Archived Our New In-Store Policy

[commiecorvus]

Why are these people getting hours then? Why do subpar workers keep getting scheduled to do more subpar work?

Cut their hours & give it to people who DO the job well & if that doesn't motivate them to get back into Target's good graces then let them quit.

Because technically you're not supposed to punish people that way.
What you are supposed to do is work with them until they do their job properly or if they don't do the proper management work that it takes to move them out the door.
While I have problems with the kind of pressure they are putting on the people who are trying but not getting results, I really don't have issue with properly dealing with the people who are not doing the job at all.

If you don't ask at all, you should be called on it.
No you shouldn't be forced to ask a little kid or the customer you recognize that yelled at you the last time you asked but you don't have an excuse to ask everyone else.
I understand being shy can be an issue but there are tricks around that.
If they turn you down, they turn you down but at least you asked.

 

[RedMan]

Here's the problem...we are to a point where we have people that simply do. not. ask.

I know they don't ask. They know they don't ask. The GSTL knows they don't ask. The ETL knows they don't ask.

I tell the GSTL, ETL, and LOD that they don't ask, and that I've spoken to them and they still won't ask. All that happens is that whoever I tell grumbles about it. But nothing is ever done. How in the heck are we supposed to get these stupid cards if people don't ask, and when push comes to shove, the leadership team won't hold them accountable?

Did you see my post in Best Team Surveys? This is why. We can't be negative during this time of year because we might get slammed on the BTS. So we just do nothing. And then they think it's okay that they do nothing. And then after BTS, we have to re-train them to do something.

Hey, it's Target - nothing changes and everything stays the same.

 

[awbuckit]

Good lord in heaven... after almost 9 yrs with Target this is the most desperate I've ever seen them. They should shift their focus to staffing the store with knowledgeable TMs who can sell/upsell and make money that way. This skeleton crew idea is just ridiculous. And their product selection is severely lacking. There's a reason why Walmart that's 3 miles from my store is hopping and our store is dragging it's ass.

And yes, I'm looking for a better job. The smell of desperation makes me sick.

It would be a cold day in hell before I'd report to my STL (who I can't stand). They know why our redcard % is the way it is. We have the SAME guests all week long. They've heard the spiel several times by now. They don't want it and you can't force it on them. You only alienate guests by doing so.

 

[IHeartCarts]

I think I found Barcode's twin

 

[doodlebug]

Our store does that (reporting to LODs if you didn't get a red card) when were doing really bad. But half the LODs don't follow through, they're as sick of talking about it as we are.

 

[Retail Girl]

Our store does that (reporting to LODs if you didn't get a red card) when were doing really bad. But half the LODs don't follow through, they're as sick of talking about it as we are.

This. This policy won't last more than a week if it lasts that long. Most of the LODs won't go along with it for more than two shifts (I'm being really generous here) and eventually only the LOD who came up with this will be doing it, and that will last until they realize they don't have time to talk to the cashier when the cashier is about ready to walk out the door, and it will be done.

 

[buliSBI]

ok, so this might expose me and the store im currently at, but im not gonna say any names or any store numbers i just wanna know how ethical this is.

so we (cashiers) have learned that from now on we have to get ONE redcard per shift or else we have to report to the LOD and explain to them why we didn't get one. i think it's totally unreasonable the that fact we have to report to them personally and let him know. it's kind of shaming in a way because not everyone can get a redcard on every shift. what do y'all think about this?

First off, I would say, "Mr/Ms LOD if you want to talk to me, you better talk to me while I am on the clock. If I go over my scheduled shift then its your problem."
Two, I would say, "If you want me to report to you about why I didn't get a RedCard, I respectively ask the conversation be recorded and witnessed by a third party."
Three, I would say, "I asked every guest."
Four, I would say, "If you don't believe me, then stand next to me for my entire shift."
Five, I would say, "If you want a RedCard so badly. Then cashier yourself."
Six, I would say, "And as of right now, I consider this conversation to be workplace bullying."

 

[salesfloor10]

My store has the cashiers check out with an LOD, whether they get cards or not. I don't make it a coaching, I just say "maybe next time!" or whatever if they don't get a card.

