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

Skip this if you don't want deal with yet another Break Room rant.
I'm sure most of you have better ways to start your weekend.

To start with I'd like to question the sanity of the person who decided to have the garden/patio set and the vacuum cleaner wall reset in the same week.
I don't know about you folks but it didn't help that along with building a ten new vacuums they decided to flip the entire frelling wall.

So at the beginning of the week I had a sit down with the STL and in a calm, practical manner explained how the cuts in my hours was making it impossible to do my job.
I clearly laid out what my concerns were and she responded so much better than I could have hoped for, by promising to give me the hours I needed to do the work and even increased my hours this week.
I was amazed and pretty damned impressed.
Than the other shoe dropped.
Today I was threatened.
Told that if my workload was not accomplished each and every week, now that I had the hours (and it doesn't matter that there is quite a bit of stuff left over from the weeks they weren't giving me the time), I would be written up.
Except for the weeks after the hurricane when I was building stuff in the frelling dark I have always kept up my workload.
This is payback pure and simple.
Maybe I should have expected it, should have known that by asking to be treated like a grownup I would be kicked in the teeth but I have to admit it hurt.
I have always given 100% and have always done the best possible work.

Caring about your work and not just throwing drek at the wall to see what sticks isn't valued.
I'm just going to keep at it and prove them wrong but they have killed any respect I ever had for them.

/end rant

Thanks for listening.


I used to really care about the signing. Then, my PTL got moved. Then, the new PTL walked out. Then, my STL leaves. My new PTL is a nice guy but totally clueless. So, I give about 75% every day. Some days I work harder, like on the sun in rear, others not so much. I did get all the race outriggers put up. Target is really changing for the worse. Much worse. I wouldn't be surprised to see our store close within two years. Sigh ...

I hear you and Commie on this. Are you sure you don't work at my store, Buckwill? Frankly, I feel like the two of you more and more I read your posts on this board.


Commie, I'm so sorry they are treating you like this.

Start this now. Print out the signing adjacency hours as far back as you can and keep printing up every Monday. Keep this, just in case they do attempt to write you up. Having all your paperwork in hand should help.

Another thing. Building vacuums is built into the planogram persons hours, not yours. Nice to do it for them if we get ahead, but it is their job.

Dang, I HATE it when I hear of someone who obviously cares about their job being pushed around like this.


I was told that that was the job of the signing person, not the plano team. All the signing hours that I receive are part of the plano set (the transition planning tools), so therefore, I should do every. single. bit. of signing for the aisles. That includes displays. I said, what about the signing that's in the monthly signing update? Not to mention, breaking down/checking in/sorting/delivering the signing and supply pallets. Doing PPA Follow-ups and orders. Cleaning the fixture room. Ordering supplies. Fixing stuff because plano is too lazy to figure out how to do it (some days I wonder otherwise). Smart Huddles. Daily Walks and Audits of the store. And whatever other little projects they give me. If they want me to do all of that, they better give me 40 hours a week, plus an assistant.

I pride myself on working hard, getting the job done accurately, and quickly, and nothing I do is ever good enough for them. It sucks going from your old TL (who got pushed out) thinking you're a top performer (repeatedly) (along with the other TLs that also got pushed out/fired), to having new TLs/ETLs who think you are drek, want to change everything you do.


Am I the only signing person that feels like stepping down/transferring/quitting for another job? Somebody, please tell me it's better at a different store!
 
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Im currently waiting for my application at another job to come through, i refuse to watch what they seem to be trying to do at my store some days plano grabs signs others they dont, i dunno why i dont ask i hate my old tl so the less i interact the better
 
Im currently waiting for my application at another job to come through, i refuse to watch what they seem to be trying to do at my store some days plano grabs signs others they dont, i dunno why i dont ask i hate my old tl so the less i interact the better

I set the hair appliance planogram last night. Of course, they added 2 appliance shelves and didn't send 2 more. Couldn't find anything on work bench about it. Anyone read something I missed?

Also, they didn't send one of the facial care aisle kits, so I was missing all of the gray shelf liner for one side and the new signing that goes into the wall boxes.
That should be fun trying to reset once it does come in. This was my fault, I should have caught it. When my packing list's(that comes attached on the pallet) part numbers didn't match any of the boxes, I didn't make the effort to print out the online list. The kit was listed as being shipped, but it didn't, so I could have had it on its way. Lesson learned.

