Archived Hello im a new team member and i had a couple of questions

[rauwolf]

Hello, I just joined Target and my first shift is this coming Sunday. I had a couple of questions that I would appreciate any answers to.

-I was hired as an overnight employee is that position called Overflow Team or Backroom?
-On my schedule it says my work area will be Trailer Unload, after the truck is done will i be moved to another area to help restock?
-i dont know if anybody will be able to answer this question but, I had orientation this past tuesday (11/4) will my first paycheck be next week or the following week. I know we get paid biweekly, but just curious.
- I really would like to stay after the season ends, I have open availability and will work very hard. How hard is it for overnight crew to be hired full time?
- how many people do they usually have unload the truck?

Thanks again.

 

[commiecorvus]

Welcome To The Break Room.

You are part of the Flow Team.

The main thing you have to remember is every store is different.
I'm going to have to let folks who are familiar with the over night process answer your questions because there are a limited number of stores with those teams anymore.

Full time is a misnomer.
Nobody is really full time unless they are are a team lead (as in guaranteed 38-40 hours a week).
If you mean going from seasonal to regular employee it depends on a number of factors but being a hard worker and volunteering to work whenever they need you helps a lot.
Showing up on time, never calling out, learning your job quickly, doing it well, and not complaining are also factors.

Your paycheck depends on which side of the country you are on, east coast or west coast.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

Welcome!

 

[redeye58]

"Overflow" - More apropos, lol....

 

[Joejoe12]

Hello, I just joined Target and my first shift is this coming Sunday. I had a couple of questions that I would appreciate any answers to.

-I was hired as an overnight employee is that position called Overflow Team or Backroom?
-On my schedule it says my work area will be Trailer Unload, after the truck is done will i be moved to another area to help restock?
-i dont know if anybody will be able to answer this question but, I had orientation this past tuesday (11/4) will my first paycheck be next week or the following week. I know we get paid biweekly, but just curious.
- I really would like to stay after the season ends, I have open availability and will work very hard. How hard is it for overnight crew to be hired full time?
- how many people do they usually have unload the truck?

Thanks again.

1. Trailer unload means you will be unloading the trailer and pushing the product to the floor. Goal is to have entire truck unloaded in 1 hour. Usually what happens is as follows. Truck begins to unload you will be give a certain custom block that you will be responsible for. This means any merchandise in that custom block that comes down the line you will have to take off and palletize. Once the pallet is full it will be taken to the floor. You may also be assigned to bowling which means you take the pallets that are on the floor and spread them out to the exact aisles they go to. For example in my store market pallets are droped at F15 market extends down to F36 and the back wall. You would take product from that pallet at F 15 and place it in which ever aisle its located in. You may also have to get in the truck and and unload from there. You will be rosted every so often since it's very hard work. The flow teams waves through the whole store together to push product

Pay depends on where you are located.

Often times seasonal flow team members aren't kept for the simple fact that the size of the trucks decrease after Q4. My store an A volume has 15 trailer unload TMs most nights. If the truck is above 2000 cartons that number is used to 30. If it's a double meaning to trucks in one night 30-35 flow team members. Good luck and enjoy the madness

 

[PinkZinnia]

@Joejoe12 reading that made me tired.. Glad I'm front end

 

[Joejoe12]

@Joejoe12 reading that made me tired.. Glad I'm front end

Lol I got tired writing it. It would be Even worse if anyone was to ask what an SFT does.

 

[Kompa]

Your best bet to be keep as a flow TM is to show you can unload the truck fast, or try to get into the backroom.

 

[FlowingandWaving]

What everyone else said.... I can not stress enough to new hires that you MUST move with a sense of urgency to point A to point B. You need to be quick with your hands as well. Try to beat that box per minute rule (some boxes, especially the ones with all the foam and plastic, are gonna take more than a minute but you wanna make it up by flying through the small ones). This is what my ETL looks for when keeping ppl on. We have a high turnover for Flow but he won't keep ppl who can't think or move fast.

 

[Dave Johnson]

- I really would like to stay after the season ends, I have open availability and will work very hard. How hard is it for overnight crew to be hired full time?

As a former seasonal team member (4 years ago)... ill tell you this... you work your butt off during that seasonal period, they will keep you! Without a doubt! if your worth it they will keep you.... you just have to make an impression on them....

you follow these tips, i will guarantee they keep you

-do not miss work
-be on time
-make sure you are always available
-say yes if they ask you to come in on a day off or to stay later
-act like you want to be there
-be fast, fun and friendly

do this ^^^^ for your seasonal period or 90 days and they will keep you... if you still plan on staying after a couple weeks of working there (lol) i would definitely let them know that you would like to be there after the seasonal period... and their answer will probably be "we'll see what we can do" it wont be yes or no.. but at least they will know that you want to be there...

after the seasonal period and after your 90 days then you will have some pull in what your schedule and hours look like... and then you can start saying no to things... lol... you just kinda have to be a yes-man and suck it up for those first couple months... then after that you can slowly get your life back

 

[semantics]

-Try to get trained in as many places in the store as possible.
-I've extended as much as possible (luckily my store is really understaffed our flow team hires keep quitting)
That's my plan atleast, I'm also seasonal flow.

