Archived This is a joke right?

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Pettjm54

Pettjm54

Sales floor TL
Joined
Jun 8, 2011
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195
My STL said to me that Target is rolling out "smart phones and i-pads for use on the sales floor.."

Hes kidding right?

Cause that is just TOO awesome for my head to handle..
 
I would think that would be a terrible idea. I mean, do they see how beat up the PDA's get? Plus not to mention the theft that would occur. I could see ETL's & STL's being given iPads, and TL's given smart phones, but nothing for team members.
 
Hey, Lowes is doing it, replacing all their sales floor equipment with iPhones. Those devices meet the mark to replace the LPDA's in everything but durability. Id love to see the LPDA's move to Team Member status and have Leaders carry iPhones or iPod touches. That way they could check things like email, workbench, ect. While also integrating the Notification system into the device. I carry my iPhone all the time and it has proven to be very useful when helping guests. It sets a much nicer tone if I can look something up for a guest then have to tell them to "google" it. It would be nice to have that functionality be brand.
 
Well my DTL was give an IPad by the company a few months ago and yet they never use it while in the store or doing a walk.
 
We were told that the DTL's and such weren't supposed to use it on a walk so that they can remain more engaged with the team and the leads they're walking with, rather than having their heads down looking at the IPad, I've seen ours use it for a brief reference though during a walk.
 
As much as our equipment gets bumped, dropped and knocked over all the time, I'd hate to see how often they'll need to be sent out for repairs, lol.
 
You are all missing the point here. Our current PDA's cost, literally, $800 per device or more. An iphone, in-bulk, would more than likely cost 1/4th of that. Even less if you ordered ipods to do the job (why would you use iphones anyway??).

As for iPads, I could only see target TL's or ETL's making use of them. They are far too bulky to be lugged around by the average TM, and the risk of damage during activities would be too extreme.
 
Darius said:
You are all missing the point here. Our current PDA's cost, literally, $800 per device or more. An iphone, in-bulk, would more than likely cost 1/4th of that. Even less if you ordered ipods to do the job (why would you use iphones anyway??).

As for iPads, I could only see target TL's or ETL's making use of them. They are far too bulky to be lugged around by the average TM, and the risk of damage during activities would be too extreme.
Click to expand...

This is what I was thinking.. ipods cost about 300 off the shelf.. how much more would they be if target were to use them for RfApps or Item search etc...

And as for the equipment control issue.. I agree that they should only be given to Leaders in the building such as ETL's and TL's

Ipads are used for planograms... that augemented reality deal.. hold the camera up to a gondola and the ipad will show you on the screen what product goes there.. as opposed to the "product images" on Online Planogram.
 
I'd just have the iPad 2 record the entire conversation while I'm walking around.

iPhones have a much higher resolution for cameras which can help a lot when scanning merchandise. Lower resolution images tend to get blurry and that doesn't like UPC that much.
 
Actually the real costs of the iPads are real cheap. They are made to be disposable. So the mark up is BIG.
 
cost of PDA's is just stupid, ipods would be cheaper. But with that, most our plano team/ TLs etc are older and have trouble just trying to print something. I cant imagine them even trying to use a Ipad
 
They would have to have intense cases if they would survive at my store...most PDA's and LPDA's break from being dropped this would be an intense cross over imagine the entire Instocks team with iPhones hahaha I wonder what guests would think...why they he'll is every worker messing with their phone?
 
This would be awesome.

But whenever I cover electronics I use my smartphone anyway...like if a guest wants to know what band plays what song in order to get a CD from them
 
Yes! this! It does NOT need to be an iphone, it can be an ipod in an otterbox and the overall cost will be a fraction of the current equipment repair costs. This is something I waxed philosophical about to multiple employees I know for some years now, and it seems like stores are only NOW catching on. Bye-bye symbol, and your horrible monopoly with your ************ty products!
 
The Apple store uses iPod touches with a scanner bulit in to them. iPads may be good for something like inventory. Ditch the paperwork. Save a tree,
 
Stuckinsoftlines said:
They would have to have intense cases if they would survive at my store...most PDA's and LPDA's break from being dropped this would be an intense cross over imagine the entire Instocks team with iPhones hahaha I wonder what guests would think...why they he'll is every worker messing with their phone?
Click to expand...

I once had a customer complain about an employee using a cell phone while talking to another guest..... it was the mobile rep assisting a customer with their new phone. After I explained that to resolve the complaint, they pointed at an ETL that was using an LPDA and said "see! she is using a cell phone too! Employees shouldn't use cell phones at work!" and stormed off. Later on I saw a comment on a survey that said the same thing..... I wouldn't worry much about that.
 
I can see the use of them for Workbench and e-mail access, but that's about it. iPods/iPads are great devices, I've used them and bought them as gifts, but I still can not see them replacing PDAs/LPDAs completely. On a per item basis they may be cheaper compared to the Symbol scanners, but the long term reliability isn't there to make them dependable enough to roll out roughly 350,000 new devices to all the stores in the chain. I've seen PDAs take a fall and keep on working that would make an iPod's screen crack just recording it. They would have to have a completely new support system put in place to handle repairs with that volume. Are they even capable of communicating with our mobile printers? What about hardware changes with future models? Would we have to replace the entire line every few years? There are valid reasons why you go with a basic, dependable product when it's something you rely on so heavily. What about theft by guests with sticky fingers around careless TMs?

Again, the device itself is great(and trust me, it's hard saying that as I LOATHE Apple as a company), but I just can't see it as a reliable, practical replacement for our established equipment. As a supplement device to those who need it sure, but nothing more.
 
Feels like they are trying to use the ipods/ipads the same way they used to use the MSAs back in the day.
 
I remember the tablets they were piloting them in my first store when I started to work for Target.
 
I loved the MSA. We never had (have!) enough PDA's and they could be used as a PDA and to access online planogram.
 
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