MEGATHREAD 2018-2019 Store Modernization Megathread

[Rarejem]

Well clearly then the method we're going of "don't fill the floors just focus on helping the guest" is gonna work then.

This is seriously going away. Guest focus is no longer a thing. Acknowledge, answer questions when approached, empty your u-boat, move along.

 

[oath2order]

This is seriously going away. Guest focus is no longer a thing. Acknowledge, answer questions when approached, empty your u-boat, move along.

So basically it's how we're doing things now.

 

[RedcardReba]

Target stock jumped this week, and it's due to the changes. My store looks good, and business is picking up again after a slow Feb. We do more with fewer people, and it's harder in a way, but less stressful in that people who are slackers or cause drama just aren't getting many hours to do that crap.

Even managers are saner. All the nitpicking garbage seems to be reduced. There's an atmosphere of camaraderie now. The managers are in on unloading, doing flex, casheiring, etc....because we have to have extra hands.

I personally thought Target was overstaffed when I started over 2 years ago. Now it seems rightsized, except Beauty is way overstaffed. We sell a ton of beauty, though, so I could be off on that.

I'd personally like to see grocery expand, not contract...but oh well. I'd kill the cafe. Put it out of its misery. And I'd put in money on POS and IT. But overall, the OPU has been a great success, drive up is going to be increasingly used, and the front end focus on crosstraining has improved the checkout process a lot. We had one year of experimenting. This year, smooth as silk.

Change is tricky. You have to try stuff that doesn't work. But I can see how modernization is better.

Change or end up like Kmart.

 

[Black Sheep 214]

Change or end up like Kmart.

Continue Modernization and end up like Sears.

 

[Newbie1234567]

If you mean flexing then yeah. Better to fill the holes then to have empty spaces. It's kind of a retail thing to not look like stock is low giving the impression of less choices. As long as it's labeled correctly and given a location it's cool.

Minimizing o/s facing Ok, completely covering Not. Minimizing decreases guests awareness of outs but still enables audit and problem solving ability to regain in stocks. Big diff in my opinion. Cover up completely destroys integrity of pog/ integrity of spot/ integrity of team

 

[GreasyGary]

Target stock jumped this week, and it's due to the changes.

That's literally impossible because the changes haven't been implemented in even a tiny fraction of the stores yet.

The stock jumped because earnings exceeded expectations, mainly behind SFS increasing. And Target is (pretty brilliantly, imo) using that SFS business to artificially inflate same-store sales, a key metric that investors look at when picking retail stocks. I can only imagine what the actual same-store sales would look like if they weren't being propped up by SFS.

 

[busyzoningtoys]

Easily explained. Electronics is busy pushing freight and helping guests so no they can't cover toys, one person over there. Hardlines may have one person for the rest of hardlines. OPU/SFS is one person who running around like a chicken with their head cut off since they don't get break or lunch coverage so they are so far behind while leaders are asking why goal times are not being met.

Leaders are walking around asking why things are not getting done while surfing Instagram or ordering lunch. But actually doing work? yeah unless the DTL is in the building they are not touching shit.

If you were running under the new op model there would be a lot more than 1 in hardlines. So wait til the changes really happen before complaining.

 

[A234]

That's literally impossible because the changes haven't been implemented in even a tiny fraction of the stores yet.

The stock jumped because earnings exceeded expectations, mainly behind SFS increasing. And Target is (pretty brilliantly, imo) using that SFS business to artificially inflate same-store sales, a key metric that investors look at when picking retail stocks. I can only imagine what the actual same-store sales would look like if they weren't being propped up by SFS.

My store saw almost 9% increase in sales this holiday season compared to last, and we do not have SFS.

 

[GreasyGary]

My store saw almost 9% increase in sales this holiday season compared to last, and we do not have SFS.

Ok, and company-wide that was 5.3%, including SFS, so obviously your store is an anomaly.

 

[gsa4lyfe]

This is seriously going away. Guest focus is no longer a thing. Acknowledge, answer questions when approached, empty your u-boat, move along.

I would say you're wrong on that one. If thats the case Target wouldn't have spent a ton of money on a day long sales training for all the TLs and up then required us to have a class with our TMs to train them. They're pushing to engage the guest more than ever before. It's the whole point of getting rid on inbound and moving more team members dayside.

 

[OneArmedJesus]

Easily explained. Electronics is busy pushing freight and helping guests so no they can't cover toys, one person over there. Hardlines may have one person for the rest of hardlines. OPU/SFS is one person who running around like a chicken with their head cut off since they don't get break or lunch coverage so they are so far behind while leaders are asking why goal times are not being met.

Leaders are walking around asking why things are not getting done while surfing Instagram or ordering lunch. But actually doing work? yeah unless the DTL is in the building they are not touching shit.

Wtf, this store sounds like an actual shit show

 

[SitSpotSit]

Minimizing o/s facing Ok, completely covering Not. Minimizing decreases guests awareness of outs but still enables audit and problem solving ability to regain in stocks. Big diff in my opinion. Cover up completely destroys integrity of pog/ integrity of spot/ integrity of team

Completely agree! It's just that if an etl is hot to fill holes and is saying to flex then give others a chance to find it. But big picture and one that I wish could always be is what you're saying.

Edited to add that flex label holders would be key but I don't even think our store has them and if we do nobody knows about them or cares to use them.😕

 

[flow4areasonuno]

A class? Haha, no one has time to do that. There are not enough TMs on the floor as it is and no one is giving us any talks because it would take us off the floor. We sat down to watch the video about modernization and that's all we got.

