Archived GSTL's and GSA's breaking during busy lunch period.

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Frontlanegirl

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Not sure if this happens in most stores, wondering why during the busy lunch rush the GSTL's/GSA's are at lunch?? To me it would make sense to have management available during this time.
 
I'm at a ULV store with zero availability for coverage, so when I'm doing it, it's "hey I'm the GSA and if I don't go now, the dicks will hit the wall very quickly because we need our one GSTM to cover our one cafe person, and then we need me to cover that one GSTM"

I literally did not recognize that GSAs and GSTLs could ever be present at the same time until now. More than one being present AND both being on break/lunch sounds ultra dumb though.
 
KingBear said:
I'm at a ULV store with zero availability for coverage, so when I'm doing it, it's "hey I'm the GSA and if I don't go now, the dicks will hit the wall very quickly because we need our one GSTM to cover our one cafe person, and then we need me to cover that one GSTM"

I literally did not recognize that GSAs and GSTLs could ever be present at the same time until now. More than one being present AND both being on break/lunch sounds ultra dumb though.
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Well...I was in a five hour state. So if I worked 7:30 to 3:30 (or so). There were times I would have myself, my cashier and my GSTM that all needed to go about the same time. So that meant I went at 11:30pm. If I could shove it back to noon, I would. But that was really only if the 8am cashier wanted to go at 12:30 and I didn't have my GSTM in until 9am or 10am.

There were times my grid looked like this:
Me in at 7:30.
Cashier 1 8am
Cashier 2 9:30
GSTM 9:30

So, let's look at this: at the two hour mark, I would have two people ready for a break, at 11:30...neither of them would go early...and God forbid they go too late. So they would have their breaks at 11:30 and 11:45, I would go at noon, and then my 8am cashier could go at 12:30 for lunch.

Sure, I could take my lunch at 11am...but that makes my afternoon miserable.

Many times, everyone's breaks and lunches fell about the same time, and I had to do my best to minimize the bitching (some cashiers were worse than toddlers when it came to stuff like this). And that meant I needed to go when I could. In theory, an LOD was required to come cover my break/lunch, but that rarely happened. And frankly, with as little as I got paid and as much as I wasn't appreciated anyway, and the amount of hassle I took from the cashiers because they couldn't go at the exact second they wanted to because they weren't my only TM to worry about, it got to the point I just didn't care.

In the end, if my superiors didn't care if the lanes were covered for my break/lunch, why should I?
 
OK, let me clarify my original question. Depending on who is on duty (GSTL or GSA), because we usually only have one at a time, why would they take their break during the busy lunch rush? I understand they need to take their lunch, and I am OK with another lead covering, but sometimes a cashier TM will do this and now we are short a cashier.
 
Retail Girl said:
Yep, any cashier who complained would be shown the grid, and asked exactly how they would rectify it so there were no other overlaps. That usually shut them down pretty quick.

Your ETLs and other TLs are dropping the ball by not covering the front.
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I understand the overlapping issue and everyone needing a lunch. However, I know the grids are changed and having a lead go for lunch at noon is not a good time to go.
 
Frontlanegirl said:
I understand the overlapping issue and everyone needing a lunch. However, I know the grids are changed and having a lead go for lunch at noon is not a good time to go.
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What's the difference between pulling a capable cashier to cover for half an hour or sending a cashier to lunch at noon? Either way you are down that cashier. And the way the breaks and lunches fall, someone has to go then.

Sorry. I did a lot of break outs for breaks and lunches...the only people who decided they could do a better job were the ones who had never done it.
 
Retail Girl said:
What's the difference between pulling a capable cashier to cover for half an hour or sending a cashier to lunch at noon? Either way you are down that cashier. And the way the breaks and lunches fall, someone has to go then.

Sorry. I did a lot of break outs for breaks and lunches...the only people who decided they could do a better job were the ones who had never done it.
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Amen, those have always been the ones who open their mouth about how easy something is when they have never done any of the tasks/duties of those people. Those are the worst.
 
Sorry guys, but I have covered breaks. Just seems to me to be the worst time for them to take their lunch. I've even worked in retail management and we were encouraged to take our lunches during slower periods.
 
Covering breaks is way different than making a break out and juggling breaks and lunches that align with Target policy and dealing with a bunch of cashier who think they can do it better.

It doesn't matter when they go. Stuff can come up any time. The key is having the support available to assist the front lanes. And since most GSTLs/GSAs don't have that support available, they do what they need to do. And that's on upper management.
 
Frontlanegirl said:
Sorry guys, but I have covered breaks. Just seems to me to be the worst time for them to take their lunch. I've even worked in retail management and we were encouraged to take our lunches during slower periods.
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The key word is "encouraged". It's not always possible and like Retail Girl stated, covering breaks is not the same as juggling breaks of multiple TMs. Things come up all the time, not just around peak.
 
