New Hire Observations

[MrPerfectNot]

2 cents here: as a noob seasonal SFS guy, I've been pleased with the training and support from TLs and ETLs. As others have noted, experiences vary from store to store. It's fun to have a seasonal gig as I am in the midst of figuring out what I want to do after 23 years in healthcare management. I'm working with good people and am pleased to come in each day. I know it will end, but enjoying it at the moment.

 

[jenna]

First, no one person can make a significant or meaningful difference to the bottom line of any Target store and especially to Target's company bottom line. I work in a store that averages $100,000 or more per day before the holiday season. To move the needle 1% would require me to add $1000 each day. How much extra do you think you are adding compared to the average employee? How much extra do you think your zoning is worth or your pulls are worth? How much extra do you think your suggestive selling or salesmanship is really adding? Most customers come into Target with a specific shopping list and do not speak to a team member - they can shop and find everything without needing help.

Meh. My area has positive comps, and the zone/in-stocks are pretty spot on. I've had vendors compliment me on my area.

Other areas of my store are a dumpster fire on a typical day.

Must be luck.

 

[Frontlanegirl]

OK will do. Thanks for the advice!

Let us know how it goes.

 

[sbrando7]

Meh. My area has positive comps, and the zone/in-stocks are pretty spot on. I've had vendors compliment me on my area.

Other areas of my store are a dumpster fire on a typical day.

Must be luck.

Ok. How much of the positive comps are directly related to your zoning/in stocks? How much of an increase are the positive comps for your area? $100 per day, $500 per day, $1000 per day?

There are plenty of reasons why a Target store or an area in Target would have positive comps. Competitors closing nearby locations, increase of home sales locally, decrease in unemployment locally, getting out of stock merchandise fulfilled faster from the warehouse, etc. It could also be because the previous year was really bad - if 2018 was a down year, 2019 would be a positive year even if it doesn't get back to 2017 levels.

Congrats on the compliments. However, are the compliments because your area is spectacular or because your area is being compared to the dumpster fires.

A filet mignon is a great meal. However, a good hamburger is a great meal compared to Ramen noodles.

 

[Hanknado]

Ok. How much of the positive comps are directly related to your zoning/in stocks? How much of an increase are the positive comps for your area? $100 per day, $500 per day, $1000 per day?

There are plenty of reasons why a Target store or an area in Target would have positive comps. Competitors closing nearby locations, increase of home sales locally, decrease in unemployment locally, getting out of stock merchandise fulfilled faster from the warehouse, etc. It could also be because the previous year was really bad - if 2018 was a down year, 2019 would be a positive year even if it doesn't get back to 2017 levels.

Congrats on the compliments. However, are the compliments because your area is spectacular or because your area is being compared to the dumpster fires.

A filet mignon is a great meal. However, a good hamburger is a great meal compared to Ramen noodles.

Sbrando7.. Yesterday I engaged a guest looking for a bike that she didn't see on the floor. I checked on hands and it was pulled from backroom.. That's $200 right there.. Later on a guest stopped me to inquire about a BF TV.. Again in backroom.. That was another few Hundred dollars.. I know Target doesn't have a true Guest Engagement culture, but with the amount of people in the store on any given day I don't see it being that hard to put another $100 per TM in guest engagement in the register.

 

[Tessa120]

No, that's not $200 plus a few hundred. If what you do is going to make a difference to the bottom line it has to be sales above what other TMs would have made. Can you truly say that no other TM would have gotten that bike? Can you truly say no other TM would have gotten the TV? If the majority would have, you added nothing.

 

[jenna]

Ok. How much of the positive comps are directly related to your zoning/in stocks? How much of an increase are the positive comps for your area? $100 per day, $500 per day, $1000 per day?

There are plenty of reasons why a Target store or an area in Target would have positive comps. Competitors closing nearby locations, increase of home sales locally, decrease in unemployment locally, getting out of stock merchandise fulfilled faster from the warehouse, etc. It could also be because the previous year was really bad - if 2018 was a down year, 2019 would be a positive year even if it doesn't get back to 2017 levels.

