Archived Does Your Store Run A "Closed Backroom?"

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Hi All. I'm just curious with people's experiences with this. Honestly, I'm talking out of my depth here. I'm not very well versed on the backroom in general, so any information would be appreciated. First off, is it best practice to run with a "closed backroom?" From my understanding, this means that no one but those certified in the backroom are allowed to go back there. Sales floor team members should be doing all their sets, making batches and so forth by 11 a.m. or so and be communicating with the back room to pull them. When the pulls are ready, the sales floor is called to the back to get them. In addition, the backroom team members pull CAFS every hour and then call the sales floor to take them and push them, (as these would be items that have been sold and should go out). All backstock is returned to the backroom, and the backroom team members backstock this. Of course, this all involves solid communication between sales floor and the back room team. I know that this is how a "perfect" store is run, but I'm just curious if I have the idea correct and does anyone work in a store that's run this way? I'm only asking because our store does not do this and it seems so silly that we are not following this practice. I've even mentioned the sales floor pushing CAFS every hour to our STL but was told that we have hours for pushers. Of course, at night, when the backroom gets backed up, the sales floor sometimes has to push anyway. And most of the pushing is done at the end of the day, meaning all those CAFS are piled up all day to be pushed. And let's not even talk about Instock pulls to be pushed and clearance. I feel that the company has processes and programs for a reason but that we don't follow them. The backroom is just one example. But is this just a fantasy or does this happen in some stores? Thanks for any input.
 
This is how my store runs. But sometimes cafs still get backed up because we don't have brought sales floor so the TL ends up pushing them and if there is a lot in the gun some people may be asked to pull their own batches, but those are all rare circumstances. BR use to push CAFS and POGS were never pulled/you had to pull them yourself. I definitely like it much better.
 
We have a closed backroom, but that does not mean that only those scheduled there as their primary workcenter can pull and backstock. All of our instock, plano and pricing tm's must be certified. More than 1/2 of our flow team and many of our salesfloor tm's are certified. Our flow team pushes the early am autofills and the salesfloor pushes the CAFs and instocks priority fills. Certified sftm's pull the salesplans and plano and pricing generally pull their own. Instocks pulls PTM task list fills and there is one dedicated puller for the research pulls so that they are pulled within an hour while the store continues to be scanned.
 
our store is like that...BUT, our instocks team NEVER pushes the priority pulls, i have to do it or we throw it in with the CAFs, and i have NO CLUE who pushes out clearance, i see it there everyday and see NO ONE touch it, then the next day its gone
 
Not a chance.

When you have nobody on sales floor, one person to get all of the requests for backroom items, you either let other people into the backroom or you close the store down.
 
Hi All. I'm just curious with people's experiences with this. Honestly, I'm talking out of my depth here. I'm not very well versed on the backroom in general, so any information would be appreciated. First off, is it best practice to run with a "closed backroom?" From my understanding, this means that no one but those certified in the backroom are allowed to go back there. Sales floor team members should be doing all their sets, making batches and so forth by 11 a.m. or so and be communicating with the back room to pull them. When the pulls are ready, the sales floor is called to the back to get them. In addition, the backroom team members pull CAFS every hour and then call the sales floor to take them and push them, (as these would be items that have been sold and should go out). All backstock is returned to the backroom, and the backroom team members backstock this. Of course, this all involves solid communication between sales floor and the back room team. I know that this is how a "perfect" store is run, but I'm just curious if I have the idea correct and does anyone work in a store that's run this way? I'm only asking because our store does not do this and it seems so silly that we are not following this practice. I've even mentioned the sales floor pushing CAFS every hour to our STL but was told that we have hours for pushers. Of course, at night, when the backroom gets backed up, the sales floor sometimes has to push anyway. And most of the pushing is done at the end of the day, meaning all those CAFS are piled up all day to be pushed. And let's not even talk about Instock pulls to be pushed and clearance. I feel that the company has processes and programs for a reason but that we don't follow them. The backroom is just one example. But is this just a fantasy or does this happen in some stores? Thanks for any input.

At our store we don't come in until 10 or 11, so you take forget that line about having everything in the gun by 11, much less completed with sets. Every store tries to run a closed backroom, and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. My store for instance tried this again for the 4th or 5th time in the last 2 years. When there are 4-5 empty endcaps waiting on product to be pulled for days then they see the ignorance in it. When there's no one to cover the backroom TM's break or pull an item for a guest except the people who 'can't' pull then they see the ignorance of it.

