Archived I got "talked to" today because I'm not moving fast enough

[Endlessbackstock]

If you good at customer service and your department looks good, chances are you won’t get documented for speed. Believe me, there’s a lot of people at my store who do what they want. TLs who dust shelves and walk around while telling stockers to meet a 30 min goal

 

[graffiti]

Some of y'all are being way harsh on someone who shouldn't even be off their training wheels yet. 🙄

Just do the best you can. Spot's current training system is abysmal but I'd always tell trainees speed comes with practice, so keep practicing, and keep asking questions. Right now leads are instructed to coach TMs if a sneeze delays a box being pushed, so try not to stress it too much. It's the new normal.

 

[Tessa120]

I did not say that. I said that this person is clearly on the slower end if they take almost 3 times as long as a trained team member, and they need to work with their leader and peers to improve.

The closest I've been to this situation was pushing baby hardlines, but I think that's a similar enough comparison. No way in hell could someone new could be fast at pushing baby hardlines. Baby food, it's all orange and green, finding the right orange baby food among the 10+ per brand is a challenge. Toiletries, also super detailed, you don't think about it when you know it, but it's confusing as hell. Box of wipe warmers, on the opposite end of baby hardlines than the wipes. Where are the outlet covers hiding? Several UPCs/design differences are covered under one dpci in sippy cups and pacifier clips, not each barcode/design having its own peg. The one I never figured out, why does the shelf count not work with the diaper genies?

I gave new folks a tour of baby hardlines and they still were really slow at first. It's to be expected when you know nothing about the layout of the shelves.

 

[happygoth]

The closest I've been to this situation was pushing baby hardlines, but I think that's a similar enough comparison. No way in hell could someone new could be fast at pushing baby hardlines. Baby food, it's all orange and green, finding the right orange baby food among the 10+ per brand is a challenge. Toiletries, also super detailed, you don't think about it when you know it, but it's confusing as hell. Box of wipe warmers, on the opposite end of baby hardlines than the wipes. Where are the outlet covers hiding? Several UPCs/design differences are covered under one dpci in sippy cups and pacifier clips, not each barcode/design having its own peg. The one I never figured out, why does the shelf count not work with the diaper genies?

I gave new folks a tour of baby hardlines and they still were really slow at first. It's to be expected when you know nothing about the layout of the shelves.

Exactly. Target's labeling system is very confusing, and forget relying on stuff that's already there, because it's a given that things will be hanging on the wrong peg or placed in the wrong spot on a shelf. And the kicker is that it can't all be blamed on the guests, not when a peg is filled with the wrong item, when the right DPCI is three hooks away.

 

[Endlessbackstock]

My team lead was bitching at me as well again today. Did some sporting goods and seasonal. A flat had about 15-20 boxes and three cartons of repacks. Almost all of the repacks were those dumb seasonal pools or life vests which are already flexed and overstocked. Besides this I was expected to do endless carts of go backs, zone 22 aisles and end caps, go back and do auto fills, and answer customers questions. One hour after my shift starts my lead says, “Are you done?” This is what you have to put up with on a daily basis at Target. Also, as an added bonus, I have to listen to the guest services woman tell me I have to come get go backs every 15 minutes...what a joke.

 

[graciebarra81]

I want to thank everybody for their thoughts and comments. Just as an update, while the initial criticism about me being slow at pushing did admittedly upset me, after thinking about it for a bit I decided to turn it into a positive and really work at getting faster. I have already improved my pushing Time by quite a bit, even though I am still considered a trainee. I did three pushes on my shift today, and got them all done in under 35 minutes. That is a drastic improvement from where I was at just a week ago.

 

[Endlessbackstock]

I want to thank everybody for their thoughts and comments. Just as an update, while the initial criticism about me being slow at pushing did admittedly upset me, after thinking about it for a bit I decided to turn it into a positive and really work at getting faster. I have already improved my pushing Time by quite a bit, even though I am still considered a trainee. I did three pushes on my shift today, and got them all done in under 35 minutes. That is a drastic improvement from where I was at just a week ago.

Wow what department is that? I was in HBA two days ago and we had 155 pcs. The day before that home furnishings and sporting goods 109

Those are over and hour and a half each

 

[graciebarra81]

Wow what department is that? I was in HBA two days ago and we had 155 pcs. The day before that home furnishings and sporting goods 109

Those are over and hour and a half each

I did one push for chem, one push for paper, and another push for Market. I am actually happy to hear you say that those pushes take an hour and a half each, because that is how long I was initially taken with my pushes, and I was told it was too slow. I thought perhaps I was abnormally slow or something.

Also, I wanted to clarify and say that the three pushes I did today each took 35 minutes or less. Admittedly, these pushes were not as big as the one you mentioned.

 

[PJ5]

I want to thank everybody for their thoughts and comments. Just as an update, while the initial criticism about me being slow at pushing did admittedly upset me, after thinking about it for a bit I decided to turn it into a positive and really work at getting faster. I have already improved my pushing Time by quite a bit, even though I am still considered a trainee. I did three pushes on my shift today, and got them all done in under 35 minutes. That is a drastic improvement from where I was at just a week ago.

I'm glad to hear it 😀. no job should expect you to produce the same results and understand what's what like settled in employees do in the first week, especially with barely any training. Does it happen all the time yes, but it doesn't make it right.
If I owned a business I would never allow my money or product to be handled by people that didn't fully know what they were doing or make them rush too much and mess something up.

