Archived Gsa/gstl HALP

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Ok,
This is my first time posting. I've been stalking for about six months. I normally work guest service, but next week I am down as the gsa/gstl... So my question is, does that mean there isn't a gstl there that night? Am I having to act as both basically? I'm a bit nervous. I've done everything except money. Someone is supposed to show me in the next couple of days. I checked with hr and they said "yep, you're running the show" so I know it isn't a mistake. Also, aside from my question, any tips? I would really like to do a good job my first night as a gsa. Thanks!
 
Oh geez. Don't let them do this to you continually without giving you a pay increase. It's only a 50 cent raise, but it's still yours. They like to pull such things...I was doing GSA for about a month before they gave me the title and my raise...and they told me they were going to just bypass all my interviews and such for the position and override me into the system as GSA so they would not have to give me backpay. They could have at least been a little craftier and lied about that part.

I do believe they tried to pull the same thing with @Flabbergasted, but he did end up getting his backpay (correct me if I'm wrong in this.)

As far as the money thing (I assume you mean closing registers?) it's easy (but you'll need to pay close attention to what you're doing and I'll get into why in a moment) - since you've never closed down registers before, your LOD will likely assist you or may even do it for you since they probably haven't set you up with supervisor numbers yet (therefore rendering you unable to close any registers except GS), and unless they have already decided on fully making you GSA without consulting you first, it's doubtful they'll have you set up with them for your shift tomorrow. But basically, if the LOD decides to have you do it, he/she can print out a speedpass with their info on it because you will have to enter supervisor numbers for every register you are closing down. Also, even with the speedpass, every 4 logins or so it will ask for a pin number so have the LOD write that on the speedpass for you so you can enter that when prompted.

So here's how it'll go on closing registers:
Around an hour and a half before close (ASANTS on the timeframe, I've read that some people actually start way earlier than this. You can ask your LOD what is best but this is when I always start), you'll begin the process of closing registers. You'll need to borrow someone with supervisor numbers to logon to a register, if they have not set you up with supervisor numbers (I'm writing this assuming they haven't) and then you will go to K4 GSTL --> K8 START CLOSING REGISTERS. It will ask you "Are you sure? This will close all unused registers." And you'll select Yes. It'll think for a minute while it auto-closes all the unused registers, and then a list will print with all the ones you'll need to manually close. KEEP THIS LIST. Do not lose it ( I can't tell you how many times I've had to run around my big ass SuperTarget and hunt this tiny little seemingly insignificant piece of crap paper down in the store because it flew off my cash cart or out of my pocket...)

At the top of this piece of paper, it will tell you the number of registers you will be closing and adding money to. Walkie this number out to the LOD so they can grab you a matching amount of start funds from the cash office. You probably already know that when it comes to money, you have to be careful about the way you say it on the walkie. When I walkie out how many start funds I need, I just say "LOD, my count is xx" and they know what I'm talking about (even though it sounds like a crazy ass flex fulfillment count). Or you can say "I need xx from 239" or however you want to say it, as long as it doesn't sound like "I need thousands of easily accessible dollars up at the front lanes with me ASAP."

Then, your LOD will bring you that god forsaken cash cart and the money bags and all that jazz. The money bags should be labeled with the register numbers. Any register numbers that are not on that list, go ahead and toss in the slot in the cash cart to get them out of your way.
Go grab the change funds from the checklanes - they get turned in to the c/o at the end of the night with the rest of the money, and you will also need it to add coins to registers that are low on them as you're closing down.

Next, it's time to close down. Just hit K5 CLOSE REGISTER, scan the speedpass (or enter your own supervisor numbers if they did in fact give you those) and put the money in the corresponding bag. Check underneath the till too and grab any bills/checks/coupons/sales audit slips/divorce finalizations/living wills and slip those in their corresponding bag too.
The register will then ask you "Does this register need coin?" And you can hit no (K3 I think) or you can hit the option for add coin, (K8 I want to say). If you choose to add coins, remember that it differs from when you add change funds to a register during a change fund request. During a request, it automatically has you add two rolls of coins for each type of coin the cashier requests. When you close the register, if you select to add coins, it will only add ONE at a time, so don't accidentally add two. And in all honesty, I only add change if it's super low and they won't be able to deal with that little change when someone hops on first thing in the morning. Ain't nobody got time for that.

