MEGATHREAD Hang Me (The Softlines Thread)

The big issue in Style is that it requires constant maintenance - zoning and reshop are never-ending. Last night my tables looked great, and then I got to watch two guys and a kid ruin half of them in five minutes..

Yeah, I already get that. It took an hour this morning just to pick shit up off the floor in Kids. I was gone for a day. I couldn't really get to any of the many, many other zone issues because we still have to finish setting basics and over 600 price changes dropped in this week, 500 of which are first markdowns.
 
I wasn’t in Style at Spot so I don’t know the process for out-of-package and mis-matches, but they can get out of hand pretty quickly, especially during B-T-S and Q4, so if your store doesn’t have a plan you might want to plan ahead and make one. I remember my store having carts all over the training room and up the aisle to the offices filled with mis-matched kid’s clothes and out of package during a few holiday seasons. It was a nightmare for all concerned, and a disaster for FF. Hope your store has a handle on it. Good luck!😁
 
Gotta love a sale on select items. Don't put up signs where non-qualifying stuff is they say. Ummm....we have so much crap everything is flexed out everywhere, so ummm...no signs? Nah...go ahead and put them up. Okay. Then all day guests be tearing shit up trying to figure out what's on sale. Sigh.

I had this walkie conversation at least 10 times today.

GSTM, SCO, or GA: Style can someone come up to verify a price?
SSTL: What area?
GSTM: Girls.
SSTL: Seasonaldude can you get that?
Me: Hey, GSTM, go to 3
GSTM: On 3
Me: Just make it right

Like I care if the guest gets a deal they shouldn't have. Whatever gets this shit off my floor. I have cardigans and winter coats to put out. Yes, it's July. It's 90 degrees outside and will be for the next 2 months. But, the DC sent me 2 Zs of winter hanging. Out it's gotta go. So let's go ahead and give Karen that clearance Sundress for free.
 
Gotta love a sale on select items. Don't put up signs where non-qualifying stuff is they say. Ummm....we have so much crap everything is flexed out everywhere, so ummm...no signs? Nah...go ahead and put them up. Okay. Then all day guests be tearing shit up trying to figure out what's on sale. Sigh.

I had this walkie conversation at least 10 times today.

GSTM, SCO, or GA: Style can someone come up to verify a price?
SSTL: What area?
GSTM: Girls.
SSTL: Seasonaldude can you get that?
Me: Hey, GSTM, go to 3
GSTM: On 3
Me: Just make it right

Like I care if the guest gets a deal they shouldn't have. Whatever gets this shit off my floor. I have cardigans and winter coats to put out. Yes, it's July. It's 90 degrees outside and will be for the next 2 months. But, the DC sent me 2 Zs of winter hanging. Out it's gotta go. So let's go ahead and give Karen that clearance Sundress for free.
Same here. I was able to move some merchandise around, but in some cases we just took care of the guest.
 
Gotta love a sale on select items. Don't put up signs where non-qualifying stuff is they say. Ummm....we have so much crap everything is flexed out everywhere, so ummm...no signs? Nah...go ahead and put them up. Okay. Then all day guests be tearing shit up trying to figure out what's on sale. Sigh.

I had this walkie conversation at least 10 times today.

GSTM, SCO, or GA: Style can someone come up to verify a price?
SSTL: What area?
GSTM: Girls.
SSTL: Seasonaldude can you get that?
Me: Hey, GSTM, go to 3
GSTM: On 3
Me: Just make it right

Like I care if the guest gets a deal they shouldn't have. Whatever gets this shit off my floor. I have cardigans and winter coats to put out. Yes, it's July. It's 90 degrees outside and will be for the next 2 months. But, the DC sent me 2 Zs of winter hanging. Out it's gotta go. So let's go ahead and give Karen that clearance Sundress for free.
Yup. If i know its a confusing deal and if ive checked out the area before... I'm just gonna let them have it... what's 5 or 10 bucks? But the video game deal of buy 3 get one free? ...... nope.
 
