YES! This was her answer for everything. When under pressure and when stores were struggling it seems all she could muster was "Well let's provide even BETTER service than before"... Uhh, that's a nice concept and all but vibe is not service, vibe is pestering... as a guest I want fast checkout, not somebody bugging me on the salesfloor about some topic of the week and then getting to the front during rush hour and seeing lines. This answer was a band-aid.
If you really want to leverage service into sales, you need to nail the basic expectations flawlessly first. Let's make sure we have enough payroll at our front end to nail fast checkout first? Let's hammer out our logistics processes so they run smoothly and everything is on location or stocked by store open again (oh we have 4 OH but I have no idea where they are).
Once those are done, then let's leverage our key areas to drive sales in store and online. Where do our guests expect service and where do they not? Where are we missing and how do we drive sales in our key categories? Do we have a TM in the style areas who can complete sales for target.com? Kids? Baby? Wellness? I don't think I have seen a TM in ANY of those areas for 4Q that are knowledgeable because our TM force works pulls and backs up the lanes. Our stores are a resource to drive future priorities, but up until this point I don't think they were utilized for that.