Archived Zoning Speed...

[The Death King]

What are your stores expectations for zoning speed? How fast do they expect you to finish any given area?

 

[HLN13]

We zone in the morning for the most part (the DBOs do) and my ETLs have literally never said a word to me about my zoning times. I think as long as I get all my daily tasks done for Toys, they don’t really care. It normally takes me about an hour-an hour and a half to zone toys each morning. It sounds like a lot but it’s really the only way to keep toys maintained, especially in the summer with kids out of school.

 

[AlwaysBackstock]

Same here for the most part. I zone as soon as I come in unless my pulls haven’t been already done. Takes me about an hour to zone toys, sporting goods, Auto, luggage and ASOTV. As long as you keep a decent zone and try to hit it 2-3 times a day while you go then it shouldn’t take an insane amount of time. Just pull to the front and remove reshop. I have never been told that I have taken to long on a zone. No leader would dare come to me and tell me to stop zoning.

 

[The Death King]

As a new guy it takes me much longer to zone but home is a nightmare. I hate folding towels. It takes me forever.

They seem to want us at a speed of about 2 minutes per aisle. Seems kinda overkill.

 

[JAShands]

They seem to want us at a speed of about 2 minutes per aisle. Seems kinda overkill.

Those two minutes should average out when you consider aisles like plastics and box fans. Those you barely have to stop to tidy up, and curtains are mostly picking up discarded ones off the basedecks and putting them back. Large packages of comforters are another easy tidy. Make sure the brand matches the shelf tag and then that it’s the correct size, move on to the next one.

Towels will get easier the more you fold them. Repetition builds familiarity, familiarity builds confidence, confidence builds speed. I’m sure that if you just keep moving and remember to breath you’ll be confident before you know it! I used to zone domestics quit often and I would start at the back in plastics and home decor. One of the Leaders mentioned they prefer TMs to start in bed and bath to get through those and I told them I found myself struggling if I did that, b&b is such a bottomless pit to get out of. By flipping the order I could budget plenty of time for it and since it was the end of the night it would still be crisp for the morning. It worked, they were happy, I promoted to a new department.

 

[Kartman]

However fast you're going, it won't be fast enough.

 

[Dart]

I'm So frustrated
I work in Market I feel like I get more work done when My team Leader isn't around because when he is around he wants the aisel zoned before I work on my u boat when he's not around HR tells me to Zone after my uboats are done and to focus more on the u boat today It literally took me 5 hours to do 1 u boat because I was zoning

 

[dannyy315]

I work in Market I feel like I get more work done when My team Leader isn't around because when he is around he wants the aisel zoned before I work on my u boat when he's not around HR tells me to Zone after my uboats are done and to focus more on the u boat today It literally took me 5 hours to do 1 u boat because I was zoning

Rule of thumb is that the vehicles should get off the floor as soon as possible. HR is right, do the U boat first.

 

[Dart]

[QUOTE="dannyy315, post:
Rule of thumb is that the vehicles should get off the floor as soon as possible. HR is right, do the U boat first. So if thats the rules then why dose my market team leader want me to Zone first my team leader wants me to Zone an finish my U boat all in one hour is that even possible

 

[Fluttervale]

Zone should take less than 5 minutes an aisle in market, IF it is done daily and if you are keeping up on one to ones and freight. Generally, the fuller it is the easier to zone.

Start by zoning anything obviously ugly and the front and back 8 feet. Hit the ends. That will keep them out of your aisle.

 

[Kartman]

Hahahahaaa... THAT'S the spirit!!!

 

[TargetSenpai]

At our store and coming down the chain of command, they expect us DBO's to spend an hour zoning at start of shift. That's roughly 19-21 aisles worth for most DBO's, for myself owning bed/bath/rugs/decor pillows that's roughly 42 aisles-- so I am expected 2 hours of my day, at start of shift, to be just zoning. Power zoning.

If I keep up with the area and it isn't destroyed, I can speed through MOST of the area in about 20 minutes. Mind you, this isn't the zone they want. I'll explain in a bit. I'm just picking up strays, reshopping merch from the area that's been strewn around. My problem areas are typically left for later but I'll touch them up. Those areas differ day to day but typically are towels, rugs and decor pillows (and that Opalhouse aisle, it's almost as bad as kids bedding, but I digress).

