Lack of appreciation for Redcards.

[Barcode]

At my store every red card you get your name is put into a hat. Your name can go in as many times as you get a red card. Every new LOD shift a name is picked and prizes range from longer breaks, to DVDs, free lunch, and etc etc. Gstls also make the announcement "so and so got a red card" right next to the cashier so they get all the praise and everyone comgratulates them throughout the day. And if someone at my store doesn't get a red card they are subjected to a day where a GSA stands next to them and coaches them on how to get them... Ugh.

Ha... no way they could get me to do that..

 

[Bullseyes]

That's why certain days they make it a midday! All tL and ETLS have to go!!

 

[ElechronicsTM]

I've stopped trying to get redcards. Its not worth it, they don't give you anything for it screw them

 

[Rarejem]

I've stopped trying to get redcards. Its not worth it, they don't give you anything for it screw them

You get to keep your job for meeting one of your core roles. That might be something to some people.

 

[Barcode]

I've stopped trying to get redcards. Its not worth it, they don't give you anything for it screw them

You get to keep your job for meeting one of your core roles. That might be something to some people.

Not really... I have never seen someone get termed over REDCards. Coached? Yes... Nothing ever comes of it though.

There literally isn't any benefit in getting them. Getting paid minimum wage with NO commission to push credit cards? Ha.

Target should rethink their strategy if they want cashiers to be sales people.

 

[redandkhaki]

I've stopped trying to get redcards. Its not worth it, they don't give you anything for it screw them

You get to keep your job for meeting one of your core roles. That might be something to some people.

Not really... I have never seen someone get termed over REDCards. Coached? Yes... Nothing ever comes of it though.

There literally isn't any benefit in getting them. Getting paid minimum wage with NO commission to push credit cards? Ha.

Target should rethink their strategy if they want cashiers to be sales people.

i have 3 people on corrective action for redcards with a final coming for probably at least one of them. The store up the street from me has 7 people on a final warning just for this.

It's gonna happen.

 

[mxrbook]

Our new STL just passed this down: if the cashiers don't meet the expectations for Redcards, performance them out. Now. We will hire people who understand what their core roles are.

 

[lovecats]

Our new STL just passed this down: if the cashiers don't meet the expectations for Redcards, performance them out. Now. We will hire people who understand what their core roles are.

That's just wrong. I can see wanting people to get red cards but wonder how many good cashiers they will lose because of this. I am so glad that I'm not a cashier anymore (other than backup).

 

[mxrbook]

In his mind, a good cashier is one who has green conversion. Some of the old timers will be greatly missed. Or perhaps they will start asking for Redcards. I coached a cashier who hadn't gotten a card in months and told him that the pressure wouldn't go away. We talked about ways he could feel comfortable asking every guest. Since our chat, he has gotten a card each shift and he only works 4 hour shifts, so he's now in the green.

 

[redandkhaki]

since we have started coaching cashiers on this our conversion has gone way up. If you are actually asking every single guest and actually explaining the benefits you will be ok. We don't coach for not having a 3.0 (our district goal) but for a having lower than a number that's actually easily attainable.

 

[Barcode]

I've stopped trying to get redcards. Its not worth it, they don't give you anything for it screw them

You get to keep your job for meeting one of your core roles. That might be something to some people.

Not really... I have never seen someone get termed over REDCards. Coached? Yes... Nothing ever comes of it though.

There literally isn't any benefit in getting them. Getting paid minimum wage with NO commission to push credit cards? Ha.

Target should rethink their strategy if they want cashiers to be sales people.

i have 3 people on corrective action for redcards with a final coming for probably at least one of them. The store up the street from me has 7 people on a final warning just for this.

It's gonna happen.

Thats all fine and dandy, but those TMs will just go to find better jobs where they are better appreciated. Trust me, its not hard to find a job better than Target Cashier lol.

And then Target will have increased turnover and have to spend greater amounts of money in training and development. Veteran cashiers don't grow on trees.

