Archived Closing pfresh and dry market alone - anyone else?

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Does your store expect one person to close pfresh AND take care of all of dry market?

Here is a typical closing shift for market:

- Walk in to most of the day's CAFs not pushed. They were just piled onto the autofills that FLOW couldn't handle. Instocks batches waiting around too.

- Replenish bananas

- Replenish milk (usually empty by now)

- Cull the bakery table

- Do your QMOS (and everyone else's)

- Mop coolers

- Zone pfresh

- Zone 100+ doors of coolers/freezers

- Zone 30 aisles of dry market

- Maybe zone chemicals too

- "And finish early so you can help apparel!"

Not to mention the standard backup cashiering, guest service, breaks and huddle.

Over the past 6 months the leadership at my store has slowly come to the realization that it is impossible for one person to zone all of dry market to "green (perfect) by themself. One of our softlines TLs asked me what was taking me so long to zone market. I told her that we can dedicate as much time as we want to zoning market, and it will never be enough. She said "just pull everything forward" like it could be done in half an hour.

Anyone else expected to do all of pfresh and dry market? How has that been going?
 
As stingy as my store is with sales floor payroll, they always schedule a hardlines TM in market to zone dry.

And re: softlines TL - ask her how long it takes to finger space all of softlines.
 
We typically have two closing TMs in Market. One in pfresh, one in dry. Only one of them stays until 10:30, other is out at 9:30.
 
And re: softlines TL - ask her how long it takes to finger space all of softlines.

This was always my rebuttal when softlines would give hardlines **** while I was still an electronics brand tm.

First of all the only time of year we need there help is Christmas, 80 percent of the year its hardlines bailing them out because they were all chatty kathy's that suck at time management and somehow end up with 50 z-racks at close. Even though 15 minutes ago when the LOD asked how much they had it was "Oh, maybe half a cart and a z-rack."
 
Our market close has, from day 1, been only one team member taking care of both pfresh and dry. We usually close with only 1 person in market, 1 on the sales floor, the LOD, GSA/GSTL, 1 guest service, and 2 cashiers.
 
Throughout our history with Pfresh we've had anywhere from 1 scheduled at night to four or five.

Right now:
1-9: Pushes dry CAFS
4-12: Pushes pfresh, zones pfresh
4-12: Reshops, pushes dry, zones half of dry
4-12: Reshops, pushes dry, zones half of dry

ETLs don't really care if Pfresh isn't zoned right now like they did a couple of years ago. We are one of the highest grossing Pfreshs in the region.
 
Very good to know. I appreciate your different responses! Keep 'em coming, guys!

The finger spacing line is pure gold. I am going to save that and use it!
 
We are one of the newer pfresh store but we've always had only one market closer. Usually I challenge my team to keep up with the hourly CAFs but also take a few minutes to do a quick zone while working those before going back to zoning dry. If this is done correctly at the end of the night pfresh shouldn't have much zoning needed and if time is running out pfresh should be the last area for zoning since it's culled 1st thing the next morning.
 
Chevalier, I definitely feel your pain! I'm usually stuck closing pfresh/market three to four nites a week. Last week I closed market/pfresh four straight nites. It burns you out, to say the least!

I've had discussions with management (TL, ETL-HR, etc.), telling them that market/pfresh is a large area and closing is at least a two person job. In one ear, and out the other!!! They refuse to schedule more than one person to close pFresh/market.

Honestly, I'd rather close hardlines than pfresh/market. I'm actually thinking of requesting out of pfresh/market for hardlines!
 
Tell your etl or tl, that you can hba, instead of market. We had tested market & pfresh together, the zone was never finished. Then we tried with hba & it works for my store. If another tm finishes another zones comes & helps them too. Some nights, pfresh person has to do pfresh & reshop only.
 
My store has only been doing PFresh for a full week or so and I have only closed once, as I am the CTL, but I had to have my ETL-Hardlines help me finish the dry zone as it was Gran Reopening and I wouldn't have been able to do it and keep produce full by myself. I haven't closed since then but I will update this thread once I do.
 
We are starting our 4th week of PFresh. We still give a hardlines closer responsibility over Dry Market but our STL says that the closing PA zoning Open Market AND Dry Market is a "minimum expectation." Ive closed PFresh 5 or 6 times (Im the CTL) and I have never been able to make it over to Dry Market. Partially because none of our ETL's walk the Open Market zone and the coolers and freezers are completely let go until I close and spend over an hour on them alone. I dont think the PA should have this expectation as there are many tasks during a close that I would like for them to complete that are more important than pulling cans forward so they look nice for a few hours. For example Id like my PA's to be able to purge the meat and produce cooler every night before a delivery to ensure the new product is not put on the sales floor before the old product. Unfortunately with this zoning expectation there has not been any time to try this.
 
