. The number of commissary operating hours is based on payroll, staffing and the needs of the base and community. At the present time, we are open seven days a week, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. With no additional funding or payroll, the commissary is also open from 8 to 9 a.m., Monday through Friday, for early bird shopping which allows our shoppers to purchase 15 items or less. This brings the total to 80 operating hours a week. There are no other commissaries in Japan, Korea or Okinawa that are open 80 hours or more. With input from the local command and community, the current operating hours meet the needs of the Yokosuka military community. If you have any further questions, please contact the Yokosuka Commissary Director Totolua Ripley at 243-7562.

If hours are limited by manpower, what affect did the 4 new self serve registers have on payroll? Did they increase hours when the cut down on the number of tellers they needed to actually take care of customers?