Archived GSA at 18

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northern

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Hi guys, so I've read through a lot of GSA threads but wanted to make my own.

I have been offered the position of GSA last week. I'd be a little nervous though should I accept. Basically the situation is, recently a current GSA was fired, so they have a spot to fill and they asked me.

I used to cashier a lot, and was decent with redcards. I currently have FA and a little Starbucks experience. However I have no service desk experience and no sales floor experience. Obviously I would be trained on the service desk, but I feel like I might make myself look like an idiot.

Also, my age. Most of the cashiers are my age and older, so I might feel a bit out of place watching over them like a GSTL. I would also feel really fake pushing redcards on them, because clearly I don't really care.

Also, would a get a raise? at FA I am already paid the same as a starting GSA I believe.

It would REALLY help if a current GSA could outline all their duties, what they do in a shift and stuff like that. Also, what kind of difficult situations they have to deal with.

Thanks guys
 
It's up to you if you want to take it or not. I used it as a "stepping stone" to get to a team leader position faster. It gives you exposure to the execs, and they're going to know you on a first name basis. And once there is an opening for a TL position, you have a higher chance.
*****BEWARE*****
The GSA position is very unfair. You're a GSTL without the pay nor title. It's tough but it can be rewarding.
 
Do you aspire to move up the corporate ladder at Spot?
Or, are you or will you be attending college? If you want to make Spot a career for the next few years, @redandkhaki was right. Otherwise, the extra fifty cents is not worth the headache and stress.
 
PassinTime said:
Do you aspire to move up the corporate ladder at Spot?
Or, are you or will you be attending college? If you want to make Spot a career for the next few years, @redandkhaki was right. Otherwise, the extra fifty cents is not worth the headache and stress.
Click to expand...

I don't aspire to be a TL, possibly in the future maybe but I don't think I'm cut out for it.

However, it would be awesome to get the experience of being a GSA. Would look really good on a resume, no?
 
At my store they stick people they kind of like in the gsa position, and then forget about them. Whenever a gstl position opens, they either move other team leaders to that position or hire externally and the gsa who was hoping for promotion is always disappointed. Some people like the job though. It seems awful for the pay, in my opinion, and at my store.
 
I became a GSA at 17... I learned a lot and it was great experience, and if you do well they will bench you for TL- I'm currently training for Sr. Tl.
 
If you go for it, you WILL have to start caring about red cards because you'll be eating, sleeping & breathing red card metrics.
I'd look & see how the other GSAs are treated before deciding. As Rednkhaki said, it's basically a GSTL post without authority & only .50 raise.
Some stores use the role to determine whether the GSA merits leadership development; others treat them as a poor man's GSTL.
But all stores are NOT the same (ASANTS).
 
It really depends on where you want to go. I myself am an 18 year old GSA, but I've been told that I act far older than I am, so that's not really the point. GSA is very much an unfair position, but it can be rewarding if you go into it knowing what to expect. My rationale for accepting it goes something like this:

1) It gives me managerial experience, which I can then use to either move further up Target or I may be able to find some kind of managerial roll elsewhere a year or two down the road
2) A raise is a raise, so even $.50 is welcome.
3) I'm fine with working in a fast-paced/stressful environment.
4) I'm lucky in that my store seems to appreciate the work I put in. I frequently get commended for my efforts, all of my leadership staff is supportive which is a huge plus. I also took the position while we were desperate for GSA/GSTLs, since we had literally 2 GSA's and GSTL's that could be scheduled so they were in dire need of some more support.
5) I also work with some amazing cashiers. Some of the friendliest people I know, most people appreciate what I do.

But you also need to know the downsides. It's a high-stress position, and you are expected to micromanage almost every aspect of the front lane to keep it moving smoothly along. You are also expected to have to deal with problem guests like Couponers, crazies, and the like. You will also need to know Target policy like the back of your hand, and be good at communication with your team as well as your superiors. You are also expected to produce Red Cards and Guest Surveys, so you need to make sure that you can drive and keep your cashiers motivated to get these rolling in.

Also keep in mind that it's very much ASANTS. At and ULV store, your experience will be very different than at a AAA volume store.
 
No matter what you do with your life, this position will look awesome on your resume. Most hiring managers think 18 year olds are immature, but if you can show you took on responsibility at such a young age - I would run with it.

True story - one if my peers was a "manager" for a small electronics company at 18. They eliminated her position when she was 20. Applied where I work and became a salaried manager. They make 50k-60k a year. She has no other experience or education and already making this much.
 
Thank you so much everyone for the replies.

I talked more to one of my ETLs and he assured me the job at my store isn't overly stressful. Still have so many more questions for him though.

Anyhow I think I'm going to do it. Maybe I'll report back here how it goes!
 
Could somebody please outline some examples of situations where I would need to assist a guest?

What would be a common issue I would need to resolve?

I'm not incredibly fast at mental math under pressure. How screwed am I?
 
