Archived God forbid....

[awbuckit]

This really irks me....
When us cashiers get through a MAD rush and try to talk to one another just to recoup, get a drink, whatever and the gstls/gsas are like Oh, can you straighten _____? Can you work on candy/gum? Can someone work on Dollar Spot?
Why does this irk me? Because they always hang out at Guest Service!! Or Starbucks!! Or just stand up near the carts shooting the breeze with the latest TM who thinks he's the best thing since sliced bread!
Do they think we don't notice??? Ugh.

 

[Cel]

There's a reason why I only say anything if it's a pattern. I know who I have that's always a hard worker who needs a minute to decompress, and who the slackers are that I have to keep constantly tasked or they'll be taking a standing nap in their lane.

Sounds like your GSTLs/GSAs don't know their team very well, and are just passing down the pressure they're getting from above. Which is pretty much a constant thing, because as you probably realize, those who aren't up front all shift don't see cashiers decompressing from a rush, they see cashiers slacking off during the brief window they're up front. So whoever is running the front needs to be either going to bat for you, or covering your back, and it sounds like they're not.

 

[awbuckit]

On Tues it's always the same 3 cashiers-myself and 2 other ladies. We are all 45 yrs old and up. So we aren't like the teens who don't want to do anything at all. We've all been there for over 5 yrs or more. Our gstl is about the same age too. It's just annoying that I can't even catch my breath. It's freakin hot, I'm thirsty and I just need a minute to catch my second wind. lol

 

[buliSBI]

In my opinion, GSTLs/GSAs should motivate instead of ordering the front team.

"When things get manageable, can you work on candy or One Spot." And some of my former GSTLs/GSAs did help and worked on the zone. But if they were hiding the control room or hanging out while an alert is sounding off, that sets a bad example.

For myself, I always kept busy when working the front without being told. I would zone the lanes/One Spot, check candy dates, worked on the girls tables, directed guests to my lane, checked the restrooms, or got carts/straighten the lot if guest traffic permitted.

 

[paidtosmile]

A couple of my peers are like that.. They like to stand. and talk. and talk. and talk.

I do what BuliSBI said. I go up to them and say "Hey, when it slows down, could you _________?" and then I'll do _____ WITH them, at least for a while, until I have to work on something else.

But like @Cel said, Leadership from anywhere else in the store will only see your decompressing as "they're standing around talking" because they don't understand the ins-and-outs of guest traffic up front. If they see you standing around, they're going to tell me I need to send you back to seasonal to help with something, or that I need to send you back to work on pulls. They don't understand that you're standing around for 30 seconds to decompress and compose yourself before we get another rush of guest traffic within the next minute or so.

I always make our team look busy because I'm trying to cover both your ass and my own, and show them that the front end team actually does work hard.