Archived Questions about Work Centers and Training

[chippersen]

I have a couple of questions about training and primary work centers.

So a couple of weeks ago I asked my HRTL about training on the sales floor since I am currently work as cashier and service desk. I love service desk, but absolutely despise cashier. I started as cashier, but when they interviewed and hired me, they said they would train me on the service desk. So I worked as cashier only for a while and then they trained me at the service desk. I have been working at Target for a little over 3 months now (almost 4) and I love it. I alternate between service desk and cashier. Well, when I asked about training on the floor, she said yeah sure! She then said she would talk to clerical. About a week or two later, I asked clerical and she said she just talked to her and that she didn't have the hours, but would definatley train me there. She also asked which parts of sales floor I'd want to train and I said both hardlines and softlines. I basically told her I wanted to be able to work and alternate everywhere. She said that's great and that since I've been on the service desk that she has heard such great things and team members have mentioned that they love me at the service desk. Then she mentioned that I would probably be good at sales floor and softlines probably good at fitting room and everything . Well, I mentioned that one of the cashiers (who has been there a long time) said I should also mention Food Avenue, so I did and she said that she would also mention to one of the GSAs (who is literally trained everywhere) about it and see if she can train me in the down time without having to have training hours for it. Then she said it's great that I want to do everything and all and said to basically just give her time and she will put me to train as soon as she can...

Well, I am very excited and can't wait to train on the sales floor for many reasons. The main is because guests ask me where stuff is and I have no idea. The other main reason is because I don't want to cashier anymore. I despise it. I want to do something that requires more going and doing and thinking on your feet and problem solving, much like the service desk...

So my main question is this: Since they mentioned that they will train me in those areas, can I go ahead and ask her if I can get my primary work center switched from cashier to service desk? I love the service desk. Absolutely love it and I am good at it. It's more critically thinking and going and doing, so I enjoy it. I really want to get away from cashiering (I don't care to do it here and there and maybe once or so a week) and be over there more. I don't want to annoy HR in any way, but I really want to excel in work!

I want to be primarily at the service desk with random shifts in the sales floor and food avenue and a couple of cashier shifts here and there. So what should I do?

 

[chippersen]

Sorry that the post is so long by the way. Just trying to give everyone the full picture.

 

[Bullselle]

Sorry that the post is so long by the way. Just trying to give everyone the full picture.

At my store, (and probably at all stores) a lot of people start off as cashiers before they get moved to the area they actually want to work. So you can tell HR that you would love to primarily work at the service desk and your hours at the service desk will go up. But just be warned that if you get cross trained in a lot of areas, they're just going to schedule you as needed.
So for instance, if you get cross trained for the sales floor, there may be a week where you're scheduled only for the sales floor and you're just called up to the service desk during your shift when additional assistance is needed. There's often only one person at guest services, whereas the sales floor could always use extra workers. So don't expect to get primarily the service desk every week if you're cross trained for many different areas.
Also, since you hate being a cashier, just remember that you'll still have to be a cashier when you work on the sales floor. In my store, I get called for backup at least twice every shift. The maximum times I went up was 6 (it was a very busy day). They will expect you to go up at least once during your shift. So if you think that being a cashier is annoying now, imagine how much more annoying it will be when you have a quota of work that you're expected to get done by the end of your shift, while you keep getting pulled away by guests asking for help AND you have to go up to the checklanes several times a day. Just something I think you should consider.
Anyway, good luck with your request!

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

Go for the swap shift board.

 

[Nauzhror]

@Bullselle There's a pretty big difference between not wanting to cashier for 8 hours and not being able to do it for 15 minute stunts here and there.

 

[Bullselle]

@Bullselle There's a pretty big difference between not wanting to cashier for 8 hours and not being able to do it for 15 minute stunts here and there.

I understand. I've had to do 8 hour cashier shifts before and I DEFINITELY prefer the sales floor.

Still, I think the OP should know that there's really no way to avoid being a cashier (unless you want to work in the backroom or something) and that it is incredibly annoying to have to stop what you're doing at unexpected times and go up to the check lanes. At least being a cashier is less demanding in that sense.

 

[Nauzhror]

Still, I think the OP should know that there's really no way to avoid being a cashier (unless you want to work in the backroom or something)

I dunno, I get told off by the LOD if I touch a register.

Though I'm still caged in like the cashiers, my cage's just a bit bigger.

 

[Bullselle]

Still, I think the OP should know that there's really no way to avoid being a cashier (unless you want to work in the backroom or something)

I dunno, I get told off by the LOD if I touch a register.

Though I'm still caged in like the cashiers, my cage's just a bit bigger.

Well, you chose the backroom life.