Once you are done with the bag that corresponds to that register, put it in the slot in the cash cart (keep the checks/coupons/sales audit/tax exempt bags and envelopes on top though, because all that stuff isn't register-specific and goes together.)

Some extra pointers:
When you get to guest service: DON'T PUT START FUNDS IN THERE. You'll notice it says only to REMOVE money from those registers. Just thought it was noteworthy of reminding you. Just remove the money. You can put CHANGE in there if needed, just not a bundle of money.

If you get any registers listed that have an [*] next to it or say "offline" on your slip - just take the bundle of money from your cash cart, stick it in the bag that corresponds to that register and shove it in the slot. You cannot close that register.

**Also, you'll obviously have at least one cashier on the lanes when you start closing. Depending 0n how busy the store has been and how your store schedulse people depends on how many registers you'll want to keep open until close. Even if we're at a dead standstill I still keep two open - the one the closing cashier is on and an extra register just in case. If we have been busy or unpredictable that day, I'll leave two more. Use your best judgement or ask somebody if you're unsure.

Last but not least: At the end, all of the start funds the LOD gave you should be GONE. I used to somehow miss registers every time...it just wasn't habit enough, I guess. I would close them all down, but not all the start funds would end up in there and I or the LOD would have to go back and try to figure out which register(s) it was and it was such a pain in the ass. But then my GSTL gave me a wonderful suggestion:
Every time you break open a bundle to put it in the register, place the broken band on top of the keyboard. (I have learned that some stores don't break their bundles, but I don't see why it would be an issue for you to do it, unless they specifically tell you not to.) This way, if you do have any bundles left over at the end of the night, you can look at the list of registers you closed, and if there is NOT a band on top of that register, you likely didn't put a bundle in there.
After a while, we were told not to leave the bands on the registers anymore because it wasn't "brand" but I found that if you put them in the trash right under the register the same concept applies. The little band trick saved my forgetful ass for months on end. It's second nature now, but that little band trick put my mind so much at ease, I think that's the only thing that allowed it to become second nature.

Oh, and that piece of paper I mentioned. It goes to the cash office with the money and such. They need that! Make sure you still have it :)

Can't believe there was that much to say about closing the registers. Lol, hope that helped some. If there's anything you need, don't hesitate to ask us!




Also, it's awesome that they saw potential in you and decided to have you run the show. Congratulations and good luck!! You'll do great, and just remember to let things go wrong and don't be too hard on yourself when they do.
 
I do believe they tried to pull the same thing with @Flabbergasted, but he did end up getting his backpay (correct me if I'm wrong in this.)

This is correct, but only because I demanded it. I can thank this forum for making me aware of the backpay thing. My ETL-HR at the time was very hesitant, but I wound up getting backpay for over a month's worth of GSA work.

When I was GSA for a month without officially being keyed as GSA, I had to close registers using someone else's numbers. Usually, the LOD would give me their speed ID and I would just do the back button trick to close the register with the speed ID (where if you keep pressing the 'back' button when it asks for a PIN, it eventually will accept it without a PIN.) Other ETLs/Sr. TLs were more hesitant to give me their speed IDs, understandably, and would actually close registers with me. Technically there is a security risk if they give you a speed ID as you could do nefarious things under their numbers and they would be partially responsible. However, most people trusted me enough. This is ASANTS and ideally there should never be a time where someone who isn't GSTL/GSA is scheduled to do the job, except in an emergency, because of the awkwardness of not having any real supervisor ability.

@GSAhole makes some great points and gives good tips in her post here. Occasionally people are scheduled as GSA who are not actually GSAs, and it is allowed for this to occur without you being given the GSA paygrade/supervisor #s so long as your GSA shifts make up less than 50% of your total shifts. Is it shitty to schedule someone as GSA 40% of the time, just under the threshold, just so they don't have to pay them the extra 50 cents? Very. But it is allowed by corporate. So having one or two shifts here and there to help them with coverage will not get you any extra pay unfortunately. It is when they start scheduling you the majority of your shifts under the GSA job and you aren't being paid for it that it becomes an integrity issue. If you search some of my posts far back enough to earlier this year, you will find me expressing a lot of discontent over doing GSA but still being keyed as a cashier.
 
