Archived Closing the fitting rooms?

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JimmyTarget

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I've been doing A LOT of thinking when it comes to the fitting room. At my store (ULV) about 50% of the time, there is only one person in softlines at a time. More specific, the only team member even working on carpeted areas! The fitting rooms only cause problems like

-Theft
-Hours of abandons from messy rooms
-Defective/stinky products that need to be salvaged from rude guests, ect.
-6 items at a time? YEAH RIGHT
-Please bring everything out to the attendant? YEAH RIGHT
-"I re-hung them for you" YEAH BACKWARDS, Thanks but no thanks

I know the fitting rooms help "Drive Sales" and all, but do the costs really out-weigh the benefits when it comes to time required to maintain clean rooms, loss in profit from theft, ect? Because I don't really think it does.

Have stores ever considered closing their fitting rooms? I WISH we could.
 
I never use a "fitting room" when I buy clothes.

Remove them toot sweet!
 
The one thing that Spot has to offer that's better than shopping online is being able to try things on.
The fitting room isn't going away.
 
commiecorvus said:
The one thing that Spot has to offer that's better than shopping online is being able to try things on.
The fitting room isn't going away.
Click to expand...

If it's a way to save money, you better believe that they should be considering it. I think it would actually increase sales More "At home" trying on and sure some might bring items back, but many won't.
 
I was told that most of Targets profits come from softlines. The fitting room and the cashier are where people interact the most with guests. Target scrapes by spending the least on payrollfor fitting room. Sales floor tms spend all their time zoning bc spots emphasis is on the zone. The fr is the black hole of Calcutta. A huge amount of work and responsibility is placed on the fr/oper. The fr is a mess no matter how hard the fr workd. At 10 o clock at night, who do the stls find fault with ? FR tm. Electronics brings in very little profit, yet they have for pinheads staring at each other all night. It is a frigging circle jerk. I predict a softlines coup led ny Norma Rae of the FR, the underappreciated, over-stressed and underpaid fr oper. I guess it all comes down to who can shove the most redcards down the most guests throats.
 
Speaking of theft... the other day I was standing up at guest service chatting with another TM. I was in street clothes.
This shady looking dude about 22 yrs old walks in the door carrying in his arms a bundle of swim suits (red flag), one piece styles and top/bottoms. He tells the SD girl that he bought them for his girlfriend and she didn't want them. When asked for the receipt or card to look up the transactions he then says that his mom paid for them. (red flag)
He walked back in the store to go look for something and came back to the SD. He ended up getting like $100 back using his driver's license w/no receipt. He left with some, for some reason.
Swim suits are SOOOOO easy to steal back there. They're small and expensive.
Hardly ever do we have a TM at the fitting room.
Ridiculous.
And yes, the SD TM checked with the GSA before issuing the refund.
 
commiecorvus said:
The one thing that Spot has to offer that's better than shopping online is being able to try things on.
The fitting room isn't going away.
Click to expand...

Wait, people order Steaks and potatoes online now?

Food (especially Fresh food) is the last thing that people will end up buying online, if they ever do.

Go to Amazon and try to order 1 lemon.
 
commiecorvus said:
http://www.peapod.com/
Click to expand...

These are Urban areas, where going door to door in a city (like NYC, compared to UpSNY) it makes much more sense in major cities. however, how many Targets do u see in Downtown New York City/New Jersey? They are only now just experimenting with it, with Target Express...

I will always rather pick out whatever steak/apple/orange/whatever I eat, unless of course they send it cooked... at the right god damn temperature, with garlic mashed fried Po-ta-tasss.

Also some of the reviews on that company are hilarious.
 
tumblr_n7et60P5Et1smcbm7o1_500.gif
 
BigEyedPhish said:
These are Urban areas, where going door to door in a city (like NYC, compared to UpSNY) it makes much more sense in major cities. however, how many Targets do u see in Downtown New York City/New Jersey? They are only now just experimenting with it, with Target Express...

I will always rather pick out whatever steak/apple/orange/whatever I eat, unless of course they send it cooked... at the right god damn temperature, with garlic mashed fried Po-ta-tasss.

Also some of the reviews on that company are hilarious.
Click to expand...


I was kind of surprised at the range of the delivery.
It's getting so most of the grocery store chains are getting tied in.
 
On the other hand, I have the feeling that my store would sell more clothing if we had a men's fitting room in addition to the one in RTW. While I was Softlines, I would get asked if there was a men's fitting room at least once a week, sometimes multiple times a shift. Of course, I'm also at a Super...
 
