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

Honestly I hope we don't need them. Just seeing them in the back room is annoying. Luckily I have nothing going on now (Neiman is set up and doesn't take much room) and space is not critical. I honestly don't know. My TL thought it might be the Merch Update, and I had two separate ETLs (hardlines) both say we keep them, but I haven't see this with my own eyes and I am always skeptical of second-hand information (and when asked no one could show it to me either). I mean, there would at least be a workbench message about it, right? Doesn't matter. I will be happy to bale them if thats the case.

I would actually put money down right now that they read the papers wrong about taking apart the seasonal flat focals and reusing them for the wrapping paper. 3:49pm 11/28/2012. Calling that one right now.

As for the window, they're ice cold. the second set went better just from knowing the material after putting up the first set. I used to do a probably slightly less detailed version of they way you put them up (TargetOldTimer) but more aggressive on how big the sections are. Now I either do two things. Peel back a section and proceed carefully from there, OR i'll peel the whole back off and just eye it up, hope for the best and spend some quality squeegee time (really only works on square things that are near a flat edge that I can use for leveling the cling).

My team used to be a lot more self sufficient. We used to have a great TL who was with the company for almost 10yrs, knew plano like the back of their hand and the team fully respected them and the work that they did. A couple new ETLs later and an outside hire TL who almost 2 years later still doesn't get it and they are like a shell of the team they could be/were. Complaints about plano before were "someone forgot a header label" or "could you make sure that you tuck the backer paper into the sides of the gondola" to "these revisions are tied, but none are done" to "what do you mean you can't find label strips for 1/2 the POGs this week" or "not a single thing got pushed over here" etc.
 
Lately I've noticed an effort to make me 'more efficient'.
They want to 'plan out the day with maximum effect' and create the best possible 'environment for productivity' in the fixture room.
I'm also supposed to 'push back' when people ask for help.

At first the ideas presented seemed reasonable and I was happy to cooperate.
Now I'm beginning to realize it's an effort to reduce my hours even more.

I've tried to explain to them that the actual signing is often not the part that takes up the bulk of my time.
That having to fix things like the Christmas trees that are falling apart or when some idiot hits the base of the Rockefeller Tree with a pallet jack.
You can't schedule that kind of dreck for 'maximum effect.'
And if they keep pushing ...
 
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commiecorvus said:
Lately I've noticed an effort to make me 'more efficient'.
They want to 'plan out the day with maximum effect' and create the possible 'environment for productivity' in the fixture room.
I'm also supposed to 'push back' when people ask for help.

At first the ideas presented seemed reasonable and I was happy to cooperate.
Now I'm beginning to realize its an effort to reduce my hour even more.

I've tried to explain to them that the actual signing is often not the part that takes up the bulk of my time.
That having to fix things like the Christmas trees that are falling apart or when some idiot hits the base of the Rockefeller Tree with a pallet jack.
You can't schedule that kind of drek for 'maximum effect.'
And if they keep pushing ...
Click to expand...

I've been there. Twice now at the least. For me it's every new ETL cycle. They don't really know what you do. They see you work "cushy" hours, don't do weekends, no reshop, etc. They wonder what it is that you do. A lot of them have no concept of how long things take either. Had ETL recently blast two plano TMs that 3x5s for that vacuum wall should "only take about 10 min". I wasn't there for that, and it luckily didn't happen to me but it easily could have. They also have no idea that randomly grabbing me on the salesfloor and saying "there are some signs missing in C" telling me to take care of it is not a five minute operation. Or emailing me to say that "we are missing xyz display or sign" without so much as a POG number actually means that I have to get up from reading me email, go to the floor, find what they are actually talking about, THEN pull the pog on online planogram, if i am lucky i can spot it right there - if not i have to diagram the schematic since the descriptions are all generic as all get out, and THEN i can order it. Then there's also the wait for the item to come in (if it doesn't get cancelled for some reason or another) and THEN find the time to put it up. They don't get it. Or, when you have a bunch of ordered stuff come in at a particularly busy time and no one has time to put it out, and they look at you as if its your fault it wasn't there in the first place (did i ever tell anyone about the pallet of around 100 - maybe more cosmetics shelves that came a month AFTER our retrofit? i still get asked what it is for and if we can just throw it away.)

Or more recently someone "forgot" to do any of the displays in the hair dryer aisle. That's me now too. They don't realize that there is a chance it might be a quick swap, or I could end up having to pull every hairdryer off the aisle.

For me it was never an effort to reduce my hours - just utilize them elsewhere. My current hardlines ETL tried to say that since some weeks our hours are low it would make sense that I should just handle all the revisions. umm......yeah you really haven't looked at how big that workload usually is have you? Or that when my hours are like 11 for the week - its probably because they are 63 the week before. And there is ALWAYS maintenance to be done. The other day I got called halfway across the store to come look at something. You know what it was? A piece of backer paper that needed a canoe clip. Really? Really? Our store is in blame game mode now and they always want someone to clean something up for someone else. Aside from "five star events" signing does not take up a majority of my day. Its all the little piled on things, or the maintenance things, or the 'could you do xyz for me' requests.

The biggest thing my leadership team doesn't get is that I will never have nothing to do. I can occupy myself productively. All the time. I am very proactive. Maybe it doesn't seem that way to them since their only concerns are cafs and reshop - there are always brand projects that can be worked on, or actually getting some time in the fixture room. And if after all that I still had nothing to I would ask someone for something to do! fancy that! i didn't get to the position where i am at because i am a time waster!
 
