This is a bit of a question and a bit of a rant. I was an external hire in the beginning of August, with no retail experience and applied to be a cashier or guest service TM. I was recommended for the GSA opening at my store after my first interview because I have a bachelor's and just over two years in the service industry. After the second interview I was hired as a GSA and things were okay at best. Early on I was stressed because of the amount of information I needed to learn in order to properly "lead" TMs, some who had been at the store longer than I've been out of high school. I enjoyed the challenge though, and my two GSTLs seemed to enjoy their work, so I figured I'd settle in eventually. I'm comfortable running the front now for the most part, and feel that I am a good worker and I've received good feedback from my GSTLs, as well as the LODs and STL.
I'm absolutely miserable though, and I dread being a GSA. I'm jaded and I know it, but all things considered, I wholeheartedly believe that it is the second worst position in my store, only beaten by cart attendant.
Pros:
+ I get more hours than cashiers (I'd include guest service team members, but for the most part it's the GSAs working the service desk with a rotation of 3-4 cashiers that are also GS trained)
+ "It's easier to promote a GSA than a regular TM" (Quote from STL)
+ I get to choose when I take my breaks*
Cons:
- I make the same amount of money as cashier/cart attendants/GSTMs (There is nobody in the store that makes less per/hr than I do [unless you count Target mobile, but they make commission])
- I feel like I have to skip at least one of my 15s, if not both, every single shift
- Held to the same standards as a GSTL
- Terrible schedule (I close between 2-5x a week, and I ALWAYS close Friday, Saturday, and clopen into Sunday, the rest of my schedule is a toss-up every week) Some weeks I am scheduled for 28 hours, and then the next week I have 42...like???
- I'm not allowed/supposed to coach TMs, but when I bring up concerns to a GSTL/LOD either in person or in my closing e-mail, nothing is done about the situation
I've expressed my gripes with the position to my GSTL, and had chatted with the STL while we were closing about getting transferred to another section of the store. I basically let her know that I absolutely hate the GSA and see no benefit outside of getting more scheduled hours. Her main selling point was that it's easier for her to promote a GSA than a regular TM because she can already see the leadership qualities of the person and will have a better judgment on if they're fit for a TL role. I know ASANTS, but at my store, a GSA being promoted to a TL is pretty much unheard of. You either get sucked dry and leave the store, or eventually transfer to another section. If you include the three current GSAs at my store (myself being 1), only 1 GSA out of 10 has been promoted to a TL role, and they had to transfer stores for the promotion. I do not see an opening for a TL role at my store in the near future, and even if there was, there is a GSA who has been there for nearly 2 years, so I'm sure that she would be considered before I would.
I agreed I would stay in the role through the holidays to give them time to find/train someone to replace me, but I"m really regretting that as I feel like I NEED to leave this role immediately. Am I missing something? Or is GSA just a sham to have extra GSTLs without having to cough up the pay? I do not see the point in staying up front working terrible shifts, fixing problems that all the other TMs both in and out of the front cause, dealing with guests, and being expected to work like a TL, all while being paid the same as a seasonal cashier. Especially when I could go somewhere like market, have a consistent, reliable schedule, both in terms of weekly hours and shift times, make $0.50/hr more, deal with guests less often and with less difficult issues, etc.
Maybe I'm just not cut out for retail. I feel like I do my job well, but I've never hated going to work this much. I've been here for 4 months and I've already started looking for other jobs and I dream about putting in my 2 weeks. Management is a disgrace. I'm sorry this post is so long, but I'm having trouble differentiating my problems with the position vs. problems with my specific store. Perhaps GSA is a more rewarding position at other stores and I just need to transfer as a GSA to a different store?
I'm absolutely miserable though, and I dread being a GSA. I'm jaded and I know it, but all things considered, I wholeheartedly believe that it is the second worst position in my store, only beaten by cart attendant.
Pros:
+ I get more hours than cashiers (I'd include guest service team members, but for the most part it's the GSAs working the service desk with a rotation of 3-4 cashiers that are also GS trained)
+ "It's easier to promote a GSA than a regular TM" (Quote from STL)
+ I get to choose when I take my breaks*
Cons:
- I make the same amount of money as cashier/cart attendants/GSTMs (There is nobody in the store that makes less per/hr than I do [unless you count Target mobile, but they make commission])
- I feel like I have to skip at least one of my 15s, if not both, every single shift
- Held to the same standards as a GSTL
- Terrible schedule (I close between 2-5x a week, and I ALWAYS close Friday, Saturday, and clopen into Sunday, the rest of my schedule is a toss-up every week) Some weeks I am scheduled for 28 hours, and then the next week I have 42...like???
- I'm not allowed/supposed to coach TMs, but when I bring up concerns to a GSTL/LOD either in person or in my closing e-mail, nothing is done about the situation
I've expressed my gripes with the position to my GSTL, and had chatted with the STL while we were closing about getting transferred to another section of the store. I basically let her know that I absolutely hate the GSA and see no benefit outside of getting more scheduled hours. Her main selling point was that it's easier for her to promote a GSA than a regular TM because she can already see the leadership qualities of the person and will have a better judgment on if they're fit for a TL role. I know ASANTS, but at my store, a GSA being promoted to a TL is pretty much unheard of. You either get sucked dry and leave the store, or eventually transfer to another section. If you include the three current GSAs at my store (myself being 1), only 1 GSA out of 10 has been promoted to a TL role, and they had to transfer stores for the promotion. I do not see an opening for a TL role at my store in the near future, and even if there was, there is a GSA who has been there for nearly 2 years, so I'm sure that she would be considered before I would.
I agreed I would stay in the role through the holidays to give them time to find/train someone to replace me, but I"m really regretting that as I feel like I NEED to leave this role immediately. Am I missing something? Or is GSA just a sham to have extra GSTLs without having to cough up the pay? I do not see the point in staying up front working terrible shifts, fixing problems that all the other TMs both in and out of the front cause, dealing with guests, and being expected to work like a TL, all while being paid the same as a seasonal cashier. Especially when I could go somewhere like market, have a consistent, reliable schedule, both in terms of weekly hours and shift times, make $0.50/hr more, deal with guests less often and with less difficult issues, etc.
Maybe I'm just not cut out for retail. I feel like I do my job well, but I've never hated going to work this much. I've been here for 4 months and I've already started looking for other jobs and I dream about putting in my 2 weeks. Management is a disgrace. I'm sorry this post is so long, but I'm having trouble differentiating my problems with the position vs. problems with my specific store. Perhaps GSA is a more rewarding position at other stores and I just need to transfer as a GSA to a different store?