Archived looking like an idiot because your LOD changes Target rules

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pellinore

Life sucks and nothing good can come of it.
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Jun 16, 2011
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Tonight I had a guest come to me with a damaged, sloppy looking wallet.
I was watching the front lanes and the guest wanted to know if they could get a "bigger than a 10%" discount since the wallet was damaged. I told the guest that 10% was the best we could do on a damage discount. The guest then asked to see a manager. I walkied for the LOD and told her of the guests issue. My LOD, answering over the walkie said to give the guest 20% off.

Boy, that really ticked me off and made me look like a fool.

One of the greatest things about Target and discounts is that the damage discount is 10% no matter what and that as a TM you know that all other TMs, TLs or LODs will back you up......or they are SUPPOSED to back you up. Anyway, the guest got the 20%, but wasn't sure if that was enough of a discount to purchase the wallet.
The guest couldn't figure out how much 20% was and when I told her she said that she thought the price was still too high......but she was sure that the wallet was already on sale. I didn't offer her any other answer.

You know, I absolutely HATE it when an LOD doesn't follow the 10% rule. Not only does it make me feel like a fool, it now makes the guest think that they can get "a better answer" when they ask for a manager.

I've been with Target for 6 years, and this is the third time that I've been undermined by a superior who has changed the rules.....and that makes me mad.

So now, I look like a fool and the guest thinks that talking to a manager will get them a better deal!

Does this ever happen to anyone else??
 
Dont get so worked up. Its coming out of spots pocket not ours. Sometimes etls or tls will have to make concessions to make the guest happy.
 
Ok sorry to sound a bit forward but your LOD is right... You can do up to 30% on damages depending on the severity... For something like a wallet I wouldn't even hesitate giving 20% off. Don't get so bent out of shape about it.

Sometimes the LODs will make an exception where I will not, and I usually just go with it. Its their store, and if they don't want an angry guest, thats their right.
 
1. You said you were watching the front lanes. Are you a TL? If so you should have told the guest you are a manager and handled it from there. If they still gave you problems then explain that Target doesn't sell damaged products and thank them for bringing you the wallet so you can defect it out. If you are not a TL you should have called one. Why waste the LODs time on something you could have handled with numerous other people in the store.
2. It's not your money, it doesn't make you look like an idiot. Get over it. The guest got an item they wanted. Target sold an item they would have to defect. The work center got rid of an item that has been hanging around forever.
3. Back to the LOD part. Stop calling them for every single thing that happens in the store. LOD can you come to guest service for a vendor - the vendor just wants them to know they are in the store. LOD can you come to the fitting room - You found a hanger on the floor. LOD can you come to the ladies restroom - I have to change the TP. LOD can you tell me what to think next, LOD how do I breathe LOD LOD LOD LOD LOD LOD COME IN LOD
 
Ok sorry to sound a bit forward but your LOD is right... You can do up to 30% on damages depending on the severity... For something like a wallet I wouldn't even hesitate giving 20% off. Don't get so bent out of shape about it.

Sometimes the LODs will make an exception where I will not, and I usually just go with it. Its their store, and if they don't want an angry guest, thats their right.

I wasn't aware that there was an option for a higher discount. Thanks for letting me know!
 
1. You said you were watching the front lanes. Are you a TL? If so you should have told the guest you are a manager and handled it from there. If they still gave you problems then explain that Target doesn't sell damaged products and thank them for bringing you the wallet so you can defect it out. If you are not a TL you should have called one. Why waste the LODs time on something you could have handled with numerous other people in the store.
2. It's not your money, it doesn't make you look like an idiot. Get over it. The guest got an item they wanted. Target sold an item they would have to defect. The work center got rid of an item that has been hanging around forever.
3. Back to the LOD part. Stop calling them for every single thing that happens in the store. LOD can you come to guest service for a vendor - the vendor just wants them to know they are in the store. LOD can you come to the fitting room - You found a hanger on the floor. LOD can you come to the ladies restroom - I have to change the TP. LOD can you tell me what to think next, LOD how do I breathe LOD LOD LOD LOD LOD LOD COME IN LOD

I'm not a TL.

