- Joined
- Feb 22, 2013
- Messages
- 3
I'm going to list the problems I've been called out for, my solutions so far and then my feelings on the whole thing. I'm really looking for an outsider opinion here. What am I not doing that I should be doing and am I really just victimizing myself and need to get over it?
So these are the problems:
That's all I can think of right now.
These are the solutions I've done:
I have only been a TL for a year with no prior management experience and it was a very rough year. I went through three store managers and two different ETLs. The first ETL never had a complaint about me, she always told me I was doing a fabulous job. For most of the second half of the year I rarely had status's with my ETL and I hardly received feedback from any of the other ETLs. If I was doing something wrong, I sure as heck wasn't made aware of it. It hasn't been until January that I started receiving feedback and I feel as if everyone is disappointed that I'm not 'where I should be' even though I really had no guidance at all last year. Plus, compared to where I was last year I think I've improved leaps and bounds.
My last status my ETL told me if I have to come to her for ideas on how to fix domestics issues, which I never do go to her for ideas in the first place, then my ability to to be a TL would be questioned. And yet she keeps having to explain why domestics is red to our STL...but the only thing she's doing to try and help is brow beat me over and over again and now I can't ask her for help even if I was prone to doing so because apparently that makes me a poor leader.
Perhaps I am just playing the victim, but when I see my ETL going out of her way to help market and electronics TL with the same issues she says I have with my side I become very frustrated and irate. This last status she made me feel like I was two inches tall and I spent half of it trying not to cry because everything coming out of her mouth just said I suck. She's always told me if I need to release some of my frustration I could talk to her, now I've been told I can't do so unless I already have a solution to what's causing me frustration which...just makes me more frustrated. I don't even know where to turn anymore. It feels like I'm drowning in the deep of a swimming pool because I don't know how to swim and she's just standing there lecturing me and saying it's my fault for not knowing how to swim in the first place.
So these are the problems:
- It's transition time in domestics and half of my aisles are in transition, were in transition or just finished setting.
- My clearance endcaps are filling and emptying within a week of each other so keeping them full is a challenge and keeping them brand even more so.
- A lot of my salesplanners, especially front, started to break last week or the week before
- Domestics is a tough gig to get zoned, most of our team members are scared of zoning it (something about the towels and the fact that it's 109 aisle zone typically done by a single person) so I frequently have brand issues on this side.
- Signing issues in small appliances
- Displays missing in small appliances
That's all I can think of right now.
These are the solutions I've done:
- I've been PTMing aggressively since January, making sure aisles look full. The only aisles I haven't PTMed are the dinnerware trend run and home decor trend runs. The dinnerware trend run is light, the home decor ones not so much.
- I had been keeping my clearance endcaps brand and zoned up until last week when I received feedback that I was spending too much time keeping them brand. I have however partnered with closing zoners for domestics and shown them how I expect the clearance endcaps to look like. This has more or less worked...some endcaps better than others.
- Because my salesplanners started to break early, I have been setting this week (92 salesplanners) and next weeks SP. There is a TL in training that sometimes helps me out, I frequently split my tasks with him: PTMing/clearance endcaps/zone to POG/setting salesplanners/etc. However if I'm not there they pull him to other parts of the store. Also, because of my salesplanners being such a huge focus I have been unable to find time to PTM home decor and dinnerware trend runs the past two weeks.
- Every time I close I zone to POG as much of my side as possible (usually about 3/4 of the area). I have partnered with my peers on zoning expectations, partnered with closing team members to show them my expectations and coached those who did not meet them. I've made sure new hires zone domestics with myself so they can learn what their expectations are and I can correct them if they do something wrong. I've always rotated through several experienced team members to try and find one who would excel in domestics (unsuccessful on that so far.) I have also had several conversations with the flow TL about flow team members stocking incorrectly on my side. I've also asked for her and her TM's partnership on identifying zoning issues, especially if they look as if they were caused by an improper closing zone so I can have a conversation with the responsible TM.
- I fixed small appliances signing last weekend but I'm still missing displays due to us not having the product (probably because small appliances is breaking and will go PTM soon)
I have only been a TL for a year with no prior management experience and it was a very rough year. I went through three store managers and two different ETLs. The first ETL never had a complaint about me, she always told me I was doing a fabulous job. For most of the second half of the year I rarely had status's with my ETL and I hardly received feedback from any of the other ETLs. If I was doing something wrong, I sure as heck wasn't made aware of it. It hasn't been until January that I started receiving feedback and I feel as if everyone is disappointed that I'm not 'where I should be' even though I really had no guidance at all last year. Plus, compared to where I was last year I think I've improved leaps and bounds.
My last status my ETL told me if I have to come to her for ideas on how to fix domestics issues, which I never do go to her for ideas in the first place, then my ability to to be a TL would be questioned. And yet she keeps having to explain why domestics is red to our STL...but the only thing she's doing to try and help is brow beat me over and over again and now I can't ask her for help even if I was prone to doing so because apparently that makes me a poor leader.
Perhaps I am just playing the victim, but when I see my ETL going out of her way to help market and electronics TL with the same issues she says I have with my side I become very frustrated and irate. This last status she made me feel like I was two inches tall and I spent half of it trying not to cry because everything coming out of her mouth just said I suck. She's always told me if I need to release some of my frustration I could talk to her, now I've been told I can't do so unless I already have a solution to what's causing me frustration which...just makes me more frustrated. I don't even know where to turn anymore. It feels like I'm drowning in the deep of a swimming pool because I don't know how to swim and she's just standing there lecturing me and saying it's my fault for not knowing how to swim in the first place.
Last edited: