Archived Cash office

[Retail Girl]

I've definitely taken being asked to learn CO as a complement if they are trusting me to be alone with the store's money.

"alone." There are multiple cameras trained on you at all times.

They're basically just trusting you not to be the stupidest thief of all time.

Of course we all know that we all have those get hired at our stores on a consistent basis. We've lost three TMs in the past month alone due to theft...and I look at our current batch of hires and wonder, "who's next?"

 

[thetargetman]

I've definitely taken being asked to learn CO as a complement if they are trusting me to be alone with the store's money.

"alone." There are multiple cameras trained on you at all times.

They're basically just trusting you not to be the stupidest thief of all time.

Of course we all know that we all have those get hired at our stores on a consistent basis. We've lost three TMs in the past month alone due to theft...and I look at our current batch of hires and wonder, "who's next?"

yea well I meant a "small" one and yea I cant believe how stupid people can be. I remember over the holiday season a tm got arrested for pocketing money from the Register.

 

[RedMan]

At the store I trained, I had to sign for the opening funds in the CO. The store I'm working at just leaves the bags in a box in the man trap. I guess it doesn't really matter, but it seems odd that no one is "responsible" for picking up the funds. They just figure it's the opening GSA/GSTL. We're not so good at following rules.

OK. Slightly off topic, but does it make you crazy to think that we don't use a certain color bag during lane closing and opening? It doesn't matter - just grab some bags that have money in them and preferably the number matches the register number.

 

[Retail Girl]

When we get our opening funds, we either get them from the person in the CO or have to chase down an LOD.

We do use a certain color bag for opening and closing. One days is green and the next day is red. For some reason, we have yellow ones in the CO as well, but they don't get used. Except for the one night when a TL had to take down the lanes, and neither he nor the LOD knew better and he put out the yellow bags. And complete chaos nearly broke out the next day, because it's green or red, but nothing else.

 

[RedMan]

I was told that the yellow/orange bags are used for large cash advances. So large that you can't stick the bills in your pocket. I haven't had to ask for an advance yet and I don't see it happening. We have green and red but nobody cares if they're mixed up. Aaaaargh

 

[Retail Girl]

Oh, God...that would not fly at my store. Heads would roll. Occasionally a bag gets lost, so some genius will use the wrong colored bag for the night just to make it work. No. No. No. We run without that bag and rotate in and out so every other day it doesn't exist until someone (usually me, it seems) manages to find it again.

Do you switch out every bag at night or just the ones where the lanes need to be manually closed?

 

[RedMan]

We switch out the lanes that were open. Off line? Nope. And I'm the only one who knows how to "'pop" a drawer on a register that has gone down during the day. So when I come in to open most days, I have to retrieve the funds from the registers that have gone down the day prior. I've been there two months and I'm the only one who knows BP. Ummm, I actually read BP on workbench and I'm trying to convert my team. It's a long, strange and winding road.

At this point, I'm working on the front end. When I get that fixed, then I'll try to fix the cash office. Make sense?

 

[Retail Girl]

I don't do cash office, so this is all stuff we do outside to be sure we're using the proper bags, etc. Sounds like you have some work to do! Let us know if we can help!

 

[RedMan]

Like I said, open carry!

 

[Cel]

The yellow bags are known as skim bags. They're for high volume stores or during high volume times when you get a register so overloaded with funds that you need to take some out and bring them to the CO (hence skim) so that it's not an AP liability. They're also to be used for advances to any register, and not to be put inside of anything else (they're brightly colored so AP can track them easily on cameras. Putting them inside a target bag makes AP super angry, if you don't feel comfortable transporting the skim bag for some reason ask for an AP escort. They can also be used to replace a missing red/green bag in a pinch, just make damn sure to make it indentifiable what register # it belongs to!

 

[Nauzhror]

I think I have only seen those bags widely used on Black Friday.

 

[PinkZinnia]

I am getting more comfortable with cash office but sometimes it still takes me until after my meal to finish sometimes.. That usually is because one certain morning lod lets me in late.. Sometimes 30-45 min. Late.

The other person who does it is fast. She has been doing it for a few years, but it sometimes it still takes her 4.5 hours to do it.. I guess she averages 3.5 hours

Same lod gives me a hard time about taking to long. Compares me to the the other person, which is unfair since I have only done it by myself a little more than a handful of times.
I can't say anything to her because she thinks she is mightier than everyone else in the store and it would make my time at target completely unbearable when she is in the store.
If everything goes smoothly I have very few problems, but if a problem arises, I don't know where to get help..

I looked in the book for troubleshooting but couldn't find my last problem. I had to resort to calling the other person who does co. she was at home.. That's just wrong. Where else can I get help?

The added stress off the lod is giving me knots in my stomach.

