MEGATHREAD Signing Tips, Tricks and Quips (along with howls of despair)

Where did you see that? So nothing needs to be left in home? What about what's left in back?

You didn't expect a well-thought out plan did you!? Absurd! Obviously you just need to "figure out" & "make a plan" for how to set Christmas where the Halloween merch is while also maintaining a no-flexed space because we have to protect findability at all costs, especially in these last few weeks to capture those sales!

Ok, in all seriousness this ridiculous contradiction does not surprise me. My recommendation would be to do what we've always done and ignore this no-flex bullshit in the name of efficiency for those tasked with executing the sets.
 
You didn't expect a well-thought out plan did you!? Absurd! Obviously you just need to "figure out" & "make a plan" for how to set Christmas where the Halloween merch is while also maintaining a no-flexed space because we have to protect findability at all costs, especially in these last few weeks to capture those sales!

Ok, in all seriousness this ridiculous contradiction does not surprise me. My recommendation would be to do what we've always done and ignore this no-flex bullshit in the name of efficiency for those tasked with executing the sets.
We ignored the 'no flex' bullshit and just flexed all of the seasonal left into the 3 middle small aisles and then the first 3 aisles of seasonal.. We also were told to untie the old pogs and not even worry about retying them since people would just push into the old spots and not even pay attention.

We have an entire aisle and a half of costumes left and I feel like they are not selling... I love halloween time
 
No stockings shippers this year? I couldn't find it but then notice on VMG it's wired fencing.
I'm supposed to do a "stocking stuffer" end cap in OTC and the non-retail list includes bins, dividers, and an instruction sheet. Our VM TM told me that the ISM pallets have been arriving late. The end cap is due this week and I really don't want to fake-set it without that ISM - all those little stocking stuffer things in miscellaneous boxes with the tops cut off with look awful. Using the fencing would take more time than those bins, I think, but it would work better than nothing.
 
I'm supposed to do a "stocking stuffer" end cap in OTC and the non-retail list includes bins, dividers, and an instruction sheet. Our VM TM told me that the ISM pallets have been arriving late. The end cap is due this week and I really don't want to fake-set it without that ISM - all those little stocking stuffer things in miscellaneous boxes with the tops cut off with look awful. Using the fencing would take more time than those bins, I think, but it would work better than nothing.

There was a large box (4x4x4 roughly) on a pallet by itself that arrived last week--labeled for OTC and I believe goes in the pallet space in OTC (for those stores that have that space). It's a wellness salesplan with a pre-built shipper for stocking stuffer items.

With the amount of ISM coming in right now it is possible it is floating around somewhere in your store. Mine is currently outside in a pod. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I would look around for ISM pallets and check what they are. Or ask your VM if they have sorted all the ISM that has arrived and where they've put the larger pallet sized boxes (there should be several that have been delivered, some for Rear Seasonal and some for shippers setting elsewhere).

I haven't seen anything else for OTC come in. But your VM is also not wrong that a lot of the time ISM arrives late. Pallets for the last several months have had ISM from the previous week, the current week, and the next week. So transitions have had go backs way more than is feasible to to actually go back to. Your VM should be able to check the ISM portal to see if anything is in transit for your endcap if it's not already in store.
 
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There was a large box (4x4x4 roughly) on a pallet by itself that arrived last week--labeled for OTC and I believe goes in the pallet space in OTC (for those stores that have that space). It's a wellness salesplan with a pre-built shipper for stocking stuffer items.

With the amount of ISM coming in right now it is possible it is floating around somewhere in your store. Mine is currently outside in a pod. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I would look around for ISM pallets and check what they are. Or ask your VM if they have sorted all the ISM that has arrived and where they've put the larger pallet sized boxes (there should be several that have been delivered, some for Rear Seasonal and some for shippers setting elsewhere).

I haven't seen anything else for OTC come in. But your VM is also not wrong that a lot of the time ISM arrives late. Pallets for the last several months have had ISM from the previous week, the current week, and the next week. So transitions have had go backs way more than is feasible to to actually go back to. Your VM should be able to check the ISM portal to see if anything is in transit for your endcap if it's not already in store.

ISM has been a shit show lately. No accountability, no hours, I feel it gets worst by the year. The VMs we been getting this past year just shoves it in the fixture room without getting rid of old ones, so now we have no space to grab stuff.
 