If the STL said you have hours to push then more than likely he allocated some of the sales floor hours to the back room so you can push the CAF's.
 
we used to have a closed backroom and it was great. those were the days. couple of leadership teams later, barely anyone works in the back anymore - everyone was pulling their own stuff for a while. it was a mess. slowly getting a backroom team back. we'll see.
 
Some nights, there are no br tm's working at my store. If I am working, I will do the pull for the guest. I am br certified. During the day, br pulls everything.
 
This is the way my store is attempting to run. It seems like a lot to be done by a few BR TMs. We have several other TMs BR trained myself included. I used to pull my own 7:30 CAF but that was just taken and given to BR. Frees me up for other things but they are behind or under the wire all the time lately
 
This is how my store is done, your certified or you stay out of the backroom. I am generally alloted enough hours for coverage all day except the last 2 hours before store closes. Usually BR will help push cafs then backstock and then pull next cafs and repeat.

Our DM will look at the individual error report and ensure the ones on there are also on the BR certified list on the communication board, if not she wants to know why they are back there.
 
The definition of a closed backroom is that only tms that are fully trained are pulling. There is actually some fairly extensive training to be fully certified to pull, so this is why some people get the quick and dirty pull training to supplement when there are callouts. I definitely have a closed backroom at my store. It just causes too many issues when tms that are not fully trained are doing pulls or backstock. It is not worth the headached.
 
The definition of a closed backroom is that only tms that are fully trained are pulling. There is actually some fairly extensive training to be fully certified to pull, so this is why some people get the quick and dirty pull training to supplement when there are callouts. I definitely have a closed backroom at my store. It just causes too many issues when tms that are not fully trained are doing pulls or backstock. It is not worth the headached.

Just out of curiosity, is your store an O/N Flow store or 4am or 7am? I wonder if the early morning stores need more people to pitch in from time to time? I come from an O/N store and am backroom certified. I mostly pitch in with backstock but will also pull an item for a guest if the BR team is in the middle of the CAF's.
 
The definition of a closed backroom is that only tms that are fully trained are pulling. There is actually some fairly extensive training to be fully certified to pull, so this is why some people get the quick and dirty pull training to supplement when there are callouts. I definitely have a closed backroom at my store. It just causes too many issues when tms that are not fully trained are doing pulls or backstock. It is not worth the headached.

Just out of curiosity, is your store an O/N Flow store or 4am or 7am? I wonder if the early morning stores need more people to pitch in from time to time? I come from an O/N store and am backroom certified. I mostly pitch in with backstock but will also pull an item for a guest if the BR team is in the middle of the CAF's.

We are a 4am store. For me, it still doesn't change the fact that tms should be certified. If there is nobody to help, I get all the ETLs, TLs, and myself to pull. After we are finished, I start asking why we haven't trained more people so that we don't get in a tight spot again.
 
our store is like that...BUT, our instocks team NEVER pushes the priority pulls, i have to do it or we throw it in with the CAFs, and i have NO CLUE who pushes out clearance, i see it there everyday and see NO ONE touch it, then the next day its gone

It is the salesfloor team's job to push priority pulls. The instocks team scans and does the PTM tasks.
 
Hi All. I'm just curious with people's experiences with this. Honestly, I'm talking out of my depth here. I'm not very well versed on the backroom in general, so any information would be appreciated. First off, is it best practice to run with a "closed backroom?" From my understanding, this means that no one but those certified in the backroom are allowed to go back there. Sales floor team members should be doing all their sets, making batches and so forth by 11 a.m. or so and be communicating with the back room to pull them. When the pulls are ready, the sales floor is called to the back to get them. In addition, the backroom team members pull CAFS every hour and then call the sales floor to take them and push them, (as these would be items that have been sold and should go out). All backstock is returned to the backroom, and the backroom team members backstock this. Of course, this all involves solid communication between sales floor and the back room team. I know that this is how a "perfect" store is run, but I'm just curious if I have the idea correct and does anyone work in a store that's run this way? I'm only asking because our store does not do this and it seems so silly that we are not following this practice. I've even mentioned the sales floor pushing CAFS every hour to our STL but was told that we have hours for pushers. Of course, at night, when the backroom gets backed up, the sales floor sometimes has to push anyway. And most of the pushing is done at the end of the day, meaning all those CAFS are piled up all day to be pushed. And let's not even talk about Instock pulls to be pushed and clearance. I feel that the company has processes and programs for a reason but that we don't follow them. The backroom is just one example. But is this just a fantasy or does this happen in some stores? Thanks for any input.