 

[band_rules16]

Leaders are walking around asking why things are not getting done while surfing Instagram or ordering lunch. But actually doing work? yeah unless the DTL is in the building they are not touching shit.

I think ASANTS here. I NEVER see my leaders doing this. They're helping pull, working out freight, and sometimes even helping back up at the front. I barely see them in their offices ever.

Today I tried to think as "modernization" and...I just...can't. I kept the U-boat with me as much as possible, but I was often in the way of guests, or they were in the way of me. Abandons and defective product? Good luck. I finally brought an empty vehicle out with me, put my backstock and abandons on it, and it seemed to work. But if time is an issue, zoning as you go won't work and picking up abandons/defectives and getting them to GS won't happen.

 

[ThatAPguy]

Ok, and company-wide that was 5.3%, including SFS, so obviously your store is an anomaly.

2.9% if you don’t count sfs according to CNBC

 

[flow4areasonuno]

Today I tried to think as "modernization" and...I just...can't. I kept the U-boat with me as much as possible, but I was often in the way of guests, or they were in the way of me. Abandons and defective product? Good luck. I finally brought an empty vehicle out with me, put my backstock and abandons on it, and it seemed to work. But if time is an issue, zoning as you go won't work and picking up abandons/defectives and getting them to GS won't happen.

I'm surprised you got away with that second vehicle, I'd have gotten a talking to about that. We are told one vehicle period for all trash/backstock etc. But like you said, if time is the issue (and it always is) zoning won't work. I only pick up defectives because you pick it up and drop it off in the back. And eventually someone gets assigned to tend to the defects.

Abandons? Nope. If I picked them up I would lose even more time.

 

[band_rules16]

I was just so frustrated with it. There is no place for backstock on the U-boats, especially when they're full. The smaller boxes from market? They just fall off. I finally just had a 3 tier for the rest, plus the U-boat. I barely saw any leaders around me when I was pushing freight.

And now I just realized that I forgot to do a task the closing LOD gave me. I was scheduled cashier today, but they sent me to the floor to help with freight since it was pretty slow up front. Then there were some call ins and I had to go back up front, and forgot about it. I barely had time to put my cart away too at the end of the night. I couldn't even finish my backstock, let alone do the task. And heaven forbid I stay late to complete it.

Sigh.

 

[Signingmitch]

Target stock jumped this week, and it's due to the changes. My store looks good, and business is picking up again after a slow Feb. We do more with fewer people, and it's harder in a way, but less stressful in that people who are slackers or cause drama just aren't getting many hours to do that crap.

Even managers are saner. All the nitpicking garbage seems to be reduced. There's an atmosphere of camaraderie now. The managers are in on unloading, doing flex, casheiring, etc....because we have to have extra hands.

I personally thought Target was overstaffed when I started over 2 years ago. Now it seems rightsized, except Beauty is way overstaffed. We sell a ton of beauty, though, so I could be off on that.

I'd personally like to see grocery expand, not contract...but oh well. I'd kill the cafe. Put it out of its misery. And I'd put in money on POS and IT. But overall, the OPU has been a great success, drive up is going to be increasingly used, and the front end focus on crosstraining has improved the checkout process a lot. We had one year of experimenting. This year, smooth as silk.

Change is tricky. You have to try stuff that doesn't work. But I can see how modernization is better.

Change or end up like Kmart.

Lmao the stock “jumped” back to where it was 4-5 years ago, wow just incredible to be st the same spot as it was 4 years ago while the Dow has increased by 50% since then Walmart by 15% and amazon by over 200% lol if you’re gonna be a paid corporate spammer at least learn some basics about the market before trying to use a dead cat bounce that will likely be given back in the next 4-6 weeks as justification for the broken mess Target is

 

[REDcardJJ]

2.9% if you don’t count sfs according to CNBC

for comparison, Walmart's comp was 3.6% including their e-commerce business which also grew a ton this year

 

[Rarejem]

I would say you're wrong on that one. If thats the case Target wouldn't have spent a ton of money on a day long sales training for all the TLs and up then required us to have a class with our TMs to train them. They're pushing to engage the guest more than ever before. It's the whole point of getting rid on inbound and moving more team members dayside.

You can say I'm wrong, but we're already doing this... and being reminded (not coached yet... it's new) if we spend too much time engaging.

 

[REDcardJJ]

You can say I'm wrong, but we're already doing this... and being reminded (not coached yet... it's new) if we spend too much time engaging.

this is in direct contradiction to the company's focus over the past two years, so it's just something dumb your store is doing

 

[Rarejem]

under the direction of the dtl and above... just reporting the news. We are full modernization. This may, of course, change tomorrow.

 

[Black Sheep 214]

You can say I'm wrong, but we're already doing this... and being reminded (not coached yet... it's new) if we spend too much time engaging.

You’re not wrong. Spot loves playing Catch-22, giving contradictory directions so that no matter what you do, or don’t do, you are liable to be coached. Have to keep that blame for Modernization’s failure flowing downward...

 

[Frontlanegirl]

I would say you're wrong on that one. If thats the case Target wouldn't have spent a ton of money on a day long sales training for all the TLs and up then required us to have a class with our TMs to train them. They're pushing to engage the guest more than ever before. It's the whole point of getting rid on inbound and moving more team members dayside.

There was a class to train us?

 

[GreasyGary]

2.9% if you don’t count sfs according to CNBC

2.9% company wide? That's about what I would have expected, probably a little better to be honest. I guess that would mean the average store was around that as well.

IIRC, last year it was around 3 point something, so that would mean true growth at stores is slowing, or at least remaining flat without internet sales backing it up. Which is exactly what I was thinking. Not exactly the rosiest of pictures, but not the end of the world either.