Archived the fitting room rules must be followed, but...

[Target Annie]

for the life of me I cannot figure out why we have all those silly rules about counting the number of clothes the guests are taking into the fitting rooms. I mean - I know why - but then I just walk away to do my zone list, help that one guest, answer the phone and run off to sporting goods to get the answer, and take my break, grab reshop, zone some more and help another guest, and then backup cashier - - - - -> when I get back to the fitting room who knows how many items have been stolen?

Now I have to check all the rooms again, empty them out and reshop all the clothes to the floor, catch up on the zone again, and the cycle repeats.
- - - > I thought it was better, and more secure when we actually stayed at the fitting room. Heck, the operator doesn't even work more than 8 hours most of the time.

geez

 

[babytrees]

now we have a fitting room operator at all the times our store is open so it is a bit different BUT I can tell who TAGS and who doesn't. Even though we were inundated at the fitting room today from open to close I had no pilferage on my shift and I don't think the operator before me did either. I will tweak the 6 garment rule...I will allow seven. But I am big advocate of touching all garments on the way in and the way out. It makes it easier for me to reshop the "no's" into the right spot and to make sure it is properly on the hanger. There are a couple of other "rules" I bend a little but the one I won't is trying underwear on...that's just nasty.
Bless your softline team members who cover the fitting room!!!

 

[GlobalTL123]

It is in the fitting room operators core roles to do zone and reshop. However the only areas my operators zone and do returns for are in close proximity to the fitting room. So that they can still answer the phone, provide guest service, count items, etc.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

Gosh, Annie! You're covering for fitting room on sat? At my store, it was plain ugly for softlines. Gtc to them for cleaning Up the mess!

 

[Crohl]

now we have a fitting room operator at all the times our store is open so it is a bit different BUT I can tell who TAGS and who doesn't. Even though we were inundated at the fitting room today from open to close I had no pilferage on my shift and I don't think the operator before me did either. I will tweak the 6 garment rule...I will allow seven. But I am big advocate of touching all garments on the way in and the way out. It makes it easier for me to reshop the "no's" into the right spot and to make sure it is properly on the hanger. There are a couple of other "rules" I bend a little but the one I won't is trying underwear on...that's just nasty.
Bless your softline team members who cover the fitting room!!!

I remember last summer our fitting room operator had to put up a sign not to remove the inserts in bikini bottoms and that you had to wear underwear while trying them on. Seems like that would be common sense but a few women were leaving "stains" on the garments. ****s gross, glad I never worked softlines back then.

 

[Target Annie]

our fitting rooms are mostly covered from noon to 8:30pm - but the operator seriously could be anywhere on the floor.

 

[ISMQUEEN]

its silly to have the rule when the fitting room operater isnt scheduled til at least 10, hell sometimes noon. so the guest has free reign until then to steal whatever they want, or take in ever how many they want. management can be such boneheads....

 

[band_rules16]

Our AP team, along with a few others, has been really frustrated with the (lack of) fitting room procedures, so we've been really trying to enforce the rules this week. One change they made was to have the opener work 12-8:30 and the closer work 5:30-10. (We are also extremely short on hours, too.) What we did when I opened Thursday was have the closer at the fitting room the entire time (until the opener left) counting items, answering the phone, sorting reshop, etc. and the opener would zone and work out reshop. I don't think we had anything stolen (that I know of).

I know I was getting frustrated with it, because they would constantly add areas to the operator zone. All of a sudden, the operator was zoning men's, activewear, half of RTW, and sometimes infant hardlines. A few nights there was no SL team members, so they had to zone all of softlines. Might as well not even schedule an operator then. I hope we continue this somewhat to keep the shortage down. There's no perfect way - I know our closer was really bored on Thursday. Anything is better than the way we were doing it - the closing TL would seem shocked that there was so much to sort at the fitting room and ask why it wasn't done! :facepalm:

 

[babytrees]

Our AP team, along with a few others, has been really frustrated with the (lack of) fitting room procedures, so we've been really trying to enforce the rules this week. One change they made was to have the opener work 12-8:30 and the closer work 5:30-10. (We are also extremely short on hours, too.) What we did when I opened Thursday was have the closer at the fitting room the entire time (until the opener left) counting items, answering the phone, sorting reshop, etc. and the opener would zone and work out reshop. I don't think we had anything stolen (that I know of).

