Archived Giving the store away.

[BeenThere]

I don't care about VIBE or empowerment or GSTL/LOD are scared of a bad guest comment. When a guest tries to use tons of coupons (I'm not even going to discuss the integrity of those coupons) on the wrong items, or grab everything on the floor because the items were in the wrong spot, all the rules are out. At this point, they are not "guests", they just want to take advantage of the situation, causing loss for the store, which triggers down to its employee and other guests. So I have no problem confronting them. If they threatened not to shop at Target again, I've done the store some good lol....In my experience, people can get real ugly for not getting what they want, I always stay calm, smile and wait for them to cross the line with one of their insults/slur then they will be escorted out of the store.....

 

[AdItemOnly]

For about a couple weeks now, online only items are only marking down 30% instead of 70% so it must have been something else.

Ive always thought, screw the markdown, we have ASOTV endcaps, lets make a few Online item ones with a "Why wait for shipping" header... but im a crazy person lol

 

[happyfeet]

No matter what you make the guest happy..I agree we are giving away our jobs for the company can not stay alive when you give it away I use to get upset I just change dont care its not my company and I get paid the same ..who cares it use to be such a good company ..may as well post it through out the store ..

 

[thetargetman]

I had a lady who moaned and bitched about how the product she was buying that rung up 16:99 if I recall was supposed to be 2:99 on clearance at the other Target store. since we are no longer saying "No" I just changed it and of course she had coupons so she paid a dollar per item. if I get called in the office about it I don't fucking care but I hope corporate realizes how much money they will ultimately lose because of it.

 

[POGguy]

We don't match other store clearance prices. We don't even honor other Target prices. Example water may be $3.09 at another store but 3.29 at our store. We won't match it.

Target.com is the only exception and I think that was recent.

 

[PJ5]

We don't accept competitors coupons, the guest today was annoyed she couldn't use a publix coupon on her baby diapers but my gstl said no, First no I've witnessed in ages.

 

[Vale]

In my store, we have a reseller using fraudulent registry coupons.

The HL SrTL is apparently friends with the guy. They actually have each other on speed dial. When the reseller comes in (usually on a Sunday) I'm told to let him have anything he wants, regardless of how many, so we're typically cleaned out of iPads, iPods, Xbones, PS4's, WiiU's and 3DS' first thing in the morning.

The reseller has several registry coupons on his phone, which nets a 15% discount each transaction. He also has a Red Card that allegedly 'doesn't work', even though he 'just paid the bill' (Really? Every time you come in?) and I was told to just calc the 5% and manually enter it as a store coupon. I have no way of knowing if the Red Card is even legit, for all I know it's been deactivated by Corporate, or the reseller just cancelled it himself and uses it for the %5, but charges everything to a different card (Maybe he's doing it to bank rewards points on that card? Who knows..).

I really don't feel comfortable at all about manually entering a 5% discount for a Red Card that I can't verify is legit, much less letting them abuse the registries to constantly generate 15% coupons. However, I've not had a particularly good relationship with this TL, and was even called into the STL's office and bawled out for over an hour because I disagreed with the TL about something, so I'm feeling like I'm stuck between the proverbial rock and hard place. If the TL isn't around when this guy comes in, he makes it a point to come find me and make sure I took care of the guy, which makes me feel even more like I'm trapped in a situation I'd rather not have anything to do with. At some point, I have to wonder if there's an ethics issue that can come back to bite me, and I have absolutely no doubt that when it happens, I'm going to get thrown under the bus. I've been with Target almost 7 years, but that won't matter one iota when the poo hits the fan, I'm sure.

The former STL wouldn't let resellers have more than 2 of any one item on Sunday, but would let them come back on the following Saturday and have anything that was left. However, we also didn't have that TL in the store at the time, or any shenanigans going on with the registries or 'broken' Red Cards. Interestingly enough, all of my 'regular' resellers vanished not long after the new STL and TL came to the store, and this guy started showing up. I can't prove it's related, but it sure looks fishy to me.

I really don't want to end up taking the heat for this when it goes south. Do you think this is something I should pass on via the Hotline, or am I just going to be wasting my time?

 

[POGguy]

To the above person. I would speak to your stores AP leader.

 

[commiecorvus]

To the above person. I would speak to your stores AP leader.

And if that doesn't work the district AP.

 

[InvisibleGirl]

I was told to accept a $10 off $50 in Home coupon that expired in December and the guest got $2 from home.

Not the worst thing in comparison, but still ridiculous.

 

[desertcoyote]

I have to admit that the GSTL and GSAs have definitely pulled back on the whole VIBE thing. Funny enough, when the new rules came about. I'm not calling anyone for small changes to prices, but when you're coming up with bags full of HBA returns with no receipt or tons of coupons on items that they don't apply to, I have no problem calling them over to the Service Desk. I do however, have problems when the ETLs all around. The ETLs love giving away the store, the GSTL, SrTLs and GSAs just ignore them. It's pretty strange to be honest LOL.

 

[Vale]

To the above person. I would speak to your stores AP leader.

I have. He just shook his head and sighed. He knows about it, but is apparently not in a position to do anything about it. Senior management in this store is somewhat apathetic when it comes to anything involving loss prevention. I'm surprised the new ETL HL is helping him order Spider Wrap and lock pegs. This poor guy is on his own in the store, they took away his only AP team member. I help him as much as I can with Electronics, since that's my work center, and I was the AP TL for another retailer, but beyond that, I genuinely wonder at the seeming lack of support he gets. I could tell you other stories about the rampant theft in the store, it's absolutely ridiculous. Probably needs a thread of it's own though, before this one gets derailed.