Pretty screwed unless you pack a calculator & have fast fingers.
Responding to flashing lane blinkers:
1. This guest says she's supposed to get a giftcard when she buys one of these. The ad says two....
2. This guest's SNAP card has been declined; she says there's money on there. Can we override?
3. This guest wants to use these coupons for different items. She said the other stores do it for her.
4. This guest didn't get approved for the debit card. Can they get 5% off using another card?
5. This guest found this blouse on the clearance rack & wants it 50% off. Softlines says it's new & doesn't have a clearance tag on it. It's ringing up at regular price.
6. This guest bought this blouse 15 days ago at regular price & now it's clearance. She wants an adjustment.
7. This guest wants to return this dress but it's no longer in the system & she doesn't have the receipt. The tags are still on there.
8. This guest is returning items she bought with her credit card but she wants it back in cash.
9. This guest bought a game console & when he opened it up at home, the box contained bricks. He also wants a cash refund.
10. This guest is using two BOGO coupons for two items so she says she's supposed to get them both for free.
11. This guest is scanning tons of copyrighted photos to copy. She wants me to edit out the photographer's stamp on the front of each photo.
12. This guest had to wait seven minutes for fresh pizzas at the cafe so she wants them for free for her trouble.
This is just a sampling.
And yes, I've dealt with EVERY SINGLE ONE.
 
Retail Girl said:
Yep..."front end supervisor" does sound impressive to other places of employment.

You may only get a 25 cent raise, since FA is only one pay grade behind GSA. But again, ASANTS.
Click to expand...

It's why if I ever need to look for another job, I'm going spin "perishables assistant" as "assistant market manager". I've got two TLs at my store who refer to it as leadership anyways.
 
redeye58 said:
Pretty screwed unless you pack a calculator & have fast fingers.
Responding to flashing lane blinkers:
1. This guest says she's supposed to get a giftcard when she buys one of these. The ad says two....
2. This guest's SNAP card has been declined; she says there's money on there. Can we override?
3. This guest wants to use these coupons for different items. She said the other stores do it for her.
4. This guest didn't get approved for the debit card. Can they get 5% off using another card?
5. This guest found this blouse on the clearance rack & wants it 50% off. Softlines says it's new & doesn't have a clearance tag on it. It's ringing up at regular price.
6. This guest bought this blouse 15 days ago at regular price & now it's clearance. She wants an adjustment.
7. This guest wants to return this dress but it's no longer in the system & she doesn't have the receipt. The tags are still on there.
8. This guest is returning items she bought with her credit card but she wants it back in cash.
9. This guest bought a game console & when he opened it up at home, the box contained bricks. He also wants a cash refund.
10. This guest is using two BOGO coupons for two items so she says she's supposed to get them both for free.
11. This guest is scanning tons of copyrighted photos to copy. She wants me to edit out the photographer's stamp on the front of each photo.
12. This guest had to wait seven minutes for fresh pizzas at the cafe so she wants them for free for her trouble.
This is just a sampling.
And yes, I've dealt with EVERY SINGLE ONE.
Click to expand...
Thank you so much! That is incredibly helpful.

As for the math thing, I'm going to be refining my skills so hopefully I'll be an expert before my GSA shifts start. What do you think will be the trickiest math situation I'll come across? I don't want to look like an idiot, I've had to pull out a calculator before.

Anyhow, once I'm back at my desktop I'll take a stab and answering those questions haha, you guys can judge how well I do.
 
Say a guest was approved for a red card but the temp slip doesn't scan because of a faulty printer (thermal printers have no ribbon of course & there's no way to reprint the temp slip) so you allow them to use another of their own cards & take off the 5% in the form of a store coupon.
That's 5% of the subtotal - before tax.
So take the subtotal amt (ex: $423.97) & move the decimal to the LEFT one place ($42.39 or for simplicity's sake, round it to $42.40).
Now split it in half ($21.20) & that's how much your store coupon will be.
 
redeye58 said:
Say a guest was approved for a red card but the temp slip doesn't scan because of a faulty printer (thermal printers have no ribbon of course & there's no way to reprint the temp slip) so you allow them to use another of their own cards & take off the 5% in the form of a store coupon.
That's 5% of the subtotal - before tax.
So take the subtotal amt (ex: $423.97) & move the decimal to the LEFT one place ($42.39 or for simplicity's sake, round it to $42.40).
Now split it in half ($21.20) & that's how much your store coupon will be.
Click to expand...
I'm pretty good at finding basic percentages, I can handle 5% pretty well. What scares me is when stuff gets more and more complicated and you've got a bitchy guest staring at you impatiently.
 
Redeye pretty much hit the nail on the head. 90% of the time, it'll be something simple like "This was on the clearance rack, so I want it at the clearance price." Well, there is no clearance price, so the item is still $19.99 or whatever. Or a problem with a coupon, or an item being in the wrong spot so "the computer is coming up with the wrong price" and such.
 
And you'll need to develop a tough hide for all the abuse heaped upon you from guests with unreasonable demands, many of which you could never hope to resolve.
You will also be accused daily of 'being rude' because you had to say 'no'.
You can explain with a sad smile in the sweetest voice to no avail because guests don't EVER wanna hear 'no'.
 
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