Apparently Target loves being an extra big, fat dick to GSA's (forget the fact that the position shouldn't even exist as you're basically a GSTL without having TL authority). You get treated like absolute shit, in a lot of places they try and pay you pennies more than regular TM (this is clearly ASANTS, I would NEVER do the job unless I was being paid at least 11-12 MINIMUM so I got more than that, but again ASANTS), but to try and thrust you into it without even giving you training or any kind of raise? Fuck them. Fuck them royally with the biggest commercial dildo you can find. The least you deserve is some proper training and the opportunity to negotiate your pay before you get disrespected daily and have all the TL duties without the TL title or pay.
 
And btw, if you are becoming a GSA so that you can move up with the company, make sure you are on some clear cut path to becoming TL within a couple of months. While not always the case, Target losses A LOT of GSAs, either to firing them for petty things or them not performing to 'best practice' as expected of a TL, or they quit as they become tired of being the TMTL 'Team Lead of Team Members'
 
but to try and thrust you into it without even giving you training or any kind of raise?

The lack of training was the worst part. I was supposed to be officially trained by my GSTL but never was. The entirety of my training was learning to close registers, and that consisted of me shadowing another GSA for about 15 mins during a slow period while working at the service desk one night. Throughout this "learning," I had to constantly look over my back to make sure there wasn't a guest waiting at the desk. So beyond register closing, *every* other aspect of being GSA was something I had to figure out completely on my own. Then they would get mad at me when things wouldn't be done right, because I had no idea what I was fucking doing. It took me a good month or two to finally get it all down and even then I was still slower than the other GSA and GSTLs who had full training, spanning at least several weeks. That was really unfair and totally not worth two measly quarters.
 
Great job @Flabbergasted. I didn't even think of the under 50% thing. Watch that carefully.

Flabber is so right, they could easily get away with scheduling you as GSA and not give you a raise because you'd be scheduled under 50 percent of the time as GSA.

Please don't let us scare you though. This can be a good thing as long as it is what you want and what you are prepared to face (i don't mean in training terms, because Target will never prepare you properly for any position - I just mean mentally. Be mentally prepared to be unprepared I guess.) Just want to make the point that they likely will try to get some things over on you and you may have to be a little forward and bring some things to their attention if you don't want to get royally fucked.

The GSA position exists to royally fuck people. I'll never forget someone on here saying it is not for the faint of heart. Never heard a truer statement. Don't let them make you think otherwise, because oh, they will try.

You got this, just be prepared for what weird things they may throw your way.
 
If they continue to schedule you for GSA shifts make sure they actually promote you to GSA. Also depending on what day they schedule you (Monday or Tuesday night) it shouldn't be too bad. Those days are usually pretty dead at my store.
 
Wow! Thank all of you so much! That was extremely helpful GSAhole... That name is hilarious btw... The GSTL let me close registers and use his numbers the other night. It was exactly how you said, so awesome job explaining the process! I'm probably going to reference it. I think they are probably trying to screw me, I notice I'm down as the gsa for the rest of my schedule! oh, and here's the really effed up part... My first day is a SATURDAY! I pretty much had to be aggressive about getting some training as well. My gstl's training was pretty good, but no one seemed to care if I was trained or not. If I wouldn't have said something, I would be clueless. So, basically, I'm down as GSA almost the entire time this pay period. So it sounds to me like they are probably trying to squirm out of a raise. Thank you all again for all the help!!! Any tips on scheduling breaks? I'm always afraid I'm going to screw myself over on them or forget and have someone go into compliance. So if anyone has any advice on keeping that stuff straight, that would be great as well! ❤️
 
Wow! Thank all of you so much! That was extremely helpful GSAhole... That name is hilarious btw... The GSTL let me close registers and use his numbers the other night. It was exactly how you said, so awesome job explaining the process! I'm probably going to reference it. I think they are probably trying to screw me, I notice I'm down as the gsa for the rest of my schedule! oh, and here's the really effed up part... My first day is a SATURDAY! I pretty much had to be aggressive about getting some training as well. My gstl's training was pretty good, but no one seemed to care if I was trained or not. If I wouldn't have said something, I would be clueless. So, basically, I'm down as GSA almost the entire time this pay period. So it sounds to me like they are probably trying to squirm out of a raise. Thank you all again for all the help!!! Any tips on scheduling breaks? I'm always afraid I'm going to screw myself over on them or forget and have someone go into compliance. So if anyone has any advice on keeping that stuff straight, that would be great as well! ❤️

Don't let them screw you. Go into your ETL HR's office, and politely explain to him/her that you're more than happy to take on these new responsibilities/roles, however in order to do so, you will need an official coding in to do your job appropriately and not be using someone else's number. Also state the amount you want for the job (if you have no or little experience, probably shoot for 11$, otherwise 12-13$). If they run around giving you the job, or try to only give you the. 50 cent pay raise, 'I' would tell them I'd rather stay in my current role and avoid GSA, but perhaps pursue other opportunities to enter leadership.

