Other closing leads struggling?

[TwoToCloseDaily]

So i am the closing lead for a mid-volume store with fullfillment for 3 years now and lately i feel like the expectations lately are a bit much lately. Obviously covid ramped up fullfillment but i dont think they we are getting the right amount of hours and support to keep up with demand. Also 1:1 goals are insane and again, no hours for my people.
For the last 6 months or so my day consist of pulling 1:1 batches, keeping OOS at 0, packing sfs, walk the zone, and repeat. Is it just me/my store or is it all of you?

 

[MrT]

So i am the closing lead for a mid-volume store with fullfillment for 3 years now and lately i feel like the expectations lately are a bit much lately. Obviously covid ramped up fullfillment but i dont think they we are getting the right amount of hours and support to keep up with demand. Also 1:1 goals are insane and again, no hours for my people.
For the last 6 months or so my day consist of pulling 1:1 batches, keeping OOS at 0, packing sfs, walk the zone, and repeat. Is it just me/my store or is it all of you?

If your keeping you oos at zero your doing better then us. Really does seem like closing tl is mostly just a second fulfillment tl lately. Weve had to adjust our tl schedules to ensure we have mods and late mid leadership to help support the night team.

 

[Far from newbie]

I pity our closing TL - they are expected to do SO MUCH with SO FEW people.

Dayside are completing less and less of audit and pulls

 

[KarmaToBurn]

Ours quit, though I don't know if it was the position that did it or if he was just part of the mass exodus from our SD (2 ETLs, 7 TLs since christmas)

 

[Planosss]

I don’t even recognize the process anymore, routines are out the window and the sense of urgency has turned in to a sense of imminent doom. I wish I could say it’ll get better, but HQ has fucked up really bad, at this point they need to just rent warehouses and stop inventory dump on stores.

 

[Far from newbie]

Process ?
No, no process.
Modernization was dismantled but nothing took its place.
we are currently in a free for all with terrible scheduling and no routines.

 

[NotCynicalYet]

Sorry to hear it. Our closer has to decide every night which really important stuff doesn't get done, and that's on a smooth night. God forbid something happens in the store, like a couple bad spills or a reportable incident, or TM behavior issues. Looks like one of the most demoralizing jobs in the store right now.

 

[Dream Baby]

Frequently our Closing Lead has to do OPUs, get carts, go back to electronics because a lot of TMs leave an hour before closing.

 

[Jayunderscore]

So i am the closing lead for a mid-volume store with fullfillment for 3 years now and lately i feel like the expectations lately are a bit much lately. Obviously covid ramped up fullfillment but i dont think they we are getting the right amount of hours and support to keep up with demand. Also 1:1 goals are insane and again, no hours for my people.
For the last 6 months or so my day consist of pulling 1:1 batches, keeping OOS at 0, packing sfs, walk the zone, and repeat. Is it just me/my store or is it all of you?

I'm right there with you. We're a Priority Pull store, so we have fewer pulls but have a goal of 75% completion. The morning team doesn't really pull anything outside of what's left overnight so when we come in at 4PM it's sometimes near 700 DPCIs. Oh, they also don't push reshop during the day so we always have the day's worth of reshop to push. So 100s of DPCIs to pull and hopefully push, all of the reshop, all of the zone, and frequently backup in OPU, SFS, or at the lanes. It's an impossible job and it's hard to feel proud or accomplished at even one thing when you constantly feel underwater.

 

[kimimpossible]

Closing lead here as well been in role for 3 years. It is definitely starting to feel the expectations are much. We were doing so well then our truck process became broken. Fixing that to get caught up on everything. TBH, I feel like most of the leadership team feels like this.

 

[happygoth]

I swear I think I saw our Closing Lead setting a POG in Small Appliances the other night. They also cover Electronics frequently, as well as taking care of 100 other things. I feel for you guys.

 

[Unleashed Dog]

When I closed the way I dealt with some of the fulfillment and OFO issues was coming in later and leaving much later after close. Would have a few TM’s do the same. Didn’t solve the issue but it helped get shit done.

id sometimes would do like 5pms to 1ams.

We had two fufillment a leads they could handle the damn 4pms. I usually made sure there was no carryover and OFOs got done

 

[ION the Prize]

The morning team doesn't really pull anything outside of what's left overnight so when we come in at 4PM it's sometimes near 700 DPCIs. Oh, they also don't push reshop during the day ...

This sounds so foreign to me.

This is how some stores operate?

Go figure.

 

[Jayunderscore]

This sounds so foreign to me.

This is how some stores operate?

Go figure.

I've never worked in this store during the day, I've always been closing, but it's hard to say that the store "operates" while I'm not here. It just... is. Everything, everyday, is push the truck, push from the line, and it's never cleared. When I've spoken to my SD about it, he seems to agree with me but says it in a way like I need to be the one who challenges the status quo. There's never a plan and on the rare occasion we try and do something different, the ETLs and other TLs never get on board and it falls apart after a week or so.