To explain why I don't typically spend so much time at start and I speak to it: I get WHY it's done. It helps the counts, my truck, etc. I'm also closing expert for my area, which means my expectations of a zone is not once, but twice. Yes, at the end of shift I must have my area zoned yet again (100%) plus, of course, all reshop/go backs. But last time I spent 2 hours doing anything power zoning, I got ripped into by my lead. Yeah, I spent that time in towels, it was super messed up, but I was truly power zoning. The talk ended up being that there's no way with the workload of my area that I can justify spending that much time zoning and that I need to better manage my time to get truck done. Fine. I do that for a week, my 20 minute fixes and it's working amazingly well. I do my second zone after everything and tend more to problem areas and everything is fast due to my keeping up like this.
Then my STL sees me only doing my 20 minutes. He looks at me with all the seriousness before I can speak to it and goes, NO. That was because you just did your towels that day. Go out, spend 2 hours, no more, no less. Then you can touch truck.
I hadn't been so mad and anxious in so long. But I wasn't going to argue. On top of it all, it was a Saturday. Saturday for C and D in my store is like hell. It's the ultimate dumping grounds for unwanted merch (I know you all know who work there). Your perfect zone, over those little diamonds-- gone in seconds. I kid you not. People were literally dropping stuff they picked up and were talking to me about just on the endcaps next to me. I was watching it all. I was so mad. By the end of the night I HAD to stop- now I was behind, repacks weren't done.... I saw my numbers, hell, I HAVE to plan around it, yeah? Ad take down, rushing. Go backs since I was rushing all night just to make sure truck was done and ad taken down was 3 flats. I had the whole front end helping me at close. My zone? It didn't look like I spent one minute fixing a thing. It was utter destruction. I was embarrassed and felt like I failed. And again, I was MAD. But it was proof that I knew what I was doing and I wasn't ignoring that first part.

Luckily I saw my lead when I came in Monday and made him listen. He agreed that I can't do 2 hours of zone. I shouldn't be trying to do a full hour on a Saturday or any day where my truck was as large as it was. He and my ETL knows I zone and because of my area and being closing expert that I do that second zone and have to redo a lot of things that are shopped hard. So, I'm forgiven from power zoning for that full expected time just as long as the workload reflects it. Especially on a Saturday night, though, when my SD closes again I am going to be super paranoid and afraid not to.

 

[Logo]

We have the team focus on red areas of their business. We liken it to the morning brand walk.

 

[Kartman]

Spot needs zoning elves they can turn loose in the store after closing...

 

[Tessa120]

My zoning speed always gave leadership kittens, but I truly don't understand how things can be zoned fast. It's either zoned or it's just slightly more subtle chaos. And if it's the latter then when you actually look at the area the things sticking out will be obvious eyesores. It always was to me before I worked in retail at all, when I was just a customer, the sea of neat patterns broke down in a non-patterned area and draws the eye to that oddity. It just seems if it's not right then there's really no disguising that it isn't right, so fast zoning means not zoned.

 

[happygoth]

I think it depends on the area. If you have a table of t shirts that basically looks like a pile of cloth, any kind of folding is going to make it look better. But that doesn't mean they are lined up like soldiers, nice and crispy. In Softlines, picking stuff up off the floor and hanging the stuff tossed over the racks makes a huge difference. Getting rid of all the abandoned carriages, hand baskets and merchandise that doesn't belong in the area also makes a big difference. Even picking trash up off the floor helps. At my store we have quick zones, good zones, and deep zones. Most nights we close with a good zone in most areas and a quick zone in a few. Deep zones usually only happen when an area gets reset or there's a lot of replenishment. And a lot of our endcaps in GM get neglected. Clearance endcaps are rough.

 

[Kartman]

Even picking trash up off the floor helps.

In five years I never saw anyone do that, except the cleaning crew.

 

[happygoth]

In five years I never saw anyone do that.

*raises hand*... It's my loss prevention training - all I see are slip and fall hazards! If I don't pick it up, I will kick it under a shelf to get it off the floor. In Softlines I'm always picking up tickets and trash.

 

[Tessa120]

I think it depends on the area. If you have a table of t shirts that basically looks like a pile of cloth, any kind of folding is going to make it look better. But that doesn't mean they are lined up like soldiers, nice and crispy. In Softlines, picking stuff up off the floor and hanging the stuff tossed over the racks makes a huge difference. Getting rid of all the abandoned carriages, hand baskets and merchandise that doesn't belong in the area also makes a big difference. Even picking trash up off the floor helps. At my store we have quick zones, good zones, and deep zones. Most nights we close with a good zone in most areas and a quick zone in a few. Deep zones usually only happen when an area gets reset or there's a lot of replenishment. And a lot of our endcaps in GM get neglected. Clearance endcaps are rough.

Think of an item with a pattern. A striped shirt. A decorative pillow. A wall print. A book. A backpack.

First you see the pattern. The stripes are a nice width apart. Ooo, embroidery. That's a cute picture. Catchy cover. Good shoulder weight distribution.

Within seconds though, you see The Flaw. That one piece of thread has a knotted clump, affecting the perfect edge of the stripe or that one embroidery area. There's two colors touching but in that one spot they separated just a bit, showing background color. The manufacturer wasn't careful about cutting the book cover and the words and scene are slightly slanted. The stitching between bag and zipper is wavy. And human nature being what it is, patterning so important to our brains, this super itsy bitsy flaw catches full attention in seconds and that's all you see. And you can't unsee it, you can't make yourself not notice it anymore.