 

[Retail Girl]

Call another store in the district. Ask for the GSTL/GSA. Introduce yourself as the COTM from your store, and explain you are having a problem, and ask them if there is someone there who does cash office who might be willing to help you out. If there isn't, try a different store in the district.

SFTs do it, GSAs do it, photo TMs do it, AP does it...when you are in a position where very few people in the store know the ins and outs of your position, you learn to reach out to other stores for questions.

 

[loser girl]

The other co people know they can call me anytime. I can usually figure it out over the phone. Better that than walking into a mess the next day.

 

[awbuckit]

I've definitely taken being asked to learn CO as a complement if they are trusting me to be alone with the store's money.

I would take it as a compliment. When the few CO tms get together and try and figure out who else will learn CO it comes down to who has:
*a brain. Some people just do NOT catch on to the routine in CO.
*the availability
*doesn't freak OUT at the thought of large amounts of money. Not kidding. Some people I've talked to were so nervous about the money. I don't get it, but next...
*18 yrs of age.

When we get our opening funds, we either get them from the person in the CO or have to chase down an LOD.

We do use a certain color bag for opening and closing. One days is green and the next day is red. For some reason, we have yellow ones in the CO as well, but they don't get used. Except for the one night when a TL had to take down the lanes, and neither he nor the LOD knew better and he put out the yellow bags. And complete chaos nearly broke out the next day, because it's green or red, but nothing else.

The yellow ones are only ever used at my store for Black Friday pick-ups, they call them. When the cashiers tills are overflowing with 20s. My favorite time to be in CO.
The blue ones...not too sure why we have so many of them. Long time ago, we used to deliver the "odd strap" of money to guest service in one. Now they just sit there collecting dust.

Another topic...what do you all put your rolled coin in for the change fund?

 

[awbuckit]

I am getting more comfortable with cash office but sometimes it still takes me until after my meal to finish sometimes.. That usually is because one certain morning lod lets me in late.. Sometimes 30-45 min. Late.

The other person who does it is fast. She has been doing it for a few years, but it sometimes it still takes her 4.5 hours to do it.. I guess she averages 3.5 hours

Same lod gives me a hard time about taking to long. Compares me to the the other person, which is unfair since I have only done it by myself a little more than a handful of times.
I can't say anything to her because she thinks she is mightier than everyone else in the store and it would make my time at target completely unbearable when she is in the store.
If everything goes smoothly I have very few problems, but if a problem arises, I don't know where to get help..

I looked in the book for troubleshooting but couldn't find my last problem. I had to resort to calling the other person who does co. she was at home.. That's just wrong. Where else can I get help?

The added stress off the lod is giving me knots in my stomach.

3.5 hours??? It took me an hour today. We must be ultra, ultra, ultra low volume compared to your store. Or maybe you have other duties that I don't do. Wow, I can't imagine counting bags for that long.... I would love to see that. lol
Ignore the LOD. They have NOOOOO idea how to do CO. Don't let it get to you. If you're honestly trying and not just sitting there watching the paint dry on the walls, then just keep on doing what you're doing. Speed and confidence will come with time.

 

[COextraordinaire]

It takes me about 1.5 hrs to count our bags (42). Add another hour for the rest of the process. So 2.5 hrs for me (Super T). I am pretty quick, but pretty much all of us are done in 3.5hrs.

You can increase your speed by working efficiently. I set the cash counter to batch 50. Get those $1 bills strapped while you count.

Also you will learn how many sets of different denomination you need. When you count them, strap them to use for later. For example I know I need (8) $500 packs of 20's. So when I come across 25 $20 bills in the cash count I set it aside for later.

Pre-strapping bundles saves time both at transfer to safe and setting aside the money for the next day. As you do C O more often, you will see patterns and will be able to streamline the process.

Beyond that, don't let the LOD get to you. You get done when you're done. You can't quick partway and finish tomorrow.

And yes, call other stores and ask gstl for help. That happens in my area a lot.

 

[redeye58]

We're hi-vol & we had four sets of bags: red/green that were alternated & blue/yellow skim bags.
BF we'd do 2 skims in a day (first one yellow, second one blue) so the GSTL/GSA doing the second skim would combine the skims in the yellow bag to keep a set ready for next day. After next day's bags were processed, the other set was freed up in the event a second skim was needed again.
As COEx says, pre-strapping bundles (particularly $1s & $20s) along the way helps you streamline.
If you don't have a denom sheet posted, make your own. Ours has the totals needed for each denom (ie: $1s - $2100, $5s - $2400, $10s - $2350, etc) & denoms needed for each loc (015: $1s - $200, $5 - $200, $10s - $500, etc).

 

[thetargetman]

It takes me about 1.5 hrs to count our bags (42). Add another hour for the rest of the process. So 2.5 hrs for me (Super T). I am pretty quick, but pretty much all of us are done in 3.5hrs.

