Archived Planting items out of zone

[IndyTM12]

After I started with Target about 6 1/2 months ago I would notice while I was zoning a few odd things out of zone. No big deal just throw it the cart for reshop. Fast forward to January, I'm talking with a fellow TM who's doing 4x4s & he mentions that he'll find random things in weird spots and wonders if its careless guests or if an LOD will throw some stuff out to see if we actually zone. Then today I kept finding items that I knew weren't there 5 minutes ago. I actually found a softlines item & the LOD just happened to walk by and said, "Hey that doesn't go there. I've been waiting on you to find it for a long time."
So long question short (too late!!) Has anyone else ran into this? Is it a thing at Target?
Thanks

 

[IHeartCarts]

That's messed up, for real.

 

[Kartman]

No.

 

[Retail Girl]

So first, your LODs have too much time on their hands...to purposely make the store look bad to see if you are doing your job? Why not just walk the zone when you are done with it instead?

Second, they are creating more work for whoever has to sort all that crap and then reshop it. Meanwhile, depending on the item, it can't be bought by a guest because it isn't in the right spot.

Seriously, incredibly stupid.

 

[daninnj]

I was gonna type something but Retail Girl took the words out of my mouth. For real???

 

[commiecorvus]

 

[konk]

Sales floor does this every night, but they plant the items in the back room.

 

[meronachic]

I'm sure LODs at my store don't purposely plant things, but several of them have admitted to me that they do notice certain things and watch to see if that item gets grabbed. I'm surprised any leader has time to put things out of place on its own, even if they're a lazy one that doesn't care.

 

[Deli Ninja]

The only purposely planted things I've seen in my years at Target have been Great Team Cards with raffle numbers or candy attached, and that was 4+ years ago.
I do know that TLs, Brand, and ETLs will just leave a misplaced item and check on it periodically to see if anyone's picked it up to go back where it belongs yet. I know of at least one item was stayed where it was abandoned for a full week, maybe longer...

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

We used do that in old days. There is a Christmas fixture still up at my store. I am waiting to see if anyone else notices it. The fixture is in plain sight.

 

[dabeastfromtheeast]

I've seen AP plant empty boxes of high value items to see if anyone would report it. Also knew a TM who would write GTC with a blank name and a message to the tune of "Congratulations on finding this GTC! Go ahead and write your name in and pin it up!", and then would summarily hide them in random locations in the backrooms.

 

[CanuckTM]

I've seen TLs and above notice something wrong, not fix it, and then 2 days later coach the TMs who they saw not fix it (missing labels, wrong item on shelf, poor zone), which I thought was kinda douchey since there was no reminder/warning phase. Actively making things wrong is a whole level more worse, I'm surprised any of them have time for that.

 

[dannyy315]

That's mind numbingly fucked up.

 

[dcline414]

There is no way this is possible at my store. If I don't pull the myriad of toys, clothes, and housewares out of grocery, it doesn't get done. I have noticed things as I was leaving and then found them in the same place during my next shift, sometimes days later. Occasionally they will be pulled forward and faced though...

 

[BigEyedPhish]

If your LOD has nothing better to do than run around creating reshop, I'd kindly ask them if they could do the SDA for me. (As I know the LOD does the SDA in the morning, in some stores).

 

[dannyy315]

Hey, I have an idea. When I get home, I'm going to put a bunch of dish towels in my toilet and flush it. Then I'm going to call the plumber just to "test" him.

 

[redeye58]

AP used to place a bullseye card in various pockets of luggage, bags or purses; just a business-sized card that had a bullseye on it.
If you found one (usually in the course of ringing out a guest & emptying said item), you could take it to AP for a prize & a GTC.
That was also when we would drill cashiers about BOB & LISA.

 

[RunForACallBox]

AP used to place a bullseye card in various pockets of luggage, bags or purses; just a business-sized card that had a bullseye on it.
If you found one (usually in the course of ringing out a guest & emptying said item), you could take it to AP for a prize & a GTC.
That was also when we would drill cashiers about BOB & LISA.

BOB & LISA? this sounds familiar...

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

BOB & LISA? this sounds familiar...

Do they still teach cashiers about Bob ( bottom of basket) and Lisa ( look inside always) another team member and I were talking about that they other day...way back when I started that's all you heard

 

[RunForACallBox]

Now I remember. It's been a while since I've heard it.

 

[The Dude Abides]

I once tried this by leaving an item on a back endcap in A block just to see what would happen. Six weeks later....I ended up putting it back myself because I was sick of looking at it every time I walked past.

 

[dcline414]

I remember these from when I was trained five years ago—haven't heard the acronyms (or even the concept) a single time in the three months I've been back. It was a HUGE emphasis back then, but maybe they rely on cameras and AP more than cashiers now.

I'm pretty sure my store is low risk, but I hear that our thefts have been internal, upwards of $100k over a few different incidents. Guess BOB and LISA are small peanuts compared to the electronics keys going missing.