MEGATHREAD 2018-2019 Store Modernization Megathread

[Tainted Kool aid]

Sounds like my store. They keep scheduling us to start later and later with the team starting at 8am, store opening at 8am, guests coming in at 8am to see no product out on the shelf. Does this make any sense? The atmospg What they need to do is just make it be an online order fulfillment center.

Guests come in now and say they want an item. I look the shelf is empty but it says we have on hands and received today. I have to explain that yes we have it but we are still working the truck out so no idea when it will come out. They look at me bewildered and I just say sorry. They say guess I gotta go somewhere else now.

 

[MavDog]

Guests come in now and say they want an item. I look the shelf is empty but it says we have on hands and received today. I have to explain that yes we have it but we are still working the truck out so no idea when it will come out. They look at me bewildered and I just say sorry. They say guess I gotta go somewhere else now.

The idea behind breaking all of these custom blocks and sorting on the uboats has the bonus effect of being able to know exactly where an item is even if it did just arrive. We also still have access to the detailed dci report of exactly what items arrived on the truck. If you were at my store and gave that lazy answer to the guest I would coach you on the spot. I would need you to try to look yourself or ask for help. No excuses

 

[Black Sheep 214]

The idea behind breaking all of these custom blocks and sorting on the uboats has the bonus effect of being able to know exactly where an item is even if it did just arrive. We also still have access to the detailed dci report of exactly what items arrived on the truck. If you were at my store and gave that lazy answer to the guest I would coach you on the spot. I would need you to try to look yourself or ask for help. No excuses

If someone at my store went in the back and asked what u-boat a specific item was on they would be laughed out of the backroom and coached by the ETL-Log for wasting time, but ASANTS.

 

[MavDog]

If someone at my store went in the back and asked what u-boat a specific item was on they would be laughed out of the backroom and coached by the ETL-Log for wasting time, but ASANTS.

I mean no rudeness, but I think that's a bad atmosphere within your store. At 15 dollars an hour, you get paid about a dollar for your 5 minutes. If you spent those five minutes looking for a 50 dollar iron, and manage to find it, not only are you still making more money for the store than you spent, but you also have a happy guest. 100% if that guest stood there and dropped in an online order for that item, your ETL-LOG would stop laughing pretty quick and start chucking boxes to make sure their Flexible Fulfillment metric stayed green. That online guest and that in person guest should be treated no differently from one another

 

[seasonaldude]

I mean no rudeness, but I think that's a bad atmosphere within your store. At 15 dollars an hour, you get paid about a dollar for your 5 minutes. If you spent those five minutes looking for a 50 dollar iron, and manage to find it, not only are you still making more money for the store than you spent, but you also have a happy guest. 100% if that guest stood there and dropped in an online order for that item, your ETL-LOG would stop laughing pretty quick and start chucking boxes to make sure their Flexible Fulfillment metric stayed green. That online guest and that in person guest should be treated no differently from one another

Seems like it would be better to have a process in place that the iron or whatever the guest was looking for was on the shelf before the guest arrived to ask about it?

 

[Black Sheep 214]

I mean no rudeness, but I think that's a bad atmosphere within your store. At 15 dollars an hour, you get paid about a dollar for your 5 minutes. If you spent those five minutes looking for a 50 dollar iron, and manage to find it, not only are you still making more money for the store than you spent, but you also have a happy guest. 100% if that guest stood there and dropped in an online order for that item, your ETL-LOG would stop laughing pretty quick and start chucking boxes to make sure their Flexible Fulfillment metric stayed green. That online guest and that in person guest should be treated no differently from one another

I agree. The instore guest deserves as much consideration as the online guest, but they don’t get it at my store. All my store cares about is green metrics. ETL-Log puts all emphasis on fulfillment and SFS orders, keeping the shelves full for our instore guests is secondary, because online orders “are already sales”.