So far I've mostly been bowling and pushing but I've bowled/pushed everywhere in hardlines from checklanes, HBA, toys, seasonal etc. even did a few days in softlines. Recently got a chance to deal with the unloading of the truck and and loading up pallets. Bluffed my way into operating the baylor and pallet jacks. I'm hoping if I get into enough places they'll value me just because I'll be flexible to place. Still hoping to work the backroom and as a cashier(<-doubt I'll get that we have plenty of cashiers) before my 90 days are up. I'll be happy if I can keep the graveyard shifts guests really slow me down and I think make me look bad, always asking questions I barely know the answers to and being in aisles I'm pushing and zoning.

To learn where everything is; when I was shopping at the store I took a picture of all the aisle signs and made the layout diagram to memorize(hopefully no one in HR saw me), I also made sure to memorize the back walls break points so I can quickly place backwall items. After a week I could tell where items were going to be just off the name of the item so I didn't have to waste time scanning items without proper shelf locations and only DPCI and Description. Almost felt like making diagrams and a packet for new hires so they can memorize the system without as much fumbling around on the job, since the training was really bare minimum having to learn things mostly on one mention in a conversation. Not sure how HR would feel about me doing that though so I didn't, esp when I've been extending to 38-40 hours every week.

I do wish I could bring my own box cutter/safety cutter. I could buy one that clips to my belt I could be even faster instead when I work an aisle I quickly check every item on the floor to remove obvious backstock, then cut everything open and leave collapsing the cardboard till I'm half done with an aisle. Just being repeatedly taking the box cutter in and out of my pants pocket is such a huge time sink, esp when I have to carefully make sure the box cutter didn't open while in my pocket.

I've been doing a lot of faking it till I make it.

 

[Kompa]

You kinda just need to get use to the box cutter thing. At first it's annoying, but soon you'll be going the whole aisle with putting it down.

All the Flow vets at my store almost never put their cutter away until the aisle is done. I may seem dangerous at first but soon it's be second nature

 

[commiecorvus]

One of the back room guys drilled a hole in his box cutter and attached it one of those key holders you attach to your belt.

I bought my own folding one and called it a 'signing tool' but a kept a standard one with me because the company doesn't want you using anything but the assigned box cutters.

 

[semantics]

You kinda just need to get use to the box cutter thing. At first it's annoying, but soon you'll be going the whole aisle with putting it down.

All the Flow vets at my store almost never put their cutter away until the aisle is done. I may seem dangerous at first but soon it's be second nature

I only worry that I'll put it down and a guest will take it when the store is open. Someone got chewed out the week I joined because they left a box cutter on a shelf while guests were out and about and someone turned it into the front end. Worst part was, that it was in the toy's section.

 

[commiecorvus]

You kinda just need to get use to the box cutter thing. At first it's annoying, but soon you'll be going the whole aisle with putting it down.

All the Flow vets at my store almost never put their cutter away until the aisle is done. I may seem dangerous at first but soon it's be second nature

I only worry that I'll put it down and a guest will take it when the store is open. Someone got chewed out the week I joined because they left a box cutter on a shelf while guests were out and about and someone turned it into the front end. Worst part was, that it was in the toy's section.

Even worse, change the razor and leave the old one on the shelf.
Seen that one a couple of times.

 

[rauwolf]

Thank you everyone, your advice has been great. I start in a few hours so im trying to find all the info i can on unloading the truck and making pallets.

 

[Patty]

Is there a guide telling which hangers are used for wwhich items? It makes it so hard to zone with no set guidelines and everyone using the hangers differntly. I If I knew I would make a guide with pictures-for my own reference.
Thank you TMs!

 

[FlowChick]

-Try to get trained in as many places in the store as possible.
-I've extended as much as possible (luckily my store is really understaffed our flow team hires keep quitting)
That's my plan atleast, I'm also seasonal flow.

So far I've mostly been bowling and pushing but I've bowled/pushed everywhere in hardlines from checklanes, HBA, toys, seasonal etc. even did a few days in softlines. Recently got a chance to deal with the unloading of the truck and and loading up pallets. Bluffed my way into operating the baylor and pallet jacks. I'm hoping if I get into enough places they'll value me just because I'll be flexible to place. Still hoping to work the backroom and as a cashier(<-doubt I'll get that we have plenty of cashiers) before my 90 days are up. I'll be happy if I can keep the graveyard shifts guests really slow me down and I think make me look bad, always asking questions I barely know the answers to and being in aisles I'm pushing and zoning.

To learn where everything is; when I was shopping at the store I took a picture of all the aisle signs and made the layout diagram to memorize(hopefully no one in HR saw me), I also made sure to memorize the back walls break points so I can quickly place backwall items. After a week I could tell where items were going to be just off the name of the item so I didn't have to waste time scanning items without proper shelf locations and only DPCI and Description. Almost felt like making diagrams and a packet for new hires so they can memorize the system without as much fumbling around on the job, since the training was really bare minimum having to learn things mostly on one mention in a conversation. Not sure how HR would feel about me doing that though so I didn't, esp when I've been extending to 38-40 hours every week.

I do wish I could bring my own box cutter/safety cutter. I could buy one that clips to my belt I could be even faster instead when I work an aisle I quickly check every item on the floor to remove obvious backstock, then cut everything open and leave collapsing the cardboard till I'm half done with an aisle. Just being repeatedly taking the box cutter in and out of my pants pocket is such a huge time sink, esp when I have to carefully make sure the box cutter didn't open while in my pocket.

I've been doing a lot of faking it till I make it.

I usually just keep the box cutter in my hand. or usemmy name tags magnet to keep it hooked on somewhere. Also you have some great ideas there! *Applause*