Archived Food Ave/Cafe Member Tips

[buliSBI]

Sorry to repost in a thread that's kinda old. I do have a question about salads and soups. I was never trained on how to make these...nor the churros but I think that's very self explanatory.

Whose job is it to make the salads..or yogurts? I wouldn't think it would be closers job-- but mid or open. I've seen the recipe book and vaguely looked through it for a moment when I was caught up. The primary struggle for me thus far is a never-ending line of guests, not knowing where things are and my inability to decide which tasks to do first.

It really depends on how busy it was, how much was to be done, and who was opening the next day. During my time, the closer would prep the salads, sandwiches and yogurts as much as they could to fill the case next day. On some busy nights, it took the closer prepping just the lettuce for salads in the bowls. Then thaw out the breads, deli meats, and such. The yogurts have to made the closing shift before serving so the frozen fruit can thaw out in the parfait after prep.

There were some mornings flow and other morning teams just bombards FA at opening wanting food. So we had to prep as much as we could the night before. And during 4-7 pm, FA closing shifts were completely slow. This might be different for your store.

Its best to prep as much as can for the next day, but if there is not enough time. Just leave a communication for the opener, so they have the heads up to prep the rest.

 

[kortz]

Whose job is it to take the empty boxes off to the very back room. I've been told to do it when I didn't even know what the back room was and I've also seen the attendants do so when taking the trash away. Where exactly do we put them in the very back room?

Do we restock the coolers from the refrigerator in the back of the store? I do not really see where the FATL find time to do all of these restocks and picking up! I'm constantly running around like a beheaded chicken so I find that very inspiring that seasoned FA employees can handle it.

As for other confusions.. I find myself becoming very frustrated and falling behind, especially on mid, and the team members who come in usually don't want to cover me so I can finish so I've been getting in trouble quite a lot for finishing up late. What should I do or how should I handle this?

The job is becoming very stressful and I am not sure how to cope with the workloads; maybe my mind just isn't programmed for it.

 

[mrknownothing]

At my store, Food Ave and Starbucks take care of their own trash and cardboard at the end of the night. LOD meets them in the backroom to open the compactor, and cardboard goes in the baler. As far as restocking, the items are usually delivered by a PA or backroom TM (at the request of the FA/SB TLs), then the TLs handle it from there.

 

[greentreen]

Whose job is it to take the empty boxes off to the very back room. I've been told to do it when I didn't even know what the back room was and I've also seen the attendants do so when taking the trash away. Where exactly do we put them in the very back room?

Do we restock the coolers from the refrigerator in the back of the store? I do not really see where the FATL find time to do all of these restocks and picking up! I'm constantly running around like a beheaded chicken so I find that very inspiring that seasoned FA employees can handle it.

As for other confusions.. I find myself becoming very frustrated and falling behind, especially on mid, and the team members who come in usually don't want to cover me so I can finish so I've been getting in trouble quite a lot for finishing up late. What should I do or how should I handle this?

The job is becoming very stressful and I am not sure how to cope with the workloads; maybe my mind just isn't programmed for it.

I have no food avenue experience being a TPS, but I can tell from your posts that you have a good work ethic and truly want to do a good job. You must be patient with yourself. If there is someone in your store who knows Food Ave well who you feel is warm toward you and willing to help, I would solicit feedback from them so that you can express your concerns.

It is perfectly normal to feel confusion about task priority and such. Food Avenue has a lot going on! Take heart! Maybe you could go to your ETL HR or HR TL and express your concerns. Maybe they could arrange for you to shadow someone more experienced.

 

[commiecorvus]

Steep, steep learning curve but once it levels off you'll be OK.
Just remember to ask questions and don't let it get to you.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

Plus, we are here to help you too. You will be ok.

 

[Eshana]

I know this is a few months old, but does the original poster have an update? I'm starting at Food Avenue as soon as my background check is done, and I'm wondering if she is fairing okay?

 

[kortz]

I know this is a few months old, but does the original poster have an update? I'm starting at Food Avenue as soon as my background check is done, and I'm wondering if she is fairing okay?

I do have an update. I actually prefer Food Ave versus the cashier position I normally applied for. Even if it is kind of a high stress job at first and on some busy days, I feel like I have a more interpersonal connection with my teammates including Starbucks. It's not the best job I've ever had but for the most part time goes by fast and I go in, get my job done, and get out. One major thing I picked up on is despite what the best practice rules say, most team members including team leads usually have little quirks or specific ways/orders of doing tasks. The major part is finding what fits with best practice and helps you get done on time.

The only real grievance I have with Target is when you DO have cashier shifts some stores are passive-aggressive when you do not get Redcards. I'm not terrible at Redcards, but I'm not very good at it either. I've managed to get up to two in an hour, and some days I get none. I find it annoying to be disciplined/coached when it's not really my main area; especially when it is geared around a guest's decision. I still try my best, and in the end I guess it's a good thing my only quirk is non-FA related.

As a new-ish FA person myself I don't know what specific questions you might have, but I can try to answer them based on my store experience-- with a note that my store doesn't seem as updated as others.

 

[Eshana]

They don't make you push Redcards in FA? I managed to get one in the hour I was on register (so excited when I did that, haha) and they're training me in FA next week. They told me that even in FA you have to push cards.

 

[buliSBI]

If the POS does not prompt you, you don't have to ask.

If there have been any updates to the FA core rules as of late, and it says to present the Red Card to FA guests then yes. But the last I saw, the FA roles do not mention it.