Hopefully this will be the only problems with this set.

Oh, and all the sl adjacencies are being set at the same time, they are screaming for their signs, but I just can't break away to do it for them.

I'm very very tired..............
 
Im currently waiting for my application at another job to come through, i refuse to watch what they seem to be trying to do at my store some days plano grabs signs others they dont, i dunno why i dont ask i hate my old tl so the less i interact the better

I set the hair appliance planogram last night. Of course, they added 2 appliance shelves and didn't send 2 more. Couldn't find anything on work bench about it. Anyone read something I missed?

Also, they didn't send one of the facial care aisle kits, so I was missing all of the gray shelf liner for one side and the new signing that goes into the wall boxes.
That should be fun trying to reset once it does come in. This was my fault, I should have caught it. When my packing list's(that comes attached on the pallet) part numbers didn't match any of the boxes, I didn't make the effort to print out the online list. The kit was listed as being shipped, but it didn't, so I could have had it on its way. Lesson learned.

Hopefully this will be the only problems with this set.

Oh, and all the sl adjacencies are being set at the same time, they are screaming for their signs, but I just can't break away to do it for them.

I'm very very tired..............

Hey, here's a FUN FACT. One of my signing pallets from this weekend.....







......wait for it......











......was just plopped on the truck. No pallet. As in........red wrapped ISM boxes.....and NOTHING under it.

Thank you Target, I needed that.




As for Commie - displays are NOT in your workload. I repeat - NOT IN YOUR WORKLOAD. If I recall correctly neither are 3x5's technically. The ISM behind them? Yes. Pay close and careful attention to what is "actually" yours to do. Don't do anything that is not technically yours, and you should make it. Displays are in the Plano workload. I know most of us here, just do them, but they are not your responsibility. Look at the breakdown of TWT. Most of your signing hours break down into like .1, or .03 of an hour.

I know personally I got stuck building 90% of patio, putting up the Vac displays, and then coming in today and seeing that ALL of softlines is transitioning right as my 3 pallets of Beauty transition need to go out. Oh, and curtains happened today too. Good thing my pallet didn't have a pallet, otherwise I wouldn't have found those curtain displays until the end of the week.

I saw in the transition manual about adding shelves for the Hair Appliance aisle, but I was hoping that was a mistake, or not for our store - i really don't see how that will work. I don't think we have any extra hair app shelves either.
 
Im currently waiting for my application at another job to come through, i refuse to watch what they seem to be trying to do at my store some days plano grabs signs others they dont, i dunno why i dont ask i hate my old tl so the less i interact the better

I set the hair appliance planogram last night. Of course, they added 2 appliance shelves and didn't send 2 more. Couldn't find anything on work bench about it. Anyone read something I missed?

Also, they didn't send one of the facial care aisle kits, so I was missing all of the gray shelf liner for one side and the new signing that goes into the wall boxes.
That should be fun trying to reset once it does come in. This was my fault, I should have caught it. When my packing list's(that comes attached on the pallet) part numbers didn't match any of the boxes, I didn't make the effort to print out the online list. The kit was listed as being shipped, but it didn't, so I could have had it on its way. Lesson learned.

Hopefully this will be the only problems with this set.

Oh, and all the sl adjacencies are being set at the same time, they are screaming for their signs, but I just can't break away to do it for them.

I'm very very tired..............

Thanks for the heads up. We are setting the hair appliance aisle tonight so I'll grab a copy of the transition manual and check it out. I know we got in a lot of new hair appliance displays.

The last signing pallet for this week's set was missing a lot of signing too. My packing slip didn't match any of the boxes too so I printed put the online list and was missing about 5-8 boxes. I MySupported it but they haven't responded yet. Wondering if this is a global issue.
 
As for Commie - displays are NOT in your workload. I repeat - NOT IN YOUR WORKLOAD. If I recall correctly neither are 3x5's technically. The ISM behind them? Yes. Pay close and careful attention to what is "actually" yours to do. Don't do anything that is not technically yours, and you should make it. Displays are in the Plano workload. I know most of us here, just do them, but they are not your responsibility. Look at the breakdown of TWT. Most of your signing hours break down into like .1, or .03 of an hour.