Well guests are people too, flaws in patterning will catch their attention. So how can it be called zoned if there are flaws in the proper layout pattern? It'll be an eye draw in seconds.

 

[happygoth]

Think of an item with a pattern. A striped shirt. A decorative pillow. A wall print. A book. A backpack.

First you see the pattern. The stripes are a nice width apart. Ooo, embroidery. That's a cute picture. Catchy cover. Good shoulder weight distribution.

Within seconds though, you see The Flaw. That one piece of thread has a knotted clump, affecting the perfect edge of the stripe or that one embroidery area. There's two colors touching but in that one spot they separated just a bit, showing background color. The manufacturer wasn't careful about cutting the book cover and the words and scene are slightly slanted. The stitching between bag and zipper is wavy. And human nature being what it is, patterning so important to our brains, this super itsy bitsy flaw catches full attention in seconds and that's all you see. And you can't unsee it, you can't make yourself not notice it anymore.

Well guests are people too, flaws in patterning will catch their attention. So how can it be called zoned if there are flaws in the proper layout pattern? It'll be an eye draw in seconds.

I thought I was a perfectionist but you have me beat by a country mile, lol. That crisply perfect zone will be trashed in 10 minutes! I like a nice zone, don't get me wrong, but this is Target and ain't no one got time for that!

 

[Tessa120]

It's not perfection, it's being patterned oriented. I am not a perfectionist by any means, my house is a place of horrors and my cooking is "Well no one's gotten food poisoning yet". But human beings are meant to notice patterns, after all that bit of grass that doesn't look quite right could easily have a sabertooth tiger in it doing the pre-pounce butt wiggle. Since human beings are hard wired to notice patterns, they are going to notice them, and flaws in the pattern are going to grate at the mind like a belt sander with course grit is being used directly on the brain. So yeah, people (guests) are going to look at an area in the store and the flaws are going to be overwhelming and they are going to think it's the sloppiest place ever because a box with more white than blue has ended up with boxes more blue than white, or because a dress with the wrong lace pattern is placed with different lace dresses.

 

[happygoth]

It's not perfection, it's being patterned oriented. I am not a perfectionist by any means, my house is a place of horrors and my cooking is "Well no one's gotten food poisoning yet". But human beings are meant to notice patterns, after all that bit of grass that doesn't look quite right could easily have a sabertooth tiger in it doing the pre-pounce butt wiggle. Since human beings are hard wired to notice patterns, they are going to notice them, and flaws in the pattern are going to grate at the mind like a belt sander with course grit is being used directly on the brain. So yeah, people (guests) are going to look at an area in the store and the flaws are going to be overwhelming and they are going to think it's the sloppiest place ever because a box with more white than blue has ended up with boxes more blue than white, or because a dress with the wrong lace pattern is placed with different lace dresses.

I can assure you our guests are not bothered by this. As a lifelong shopper, I am not bothered by it either. If there was, say, an entire wall of one color jeans or one color of shoe boxes, and there was one different one that stuck out, then yes, I would agree. But there's nothing in our store that follows such rigid patterns. Everything is lots of different colors and patterns. It's fine.

 

[Tessa120]

I and others I know that talk about this were bothered by this long before we worked retail. And it's a mental irritant in other places too. I strongly exaggerate on my resume and say I'm detail oriented but the truth is I see the flaws in the patterns of workplace practices, just like everyone else does, but I take the time to investigate the flaw instead of ignoring it, and nearly always it's something that has gone wrong and needs fixing.

People see, people notice, people are irritated by oddities and flaws in patterning. And that's why I can't see how a "quick" zone can be done. It's either done to completion or it's not a zone at all, just a few collections in a sea of chaos.

 

[seasonaldude]

Personally, I kind of like it when TMs quick zone by just straightening up whatever happens to be on a particular shelf. Allows us to play the How Long Will That Obviously Out of Place Item Sit There? game.

 

[happygoth]

Oh, stuff in the wrong place should definitely be moved. But I have also noticed something out of place in another department and chuckled every time I walked by and it was still there. Makes me feel good about my area, lol.

@Tessa120 in a perfect world your standard would happen every day, but it in reality it just can't. Also, in an area like shoes, boxes could be lined up like little soldiers, all Cat & Jack together, all Universal Threads, etc, looking perfect and cohesive and patterned, but upon further inspection, the shoe styles could be mixed together - boys and girls, sandals and booties, etc. Achieving a perfect zone every night is absolutely NOT possible. It IS possible, though, to make the store look good even if it isn't perfect. To say that a zone is either perfect or it sucks is a bit draconian. No one can live up to that standard. By your definition, most stores are never zoned.

ETA: It just occurred to me that maybe you see "zoning" and "straightening" as two different things. A zoned area is perfect, whereas a straightened area just doesn't look messy.