We are starting our 4th week of PFresh. We still give a hardlines closer responsibility over Dry Market but our STL says that the closing PA zoning Open Market AND Dry Market is a "minimum expectation." Ive closed PFresh 5 or 6 times (Im the CTL) and I have never been able to make it over to Dry Market. Partially because none of our ETL's walk the Open Market zone and the coolers and freezers are completely let go until I close and spend over an hour on them alone. I dont think the PA should have this expectation as there are many tasks during a close that I would like for them to complete that are more important than pulling cans forward so they look nice for a few hours. For example Id like my PA's to be able to purge the meat and produce cooler every night before a delivery to ensure the new product is not put on the sales floor before the old product. Unfortunately with this zoning expectation there has not been any time to try this.

What volume are you...I am a low volume store but generally we have just 2 closers in hardlines, BUT, they are the ones that usually cover electronic breaks/lunch and mainly respond to backups and calls and call buttons. Im not sure how it is even possible to zone dry market when i close pfresh. At my store pfresh is only scheduled til 9 so we dont even stay til closing. On a 2:30-9 shift it pretty much goes like this. Keep in mind my pfresh is also located at the opposite side of the store as backroom (pfresh front side corner and backroom is the whole back of the store)

1. Come in and take care of any QMOS that might be left in the bins.

2. Work out any pulls that are there and waiting. Usually the 2's will be there. I load the bananas with the produce as well. While on the floor write down what milk we need and see if we need ice (which right now during the summer needs filled every few hours).

3. Load up the milk on a flatbed, push it out, fifo the milk as I go, push it back, put flatbed back, empty crates on pallet.

4. Zone the open market area because it probably hasnt been zoned since earlier this morning or not at all AND because we only have 1!!!! yes...1, SF TM from 4-6:30 or whenever the closers get in so there is no help at all for fresh and full by 4. I also grab a portable printer and flex whatever I need to as I zone.

5. Do the salesfloor walk which can take upwards of 20-30 minutes depending on if the LOD gets taken away or wants to do a really thorough walk. After, I take my break. When I get back I check workbench for any urgent things.

6. Get back from break and do as much of the cleaning tasks as I can before the 5 pulls drop.

7. Work out all pulls and grab bananas again to make it full. Usually backstock my own stuff since by that point there isnt much to do (like 3 DPCIS on each pull to backstock). I would say its probably about... 5:30-5:45 at this point.

8. Finish the daily cleaning tasks by sweeping the ambient, produce, meat and dairy rooms. Spot mopping if I need to. Usually I just close mondays and I mop all of those rooms anyway for the weekly.

9. Start the freezer zone, and then go to huddle at 6:30. Usually start the zone around 6-6:15.

10. Huddle goes from about 6:30-6:45. Since I am past my 4 hour mark I take my lunch at this point.

11. Get back around 7:15. Go back to freezer zone. Usually by 8 I am done with freezers, front and back endcaps (4 front, 1 dry double in back) and back wall dairy pretty easily. Just depends on how bad it is though or how well everyone else zoned it the last few nights.

12. Do outdates. Usually start in produce with the bag salads and fruit, move over to bakery and then meat. While checking meat for outdates I look for anything that needs a meat coupon. Have LOD sign off cleaning and task log. Push any milk or bananas.

13. Zone pfresh with rest of the time left.

I would ask my STL where in any of this can I find the time to zone dry. Not like im slacking off
 
We never have an extra person scheduled, we're expected to have dry grocery zoned by the end of the night. I've had ONE night where they had an extra person, so they sent them over to help. And our store is about the same as pfreshdude's, pfresh in the front side and backroom in the whole back of the store. (I've figured out I walk 8-10 miles during an 8 hr pfresh shift!)

My routine (on a 2-10pm shift):

1. 2-4pm - Fresh and Full by 4 (mainly filling milk and eggs), work pulls.

2. 4-6pm - Zone open market, help guests, respond to nearby call boxes/phone calls, check message board/mySupport.

3. 6-8pm - Work 4pm and 5pm pulls, zone dry grocery/paper (paper is in the first two aisles before open market.)