 

[thatcashierdude]

Did you see my post in Best Team Surveys? This is why. We can't be negative during this time of year because we might get slammed on the BTS. So we just do nothing. And then they think it's okay that they do nothing. And then after BTS, we have to re-train them to do something.

Hey, it's Target - nothing changes and everything stays the same.

Maybe there is a reason for that. Starting workers off at the lowest pay you can get won't get you anyone who is motivated or a good salesman. After a few months I learned that management at my store doesn't do anything besides yell on the walkie about redcards so I pretty much stopped asking, did other jobs as well as I could, and got scheduled more at the service desk.

I guess I'm one of the people you hate. Now I'm at another job making about $10 an hour and all I have to ask for is a name and address for our loyalty program. If you want people to ask for redcards then you can either threaten their jobs (and fire a bunch of cashiers, good luck finding anyone better) or actually pay them well. No cashier sees a bonus or commission for selling redcards. There is just no incentive beyond the shit being poured down on the GSTL who then throws some at the cashiers.

I don't understand why *some* people on here (like you) ask for so much for so little pay. You might think its not hard but its emotionally draining to have to ask every guest on top of the other shit that is expected of a cashier. I'll guess that in the next 10 years target will start closing more stores and won't be opening any new ones, and will find other ways to c̶u̶t̶ ̶l̶a̶b̶o̶r̶ ̶c̶o̶s̶t̶s̶ bleed the company dry.

 

[RedMan]

Maybe there is a reason for that. Starting workers off at the lowest pay you can get won't get you anyone who is motivated or a good salesman. After a few months I learned that management at my store doesn't do anything besides yell on the walkie about redcards so I pretty much stopped asking, did other jobs as well as I could, and got scheduled more at the service desk.

I guess I'm one of the people you hate. Now I'm at another job making about $10 an hour and all I have to ask for is a name and address for our loyalty program. If you want people to ask for redcards then you can either threaten their jobs (and fire a bunch of cashiers, good luck finding anyone better) or actually pay them well. No cashier sees a bonus or commission for selling redcards. There is just no incentive beyond the shit being poured down on the GSTL who then throws some at the cashiers.

I don't understand why *some* people on here (like you) ask for so much for so little pay. You might think its not hard but its emotionally draining to have to ask every guest on top of the other shit that is expected of a cashier. I'll guess that in the next 10 years target will start closing more stores and won't be opening any new ones, and will find other ways to c̶u̶t̶ ̶l̶a̶b̶o̶r̶ ̶c̶o̶s̶t̶s̶ bleed the company dry.

Except that I don't hate cashiers. I was one, remember? I get that it's not an easy job, but it is a job and it's what you agreed to when you got hired on. Do it or don't. That's up to you, but why shouldn't I expect you to do what you were hired for?

Oh, cart attendant, I know it's hard to push carts when the weather is bad, so OK, you don't have to. Why would I expect you to do your job?

Oh, service desk TM, it's ok. You don't have to talk to the rude guests, only the ones you like. Why would I expect you to do your job?

Oh, cashier, you don't like the job you accepted? No problem. Just do half your job - it's OK.

 

[RedMan]

First off, I would say, "Mr/Ms LOD if you want to talk to me, you better talk to me while I am on the clock. If I go over my scheduled shift then its your problem."
Two, I would say, "If you want me to report to you about why I didn't get a RedCard, I respectively ask the conversation be record and witnessed by a third party."
Three, I would say, "I asked every guest."
Four, I would say, "If you don't believe me, then stand next to me for my entire shift."
Five, I would say, "If you want a RedCard so badly. Then cashier yourself."
Six, I would say, "And as of right now, I consider this conversation to can be workplace bullying."

Why is discussing performance workplace bullying? Shouldn't you perform the duties you agreed to? Do you think that if the CAFs don't get pulled, the LOD shouldn't ask why? If the zones don't get done, should we just ignore the fact that softlines TMs were chatting in the fitting room? How is performing the cashier's duties any different than any other position in the store? If you don't do the tasks assigned to you, there will be a conversation. It's as simple as that.,

 

[RedMan]

This. This policy won't last more than a week if it lasts that long. Most of the LODs won't go along with it for more than two shifts (I'm being really generous here) and eventually only the LOD who came up with this will be doing it, and that will last until they realize they don't have time to talk to the cashier when the cashier is about ready to walk out the door, and it will be done.