I'll send something anonymous to the District AP TL about the reseller. I can't be the only one that thinks this is fishy.

 

[Jill of All Trades]

As a GSA I have made it my mission to enforce the policies to my best ability and to VIBE only conservatively, when and if it is warranted. I tell cashiers to have me check *any time* they feel they aren't comfortable with a price change, even if it is technically within their 20% empowerment. And I have repeatedly swatted the other GSA's hands (she's the exact opposite, unfortunately) when she tells our cashiers to change an item from $45 to $20 without even checking. I have very rarely been overridden by the LOD.

Oh be glad we don't work together. If you swatted my hand you'd have my elbow in your neck faster than you could say "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder." I don't like to be touched. I also over-vibe like nobody's business, but that's only because my ETLs insist on never, ever being called to the front end and they won't let me call the sales floor to verify prices. I figure if they don't care, I don't care. Payroll is going to be constantly on the chopping block regardless of how vigilant we are because corporate is greedy.

 

[YourPPTL]

SF49er jersey should have sold for 49.99. Cashier gave it away for 1.99.

 

[Amly_221B]

Our store is terrible. "Yeah the guest has a desk that's ringing up 70 dollars but they said there's a sign for it for 15" most of the time the LOD just go over the walkie to "make it right for the guest and go check for a sign"...which of course is never there. I'm pretty sure the guest that abuse this have figured it out and just go with it.

 

[NewCashierLT]

I am frustrated by this as well. I only call over the GSTL when a supervisor override is required and if the price a guest insists on is within $20 of the price ringing up at the register, I will change it 90% of the time. The only exception is if the only two GSTLs who are diligent about price checks are there. Even if the price challenge is within $20, but I don't feel right changing it, I will call them over.

 

[REDcardJJ]

The way it was explained to me by my trainer when I first started:

Target is a billion dollar corporation, so a 5 or 10 dollar difference isn't going to make a huge difference. It's more important to focus on providing a great guest experience than to call and check on prices that sound reasonable. So, if the guest is insisting on an expired coupon or says they're supposed to get a $5 GiftCard, just honor it because (hopefully) they'll remember that interaction when they decide to go shopping again. If the price sounds unreasonable or is significant (even if it's within your $20 limit), I'd get the GSA/GSTL and have them go from there.

I did shutdown a coupon scammer once with copied coupons who wanted to price match to a store across the country and she still shops here almost daily, so maybe Target's guest experience strategy is flawed...

 

[REDcardJJ]

Or they'll remember that Target will bend a knee to them, so they'll do it each and every time they visit from now on.

You're enabling poor behavior. It's obviously going to continue until there's a check against it.

Yes, Target is going to bend the knee and give them a $5 GiftCard... which they have to come back and spend anyway. Guest experience focus works.

 

[Kartman]

Agreed, but Spot will never see that.

 

[NKG]

The way it was explained to me by my trainer when I first started:

Target is a billion dollar corporation, so a 5 or 10 dollar difference isn't going to make a huge difference. It's more important to focus on providing a great guest experience than to call and check on prices that sound reasonable. So, if the guest is insisting on an expired coupon or says they're supposed to get a $5 GiftCard, just honor it because (hopefully) they'll remember that interaction when they decide to go shopping again. If the price sounds unreasonable or is significant (even if it's within your $20 limit), I'd get the GSA/GSTL and have them go from there.

I did shutdown a coupon scammer once with copied coupons who wanted to price match to a store across the country and she still shops here almost daily, so maybe Target's guest experience strategy is flawed...

I don't accept expired coupons. I don't accept any coupons that don't follow the coupon policy. Sorry bro you ain't getting free shit at my store.

 

[REDcardJJ]

I guess we'll just agree to disagree.

 

[Saul Goodman]

This is why I can't work at guest service or cashiering. "Nah dude sorry, this lane doesn't accept coupons and there's no price adjustments. Oh you have an item without a barcode, ok it'll be whatever I feel the item is worth"

 

[idkwhattodo]

Reading this thread makes me very thankful for my GSTLs. Yes, they do break policy at times to “save the sale” and do right for the guest, but for the most part we are pretty strict.

On register cashiers are typically told if it’s within $5 and seems reasonable do it, but over $10-$15 we always check. Over at guest service we have more independence, but we still double check with the department to see if an old sale sign was up rather than just give last week’s price to them.

 

[FlowTeamChick]

@Vale, I would definitely talk to someone - your store's AP, the hotline, someone. That's fraud and your HR SrTL is part of it. Worse, that TL is making you take part and creating a hostile work environment. All of that could (I'd say "should" but I don't know) be an offense warranting an immediate escort to the door if not filing a police report - of the HR SrTL, not you.

 

[SoCalMama]

@Vale, I would definitely talk to someone - your store's AP, the hotline, someone. That's fraud and your HR SrTL is part of it. Worse, that TL is making you take part and creating a hostile work environment. All of that could (I'd say "should" but I don't know) be an offense warranting an immediate escort to the door if not filing a police report - of the HR SrTL, not you.

That post is from 2015.
NewCashierLT bumped a post that is 3 years old.