I didn't call the LOD up front, just asked her to go to channel #2.

We only had one TL in the building at the time.....and all available TMs were pushing cafs due to the global issue of the PDAs and stuff being down....who should have I have walkied?


I was also just a bit annoyed because earlier in the day when I was watching the lanes there were two cashiers and they had lines.....I had sent guests to GS to check-out, I had called the cart attendant up, and I hopped on a lane. When the back-up button was pushed I explained who was at the front lanes and that guests were over at GS checking out. The TL asked if we were using all of our resources....and she said that she didn't see any lines so we must be just fine. So that was something that already had me a little bit aggravated....and that didn't help then later in the evening when the guest asked for the bigger discount......and then was given that bigger discount. Oh well.....the day is over and I'm off tomorrow.....so I'll go back on Tuesday with a better attitude.
 
I understand your pain. Working at gs, I hate when I follow the rules and tell a guest one thing which is usually no but when the gsa or the gstl all of a sudden it's ok to go against protocol. It makes you look like an idiot for doing the best practice and the gstl looks awesome all the time. I swear we let the guests at out target do whatever they want, return whatever they want because as soon as they want a manager nine times out of ten they are going to get their way.
 
Sometimes I have this problem that stupid gstl might cost my job by telling some wrong ****s. For example, my gstl told me to just use the rebate check that's not supposed to be used on the product guest bought.
Those things that don't require override worries me, since gstl can always back out and say he/she doesn't remember or say they never told us to do it.
I know, it's dumb when gstl just overrides everything.
 
You're right...not being backed up does make us look like idiots. And it tells the guest in the future, they can argue with us because we don't know how to do our jobs.

I had a fellow TM who had a guest come through her line with a couple of those Spot web coupons where it's limit one per guest. The guest threw a fit when she explained the limit and wanted a manager. I have no idea why the STL got involved (probably the closest thing to a manager available...we are ULV so they can be hard to come by at times, so we snag whoever we see). Anyway, the STL said it was fine and to do it.

Ok, so basically you've told that guest that the TM doesn't know what they are doing, they can get a manager to back them up if they whine, and that limits don't matter. You've also told the TM that you won't back them up and they might as well cave to whatever a guest wants because it's better than wasting everyone's time only to look like an idiot.

And yes, it is Spot's money. But if we honestly didn't care, we wouldn't keep an eye out for shoplifters, put the correct prices on, etc. In a way, we've all been hired to help protect Spot's money.

Yeah, all you can do is grumble and shake it off knowing Tuesday is another day.
 
As a TM you are only authorized to give 10% for a damaged item or change price for a $20 or under item as long as it seems reasonable. But if the guest insists to challenge it even further, then they can talk to the LOD. Thats nothing new.

Now if the guest asks for a discount or haggle when buying so much; as a TM, you cannot change the price for them. But I hate it when they haggle the LOD, and LODs give them a 10% discount just for buying stuff.
 
What I do when I get a guest looking for a discount on a damaged item is to scan it first to make sure it's the only one left in stock, because if it isn't the answer is no. If it is, I go into the SIM (single item markdown) app and scan under either Repackage or As Is and offer it to them for that price, whatever it is. The SIM price is generally quite a bit higher than just 10%--I think the 10% rule is outdated. It's true that Target doesn't typically sell damaged product but if a guest finds a damaged item before we do and wants it anyway I'm willing to work with them. There's no reason not to. If it's either sell it or defect it, choose sell it when you have a willing buyer in hand.

It used to bother me when a TL or ETL would tell a guest they could have whatever it was I just told them they couldn't, but I'm over that. Policies are guidelines, not unbreakable rules we must follow no matter what and I bend policy quite often myself if I feel it's what's right for the guest. However, I make sure I have a very clear understanding of our policies so when I choose to bend them I'm making an informed choice.