The district lead came up with this idea. So we do it. And nobody complains. And it's been effective.

 

[Leonhart621]

It's basically the same thing for ship-from-store in my store.

We have to write down the DPCI, ordered quantity, unfulfilled quantity, and our name for every single item we can't find when we do our picks and then have the LOD sign it before we hit "not found"

The LOD signing part lasted a day

 

[IHeartCarts]

Why is discussing performance workplace bullying? Shouldn't you perform the duties you agreed to? Do you think that if the CAFs don't get pulled, the LOD shouldn't ask why? If the zones don't get done, should we just ignore the fact that softlines TMs were chatting in the fitting room? How is performing the cashier's duties any different than any other position in the store? If you don't do the tasks assigned to you, there will be a conversation. It's as simple as that.,

You're so god damn delusional. Those other tasks aren't based on another person agreeing to sign up for a stupid credit card they don't need.

 

[awbuckit]

I'm pretty sure that IF the subject of redcards comes up during the interview that potential employees aren't told what all will be involved with suggestive selling these damn things.
They aren't going to be told that for a minimum wage job they will have to deal with the pressure of the stl, etls, gstls, gsas constantly harassing them as to why they aren't getting redcards.
They won't be told that they'll get pulled into the gstl office and shown how low their conversion rate is and how they can improve upon a broken system.
They aren't going to be told how Target has set itself up for failure by making the guest present a check in order to apply for a debit card.
They aren't' going to be told how looooonnnnngggg it takes to process one of these apps while the guest behind them gives you and the guest the evil eye while huffing and puffing.
No, these minimum wage workers think they're going to be swiping items across a scanner, bagging the items, taking payments and say thank you, have a nice day.

If TMs are chatting then they need a talking to. Problem solved.
Stls don't get a bonus based upon how many TMs are not chatting. But hit them in the pocketbook and MAN they are all over you like white on rice. DO NOT mess with their dollars! <sarcasm> (I don't know the correct font).
I do not receive ANYTHING for the guest signing up for a redcard, so really?...why would I knock myself out, stress out over it? If the stl wants it SOOOO bad then he/she can come do it. Now THAT makes more sense!

 

[thatcashierdude]

I don't know the correct font

Courier New

 

[thatcashierdude]

You're so god damn delusional. Those other tasks aren't based on another person agreeing to sign up for a stupid credit card they don't need.

Those things are not stressed nearly as much as the redcards. For some reason *those* are the things that make money, not a well stocked, well staffed store with happy employees and decent, cheap merchandise.

 

[commiecorvus]

Why is discussing performance workplace bullying? Shouldn't you perform the duties you agreed to? Do you think that if the CAFs don't get pulled, the LOD shouldn't ask why? If the zones don't get done, should we just ignore the fact that softlines TMs were chatting in the fitting room? How is performing the cashier's duties any different than any other position in the store? If you don't do the tasks assigned to you, there will be a conversation. It's as simple as that.,

I guess you didn't read my post but lets unpack those question's a little bit.
Of, course you should perform the duties you agreed to.

So you have performance based, timed CAFs that are done by a team trained for that purpose and if they don't get done there needs to be an explanation.
Softline TMs standing around chatting and not getting the zone done, hells to the yeah that's a talking to.
So much for your examples.

As I said a good ETL is going to handle the situation decently and without recriminations.
But the kind of desperation and fear that has spread through the stores has turned the mediocre ETLs into bad ones and the bad ones into , well you get the picture.

So some poor kid who is a bit of an introvert; does a good job of cashiering, but maybe doesn't assert himself enough when it comes to asking but does indeed ask every time, is honest so he won't lie to people about the card, reliable - shows up for every shift on time, cares about doing a good job but is a little shy and can't quite crack that card a day window, mostly because he's been getting a stretch of nose picking little kids, teenage milk smashers, and soccer moms who won't get off their phones.

The kid comes up to the ETL at the end of the day and get a lecture on how he's not carrying his weight, not being a true member of the team and better start doing better.
This is what he gets in the last minutes of his day before he walks out the door.
It's not like things weren't tough enough but to top it off he gets kicked in the pants on the way out.

