Closing team

[flow4areasonuno]

I'm boggled by the notion that at some stores the team is not allowed to know the Leader schedule. What's the big secret? Strange.

I don't bother because I'm there one day a week, and what's it matter anyway. I used to ask every day who was LOD, but it doesn't matter anymore.

 

[IWishIKnew]

And people hate saying it, but sometimes asking someone who works in the area will get you a factual response in 30 seconds when looking it up on the zebra will take 5 minutes.

Yeah, I have a decent sense for what types of things I'll never be able to find on the zebra, or on my own taking a guest through style, but it bugs when someone is like "Grocery team, what aisle is mustard in?" Look that shit up yourself.

 

[happygoth]

Yeah, I have a decent sense for what types of things I'll never be able to find on the zebra, or on my own taking a guest through style, but it bugs when someone is like "Grocery team, what aisle is mustard in?" Look that shit up yourself.

In our store it's G19...took me all of 20 seconds on my own phone.

 

[vendordontmesswithme]

What makes me shake my head is when I ask for someone specific two or 3 times and fail to get a response. So I ask for salaried person ( they are executives) and it is their response that makes me shake my head. The person I was asking for is on lunch or left for the day. So why couldn't you say that sooner when I was asking for the team member?????

 

[happygoth]

My leaders are pretty good at saying that someone is on break or left for the day, other TMs as well. There are occasional times when no one answers right away, but I figure it's because those that have the answer are busy.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

3 seconds using the mydevice app on my phone. Thanks @Mikuhl

 

[Sebastian]

Y’all are getting to worked up about the word LOD if you don’t know who to call... like if you really don’t know all the names of the leaders in your builder and don’t care to look at the leadership schedule when you clock in ... then just say “can someone from the LEADERSHIP TEAM help me?”

 

[flow4areasonuno]

Y’all are getting to worked up about the word LOD if you don’t know who to call... like if you really don’t know all the names of the leaders in your builder and don’t care to look at the leadership schedule when you clock in ... then just say “can someone from the LEADERSHIP TEAM help me?”

I just ask who the LOD is and call them. I'll keep saying that until they start telling me not to

 

[Sebastian]

Closing Process:
Print your grid, look for gaps, and get attendance.
Check in with SD
Check in with TLs/ETLs before they leave
Schedule your lunch, take it while another TL or ETL can watch the store while you areoffstage. Get used to taking an early lunch, sometimes 2 hours into your shift.
Get nightly plan from leadership before they leave
Make sure plan is reasonable and expectations realistic
For teams with no lead or lead already gone for the day, check in with them and make sure they are on track
For teams with lead still there, let lead know that you want them to give you an update when they leave - and be honest with them. Don't let a style lead leave if the fitting room is trashed without getting a solid plan. Don't let a grocery team lead stick you with an empty milk cooler with no plan to fill it soon. Don't let GM stick you with a bunch of SFS packing to do right before the 430pm goal, or a bunch of truck to push with 1 expert to push half the truck.
Evaluate how busy you are. If you have 1 cashier all night, schedule your consultants and experts a time for them to go up for backup, so it will be more orderly.
Evaluate reshop: this is the only production the closer definitively owns. I would make it their first priority when they get in, but depending on circumstances you cant always do that.
I would walk the entire store at least 3 times throughout your shift, backroom included, vestibule included. Take a 3 tier with you as you walk. Grab all reshop off of front endcaps. Identify zone opportunities. Check in with consultants and experts as you come across them. You have as much authority over them as you allow them to perceive.
Finally you have the front end. This is where you will have to spend a good chunk of your time once the SETL leaves for the night. You will have to prep the cash office and let your closing advocate kno when to start closing the lanes.
This is hardly an exhaustive list, but this will comprise the bulk of what you actually do in any given day.

... why are you spending most of your time up front? We’re you and ex GSTL?

 

[Sebastian]

Thanks guys, I have my routine down pretty solid now that Christmas is over. Reshop? What’s that ? it doesn’t exist! Done before it even happens, We zone and once we get to a good level of presentation we support business in other areas such as sales planners, replenishment in “top priority” areas per the stores weekly, wrapping up price change etc

 

[keynesian]

... why are you spending most of your time up front? We’re you and ex GSTL?

Was never in front end leadership, however your S&E TLs leave before your closing advocate leaves for the night - and they are the only ones doing anything for you that has to be followed 100% to compliance.

I have heard of some stores that have the same closing advocate Monday thru Friday, and the Closing TLs at those stores and entrust them with the full responsibility of running the front end. However, not all stores are lucky enough to have this.

 

[Tessa120]

Yeah, I have a decent sense for what types of things I'll never be able to find on the zebra, or on my own taking a guest through style, but it bugs when someone is like "Grocery team, what aisle is mustard in?" Look that shit up yourself.

