Archived ETLs sitting in their offices all day

[Flabbergasted]

We have one or two ETLs who find it appropriate and reasonable to sit in their offices all day while barking orders to TMs over the walkie, performing no actual work themselves. One in particular at our store has never even held a huddle, preferring instead to communicate with team members via the walkie bark. She is loud, rude and incredibly lazy. If you call her for help with a guest, for example, she will have you switch to 3 and then lecture you on why it's important to resolve issues on your own. This includes moments where a guest specifically requests a higher manager or even using the term "LOD." If she has to crawl out of her hole and actually do something, you will experience her wrath. To make matters worse, she will 9/10 times resolve any issue involving a guest complaint by opening the change drawer with her key and pulling out a wad of apology coupons for the guest, regardless of whether or not the complaint even warranted giving coupons. I've witnessed her requisitioning $10 GiftCards out of the 549 to please guests just so she can get out of dealing with the situation. Sadly, our STL is useless when it comes to fixing this problem, and I suspect she is his favorite. He will excuse her actions by claiming she is merely VIBING and that's important to VIBE.

Does anyone else have such useless ETLs, and an STL who doesn't care?

 

[Kartman]

Fear them not, for they will be surely be short lived.

Just keep putting one foot in front of the other and hope for the best.

 

[redeye58]

Not short enough.....

 

[commiecorvus]

Not short enough.....

The amount of damage to morale and peoples attitudes towards management is in proportion to the amount of time they are there by about ten to one.
Repairing the damage takes a very long time.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

Spot will get them, give it some time.

 

[Retail Girl]

We used to have an ETL who would not come out for guest issues, either. It was absolutely imperative that we figure it out on her own. If we would press the issue, she would simply turn off her walkie until we gave up. Eventually we got her out of our store when she was promoted to STL. Hey, whatever works.

 

[daninnj]

I don't know why someone would want to stay in 12x10 ft office all day. I would go nuts. My new STL is awesome; always on the floor, zoning, doing work, talking to people, etc etc. In fact, none of our leadership spend time in their office that much.

 

[EagleEye]

TM: LOD can you come to guest service?

ETL: Can you go to 4?

ETL: (on 4) Can I help you over walkie?

TM: No I need you out at guest service.

ETL: Well it might be a few minutes.



This is literally 90% of the LOD requests we hear over the walkie.

 

[Mhugh220]

I could see spending maybe a half a day a week in the office, maybe a full day depending on upcoming sales, but all the time? What are they doing?

 

[Backroom81]

Retweeting everything that has #bestteamever attached to it.

 

[SFSFun]

Our ETLs don't spend much time in their offices (except for ETL-HR, on non LOD shifts).

The worst we have to deal with is the ETL-GE/SF standing around the pull line all day, calling out specific TMs to come grab one, but rarely actually doing one herself.

 

[Da TGT Dot]

Our ETL-Logistics tends to "disappear" from time to time, but I am not exactly sure where he goes. Our ETL Logistics & GE/SF don't have computers in their office so I am not sure where ETL-Logistics spends his time. He rarely responds when he is walkied, but is the first to point the finger at someone else or seems to always be second guessing other leaders decisions during the day. He seems like he thinks he is the Target god, but most Team Members have little to no respect for him because his communication is down right horrible. Hope he gets transferred out or enough people complain about him that further action gets taken. Wishful thinking I suppose...

 

[RCKing]

TM: LOD can you come to guest service?

ETL: Can you go to 4?

ETL: (on 4) Can I help you over walkie?

TM: No I need you out at guest service.

ETL: Well it might be a few minutes.



This is literally 90% of the LOD requests we hear over the walkie.

Because why the fk would I want to come to the guest service desk from the backroom or the opposite corner of the store just to say, "Yup, we can Vibe with the guest this one time." I can say that just as easily over the walkie, and if you are a GSTM you should know better and actually call for the GSTL.

