Archived Service Desk (tips and tricks)

[iVibe]

Any tips or tricks at this work center? They are training me there to cover breaks and lunches. How do I keep up with the reshop as people are returning their items and there is a long line? How do I price match on the ipad? What about gift registries? And which carts usually contain what items, just in case I can't use the smart sort for whatever reason? Also what if the second item on a receipt they are returning has something wrong with it? What if a cart is full, do I close it out like nighttime does? Anything I should know?

 

[mrknownothing]

I'm a little rusty when it comes to service desk procedures, but I'll see what I can do. Check out this thread for more info: http://www.thebreakroom.org/index.php?threads/service-desk.21/

How do I keep up with the reshop as people are returning their items and there is a long line?

Guests always come first. Abandoned re-shop (from the checklanes and sales floor) should wait until you're free. If you have re-shop or defectives after a transaction (items that a guest returned or exchanged), try to get them out of the way before the next guest so everything gets processed correctly and doesn't pile up everywhere. If you're by yourself and you have a line, hit the Additional Assistance button so the GSTL can have someone give you a hand.

How do I price match on the ipad?

My hour-and-a-half of service desk training came long before the iPads rolled out, but from what I understand, there's a dedicated app that you use to verify price matches. If the price match is eligible in the app, then go ahead and enter it in the POS.

What about gift registries?

If the guest wants to create a registry, give them a scanner and registry kit (the bag with all the goodies). If they're looking to purchase items on someone else's registry, direct them to the iPad station (or kiosk if your store still has the old registry kiosks) and have them search for the registry, then they can print it out. They must present the printout to the cashier when they check out so the registry gets updated. Note: If the registry printer does not work, guests can look up registries on the scanners. When they check out, they can pull up the barcode for the cashier to scan.

And which carts usually contain what items, just in case I can't use the smart sort for whatever reason?

This varies by store. At my store, we have a small sign telling what areas each cart or box is for. Always use Smart Sort in case an item is missed salvage, clearance, or not on file. Your hardlines team will appreciate it.

Also what if the second item on a receipt they are returning has something wrong with it?

Someone else will have to answer this one. Sorry.

What if a cart is full, do I close it out like nighttime does?

If your store uses Smart Sort at all times with no exceptions, then you must close any cart that's full. If your peers aren't really on top of the whole Smart Sort thing, it's better to do it just in case.

 

[HaveAGoodDay]

If the second item on the recipe has something wrong with it then just do the return and defect it out after the return is over.

 

[thatgirl]

For sorting hit k8 on register

On iPad use the price match system

For reshop you do it when there's bi guests in line. I sort reshop then do defectives. I just like my counters super clean.

Open DVDs of games can only be returned for same item & you have to open it

Ummm let's see FAs are easy

And be prepared for angry guests

 

[Retail Girl]

If the second item on the recipe has something wrong with it then just do the return and defect it out after the return is over.

Please don't do this. It creates issues later as the next person comes along and tries to figure out if it's defective.

Just scan the second item, and then hit K6 for something's wrong, and select defective.

 

[thatcashierdude]

How do I keep up with the reshop as people are returning their items and there is a long line?

Under each line item the items smart sort cart will be listed, as well as any applicable stickers, so you can sort as you return stuff (really helpful for giant returns). For a long line call for backup.

How do I price match on the ipad? What about gift registries?

Go into the price match app, then type the DPCI or UPC and it will tell you the target.com price. Other sites we price match they are listed below, we don't price match anything but those sites and paper ads. For registries usually you can just hand them an iPod scanner and let them figure it out.

And which carts usually contain what items, just in case I can't use the smart sort for whatever reason?

1-grocery/market
2-pets
3-softlines
4-seasonal/small apps
5-domestics
6-stationary
7-toys/sporting goods
8-chem/paper
9/11-H&B
10-cosmetics
12-electronics
13-MMB
14/15/16-jewelry/watches
17-one spot/checklanes

Defectives:
A-toss/destroy
B-ESIM (environmentally sensitive)
C-CRC
D-salvage
E-vendor pickup
EDIT:
F-no salesfloor locations, either

• put in your store's box F OR
• put in closest smart sort cart to the item

*this all depends on your store as ASANTS, ask a SDTM or supervisor what to do if unsure*
H-donation

Also what if the second item on a receipt they are returning has something wrong with it?

K6 - somethings wrong

What if a cart is full, do I close it out like nighttime does?

IDK about this, we only close the defectives boxes and don't do any of the carts. ASANTS

Anything I should know?