You can increase your speed by working efficiently. I set the cash counter to batch 50. Get those $1 bills strapped while you count.

Also you will learn how many sets of different denomination you need. When you count them, strap them to use for later. For example I know I need (8) $500 packs of 20's. So when I come across 25 $20 bills in the cash count I set it aside for later.

Pre-strapping bundles saves time both at transfer to safe and setting aside the money for the next day. As you do C O more often, you will see patterns and will be able to streamline the process.

Beyond that, don't let the LOD get to you. You get done when you're done. You can't quick partway and finish tomorrow.

And yes, call other stores and ask gstl for help. That happens in my area a lot.

great tips. I try to stay on top of the Advance for the next day and if I find my 25 counts of ones are all there I just re strap them and build my stacks. our ETL GE is a total nut job and so many of us have a great disliking of her but I try not to let her get to me.

 

[PinkZinnia]

Thank you thank you for all your tips.. I did make my own 'cheat sheets' and I try to strap as I go, even though I feel like it's taking me longer when I do that..but I'm getting there.. I'm sure the more I do it the faster I will get.

The other person who does the co feels like it is her room and doesn't like things moved.. She also doesn't give me much advise on how to improve myself in there. (But she is quick to tell me my mistakes)
When I asked her how much I should be leaving in the safe(10’s and 20’s) she said well you know, not too much...umm, no I don't know can you tell me how much not too much is. I'm not even up to ordering money - I will have to start paying more attention to see what is in there so I can figure out ordering.
People are funny about their jobs. Some don't like to give out info in fear of losing their job. I am a big believer in getting everyone trained to do everything so that things run smoothly.

I think the hardest part (most confusing part) is transfer to safe then taking the money from the safe to make the remainders of the bundles.. At that point I feel like I have money all over the place and I hope no one calls me or interrupts me when I'm at that point because I will get confused..

I know it's going to take time.. but being pressured by the lod the other day really stunk. Today I had a little extra time and I was able to search the problem I had that day - now I know what to do if that ever happens again

Do any of you who answered me have self check outs? I feel like I am dealing out cards when I am making the piles to count out. Self check outs (especially on weekends) are time consuming.

 

[thetargetman]

Thank you thank you for all your tips.. I did make my own 'cheat sheets' and I try to strap as I go, even though I feel like it's taking me longer when I do that..but I'm getting there.. I'm sure the more I do it the faster I will get.

The other person who does the co feels like it is her room and doesn't like things moved.. She also doesn't give me much advise on how to improve myself in there. (But she is quick to tell me my mistakes)
When I asked her how much I should be leaving in the safe(10’s and 20’s) she said well you know, not too much...umm, no I don't know can you tell me how much not too much is. I'm not even up to ordering money - I will have to start paying more attention to see what is in there so I can figure out ordering.
People are funny about their jobs. Some don't like to give out info in fear of losing their job. I am a big believer in getting everyone trained to do everything so that things run smoothly.

I think the hardest part (most confusing part) is transfer to safe then taking the money from the safe to make the remainders of the bundles.. At that point I feel like I have money all over the place and I hope no one calls me or interrupts me when I'm at that point because I will get confused..

I know it's going to take time.. but being pressured by the lod the other day really stunk. Today I had a little extra time and I was able to search the problem I had that day - now I know what to do if that ever happens again

Do any of you who answered me have self check outs? I feel like I am dealing out cards when I am making the piles to count out. Self check outs (especially on weekends) are time consuming.

I know how you feel. it can seem overwhelming at times but I know I will be quick and accurate. it takes our CO team member about 3 hours to do the job from start to finish, but I would rather take longer doing it the right way first than take 3 hours trying to be fast and make mistakes.

 

[thetargetman]

Thank you thank you for all your tips.. I did make my own 'cheat sheets' and I try to strap as I go, even though I feel like it's taking me longer when I do that..but I'm getting there.. I'm sure the more I do it the faster I will get.

The other person who does the co feels like it is her room and doesn't like things moved.. She also doesn't give me much advise on how to improve myself in there. (But she is quick to tell me my mistakes)
When I asked her how much I should be leaving in the safe(10’s and 20’s) she said well you know, not too much...umm, no I don't know can you tell me how much not too much is. I'm not even up to ordering money - I will have to start paying more attention to see what is in there so I can figure out ordering.
People are funny about their jobs. Some don't like to give out info in fear of losing their job. I am a big believer in getting everyone trained to do everything so that things run smoothly.

I think the hardest part (most confusing part) is transfer to safe then taking the money from the safe to make the remainders of the bundles.. At that point I feel like I have money all over the place and I hope no one calls me or interrupts me when I'm at that point because I will get confused..