 

[Flabbergasted]

Still, I think the OP should know that there's really no way to avoid being a cashier (unless you want to work in the backroom or something)

I dunno, I get told off by the LOD if I touch a register.

Though I'm still caged in like the cashiers, my cage's just a bit bigger.

Well, you chose the backroom life.

He's a GSA.

 

[Bullselle]

@Forhyre
... How can a GSA not use the cash registers?

 

[Flabbergasted]

I'm guessing he means that the LODs want him to focus on supervising the lanes, which is harder to do when you yourself are on a lane.

 

[Bullselle]

I'm guessing he means that the LODs want him to focus on supervising the lanes, which is harder to do when you yourself are on a lane.

But still... GSAs have to use the registers all the time at my store. So do the LODs if they can't get enough people for backup. That's just... I mean... Every time he touches the registers?!

 

[chippersen]

Sorry that the post is so long by the way. Just trying to give everyone the full picture.

At my store, (and probably at all stores) a lot of people start off as cashiers before they get moved to the area they actually want to work. So you can tell HR that you would love to primarily work at the service desk and your hours at the service desk will go up. But just be warned that if you get cross trained in a lot of areas, they're just going to schedule you as needed.
So for instance, if you get cross trained for the sales floor, there may be a week where you're scheduled only for the sales floor and you're just called up to the service desk during your shift when additional assistance is needed. There's often only one person at guest services, whereas the sales floor could always use extra workers. So don't expect to get primarily the service desk every week if you're cross trained for many different areas.
Also, since you hate being a cashier, just remember that you'll still have to be a cashier when you work on the sales floor. In my store, I get called for backup at least twice every shift. The maximum times I went up was 6 (it was a very busy day). They will expect you to go up at least once during your shift. So if you think that being a cashier is annoying now, imagine how much more annoying it will be when you have a quota of work that you're expected to get done by the end of your shift, while you keep getting pulled away by guests asking for help AND you have to go up to the checklanes several times a day. Just something I think you should consider.
Anyway, good luck with your request!

I understand that I'll be schedules on the floor and everything which is completely fine with me. I want to be able to move around and be pulled as needed. My goal is to be scheduled as cashier as little as possible. I wouldn't mind having to go up multiple times while working the floor. As long as I'm not standing at the register for hours upon hours I wouldn't mind it at all. Basically, I want to be primarily service desk and then scheduled on the floor and anywhere else as needed. So is this possible?

 

[Bullselle]

@chippersen

Well here's the thing. If you cross train for various salesfloor positions, this will already decrease your chances of being scheduled as a cashier. Everyone is required to be cashier trained, so why schedule you as a cashier when you're trained in so many other areas and they can get literally anyone else in the store to do it, right? Right.

BUT. This sort of applies to the service desk as well. A good portion of cashiers get cross trained for the service desk, and most, if not all, of the TLs can do the job. And like I said before, they don't need that many people working at the service desk at once. So, say they're understaffed at hardlines one day. If you're cross trained in hardlines, that's what you'll probably be doing instead of the service desk, even if you're scheduled for the service desk. They can always move people around so that a GSA/GSTL does the service desk, because the GSA/GSTL can't cover for a hardlines TM.

So basically, what I'm saying is that if you get cross trained in a lot of areas, you are less likely to be thought of as a service desk worker, and more likely to be thought of as a salesfloor jack of all trades. I'm not saying that this will definitely happen at your store, I'm just basing this off of what I've seen.

Is it possible to work primarily at the service desk? ehhh I think so. If you really stress this during your cross training, who knows, it might happen.

 

[Nauzhror]

I'm guessing he means that the LODs want him to focus on supervising the lanes, which is harder to do when you yourself are on a lane.

But still... GSAs have to use the registers all the time at my store. So do the LODs if they can't get enough people for backup. That's just... I mean... Every time he touches the registers?!

We typically always get enough for backup. If I hop on a register I get reamed a new asshole. Helping a guest or two at the service desk might go unnoticed, but touching a normal register is asking to get coached if not explicitly told to hop on while the LOD watches the lanes.

ie. Came in today to have the GSTL bitch at me that the Presentation TL was pissed that yesterday I was on the service desk at one point and he had to call for backup because I got stuck on the service desk and couldn't get off to avoid the line from getting too long.

Was an error on my part, and I acknowledge it, but the Presentation TL spoke to me at the time, I'd have thought that was enough without him also telling the GSTL to bitch at me the next day about it.

If I help a cashier with a problem they have that's one thing, but I very much am not supposed to ring up guests for any reason.

Not sure why your store'd have GSTL's/GSA's on registers often unless it is very low volume.

