Archived Flow Vibe

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I run a 4 am process with usually about 16 people. I usually push about 1800 per truck. Rwt usually estimates me to be complete after noon. My team is the only team providing guest service on the floor except for the one tm in electronics. If my team truly embraces the Vibe then how long will it be before I lose my job? You want guest service? How effective is guest service if I can't fill the floor. Why can't flow just start when the store closes? Why does the rest of the store and my ETL continue to hire old women to stock a store? it's bull****. i need hungry, young men not nice,old ladies.
 
Why are you not doing the first interviews for the flow team, assuming you're the flow TL. I know with my ETL if either of us has any reservations about a potential TM we just pass and wait for the best possible person to fill that spot. By stepping up and challenging your ETL it will show that you want the best team possible, and that you are there to run and manage the flow team. As an aside if your trucks are averaging 1800 pieces you might want to consider the possibility of getting changed over to a 6am process. We run 2400 (mon) 1800 (wed) 1800 (fri) and were changed over in March. Sixteen people does seem kind of slim for a flow team, I'd push as hard as you can to hire 4 or 5 new TM's and cut everybody down to 5 hour shifts, that's what I did whenever I had a 4am process and we were able to finished by 8-9am so guest impact was minimal.
 
Only overnight processes for flow are for high volume stores. Low volume stores don't have enough money to keep the store running overnight.

Also, 1800 piece truck must be nice compared to 3200 at my store. :swoon:
 
At my store, unload starts at 0545. Seems silly not to do overnights. When the stage has flat beds with boxes piled high up, and the store is open, it's only a matter of time before some poor kid has those boxes fall on top of them.

From a liability standpoint, it's really stupid not to have an overnight flow process. Should start at 10pm and by next morning, all the product is pushed out and the racetrack is clear, not getting in the guests way.
 
At my store, unload starts at 0545. Seems silly not to do overnights. When the stage has flat beds with boxes piled high up, and the store is open, it's only a matter of time before some poor kid has those boxes fall on top of them.

From a liability standpoint, it's really stupid not to have an overnight flow process. Should start at 10pm and by next morning, all the product is pushed out and the racetrack is clear, not getting in the guests way.

What volume is your store? Like stated above, if a store is low volume, it can't offord to have an overnight process.
 
what are the additional costs of running flow/backroom/plano at store closing?
 
what are the additional costs of running flow/backroom/plano at store closing?

Well lights and heat/AC primarily. An overnight process requires 2 ETLs and several team leaders where even high volume 4am processes only get one of each. The cost of those leaders adds up. And then the shift dif. Overnight I made about $2,000 on shift dif take that times the 16-40 team members most stores have that adds up as well.
 
We have young men on the flow team who are a waste payroll!they are a bunch of lazy asses who at 25 -30 still live with their moms ,and only talk about video games,and can't be bothered to work past their 9am schedule ( and they start at 6!) And a 73 year old woman who kicks butt every truck day !!!!
Don't assume age means a thing !
If it was up to me ,I would get rid of half the flow team !!!!
 
actually we don't run A/C overnight (we do keep the heat ON big time though, but even stores that close do that as well). Also, 2 ETLs is optional, some overnight stores have their replenishment position fulfilled by a senior team lead instead of another ETL. In terms of cost, yes its true most overnight stores have more staff, more people, but its only for the purpose of processing more stock. While most 4am store have 3-4 trailers a week, we take 6-7 trailers a week, and each trailer is FULL (1950+20 pipos, to 3200 with no pipos). Honestly, if we had to do this during the day, while the store is open, we would have to fill the entire backroom with flatbeds, the line, each aisle of receiving, and probably the FIRE TUNNEL, and it would take twice as much in flow labor.

Where the O/N process rack up cost actually isn't on the overnight shift itself, but on things that bleed into dayside labor. for instance, our backroom closer every night has to prep the backroom and receiving to unload the trailer and pull the autofills, a process which is ignored every other night at 4am stores. Also on the morning shift we have to allocate extra labor... with no flow TMs around we have to schedule at least 10 people each morning to make sure we have backup cashiers and at least 1 person on the salesfloor to help guests. We wouldn't need any of them if the flow team was there when the store was open.

