Archived Speed-Weaving to Food areas: do you GSTL's do this?

[lydian]

At my store, it has become the norm for the GSTL to speed-weave guests to Food Avenue for purchases. Its an occurrence that happens all the time.

It sort of irks me when they speed weave to my area and there is only one TM there. That TM needs the downtime to clean, not ring out guests.

I'm wondering if this is a common occurrence. Do your GSTL's send guest to the food area?

 

[ClarkKent]

It used to happen but our food ave is closed most days after 4pm, "no hours".

 

[Yetive]

We have Starbucks only. This never happens. I don't keep Target bags in Starbucks.

 

[NPC]

We typically speed weave to Guest Service first, then photo (we have Kodak employees in my store). We use Starbucks and Food Ave in more desperate situations, but yes, it does happen on occasion, and we're talking 5 items or fewer.

 

[buliSBI]

A GSTL/GSA sending guests to FA should never happen.

Guests can bring up and purchase 10 items or less @ FA as long they are no restricted items.

 

[BrohemianRapcity]

At my store, we just open up the jewelry registers since it's closer to the lanes. We used to send them to guest service but people got used to it so they would come when they just didn't want to wait on not so busy days which would annoy the guest service team members since they have to focus on reshop, charge backs, and guests.

 

[Anelmi]

Nope. Never happens bc we have an integrated guest service so we just bring guests over (usually for 10 or less).

 

[Kartman]

If the guest has just a few items, I always ask if they're finished shopping and if so, ask if they want to check out here. They are always happy and I don't mind helping the front end out.

 

[BullseyeBabe]

They are starting to ask us to do this more and more. It's, "Utilize your resources!"
If they ever had to work at FA for just one shift that would never happen again!

 

[Sanzano]

Yeah, the good ol, "Use your resources" can be a real bitch from my GE or STL. If I have every potential backup cashier on a lane and have already sent people to jewelry or guest service, then I start sending people to FA as a last resort.

 

[BullseyeBabe]

It's funny though, they can't ever seem to heat the, "Additional cashiers to FA!" alert.

 

[Yetive]

Nor to Starbucks. Lol.

 

[dnu318]

This doesn't happen at my store... yet.

Until this week, we had a GS team member and a photo team member through most of the day. They killed our photo hours, so for most of the day now there is only going to be one person doing both.
This is going to be very interesting, to say the least. There are few if any outside of our photo team trained for it. There wasn't really much notice.

 

[sunshineyellow]

No, if anything I'll see if there's two folks in FA and pull one to a register. I don't even send anyone to GS- they've got enough on their plate as is without guests starting to think they can go there to purchase.

 

[Kartman]

Two TM's in FA? And not the holidays?

LOL!

 

[Coqui]

We always have two TMs in FA year round.

 

[Stubio]

Food Ave ringing up guests? I don't think I've ever seen that happen at my store. Backup from salesfloor and that's it.
Sometimes people get sent to Guest Service if it's late at night and our 2 cashiers have long lines.

 

[Kartman]

We are a low volume store, maybe ever ULV. Hence, my LOLing.

 

[NPC]

It's really just not practical to send guests to the food areas for a number of reasons. I've never even worked FA, but I know it's not practical that even if they have downtime, to take them away from being elbow deep in dishes or handling food, to suddenly transition to ringing up guests. But, 6 o'clock roles around on a Friday, and all logic goes out the door it seems as people pour into the store. It's only a matter of time before we start recruiting guests to ring up other guests. Oh, wait no...we have that already. Self check-outs.

 

[PassinTime]

Dang, my former store has been virtually dead at that time on a Friday, seeing as I've been there the last 3 Fridays. LOL

 

[Apapaia]

Yes it used to happen a lot. When I had downtime I would actually grab the guests myself to get a bit of "exposure" in the front.

 

[BadWolf4531]

It's one thing to send guests to FA when your FA TM is busy with other tasks. But I can also recall countless instances when my front lanes were backed up and the Food Ave TM was standing at the register and just staring into space. If you're not using your downtime for prep, cleaning, temp log, etc., you'd better believe I'm going to send you some 1- or 2-item guests during a back-up.

I chewed a new GSA out once because she literally had THREE team members in Food Ave with no guests, and all three of them were standing there chit-chatting. Yet she was still calling out back-ups to the sales floor.

 

[lydian]

It's one thing to send guests to FA when your FA TM is busy with other tasks. But I can also recall countless instances when my front lanes were backed up and the Food Ave TM was standing at the register and just staring into space. If you're not using your downtime for prep, cleaning, temp log, etc., you'd better believe I'm going to send you some 1- or 2-item guests during a back-up.

I chewed a new GSA out once because she literally had THREE team members in Food Ave with no guests, and all three of them were standing there chit-chatting. Yet she was still calling out back-ups to the sales floor.

Generally, I have only one person in FA, even on weekends, there until 10 am. Between 10 am and 630pm, there are two (or three on weekends). From 630 -10, there is only one (on weekends I will schedule someone until 8 or 9).

I tell my GSTL's to send guests if there are two people there, but to ask first if they send guests and there is only one there. Perhaps more than any area, even SB, I realize FA needs the downtime.

Our Hardlines / Electronics TL doesn't care about food safety. Her name starts with an "I" I think. She thinks its okay for TM's to bounce between the make table and the register.

 

[Apapaia]

It's one thing to send guests to FA when your FA TM is busy with other tasks. But I can also recall countless instances when my front lanes were backed up and the Food Ave TM was standing at the register and just staring into space. If you're not using your downtime for prep, cleaning, temp log, etc., you'd better believe I'm going to send you some 1- or 2-item guests during a back-up.

I chewed a new GSA out once because she literally had THREE team members in Food Ave with no guests, and all three of them were standing there chit-chatting. Yet she was still calling out back-ups to the sales floor.

We had the same issue in my store but with cashiers. We had a few of cashiers at the checklanes just chilling and chatting and 1 TM in FA busting their butt while the lobby is a hot mess. As a TM I would usually ask the GSA/GSTL if there was anyone willing to come over to wipe down tables and sweep the floor. It still baffles me how so many employees will not work or even conceive of working outside of their workcenter shm...

 

[Kartman]

I will help anyone anywhere, when I can.

Isn't that how things are supposed to go???