 

[K8THAT]

lol there needs to be a commission on red cards in order for there to be a spike because other departments are able to sign guests up as well, as a cashier's main role is to ring and bag items up while sales floor pushes products getting guests to apply for a credit card is not what many were hired to do

 

[redandkhaki]

lol there needs to be a commission on red cards in order for there to be a spike because other departments are able to sign guests up as well, as a cashier's main role is to ring and bag items up while sales floor pushes products getting guests to apply for a credit card is not what many were hired to do

all cashiers were hired to get redcards. It's in the core roles.

 

[Barcode]

Yup and they're also to provide fast fun and friendly service, and ring guests in a timely manner. That means their line isn't over 1+1 so they can take the time to offer the app. A lot of gstls just disappear and lines get long and no one responds to backup. Not the cashiers problem at that point if they don't receive support.

I sure as hell won't offer it if I have people breathing down my neck to hurry the **** up.....

 

[redsuccess]

RedCards: Search for a Solution

I am a new GSA/GSTL and I have read every post. I hear and understand your frustrations but I am trying to find a solution to this issue at my team's store. One of our GSTLs does push-ups for every red card and I along with one of my LODs offered to wear bunny ears close to Easter and hop around for an hour as soon as we reached our goal. I have also been thinking about having a weekly prize like a reserved parking space for the following week. Another idea is to have a waterballoon war one Saturday if we reach a goal of like 20 or 30 a day for the whole week with cashiers against GSA/GSTLs. What do you all think? Are there any other non-monetary rewards or incentives that might ease the pain of "pushing"?

 

[GrumpyAP]

Our STL volunteered to get pie'd in the face if we reached a goal ... this offer was declined because "they're scared of [him]" ... He's just a physically imposing man, not a tyrant. sigh.

 

[Barcode]

Doesn't matter how you push it, long as you don't come across as fake.

That goes for appreciation too, make sure its genuine. There were so many Fresh out of college ETLs (...and TLs) at my store, and they always put on this "fake" voice every time they recognized somebody, and everyone could tell they were being a phony.

Be real with people, and don't recite Targets bull**** lingo to your TMs every chance of the day you get. If you have to use a predetermined phrase/etc. to convey something to your subordinates, they're going to think you're stupid.

 

[GrumpyAP]

Doesn't matter how you push it, long as you don't come across as fake.

That goes for appreciation too, make sure its genuine. There were so many Fresh out of college ETLs (...and TLs) at my store, and they always put on this "fake" voice every time they recognized somebody, and everyone could tell they were being a phony.

Be real with people, and don't recite Targets bull**** lingo to your TMs every chance of the day you get. If you have to use a predetermined phrase/etc. to convey something to your subordinates, they're going to think you're stupid.

I want to put this on a t-shirt.

 

[redsuccess]

Love the feedback, please give more!

Like I said I am new at this, however I am not new to retail, and I really appreciate any input. I was raised by a K-Mart store manager who ran our home like he ran his store, LOL. My mother even worked as a team member for Target for several years and made the hall of fame and was awarded for employee of the year before working and retiring from Wal-Mart because we moved and there wasn't a Target to transfer to. I sincerely want to find a fun way to improve RedCard numbers for our cashiers but I am limited in what I can provide, hence the non-monetary rewards. I feel like this is an issue many of our cashier team members and we need to find a way to resolve it. As a late career bloomer(over 30) I am just going through college but I have plenty of experience with the us vs. them syndrome one often finds with new college grads. It has been my experience that the best tips, ideas, and advice about operations and process most often come from the non-management team members. I know it may be corny but I really have a passion for retail and want to help my team members enjoy their jobs as much as I enjoy mine. I am totally willing to make a fool out of myself if it will boost morale and help our team shine! The only bad ideas are ones that aren't shared. Please give me more feedback on ideas to motivate TMs to push RedCards.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

Welcome!
This link may help.
http://www.thebreakroom.org/showthread.php/3258

 

