Archived for the cart attendants

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Why not? Cart Attending is one of the more demanding jobs at Target, especially moreso than cashiering. For having to be haz mat certified they should at least make the small bump that Photo TMs make.

EDIT: Nevermind... Saw the request for personal information lol. But still its a good idea ;D
 
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I don't support it because of the types we have as our current cart attendants.
We had a couple of stand-outs but they've been snapped up by the salesfloor so we're stuck with the low-performers who have 2 speeds: slow & slower.
And, yeh, I've worked carts.
 
I don't support it because of the types we have as our current cart attendants.
We had a couple of stand-outs but they've been snapped up by the salesfloor so we're stuck with the low-performers who have 2 speeds: slow & slower.
And, yeh, I've worked carts.

This. Anyone who is good at cart attendant is nearly immediately snapped up for a different position (which is minimum wage, anyway). Anyone who is lousy at cart attendant is a pain in the side for us when we can't find him/her. And we all work outside our work centers helping each other out. It's just what we do.
 
https://www.change.org/petitions/target-higher-pay-for-cart-attendants please sign the petition even if your not a CA lets see if we can make something change

I would support a general pay increase.... but to just say cart attendants specifically is a little absurd.

Let's just be honest, the absolute bottom performers at a store are often the cart attendants. Half the time they refuse (or half ass) their basic duties such as restroom checks.

Obviously there are some great cart attendants out there.... but they are the exception.

You also have to remember that pay is based on knowledge, skills, and experience. Cart attendants almost always have no work experience (first job), are in high school or never graduated high school, and don't have any skills. (IT skills, plumbing skills, etc) I mean, this is really the job that defines minimum wage. Minimum wage is designed for people who are in very low level jobs. Cart attendant is not designed to be a job to support ones self or family.... It is supposed to be a "first job" that you work your way up from to positions such as GSA and GSTL.

Anyone who is a cart attendant that shows potential is usually moved up to a better job in the store. If they are not moved up, then they probably are not a very good performer....
 
Not trying to make light of the work our cart attendants do but they really do have it easier than some other places. When I worked for Kmart in the mid to late 90's things were very different. Back then a typical day would be: all trash before the store opened, replace burnt out lights, carts, help unload a truck, push freight, do carry outs, help build displays, restroom cleanups, helping people find product, dirt/mulch/patio blocks in the summer, shovel sidewalks in the winter. That's just off he top of my head for now, but you can see that the list was extensive.
 
I worked Carts at 3 (Low Volumes and High Volume) stores each with different experiences.

My first store was very supportive of their cart attendants.
- Usually you maintain the cartwell, gather carts when needed, carryouts, trash once a day, check the Men's bathroom, bag the lanes at the end of each night...the usual duties.
- And my fellow TMs would help with carryouts and spills.
- The only bad thing was that they relied on me too much to help with breaks. I would break for Guest Service, FA, GSTL, operator, Electronics.

You would be busy, but you would get things done.

The Super I worked at wildly took advantage of Cart Attendents.
- Usually only 1 CA scheduled even on very busy days; if there was 2, the extra would be put on the lanes. And you had to maintain 2 Cartwells (one on each side of the store) with 1 sort-of-working-cart pusher and 1 barely-moving-but-not-worth-the-effort cart pusher.
- The Backroom/Salesfloor TMs would always leave a line of 10+ carts at the backroom doors for the CA even though its a short walk to the front. Would they help push them to the front...No. Never mind that the carts were in the guests' way.
- If there was a carryout, I had to come in immediately. If there two carryouts, which there were plenty of, the CA had to do them both.
- If there was a spill, no TM would assist or take the time in cleaning it up. It was always radioed to the CA to clean up, even if they were outside gathering carts. They would leave a cart over a spill so that the CA would clean it up.
- The soda can/bottle recycling machines had needed constant attention. If one can was rejected or get jammed SD would always call the CA to come to the machines ASAP because guests are waiting.
- Crush all the cans from Breakroom recycle bin
- Had to push up/unload/stock Food Ave food orders and dump their grease every week.
- Spill Stations had to be supplied and maintained daily. Never mind we had two Building Facility Specialists.
- You had to push all the cardboard to the back from Market, break it down and throw it into the bailer.
- You had to push all the SD defects, and all market out of dates/in-store items and foods. I can understand SD defects. But the trash compactor was right through the backroom doors for Market.
- And if you were on break/lunch, and if there was a job radioed over for the CA, you would come back with an evil eye...WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!!!

My last store had a varying view. When I first started, being a CA was easy. You only had to go out about once an hour. The rest of the time, you could just cashier, maintain zone of One Spot & the lanes. Then they got rid of CA shifts except for just 4-hour midday shifts on Sat. or Sun. But you were also expected to help with Food Ave/Guest Service/Operator breaks. So by the time you covered all that, you had no carts. You wouldn't get your break until the end of the shift. When there wasn't a CA on clock, the sales floor or cashiers had to go get carts. Usually I was the one picked because I was a past CA.
 
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If I had to reorganize pay grades on the front end it would look like this:

Cashier/guest service: base
Photo/cart attendant: +.25
Photo lab asst: +.75
GSA: +1.00

Not really a stretch since gstls still make a couple bucks more. Anyone who has worked GSA would agree with me (I hope) considering every other n07 position has it easy compared to a GSA as far as responsibilities
 
If I had to reorganize pay grades on the front end it would look like this:

Cashier/guest service: base
Photo/cart attendant: +.25
Photo lab asst: +.75
GSA: +1.00

Not really a stretch since gstls still make a couple bucks more. Anyone who has worked GSA would agree with me (I hope) considering every other n07 position has it easy compared to a GSA as far as responsibilities

I would put Guest Service higher than base because they generally take more **** from guests than cashiers.
 