So in terms of the "Vibe" affecting your team, believe you me, that is the intention. The whole point of having a 4am or 6am store is so that you don't have to staff the store while the flow team is there.
 
actually we don't run A/C overnight (we do keep the heat ON big time though, but even stores that close do that as well). Also, 2 ETLs is optional, some overnight stores have their replenishment position fulfilled by a senior team lead instead of another ETL. In terms of cost, yes its true most overnight stores have more staff, more people, but its only for the purpose of processing more stock. While most 4am store have 3-4 trailers a week, we take 6-7 trailers a week, and each trailer is FULL (1950+20 pipos, to 3200 with no pipos). Honestly, if we had to do this during the day, while the store is open, we would have to fill the entire backroom with flatbeds, the line, each aisle of receiving, and probably the FIRE TUNNEL, and it would take twice as much in flow labor.

Where the O/N process rack up cost actually isn't on the overnight shift itself, but on things that bleed into dayside labor. for instance, our backroom closer every night has to prep the backroom and receiving to unload the trailer and pull the autofills, a process which is ignored every other night at 4am stores. Also on the morning shift we have to allocate extra labor... with no flow TMs around we have to schedule at least 10 people each morning to make sure we have backup cashiers and at least 1 person on the salesfloor to help guests. We wouldn't need any of them if the flow team was there when the store was open.

So in terms of the "Vibe" affecting your team, believe you me, that is the intention. The whole point of having a 4am or 6am store is so that you don't have to staff the store while the flow team is there.

Lol my store is 4am and no one on the flow team is even cashier trained. Let alone helping guests. I wish we were overnight so they were out of the way when we opened.
 
Lol my store is 4am and no one on the flow team is even cashier trained. Let alone helping guests. I wish we were overnight so they were out of the way when we opened.

None of our flow team are cashier trained but they have to help guests.
How do you avoid it when someone asks for help?
If the store is open anybody on the floor had better be ready to help.
 
None of our flow team are cashier trained but they have to help guests.
How do you avoid it when someone asks for help?
If the store is open anybody on the floor had better be ready to help.

I would say by pretending that they don't know where anything thing is in the store. Oh wait they don't have to pretend...
 
None of our flow team are cashier trained but they have to help guests.
How do you avoid it when someone asks for help?
If the store is open anybody on the floor had better be ready to help.

I would say by pretending that they don't know where anything thing is in the store. Oh wait they don't have to pretend...

I could say the same thing about our "daysiders" as we call them. The flow team at my store is gone before the store opens; their shift is usually 10pm-6am. But I (being part of a severely understaffed O/N BR) am usually still around. I have hardly ever been on the floor while on the clock but since the daysiders recognize me they will come up to me every time I am there shopping because they need help finding something for a guest.
 
Flow at hour store break down

6am clock in stare at schedule you looked at the day before proceed to breakroom and stand and BS, slowly walk to the line and stand around and wait because for some reason you cant jump in and start unloading because your to busy leaning on the steel, continue talking as all the product for your pallets goes to the end of the line because your playing grab ass, and the etl and tl are for some reason to scared to tell you to shut up or coach you let alone fire them, ffs every truck day
 
1/2 of my flow team is cashiered trained and often stay after our process is done to help at the lanes due to call offs. They also are very proactive with guest service. They have taken "walk the guest to the product" to heart and usually they are all over the store helping guests. ai have been told I am too hard with holding the team to unload expectations and I need to loosen up, but still get the trucks done on time. My ETL actually told me that l should let them BS for a bit during the unload so they can bond with the team. Oh yeah but still hit the unload goal!
 
I wish our stores team was more like that i just hate helping with the truck when 95% of them are wastes, but as i said our etl and tl are scared to coach or manage
 
There is often a language barrier so the flow TM will have to come find someone to help 'vibe' but I can't tell you how grateful I've been to have one of them around when I've had a guest where I've needed a translator.
 
I run a 4 am process with usually about 16 people. I usually push about 1800 per truck. Rwt usually estimates me to be complete after noon. My team is the only team providing guest service on the floor except for the one tm in electronics. If my team truly embraces the Vibe then how long will it be before I lose my job? You want guest service? How effective is guest service if I can't fill the floor. Why can't flow just start when the store closes? Why does the rest of the store and my ETL continue to hire old women to stock a store? it's bull****. i need hungry, young men not nice,old ladies.

Because discriminating by gender or age is illegal. And if you are doing initial interviews and it's ever brought to light that you are holding people back for either of those reasons, Target will be rightfully sued and you will be out of a job.

As someone already stated, age and gender have nothing to do with it.
 
Also, I hate training flow people their first day as cashiers. They will never, ever use it at my store unless they are picking up extra hours (which means most of them won't) so it's a complete waste of time, in most cases.
 
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