 

[Tainted Kool aid]

The idea behind breaking all of these custom blocks and sorting on the uboats has the bonus effect of being able to know exactly where an item is even if it did just arrive. We also still have access to the detailed dci report of exactly what items arrived on the truck. If you were at my store and gave that lazy answer to the guest I would coach you on the spot. I would need you to try to look yourself or ask for help. No excuses

So I can go to the exact repack box it's in? I would laugh in your face if you coached me. You want me to dig through repack boxes for some stool softener. Here you go mam I found it after looking and rummaging through all my boxes for 20 minutes. Plus if your store is paying 15 dollars an hour RightNow you are not working for Target. You pay 12 and expect 15. I have to get so much work done my shift and if I spend 10-20 minutes for one guest even if it's a $20 sale I will be coached for not working fast enough. You can't have it both ways. Do you want guest service and sales or do you want the work done. In the perfect world target says both and no my target is not a perfect world. I'm glad yours is. Good job

 

[Frontlanegirl]

It's also ridiculous because even if people want to adapt, the company doesn't give us the proper tools to do the very process they expect us to adapt to, or worse, they take away the tools we already had (like trash cages and flats). It's one thing to change processes around, it's another thing entirely to take away your tools and make your job objectively harder and/or more time consuming.

Even if the store level leadership recognizes issues and wants to fix them, they can't do so without risking their jobs. I would love to see the look on DTL thot's face if my ETL or STL ever talked to her about "tweaking" the process for our store, i.e. challenging the process. They would both be pushed out in under two wags of Spot's tail. They know that, so when Her Majesty is sauntering around in our backroom with her minions fanning her, our leaders can only say "yes my lady", "certainly my lady" "aye, it shall be done, my lady".

Just let the highness know that the serfs are running short of printers, walkies, and MyDevices for a start. We are short now, I can't image when we really get into the holiday season.

 

[Frontlanegirl]

keeping the shelves full for our instore guests is secondary, because online orders “are already sales”.

Until those online orders become RTS.

 

[can't touch this]

Just let the highness know that the serfs are running short of printers, walkies, and MyDevices for a start. We are short now, I can't image when we really get into the holiday season.

"FiGuRe It OuT"

 

[Black Sheep 214]

Until those online orders become RTS.

Sad but true.😂

 

[MavDog]

So I can go to the exact repack box it's in? I would laugh in your face if you coached me. You want me to dig through repack boxes for some stool softener. Here you go mam I found it after looking and rummaging through all my boxes for 20 minutes. Plus if your store is paying 15 dollars an hour RightNow you are not working for Target. You pay 12 and expect 15. I have to get so much work done my shift and if I spend 10-20 minutes for one guest even if it's a $20 sale I will be coached for not working fast enough. You can't have it both ways. Do you want guest service and sales or do you want the work done. In the perfect world target says both and no my target is not a perfect world. I'm glad yours is. Good job

-The detail report actually does tell you exactly what repack the product is in.
-Laugh in my face and see how far that gets you. Don't forget every one of our Team Member responsibilities says "Any additional tasks as assigned." If I tell you to sort through repacks, you better start cracking open boxes. Thing is, I wouldn't tell you that. I would say, let's go search together.
-A typical 2000 piece truck has only about ten Zone 5 repacks for Personal Care/Non-Consumable Pharmacy. You could spend 30 seconds a box quickly scanning for the shrink-wrapped bundle of 3 stool softeners and easily find it within 5 minutes, especially if your Sort Leader/Pharmacy Expert was there to help (Pharmacy is a Priority 1 Push anyway, so that expert should be there every truck unload, if not already pushing the product)
-It sucks that your store hasn't shifted it's focus yet. That makes it harder to do your work, so I wish you luck

 

[Aredhel]

If I quoted every post expressing distress about e2e m, well it would be considerable. My take away is that this company is being looted by the c suite and will stagger around until sold. Ironically mid level management will be in a worse jam than most store level.

 

[can't touch this]

If Amazon really does try to buy out Target, I wonder if there's potential for anti-trust action.

Technically all megacorps should be broken up but that's a pipe dream at this point.