Noooope. I have guests who walk out completely if the fitting room line is too long. They won't buy anything if they can't try them on. I wouldn't either tbh. After a few disappointments with wrong sizes, I'd just give up. I occasionally take the risk online but if it's a target item, I try on the closest thing to it in store. Other stores, I only buy online if the item isn't available in store... Or if I already have a history with that store's sizing. And I hate shopping. I hate making returns more than I hate shopping though.

Also if you tell them to bring everything out and then if they come out empty handed (rare for me) ask them where there stuff is, they bring it out. Whenever they come out with no hangers I ask about hangers too... Even if I know someone who was in line already swooped in on the room. So they know for next time. And if they take more than 6 items in (idc about that rule because they don't give me the cards to enforce it) I tell them "I'm breakiing a rule for you. You have to bring me everything back on a hanger. Doesn't have to be perfect, but it's easier for me if everything is already matched up with hangers" and they follow through. Sometimes I even get back piles where every hanger is perfect.

When you say there's only one person in softlines, you mean between the fitting room and the sales floor, there's just one person? Or one on the floor and one in the fitting room? We always have someone in the fitting room until 10. But it gets slow enough by 9 that it doesn't usually matter that they don't typically close. Lately, we have a gazillion returns and full fitting rooms (all ten rooms in use) on enough occasions that it seems like it should be at least a 2 man job. Speak of the devil... They actually just left me a voicemail asking if I'd come in to cover fr.
 
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On grocery delivery, it's not only in cities anymore, though I used it when I lived in a city that at the time was a food desert. Shop Rite also has a pickup option. Acme always picked good produce and meat for me. I'm terrible at picking produce, though so I'm easy to impress. Except bananas. Speaking of bananas, target always has those green ass bananas out so no one can just buy a banana for a snack because they aren't edible yet. Hate it.

Never seen a city target express or whatever in real life, but I've seen regular targets in cities...
 
JimmyTarget said:
I've been doing A LOT of thinking when it comes to the fitting room. At my store (ULV) about 50% of the time, there is only one person in softlines at a time. More specific, the only team member even working on carpeted areas! The fitting rooms only cause problems like

-Theft
-Hours of abandons from messy rooms
-Defective/stinky products that need to be salvaged from rude guests, ect.
-6 items at a time? YEAH RIGHT
-Please bring everything out to the attendant? YEAH RIGHT
-"I re-hung them for you" YEAH BACKWARDS, Thanks but no thanks

I know the fitting rooms help "Drive Sales" and all, but do the costs really out-weigh the benefits when it comes to time required to maintain clean rooms, loss in profit from theft, ect? Because I don't really think it does.

Have stores ever considered closing their fitting rooms? I WISH we could.
Click to expand...

How does the fitting room cause theft. My first Job at Target was the Fitting room and if your doing your jib right you should be a theft deterrent. It is the Fitting Room Attendants Core Job to Verify y physically counting and limiting guests to 6 items and verifying they bring six out. If your doing this as required to do then it should limits finding abandons and Tags in the rooms. and if a guest's tag doesn't match what the bring out then that should be a red flag to check the room and if you find tags to pass this on to AP so they can review the tapes.
In my store if AP happens to e watching the fitting room cameras or does a random check of the tapes from when they weren't in the building and they see that your not counting and limiting items as they come both in and out, you are guaranteed to get coached.
As for rehanging items that guests hang wrong that's your job.
I personally know that it can be tough being the only one in Softlines, but if your at the fitting room then that needs to be your focus and not the rest of the floor. In my store you can only go so far from it and then only when it is slow so that you can still get back there to great every guest and answer all phone calls. The only times I have ever seen the Fitting Room Person pulled to the floor is on extremely slow nights when there are alot of Call outs and then only after 8pm and they need to put the phone on night bell and grab one of electronics portables and keep up with the phone while out on the floor and still checking on the fitting room.
It would be difficult to just not staff the fitting room as in most stores the Fitting Room doubles as the operator and handles and distributes all incoming phone calls, and handles all pages.

I can understand your frustration with the Fitting room as it is not for everyone. you need to work extremely hard as when its busy you might have one of the biggest work loads in the store, deal with more guests then anyone else in the store, you are the first person anyone that calls the store speaks to over the phone as well and need to appear positive, courteous , and upbeat at all times.
 
We don't have cards anymore. I don't completely count their stuff, because without cards (and even with) unless they come out one at a time (they never do) in an orderly fashion (never) I can't keep up with counting when they come out anyway. So I make them hold everything up. Nothing folded over arms. If it's in a hand basket balled up, I need you to lift that all out of your basket one item at a time and leave your basket full of hidden cosmetics (always cosmetics in the bottoms of baskets. Always) out on my table. I stopped a girl yesterday who "had 6 items." She had 7 pieces of clothing and a bunch of makeup under it in her basket. When she initially counted I could tell she was trying to hide it in the basket and take the basket in with her. Noooope. Not here, buddy. I think even when I thwart a theft in the fitting room they just go elsewhere and steal it though. I don't think that really works.