My post in this other thread should help, other than that use the GSA's guide to POS under Guides>Guest Service

Here is what I do [for ID exchanges]:

• Swipe any credit/debit card
• Choose K1 Even Exchange
• Scan the item they are returning
• It obviously won't come up under card lookup, and prompts for ID
  
• Scan their ID
• Choose whether anything is wrong with the item
• Press Total
• Scan the item they are getting
• Press Total again
• As long as the items are eligible for even exchange (only different sizes/colors/exact same item) the prices will zero out, even if the item is currently selling at more than the no receipt return value

That's the only method I've found to force the POS to accept an even exchange in this case. I don't know why the K1 Even Exchange doesn't appear after scanning an ID.

 

[RedBoy]

I've been doing the service desk for a while now, and I feel confident in my abilities. Obviously NASATS and all, but there are some general things that I think are universal.

Something my supervisors like about me is that save for serious circumstances (fraud of any kind/completely bizarre situations/backup) I rarely call them over for assistance. This is because the store really does give us empowerment to solve most general problems. Please remember that you are absolutely allowed to adjust prices, make exceptions, and hand out apology coupons (all within means of course) in order to appease guests. You want to make sure they leave happy, but that doesn't mean that you have to give them the entire store. A couple dollars here and there, a false "Look, I'll make an exception for you *THIS* time", and that's usually all it takes for me.
Of course, it's not always that easy. Oftentimes people will yell and demand a manager, and once that happens the situation is out of your control. The fact is, some people just want to cause trouble. People have crappy days and want to be dicks. It's not your fault.
(Of course, if something IS your fault, own up to it and find ways to rectify the situation. But 49/50 times the angriest guests will just be angry for the sake of being angry).
So that's my advice on the customer service side of things. Use your empowerment to your advantage without giving away your store. Realize that a lot of guest services is just making quick decisions. If an item is mismarked as $9.99 and the guest was charged $11.99, and it's one item, do it.
If it's $100, or anything else like that, call over your GSTL/GSA/LOD. But for most situations, trust your judgement.

Be careful with price match. This is a big one. Team members cannot use their discount on any price-matched item (exception - Target.com). This is a big deal at my store and team members have gotten in serious trouble over it. Do not price match out-of-stock-online items. Do not price match other Target stores. Do not price match your local retail store without a valid print ad. And so on.

As for label auditing, just...please watch out for those white labels. When doing returns, pay close attention to POS. The system will automatically print tickets. Do not lose track of this.
For example, if you scan a shirt that your Target no longer has on file, a white MISSED SALVAGE ticket will print. Attach this ticket to the item immediately, throw it into your labeled Salvage box or bin, and assist the next guest. For some returns with 5 or 6 MISSED SALVAGE tickets (usually large clothes returns), put all the tickets with all the clothes safely off to a side corner, assist your remaining guests, then immediately continue placing each ticket onto its appropriate item and into the Salvage box or bin.
If you tell the POS that "something's wrong - defective" (K1 - K1 immediately after scanning the first item for return), all items will be labeled DEFECTIVE SALVAGE. Deal with them how you would deal with MISSED SALVAGE items - ticket onto item, item into bin. Make sure only items that are not in resellable condition are defected out.
Some items will print out CRC tickets. These are electronic items that require being recycled safely, and at my store are more important than Salvage (iPads are typically more expensive than clothes, I suppose). Deal with them how you would deal with Salvage merchandise, but make sure it gets put into its appropriate CRC bin.
Toss is anything that shouldn't be defected - food, broken glass, baby bottles/strollers/etc. Toss is destroyed at Target rather than shipped off to a third-party vendor or recycled (like Salvage/CRC). At my store toss is a bit less important, just make sure each item gets its white TOSS ticket and then gets thrown into the toss bin.
Lastly, some items print weird tickets. They're all super weird, like one is a box with the letters FL printed inside. One is a picture of a battery, stuff like that. Pay close attention to these. Before the ticket prints the POS will display a screen that writes ESIM BAG AND SEAL. You should always see this screen. These items are bagged in a plastic bag, sealed with a ziptie, and the label is taped to the OUTSIDE of the bag. Make sure these get placed in the appropriate ESIM bin.
QMOS. QMOS is any milk/dairy/fresh/frozen food that cannot be defected out. No need to enter these into the system - bag and seal them, then place them into the appropriate QMOS bin.
Please keep track of these labels. Guests always ALWAYS come first at the service desk, but if you only have one or two defective items and one or two defective labels, at my store we quickly deal with this process in between each guest. Be quick about it - it should take no more than a few seconds max. Just know that at the end of the day, all of these items will be put through inventory. YOU will be accountable for any missing items. I know people who have been put on coachings/CCA's because of egregious errors, although I have misplaced salvaged clothes a few times and have heard nothing about it from anybody.