Not trying to be rude.. however, whoever wrote up the description for that petition, could really use some auto-correct
 
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I think Cart Attendants and Food Ave need to have clothing allowances. Cart Attendants maybe once or twice a year. And Food Ave on a quarterly basis.

Cart Attendants have to bundle up during winter and wear raingear for the rain. Having the idea that the store buy/supply rain gear and coats that are shared amongst the crew without ever being laundered is bit nasty.

Food Ave/Market clothes tend to get really nasty and stained from grease and cleaners.

Or Target needs to bring out the wallet and pay for a uniform/towel service to clean the aprons and coats/jackets weekly.
 
Ha, that'll put holes in your clothes. :p I once had a drum of popcorn oil splash over and all over my pants. Oh, and another time our Starbucks TL dumped an entire blender of chocolate frappichino down my leg. That one was actually funny because he felt far worse about it than I did, haha! The chocolate came out, no problem. The oil? Not so much.
 
I used to be a cart attendant at my first job at a grocery store, but working there and working with them at Target has helped me see both sides of the issue. Good CAs rarely stay CAs long, or rarely stay CAs at Target. One of the best ones we had left to be a CA at a store paying nearly $4/hour more. We only ever seem to have 1 good CA at a time.

At the grocery store, I worked with some of the most barely employable people you could imagine. These people routinely broke eggs by putting detergent on top of them, injured themselves in stupid ways, NCNSed, and more. One of my coworkers bragged to the other CAs that he had consumed a six-pack in his car during his 15-minute break.

The sad truth is that CA is the epitome of an entry-level position: minimal intelligence and training required, and easily replaceable. I miss the great exercise I got as a CA, but I feel less expendable now that I've gone through so much Starbucks training.
 
Oh yeah...we have to give our love to the ones who do the "menial work" and TRULY. DO IT WELL...because even though you don't have to be a rocket surgeon to do these types of things, all it takes is one really bad mistake ( or a few ), and it makes A MESS for ALL OF US, and these folks are truly the ones who can make or break our day, as a team member, and as a store...

( I'm biased...one of my big breaks from cashier / customer service type work back inthe day was the year and a half i spent as a janitor in a grocery store. If you get past the "ick" factor, and you can accept not wearing your cute girly clothes/jewelry to work and exfoliating EVERY night when you get home, for the right pay & bennies...it ain't so bad, really lol )
 
This comment is rediculous, except the part that says why just for cart attendants. EVERY TM making less than 11$/hr deserves a pay increase (11$ is the rate of pay that Minimum Wage WOULD be if taking Cost of Living into considering) Painting cart attendants with a broad brush accusing them of being the bottom performers is discrimination at it's worst. If you think cleaning the toilets and urinals is EASY work, or collecting carts in -30 degree cold or e + 110 degree heat is "easy" for 7$/hour, you are crazy! Pay is NOT based on what the job is "worth" is based on how little Corporation America can get away with by ABUSING their employees at the bottom of the ladder! And stating that you should be able to support yourself as a cart attendant is STUPID, though if you asked a GSA, they would gladly tell you how silly your other comment was about THEIR salary being a "livable wage". They will laugh HISTERICALLY as they are grossly underpaid too at 8, 9$/hr. Maybe 10$ or 11$ as a GSTL. Corporate America has NOTHING to do with "good performers" and EVERYTHING to do with those who are "liked" and "in good" with the bosses.
https://www.change.org/petitions/target-higher-pay-for-cart-attendants please sign the petition even if your not a CA lets see if we can make something change

I would support a general pay increase.... but to just say cart attendants specifically is a little absurd.

Let's just be honest, the absolute bottom performers at a store are often the cart attendants. Half the time they refuse (or half ass) their basic duties such as restroom checks.

Obviously there are some great cart attendants out there.... but they are the exception.

You also have to remember that pay is based on knowledge, skills, and experience. Cart attendants almost always have no work experience (first job), are in high school or never graduated high school, and don't have any skills. (IT skills, plumbing skills, etc) I mean, this is really the job that defines minimum wage. Minimum wage is designed for people who are in very low level jobs. Cart attendant is not designed to be a job to support ones self or family.... It is supposed to be a "first job" that you work your way up from to positions such as GSA and GSTL.

Anyone who is a cart attendant that shows potential is usually moved up to a better job in the store. If they are not moved up, then they probably are not a very good performer....
 
There's a CA at our store that's been in the position for 4 years. He's been offered cashier, GSA, Starbucks, HL, BR, and more. He stays CA because he likes it.
 
Zombie thread.

Simply that Cart Attendants are the lowest of the store totem pole.

Depending on the store and hours, I liked being a Cart Attendant. Its a great position for part-timers. Other times I hated it. At one store, all I had to do was check the bathrooms, gather carts, and help with backup, and I also had help from the team.

At other stores, the team never helped so it was just me and the rest of the CAs getting carts, bathrooms, backup, hangers, spills, can/bottle recycler, defectives, bag the lanes, and fill the soda coolers....
 
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