AnAverageTM
An_Average_TM
- Joined
- Jul 5, 2019
- Messages
- 1
I’m a Hardlines TM and I work in ZD3 (Zone Defender) which my ZD consists of 3 areas I have to zone: toys and sporting goods (E1-E46), baby hardlines (N1-N19) & entertainment (F25-F46). I started working back in February and I’ve had a decent amount of time now and a lot of closing shifts to become more skilled and focused with my work, but I still find some tasks to be downright impossible with the time given to complete said tasks.
I’ve been approached about the quality of my zone multiple times in the past and I’ve been told to speed up, other than that the actual quality of my zone looks good. When I was confronted about this by a Team Lead, they told me that the average for an “aisle” (E2-E3, E4-E5, etc. being aisles) was 5 minutes per aisle. Now we get to how this average fits in with everything else.
When it’s around 5PM, you’re supposed to wrap up whatever it is that you’re doing and start on your zone. They (sometimes, not all TLs enforce this rule) want you to be done with your zone and start on your go-backs (out of area items) at around 8PM, leaving only “3” hours to get your zone done.
Now I’ve done the math for my zone and when applying it to the amount of time I have to do my zone, as well as the 45mins worth of legally mandated breaks you’re supposed to take that 99% of the time end up being taking after 5PM, it doesn’t look too good.
“This is where the fun begins!”
A standard single row, E1 for example, is 6 4’ shelves long. Going by the standard 5 minutes, it takes 2min 30sec per row to zone. Meaning that it takes 5min per 12 shelf-long areas, of which we’ll be using to figure out how long the back walls take.
E block: 22 aisles, and 36 shelves long for the back walls of sporting goods and toys.
22x5=110, plus 15 from the back walls so 125 AKA 2hr 5min just for E block.
N1-N19: 8.5 aisles, and 2 back walls with very large strollers, cribs and other baby items meaning it takes significantly less time to zone.
8.5x5=42.5, plus 2.5ish for the back walls so 45min just for baby hardlines.
F25-F46: 6 aisles, F39-F44 being nothing and there being a toy pad and specialty toy shelving for F45, as well as a back wall that is about 18 shelves long.
6x5=30, 5min for F45 and 7.5 minutes for the back wall, all of which adds up to 42min 30sec.
Once we add all of this up, we get 3hr 32min 30sec average for the entire zone of which cannot be met within the 5-8PM timeframe, especially when considering the 45min taken away for legally mandated breaks. Then you also have to factor in the usual guests needing help, carry-out calls, backup cashier calls and the occasional go backs of which you’ll have to grab in the middle of your zoning. This can take anywhere from 20min to an hour of your time combined, and leaves you with anywhere from 1hr 55min-1hr 15min to get your entire zone done.
Even though that’s the average, they still want it done faster and that results in speed zoning, of which I’ve also done the math for, and it’s roughly half the time (if not more) than the average zoning time. The half of the average time is still 1hr 45min, which can barely fit in and ends up making your zone look meh. Something that the TLs (at least mine will) will complain about a decent amount.
I just want some type of confirmation that I’m not the only one that, after sitting down and looking at the facts, sees that there is a problem with the TLs expectations 90% of the time. I haven’t done the math for the other zones that Hardlines TMs are required to do, but I’ll bet that they’re just as unrealistic and brutal of expectations as my zone is.
I’ve been approached about the quality of my zone multiple times in the past and I’ve been told to speed up, other than that the actual quality of my zone looks good. When I was confronted about this by a Team Lead, they told me that the average for an “aisle” (E2-E3, E4-E5, etc. being aisles) was 5 minutes per aisle. Now we get to how this average fits in with everything else.
When it’s around 5PM, you’re supposed to wrap up whatever it is that you’re doing and start on your zone. They (sometimes, not all TLs enforce this rule) want you to be done with your zone and start on your go-backs (out of area items) at around 8PM, leaving only “3” hours to get your zone done.
Now I’ve done the math for my zone and when applying it to the amount of time I have to do my zone, as well as the 45mins worth of legally mandated breaks you’re supposed to take that 99% of the time end up being taking after 5PM, it doesn’t look too good.
“This is where the fun begins!”
A standard single row, E1 for example, is 6 4’ shelves long. Going by the standard 5 minutes, it takes 2min 30sec per row to zone. Meaning that it takes 5min per 12 shelf-long areas, of which we’ll be using to figure out how long the back walls take.
E block: 22 aisles, and 36 shelves long for the back walls of sporting goods and toys.
22x5=110, plus 15 from the back walls so 125 AKA 2hr 5min just for E block.
N1-N19: 8.5 aisles, and 2 back walls with very large strollers, cribs and other baby items meaning it takes significantly less time to zone.
8.5x5=42.5, plus 2.5ish for the back walls so 45min just for baby hardlines.
F25-F46: 6 aisles, F39-F44 being nothing and there being a toy pad and specialty toy shelving for F45, as well as a back wall that is about 18 shelves long.
6x5=30, 5min for F45 and 7.5 minutes for the back wall, all of which adds up to 42min 30sec.
Once we add all of this up, we get 3hr 32min 30sec average for the entire zone of which cannot be met within the 5-8PM timeframe, especially when considering the 45min taken away for legally mandated breaks. Then you also have to factor in the usual guests needing help, carry-out calls, backup cashier calls and the occasional go backs of which you’ll have to grab in the middle of your zoning. This can take anywhere from 20min to an hour of your time combined, and leaves you with anywhere from 1hr 55min-1hr 15min to get your entire zone done.
Even though that’s the average, they still want it done faster and that results in speed zoning, of which I’ve also done the math for, and it’s roughly half the time (if not more) than the average zoning time. The half of the average time is still 1hr 45min, which can barely fit in and ends up making your zone look meh. Something that the TLs (at least mine will) will complain about a decent amount.
I just want some type of confirmation that I’m not the only one that, after sitting down and looking at the facts, sees that there is a problem with the TLs expectations 90% of the time. I haven’t done the math for the other zones that Hardlines TMs are required to do, but I’ll bet that they’re just as unrealistic and brutal of expectations as my zone is.