Also, for any TL, ETL or STL who might be reading this--when you override a TMs call, and that TM was just doing what's expected of them in defending policy, please take the time to tell the guest that you are making an exception and the TM was not incorrect in what they said. Trust me--this will earn you much appreciation from your team.
 
Now if the guest asks for a discount or haggle when buying so much; as a TM, you cannot change the price for them. But I hate it when they haggle the LOD, and LODs give them a 10% discount just for buying stuff.

From a business standpoint, it's not a bad idea to give them some kind of discount if they're purchasing over $1000 worth of stuff, depending on the products/situation. They will remember that and increase the chance of them returning to buy more products.

Now if they ask for a percentage off when buying a TV just for the heck of it, that's laughable.
 
For example, a guest was buying about $500 worth of the old California closets. The guest wanted a discount because they thought they were buying so much. I told them we can sell it for the sticker price. They then got an LOD to mark it down 10%. Then they applied for the card and got another 10%.

With that ethic, you might as well give 10% to all guests buying so much.
 
For example, my gstl told me to just use the rebate check that's not supposed to be used on the product guest bought.

I had a lady ***** at me once because I wouldn't accept an Enfamil check when she was buying Similac. I showed her where it said the check was only to be redeemed on Enfamil products, and she still flipped **** and tried to tell me "they took it before!". Fortunately, the one GSTL that is extremely strict about those sorts of things was there to back me up.
 
For example, a guest was buying about $500 worth of the old California closets. The guest wanted a discount because they thought they were buying so much. I told them we can sell it for the sticker price. They then got an LOD to mark it down 10%. Then they applied for the card and got another 10%.

With that ethic, you might as well give 10% to all guests buying so much.

Yeah, that's a little excessive.
 
Well, if you'd like, Target will give you 5% off your purchase if you use a redcard as your payment method!

:)
 
I had a lady ***** at me once because I wouldn't accept an Enfamil check when she was buying Similac. I showed her where it said the check was only to be redeemed on Enfamil products, and she still flipped **** and tried to tell me "they took it before!". Fortunately, the one GSTL that is extremely strict about those sorts of things was there to back me up.

What a stupid crotch dropping. This is Target, not Wal Fail.
 
This is why I prefer working Logistics Backroom. Same routine every week, no guests to deal with.
 
I dont get why you people get so upset for a tl or lod overriding u and giving the guest a 10% or whatever discount on a damaged item. a manager or supervisor has the authority to make that call, u guys do all u can do which is tell them our policy,whatever if the guests doesnt like it and u call a tl or etl to handle the situation and the guests leave happy then good.
 
The main issue for me is that it makes it more difficult to deal with that guest, whether it be me or another TM in the future. They can have the ten percent off or the discount or whatever. But the grief I get in return? After 8 hours of it, well, it gets to be a long day when it feels like no one is in your corner.
 
When I was a cashier in a grocery store, we had a strict limit on store coupons, with the same policy Spot has on their web coupons: one per product per guest. Problem was, every time a customer threw a fit and insisted on talking to a front end supervisor, a couple of them would always override us and give it to the customer. After a while, we all just started giving the customers whatever they wanted because it wasn't worth the battle...the customer would be ticked, the front end supervisor would be annoyed by the bother, and the customer in line next would be irritated at the longer wait.

Well, the store manager found out we cashiers were ignoring the limits. And then he found out it was because we weren't being backed up and knew we wouldn't be. Guess who got the talking to? Needless to say, things got straightened out and we knew from then on we would be backed up.

If your team thinks they are on their own, things will quickly run amuck as they take the path of least resistence. Someone said earlier something about letting the guest know this is a one time thing and the TM was correct. That will go a long way towards balancing out the guest needs and the sanity of the TM.
 
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