But yea, I dont do the whole physical counting thing, but I know I currently get the least theft of all the other fitting room people. Except during breaks. We're too short staffed so we only get break coverage if fr is doing phones too. So it's a free for all during breaks.
 
I'm a male and I won't buy anything without trying it on. Too many variations in sizes. Being tall and slim, you have tons of options, but what you wear in one brand is not the same in another. Then you have the "slim fit" that Target carries. I buy regular shirts at Target quite often, and am grateful for the fitting room so that I don't wind up with belly showing tank tops or dresses.
 
Phoenix26 said:
How does the fitting room cause theft. My first Job at Target was the Fitting room and if your doing your jib right you should be a theft deterrent. It is the Fitting Room Attendants Core Job to Verify y physically counting and limiting guests to 6 items and verifying they bring six out. If your doing this as required to do then it should limits finding abandons and Tags in the rooms. and if a guest's tag doesn't match what the bring out then that should be a red flag to check the room and if you find tags to pass this on to AP so they can review the tapes.
In my store if AP happens to e watching the fitting room cameras or does a random check of the tapes from when they weren't in the building and they see that your not counting and limiting items as they come both in and out, you are guaranteed to get coached.
As for rehanging items that guests hang wrong that's your job.
I personally know that it can be tough being the only one in Softlines, but if your at the fitting room then that needs to be your focus and not the rest of the floor. In my store you can only go so far from it and then only when it is slow so that you can still get back there to great every guest and answer all phone calls. The only times I have ever seen the Fitting Room Person pulled to the floor is on extremely slow nights when there are alot of Call outs and then only after 8pm and they need to put the phone on night bell and grab one of electronics portables and keep up with the phone while out on the floor and still checking on the fitting room.
It would be difficult to just not staff the fitting room as in most stores the Fitting Room doubles as the operator and handles and distributes all incoming phone calls, and handles all pages.

I can understand your frustration with the Fitting room as it is not for everyone. you need to work extremely hard as when its busy you might have one of the biggest work loads in the store, deal with more guests then anyone else in the store, you are the first person anyone that calls the store speaks to over the phone as well and need to appear positive, courteous , and upbeat at all times.
Click to expand...

The fitting room is the perfect place for people to steal when your store does not schedule more than 1 fitting room person a day. Mon-Thurs at our store we have one fitting room/operator from 12-830. From 8 to 12 and from 830 to close there is nobody in the fitting room. Our store does not have payroll to always have someone back there. Therefore, there is lots of opportunity for guests to take stuff back there and throw it in their purses.
 
My store staffs it open to close and breaks must be covered. If there not covering it all the time then who answers the phones? makes no since to me to not have someone back there to me sounds like the management isn't managing there staff well. At my store it is part of the minimum staff they have to have. it gets priority over any floor positions.
 
Phoenix26 said:
How does the fitting room cause theft. My first Job at Target was the Fitting room and if your doing your jib right you should be a theft deterrent. It is the Fitting Room Attendants Core Job to Verify y physically counting and limiting guests to 6 items and verifying they bring six out. If your doing this as required to do then it should limits finding abandons and Tags in the rooms. and if a guest's tag doesn't match what the bring out then that should be a red flag to check the room and if you find tags to pass this on to AP so they can review the tapes.
In my store if AP happens to e watching the fitting room cameras or does a random check of the tapes from when they weren't in the building and they see that your not counting and limiting items as they come both in and out, you are guaranteed to get coached.
As for rehanging items that guests hang wrong that's your job.
I personally know that it can be tough being the only one in Softlines, but if your at the fitting room then that needs to be your focus and not the rest of the floor. In my store you can only go so far from it and then only when it is slow so that you can still get back there to great every guest and answer all phone calls. The only times I have ever seen the Fitting Room Person pulled to the floor is on extremely slow nights when there are alot of Call outs and then only after 8pm and they need to put the phone on night bell and grab one of electronics portables and keep up with the phone while out on the floor and still checking on the fitting room.
It would be difficult to just not staff the fitting room as in most stores the Fitting Room doubles as the operator and handles and distributes all incoming phone calls, and handles all pages.

I can understand your frustration with the Fitting room as it is not for everyone. you need to work extremely hard as when its busy you might have one of the biggest work loads in the store, deal with more guests then anyone else in the store, you are the first person anyone that calls the store speaks to over the phone as well and need to appear positive, courteous , and upbeat at all times.
Click to expand...

How does it cause theft? You can't be serious. It's an area without cameras, of course it causes theft. There's one person frequently that is in charge of zone and the fitting room. You have to zone, and physically cannot check everyone that goes in.
 
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