I know it's going to take time.. but being pressured by the lod the other day really stunk. Today I had a little extra time and I was able to search the problem I had that day - now I know what to do if that ever happens again

Do any of you who answered me have self check outs? I feel like I am dealing out cards when I am making the piles to count out. Self check outs (especially on weekends) are time consuming.

I don't know about you Pinkzinnia but my CO guide sheet is full of my own notes and tips, hints, ect. I am always glancing at it.

 

[redeye58]

The other person who does the co feels like it is her room and doesn't like things moved.. She also doesn't give me much advise on how to improve myself in there. (But she is quick to tell me my mistakes)

Weak people use knowledge as power by keeping others off-balance & in the dark.

When I asked her how much I should be leaving in the safe(10’s and 20’s) she said well you know, not too much...umm, no I don't know can you tell me how much not too much is. I'm not even up to ordering money - I will have to start paying more attention to see what is in there so I can figure out ordering.

Workbench used to have a guide based on your store's volume that determined how much you should keep on hand. When ordering money, you have to determine how much more of each denom you'll use before your order arrives & order accordingly. If you're burning thru $10s about a strap a day, you'll want to order several straps (more if you're going into the weekend). The last order of the week should be enough to carry you to the middle of next week since Monday's order won't go into the system until Wednesday.

People are funny about their jobs. Some don't like to give out info in fear of losing their job. I am a big believer in getting everyone trained to do everything so that things run smoothly.

Ditto.

I think the hardest part (most confusing part) is transfer to safe then taking the money from the safe to make the remainders of the bundles.. At that point I feel like I have money all over the place and I hope no one calls me or interrupts me when I'm at that point because I will get confused..

I kept my bills stacked as I was doing the transfer to safe. Once the transfer was done, I set out stacks of each denom needed for the next day's advance, did the deposit then counted the remainder in the safe. If there was an error, I could double check my advance. If I balanced, I could finish up in the system & log out. I could then finish strapping my bundles for the next day. It also gave me a better idea of what I needed to order based on what I was running low on.

 

[PinkZinnia]

Thank you thank you for all your tips.. I did make my own 'cheat sheets' and I try to strap as I go, even though I feel like it's taking me longer when I do that..but I'm getting there.. I'm sure the more I do it the faster I will get.

The other person who does the co feels like it is her room and doesn't like things moved.. She also doesn't give me much advise on how to improve myself in there. (But she is quick to tell me my mistakes)
When I asked her how much I should be leaving in the safe(10’s and 20’s) she said well you know, not too much...umm, no I don't know can you tell me how much not too much is. I'm not even up to ordering money - I will have to start paying more attention to see what is in there so I can figure out ordering.
People are funny about their jobs. Some don't like to give out info in fear of losing their job. I am a big believer in getting everyone trained to do everything so that things run smoothly.

I think the hardest part (most confusing part) is transfer to safe then taking the money from the safe to make the remainders of the bundles.. At that point I feel like I have money all over the place and I hope no one calls me or interrupts me when I'm at that point because I will get confused..

I know it's going to take time.. but being pressured by the lod the other day really stunk. Today I had a little extra time and I was able to search the problem I had that day - now I know what to do if that ever happens again

Do any of you who answered me have self check outs? I feel like I am dealing out cards when I am making the piles to count out. Self check outs (especially on weekends) are time consuming.

I don't know about you Pinkzinnia but my CO guide sheet is full of my own notes and tips, hints, ect. I am always glancing at it.

I don't have a guide sheet.. Where can I get it

 

[awbuckit]

I think the hardest part (most confusing part) is transfer to safe then taking the money from the safe to make the remainders of the bundles.. At that point I feel like I have money all over the place and I hope no one calls me or interrupts me when I'm at that point because I will get confused..

Do any of you who answered me have self check outs? I feel like I am dealing out cards when I am making the piles to count out. Self check outs (especially on weekends) are time consuming.

What part of the transfer to safe is confusing? (Not being rude here, trying to understand so I can help).
I keep only the money from the bags in front of me. I don't take any money from the safe until the transfer is done. I have money in front of me but I know that it's not from the safe.
I make my bundles as I count the bags, such as the money in the bag is 45 ones, 9 fives, 2 tens and 1 twenty. So I take from previously counted money in front of me--5 ones, 1 five, 1 ten and make a start fund of $150 and put a rubber band around it. (I count the service desk ones first and only make up 2 of them so I have enough "extra" money to make the rest of the $150 funds). Put in stacks of five--easier to count when doing transfer to safe. If there's 11 start funds still in the safe then I know I should end up with 13 in front of me. (We have 24 lanes). Once in a while I end up with an extra start fund or one less. I figure someone screwed it up and it usually washes out in a day or two. lol

We don't have self check-outs yet. What is different about them?