Archived New Fr procedure is it just us?

[Flow Warrior]

Ross stores though, never been in one that wasn't a mad house.

Torrid does the white board thing. I liked it cause I knew what room was mine, and it helps them know what rooms have people and which are empty. But Torrid is a small little store, this will go badly at spot. Not enough people. How is our operator supposed to man the phone and escort all these people to rooms? Our phone is always ringing off the hook.

Leave the phone on night bell?

 

[Flow Warrior]

I'm


Fitting room still has their own hours allocated to them, mytime schedules coverage and overlapping coverage. Your store is manually changing that.


I love this idea. I would rather get number tags that they take and have to pass in, but it's overall a super smart move on targets part. If you're store is running the way style is suppose to be you should have someone there ALL day, not only that but this person should be greeting guests and offering to get various sizes and building genuine connections.

If someone physically counts your clothes and then writes down the number and counts at the end- most people aren't going to risk it. Most people don't know what we as a store can actually do, so why risk it?

Which is why I love my AP team. The plain clothes ones always use other badges to make people think they are random office people (skyscraper near by) and they tend to look intimidating so people tend to not.

 

[Apapaia]

Did you see the thread about this? Some stores are doing this

I don't think I have. Or naybe I have and can't remember. I haven't been as active as I used to

 

[SFSFun]

As part of the new fitting room arrangement, my store is no longer having them answer the phone. That is now guest service's job.

The TM at the FR must stay there and greet every guest, make small talk with them, sort reshop, twiddle their thumbs. They cannot leave for any reason or any distance without someone to cover them.

 

[Yetive]

There is absolutely no time for thumb twiddling at this time of year. They are buried from open to close.

 

[sprinklesontop]

As part of the new fitting room arrangement, my store is no longer having them answer the phone. That is now guest service's job.

The TM at the FR must stay there and greet every guest, make small talk with them, sort reshop, twiddle their thumbs. They cannot leave for any reason or any distance without someone to cover them.

We're doing the same thing at our store.... well, except the thumb-twiddling part . I wish our GS would take over the phones ! I would say 90% of the calls that come in are for other departments, primarily GS and Electronics. The other 10%are Inf H/L, Furn, or Seasonal. Since our FR TM still answers the calls, we encourage them to truly be an "operator"..... just answer the call, and immediately transfer or park it for the correct department, so they can fulfill all their own responsibilities at the FR.... most importantly, Guest Service. A&A is a HUGE percentage of the store mix ...... we need all our TMs available for our A&A Guest, not on the phone trying to help a guest figure out what phone case works best for them (etc).

 

[HardlinesGuy]

AP wise, I feel like WalMart has the best fitting room process. Locked stalls with hanging numbers on all the stall doors for the number of items.

 

[Bosch]

Leave the phone on night bell?

Yeah and every time it goes off and ETL will scream " You getting that call?" A 150 times a day. Yeah no. We are busy enough someone has to babysit the phone.

And GS can't do phones cause how is one person supposed to do both? Yeah not happening.

 

[SFSFun]

And GS can't do phones cause how is one person supposed to do both? Yeah not happening.

I don't know how the GSTM is doing it, but she is doing it. It probably takes some skill to not seem rude when you pick up the phone right in the middle of already helping someone.

FR can't do phones either if they need to walk each guest to a room. Nobody is going to stand there and wait for them to finish a phone call...they'll just walk right in.

 

[Tessa120]

FR can't do phones either if they need to walk each guest to a room. Nobody is going to stand there and wait for them to finish a phone call...they'll just walk right in.

I always use the handheld even when at the base simply because I'm absent-minded and will forget to forward the phone when I take off with a cart of reshop. When I'm in the middle of answering, I will hold up a finger and step partially in the way to stop a guest and immediately tell the caller to hold. I've never once had a person just walk right on by when doing this. In fact, I managed to stop what turned out to be a shoplifter from entering the fitting room while I was answering the phone by doing this. Guests are patient for a few seconds if they hear you immediately tell the caller to hold, as they know that means they are your primary concern and it makes them feel warm and fuzzy. Callers can be a bit more finicky, but somewhere between "most" and "nearly all" understand that being put on hold for a short time is a necessary evil. The bulk of callers really only have a problem if you have to repeatedly place them on hold, and even that can be mitigated by an apology and a short explanation.