[GSTLin]

Like I said I am new at this, however I am not new to retail, and I really appreciate any input. I was raised by a K-Mart store manager who ran our home like he ran his store, LOL. My mother even worked as a team member for Target for several years and made the hall of fame and was awarded for employee of the year before working and retiring from Wal-Mart because we moved and there wasn't a Target to transfer to. I sincerely want to find a fun way to improve RedCard numbers for our cashiers bdut I am limited in what I can provide, hence the non-monetary rewards. I feel like this is an issue many of our cashier team members and we need to find a way to resolve it. As a late career bloomer(over 30) I am just going through college but I have plenty of experience with the us vs. them syndrome one often finds with new college grads. It has been my experience that the best tips, ideas, and advice about operations and process most often come from the non-management team members. I know it may be corny but I really have a passion for retail and want to help my team members enjoy their jobs as much as I enjoy mine. I am totally willing to make a fool out of myself if it will boost morale and help our team shine! The only bad ideas are ones that aren't shared. Please give me more feedback on ideas to motivate TMs to push RedCards.

You sound like a great leader!! Glad to hear your dedication to your team!! They are lucky to have you!! Here are some things we've done for our team in the past:

Divide team members into teams, usually headed by an ETL (to get more involvement from leadership), and see who's team gets the most. Winning team usually gets ice cream, or decorated cookies from our bakery. Our team is pretty competitive, so that usually gets them going. It also helps when the leaders are part of the team and they get a kick out of earning bragging rights... This is usually done during the busy weekend.

On a regular basis we offer "tickets" (not sure how/where we got them, still on the same roll since I've been there). 1 ticket per REDcard, and we have a 4-drawer Sterilite in the GSTL office where we have prizes for 1, 3, 5, and 10 tickets. Prizes for 1 include cans of pop, single-serve chips, Little Debbie treats, etc. 3 = King Size candy bar, can of Pringles, lip balm, pretty notepads/pens. 5 = Stuffed Bullseye dogs, candles, water bottles. 10 = Target T-shirts, Target messenger bags, etc.

Along with the tickets we offer an extra 15 min break to anyone who gets 3 REDcards in a day, a free lunch for 4 REDcards/day, and used to do "up front parking" for a week with 5 REDcards/day. (That was successful during winter, not so much now...)

It's also important to get feedback from your team; I just recently found out that some of my team doesn't care for the food, candy, etc. (That's when I got the lip balm and note pads.) I also heard they'd rather get bigger items for more REDcards, so looking into getting prizes for 15 and 20 tickets.

I've given each cashier a REDcard goal and any REDcards they get after meeting the goal, they get double tickets.

Just some ideas... I've been at this for over a year and we're really starting to see an improvement!! The key is to figure out what motivates them and ensuring they get the training they need.

 

[mrknownothing]

(not sure how/where we got them, still on the same roll since I've been there)

They could've been requisitioned. We sell rolls of tickets in stationery/office supplies.

 

[thek8canine]

there is literally no point in selling redcards if you aren't getting any recognition all your hard work is going to getting your GSTL and ETL raises so they can say to the STL and DTL "look at how good our metrics are" all your hard work getting those cards is for someone elses bennefit, and not to mention you are saving target from paying interchange fees the least they could do is give you a 5 dollar gift card per red card or a promise of being considered for promotion.

 

[odie]

lol there needs to be a commission on red cards in order for there to be a spike because other departments are able to sign guests up as well, as a cashier's main role is to ring and bag items up while sales floor pushes products getting guests to apply for a credit card is not what many were hired to do

all cashiers were hired to get redcards. It's in the core roles.