I know personally I got stuck building 90% of patio, putting up the Vac displays, and then coming in today and seeing that ALL of softlines is transitioning right as my 3 pallets of Beauty transition need to go out. Oh, and curtains happened today too. Good thing my pallet didn't have a pallet, otherwise I wouldn't have found those curtain displays until the end of the week.

I saw in the transition manual about adding shelves for the Hair Appliance aisle, but I was hoping that was a mistake, or not for our store - i really don't see how that will work. I don't think we have any extra hair app shelves either.

I've been told the 3X5 and 7X11's we're my job and displays have always fallen to me, there's no way I can get out from under those.
I tried to talk to them about non-planogram hours and they insist that is built into the assigned hours.
Haven't received the curtains yet.
There are extra displays for haircare but I'm not seeing any extra shelves so we'll see, it's setting tomorrow.
This is going to be a rough week.
 
I've been told the 3X5 and 7X11's we're my job and displays have always fallen to me, there's no way I can get out from under those.
I tried to talk to them about non-planogram hours and they insist that is built into the assigned hours.
Haven't received the curtains yet.
There are extra displays for haircare but I'm not seeing any extra shelves so we'll see, it's setting tomorrow.
This is going to be a rough week.

Just because it's easier for them if you do them, or if "you have always done them" doesn't mean that that is the case. This is why it is so easy to take advantage of your signing person. Unless you really scour your core roles, signing monthlies, and TWT it is all very vague. I know everyone on this board, and most people in real life in this position do things that are not required of them for the position.

But one thing that is pretty black and white is that your "non-planogrammed hours" are exactly that. Non-planogrammed. Take out TWT and compare it with your monthly. Some things might line up, some things might not. Take a look at a week where you get CSE, or FOS signage. Where is that on the TWT breakdown? It's not.

*edit
that being said - i know that certain things simply wouldn't not happen if i didn't just do them myself regardless of whose workload it is in. have you tried going 50-50 with your team? when myself and the team are swamped (and no one can really handle the sole burden) for displays we split it - one person puts them out - the other detrashes/does the details. usually i put it out (this is harder for my team - figuring out where things go). for 3x5s do you print them? i've got my team pretty much on doing their own (case in point - if you do a revision overnight i have no idea where you were or that you had 3x5, or say it is a week where i am not with the team - i will never know about some) and when they can't i make sure that they at least batch them for me, and hopefully at least get them printed out. little things like that might save you enough time here and there across the board.
 
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Hey, here's a FUN FACT. One of my signing pallets from this weekend.....
......wait for it......
......was just plopped on the truck. No pallet. As in........red wrapped ISM boxes.....and NOTHING under it.
Thank you Target, I needed that.


As for Commie - displays are NOT in your workload. I repeat - NOT IN YOUR WORKLOAD. If I recall correctly neither are 3x5's technically. The ISM behind them? Yes. Pay close and careful attention to what is "actually" yours to do. Don't do anything that is not technically yours, and you should make it. Displays are in the Plano workload. I know most of us here, just do them, but they are not your responsibility. Look at the breakdown of TWT. Most of your signing hours break down into like .1, or .03 of an hour.

Same thing happened to me last week. Along with missing pages from the packslip.

Do you know where I can find who is responsible for what? My ETLs told my TL exactly what I am responsible for (even though it's not in my core role (Fixture room and PPAs for one), and now it's become every. single. bit. of signing that exists in the Target Universe.

Thanks for the heads up. We are setting the hair appliance aisle tonight so I'll grab a copy of the transition manual and check it out. I know we got in a lot of new hair appliance displays.

The last signing pallet for this week's set was missing a lot of signing too. My packing slip didn't match any of the boxes too so I printed put the online list and was missing about 5-8 boxes. I MySupported it but they haven't responded yet. Wondering if this is a global issue.

Also, they didn't send one of the facial care aisle kits, so I was missing all of the gray shelf liner for one side and the new signing that goes into the wall boxes.
That should be fun trying to reset once it does come in. This was my fault, I should have caught it. When my packing list's(that comes attached on the pallet) part numbers didn't match any of the boxes, I didn't make the effort to print out the online list. The kit was listed as being shipped, but it didn't, so I could have had it on its way. Lesson learned.


