Archived I got promoted! Tips?

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Theweather

Coupon Cop
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Jan 7, 2016
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I'm now officially a GSA in a fairly busy store, any tips for running the lanes? Luckily, I have awesome GSTLS, ETLS, and Store Managers who make training & target awesome. I could definitely use as many pointers as possible, though! Right now I mainly close so I'm not too aquatinted with opening.
 
Congratulations! Maybe...It sounds like you are at a good store. In your role as GSA, upper leadership will pretty much make or break you. Your raise is pitiful and your responsibilities are so much greater than any ordinary team member, so you will need as much support from your team as you can get. May I ask what position you're promoting from & how long you've been with Spot?

As far as procedures, I may not be the best person to ask. I haven't been with the company for over 6 months, so I don't know what has or hasn't changed. @GSAhole as well is in this boat, though she may be more confident than I am at giving you good advice. I don't know of any other active GSAs we have on the forum. Maybe @Nauzhror?

Best of luck to you anyway! Sorry I couldn't be more help.
 
Congrats! Now, get red cards & support your team. Be ready to be a cart attendant or work food ave when things happen. @Firefox, we could use some help here.
 
I'm glad that you were able to get decent training! For most of us, we just kinda got thrown to the sharks not knowing what to expect. It's kinda hard to give advice without knowing your specific questions, but I'll try to give some general advice from what I experience when I first started out.

The most important thing is to not let yourself get overwhelmed. There will be times when you are helping Service Desk with a guest, while the phone is ringing, while 2 cashiers need change, while one needs a price check, while the lines are getting a bit too long and you need to call for backup, (Except there's nobody on the floor, so you can't call for backup) on top of the LOD hounding your for Red Cards. So it can get a bit stressful. Try not to do a million things at once, which is the initial reaction I have found to being confronted by these million things at once, and instead take it one at a time. You're not a superhero, and you're not omnipresent. Figure out which tasks are a priority and get them done first. I found that after doing this for a couple of weeks, I had a mental checklist at pretty much all times with what needed to be done and how important it was.

Also, depending on your store volume and coverage, you might need to get used to skipping your 15's and taking your 30/45 at the very last minute. The only time that I ever got to take my 15's were when there was an overlapping GSA shift, which usually meant I only got to take my first and not my last or something. You might need to coordinate with the LOD about who will cover your meal, which should usually be a TL from another department or a cashier that knows the place well enough to hold down the fort while you are gone.

One last thing, don't let the guests get to you. It takes a bit of getting used to when you become "the manager" and any issues are directed at you. This might mean a lot of angry guest interactions. It's important that you develop a thick skin and a strong backbone, otherwise it'll be tough to survive in this kind of environment. I quickly built up a reputation for being the "takes no shit" or the "stoic" GSA since I generally don't let emotion show on my face and I have a fairly thick skin.

There are a lot of things about being a GSA that we can't prepare you for as it's all learned through experience, kinda like with the Service Desk. There is just no way to adequately prepare you for what you're gonna face. A lot of it will make you question whether you are in a dream or not because it'll make no sense whatsoever. You might also find yourself contemplating homicide.
 
Congratulations! Maybe...It sounds like you are at a good store. In your role as GSA, upper leadership will pretty much make or break you. Your raise is pitiful and your responsibilities are so much greater than any ordinary team member, so you will need as much support from your team as you can get. May I ask what position you're promoting from & how long you've been with Spot?

As far as procedures, I may not be the best person to ask. I haven't been with the company for over 6 months, so I don't know what has or hasn't changed. @GSAhole as well is in this boat, though she may be more confident than I am at giving you good advice. I don't know of any other active GSAs we have on the forum. Maybe @Nauzhror?

Best of luck to you anyway! Sorry I couldn't be more help.

Awesome, thank you! I've been with spot for 9 months and am promoting from cashier & guest service TM. Luckily, my store is ran really great and I did get a nice raise. Thank you for the help!
 
I'm glad that you were able to get decent training! For most of us, we just kinda got thrown to the sharks not knowing what to expect. It's kinda hard to give advice without knowing your specific questions, but I'll try to give some general advice from what I experience when I first started out.

The most important thing is to not let yourself get overwhelmed. There will be times when you are helping Service Desk with a guest, while the phone is ringing, while 2 cashiers need change, while one needs a price check, while the lines are getting a bit too long and you need to call for backup, (Except there's nobody on the floor, so you can't call for backup) on top of the LOD hounding your for Red Cards. So it can get a bit stressful. Try not to do a million things at once, which is the initial reaction I have found to being confronted by these million things at once, and instead take it one at a time. You're not a superhero, and you're not omnipresent. Figure out which tasks are a priority and get them done first. I found that after doing this for a couple of weeks, I had a mental checklist at pretty much all times with what needed to be done and how important it was.

Also, depending on your store volume and coverage, you might need to get used to skipping your 15's and taking your 30/45 at the very last minute. The only time that I ever got to take my 15's were when there was an overlapping GSA shift, which usually meant I only got to take my first and not my last or something. You might need to coordinate with the LOD about who will cover your meal, which should usually be a TL from another department or a cashier that knows the place well enough to hold down the fort while you are gone.

One last thing, don't let the guests get to you. It takes a bit of getting used to when you become "the manager" and any issues are directed at you. This might mean a lot of angry guest interactions. It's important that you develop a thick skin and a strong backbone, otherwise it'll be tough to survive in this kind of environment. I quickly built up a reputation for being the "takes no shit" or the "stoic" GSA since I generally don't let emotion show on my face and I have a fairly thick skin.

There are a lot of things about being a GSA that we can't prepare you for as it's all learned through experience, kinda like with the Service Desk. There is just no way to adequately prepare you for what you're gonna face. A lot of it will make you question whether you are in a dream or not because it'll make no sense whatsoever. You might also find yourself contemplating homicide.
With great power truly comes great responsibility (kidding), but thank you so much for your input, this helps a lot!
 
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