There is so much more to it, but you'll get better with actual hands-on experience. For starters, those are the two biggest things to have eyes on - solving problems logically and fairly (you are usually either the first or last person the guest will deal with at Target, make their shopping trip a good one), and auditing items. It's not hard at all despite how long this post is, just learn each individual label, and you're golden.

 

[iVibe]

Thanks for the help everyone

 

[mrknownothing]

F-smart sort doesn't know (no locations), decide yourself

Box F is for items that are not on planogram (NOP) and are not ticketed clearance. Because they have no sales floor locations, they should generally be backstocked. When Box F is full, its contents should be put into a repack box and sent to the backroom.

Items that are not on file (NOF) should be put in the Price Accuracy bin.

 

[thatcashierdude]

Box F is for items that are not on planogram (NOP) and are not ticketed clearance. Because they have no sales floor locations, they should generally be backstocked. When Box F is full, its contents should be put into a repack box and sent to the backroom.

Items that are not on file (NOF) should be put in the Price Accuracy bin.

We don't have a repack box or a backstock bin, so ASANTS. That's what we do for box F, and I assume salesfloor either flexes it, puts it in it's spot (even though it has no locations, like our fan central and playing cards are), or backstocks it. We do have a price accuracy box for NOF items, although usually it doesn't get checked for several weeks and the contents of the box are stacked about twice as high as the actual box...

 

[mrknownothing]

We don't have a repack box or a backstock bin, so ASANTS. That's what we do for box F, and I assume salesfloor either flexes it, puts it in it's spot (even though it has no locations, like our fan central and playing cards are), or backstocks it.

There's a reason why Box F exists in the Smart Sort system - those items don't go anywhere on the sales floor and should be backstocked so they're not just floating around in some mysterious location. If an NOP item is in a MIR (i.e. recalled), it's a lot easier to find the item when it's located in the backroom than if it's anywhere else.

We do have a price accuracy box for NOF items, although usually it doesn't get checked for several weeks and the contents of the box are stacked about twice as high as the actual box...

If you're ever bored at the service desk (lol), Smart Sort the stuff in the price accuracy bin. Some items may not have gotten SIM tickets like they were supposed to, or they might've gotten a UPC maintenance and they scan now. Or if your store has a NOF vehicle in the backroom, dump the price accuracy bin there. Out of sight, out of mind.

 

[thatcashierdude]

There's a reason why Box F exists in the Smart Sort system - those items don't go anywhere on the sales floor and should be backstocked so they're not just floating around in some mysterious location. If an NOP item is in a MIR (i.e. recalled), it's a lot easier to find the item when it's located in the backroom than if it's anywhere else.

That would be more efficient, but I'm sure that my store will continue doing the same stuff. Not that I could change it, my last day was yesterday. Our system for processing defectives is very inefficient as well, but because that's the way we do it it probably won't change.

If you're ever bored at the service desk (lol), Smart Sort the stuff in the price accuracy bin. Some items may not have gotten SIM tickets like they were supposed to, or they might've gotten a UPC maintenance and they scan now. Or if your store has a NOF vehicle in the backroom, dump the price accuracy bin there. Out of sight, out of mind.

We don't get the price accuracy stuff back after it's taken to the backroom. So I could smart sort it, but it will probably all come up NOF anyway. I wouldn't know if backroom has a NOF vehicle, if they do it's somewhere by price accuracy.

 

[Flabbergasted]

My store doesn't have an actual Box F or Price Accuracy bin. Unfortunately I and others have long been told that Box F stands for "figure it out." So we just throw that stuff where we think the item goes, but since it has no place on a shelf I'm guessing it just goes through a loop as the sales floor tries to figure out where it goes and eventually sends it back to us, etc.

I should see about getting a Box F.

 

[iVibe]

The learning curve is pretty steep at the service desk. What do I do when there are items of clothing without dpci's?

 

[RedBoy]

The learning curve is pretty steep at the service desk. What do I do when there are items of clothing without dpci's?

Depends on the situation.

Are they returning a piece of clothing without DPCI (graphic tees, non-Target brands) with receipt? The receipt will have the DPCI listed. Enter it manually, then defect out the merchandise as it cannot be resold (at least at my store we don't put repack stickers on clothes without original tags).