I am missing shelves and the facial care kit as well. Our POG did not have heights for the hair appliance shelf. So we had to wing it on that one.

The packing slip issue is one I've been dealing with for awhile. It does make a difference because I got duplicate box names (different part numbers). I opened it up, and one was English. The other was bilingual.

When there are that many boxes missing, I do not have time to order every single little piece. And by MySupporting it, sometimes I can get the boxes sent by FedEx/UPS, for the critical sets. My responses from MySupport have been anywhere between "here are the part numbers, order it yourself" to "X, Y, and Z have been ordered for your store. You will receive it on X date via Y delivery."
 
I was told that that was the job of the signing person, not the plano team. All the signing hours that I receive are part of the plano set (the transition planning tools), so therefore, I should do every. single. bit. of signing for the aisles. That includes displays. I said, what about the signing that's in the monthly signing update? Not to mention, breaking down/checking in/sorting/delivering the signing and supply pallets. Doing PPA Follow-ups and orders. Cleaning the fixture room. Ordering supplies. Fixing stuff because plano is too lazy to figure out how to do it (some days I wonder otherwise). Smart Huddles. Daily Walks and Audits of the store. And whatever other little projects they give me. If they want me to do all of that, they better give me 40 hours a week, plus an assistant.

I pride myself on working hard, getting the job done accurately, and quickly, and nothing I do is ever good enough for them. It sucks going from your old TL (who got pushed out) thinking you're a top performer (repeatedly) (along with the other TLs that also got pushed out/fired), to having new TLs/ETLs who think you are drek, want to change everything you do.


Am I the only signing person that feels like stepping down/transferring/quitting for another job? Somebody, please tell me it's better at a different store!

THIS
They never figure in any of the extra stuff you have to do.
I don't know how many times I have explained that a good portion of my time is involved in fixing drek that was the wrong size, broken in shipping, badly designed, etc.
They just look at me like I must be exaggerating.
It's even worse when signs are missing or wrong, they look at you like you must be lying to them because Spot would never make a mistake even though they've seen similar things happen dozens of times.

I didn't feel like quitting until just recently.
All the challenges and frustrations of the job were ones I felt I could handle as long there was some mutual respect.
That's pretty much gone now.

greydot:

On the question of getting help, that's been a challenge.
There have been a few times when I've reached out for help (because we're a team and you have to know when to ask for help!) and had it blow up in my face so I tend to consistantlytry to do things on my own.
Even when my PTL has offered to help it has turned out to be half a donkey because time runs out and they are off doing something else (not that I blame them, it's just frustrating).
 
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Im happy i discovered this forum, yeah no new shelves for our store either but they added them, i set towels and some b/g basics today, tomorrow i gotta get alot done and finish b/g on top of being upset about what they are doing to my tl she told me shes done i wanted to walk into the exec office and lay it on the line how BS these last few months have been, they gonna fire me for doing that? Ive been payibg into unemployment for my 8ish years id be happy to collect it by setting them straight id wait for the district tl to walk us then id go godzilla in the fixture room
 
greydot:

On the question of getting help, that's been a challenge.
There have been a few times when I've reached out for help (because we're a team and you have to know when to ask for help!) and had it blow up in my face so I tend to consistantlytry to do things on my own.
Even when my PTL has offered to help it has turned out to be half a donkey because time runs out and they are off doing something else (not that I blame them, it's just frustrating).

It might depend on the relationship you have with your PTL. Its not to be looked at as they are helping you........it's that you are helping them. Also - where are these time constraints coming from? Your STL? ETL? TL? Do you have anyone in your corner on a leadership level? You have probably tried this, but they really need to show you how they think that unrealistic hours will match up.

somehow i missed this in an earlier post, and just saw it now that you highlighted it:
I pride myself on working hard, getting the job done accurately, and quickly, and nothing I do is ever good enough for them. It sucks going from your old TL (who got pushed out) thinking you're a top performer (repeatedly) (along with the other TLs that also got pushed out/fired), to having new TLs/ETLs who think you are drek, want to change everything you do.