 

[SFSFun]

@Jenna120

That's a good point. I forgot about the cordless phone, which is what our FR always used to use because they were never at the FR.

You could even just let it ring as you talk to the guest, then answer when they go into the stall.

 

[Tessa120]

@Jenna120

That's a good point. I forgot about the cordless phone, which is what our FR always used to use because they were never at the FR.

You could even just let it ring as you talk to the guest, then answer when they go into the stall.

Just letting it ring is not a good answer. Think of being at the other end. Hearing the phone ring 8-10 times is going to be more maddening than being picked up after 3 and put on hold. And if the guest in front of you has any sort of issue needing a bit more time to deal with, then the phone rings that much longer. Answering with an immediate hold is a much better technique and is less maddening to the caller.

 

[RTCry]

The FRO is a pretty important position as far as SL sales floor goes. They are the heart and soul of SL bc of sorting, repacks, zoning, etc. They also have to be exceptional multi-taskers with an eye for detail, the energy of the Energizer Bunny, and the patience of Job. It kills me when they put just any ole soul there. A TL once had to be FRO one Saturday morning for a few hours. They couldn't get over how they couldn't do what was necessary bc they were being pulled in 50 million directions due to calls, guests in store, reshop from GS and the FR.

Welcome to FRO.

 

[RTCry]

Cordless phone for FRO here? LOL. It's an urban legend. No. We are expected to run reshop to all areas of SL, greet guests, answer calls at the desk, sort, do repacks, etc.

 

[soyaxo]

We've had overlapping coverage lately. It's the best feeling to leave behind a fitting room clear of all go-backs for the closing team.

 

[Ahem]

Cordless phone for FRO here? LOL. It's an urban legend. No. We are expected to run reshop to all areas of SL, greet guests, answer calls at the desk, sort, do repacks, etc.

We have a cordless, but can't transfer with it so we don't bother.


When I started, HR answered phones. And honestly like half the calls right now are for them, so I hope we go back to that. My stl hinted at us no longer answering phones in FR and I tried not to be too eager/excited, but I think my eyes lit up.

We're also trying this thing where sl tms sort the guest service reshop. They have a schedule for when each person will do it. They go, they put away baby gondola and shoe stuff (or give to tm in those depts if applicable) and then hang/sort the cart. It's helpful. The main complaint is that the schedules have been silly.

And closing FROs still can't keep up. Today I went in at 2:30 and everything was empty in the FR, then the person before me left and 10 people walked out of the rooms and none of them wanted anything, so I instantly had like 70 things to fix.

I wouldn't mind the focus on guest service... if there was a 2nd person in the fitting room. And if I wasn't so jaded. The guests walk in and they're so cold to me. I'll try small-talking them and theyre like "can I just go or do I need a key or number or something?"

 

[Yetive]

We have a cordless, but can't transfer with it so we don't bother.

What kind of phone do you have? Go grab one of the cheap ones from the floor. They transfer just fine. I don't know the brand, but they are red or blue.

And closing FROs still can't keep up. Today I went in at 2:30 and everything was empty in the FR, then the person before me left and 10 people walked out of the rooms and none of them wanted anything, so I instantly had like 70 things to fix.

Poor FRO last night. I think she had 7 racks and a bunch of carts when we closed.

 

[Ahem]

What kind of phone do you have? Go grab one of the cheap ones from the floor. They transfer just fine. I don't know the brand, but they are red or blue.

Oh... maybe they just don't know how to? I asked and was told they didn't transfer lol.

 

[Yetive]

Lol.
Hit flash, then 3 and the extension, then hang up.
Or hit flash, then 2180, then hang up.

 

[Tessa120]

Oh... maybe they just don't know how to? I asked and was told they didn't transfer lol.

Try it. It might work. To transfer using the portable it should be:
- Hit the answer button while you have the person on the line. Yes, that means hit answer to pick up the call and then answer a second time when preparing to put on hold.
- Hit 2180. Or 2181 or whatever line you are trying to put them on. Not 2280, the second number has to be a 1.
- Hit the answer button again. Yes, this is the third time you hit it.
- Hit the end call button.