 

[graciebarra81]

I'm glad to hear it 😀. no job should expect you to produce the same results and understand what's what like settled in employees do in the first week, especially with barely any training. Does it happen all the time yes, but it doesn't make it right.
If I owned a business I would never allow my money or product to be handled by people that didn't fully know what they were doing or make them rush too much and screw things up.

That's exactly how I feel. Unfortunately, when you have a bunch of kids as team leaders, they don't really know any other leadership style than high school social dynamic leadership. That's my sense of things anyway, just from the couple of weeks I've been there.

 

[bikebryan]

Well then work harder.....

 

[BBreal08]

The responsibility is on you to move faster, not on your leader to tolerate your speed. Your leader is giving you important feedback. Work with them and your peers to learn how to go faster. A leader doesn't have time to spend hours with you teaching, because the job is really just put shit on shelves in the right spot.

Unfortunately, this is changing soon. There are no more team members training the new hires. The responsibility will now fall onto the Team Leads. This is being done so that new team members work closely with their direct lead, create a bonding experience, and ultimately train them on how you work and set expectations that you can truly do yourself. I feel like this is going to be a good step for the company as many Leads and Leaders have a strong disconnect with their team. Hopefully, this also cuts down on all the gossip Leads/Leaders engage in about their team members being subpar, to put it nicely.

 

[graciebarra81]

Unfortunately, this is changing soon. There are no more team members training the new hires. The responsibility will now fall onto the Team Leads. This is being done so that new team members work closely with their direct lead, create a bonding experience, and ultimately train them on how you work and set expectations that you can truly do yourself. I feel like this is going to be a good step for the company as many Leads and Leaders have a strong disconnect with their team. Hopefully, this also cuts down on all the gossip Leads/Leaders engage in about their team members being subpar, to put it nicely.

I have already experienced this. The one team lead who criticized me for not pushing fast enough clearly gossiped about me to all of the other team leads, because I immediately had a reputation with all of them as being "the slow guy." I could immediately tell in the way that each of them would make obvious little "remarks" to me about this. I care a lot about the way I am perceived, so this was a big deal to me. I almost shot back with a "'I know you're a TL, but don't talk to me like that" a couple of days ago, but I bit my tongue and just smiled and kept working. I'm glad I did.

 

[graciebarra81]

I did not say that. I said that this person is clearly on the slower end if they take almost 3 times as long as a trained team member, and they need to work with their leader and peers to improve.

I understand what you were saying and I appreciate your comments. They were without sugar coating and to the point, but I appreciate that. I simply objected to the idea that the company no longer has time to train new employees who are struggling to finish the U-boats in a timely fashion. I'm sure that it will be the case that some folks are simply too slow, but that determination should only be made after the employee has been given ample and adequate training with an experienced team member. If there is no time to provide this for new employees, then that is a leadership issue that team leaders need to address. Just my opinion.

 

[Far from newbie]

Stop turning sharing business information into gossiping . The TL wasn’t behind your back telling everyone you bounced a check or are getting divorced (gossip) , they were telling the other team leads to help follow up with you (needed information to monitor the business). Cut them some slack, all TL are taking on the old Senior Team Lead/LOD responsibilities of running the entire store whenever the SD is not there. Granted they may not be scheduled alone, there will be at least one other TL with them to share the load but they are responsible for every team member and operation during their shift. We have been given dept.’s to oversee but are finding that we need to know what is going on in every area of the store at all times. I expect communication from my peers about anything that may require extra attention, including about a tm that needs support to finish.

 

[Tessa120]

Communication for who needs support is one thing. But when TLs are giving catty remarks rather than assistance, that's not informational that gossip.

 

[happygoth]

Stop turning sharing business information into gossiping . The TL wasn’t behind your back telling everyone you bounced a check or are getting divorced (gossip) , they were telling the other team leads to help follow up with you (needed information to monitor the business). Cut them some slack, all TL are taking on the old Senior Team Lead/LOD responsibilities of running the entire store whenever the SD is not there. Granted they may not be scheduled alone, there will be at least one other TL with them to share the load but they are responsible for every team member and operation during their shift. We have been given dept.’s to oversee but are finding that we need to know what is going on in every area of the store at all times. I expect communication from my peers about anything that may require extra attention, including about a tm that needs support to finish.

A good leader goes to the TM and asks them what information they need to help them get better. Bad leaders offer no help and just drop comments about the TM's perceived inadequacies.

And I agree with those that say there is a disconnect between leadership and their teams. Quite honestly, I have been unimpressed with floor leadership's communication and team-building pretty much across the board.

 

[Endlessbackstock]

That's exactly how I feel. Unfortunately, when you have a bunch of kids as team leaders, they don't really know any other leadership style than high school social dynamic leadership. That's my sense of things anyway, just from the couple of weeks I've been there.

Or store managers who are 26...

 

[Far from newbie]

That's exactly how I feel. Unfortunately, when you have a bunch of kids as team leaders, they don't really know any other leadership style than high school social dynamic leadership. That's my sense of things anyway, just from the couple of weeks I've been there.

Or store managers who are 26...

I agree. I prefer mature adult leaders. I have seen the younger they are the fatter the head swells with power given.