This is basically what happened to me. they tried to get rid of my former TL (who was great btw) and they tried to use their team - myself included against them. my problem was that i would speak up about things not lining up, and call them on their bs. interestingly enough none of those ETLs are with the company anymore but everyone else from the original team is in one way or another.

anyway - this was when/where there had to be a definite line of where my responsibilities started and stopped because the team was taking advantage of my time. i had offered to do all of the above tasks because i was new and excited about the position and it was all things i could handle. however they had done these things all on their own before - so it was a matter of meeting with my PTL and ETL (who were both in my corner) and really seeing what was needed to get done by whom, and what the realistic expectations were. this was a mix of general knowledge, looking over core roles (i really think this might be impossible now with 1) the slashing of the specialist role, and 2) the removal of Eureeka from the system - this was a treasure trove of information back in the day) and talking to other signing specs/ptls. also the difference between "fixturing" and "signing". with what the current core roles of the "signing tm" being what they are - it might not be possible to currently define the role - and this is most likely on purpose. so that stores can use the role as they see fit. there is a lot of new info with the revamped workbench - i know i haven't even been through it all. it might help - it might not.

your best bet is to have allies in your corner on this one.
 
Today the 2 extra shelves for the hair appliance aisle came in on one of my three pallets of signing. Also two big boxes of curtain displays came in and now my PTL wants me to put them up. Like this week already isn't heavy enough with me having to keep going back and forth between softlines and HBA.
 
they have updated all tm/tl core roles. they have nothing particular about almost any position. it's all "vibe".
workbench now specifies that it is presentation's job to keep the fixture room clean. it also specifies that the twt set times are only for clear, set, push, signs... not backstock, clearance, etc. so the signing and displays are already included in the pog set times, with the exception of low walls, overheads, clings, specialty. so whoever is setting the aisle needs to get off it and set the aisle. i have flow tm that help us once a month that could work circles are some of the tm y'all are talking about.
i feel for you guys. your teams suck. that "i don't know how" crap would last precisely 1 day in my store before they completed an entire new training session and got coached the next time they tried to pull it.
 
ok.. i need help.
did anyone else run out of display room on the hair appliance aisle?
anyone set the skincare aisle? where do the specialty pusher trays go?
 
ok.. i need help.
did anyone else run out of display room on the hair appliance aisle?
anyone set the skincare aisle? where do the specialty pusher trays go?

We had 4 hair appliances per shelf so everything was pretty evenly spaced.

We haven't set the skincare aisle yet. I'll check it out once we do.
 
ok.. i need help.
did anyone else run out of display room on the hair appliance aisle?
anyone set the skincare aisle? where do the specialty pusher trays go?

We had 4 hair appliances per shelf so everything was pretty evenly spaced.

We haven't set the skincare aisle yet. I'll check it out once we do.

Section 1 & 2 of hair appliances had 2 display shelves each, one set over the top of each other.

Also missing the tubes for displaying Pro Hair care shampoos.

Pro Hair care flopped to the opposite aisle, so I had to quickly learn how to rewire the lighted shelves.
 
Today the 2 extra shelves for the hair appliance aisle came in on one of my three pallets of signing. Also two big boxes of curtain displays came in and now my PTL wants me to put them up. Like this week already isn't heavy enough with me having to keep going back and forth between softlines and HBA.

Thank you! My pallet is late. It normally comes on Mondays truck, but as of last night, nothing!
 
My pallet is late as well.
This is so much fun.
Those Try This tubes should be fun.
I just know there is going to be a guest ripping one open in a day or two thinking it's a sample, not a display.
And wasn't figuring out exactly where to put them a joy?
Had to have my SFT do the lighting headers there was no way I would have had the time to flip those myself.
I'm so under the gun and it's pretty clear that everyone's watching.
 
My pallet is late as well.
This is so much fun.
Those Try This tubes should be fun.
I just know there is going to be a guest ripping one open in a day or two thinking it's a sample, not a display.
And wasn't figuring out exactly where to put them a joy?
Had to have my SFT do the lighting headers there was no way I would have had the time to flip those myself.
I'm so under the gun and it's pretty clear that everyone's watching.