 

[RunForACallBox]

Target has a lot of TMs that are resistant to change because these TMs have been in retail for many years, have experienced many changes that have had negative results, and would prefer that Target not follow other retailers down the road to disaster. The problem with Spot is that they are not looking for a better process, but a cheaper process. Therein lies the rub. Modernization is a much more labor intensive process than the previous one, but Spot expects it to be successful with far less payroll. This may be the corporate and stockholders’ dream, but it is far from practical, or possible. Mountains of salvage, packed stockrooms, empty shelves, the exodus of trained, experienced staff and the miserable work environment that drives them out all point to the failure of modernization. But sales are up, you say? That’s because the economy is booming. Sales have increased in spite of modernization, not because of it. That gives modernization cover for a while, but in the long term the truth will out. Think of what sales would be like if every shelf in every store was filled to the max. Modernization isn’t doing it, and won’t be, without a considerable infusion of payroll. Look at the cluster of modernization at this point, and it’s not even busy yet. Wait until 4th quarter when everything hits the fan. The problem isn’t that TMs/leadership need to drink the koo-aid or get out. The problem is that corporate refuse to listen to the truth when it is presented to them, preferring to continue their lemmings rush to the sea, taking Spot with them.

This spoke to my soul. Though this feels like Target Canada opening 130 stores quickly. Target is rushing these changes all at once. We all know how Target Canada ended.

 

[RunForACallBox]

Seems like it would be better to have a process in place that the iron or whatever the guest was looking for was on the shelf before the guest arrived to ask about it?

Bingo

 

[uncannydoom]

How are we supposed to handle bulk pallets? Black Friday the stores will start to open at 6am in the morning untill the end of December. With some of those gigantic pallets of water, pets, toilet paper, long/fat tables & others have to be taken out to the main floor by power jack. Are we just supposed to just start running over the army of guests all over the store? This new modernization process has never addressed this. With no more overnight & 98% of truck unloads starting at 6 or 8am across the country, how is this supposed to be handled?

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

-The detail report actually does tell you exactly what repack the product is in.
-Laugh in my face and see how far that gets you. Don't forget every one of our Team Member responsibilities says "Any additional tasks as assigned." If I tell you to sort through repacks, you better start cracking open boxes. Thing is, I wouldn't tell you that. I would say, let's go search together.
-A typical 2000 piece truck has only about ten Zone 5 repacks for Personal Care/Non-Consumable Pharmacy. You could spend 30 seconds a box quickly scanning for the shrink-wrapped bundle of 3 stool softeners and easily find it within 5 minutes, especially if your Sort Leader/Pharmacy Expert was there to help (Pharmacy is a Priority 1 Push anyway, so that expert should be there every truck unload, if not already pushing the product)
-It sucks that your store hasn't shifted it's focus yet. That makes it harder to do your work, so I wish you luck

Try finding a non street date book in pallet of books from the truck.

 

[glo]

How are we supposed to handle bulk pallets? Black Friday the stores will start to open at 6am in the morning untill the end of December. With some of those gigantic pallets of water, pets, toilet paper, long/fat tables & others have to be taken out to the main floor by power jack. Are we just supposed to just start running over the army of guests all over the store? This new modernization process has never addressed this. With no more overnight & 98% of truck unloads starting at 6 or 8am across the country, how is this supposed to be handled?

Most stores will probably have overnights for Black Friday prep like always.

 

[can't touch this]

We also still have access to the detailed dpci report of exactly what items arrived on the truck.

That's cool (no sarcasm intended) but until they give all regular TMs access to this, it's not very useful. ETL-log can only be in one place at once, and half the time he's been pulled into some stupid meeting or, especially lately, busy doing interviews. He used to work push on the floor with flow but apparently Target doesn't want them to do regular serf work anymore.

Our new BRTL probably has access but he's a real asshole with a shitty attitude so nobody asks him anything if their life depends on it.