Congrats on the compliments. However, are the compliments because your area is spectacular or because your area is being compared to the dumpster fires.

A filet mignon is a great meal. However, a good hamburger is a great meal compared to Ramen noodles.

I'll take most of the credit for the positive comps in my area. My area was a shit show before I took over. We have a competitor about 1/2 mile away.

Out of stocks are coming in because my zone and BR are amazing, and I'm researching/auditing.

And the vendors work at other Targets and for other stores.

I have worked/shopped in other areas of our store. I see first hand how areas are neglected.

Why is it so hard for you to believe that a single tm can have an impact on store sales?

We have a few RockStars in our store. Their areas are comping up, too.

I am also faster than most tms. So I am helping the bottom line by saving on payroll, or allowing them to spend it in another area.

 

[jenna]

No, that's not $200 plus a few hundred. If what you do is going to make a difference to the bottom line it has to be sales above what other TMs would have made. Can you truly say that no other TM would have gotten that bike? Can you truly say no other TM would have gotten the TV? If the majority would have, you added nothing.

Many of our tms ignore the guest, or are so new, they have no idea how to help the guest.

I've added on sales just by being "present and aware" and helpful to the guests while working.

 

[Priceslasher]

I have walked by them and said, Hi, and not received a response.

Haha me too! I have stood right in front of them as they are blocking my checklanes and not so much as a head nod, I’ve walked up shaken their hands and gotten no eye contact. Priceless!

 

[Tessa120]

Many of our tms ignore the guest, or are so new, they have no idea how to help the guest.

I've added on sales just by being "present and aware" and helpful to the guests while working.

Majority is 51% or more. So if slightly over half the TMs would have been as helpful then no one person added a cent to the day's sales.

 

[happygoth]

The only cents I care about are the ones in my paycheck.

 

[Hanknado]

I'll take most of the credit for the positive comps in my area. My area was a shit show before I took over. We have a competitor about 1/2 mile away.

Out of stocks are coming in because my zone and BR are amazing, and I'm researching/auditing.

And the vendors work at other Targets and for other stores.

I have worked/shopped in other areas of our store. I see first hand how areas are neglected.

Why is it so hard for you to believe that a single tm can have an impact on store sales?

We have a few RockStars in our store. Their areas are comping up, too.

I am also faster than most tms. So I am helping the bottom line by saving on payroll, or allowing them to spend it in another area.

Right on Jenna.. Congrats on your comps and I applaud you on your actions and behaviors that got your dept those sales. Saying that another TM may have helped or may have pulled some items to floor or may have engaged a guest is assuming, but when it actually directly correlates to a sale then that action and behavior can't be anything other than direct a correlation to that sale. Keep up the great work and rocking those comps!

 

[sbrando7]

I'll take most of the credit for the positive comps in my area. My area was a shit show before I took over. We have a competitor about 1/2 mile away.

Out of stocks are coming in because my zone and BR are amazing, and I'm researching/auditing.

And the vendors work at other Targets and for other stores.

I have worked/shopped in other areas of our store. I see first hand how areas are neglected.

Why is it so hard for you to believe that a single tm can have an impact on store sales?

We have a few RockStars in our store. Their areas are comping up, too.

I am also faster than most tms. So I am helping the bottom line by saving on payroll, or allowing them to spend it in another area.

Thank you for confirming that I was right. Your positive comps in 2019 are due to a negative performance in 2018.

How much is your area up in 2019 over 2017 or 2016 or the last time it was competently run?

How much is your area's positive comps as a percentage of total sales?

 

[sbrando7]

Sbrando7.. Yesterday I engaged a guest looking for a bike that she didn't see on the floor. I checked on hands and it was pulled from backroom.. That's $200 right there.. Later on a guest stopped me to inquire about a BF TV.. Again in backroom.. That was another few Hundred dollars.. I know Target doesn't have a true Guest Engagement culture, but with the amount of people in the store on any given day I don't see it being that hard to put another $100 per TM in guest engagement in the register.

Congratulations for doing nothing extra over what most team members would do.