Pretty sure the core role is simply to promote the store brand or something to that effect. Setting a quota that Cashiers never agreed to and then tying it into a core roll is a rather immoral business practice, and a slippery slope to force any new regulations that corporate wishes upon us. More to the point, setting this quota for people that aren't even cashiers (ME), is utterly ridiculous. The reason I didn't apply to be a cashier was because of this very reason. I'm not a people person and on top of that have deep moral issues with pushing store cards on people. Informing people, fine, but harassing, exaggerating, and lying (which I've seen management do to get redcards) to people just to meet quota is something I'm not ok with, will never be ok with, and no matter how management thinks they can coach me into pitching it, still will not be ok with. As I stated, I'm not a cashier, but in my store at least, Management is now focusing on all cashier trained employees conversion rates. I've been told already that my rate's red, which I take as a subtle hint that there's going to be problems in my future if that doesn't change. I'm at the point now where I'm about ready to simply give up any future cashier shifts they give me because they've become to stressful and I simply don't want to deal with it anymore. I'm dangerously close to snapping and putting in my two weeks, and that's a shame, because even though target's got 99 problems, I used to enjoy working there prior to all of this nonsense. It's a shame for them too, because they're losing other disgruntled employees left and right now and can't even hire fast enough to keep up with all of the people that are leaving because they've had enough. I don't even have another job lined up, but it's gotten to the point where I'm so fundamentally unhappy that I don't even see the lack of income as a barrier stopping me from leaving anymore. I'd rather look for a new job full time than continue to have management force me to compromise my fundamental beliefs while looking for a new job.

 

[newtm]

lol there needs to be a commission on red cards in order for there to be a spike because other departments are able to sign guests up as well, as a cashier's main role is to ring and bag items up while sales floor pushes products getting guests to apply for a credit card is not what many were hired to do

all cashiers were hired to get redcards. It's in the core roles.

Pretty sure the core role is simply to promote the store brand or something to that effect. Setting a quota that Cashiers never agreed to and then tying it into a core roll is a rather immoral business practice, and a slippery slope to force any new regulations that corporate wishes upon us. More to the point, setting this quota for people that aren't even cashiers (ME), is utterly ridiculous. The reason I didn't apply to be a cashier was because of this very reason. I'm not a people person and on top of that have deep moral issues with pushing store cards on people. Informing people, fine, but harassing, exaggerating, and lying (which I've seen management do to get redcards) to people just to meet quota is something I'm not ok with, will never be ok with, and no matter how management thinks they can coach me into pitching it, still will not be ok with. As I stated, I'm not a cashier, but in my store at least, Management is now focusing on all cashier trained employees conversion rates. I've been told already that my rate's red, which I take as a subtle hint that there's going to be problems in my future if that doesn't change. I'm at the point now where I'm about ready to simply give up any future cashier shifts they give me because they've become to stressful and I simply don't want to deal with it anymore. I'm dangerously close to snapping and putting in my two weeks, and that's a shame, because even though target's got 99 problems, I used to enjoy working there prior to all of this nonsense. It's a shame for them too, because they're losing other disgruntled employees left and right now and can't even hire fast enough to keep up with all of the people that are leaving because they've had enough. I don't even have another job lined up, but it's gotten to the point where I'm so fundamentally unhappy that I don't even see the lack of income as a barrier stopping me from leaving anymore. I'd rather look for a new job full time than continue to have management force me to compromise my fundamental beliefs while looking for a new job.

the very first thing the etl-hr made clear to me when i got hired to be a cashier was that i will have to get people to sign up for cards. i agree with you that it's not right how cashier's don't agree with any of the quotas and how it only makes the GSA/GSTL, ETL, or STL look good. It does NOTHING for us and i find that very corrupt. other retailers pay their associates at least a few dollars per card they get. I don't understand why it doesn't work like that at Target. another stupid thing is that half of the time i confuse people when I sign them up for the redcard. maybe i'm talking too fast or they're not following along.. but I have to get VERY creative to get them every time I come in. So it usually means I lead them on and trick them. I'm actually one of the best at my store, while I enjoy the free shirts and starbucks, the prizes are starting to get stale. I want free movie tickets now. I see those movie theater gift cards hanging on the pegs by my checklane and I'm gonna persuade my ETL to get me one. Lol.