n my experience, the TMs of today are not required to do the perfect zone we did when I was hired 10 years ago. We had to fold every table and fix every rack by size, color, and style then when the store closed that last bit of time we had to run back through all depts for a final touch up. Our areas were expected to be golden for opening. We haven't hired a TM yet who honestly cares enough to do more than the bare minimum and leadership expectations are far lower than they were back then.
You are absolutely correct that our new TMs are not giving a perfect zone....... Hell ------ I had one this week that didn't even KNOW what the term "zone" meant !!!! AND, she's been w/ us for about 4 weeks now!! It went down something like this: I asked "New TM"
to zone (not super-zone) the back-half of RTW..... we have about 1 hour before store opening; and we want our store to look good for our Guests. Seems like a simple request, right? I checked in after 30 mins ( because as I passed the dept, I notice it doesn't look any better: still clothes on the floor, clothes flopped on top of fixtures, backwards hangers, empty hangers, foreign items, no organizing whatsoever). I say to "New TM"...
so, tell me how far you are in your zoning? She claims she's "almost done" (about 30 fixtures/racks complete). WHAAAAAT ???? *Patience, Sprinkles, patience.* Okay, "New TM";
let's go back to the beginning and really look at our results. Together, we spent 5 minutes on the very first fixture ! I showed her exactly what the expectation is for a zone. She said she was never taught about zoning.
I walked away thinking..... What has she been doing for the last 4 weeks? Then I panicked when I realized she is
one of 10 new TMs in the department.
WHO is training these newbies??????
WHERE is the follow-up? I'm the VM (it's not my circus, not my monkeys); but I am happy to step in and help out..... but c'mon...... WHO IS TRAINING THESE NEWBIES???? (here's a hint: you can't train from the TL office).
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