You asked the first guest if they needed help and got them the bike they came in looking for from the back room. You didn't sell them anything. They came in looking for a specific bike. If the bike was on the sales floor, you would have been irrelevant in their purchase. It wasn't, so they asked for the specific bike and you brought it out from the back room.

The second guest stopped you. You did nothing but be physically there. The second guest knew what they wanted. You didn't sell them anything. They came in looking for a specific TV. It the TV was on the sales floor, you would have never spoken to the guest. It wasn't, so they found a red shirt and asked for the product.

Both guests would have asked someone if Target had the products they were looking for. The second one did that - they asked someone if Target had the TV they were looking for. You just happed to be the one they asked.

Two guest sales that you want to take credit for when you did nothing. You didn't sell them something they didn't come in looking for. You didn't sell them any accessories like a bike lock or bike horn or TV cables, etc. Two guests asked for products they wanted and knew about. All you did was bring them out from the back room.

If you want to take credit for doing that, then anyone that pushes product should get credit for all those sales. The truck team that unloads the truck should get credit for all the sales of the boxes they unload.

My store had flats and uboats full of merchandise that the leads tell the non-leads to take out to the sales floor and push. Do those non-leads get credit when that product sells?

 

[sbrando7]

Right on Jenna.. Congrats on your comps and I applaud you on your actions and behaviors that got your dept those sales. Saying that another TM may have helped or may have pulled some items to floor or may have engaged a guest is assuming, but when it actually directly correlates to a sale then that action and behavior can't be anything other than direct a correlation to that sale. Keep up the great work and rocking those comps!

The second guest in your post ASKED you for help. You don't get credit when the customer asks you to do something. Does a cashier get credit when a customer asks them to ring up a product by appearing in their line?

If a guest walks into your Target, walks directly up to you, and asks you if you have a specific product - you don't get credit for selling them the product. They sold themselves the product. You just gave them the product.

In your post's examples, no one had pushed those products yet. So you pulled them from the backroom for the guest?

You did exactly as much as the fulfillment team does when a guest purchases a product online and the fulfillment team gets the product for either order pickup or to ship.

Is the fulfillment team selling the products they pick? Do they get credit for all those sales from the products they pick?

Hell No! The guest sold themselves the product. The fulfillment team member just gets the product for the guest.

 

[seasonaldude]

Is the fulfillment team selling the products they pick? Do they get credit for all those sales from the products they pick?

Hell No! The guest sold themselves the product. The fulfillment team member just gets the product for the guest.

Not the best take. Fulfillment does get credit for the sales from the products they pick. It's also an area where an individual TM who cares and puts in the effort can make a big difference as opposed to a TM who doesn't. It's not active selling to a guest in person, but it is selling in a sense because the better job fulfillment does the more likely they are to have increased future sales. For SFS that can mean getting more orders sent their way or even possible expansion with additional pack stations. For OPU, every positive guest experience with the service makes it more likely that the guest will order more in the future and perhaps tell other people about the convenience.

I also don't think it's right to just think that salesfloor TMs are only making a difference if they are actively selling to a guest. Most sales require no guest interaction with a TM, but a TM who gets stuff done and maintains a good zone is going to see more sales than one who doesn't. If things are nice and neat, guests are more likely to make impulse purchases for additional products than what they came in for.

 

[Tessa120]

It's not sales floor actively selling makes a difference vs FF. It's if a single TM has done upselling in a manner that no other TM could have, so the TM makes a significant difference in sales that would not have happened with any other TM. No TM can really do that, because most TMs would do the exact thing if they were in the exact same place at the exact same time.

 

[happygoth]

Good points made by @sbrando7 and @Tessa120. In order to really affect sales positively, TLs and TMs have to go above and beyond, and in a fast-paced, task-heavy environment like Target, that's not likely. Basically, ain't no one got time for that.

It sounds logical to say that a perfectly zoned and signed area will result in better sales, but are there studies that prove that? If a table is messy, will a guest just turn up their nose and walk out? As a customer, I certainly appreciate a well-maintained salesfloor. But I would think a store would have to be a tore-up mess for most guests to walk out without at least attempting to shop. Tables don't have to be extra-crispy - not looking like a random pile of cloth is really all that's required.

