Archived Was I Just Disciplined? Coached?

[PinkZinnia]

I've said it to guests. They request something. I tell them no. They ask for my name and threaten to write a letter. I tell them that that's fine but that scare tactics aren't going to make me cave or change my mind.

LOL, If someone asked my name in an angry manner, I always said - It's P-I-N-K. It's a four letter word.....and then pointed to my name tag...not a lie, and I got my point across...

 

[BuLife]

They really don't. At my store the ETL's have my back. They virtually never override something I say. They'll often go along with me and only ask why I made a decision after the guest is gone, they're more interested in having a semblance of unity than they are in second-guessing me.

I tend to tell a guest no, ETL comes over, realizes I said no, repeats my refusal, and then when the guest is gone asks why I said no and only then requests full context, because they know if I said no there was a good reason.

At the store I work[ed], the guest literally won every time, no matter what or how crazy the story or problem, or how much against policy. I watched a co-worker try to ring a return for two big ticket items for a total of about $400+ without a receipt and guests who allegedly paid in cash. Even a newbie could suspect that the merchandise was stolen from somewhere. Neither of the items were "found" in the price inquiry system, and the dcpis came up not found on a mydevice. They complained and the GSTLs answer was to get two "similar" items from the shelf and return them for a ginormous gift card, then to salvage out the two non-Target items. Another time an elderly guest returned a 2-year old Keurig - she told the truth about the age - and still the GSTL returned it for a new one. In my short tenure there, the list goes on and on . . . sadness.

From what I've read, it seems that store management does vary from store to store, and that is a real shame, I suppose. Would have loved to do seasonal work at one with good management.

 

[BuLife]

LOL, If someone asked my name in an angry manner, I always said - It's P-I-N-K. It's a four letter word.....and then pointed to my name tag...not a lie, and I got my point across...

No lie - I want my name to be pink.

 

[BuLife]

I have a few things to say. Some good. Some not.
I'm glad you quit because no one should have to put up with the craziness of LOD's and Tl's who don't back you up or explain why they are reprimanding. And the thought of an adult being reprimanded by an adult is insulting.

Sad that you didn't give it the 24 hour cool down period before you quit, so that you could have been the one in control, as in having a new job to go to in order to pay the bills.

As a new cashier. They probably saw that you had half a brain and were able to explain to newer cashiers what to do.
Also probably the same reason you were working in guest services. Sometimes that isn't a step up position. Many people are hired to work there from the get go. Sometimes not a good choice, sometimes yes a good choice.

The etl who was praising you may have a positive personality, not saying you didn't deserve it, but they may be telling all tm's that they are doing great.

As a gsa, I always made sure I thanked every cashier, cart attendant and every TM I had contact with each day. No one needs to hear negatives all the time.

Some Tl's and etl's don't see it that way and want to point out faults. A person can suck it up or walk away. It's their option of what they want to do.

Your idea of being a great employee and targets idea could be two different things. I had a cashier who thought she was gods gift to the world. And though she did get some compliments from guests, she was slow as hell, didn't play well with others and liked to kiss mgmt ass. Everyone was happy when she left.

As far as the 50¢ Price difference, I would have done the return and politely asked the guest if she remembered where the sign was so that you could have someone on the floor check out the problem. I never would have said to a guest that it's her prerogative to write a letter. Of course it is. She can do what she wants. If someone said that to me, it would twist my insides and I would tell them - you're damn straight it's my prerogative and I'd be adding that you have a flippant attitude in my letter.

So, all that being said - I wish you much luck in your new life away from target.

Thanks so much for your insights - these are all pretty terrific points.

At this point, I'm letting it go - nothing really to be gained for me by parsing out what someone said to me, who said it or what their motivation really was, whether they meant it or were just playing politics, and whether my idea of being a great employee was different from Tarjay's. I was exhausted, not at the top of my personal game, and the double-team pushed me further into a place where I knew it was impossible for me to continue that day (or ever) as a half-decent GSTM. The necessity of that kind of a deep dive into the psychology of a management culture is in itself mind-blowing, and I feel for people who have to work under that kind of dysfunctional style.