4. 8-10pm - Check outdates in open market, put coupons on meat, pull store TPCs that expire that night. Fill bananas and milk. Clean ambient room, meat scale and QMOS tub. Take care of trash and cardboard. Put potatoes to sleep, call LOD to sign checklist, bring red tote to Starbucks and head out!
 
Im pretty sure were a lower volume store. This expectation wouldnt be the end of the world if the LOD's actually walked the zone in market. I always zone the hell out of market when I close but I know for a fact that no LOD in our building walks Market like they do other departments. After a few nights of Market being completely let go its a total b#tch to zone if you try to do it correctly. HBA always has this reputation for being really technical and tedious to zone but Market isnt any easier most nights.
 
Im pretty sure were a lower volume store. This expectation wouldnt be the end of the world if the LOD's actually walked the zone in market. I always zone the hell out of market when I close but I know for a fact that no LOD in our building walks Market like they do other departments. After a few nights of Market being completely let go its a total b#tch to zone if you try to do it correctly. HBA always has this reputation for being really technical and tedious to zone but Market isnt any easier most nights.

Ya...we usually have someone from salesfloor zone it. They leave market for last so if they dont get to it, it just doesnt get zoned. The other day for morning working huddle we had like 20 people zoning dry market to perfection in like 30 minutes haha. For the walks they might comment on dry grocery if the zone is bad but they dont usually care all too much. When our store is beating forecast by $14,000 on a forecast of around $70,000 some days, and there are call outs, the whole store looks a little bad.

My CTL had mentioned when we first started pfresh that when our hours go to normal (launching pfresh you get tons of hours for a while!!! ) we might have to zone dry to, in which I basically said was going to be impossible unless something from PFresh itself is sacrificed, whether that be cleaning or culling or something.

On all of your stores that dont have salesfloor zone market...What do they do all day? Im being serious. Domestics zone is usually started around 2 at my store. Morning crew usually has to work out reshop at huddle. We have electronics zone entertainment, toys, luggage, sporting goods, automotive and if time help in seasonal and mini seasonal. By the time the closers get in usually its just A and G left with maybe half of B and all the CAFs are pushed. I still grab call buttons, calls, and backup as pfresh as well so its not like they are doing alot of that and im not. Ive even grabbed carts 3 times the last 2 shifts because whoever made the schedule didnt have the foresight to have a cart attendant on a saturday, which I dont even want to get started on that. I guess it would help to mention our ETLS, SRTLS, and TLs all bust their ass and help zone, grab call boxes, and backup cashier as well. But they have to since our entire salesfloor (both HL and SL) for the day is like 5-6 people on it haha with operator from 12:30-8:30ish, electronics which usually doesnt get in til 10, and market which is 6am-9pm.
 
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We are a B volume store, we used to be an A. The crappy part is we are a mall store so we get extra foot traffic all god damn day. HBA is so much easier than market, in-fact with the new layout HBA has been easier than stationery, toys and sporting goods. There are just a couple of annoying aisles which I spend more time on during my closes.
 
This may sound like a dumb question and if so I apologize, but I understand the P-Fresh prototype and what it entails, but what does the acronym P-Fresh actually stand for? Or I guess what does the P stand for? Just wondering since even though my store isn't P-Fresh..or at least not yet I do like learning about all that goes into being a CA, CTL or just working over in P-Fresh area. My store has been a ULV GM since opening and doesn't even have a pharmacy(I know..it's kinda weird lol). Thanks for reading!
 
It stands for Produce.

@Pfreshdude Our ETL's dont help with anything. Almost like clockwork the more they add to our workload the less you see them actually work. Just last week me and another HLTL were working on 90 day reviews that were dropped on us the night they were due, all-the-while the ETL's were in the STL office discussing cupcakes. You cant make this sh*t up
 
It stands for Produce.

@Pfreshdude Our ETL's dont help with anything. Almost like clockwork the more they add to our workload the less you see them actually work. Just last week me and another HLTL were working on 90 day reviews that were dropped on us the night they were due, all-the-while the ETL's were in the STL office discussing cupcakes. You cant make this sh*t up

I dont know if I could even work at a place with leadership like that. First signs of that id be looking for another job. Right now we have, STL, ETL-Log and...thats it lol. Our ETL-HL quit and we are supposed to be getting someone else. We have like 3 seniors, and 4 TLs as well I think. Something like that. Let me guess. your ETLS are mid age 20's, mostly female, fairly attractive. Seems to be the only trend around here haha.
 
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