AP

DBZ

Joined
Dec 9, 2018
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I was thinking about going for an APS/TSS position. What are their duties beyond the obvious (standing at SCO, assisting with apps, and security walks). What is the interview process like?


edit to add TSS
 
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Unless anything has changed in past couple months with modernization.

APS does not stand at SCO.

APS dresses in plain clothes.

APS gets brunt of pressure and accountability when it comes to making external apps.

APS is mostly responsible for all camera moves.

The interview process is similar to other positions, except that the AP Business Partner must also interview and sign off.

Good luck!!
 
That's a good question, @Planosss!! I was ETL-HR and ETL-AP and I'm not aware of any differences..at least, there was no extra work on our end..

@DBZ Hmmm..that was always my APS. I'm REALLY curious how many stores actually have an APTL. I see talk about them, but never met any in my 16 years of support helping around the company...
 
At my current store, we have a guy who wears a security jacket (TSS) and stands at the SCO a lot (he does more than that though), we have a plain clothes guy (APTL), and an AP-ETL. One of the other stores near me has several people wearing the Target security attire.
 
At my current store, we have a guy who wears a security jacket (TSS) and stands at the SCO a lot (he does more than that though), we have a plain clothes guy (APTL), and an AP-ETL. One of the other stores near me has several people wearing the Target security attire.
Aps is a plain clothes TM that can apprehend. Technically a APTL isn’t supposed to always be plain clothes. Most stores don’t have an APS so the APTL is the only person who can apprehend so they wear plain clothes a lot but have a lot of other duties as a TL
 
The levels of store-side AP are, TSS -> APS -> APL/APTL -> ETL-AP

TSS: Uniformed Security, mainly responsible for being near the front of the store (door/sco) and identifying potential theft behaviors or suspicious people or repeat shoplifters entering the store. The TSS then calls a higher AP team member over the walkie to 'call out' the suspicious person/repeat shoplifter, so they can begin on the floor surveillance. TSS also supports the SCO identifying things like BOB/LISA, Ticket Switches, Skip Scans and push-outs. The TSS may also be used to conduct camera surveillance on a suspicious person that a plain clothes AP TM is following, to help keep the person visible and the AP TM hidden. Additionally the TSS will help with apprehensions and at some stores, conduct Theft Identification Counts of high theft items (essentially walking to the 50 most stolen items and making sure on-hand counts are right and if they aren't reviewing video to see why.)

APS: Plain Clothes Security, treated as a leader in the store, but not a leader in AP. Only high theft or high risk stores will have an APS, their main goal is to stop external theft. The APS may conduct Theft Identification Counts (The TIC) as well. When an item is missing on the TIC or an empty package shows up, they review to see if theft occurred and if it did, they write up a Known Theft Report and print out a BOLO (Be On The Look-out) sheet of the subject. This helps the APS as well as the TSS identify repeat shoplifters coming into the store. Unlike the TSS near the front all day, the APS can usually be found blending in on the sales floor for most of their shift.

APL/APTL: The only difference is the APTL has a team. An APL is the only AP person at a store, if there's more than one AP person, you're an APTL. This role will usually spend more time in the office than any other AP role. They are responsible for creating the schedule for AP, as well as running various different reports to find out important things like what items are getting stolen the most, what day of the week are most items being stolen and what time of day are most items being stolen. They look for patterns in reporting to help build the AP schedule and more importantly find out what items are hot (likely to be stolen) at a particular time. Say if reporting suggests fake eyelashes are being stolen a lot, that may warrant a camera move or potentially the APS spending more time in that area of the store. This role will also conduct all internal investigations. In the event the store has no APS, all of the APS responsibilities fall on the APL/APTL, however some like the TIC and writing reports/BOLO sheets may be delegated to the TSS.

ETL-AP: Basically the same as APL/APTL except you are no long hourly, you get a salary instead, so no more using the time clock. You also have access to a few more reports to assist with internal and external investigations. You are also expect to work 50 hours every week at this level.

This has been my experience, however some stores operate slightly differently, for example, I filled in for an AP team at a different store where both of their TSS were in the office most of the day, simply because they were much better at identifying stuff on camera as opposed to in person. However with the new modernization they are attempting to keep the TSS at the front of the store as much as possible and change them to a more guest service oriented person. Also I read something about camera moves, in my store any AP TM can move cameras, but usually the TSS will ask the APS/APL first.
 
Aps is a plain clothes TM that can apprehend. Technically a APTL isn’t supposed to always be plain clothes. Most stores don’t have an APS so the APTL is the only person who can apprehend so they wear plain clothes a lot but have a lot of other duties as a TL
In my Group, ever since the realignment back under APBP's, all store AP Leaders both ETL and TL wear plain clothes everyday. Including on visits.
 
In my Group, ever since the realignment back under APBP's, all store AP Leaders both ETL and TL wear plain clothes everyday. Including on visits.
Yeah that’s pretty common now. It’s not a rule and APTLs and ETLs have duties other than apprehending. My APTL never wore red either.
 
Arresting people for $14 an hour gets old real fuckin quick.
 
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