Is it a return with a credit or debit card, but no DPCI or tags? This is trickier. Usually they have three options in this case:
1) ask the guest or a team member to attempt to find a duplicate of the item on the sales floor, just so you could scan it for the return. Defect out the original without tags, throw the duplicate into reshop.
2) use the iPad to try to search for a DPCI online, or
3) if all else fails, the guest is SOL unless they can find an original tag or receipt. We need to be able to process it after all!

This is typically how we deal with this situation. There are always exceptions and if anything strange happens, walkie your GSTL or GSA.

 

[snoboy8999]

How much support do you have from the other front end supervisors / LOD?

 

[redeye58]

Target brand clothing usually has a tiny tag with the DPCI sewn in one of the seams. I keyed one in once when a guest attempted to return a top with a detached tag. The tag description didn't even match the item &, when I keyed in the sewn-in DPCI, lo & behold: it came up clearance. MUCH less than what the other tag said.
Needless to say, the guest declined returning it.

 

[Flabbergasted]

I refuse to key DPCIs from the receipt. I always have the guest find the product in the store with a tag/barcode on it.

 

[RedBoy]

Yeah, typing in the DPCI from the receipt is something that I also don't like doing, but at our store this situation happens super infrequently. Last week or so I had these girls trying to return a lamp with the tag off, and when I was doing my regular inspections I noticed that there was a competitor's sticker at the bottom of it. Even when I called them out on it, they kept insisting that they got it at our store. When I outright denied the return they still asked for store credit, which I almost laughed at. This stuff DOES happen, OP, and you should always be weary of it.

But for smaller return - like $4 baby clothes with missing tag and no DPCI sewn on - I just hand-type from the receipt. I figure the guest wouldn't go through so much trouble for $4, and even if they did, $4 is negligible. But everybody here is definitely correct. Clothes without a tag, or any merchandise without a tag, can be a big fraud red flag.

 

[doodlebug]

We always use the clear Tag-Easy tag hangers to attach tags to clothes so it was a red flag for me when a guest would come in with a tag attached with a red or black tag hanger. So I always double check those. Also, glance at the item description on the POS as you scan clothes. I've scanned a t-shirt before that when I scanned the tag, it read as a "msc dress" or something so there was obviously some tag switching going on.

Ask about your store's policy on HBA (health & cosmetic products) returns. Every store is different, some don't do those returns at all (like mine), some only do the return with a receipt, and some just will take everything. Eventually you will have some asshole come in and try to return expensive razors and toothbrushes that they used high dollar coupons to purchase and it's good to know where your store stands.

Not everyone is a scammer, so don't think the worst of every guest...but do try and stay alert to catch these things.

Sort your returns as you go between every guest. When I first started at the service desk, I thought it would be faster to help the guests as quickly as possible and then sort everything later. Um no. I kept ending up with an overwhelming mountain of crap with a bunch of clearance tags that I had no idea what they went to. It's much more efficient to stick tags on and sort into carts with each transaction. Repackaging is another issue though. I won't make the next guest wait while I fold a curtain back up or something.

The cart setup will vary from store to store but my store is 1)Grocery 2)Softlines 3)Electronics 4)Blue world (stationary, office, home improvement) 5)Green world (cosmetics, mini, pet, baby, storage) 6)Toys/Sporting goods 7)Domestics. I know where most things go, but I try to scan in Sort whenever possible anyway. By doing this, I catch a lot of clearance and missed salvage and there's always some random endcap I don't know about in another department than where an item would normally go.

 

[iVibe]

You guys have been really helpful. I go up there every now and then but for the most part I just cover breaks

 

[PinkZinnia]

And please please please, make sure you put the right clearance tag on the right item. Try not to put a clearance tag on top of a clearance tag. It causes a stand still at the check lanes. - we then have to make sure it's the right item and we wonder if the guests switched a tag or it was an honest mistake.

 

[sigma7]

And please please please, make sure you put the right clearance tag on the right item. Try not to put a clearance tag on top of a clearance tag. It causes a stand still at the check lanes. - we then have to make sure it's the right item and we wonder if the guests switched a tag or it was an honest mistake.

Your price change team doesn't put new clearance stickers on top of the old ones?

 

[PinkZinnia]

Yes but they put the right tickets on the right product. Trainees at service desk often put wrong tickets on products.
Pricing team will leave the markdown % showing on tickets to give us a heads that it is an additional markdown.

Trainees at service desk, often don't look and put the same tickets on top of tickets..

Funny how I use the trainee.. I mean, tm who was thrown into the service desk because there was a call out, which usually means, now you are properly trained..