I know I was getting frustrated with it, because they would constantly add areas to the operator zone. All of a sudden, the operator was zoning men's, activewear, half of RTW, and sometimes infant hardlines. A few nights there was no SL team members, so they had to zone all of softlines. Might as well not even schedule an operator then. I hope we continue this somewhat to keep the shortage down. There's no perfect way - I know our closer was really bored on Thursday. Anything is better than the way we were doing it - the closing TL would seem shocked that there was so much to sort at the fitting room and ask why it wasn't done! :facepalm:

I am guessing our AP is frustrated with it also....about a half hour before I came in today they got on the walkie to remind the other FRO that does TAG (mainly) to remember to do it and then it was mentioned (from what I heard) at the evening huddle. But nary a word was mentioned to me. The last few weeks we have had 1 to 2 hours when there isn't at SLTL closing where there is no softlines team members on the floor. It's really fun to try and do all of the fitting room stuff, especially this weekend, and cover sofltine calls and questions. Tonight I grabbed a hardlines team member to look for something for me in IHL because of the backup at the fitting room. By the time she got back from that one I had another call for IHL so I asked her and the LOD which one wanted to sit there for a minute while I ran and checked for the items. (It was easier for me because I KNEW where these items are/would be) . I really was only gone for a minute and it wasn't as crazy as yesterday...and the LOD is the HR-ETL so I think she got a new respect for the short handedness we have in SL.

For those of you at stores with so few hours and covering the fitting room you all ROCK!! Especially this weekend....we did a HUGE amount of swimsuit sales in the last few days and of course everybody has try on 30 pieces for the 1 they MAY end up with.

 

[calimero]

The yuck factor: they all try the same swimsuits....( with or without undies....)

 

[Reneeisxena]

Fitting room is the worst place to work. Not just because you have so much else to do, with zone and returns and guests, but a lot of TMs who have never worked back there think it's a cushy job because you can sit down. Yeah I sit down, for the 10 seconds to answer the phone, but most of the time it's run, run, run and that's on a normal day on the weekend you can multiply that by 100. We are also VERY shorthanded and it makes the job so difficult. When you get a call for a specific area and you walkie them about it and wait for a response, that never comes. They're either too busy or more likely there is no one to take the call coz they're all backing up cashiering. Our FRO doesn't usually get there before 10 and even then the phone is usually on night ring because they have to zone and clean up the rooms. I use to work there quite a lot, but I've been up front now and I prefer it. I really hope that the hours start to loosen up a little. It be nice to have a closing Saturday with more than 10 TMs and that includes the frontend.

 

[Target Annie]

thanks for all the responses. It helps to know other stores have the same issues or have tried to schedule someone there to help cover. Our phones are always on overhead, and that just seems so rude and the opposite of a pleasant shopping experience for our guests. And then there are those shortage issues . . .

BONG! BONG! BONG!

 

[redandkhaki]

this thread seems CRAZY to me! Our store is completely different. First of all, our FR doesn't answer the phones. HR @ TSC does. Also, the FRO cannot leave it at all. The farthest they can step away from their desk is active wear but they still have to be able to see the desk to check each guest. We have FR coverage from open to close and regardless of call ins or whatever we always have someone sitting there. I think in the time i've worked there once has it been a problem and i ended up being switched from GS to HR and then to the fitting room to answer the phones there because we were so short.

Our STL think it's rude to have the FRO answer the phone and it's not putting the guests on the phone first or the guests at the FR first. Also, our AP and store is really focused on shortage and our AP is highly involved with the FRO and preventing theft from there. In the past year with a new ETL we've really stopped a lot of theft and our shortages have dropped drastically.