On scheduling, what I do is examine what Mytime generated, and then take a marker and scratch through all break periods (using white out may be even better IF you have it in supplies). Your general guide would be 2 hours to first 15, 4-5 hours for a 30, and then 2 hours later for final 15. Keep in mind not all scheduled TM will get a final 15, or even a 30 (6 hours worked for a 30, 7 hours add another 15...refer to the field that states TM total worked time for this). You can make adjustments to this general policy if you have more than one TM coming in at the same time or if you have a 'gap' (ex: TM A came in at 7am, but TM B isn't in until 10am. In this case, there's nothing wrong with holding off on a first 15 until TM B gets in as two hours after they get back you can send them to lunch without worrying about going into compliance). It takes a couple of tries to really get schedule adjustments down pat, but when you do you'll see how easy it is.
 
Thanks! Yeah I'm sure it's going to take practice. If I'm down as the gsa when the next schedule comes out in a few days, I'll definitely be bringing my pay and getting gsa numbers to their attention.
 
Wow! Thank all of you so much! That was extremely helpful GSAhole... That name is hilarious btw... The GSTL let me close registers and use his numbers the other night. It was exactly how you said, so awesome job explaining the process! I'm probably going to reference it. I think they are probably trying to screw me, I notice I'm down as the gsa for the rest of my schedule! oh, and here's the really effed up part... My first day is a SATURDAY! I pretty much had to be aggressive about getting some training as well. My gstl's training was pretty good, but no one seemed to care if I was trained or not. If I wouldn't have said something, I would be clueless. So, basically, I'm down as GSA almost the entire time this pay period. So it sounds to me like they are probably trying to squirm out of a raise. Thank you all again for all the help!!! Any tips on scheduling breaks? I'm always afraid I'm going to screw myself over on them or forget and have someone go into compliance. So if anyone has any advice on keeping that stuff straight, that would be great as well! ❤️

Awesome :) thank you, and so glad I could help you!!

As far as scheduling breaks...make sure you edit the break schedule. MyTime gives you one that it spit out and a lot of times it seems like it just reached up its bum and pulled out some funky ass numbers. It also skips meals for people who should have been scheduled one, which can be a huge problem for you if you don't edit that schedule. Also, if you're closing GSA, look over the edits that the opening GSA/GSTL made. Sometimes they screw up or don't catch something, and because you trusted that they edited the break schedule correctly when they really didn't, then now it's you that's screwed if someone goes into compliance.

As far as edits go, I'd suggest following the 2/2/2 rule.
First break 2 hours after their arrival, lunch 2 hours after that, and last break 2 hours after that.

Bear in mind that some states vary in that you will hit compliance after 5 hours in some, and 6 hours in others. Mine is a 6 hour state, so this rule works pretty well...even if you get way behind on breaks you still have a good amount of leeway before someone goes into compliance, since they are being sent four hours into their shift and won't hit compliance until 6 hours.

If you're in a 5 hour state, you have to be more careful because you won't have as much leeway if (when) you get behind (it happens, often).
If I was in a 5 hour state, I'd probably do 1.5/1.5/2 or something. You really don't want anyone hitting compliance.

Sometimes you may accidentally schedule people at the same time, but that's okay. Just look at what time they came in and see who needs to go first. If they came in at the same time, toss a coin in your head or pick the one you like better or the one whose face you're tired of looking at (just kidding...kind of).

Try not to send more than one person on break/lunch at the same time, but if you get just so far behind that you have to (it happens sometimes) then do it. You'll just have to grin and bear it if it gets swamped. Everyone will survive.

And don't forget about Guest Service! My poor SD TM's, they treat me so well even though I usually forget about them until last minute. Know who you are going to have for GS coverage during their breaks/lunches. Also, know who is going to cover you during your breaks/lunches. Usually it will be a TL, but you'll have to get with them and let them know you need coverage and when. Try and do it as soon as possible, like when you first arrive, and get with them about it. They usually hate covering the front anyway, and they hate it more when you get with them last minute about it (they may also have other areas to cover for breaks, such as electronics, so you'll have to work that out.)