Basically if I'm in the backroom and *don't* have an urgent guest related question, the leaders are right there in the fire aisle having a chit chat, but the second I need them for something urgent they're in a meeting or yucking it up in the break room with a big pile of takeout from Buffalo Wild Wings.

 

[Tainted Kool aid]

That's cool (no sarcasm intended) but until they give all regular TMs access to this, it's not very useful. ETL-log can only be in one place at once, and half the time he's been pulled into some stupid meeting or, especially lately, busy doing interviews. He used to work push on the floor with flow but apparently Target doesn't want them to do regular serf work anymore.

Our new BRTL probably has access but he's a real asshole with a shitty attitude so nobody asks him anything if their life depends on it.

Basically if I'm in the backroom and *don't* have an urgent guest related question, the leaders are right there in the fire aisle having a chit chat, but the second I need them for something urgent they're in a meeting or yucking it up in the break room with a big pile of takeout from Buffalo Wild Wings.

Exactly it so easy to say this report shows you this and I would go with you to find it but that's a pipe dream. We are not allowed to go to our leader as we are to know everything. If we ask questions about anything it's resistance and will be performanced out. Even if you don't get performanced out and get an answer from an etl or stl they will say they don't know or to figure it out. Why should I have to figure it out with out being shown or told how. Why should I have to fear for my job if I ask a question. Target is more concerned about COACHING you that training you. This constant you are expected to do more for your $15 dollar an hour argument and yet we only get 12 is total crap. What happens also when everyone pays $15 are they still gonna expect you to EARN that wage when you could go anywhere and get it. I find it funny when people come off their high horse and say it's easy our store is amazing not sure why you can't do it. Plus if it is my job on the line to finish X amount of work before my shift why would I ever want to spend 20 minutes rummaging for stool softener. It sounds shitty to say to the guest sorry we are still working on the truck, but I would rather keep my job than save a $2 sale.

 

[balthrop]

That's cool (no sarcasm intended) but until they give all regular TMs access to this, it's not very useful. ETL-log can only be in one place at once, and half the time he's been pulled into some stupid meeting or, especially lately, busy doing interviews. He used to work push on the floor with flow but apparently Target doesn't want them to do regular serf work anymore.

Our new BRTL probably has access but he's a real asshole with a shitty attitude so nobody asks him anything if their life depends on it.

Basically if I'm in the backroom and *don't* have an urgent guest related question, the leaders are right there in the fire aisle having a chit chat, but the second I need them for something urgent they're in a meeting or yucking it up in the break room with a big pile of takeout from Buffalo Wild Wings.

you can find out what is in each repack all you need is the number on the sticker of the repack in question. which is rather long and in a font size of something like 9pt or less. it's all available on workbench IIRC it's something that is easily accessible. But I've forgotten what the real question was other than Kool-Aid being drank like some artesian free range organic Sizzurp.

okay yeah the process does not work in anything other than an ULV store that has the payroll, hours, staffing, buy in by the people doing the work, a store management team that is willing to listen to and act on viable alternate view points, a corporate level management structure that is willing to admit that they have zero clue on how to run an efficient logistics process (Target Canada, any one?), COMMUNICATION… there's more but I have ran off the rails far enough. oh and an AA and above store should in no way be doing this what ever this is we are doing.

 

[signingminion]

Try finding a non street date book in pallet of books from the truck.

This is somehow always my guest, and the electronics tm, tl, etc have no clue how long each pile of repacks has been there... seriously.

 

[Black Sheep 214]

Basically if I'm in the backroom and *don't* have an urgent guest related question, the leaders are right there in the fire aisle having a chit chat, but the second I need them for something urgent they're in a meeting or yucking it up in the break room with a big pile of takeout from Buffalo Wild Wings.

Our ETLs wouldn’t set foot in the break room to save their lives. They eat in the Executive Dining Room (better known as the training room) to avoid being contaminated by the presence of the masses...😏😂

 

[countingsheep]

Ours do the same they come in to use the microwave and dont make eye contact. You try to talk to them and all they do is hiss and snarl.