Now imagine that every single frelling shift.
There's a certain point where the sense of defeat and tearing down of a persons soul is not only counter productive it's downright immoral.
People don't deserve to be treated like that.

TL;DR Yes, it can be bullying.

 

[RedDog]

You if I was a GSA or GSTL I would be annoyed that my leadership was thought of so poorly of that cashiers have to report to an LOD to get advice on how to get Red Cards. It pretty much says, you can not get the job done so we will have somebody else do it for you. If a store has to depend on the LOD to advise and coach a team member on how to get red cards it shows a low opinion of the front end team. Unless of course the entire thing is simply a scare tactic. Which I suspect it is or we would see front end leasedship getting canned.

 

[RS190]

I talked to one of my GSTL's today, when I mentioned the practice of cashiers getting none having to have a conversation his response is "Yeah, we've been doing that for, like, ever." He went on to say that one day of getting none will be a quick 15 second 'Hey, what happened today?' and then moving on. The only way that it leads to people getting in trouble is if they go a week without one. My store has high redcard traffic, getting anywhere from 75-130 a week. The mentality is "If you ask enough people, you're going to get one." and if you go multiple days in a row without getting one, you're not asking right, or you're not asking. All stores are different, but here in my store, it's pretty true.

 

[RedMan]

TL;DR Yea, it's bullying.

It's not bullying to expect someone to do the job for which they are hired. If you're shy and feel uncomfortable about doing your job, which is driving REDCards, then this is not a good fit for you. Would you want to keep someone who is uncomfortable with heights as a roofer? Why would you want to punish someone like that? If you keep a shy person in a position which puts him out there with the public, then you are doing a disservice to him, to your customers and to your business.

 

[RedMan]

You if I was a GSA or GSTL I would be annoyed that my leadership was thought of so poorly of that cashiers have to report to an LOD to get advice on how to get Red Cards. It pretty much says, you can not get the job done so we will have somebody else do it for you. If a store has to depend on the LOD to advise and coach a team member on how to get red cards it shows a low opinion of the front end team. Unless of course the entire thing is simply a scare tactic. Which I suspect it is or we would see front end leasedship getting canned.

Every week, I chat with every one of our cashiers about their productivity including REDCards, surveys, attendance, friendliness, guest service. I shouldn't be the only one setting expectations for their performance. When the ETLs chat with the low performers about the same things after every shift, I feel supported and the cashiers realize that it's an expectation of the entire Team, not just an expectation from me.

 

[zoned2deep]

I had a Debit REDCard, ended up racking up $500 dollars in overdraft fees because my bank balance was always so low that a check going through a couple weeks late or another charge I didn't know about would lead me to end up paying 35 bucks for a banana. That's definitely more than I saved with it. I ended up cutting mine up, much as it hurts, because I'm just too poor to have a card where the charges don't go through for several days.

I already hated pushing REDCards on people, but after that I honestly never ask anyone, how can I, when my own experience has been so terrible? My store is in a relatively poor area, with a lot of immigrants and people paying cash only, so not only are they less likely to want one they are more likely to have problems similar to the ones I have had.

Fortunately I basically never work cashier shifts now and I don't back up as much because I'm in market a lot of the time, so it is less of an issue.

 

[ExhaustedCashier]

We might be in the same district as my store has done this off and on since we got our new etl-ge (that it seems to depend on the week if we're green or not). I haven't had a cashier shift since labor day and it was going on a few months before that.

When this happened in my store I focused on getting over to the guest service desk and Starbucks (and lucked out and those are now my only work centers listed) to get away. It's a very toxic tactic. I would try to change work centers or bail out of the store if I were you. It lowers morale significantly in my store so they flip flop having it every few months.

 

[Retail Girl]

Honestly, part of me wishes they would do this at my store. I am required to spend most of my shift making sure the cashiers are asking. If they aren't, I'm supposed to say something. Yet again, I have cashiers not asking, even with me standing there, but when I let the LOD know and ask for support, they won't do anything about it.

So now I just stand and stare at them not asking. If my leaders won't back me up, then there's no point in me saying anything.