As an LOD this is my biggest pet peeve. We respond like this because 90% of the stuff that is asked you should already know the answer too. Chit doesn't change day to day

 

[commiecorvus]

Because why the fk would I want to come to the guest service desk from the backroom or the opposite corner of the store just to say, "Yup, we can Vibe with the guest this one time." I can say that just as easily over the walkie, and if you are a GSTM you should know better and actually call for the GSTL.

As an LOD this is my biggest pet peeve. We respond like this because 90% of the stuff that is asked you should already know the answer too. Chit doesn't change day to day

I don't know about 90% but at least with most of the competent folk working the floor it goes like this.

Guest: Unreasonable demand.

GSA: I'm sorry we can't do that but I can do this instead.

Guest: The other store lets me do this. I want to talk to the manager and I will stand here, making burbling noises until they come.

GSA on walkie: Hi, could I get some help here?

LOD: Can't you just do your job? I'm busy.

 

[RCKing]

I don't know about 90% but at least with most of the competent folk working the floor it goes like this.

Guest: Unreasonable demand.

GSA: I'm sorry we can't do that but I can do this instead.

Guest: The other store lets me do this. I want to talk to the manager and I will stand here, making burbling noises until they come.

GSA on walkie: Hi, could I get some help here?

LOD: Can't you just do your job? I'm busy.

I get it 100%. For me, and some of the other ETL's I know, I like to know of the issue so I have time to prep what I am getting into so I can either help the guest or ask them to leave the store. Either way, if I ask you to go to 3 or 4 first, don't give me a sigh on the walkie because you don't know if I am trying to help a TM with something on/off stage, or I am in the middle of already helping another guest(and I know the premise of this thread is for ETLs that sit and do "nothing") but LOD's get the same reaction from TM's whether they are actually busy or not.

 

[EagleEye]

Because why the fk would I want to come to the guest service desk from the backroom or the opposite corner of the store just to say, "Yup, we can Vibe with the guest this one time." I can say that just as easily over the walkie, and if you are a GSTM you should know better and actually call for the GSTL.

As an LOD this is my biggest pet peeve. We respond like this because 90% of the stuff that is asked you should already know the answer too. Chit doesn't change day to day

Yeah it's really embarrassing when a guest asks for a manager and then hears them do everything possible to avoid coming up in person over the walkie. It has even happened with positive guest experiences too. A guest wanted to speak directly to who was in charge to commend another TM. The LOD would absolutely not show up. She said "Well I'm off stage right now", or "Can you just get the guest's comment and tell me later?".

As an LOD, it's your job to assist your team with guests if they have an issue and if "90%" of the LOD callouts are unneeded then you need to train your team better.

 

[signingminion]

Yeah it's really embarrassing when a guest asks for a manager and then hears them do everything possible to avoid coming up in person over the walkie. It has even happened with positive guest experiences too. A guest wanted to speak directly to who was in charge to commend another TM. The LOD would absolutely not show up. She said "Well I'm off stage right now", or "Can you just get the guest's comment and tell me later?".

As an LOD, it's your job to assist your team with guests if they have an issue and if "90%" of the LOD callouts are unneeded then you need to train your team better.

This. Or at least don't treat those of us who rarely call and ask for help like the morons who need your help to scratch their ear. When I call for help I need help. Your brush off is going on my tally sheet for the BTS survey.

 

[60SecondsRemaining]

Because why the fk would I want to come to the guest service desk from the backroom or the opposite corner of the store just to say, "Yup, we can Vibe with the guest this one time." I can say that just as easily over the walkie, and if you are a GSTM you should know better and actually call for the GSTL.

As an LOD this is my biggest pet peeve. We respond like this because 90% of the stuff that is asked you should already know the answer too. Chit doesn't change day to day

You respond like that because you fail to realize your team is a group of diverse individuals, and you are generalizing them together. Change your style depending on who is asking. Some team members may require your assistance, some may not.