Make sure you familiarize yourself with your state's labor laws so you know when to schedule breaks/lunches and how many, which are paid and which are unpaid. This info should be posted and easily accessible to you at Target. If unsure, always ask your LOD or a TL, they can help you.

That's all I can really think of for now, if you have any more specific questions regarding the break schedule or anything else don't hesitate to ask.
 
Ok, so here's a little update, (hope it's ok to post here) so I did my first two "GSA" shifts, and how lovely it was of them to have my first two nights on a back to college weekend where they were giving out gift bags. totally packed.... I did somewhat get the hang of staggering breaks and thank goodness my guest service tm I had with me was awesome! Of course I still feel like there wasn't much training and I'm just supposed to be born knowing how to be a target gsa. The gstl didn't even realize that I'm down to do GSA for the next month... Every single shift I have is GSA. He thought I was doing one night as a stand in. Oy. Oh and apparently on my first night, someone was supposedly going to come do a walk through, so I had even more to think about... Pretty much just a giant shit storm, but I made it. I can see now that GSA's work their butts off much more than I initially gave them credit for! I do think now I'm being dicked around for sure. I'm actually considering quitting. I can only work 20 hours a week, so that's probably why they wouldn't want to keep me as a GSA . I asked the hr etl about numbers, and she basically told me to use the gstl's speed id... For the whole next month?! Yep. Oh brother. Anyways, about quitting, I don't NEED this job and I was actually seasonal sales floor from last year (just needed Christmas money) they asked me to stay and I did just for a little extra spending money and for the discount. I guess it's just the principle of it all. I basically just feel used. I bust my ass at any job I work at. I haven't been late or missed days. I feel like it would be different if they had pulled me aside and asked me to be a temp GSA until they got someone hired, but just putting me down indefinitely and then not even giving me the tools I need (numbers) or the raise ticks me off enough to just quit. It just puts a bad taste in my mouth. I've had way more difficult jobs, I actually have some medical certifications and have been in life or death situations, so it's hilarious to me how they act about .50 cents an hour. oh man. I can totally see why people say the things they do about this position! All they have done now is made a reliable hard working tm want to quit.
 
Oh, and I'll just add, the job itself isn't what makes me want to quit. I can handle the position fine. It's the way they have handled the situation.
 
This sounds sooo typical of Target and it doesn't surprise me a bit. I'm sorry they're doing that to you. Since your ETL-HR is not being helpful at all, maybe its time to take it to the STL.
 
Yeah, I had a feeling that they were just trying to be sneaky. I was thinking of bringing it up with the stl myself. He seems to really like me. Target is so dumb about some things. Why do things to run off good people? Meh. Also, the GSA position should be a 2.00 raise imo.
 
It should be eliminated entirely and all current GSAs should become GSTLs. The only reason the GSA position exists is because Spot is cheap.
It's actually better to quit and come back as a GSA honestly. Target does shit 'bass-ackwards' and will pay and outside worker 1,2,even 3 or more dollars better for the same position and have lower expectations of them than they will an internal hire. I do think a step in the right direction would be to increase the paygrade for GSA to the highest TM rate, and it should be 2.00 above base minimum, TL should be 3.50 above base minimum, and SrTL should be 5.00 above base, plus keys, at a minimum. Might a better solution be to turn all GSAs into TLs? Mmmmm...maybe/maybe not. You don't need 4-5 people for the front end to do reviews/coachings. You don't need them to attend meetings, be responsible for emails, etc. Having a few GSAs who watch the lanes and make sure everything is ok up front is fine, the problem just arises when stores abuse them and try and extend their duties into God only knows what.
 
Y'know, I see all these horror stories about the GSA position, and I count my lucky stars that I work at a fantastic store. All of management is supportive and great work with (Well except for maybe one ETL, but I don't usually have to work with him anyways) and I had a decent amount of training. For my training I worked 3 mid shifts so that I could train with both the opening and closing GSA/GSTL, then I opened and closed one night each with the GSA/GSTL for training on the opening/closing procedures.
 
Y'know, I see all these horror stories about the GSA position, and I count my lucky stars that I work at a fantastic store. All of management is supportive and great work with (Well except for maybe one ETL, but I don't usually have to work with him anyways) and I had a decent amount of training. For my training I worked 3 mid shifts so that I could train with both the opening and closing GSA/GSTL, then I opened and closed one night each with the GSA/GSTL for training on the opening/closing procedures.

All I can say is never move or hope management remains the same, so long as you're working this position.
 
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