 

[seasonaldude]

I've never worked in this store during the day, I've always been closing, but it's hard to say that the store "operates" while I'm not here. It just... is. Everything, everyday, is push the truck, push from the line, and it's never cleared. When I've spoken to my SD about it, he seems to agree with me but says it in a way like I need to be the one who challenges the status quo. There's never a plan and on the rare occasion we try and do something different, the ETLs and other TLs never get on board and it falls apart after a week or so.

Speaking for my store. There are plans. There just isn't payroll or bodies to execute the plans. Even if by some miracle the salesfloor has everybody it needs, fulfillment and the front end need constant backup. Shit's all fucked up. We're a lowish mid-volume store. We're now at 7,000 DPCIs that need to be pulled in OFOs. I am the only DBO in the building who does their own returns and zone. But, I haven't had time to pull in a week and a half. Shit's fucked.

Our closers were trying to do pulls. But they said fuck it and now just run returns between backup calls.

 

[Ashfromoldsite]

I don’t even recognize the process anymore, routines are out the window and the sense of urgency has turned in to a sense of imminent doom. I wish I could say it’ll get better, but HQ has fucked up really bad, at this point they need to just rent warehouses and stop inventory dump on stores.

They should just sell all the crap to Marshalls home goods, and tj maxx.

 

[VinceTomatoFour]

So i am the closing lead for a mid-volume store with fullfillment for 3 years now and lately i feel like the expectations lately are a bit much lately. Obviously covid ramped up fullfillment but i dont think they we are getting the right amount of hours and support to keep up with demand. Also 1:1 goals are insane and again, no hours for my people.
For the last 6 months or so my day consist of pulling 1:1 batches, keeping OOS at 0, packing sfs, walk the zone, and repeat. Is it just me/my store or is it all of you?

Not a closing lead but as a style TL I close maybe twice a week and it has been a nightmare every night. So many vehicles of reshop being left behind to turn over to the morning team. It really sucks and the team can’t seem to handle the 8 carts of reshop they walk into every morning

 

[60SecondsRemaining]

I don’t even recognize the process anymore, routines are out the window and the sense of urgency has turned in to a sense of imminent doom. I wish I could say it’ll get better, but HQ has fucked up really bad, at this point they need to just rent warehouses and stop inventory dump on stores.

Back in my times, they actually did this. They rented a satellite warehouse space - it was one of the best things they could have done. A little logistically challenging with a satellite storage but definitely easier than packing it all into a store.

 

[Dream Baby]

My TL was the temporarily night closer once and used the OPU TMs to help pull and push product from his department.

I told him THAT ALMOST NEVER HAPPENS because OPUs are off the rails usually.

 

[Logo]

Closing are crazy! They want detailed zoning with 1 or 2 ppl plus all the reshop but when you're puller calls out or OPU/SFS are out of control its tough to do.

 

[Cmoney1996]

Yup been on the struggle bus lately, pulls are sitting over 2000 DPCIS, one zoner for all of GM, lots of call ins lately, fulfillments out the wazhoo, and to top it all off our store is in a remodel

 

[TwoToCloseDaily]

If your keeping you oos at zero your doing better then us. Really does seem like closing tl is mostly just a second fulfillment tl lately. Weve had to adjust our tl schedules to ensure we have mods and late mid leadership to help support the night team.

I wouldnt say they are always at zero, but my weekly average is typically above %90. We had inventory last week and it took us 4 days to get it back to normal. It is comforting to know that its not just me or my store struggling. Id also like to add that i am repeatedly the top of the report for pack productivity. I pack double what everyone else does. So if I spend my entire shift in the back either packing or pulling ofo batches.. who's running the damn store?
Nobody. Thats who.

 

[MrT]

I wouldnt say they are always at zero, but my weekly average is typically above %90. We had inventory last week and it took us 4 days to get it back to normal. It is comforting to know that its not just me or my store struggling. Id also like to add that i am repeatedly the top of the report for pack productivity. I pack double what everyone else does. So if I spend my entire shift in the back either packing or pulling ofo batches.. who's running the damn store?
Nobody. Thats who.

Yeah we have 3 gmtls and now we dont have areas anymore really we all just help everywhere but it also means that im running the entirety of gm on my weekends and whenever theres vacations

 

[Dream Baby]

Our grocery team left and hour and a half earlier all this week.

The Closing TL asked some front end people to push grocery but they had to go back up front to run the lanes.

It is going to be really busy because of Mother's Day but hours were cut anyway.

 

[EagleEye]

The success of a closing lead is highly dependent on the morning ETLs and TLs performance during the day. My store had a closing lead and she was overwhelmed daily. ETLs were working 9-5s, handing off then leaving regardless of how the store looked. She got tired of it and quit, now all the leaders are on closing rotation and they're starting to understand why. Watching the world burn from the AP office