If I see one more oversized ISM pallet come into my store, I'm going to lose it!!!!! There has to be a better way to send all this ISM: maybe separate out the holiday stuff from the regular ISM instead of mixing it all together forcing someone to have to go thru the whole thing when we have no space to do so?!?!!

The holiday endcap toppers could have all been sent on their own pallet. Beauty ISM, same thing.

Smarter not harder, people!!

*end rant*
 
If I see one more oversized ISM pallet come into my store, I'm going to lose it!!!!! There has to be a better way to send all this ISM: maybe separate out the holiday stuff from the regular ISM instead of mixing it all together forcing someone to have to go thru the whole thing when we have no space to do so?!?!!

The holiday endcap toppers could have all been sent on their own pallet. Beauty ISM, same thing.

Smarter not harder, people!!

*end rant*

Two more right before I left today. Just said **** it. I'll deal with it after inbound throws it somewhere.
 
I was supposed to focus on signing throughout my shift today for seasonal but I didn’t get to do everything. I couldn’t find my polar bear and I still have a pallet to go through but had to stop due to change of direction being given to me. It’s been a week for presentation lol
 
Two more right before I left today. Just said **** it. I'll deal with it after inbound throws it somewhere.

I gave up several weeks ago. I now have half a pod outside full of ISM. Whatever. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I was supposed to focus on signing throughout my shift today for seasonal but I didn’t get to do everything. I couldn’t find my polar bear and I still have a pallet to go through but had to stop due to change of direction being given to me. It’s been a week for presentation lol

Both of my bears needed for Seasonal and Snuggle Shop are MIA. I don't have the Auden arches up in Gateway. Half the Tech ISM from the recent transition isn't up yet. Market is asking for turkey ISM, no idea where that is. And I have an entire pallet of storewide endcap toppers for next week. FML.
 
If I see one more oversized ISM pallet come into my store, I'm going to lose it!!!!! There has to be a better way to send all this ISM: maybe separate out the holiday stuff from the regular ISM instead of mixing it all together forcing someone to have to go thru the whole thing when we have no space to do so?!?!!

The holiday endcap toppers could have all been sent on their own pallet. Beauty ISM, same thing.

Smarter not harder, people!!

*end rant*
It's infuriating our backroom has been remodel so many times that we no longer have room in the back for normal deliveries. Oversize pallets can not go up in the steel.
 
Whoever decided to eliminate the Signing position I hope does not work for target anymore. Having someone just dedicated to the ISM and knows everything about it, would help so much. I cringe everytime I see the store throw signing out. It makes every presentation look so much better.
 
Whoever decided to eliminate the Signing position I hope does not work for target anymore. Having someone just dedicated to the ISM and knows everything about it, would help so much. I cringe everytime I see the store throw signing out. It makes every presentation look so much better.

PREACH!!!!!!! I think about this all the time. It used to be my position before modernization and I was able to keep up on all the ISM, even go-backs that had to be ordered. I was an extra Plano person because ISM didn't take me 40 hours every week so I could help out with big sets too.
 
Whoever decided to eliminate the Signing position I hope does not work for target anymore. Having someone just dedicated to the ISM and knows everything about it, would help so much. I cringe everytime I see the store throw signing out. It makes every presentation look so much better.

I told the Lego rep I'm not going to have time to update the Lego inline spine ISM. Lego rep say he'll take care of it, don't throw it away. One month later, ISM is still in the fixture room, I ask him about it. "Sorry, new boss says your suppose to do it, but don't throw it away." Well... I go then it's just going to sit there, might as well just throw it away. He says no, don't throw it away. Guess what I'm going to do with it??? IDGAF
 
ISM has been a shit show lately. No accountability, no hours, I feel it gets worst by the year. The VMs we been getting this past year just shoves it in the fixture room without getting rid of old ones, so now we have no space to grab stuff.
It's really not your vms job to clean up after everyone. If there is no room to grab signs then leaders aren't grabbing their ISM or holding their tms accountable for grabbing their ism.
 
It's really not your vms job to clean up after everyone. If there is no room to grab signs then leaders aren't grabbing their ISM or holding their tms accountable for grabbing their ism.

Can we just be a little realistic here? Sure on paper and in a perfect world we would be grabbing our ISM. Reality, breaking down ISM is 1-2 weeks behind and shoved into containers inaccessible due to time and space contraints 4th quarter. It's not our core job to be doing fullfillment but guess what... we get pulled everyday. It's not my job to be digging through unsorted pallets of ISM but I do it anyways because I have to.
 
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