Archived SrLOGtL Checking In

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Hey there my old favorite forum! For those of you that don't know me, it's been a while. It was good to see that my login was still active. I was once very active on this site and was promoted to moderator before the great re-boot. I'm so glad this site is still up and running, as it was an amazing resource through the entirety of my Target tenure. Sorry if this is a long post. After I started, I got way more into it than I thought I would. I just liked the idea of this happy trails section and thought I'd share my story.

I wanted to check in and share a couple things. First, it was interesting to see this "Happy Trails" section. I'm not sure that speaks well for the company or recent changes, but I'm glad it's here none the less. If you are on the fence about staying with Target, new to the company, or die hard red blooded, use this amazing resource to your advantage. Seriously. I learned more from this site in my first 90 days with Target than a STL knows after years of working in a store. This is a Target textbook, and I encourage you to read as much as you can here.

Second, if you aren't excited about the idea of staying with Target, I really hope that you don't feel stuck there. Since we have this venue, I guess I'll share my story. To give you the quick version of my Target career, in hindsight, I was in and out fairly quickly, but it felt like years because of how active I was here. I bled red, and I enjoyed every minute of it. I came into the company with experience as an Assistant Store Manager at Wal-Mart. I began as a LOG-TL in the backroom and impressed my STL quickly with the dedication I showed and the knowledge I seemed to pick up so fast out of nowhere (thanks thebreakroom.org). I was soon promoted to Sr.TL. and kept my position in logistics. I had a great time, was a rockstar in the store, and was rated as "outstanding" by my STL on my review. Things couldn't be better.

Then everything changed. I got a new STL and I was the black sheep. I didn't fit in to the sorority she was building. She was impulsive, emotional, overreacted to small things, missed easy opportunities to show the team she cared about them, which told everyone she didn't, and worst of all lacked respect, which is the base that loyalty is built on. I made a poor impression from the beginning with her. Within her first month, my position was changed. She didn't like having a Sr. in the back room. I was moved to hardlines. She never understood that dealing with freight until 11-12 three days a week was better than 120 sales planners every week, but I -digress... The biggest thing that frustrated me with the company was the constant hiring of the inexperienced as ETLs/STLs. It was simply insane with the turnover and silly things they would pull. They just weren't professionals.

I made the decision to leave after I was issued my first CA for a "security oversight" as she put it. Let's just say everyone can make a mistake and miss the roof hatch lock being unlocked or the dock door no one ever uses after their 4th close in a row. Usually the leadership team has each other's backs, and those types of things are handled in secret, but when it goes down on paper, the writing is on the wall.

I had the luxury of time, and found a position as a Department Manager at Lowe's. I gave my 2 weeks, and the rest was history. All of that flew by in the span of 18-20 months. Managing a department at Lowe's pays better than Sr.TL, definitely better than a regular TL, and the duties are similar. It's very common for DMs at Lowe's to make in the $17-21/hr range depending on the experience you bring to the table. The experience was fun and the environment and culture is far more relaxed and enjoyable.

I gave Lowe's my same level of commitment. Although I frequent a forum dedicated to the company, it doesn't share nearly the info that this site does, so I didn't have that to catch me up to the others. One way or another, I figured out how to be successful there quickly with my own personality. I didn't have to put up with sorority girls or frat guys (I once was one, but I've grown up a bit) and there were real experienced managers there that learned how to lead over YEARS on the job not SEMESTERS in the classroom.

Don't mean to give too much info, but some appreciate specifics, and I don't mind sharing. Over the past 27 months (holy cow, I can't believe it's been that long) I went from Department Manager (9 months) at $19/hr to Assistant Store Manager (18 months) at $$56K plus a $16K bonus, to the regional bench for Store Manager. I'm extremely excited, about my latest opportunity, and although I could end up anywhere in the region (144 stores) any day now, it's going to be a great experience.

Moral of the story, even if you feel stuck, there is a company out there that will appreciate your experience and treat you right. I wish I could convince my mother of this. She unfortunately still works for Target in the Pharmacy. Even with her (supposedly full time Pharm Tech position) hours being cut, having to pick up random 4 hour shifts some days, being forced to work 6 days per week to get over 32-35hrs, and now having to work in the cash office to get anywhere over 20 hrs, she remains loyal. It's truly sad. I don't know what's going on with scheduling there, but it's not right for the full time staff. I can't imagine if I had stayed and was trying to support my family with those changes happening.

Anyway, if you made it through, thanks for reading. Glad to stop by again, and I hope you all find your perfect niche.
 
Greetings and salutations.

Glad to have you stop by.

There are a lot of people who need to hear you story.
They get stuck in the job, feeling like they can't get out and it's nice to hear from someone who has got out.
 
Thanks for the update, sr! Your postings were great for helping the team on the forum.
Here is a sample on ae2012:
ROFL LOL - this is just too funny. Every year, cut TLs/ETLs down even more. Won't be long until the whole store is run by 1 ETL and 1 TL.Why do this every year? We all see the pattern here. Just axe every TL and be done with it. I think it is pretty obvious the grand plan is to probably eliminate TLs entirely in the next few years. This is (personally) the feeling of our STL. He believes the long term plan is to simply have more experienced TMs take on more responsibility over running the store, but they will still be TMs.
I am currently holding in my hands a copy of something called "low volume structure test" fresh off of sharepoint. It details problems and possible solutions to issues with the upcoming test in several stores where TL's are eliminated completely. It's not rumor folks. its fact, and its coming to a store near you soon. You can find out anything you want to know about AE's, structure tests, etc. about 6-9 months in advance by checking sharepoint.Target.com from any store computer. You don't even have to have access to workbench. Just type it in the address bar. More specifically, find info on all HR or structure related projects by going to [mod]link removed[/mod]It's all there folks. Before it even hits Tina's desk. My gift to you, as I leave spot in two weeks. I would have been performanced out by AE12, but since I knew about it months ago, I had time to look for a better job. I start with Lowes as a ASM 2 mondays from now.
 