Regardless, if you get called to the front, it is your obligation to go assist them, and then if it was an issue they could handle, you explain it afterwards politely.

Your attitude towards assisting your team is ultra shitty and will result in far less results than just walking up front and handling it.

You have to accept that most team members are team members for a reason, if they were capable of resolving issues a majority of the time, they wouldn't be team members.

 

[Retail Girl]

You respond like that because you fail to realize your team is a group of diverse individuals, and you are generalizing them together. Change your style depending on who is asking. Some team members may require your assistance, some may not.

Regardless, if you get called to the front, it is your obligation to go assist them, and then if it was an issue they could handle, you explain it afterwards politely.

Your attitude towards assisting your team is ultra shitty and will result in far less results than just walking up front and handling it.

You have to accept that most team members are team members for a reason, if they were capable of resolving issues a majority of the time, they wouldn't be team members.

A thousand times this. If I get called to something, I always go over there, unless I'm stuck some place, because I hate the, "can you please switch to three" with a passion. Especially at guest services, I handle the situation, and if it is something easy/basic, and sometimes even if it isn't, we just discuss it afterwards when we can so either the TM knows how to handle it next time or knows they made the right call in calling me.

Interestingly enough, ever since we got rid of the GSTL who always made guest services switch to three, the number of calls we have gotten over there has easily been cut in half.

 

[Ladylaura]

Yup we do. Most of the etls sit in the office on there phone and talk crap about other tm so unprofessional . Must be hard walking around telling people what to do

 

[squirrely]

Most of the ETL's in my store are great. But I've learned that Spot is terrible at getting info out, in general. Half the stuff that goes on, I learned about here! Star Wars event? Not even mentioned at my store until yesterday. Coupon policy change? Never heard of it in store.

Just because you mention these things at one huddle, it doesn't mean you've done your job. It needs to be mentioned at every huddle for the whole week so the likelihood of most TMs knowing about it is greater. Just my two cents.

 

[monkeyman90]

I get it 100%. For me, and some of the other ETL's I know, I like to know of the issue so I have time to prep what I am getting into so I can either help the guest or ask them to leave the store. Either way, if I ask you to go to 3 or 4 first, don't give me a sigh on the walkie because you don't know if I am trying to help a TM with something on/off stage, or I am in the middle of already helping another guest(and I know the premise of this thread is for ETLs that sit and do "nothing") but LOD's get the same reaction from TM's whether they are actually busy or not.

even as gstl so many calls are things that aren't needed. yeah, someone not getting their way might want to go to the top to make sure they exhaust their options.

if i needed to make a call that's really important, i've been on hold for 10 minutes, and they want me, sorry i can't drop everything and come there.

as long as i can handle it from a distance, i'll do that. its not that i'm lazy, its just i'm working on something more important.

team members feel they need a manager for anything they don't know. a lot is just trying to figure it out. none require presence.

 

[PassinTime]

Our ETLs are always on the floor. Last week the ETL-GE spent the day doing reshop.

 

[3LetterDevil]

Not an ETL, but an SrTL. She spends 90% of her time in the office. When she's actually on the floor, she's not really doing any real work, she's just walking around telling people what to do.

 

[AdItemOnly]

ours are on the floor quite often, straight managing shit

except for the midday 2 hour starbucks break lol

 

[thetargetman]

our ETL-GE isn't as bad as the ETL mentioned here but she acts like the TM is always wrong. She has outlasted all the ETLs we have had so far and she has been with us for 12yrs... sometimes I really hope the queen of the Harpies get fired... I really do at times... but other than her for the most part all the ETLs do spend a lot of time on the floor telling everyone what to do and yelling at our GSTLs/GSAs and us over Redcards. I have learned at times it is better to just keep my mouth shut and do what I am told and nothing else. On some days when I do 239 when I finish I just want to not leave my little office I have grown very happy with the peace and quite in there.