 

[chippersen]

@chippersen

Well here's the thing. If you cross train for various salesfloor positions, this will already decrease your chances of being scheduled as a cashier. Everyone is required to be cashier trained, so why schedule you as a cashier when you're trained in so many other areas and they can get literally anyone else in the store to do it, right? Right.

BUT. This sort of applies to the service desk as well. A good portion of cashiers get cross trained for the service desk, and most, if not all, of the TLs can do the job. And like I said before, they don't need that many people working at the service desk at once. So, say they're understaffed at hardlines one day. If you're cross trained in hardlines, that's what you'll probably be doing instead of the service desk, even if you're scheduled for the service desk. They can always move people around so that a GSA/GSTL does the service desk, because the GSA/GSTL can't cover for a hardlines TM.

So basically, what I'm saying is that if you get cross trained in a lot of areas, you are less likely to be thought of as a service desk worker, and more likely to be thought of as a salesfloor jack of all trades. I'm not saying that this will definitely happen at your store, I'm just basing this off of what I've seen.

Is it possible to work primarily at the service desk? ehhh I think so. If you really stress this during your cross training, who knows, it might happen.

I know that training in other areas will decrease my cashier scheduling chances. That's basically my entire point. However, only a few of us (about 6) are trained at the service desk and get scheduled there. One of the 6 works ONLY on Sundays at any part of the store and another of the 6 asked to NOT be scheduled there at all. So I think I may still get some service desk shifts. I would rather work the floor or anything rather than cashiering. Anything that keeps my chances away from cashiering is great to me haha. The thing I am still confused on though is where my primary work center shows "Cashier" on it. Do you think I can easily get that changed to say "Service Desk" instead? If so, do I just talk to the clerical?

 

[thatcashierdude]

I'm guessing he means that the LODs want him to focus on supervising the lanes, which is harder to do when you yourself are on a lane.

But still... GSAs have to use the registers all the time at my store. So do the LODs if they can't get enough people for backup. That's just... I mean... Every time he touches the registers?!

We typically always get enough for backup. If I hop on a register I get reamed a new asshole. Helping a guest or two at the service desk might go unnoticed, but touching a normal register is asking to get coached if not explicitly told to hop on while the LOD watches the lanes.

ie. Came in today to have the GSTL bitch at me that the Presentation TL was pissed that yesterday I was on the service desk at one point and he had to call for backup because I got stuck on the service desk and couldn't get off to avoid the line from getting too long.

Was an error on my part, and I acknowledge it, but the Presentation TL spoke to me at the time, I'd have thought that was enough without him also telling the GSTL to bitch at me the next day about it.

If I help a cashier with a problem they have that's one thing, but I very much am not supposed to ring up guests for any reason.

Not sure why your store'd have GSTL's/GSA's on registers often unless it is very low volume.

My store sometimes has the GSA on a lane. This gets problematic when cashiers need help, and it's why it should never happen. Worst feeling to have your flasher on and multiple alerts sent to their LPDA for a serious issue to look in front of you and see them ringing someone out. With no one watching the lanes.

 

[Flabbergasted]

My store frequently has GSAs/GSTLs covering the Service Desk TM's breaks/lunches, because we have very few people trained at the Service Desk. They have to be behind there the whole time and watching the lanes at the same time, and vice versa when we SDTMs cover their breaks/lunches. Very inefficient.

 

[Bullselle]

@chippersen
I'm not sure you're really getting it. Yes, you will get service desk shifts if you ask for them. Yes, you can ask for them to make the service desk your primary work center. That's still no guarantee that your primary work center WILL be the service desk. Why? Because like I said, they will move you around as needed, and they don't need that many people working at the service desk. Are those 6 trained service desk workers all TMs? If so, that's probably the typical amount, because I can only think of 6 off the top of my head at my store. Remember, the GSAs/GSTLs are also service desk trained, as are many TLs.

Bottom line, if you cross train in many areas, you will most likely not have the service desk as your primary work center. You can get it written as your primary work center on a sheet of paper, but that really doesn't mean much when you're sales floor trained. You can expect to get put on the sales floor the majority of the time.

 

[Bullselle]

I'm guessing he means that the LODs want him to focus on supervising the lanes, which is harder to do when you yourself are on a lane.

But still... GSAs have to use the registers all the time at my store. So do the LODs if they can't get enough people for backup. That's just... I mean... Every time he touches the registers?!

We typically always get enough for backup. If I hop on a register I get reamed a new asshole. Helping a guest or two at the service desk might go unnoticed, but touching a normal register is asking to get coached if not explicitly told to hop on while the LOD watches the lanes.

ie. Came in today to have the GSTL bitch at me that the Presentation TL was pissed that yesterday I was on the service desk at one point and he had to call for backup because I got stuck on the service desk and couldn't get off to avoid the line from getting too long.