....once upon a time ... or maybe twice... a couple STLs and TLs and ETLs tried to power trip this down to the rest of the store, but it never stayed a long lived "idea". So yes, I have experienced it. :)
 
and i have NO CLUE who pushes out clearance, i see it there everyday and see NO ONE touch it, then the next day its gone

Sales floor TLs should be making sure their clearance gets pushed.

It is the salesfloor team's job to push priority pulls. The instocks team scans and does the PTM tasks.

At my store, instocks has to push the priority pulls because there's no one else to do it. Sales floor TLs are setting sales planners, pushing clearance, back-up cashing, etc. Sales floor TMs aren't there in the morning. And the ETLs? Apparently it takes them five hours to eat their lunch.
 
and i have NO CLUE who pushes out clearance, i see it there everyday and see NO ONE touch it, then the next day its gone

Sales floor TLs should be making sure their clearance gets pushed.

It is the salesfloor team's job to push priority pulls. The instocks team scans and does the PTM tasks.

At my store, instocks has to push the priority pulls because there's no one else to do it. Sales floor TLs are setting sales planners, pushing clearance, back-up cashing, etc. Sales floor TMs aren't there in the morning. And the ETLs? Apparently it takes them five hours to eat their lunch.

I stopped responding to backup cashiering requests. I get a lot more done in pfresh now.
 
Thanks everyone for the responses, I was just curious. It seems we're all in the same boat one way or another. It would be nice, but I know with hours and training, it's not going to happen. For the record we are a 4 a.m. store. Many of our processes are not working. We're green on paper, but I've been around long enough to know that's easy to fake. Quite honestly, I don't understand our Instocks team and what they're really doing. Filling the floor doesn't seem to happen unless you go and get it yourself. The backroom isn't backstocking correctly and at the end of the season or sets there's a pallet of clearance to push. Meanwhile, I see carts of CAF pulls sitting in a line that could easily go out (sometimes I grab my areas cart and add it to reshop), and it makes no sense to pile it up all day and have a few pushers attempt to do it in the evenings. Just little things I see that I think could be handled so much easier. Meanwhile, the dayside backroom team is so swamped, they don't always have time to pull batches so POGS get set and tied, (just to get off the report) and then don't get properly filled. It just seems a vicious cycle that could be fixed with a little effort on everyone's part.
 
Yep, in my store, sadly there are pallets of clearance that I get stuck ticketing and then doesn't always get pushed out. Then I have to go back and "dumpster dive" through what had been ticketed previously to ensure that it's not taking another markdown while sitting in the backroom. I wish that PTMs and Stand-Alone PTMs would be done properly so that there wouldn't be as much clearance in the backroom and I wouldn't have to hear "I don't have any room for it" any time I either verbally communicate or send an e-mail regarding clearance in the back.

Thanks everyone for the responses, I was just curious. It seems we're all in the same boat one way or another. It would be nice, but I know with hours and training, it's not going to happen. For the record we are a 4 a.m. store. Many of our processes are not working. We're green on paper, but I've been around long enough to know that's easy to fake. Quite honestly, I don't understand our Instocks team and what they're really doing. Filling the floor doesn't seem to happen unless you go and get it yourself. The backroom isn't backstocking correctly and at the end of the season or sets there's a pallet of clearance to push. Meanwhile, I see carts of CAF pulls sitting in a line that could easily go out (sometimes I grab my areas cart and add it to reshop), and it makes no sense to pile it up all day and have a few pushers attempt to do it in the evenings. Just little things I see that I think could be handled so much easier. Meanwhile, the dayside backroom team is so swamped, they don't always have time to pull batches so POGS get set and tied, (just to get off the report) and then don't get properly filled. It just seems a vicious cycle that could be fixed with a little effort on everyone's part.
 
our store is like that...BUT, our instocks team NEVER pushes the priority pulls, i have to do it or we throw it in with the CAFs, and i have NO CLUE who pushes out clearance, i see it there everyday and see NO ONE touch it, then the next day its gone

It is the salesfloor team's job to push priority pulls. The instocks team scans and does the PTM tasks.

Not at my store..we push the priority pulls after we are done scanning, then CAFs after that. That is IF we are scheduled for a full day...
 
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