TLs and VMs can positively affect sales by really studying the numbers, looking at selling trends in their areas, tweaking featured items on mannequins and making displays that will attract shoppers to items they may not have thought about, etc. I've certainly seen clothing and accessories on mannequins that I then sought out and purchased. But again, who has the time?

 

[jenna]

Congratulations for doing nothing extra over what most team members would do.

You asked the first guest if they needed help and got them the bike they came in looking for from the back room. You didn't sell them anything. They came in looking for a specific bike. If the bike was on the sales floor, you would have been irrelevant in their purchase. It wasn't, so they asked for the specific bike and you brought it out from the back room.

The second guest stopped you. You did nothing but be physically there. The second guest knew what they wanted. You didn't sell them anything. They came in looking for a specific TV. It the TV was on the sales floor, you would have never spoken to the guest. It wasn't, so they found a red shirt and asked for the product.

Both guests would have asked someone if Target had the products they were looking for. The second one did that - they asked someone if Target had the TV they were looking for. You just happed to be the one they asked.

Two guest sales that you want to take credit for when you did nothing. You didn't sell them something they didn't come in looking for. You didn't sell them any accessories like a bike lock or bike horn or TV cables, etc. Two guests asked for products they wanted and knew about. All you did was bring them out from the back room.

If you want to take credit for doing that, then anyone that pushes product should get credit for all those sales. The truck team that unloads the truck should get credit for all the sales of the boxes they unload.

My store had flats and uboats full of merchandise that the leads tell the non-leads to take out to the sales floor and push. Do those non-leads get credit when that product sells?

Uh. Many guests do NOT ask for help with items not on the salesfloor. After awhile, the guest stops shopping at our store.

Or - when they ask a tm - there's a good chance the tm doesn't know the answer or doesn't want to go the distance to provide the answer.

And in your example, the bike wasn't on the floor, so that specific tm was relevant to the purchase. What if no other tm or another competant tm was around? Guest leaves with no bike.

 

[jenna]

Thank you for confirming that I was right. Your positive comps in 2019 are due to a negative performance in 2018.

How much is your area up in 2019 over 2017 or 2016 or the last time it was competently run?

How much is your area's positive comps as a percentage of total sales?

But what if I wasn't that specific area's DBO? How would the comps be today? If the rest of the store is struggling (save a couple of style areas and one hardlines area) - then who's to say what would have happened?

I am the DBO. Comps are positive. What if every DBO in my store ran their dept the way I do? I am on top of everything in my area. Bet there would be a positive impact on sales.

 

[Times Up]

Could I? Yes.. Do I want to? No How do they think they'll keep good people that way I wonder

TMs are considered to be replaceable.... same as the toilet paper in the bathrooms.

 

[Times Up]

You know what would make my day and it doesn't cost a cent...a simple thank you. Yes, I am doing my job, but there are many instances where I go above and beyond and recognition is close to zero. I also notice the lack of acknowledgement with our DTL's and higher. They come into the store and barely say anything to the team members.

Winner, winner... chicken dinner

 

[Times Up]

Haha me too! I have stood right in front of them as they are blocking my checklanes and not so much as a head nod, I’ve walked up shaken their hands and gotten no eye contact. Priceless!

Sounds like my old SD! Could hardly be bothered to grunt out "hi" after a lowly TM says hello to him.

 

[Send me a sign]

Kudos for taking credit on making yesterday’s sales by doing simple tasks you were hired to do. Your efforts will be graciously rewarded by raising your pay to $15 hr by the end of 2020. Impressive would have been swaying guest to purchase a bike and tv to compliment their only intended purchase, Cheetos. And again, your efforts will be graciously rewarded by raising your pay to $15 hr by the end of 2020.

 

[RedcardReba]

Kudos for taking credit on making yesterday’s sales by doing simple tasks you were hired to do. Your efforts will be graciously rewarded by raising your pay to $15 hr by the end of 2020. Impressive would have been swaying guest to purchase a bike and tv to compliment their only intended purchase, Cheetos. And again, your efforts will be graciously rewarded by raising your pay to $15 hr by the end of 2020.

There are other rewards than hourly rate of pay.