 

[HardlinesFour]

Our store has very low shrink so I'm not too worried about the fitting rooms. To be honest though, I wish target would go the other way like other stores and simply stop counting. The procedure could be replaced with hidden tags included during production or plastic tags applied at the store. Then all they would need is a team member to unlock the fitting room doors for the guest, and make sure they don't carry in too much. I think that would be the perfect solution. The shoe department already gets tags why not clothing?

 

[greydot]

Our store used to be very strict. Fitting room, only does fitting room, and stays there all day. TSC always answered the phones and TSC was never without coverage. Now, we've have so many ETLs coming from low volume and low theft stores they have it so that fitting room answers the phones, does reshop, and a whole number of things. TSC breaks are no longer covered and TSC sits dark for at least 2 hours during open hours from the breaks.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

Our store used to be very strict. Fitting room, only does fitting room, and stays there all day. TSC always answered the phones and TSC was never without coverage. Now, we've have so many ETLs coming from low volume and low theft stores they have it so that fitting room answers the phones, does reshop, and a whole number of things. TSC breaks are no longer covered and TSC sits dark for at least 2 hours during open hours from the breaks.

Same thing happens at my store.

 

[Target Annie]

Our store used to be very strict. Fitting room, only does fitting room, and stays there all day. TSC always answered the phones and TSC was never without coverage. Now, we've have so many ETLs coming from low volume and low theft stores they have it so that fitting room answers the phones, does reshop, and a whole number of things. TSC breaks are no longer covered and TSC sits dark for at least 2 hours during open hours from the breaks.

you must be at a larger store - I work at the TSC, and I work there only 25 hours per week currently. So it's dark most of the time, and the phones are answered at the service desk most of the time.

 

[walruses]

My store has fitting room coverage from 8am to 11pm every day. They answer the phone back there and are asked to zone part of rtw and mens, sometimes. Our phones are only on night service before 8am.

 

[babytrees]

My store has fitting room coverage from 8am to 11pm every day. They answer the phone back there and are asked to zone part of rtw and mens, sometimes. Our phones are only on night service before 8am.

this is how we are....well, I am the only one who zones the plus size section of RTW and men's basics and the first two rows of shoes if there isn't too much to do in the fitting room.
There are a LOT of TM's in our store who think the fitting room is the cushiest job in the store....which is perpetrated by the dayside operator. I have a question for you all...does your store have one fitting room operator who only works Monday through Friday 8 to 4:30? She is never available for weekend or nights. Just wondering if our store is the norm or if it's an all over thing.

 

[walruses]

That is not the norm. We have several fitting room attendants, and we would not hire someone who didn't have nights / weekend availability.

 

[mrknownothing]

My store always has fitting room coverage except when our HR TL forgets to schedule some there before 9AM (in which case a softlines TL covers for an hour). TSC coverage depends on HR's schedule - we always have someone there in the morning, but we only have someone there at night on certain weeknights.

I have a question for you all...does your store have one fitting room operator who only works Monday through Friday 8 to 4:30? She is never available for weekend or nights. Just wondering if our store is the norm or if it's an all over thing.

We have an operator who does that. She's been at the store for a long time and her daughter is a GSTL - she's a big favorite in the store.

 

[lovecats]

One of the FRO's at my store only works days but she is available on weekends also. They have quite a few that work the days she isn't there and nights.

 

[chevalier]

"Hey! I have an idea. Let's give the public a small room where they can take our merchandise and lock the door behind the them! What could go wrong?"

"They might use it to steal things."

"Well lets just have someone check them in and out! That way we'll minimize our losses!"

"Good idea. Now remember: We can't ever take them away, or we'll flush profits down the fitting room."

"Haha! Don't be silly. Fitting rooms aren't bathrooms!"

"You mean you don't have any toilet paper on your side?"

"Stop taking a dump and tell me if these pants make me look fat."

"No, they're totally awesome. Hey! After this you want to go slash hours?"

"Yes! YAY!"