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Interesting choice of posts there. I remember the day I found sharepoint. It put a pretty sick feeling in the pit of my stomach to see AE12 before my STL knowing what her plan might be. The last months with Target don't bring back good memories.

Also a little funny in that post, I didn't fully understand what I was signing on for at Lowe's. It didn't really compute for me that I could be offered that much and not have total store responsibility. In the interview they talked about how those big picture skills were so important and how we this position was such an important leadership position in the store. I had no idea until orientation that Lowes has a department manager for every department and there were no "LOD" shifts. Needless to say, I think speaking target lingo for so long ment the job didn't really translate well. Either way, it was funny how many ex-target folks I found there that we're willing to help me learn quickly and move up. Lowes definitely isn't perfect, but it fulfilled my goals for promotion, something I would never have had a chance at with only a 2-year degree at Target.
 
Welcome back to The Break Room! It's great to hear that you found your own way out before they could pull too much crap.
 
Welcome back and congrats on escaping Target. I know it is a decision that I have not regreted for a single moment.
 
As a former ETL-Log, I must agree that you made the right decision. From my experience, CAs given to a TL, especially a Sr.TL translates to "you're fired but I have to create a paper trail". Same goes for ETLs. There are very few things that TMs at all levels can be fired for quickly. If you are liked, not locking the parameter (which can be a quick termination) can be swept under the rug, but if they are out to fire you they'll jump all over it.

I had a Sr. TL who had an attendance issue, but because of the culture of the team, my HR wouldn't let me pursue it. I tried changing the culture but HR wouldn't back it without the entire ETL team changing things. Attendance was my only issue because you can't do your job if you're not there. He was fired by the dayside ETL team because he left his keys unattended twice (1st is a Final Warning, 2nd is termination). But they were out to get him, they would follow him more than anyone else hoping he would mess up.

Depending on the Target, the only full time positions are TLs and above, everyone else is part time (Target only has to give you 4 hours, anything more is a gift). When I first arrived at my store, several flow team members kept saying they were hired as full time employees and expect 32+hours a week. The sad part -- they needed that many hours to survive the high cost of living of the area and expected it. I made my ETL-HR come to a huddle and break their hearts when she started taking hours away from flow, cutting everyone to 18 hours or less. That's a big cut! I know they miss me because I still kept most of them at 32 hours by over scheduling. Our attendance was so bad I never went over hours. So if people wanted to give up their hours I just gave them to the people who needed them. I guess I didn't care about being fair and consistent, well I guess I was because I was fair about giving hours to those who need them and I was consistent about it.

If your mom is experiencing a loss in hours it's because Target cut benefits for anyone working less than 32 hours(i.e. part time). Therefore they must make sure only TLs and above exceed that threshold. Benefits used to be given to anyone who consistently worked over 22-24 hours a week. It's a shame TMs have to fight for hours now.

Good luck on Store Manager!
 
As a former ETL-Log, I must agree that you made the right decision. From my experience, CAs given to a TL, especially a Sr.TL translates to "you're fired but I have to create a paper trail". Same goes for ETLs. There are very few things that TMs at all levels can be fired for quickly. If you are liked, not locking the parameter (which can be a quick termination) can be swept under the rug, but if they are out to fire you they'll jump all over it.

I had a Sr. TL who had an attendance issue, but because of the culture of the team, my HR wouldn't let me pursue it. I tried changing the culture but HR wouldn't back it without the entire ETL team changing things. Attendance was my only issue because you can't do your job if you're not there. He was fired by the dayside ETL team because he left his keys unattended twice (1st is a Final Warning, 2nd is termination). But they were out to get him, they would follow him more than anyone else hoping he would mess up.

Depending on the Target, the only full time positions are TLs and above, everyone else is part time (Target only has to give you 4 hours, anything more is a gift). When I first arrived at my store, several flow team members kept saying they were hired as full time employees and expect 32+hours a week. The sad part -- they needed that many hours to survive the high cost of living of the area and expected it. I made my ETL-HR come to a huddle and break their hearts when she started taking hours away from flow, cutting everyone to 18 hours or less. That's a big cut! I know they miss me because I still kept most of them at 32 hours by over scheduling. Our attendance was so bad I never went over hours. So if people wanted to give up their hours I just gave them to the people who needed them. I guess I didn't care about being fair and consistent, well I guess I was because I was fair about giving hours to those who need them and I was consistent about it.

If your mom is experiencing a loss in hours it's because Target cut benefits for anyone working less than 32 hours(i.e. part time). Therefore they must make sure only TLs and above exceed that threshold. Benefits used to be given to anyone who consistently worked over 22-24 hours a week. It's a shame TMs have to fight for hours now.

Good luck on Store Manager!

Yikes. That story just reminds me of the paranoia that is so common among TLs and ETLs. You might have an attendance problem, but instead of dealing with that issue head on, they follow you around for a few weeks hoping to catch you do something silly that they can construe as a policy breach. It's just so backwards.

As for my Mom's situation, I'm not really sure what's going on, but as a pharmacy tech, she is "full time" and the same pay grade as a TL. Some new scheduling thing has come along though, which is apparently scheduling her for 6 days a week, only 4 hours some days, 11 hours other days, and to get a consistent 34-40 hrs per week she now had to do cash office twice a week in the morning, clock out for a few hours, then do an evening shift in the pharmacy. It's nuts to me. Anyone know what is up with the scheduling lately?
 
The new payroll program is called mytime. It schedules tm/tl during certain hours of the day & a short shift of 4 hours.
 
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