That's where ours is also. It's a hot mess right now. And I was informed via text this morning (my day off) that my dbo duties will include infant hardlines because I have previous experience when I worked as a team lead at Walmart. Our infant hardlines area hasn't had a dbo for awhile so of course it's horrible.
Watch the ad sale tags. For some reason it seems that whoever takes down the ad would always miss tags in baby hardlines. Especially the wall of strollers that actually faced NIT and not baby hardlines.
 
Watch the ad sale tags. For some reason it seems that whoever takes down the ad would always miss tags in baby hardlines. Especially the wall of strollers that actually faced NIT and not baby hardlines.
Thanks. I've already run into that situation when I was over there zoning that aisle. Between the furniture aisles looking horrible and the baby formula situation, that area is where I have spent the majority of my shift the last few days.
 
It took my store a long time to transition Baby Hardlines away from Style. Even now, their reshop is put in with ours and we have to sort it and roll it over to the department. We also have to answer guest assistance calls.
 
It is like pulling teeth trying to get someone to answer calls for baby hardlines once the DBO leaves for the day (which is anywhere from 11:30-2:30). They really need a dedicated mid or late DBO scheduled over there, too. Style has way too much on their plate and there are always guests over there shopping for registries or needing cribs pulled from the back.
 
Are the hanging backstock aisles a disaster for everyone or is my store just extra overwhelmed? Every inch of hanging space is crammed so people are just piling clothes up on the shelves underneath now. No one pulls clearance out or “shops the backroom” cause it’s so chaotic, so there’s definitely clearance, salvage, and product/sizes that should be on the floor. Are we the only ones struggling with this? How does everyone keep on top of hanging back stock? It’s gotten to the point where I don’t even know where to start to get it under control lol
 
Are the hanging backstock aisles a disaster for everyone or is my store just extra overwhelmed? Every inch of hanging space is crammed so people are just piling clothes up on the shelves underneath now. No one pulls clearance out or “shops the backroom” cause it’s so chaotic, so there’s definitely clearance, salvage, and product/sizes that should be on the floor. Are we the only ones struggling with this? How does everyone keep on top of hanging back stock? It’s gotten to the point where I don’t even know where to start to get it under control lol
Our hanging backstock is actually good, we don't seem to have much...except for bras. SO MANY BRAS. And the salesfloor is stuffed full.
 
Although I'm not a style tm I can't speak too much but I do know is like a month ago (when we started getting the pride munth stuff) Breakpack was FILLED with boxes.

I don't know what they're called, but they're the little metal rods on the outside of the isles, those are FILLED. We've just been getting so much shit. Its a bit better now but its still a bit of a mess in style. As a temporary kinda diversion of resources. We closed one of the smaller fitting rooms for now.
 
Although I'm not a style tm I can't speak too much but I do know is like a month ago (when we started getting the pride munth stuff) Breakpack was FILLED with boxes.

I don't know what they're called, but they're the little metal rods on the outside of the isles, those are FILLED. We've just been getting so much shit. Its a bit better now but its still a bit of a mess in style. As a temporary kinda diversion of resources. We closed one of the smaller fitting rooms for now.
You have more than one fitting room area?
 
You have more than one fitting room area?
Yup! We have one main one. Then we have another one! we got it in the remodel. Its a lot smaller than the main one but its in the kids dept. On the brightside. Less salesfloor space. Less places for gobacks. Downside is. There isn't a desk for the fitting room anymore. they get a room. its about the size of two changing rooms combined.
 

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It is like pulling teeth trying to get someone to answer calls for baby hardlines once the DBO leaves for the day (which is anywhere from 11:30-2:30). They really need a dedicated mid or late DBO scheduled over there, too. Style has way too much on their plate and there are always guests over there shopping for registries or needing cribs pulled from the back.
Hilariously enough , being in tech I'm often the only one either close enough or not tied up in the evenings... the ammount of people who ask me for my opinion on baby things like I'm a parent or who has any clue at all what they are looking for... i just know to scan the bar code and go look in the back. I have zero opinion on the use or review. I don't like kids especially baby. Is hilarious.

If you want a opinion, i ask over the radio for someone to come to me and offer the advice.