In our store it's G19...took me all of 20 seconds on my own phone.

And then a good chunk, at least one in three, will follow up with "What sizes do you have? What are their prices? What other brands do you carry, and their sizes and prices? Are any packages designed so the opening is actually at the bottom like ketchup has?" Nope, whoever has mustard can read off the shelf labels and look at the packaging faster than it can be looked up on a zebra. Many guests don't want a simple answer, they want comparative pricing. And some also want information read off the actual packaging, like dimensions of specific parts rather than whole, materials, colors and other manufacturer information that is not reprinted on target.com.

 

[Ashfromoldsite]

Lmao our closing team is 2 people. In a SUPERT. Ridiculous.

 

[Sebastian]

Was never in front end leadership, however your S&E TLs leave before your closing advocate leaves for the night - and they are the only ones doing anything for you that has to be followed 100% to compliance.

I have heard of some stores that have the same closing advocate Monday thru Friday, and the Closing TLs at those stores and entrust them with the full responsibility of running the front end. However, not all stores are lucky enough to have this.

Gotcha, we don’t have the same one M-F but we have a typical range of 5-6 people that we have extensively trained and if they are new I spend about 3 nights with them checking in and out and I continue to observe for about 3 weeks of their shifts... they have to pass observations during their TL hours before they schedule them at night

 

[busyzoningtoys]

We literally post the monthly leadership schedule (with the exception of ETL AP) next to the team members schedules.

We are NOT ALLOWED to know the ETL/Leader schedule, it is not something we need to know, per the STL.

This is how radio chat goes in our store. "Style, infants, Style infants?" Silence, more silence, "Style TL? Style TL?" Yes this is TL lead X, "Who is in infants?" TL- No one is scheduled, "Ok can you help me with x?" TL - Sorry outside my area.

They then turn off their radio it seems cause that is the last you will hear from them, no matter how much noise you make asking for help. Sale lost and I just let my ETL know..

I'm boggled by the notion that at some stores the team is not allowed to know the Leader schedule. What's the big secret? Strange.

 

[Dannygirl]

3 seconds using the mydevice app on my phone. Thanks @Mikuhl

How do you get the mydevice app for your phone?

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

How do you get the mydevice app for your phone?

Download it here for,
Android: myStore - Apps on Google Play - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=mikuhl.mystore
iOS: ‎myStore for Spot - https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mystore-for-spot/id1449655041?mt=8

 

[Dannygirl]

Thank you! This will be such a big help, especially with OPU and SFS

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

Thank you! This will be such a big help, especially with OPU and SFS

Thank @Mikuhl please.

 

[jackandcat]

Sometimes the only expert for an area is up for guest assistance, along with their leader. That circumstance does not absolve you from helping a guest.......Now with all that being said, you can be completely honest with the guest. If they ask you "whats the best nail polish here?" Just be honest and say you don't use nail polish. A guest demanding someone more knowledgeable speak with them in no way constitutes an emergency whatsoever, under any circumstances whatsoever....

One of the paradoxes of being Target is that the stores are described as an "upscale discount department store". Most of our merchandise is in the box, small appliance displays are non functional, we don't really have "sales consultants" on duty who are thoroughly trained on the merits of specific products or to demonstrate how a product works.

Those value-added personalized services are offered at specialty stores. These include as dedicated beauty stores, hardware stores, gardening centers, specialty shoe stores, fashion clothing boutiques, and so forth. Sales consultants at these businesses are supposed to give you personalized attention. For example, at a full-service shoe store, a sales consultant assists you in checking the size of your feet, pulling the correct size shoes from the back stockroom, helping you try them on, putting unwanted shoes back into the box, ringing up the sale and - by the way, would you like some shoe polish or shoe-shining brush to go with that? The retail price is higher than at "discounter" Target but you are paying more for the personalized service and the shopping environment, which is more personalized.

You'll also find this kind of personalized service with specialized sales consultants at full-service traditional department stores like Macy's, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Belk, Bloomingdales, Dillards, Lord & Taylor. Once again, you are paying more for personalized service (than at a discount store like Target) as well as having in-stock access to some slower-selling specialized product sizes or categories.

So that's the conundrum: Except for the occasional days and times when Target's outsourced smartphone staff (Marketsource) or outsourced beauty concierges on duty, we don't really have in-store sales consultants with in-depth product knowledge. That's the key difference between a "discount" and "full service" retailer. Nobody working on the sales floor at Target earns sales commissions, either. FYI The second key difference between a "discount" and "full service" retailer is shopping carts. You almost never see shopping carts on the sales floor at a full-service department store.