Was an error on my part, and I acknowledge it, but the Presentation TL spoke to me at the time, I'd have thought that was enough without him also telling the GSTL to bitch at me the next day about it.

If I help a cashier with a problem they have that's one thing, but I very much am not supposed to ring up guests for any reason.

Not sure why your store'd have GSTL's/GSA's on registers often unless it is very low volume.

Christ. That presentation TL needs to take a seat.

Yes, our store is incredibly understaffed. I think this may be the norm for Target, though. The most cashiers we get on at once are 5 or 6. That really isn't enough during the busy times of the day. We usually get two extra people every time backup is called. Sometimes, that still isn't enough, so the GSAs and LODs hop on.

 

[Bullselle]

My store frequently has GSAs/GSTLs covering the Service Desk TM's breaks/lunches, because we have very few people trained at the Service Desk. They have to be behind there the whole time and watching the lanes at the same time, and vice versa when we SDTMs cover their breaks/lunches. Very inefficient.

Yep, my store does the same thing when the service desk goes on a lunch, except they have a cashier fill in as GSTL. But then since they have one less cashier, the cashier has to keep calling for backup. It's a mess.

 

[Nauzhror]

We have many service desk trained cashiers, so much easier to have a cashier cover service desk than GSA/TL cover service desk and a cashier cover them.

I think 12 of our cashiers are service desk trained. Might be more, but I can think of 12 off the top of my head.

 

[Bullselle]

We have many service desk trained cashiers, so much easier to have a cashier cover service desk than GSA/TL cover service desk and a cashier cover them.

I think 12 of our cashiers are service desk trained. Might be more, but I can think of 12 off the top of my head.

They should service desk train all of the cashiers. Makes more sense to me to do it that way than to have a cashier be a GSTL.

 

[Nauzhror]

We do train them all, eventually, if they stick it out. First quarter I plan to make that a priority, but 4th quarter there's little time to spare training people.

Every cashier who's been here at least six months is service desk trained, it's just the newbies that aren't.

 

[buliSBI]

I have a couple of questions about training and primary work centers.

So a couple of weeks ago I asked my HRTL about training on the sales floor since I am currently work as cashier and service desk. I love service desk, but absolutely despise cashier. I started as cashier, but when they interviewed and hired me, they said they would train me on the service desk. So I worked as cashier only for a while and then they trained me at the service desk. I have been working at Target for a little over 3 months now (almost 4) and I love it. I alternate between service desk and cashier. Well, when I asked about training on the floor, she said yeah sure! She then said she would talk to clerical. About a week or two later, I asked clerical and she said she just talked to her and that she didn't have the hours, but would definatley train me there. She also asked which parts of sales floor I'd want to train and I said both hardlines and softlines. I basically told her I wanted to be able to work and alternate everywhere. She said that's great and that since I've been on the service desk that she has heard such great things and team members have mentioned that they love me at the service desk. Then she mentioned that I would probably be good at sales floor and softlines probably good at fitting room and everything . Well, I mentioned that one of the cashiers (who has been there a long time) said I should also mention Food Avenue, so I did and she said that she would also mention to one of the GSAs (who is literally trained everywhere) about it and see if she can train me in the down time without having to have training hours for it. Then she said it's great that I want to do everything and all and said to basically just give her time and she will put me to train as soon as she can...

Well, I am very excited and can't wait to train on the sales floor for many reasons. The main is because guests ask me where stuff is and I have no idea. The other main reason is because I don't want to cashier anymore. I despise it. I want to do something that requires more going and doing and thinking on your feet and problem solving, much like the service desk...

So my main question is this: Since they mentioned that they will train me in those areas, can I go ahead and ask her if I can get my primary work center switched from cashier to service desk? I love the service desk. Absolutely love it and I am good at it. It's more critically thinking and going and doing, so I enjoy it. I really want to get away from cashiering (I don't care to do it here and there and maybe once or so a week) and be over there more. I don't want to annoy HR in any way, but I really want to excel in work!

I want to be primarily at the service desk with random shifts in the sales floor and food avenue and a couple of cashier shifts here and there. So what should I do?

Are there Service Desk work center labels? I thought there was just Cashier-, GSA-, and GSTL-Front End.

Primary work centers really pertain to what area you get the majority of your hours.

Depending on your store, Food Ave can be blackhole, so be careful. The problem with Food Ave is that you work mostly be yourself. So its hard to get recognized or played up by your TL.

Hours are tight right now. Execs are trying to stay within the year end budget. So you will probably won't see any hours on the salesfloor until Spring.