I agree that things come up and it is difficult. Just asking since it seems to be an everyday issue. I should clarify that I do cover breaks and lunches. As far as "encouraged", it was a way of saying we would like that you do not take your lunch during the lunch rush. Take it before or after.
 
Frontlanegirl said:
Sorry guys, but I have covered breaks. Just seems to me to be the worst time for them to take their lunch. I've even worked in retail management and we were encouraged to take our lunches during slower periods.
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I frequently missed breaks because of timing during rush but, after seeing fellow GSAs/GSTLs take theirs without regard, I finally said 'screw it'.
I didn't purposefully do it during a rush but, when it comes to lunch, it was a choice between an early lunch (which screwed the store if I was asked to stay later) or hitting meal compliance.
 
Am I the only hourly TM who loves to push their lunch back as much as possible? I live in a six hour state, so I was more than okay with volunteering to be the girl who took the late lunch during a 2:45-11:30 shift because it meant that I came back with about two hours left and still got a second break! :)
 
I like it late. The later the lunch, the shorter the rest of the shift becomes.
 
We do whatever makes sense. Usually the GSA/GSTL will attempt to take their lunch during a calm period (if there is one) and/or when an LOD/ETL can be around to handle the front end. Typically, an experienced cashier (often me when I'm up front) who knows how to use a walkie and knows when to call for backup will be left in charge when the LOD or an ETL is unavailable. Once I was left to cover the front in the middle of a busy Sunday and that was interesting. lol.
 
An LOD/ETL/TL needs to cover their break/lunch. Our GSTL/GSA usually comes in around 7:30 and no matter which way you cut it, they are going to need to take their lunch during the busy period. It's just a consequence of the way they need to be scheduled and you really shouldn't be getting mad at them for it.

The problem at your store seems to be that nobody outside of the front lanes is willing to come up and cover for 30 minutes. Literally any TL or ETL can do it.
 
Kartman said:
I like it late. The later the lunch, the shorter the rest of the shift becomes.
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I liked a late lunch as well. Just didn't appreciate it when I had to wait 4 hours to get my 15 min. break
 
SFSFun said:
An LOD/ETL/TL needs to cover their break/lunch. Our GSTL/GSA usually comes in around 7:30 and no matter which way you cut it, they are going to need to take their lunch during the busy period. It's just a consequence of the way they need to be scheduled and you really shouldn't be getting mad at them for it.

The problem at your store seems to be that nobody outside of the front lanes is willing to come up and cover for 30 minutes. Literally any TL or ETL can do it.
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When groups come in at similar times it happens. Pog goes the same time, then pricing, then flow, etc. Because gsa often come the same time the tls do they can have issues getting a break when they want. Or even need. Five hour states puts people in the noon to one o'clock time for meal compliance.
 
When I was a GSA, I wouldn't get to take either of my 15s and I wouldn't get to take my lunch until at least my 5th hour, but more likely not until 5:30 or 5:45 when I remind the LOD for the third time, "Hey LOD, I still need to go on my 30 and I hit non-compliance in 15 minutes. Can you or another TL cover the front?" so it's understandable that they sometimes have to go during the lunch rush. When I got in at 7:30 I would usually have to take my lunch around 12:30-1 because of a lack of GSA coverage. Really, any time after 11am is going to be busy (at least at my high volume store) so it's really impossible for the GSA/GSTL to take their lunch at a convenient time. The exception to this is that on a few occasions during 4th quarter when I was closing and I had a mid, I would take my 30 at 7pm before the mid left, just so that I wouldn't have to beg for coverage later in the night.

It also sounds like your issue would be fixed by having the LOD cover the front lanes so that you aren't a cashier down. Really, that's what it's supposed to be, but if there is a TM that I trust to run the front lanes while I'm gone I'll let them cover me so that the LOD can take care of other things.

I must admit though, I do prefer taking my meals later. I don't know if it's because I spent so much time as a GSA being force to take late lunches or not, but either way I love being able to take a late lunch meaning I can take a later 15 and boom I only have an hour left of my shift. I try to take my first 15 3-3.5 hours in, my 30 at 5 hours, and my last 5 at 7 hours. Makes the day go by a lot faster, and I'm used to it so it's cool.
 
I am in a 5 hr meal compliance state and work in a low volume store. When I am the opening GSA I come in at 7:30 am which means that I will hit compliance at 12:30. Regardless of when the LOD covers my break, It is going to be during the middle of the day Rush. No way around it.
 
there's also the consideration that they schedule more cashiers during the lunch rush and if i pushed my lunch back too far say, past 1pm i lose way too many cashiers to take a lunch during that time. I try and go around 12ish. I always have a GSA/GSTL who is scheduled as a cashier or SD cover and if it gets busy than another TL or ETL will come up and either cashier or watch the lanes. It seems silly to have them come up if we aren't having backups so this works well for our store.

It sounds like i'm lucky that we are pretty much never alone during the day and it's pretty rare to not have a mid to cover the closers first and lunch breaks at night.
 
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