Signing TMs..anyone know how to get a Cotterman stool? I've seen one in a picture of another store using one when setting planograms that require a lot of lower shelf work. Cosmetics for example. My knees just can't take kneeling on the floor anymore and we are not allowed to sit pn the floor. If this exists, does anyone have a part number? Thanks!
 
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Cotterman stool? Weren't the old rolling stairs the Cotterman brand? You could ask your SFT to check TIPP for a cotterman stool, but I warn ya, Cottermans are $$$$.

I like Hardlinesmasters $30 garden stool versus the cost of a Cotterman.
 
researchr said:
Signing TMs..anyone know how to get a Cotterman stool? I've seen one in a picture of another store using one when setting planograms that require a lot of lower shelf work. Cosmetics for example. My knees just can't take kneeling on the floor anymore and we are not allowed to sit pn the floor. If this exists, does anyone have a part number? Thanks!
Click to expand...

we use knee pads, that we got out or gardening. we all have one, and not allowed to sit on the floor??? whose idea was that? lol. i use my kneepad for kneeling, sitting, hell even when im standing in one spot, like those times i help pricing and im standing still for a while. its served as a makeshift anti-fatigue mat.
 
Whoever said you can't sit on the floor is obviously someone who has spent no time moving lower shelf products like skincare or granola bars. I had one ETL tell me it doesn't look professional. I just scowled at him. He was gone in like two months. He was a nitwit. I actually had to explain to him why I couldn't set the FOS signing while the store was open. If I have to explain to you why closing off the entrance of the store is a bad idea, you are a moron.
 
Nobody has had the guts to tell me that.
If I'm attaching a display to the bottom shelf, I will so sprawl all over the floor they might as well put cones around me.
 
TargetOldTimer said:
Cotterman stool? Weren't the old rolling stairs the Cotterman brand? You could ask your SFT to check TIPP for a cotterman stool, but I warn ya, Cottermans are $$$$.

I like Hardlinesmasters $30 garden stool versus the cost of a Cotterman.
Click to expand...


We are not allowed to use ANY stool that we sell. Not allowed to sit on the floor and I have never seen anyone with kneepads but we don't have them right now anyway. I was hoping there was actually a stool made for the plano team (I am not plano) that could be ordered off tipp. That way the powers that be would have to acknowledge it's necessary. I have bruised knees from pushing for 10hrs yesterday. Would have liked a stool for hba.

p.s. I asked the SFT about a stool. He never heard of it but said if I could find it he would ask about it. I have never been on tipp and have no idea how to find it.
 
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wonkatonka said:
That's true in the sense that you can't pull one off the shelf, use it, and then go put it back. If you properly requisition it, it's fine to use ladders or stools we sell.
Click to expand...

Wonka Tonka, that is wrong. The ladder must be OSHA approved for industrial use, so nothing we sell is considered safe.

I don't see anything wrong with using a rolling garden stool since it isn't meant to be stood on, but then again, if getting down on your knees is because of weight, there may be a safety issue about the weight limit of such??????

I use strap on knee pads when I am on my knees, but the plano team and price change team use the foam gardening pads that you kneel on. Both are perfectly fine.
 
How did you all complete the ereader endcap and plano? I helped the SFT install the new cases, put on the new pods, but I didn't recieve the clips to put a Nook on the Pod. I also didn't get any displays.

I hear a rep came in, but left when plano team couldn't find me. Did you all get the clips and then take Nooks out of stock? I can't seem to find any instructions and I'm hesitant to take a Nook out of stock if there were supposed to be displays sent.

I'm not doing signing right now, but the plano TL isn't taking care of the issue.....
 
TargetOldTimer said:
How did you all complete the ereader endcap and plano? I helped the SFT install the new cases, put on the new pods, but I didn't recieve the clips to put a Nook on the Pod. I also didn't get any displays.

I hear a rep came in, but left when plano team couldn't find me. Did you all get the clips and then take Nooks out of stock? I can't seem to find any instructions and I'm hesitant to take a Nook out of stock if there were supposed to be displays sent.

I'm not doing signing right now, but the plano TL isn't taking care of the issue.....
Click to expand...

The Rep has the displays and will install them.
 
yeah....we installed ours right after that week of huge electronics revisions. the rep came by and i guess tried to split the difference when the revisions went, and when the endcap went up. they dropped off the unit for the inline display, but not the two new tablets for the endcap. we set the endcap, and then a couple weeks later they rep appeared at some point since i noticed the displays were up this week.
 
As for the question about getting a stool for salesfloor use, there isn't an "official" asset to order for it. The closest that might come is what we have access to from our punchout version of Grainger's website. They might have something, but it would be a hit against your SFT's FM budget and may end up being a no-go by your STL or DTL as far as how it looks.

As for the Nook displays, good luck finding proper contact info for the rep that will lead to anything, we've all been hitting up our Field Project page with requests for it and gotten nowhere. There's a lot of SFTs who would love to have these done and off their plates.
 
The Mule said:
As for the Nook displays, good luck finding proper contact info for the rep that will lead to anything, we've all been hitting up our Field Project page with requests for it and gotten nowhere. There's a lot of SFTs who would love to have these done and off their plates.
Click to expand...

Yeah, we still don't have our Nooks, and I hear about it every single day....

SFTs boss can't find the info for her stores and no luck with mysupport either.....

If anyone can find a phone number to get ahold of Barnes and Noble rep, Please share.
 

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