But yea I agree, that section needs a reliable knowledgeable pressence
 
Kids and NIT dbo’s please share how you have handled ties for all the pogs next week. Seriously! with all the excessive inventory I have Noooooo room on my floor pad for sweaters and sweat pants and long sleeve waffle shirts. I have backstocked the majority of cool weather
Fall items and I don’t want to crash and burn the 1f1’s either….??tie and then 0 the capacities????

what are ya’ll doing?
 
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But yea I agree, that section needs a reliable knowledgeable pressence
Definitely knowledgeable. There's first time parents there.

I had a woman ask me (shyly) if I had heard of a skin problem and said a perfect description of cradle cap. I had a man shopping for a breast pump for his wife read the description and then genuinely ask me the difference between let down and expressive phases of nursing since the box listed having both modes options. (That one I wanted to crawl under the floor and die from embarrassment.) I had to explain in detail why a man's 3 day old baby would be pissed if he got a preemie bottle nipple, because he didn't know the suck reflex is one of the last things perfected in the womb and preemie babies need nipples that practically gush due to a weak suck reflex. I had a woman wanting disinfectant wipes for baby toys, so in my creative suggestions top importance was that all toys go into babies' mouths. I had a woman, Christmas Eve, at close, trying to figure out what formula her friend's baby needed, and she didn't have a clue, so 20 questions followed by shoving the most likely in her hands 15 minutes after close (I wasn't going to let a baby go hungry on Christmas, so I took the time.)

People could reasonably argue cradle cap was taking it too far as I'm not a medical professional. But all the rest, people don't understand these things and need someone who can go over the details instead of just matching barcode to box.
 
Had a guest asked if we had any slacks for women. I know there wouldn't be any in Wild Fable, Universal Thread. Ava was the wrong size. Found a racks in And that had mainly leggings but there was a cut that she said would work. I just aways disappointed in the styles we carry. The brands are too similar and casual. Why don't we have dresser line? Walmart and Kohls are the same. We could compete with Penny's and Macy's with affordable pricing. Men's is the same way.
When I started at Target I was the shoe specialist and never understood why every Easter and start of school we didn't carry dress shoes for boys.
 
Had a guest asked if we had any slacks for women. I know there wouldn't be any in Wild Fable, Universal Thread. Ava was the wrong size. Found a racks in And that had mainly leggings but there was a cut that she said would work. I just aways disappointed in the styles we carry. The brands are too similar and casual. Why don't we have dresser line? Walmart and Kohls are the same. We could compete with Penny's and Macy's with affordable pricing. Men's is the same way.
When I started at Target I was the shoe specialist and never understood why every Easter and start of school we didn't carry dress shoes for boys.
There's no longer Knox Rose or WWW?
 
Definitely knowledgeable. There's first time parents there.

But all the rest, people don't understand these things and need someone who can go over the details instead of just matching barcode to box.

Yep! I Could tell you everything about a TV or any odd esoteric Tech issues. But babies and how they function? Noooope I'm not the person. I wouldn't have been able to help at all... but you want me to go find you a stroller? Yep! I'll find it I'll even try to find you a price match or call another target to get them to make sure its there for you , like touch the box.
But what food babies want, what bottle, how a car seat works? ....
Id always get on the radio to summon a parent or someone with actual knowledge.

So yea they definitely need a knowledgeable closer too... the amount of weird issues I've been brought at 950 while I'm doing my clearing walk is bonkers.
 
Had a guest asked if we had any slacks for women. I know there wouldn't be any in Wild Fable, Universal Thread. Ava was the wrong size. Found a racks in And that had mainly leggings but there was a cut that she said would work. I just aways disappointed in the styles we carry. The brands are too similar and casual. Why don't we have dresser line? Walmart and Kohls are the same. We could compete with Penny's and Macy's with affordable pricing. Men's is the same way.
When I started at Target I was the shoe specialist and never understood why every Easter and start of school we didn't carry dress shoes for boys.
Yeah, Target's not really the place to go for dressier clothes. We have some Mens pants that would work, a handful of button down shirts and a tiny selection of ties. Mens shoe variety is abysmal.

That's one thing I have to give Sears credit for, they had a great selection of dressy clothes and shoes for the whole family, decent prices too.
 
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