Hang in there Commie. Don't allow anyone to sway you from getting caught up.
 
my curtains came on my last pallet as well. i can't really picture how hair app will look with doubled display shelves - in my mind they would block each other, but tomorrow i will see for myself - at least they sent my shelves.

haven't had time to even put up the glorifiers in skincare yet. are they easy? i hope everything is self - contained in each of the boxes for those.

i didn't even think about having to rewire the lighting for pro-haircare. ugh. i'm swamped this week - calling the sft (probably in his workload anyway if i go back into the packet).

so....all of haircare tomorrow, at least one softlines department (adjacency), go back for curtain displays..........what else.....entertainment focal? mysupport our messed up patio flat...and whatever other misc around................hoping thursday will slow down some.
 
my curtains came on my last pallet as well. i can't really picture how hair app will look with doubled display shelves - in my mind they would block each other, but tomorrow i will see for myself - at least they sent my shelves.

haven't had time to even put up the glorifiers in skincare yet. are they easy? i hope everything is self - contained in each of the boxes for those.

i didn't even think about having to rewire the lighting for pro-haircare. ugh. i'm swamped this week - calling the sft (probably in his workload anyway if i go back into the packet).

so....all of haircare tomorrow, at least one softlines department (adjacency), go back for curtain displays..........what else.....entertainment focal? mysupport our messed up patio flat...and whatever other misc around................hoping thursday will slow down some.

IF you got all the right backer for skincare, putting up the glorifiers is super easy (placement is outlined right on the paper). I didn't get all the paper, so I set the first one, then used regular white backer, and measured down from the top & side of the gondola to make sure the boxes were all even. Put the pushers or dividers in the box.

The hair appliances have the 2 display shelves planogrammed way too close together. BUT there is plenty of space to adjust them so they look good. The entire planogram is weird since there are sections where there are pegs under the display shelves. Not too big of deal. I set the plano and all the signing/fixtures in about 6.5 hours.

I ordered TONS of white shelf liner and adhesive dividers in anticipation of this set, so plano didn't have to waste so much time trying to scrub the old liners.

As for sl. I dumped out all the table, and racktop signing out of the kits and gave it to the ladies setting the adjacencies, and they put them up. I'll tackle the billboards and towers on Thursday once this beauty madness calms down.

After reading some of these posts, I'm feeling pretty lucky to have some great tm who are willing to help just a little in order to make my job a LOT easier when my teams workload is huge.
 
they have updated all tm/tl core roles. they have nothing particular about almost any position. it's all "vibe".
workbench now specifies that it is presentation's job to keep the fixture room clean. it also specifies that the twt set times are only for clear, set, push, signs... not backstock, clearance, etc. so the signing and displays are already included in the pog set times, with the exception of low walls, overheads, clings, specialty. so whoever is setting the aisle needs to get off it and set the aisle. i have flow tm that help us once a month that could work circles are some of the tm y'all are talking about.
i feel for you guys. your teams suck. that "i don't know how" crap would last precisely 1 day in my store before they completed an entire new training session and got coached the next time they tried to pull it.

dek, I want to come work for you. Or come knock some sense into my store!
 
My pallet is late as well.
This is so much fun.
Those Try This tubes should be fun.
I just know there is going to be a guest ripping one open in a day or two thinking it's a sample, not a display.
And wasn't figuring out exactly where to put them a joy?
Had to have my SFT do the lighting headers there was no way I would have had the time to flip those myself.
I'm so under the gun and it's pretty clear that everyone's watching.

we've already had several of the displays stolen. we set our hair aisles last week. tubes = horrible idea.
 
ok.. i need help.
did anyone else run out of display room on the hair appliance aisle?
anyone set the skincare aisle? where do the specialty pusher trays go?

We had 4 hair appliances per shelf so everything was pretty evenly spaced.

We haven't set the skincare aisle yet. I'll check it out once we do.

Section 1 & 2 of hair appliances had 2 display shelves each, one set over the top of each other.

Also missing the tubes for displaying Pro Hair care shampoos.

Pro Hair care flopped to the opposite aisle, so I had to quickly learn how to rewire the lighted shelves.

your pro hair has lighted shelves? don't know if i should be jealous or thanksful ;)
 
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