Archived Backroom and Women?

[Scarletwitchy]

Hey guys!

So I'm a 20 year old female considering applying for the backroom position. One of my concerns is getting the job (if they would hire me for the position), only for me to not be able to do my part. I've read that the position isn't for women but I've also read that it isn't nearly as bad as it seems.

Also, how many women, if any, are working in the backroom at your Target store?

Thanks!

 

[Kartman]

If you can lift those giant bags of dried pet food, you should be OK.

Your sex has nothing to do with it. More like some muscle...

 

[toredandkhaki]

Half my stores backroom team is women, so I'd say it's for anyone. You'll be doing quite a bit of lifting, including carrying stuff up and down ladders, so that might not be for everyone but that has nothing to do with gender

 

[buliSBI]

I had a 5 foot female TM do backroom.

 

[CrimsonRaven712]

I'm a woman and I have no issues in the backroom. Its just about being able to lift heavy things, and not being afraid of going up and down the ladders. On average the heaviest thing you will have to lift is 40lbs of kitty litter and that won't be everyday.

Honestly, I've had it be a bigger issue that people are afraid of heights.

 

[sabria]

Although our dedicated backroom TM's are all male - it's not a hard job.
As @jadetiger712 said - heaviest stuff you'll lift is cat litter/food/dog food.. Anything more becomes a team lift and no one is going to give you grief for not lifting a dresser/bench/etc on your own (or they shouldn't).

Honestly in our store everyone is trained to do pretty much everything in the backroom. The thing that really makes a backroom TM specialized is getting into the routines so well that everything becomes second nature so that you can perform the duties quickly yet still do them with precision. Like most TM's and myself included can all use the crown but have to take it slow and really watch what we're doing. Our backroom TM's will be able to fly around in one and know exactly where to stop via positioning the lift forks, or how to handle a pallet that isn't super stable, and etc.
Then all the routine scanning for pulls/backstock/etc / having locations down.

Nothing is exceptionally hard it's just developing your speed/accuracy. Best to do it now too rather than jump into the holiday season untrained where the speed is really needed!

 

[Pale]

My BRTL is a woman, there's two other women that work in the backroom aswell. You should be just fine.

 

[Planosss]

I have had a 5 foot female TM do backroom.

"Had" is the key.

 

[Shadowski]

If you don't mind hauling things up fixed ladders, lifting 50 pounds, using lift equipment and being 30 feet in the air at times, you're fine.

 

[DoWork]

You'll be fine. Easiest job in the store.

 

[buliSBI]

"Had" is the key.

Meaning...I am no longer with the company.

 

[Backroom81]

Sex doesn't matter for working backroom, having a minimal amount of strength, endurance, and work does.

 

[HRZone]

My old stores top backroom tm was a 20 something year old skinny Asian chick. She actually had 99.97 accuracy and didn't screw around as much as the other guys who would get CAs for unsafe acts.

 

[NPC]

There's actually quite a few women working in our backroom. As someone above said, heights are probably more of a challenge than heavy stuff.

 

[OneGoodEar]

If you're afraid of heights, don't use the WAVE!

 

[StockerAce]

Not sure if anyone mentioned it, but as long as you can lift cat litter/pet food bags and don't mind heights/ladders, you should be fine. Gender has nothing to do with it. We have multiple female BRTM's.

 

[Castagnier]

So long as you can lift some heavy things, you're good. Even if you can't lift then immediately, you'll probably get used to it eventually, so don't fret.

As an aside, though, I'm gonna disagree with everyone saying litter and pet food are the hardest things to pull. They're heavy, but not difficult since the litter has handles and the pet food usually has its weight distributed. The real bane of a BRTM (for my team, at least) is those giant plastic Steritech containers and baby strollers/carriers. They're just gigantic ass boxes that are hard to get a grip on. Even worse is that they're usually located on the top of the steel, so you'll be fighting both the box and a fear of heights. And even if you get a grip on them, have fun going down the ladder. Seriously, screw those things.

 

[missionimpossible]

I would say our two best br team members right now are women and I doubt that many at the store would argue.

 

[missionimpossible]

So long as you can lift some heavy things, you're good. Even if you can't lift then immediately, you'll probably get used to it eventually, so don't fret.

As an aside, though, I'm gonna disagree with everyone saying litter and pet food are the hardest things to pull. They're heavy, but not difficult since the litter has handles and the pet food usually has its weight distributed. The real bane of a BRTM (for my team, at least) is those giant plastic Steritech containers and baby strollers/carriers. They're just gigantic ass boxes that are hard to get a grip on. Even worse is that they're usually located on the top of the steel, so you'll be fighting both the box and a fear of heights. And even if you get a grip on them, have fun going down the ladder. Seriously, screw those things.

We never put either of those items on the top shelf. That is just inefficient and unsafe.

 

[Kaitii]

My BRTL is a woman, there's two other women that work in the backroom aswell. You should be just fine.

My BRTL is also a woman and she's like 60. Toughest woman I ever saw, she knows how to get shit done. Then there's a morning BRTM that is like 30s at least and 5ft its so cute seeing them walk next to each other because the TL is near 6 ft

 

[tgtguy]

If you are willing to work hard , not afraid if heights ( ie ladders) can work unsupervised ( some days I hardly see a etl and or tl when working in the backroom) then you should apply for the backroom. It has nothing to do with your gender just how hard you are willing to work.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

We put all our tidy cats 35lb on a low rung.

 

[SFSFun]

As an aside, though, I'm gonna disagree with everyone saying litter and pet food are the hardest things to pull. They're heavy, but not difficult since the litter has handles and the pet food usually has its weight distributed. The real bane of a BRTM (for my team, at least) is those giant plastic Steritech containers and baby strollers/carriers. They're just gigantic ass boxes that are hard to get a grip on. Even worse is that they're usually located on the top of the steel, so you'll be fighting both the box and a fear of heights. And even if you get a grip on them, have fun going down the ladder. Seriously, screw those things.

I don't think anyone is saying cat litter and pet food is the hardest...just that is among the heaviest and they're easy examples.

Also, you have to climb a ladder for BPLS? Fuck that! We use the wave if we have to get one down from the top. And despite their awkward size, those boxes really aren't that bad to handle.

 

[Pretty Kitty]

My BRTL is a woman, there's two other women that work in the backroom aswell. You should be just fine.

We work in same store :O

My BRTL is also a woman and she is one hell of a leader!

 

[scuttlingvoid]

me and the receiver are the only girls in the backroom but we kill it it's a very good work out! go for it!!