The best way to test it is to call the store from your cell phone while standing at the base so you can see if the call does park on 2280. Tell either your TL or the LOD in advance that you are testing the phone and they'll be cool with it. Do tell them first though so they know why you are on your cell.

 

[Ahem]

Thanks guys! Hopefully I remember it's a possibility when I have my next FR shift because I've just been running back to pick up the corded phone when I'm zoning clearance or whatever at the end of the night

 

[Blackhawks54]

There are some things I like about the new procedure. I do like being personable with the guests, but I'm not sure if I like the writing the guest's name on the white boards. Sometimes I forget their names. Other coworkers just write the number of items they have, which I do sometimes. The other day I asked the guest for her name, and she was like what? I asked her again for her name. She gave me her name, but asked me why we were doing it. I told her it was to be more personable, but she was like you could call the person's name on the overhead and 35 people of said name would come to the fitting room. I was thinking, "um, we don't do that here." But I just told her it was how corporate wants us to do it now. She was not happy about it. Some guests like the name thing, others don't. What do you guys say when someone asks why we are doing the name thing?

Sorry this is a long post, but I also wanted to say that I kinda like having someone at the FR desk, but they could be bored since they can't put away a lot of reshop. Often times when I'm operator, if there's nothing to sort or defect, and don't feel like zoning the same areas close to base, I'll just organize the size tabs. I kinda wish there were more things for the operator to do. I also like having two people in the fitting room, especially during peak hours. It helps make the shift go faster, the main FRO doesn't have to keep going around the desk to walk guests in the stalls, and you have someone to talk to.

 

[Digi_E]

this wont work for the simple reason it will tax out the fitting room TM. having to great a guest, walk to get the phone, walk back to get the next guest, walk back to get the phone, fold some shirts that came out of the fitting room, then start jumbling when u get multiple guests at once, strays at guest service, and heaven forbid you get that one guest asking questions. They can barely handle strays, zoning, and calls while just telling ppl its ok to go in lol

 

[Tessa120]

this wont work for the simple reason it will tax out the fitting room TM. having to great a guest, walk to get the phone, walk back to get the next guest, walk back to get the phone, fold some shirts that came out of the fitting room, then start jumbling when u get multiple guests at once, strays at guest service, and heaven forbid you get that one guest asking questions. They can barely handle strays, zoning, and calls while just telling ppl its ok to go in lol

And what do you do when one guest needs you to grab a different size at the far end of softlines? You go and fetch it, two guests walk out leaving the rooms trashed, three more walk in, one of those three guests layers up the clothes and leaves before you're back, the second one brings in a pack of panties and tries them on, some teen with too much sense of entitlement grabs a bunch of clothes from clearance and drops them on the floor for fun, some baby gets snot all over the clothes her mother is trying on her and when you get back with the small size shirt it's every bit as bad as if you had grabbed a cart of reshop and put half of it out. So what is the point in trying to keep someone at the fitting room if you turn around and tell them to leave the fitting room to grab additional clothes for guests?

 

[sprinklesontop]

And what do you do when one guest needs you to grab a different size at the far end of softlines? You go and fetch it, two guests walk out leaving the rooms trashed, three more walk in, one of those three guests layers up the clothes and leaves before you're back, the second one brings in a pack of panties and tries them on, some teen with too much sense of entitlement grabs a bunch of clothes from clearance and drops them on the floor for fun, some baby gets snot all over the clothes her mother is trying on her and when you get back with the small size shirt it's every bit as bad as if you had grabbed a cart of reshop and put half of it out. So what is the point in trying to keep someone at the fitting room if you turn around and tell them to leave the fitting room to grab additional clothes for guests?

While it won't solve all the problems ie: entitled teen, slobbering babies, etc...... here's how we solve the "...grab additional clothes..." concern you have. We encourage our FR TM to "walkie" the A&A Team w/ the FR Guest's request. If her Guest needs a different size jean short for her daughter, she just "walkies" the Kids A&A TM and asks her to bring it over. It actually creates a great Team-win in the eyes of our Guest. In addition.....We also do our best to collect the GS go-backs for her so she doesn't have to leave the FR. As a Team, we do our best to be at the mercy of the FR TM....... whatever she needs, we assist. As far as answering the phones...... we strongly suggest that the FR TM "direct" the call to the proper departments rather than answer all the questions herself. It's a huge time-saver !