 

[BuLife]

@BuLife, we come from various spots, each mgt team style is different. At least, you did find us. We try to give you an honest answers about your issues at your store. Your etl or gstl sound like very political & back stabbers. My stl has no tolerance for that stuff. My stl is very hands on to watch them in action. The end result was the etl & gstl quit in the end at my store, due to policy violations & poor performance.
Our sales & team morale are even higher because of the stl.

Thanks so much . . . most of the upper management at my store were very much like this, and you know, in their defense (if I can be so bold) I suppose you adapt to your environment to maintain your own status quo. I can't fault them for that - nonetheless. It might also be enlightening to know that our store was SM-less for nearly all of my tenure there. Only late last week did the new SM take post. There's hope that things will turn around there - last week I saw the new SM giving a mega-couponer the company way for about 30 minutes until the SM simply said "I don't think we have anything left to say to one another about Target's coupon policy," and walked away, leaving him quite confused and with a handful of unredeemed coupons.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

Thanks so much . . . most of the upper management at my store were very much like this, and you know, in their defense (if I can be so bold) I suppose you adapt to your environment to maintain your own status quo. I can't fault them for that - nonetheless. It might also be enlightening to know that our store was SM-less for nearly all of my tenure there. Only late last week did the new SM take post. There's hope that things will turn around there - last week I saw the new SM giving a mega-couponer the company way for about 30 minutes until the SM simply said "I don't think we have anything left to say to one another about Target's coupon policy," and walked away, leaving him quite confused and with a handful of unredeemed coupons.

I forgot to mention that my stl is new to my store. Sorry for the confusion.

 

[3LetterDevil]

I've said it to guests. They request something. I tell them no. They ask for my name and threaten to write a letter. I tell them that that's fine but that scare tactics aren't going to make me cave or change my mind.

I have as well. They think that threatening to "write a letter" or "call corporate" is going to make us give in. I've even written down my name for guests who threatened to call corporate because I refused to give in. In pharmacy, it's fortunate that I usually have state/federal law on my side and not just "corporate policy." And guests HAVE called corporate on me...when they called to find out what happened, all I had to say was, "state/federal law says..." and they backed me up. I'm sure it would have been different if I had just said, "well, policy says..."

 

[3LetterDevil]

@BuLife, we come from various spots, each mgt team style is different. At least, you did find us. We try to give you an honest answers about your issues at your store. Your etl or gstl sound like very political & back stabbers. My stl has no tolerance for that stuff. My stl is very hands on to watch them in action. The end result was the etl & gstl quit in the end at my store, due to policy violations & poor performance.
Our sales & team morale are even higher because of the stl.

Our new STL is much like this, so there is nowhere NEAR the amount of crap going on that happened under the previous one. We still have a few who try and overstep their bounds, but if he finds out, he stops it.

 

[Retail Girl]

I have as well. They think that threatening to "write a letter" or "call corporate" is going to make us give in. I've even written down my name for guests who threatened to call corporate because I refused to give in. In pharmacy, it's fortunate that I usually have state/federal law on my side and not just "corporate policy." And guests HAVE called corporate on me...when they called to find out what happened, all I had to say was, "state/federal law says..." and they backed me up. I'm sure it would have been different if I had just said, "well, policy says..."

Last week I refused to do a no receipt return for a guest for items that we all knew were stolen. After I pointed to the sign that said items without a receipt might be denied a refund, the guest demanded the guest service number and that I write my name down for him. I think he was surprised when I wrote down "GSA RG" like it was no big deal.

I told my STL and APL about it later. My stl's response? "Umm, you didn't give him your last name, did you?" To of course, I said no. Even my STL at this point is more concerned about denying shoplifters than he is about what the hotline might say.

 

[3LetterDevil]

Last week I refused to do a no receipt return for a guest for items that we all knew were stolen. After I pointed to the sign that said items without a receipt might be denied a refund, the guest demanded the guest service number and that I write my name down for him. I think he was surprised when I wrote down "GSA RG" like it was no big deal.

I told my STL and APL about it later. My stl's response? "Umm, you didn't give him your last name, did you?" To of course, I said no. Even my STL at this point is more concerned about denying shoplifters than he is about what the hotline might say.

I've always told the RPh & ETL about it when it happens as well. Only once has it happened when there wasn't another tech there, so I've always had witnesses too. That way, IF they call/write corporate, they have an idea what happened.