MEGATHREAD 2018-2019 Store Modernization Megathread

[NightHuntress]

You must be an old store because every store I’ve worked in the lights are controlled by FMOC and are automated by your stores closing time. The lights should be at 25% after store close. I could be wrong but I’m pretty sure every store went digital last summer when they installed LED lights in every store

I suppose we are old compared to some stores. I think we are 10-12 years old. We got the new LED lights also. If an LOD does not turn the lights off they do go down to 25% or so on their own but we were given direction by district to actually turn them off as far as we could with the actual panel. To some of the other posts, our heat/air doesn’t really kick in until an hour before open. Never did, so moving people to dayside would not have made an impact on that aspect.

 

[gsa4lyfe]

I suppose we are old compared to some stores. I think we are 10-12 years old. We got the new LED lights also. If an LOD does not turn the lights off they do go down to 25% or so on their own but we were given direction by district to actually turn them off as far as we could with the actual panel. To some of the other posts, our heat/air doesn’t really kick in until an hour before open. Never did, so moving people to dayside would not have made an impact on that aspect.

I’ve work at a store 20 years old and a store 1 year old and never seen physical switches for store lighting. We have switches for areas like tsc and even the backroom buy never store lighting. Just weird

 

[Vince]

I call BS on that energy-savings "reason." The lights are on only halfway and they're high efficiency fluorescents anyway. And I'm pretty sure the heat wasn't turned up to the level it is when the store is open - which didn't really matter because flow isn't exactly sitting-down kind of work.
The shift differential though, I expect that's really what it's about.

Took the thoughts from my brain

 

[commiecorvus]

Oh he's not licking them, he's WEARING those boots, Jack.

Of course, all of that goose-stepping can be hard on the floors, and just following orders is not a guarantee that you won't lose the war, or that it will be accepted as a defense at Nuremberg.

You just Goodwin's Law'd yourself out of the conversation.
Let's please avoid Nazi comparisons unless we are talking about actual Natzis.

 

[NightHuntress]

I’ve work at a store 20 years old and a store 1 year old and never seen physical switches for store lighting. We have switches for areas like tsc and even the backroom buy never store lighting. Just weird

Lol- sorry. Not physical switches. It’s actually on the alarm panel. There is a button to turn off the lights. You press it and then it it asks you if you want to turn off the lights and you select yes. Lol. Not an actual light switch

 

[gsa4lyfe]

Lol- sorry. Not physical switches. It’s actually on the alarm panel. There is a button to turn off the lights. You press it and then it it asks you if you want to turn off the lights and you select yes. Lol. Not an actual light switch

Ohhh weird still unusual for me but kinda useful I guess

 

[ntauctions]

Our heat kicks on automatically exactly at 7am, as do the lights. The lights are reduced at 11pm and stay that way right until 7am. Our STL says that this saves money from working an overnight process but it's completely false. We've never had heat overnight and the lights have always been the same as they are now. Only difference I see is that they took away our shift differential.

 

[FredPanda3]

I always assumed that it was just a way for them to cut hours because instead of having pushers and regular sales floor, you combine it into one with the same payroll if not less.

 

[qmosqueen]

I always assumed that it was just a way for them to cut hours because instead of having pushers and regular sales floor, you combine it into one with the same payroll if not less.

And combine cashier into the mix also.
Guest first to the checklanes who’s responding. I counted about 10 of these today alone.

 

[FredPanda3]

And combine cashier into the mix also.
Guest first to the checklanes who’s responding. I counted about 10 of these today alone.

I know, cashier hours have dwindled and they are always calling for back-up.

 

[Black Sheep 214]

The shift differential though, I expect that's really what it's about.

My store was making people start later to lose the shift differential before Modernization even started. ASANTS, but the heat/air conditioning was never on for overnight at my store, nor was full lighting, so the money they save at my store by dropping overnight was the shift differential, period.

 

[flow4areasonuno]

I know, cashier hours have dwindled and they are always calling for back-up.

This is just stupid. You can't have TMs being everything in their department AND expect them to be cashiers too, it just doesn't work like that. What happens when the flu goes around and 2 or 3 people call out?

 

[unknown]

This is just stupid. You can't have TMs being everything in their department AND expect them to be cashiers too, it just doesn't work like that. What happens when the flu goes around and 2 or 3 people call out?

That's the TMS fault. They just aren't giving 187%.

 

[flow4areasonuno]

That's the TMS fault. They just aren't giving 187%.

I'm not giving 187% to a company who couldn't care less. Getting 1 day a week, they're probably going to fire me. At least they're only having me push product--which is why I took this job, to push and go home. They want me to care about the sales in a department, and figures and whatnot, they can put me on salary--that's managers' work.

Not mad at you, just their expectations.

 

[BoxCutter]

Exactly. Heard over the walkie yesterday when one of our SFS pickers was looking for a large quantity of a certain product in cosmetics (probably for a re-seller) and had to take everything off the shelf plus much of what came in on the truck that day. There was some left for in-store guests, but not much. Get enough people shopping in the store and unable to make their purchases enough times, that business will be lost and likely lost permanently.

This. We will have guests come into the store early in the morning. They come straight back to electronics and tell me they saw online that we have Apple Air Buds in stock. There are none in the case so I check the myDevice. They did indeed come in that morning, but SFS/OPU went through the repacks in the Zone 9 cage and took them all before or while I'm zoning, EXF-ing, pulling and then pushing my batches. When this happens I tell the guest the next time they see them online, they should order them online as soon as they see it.

 

[BackroomOG14]

The straw that will break the camel’s back is coming and it’s name is 4th quarter...soon to be set up by it’s companion Back-to-School...

We went through the changes right before Halloween. All of Q4 was a nightmare.... This process works if you staff x2 but won't happen. Back to school already has me stressed

 

[unknown]

I'm not giving 187% to a company who couldn't care less. Getting 1 day a week, they're probably going to fire me. At least they're only having me push product--which is why I took this job, to push and go home. They want me to care about the sales in a department, and figures and whatnot, they can put me on salary--that's managers' work.

Not mad at you, just their expectations.

But you're a business owner now! Got to justify that $15. No matter if hours get cut to achieve it. Brian believes you can do it! Think of all you can accomplish in 4 hours a week.

 

[Ashfromoldsite]

If your lights are on halfway during the night your closing LOD is not turning them off. You are supposed to do it at the alarm panel when arming the building for the night. There are just a couple lights that stay on but the store does go dark. When the first person entering in the morning walks in they automatically kick on

Half of ceiling lights stay on. Spotlights, cosmetics, any gondola lighting, TVs all shut off. But it is correct that half the ceiling lights stay on. Arming the store has nothing to do with lighting. They don’t automatically kick in when the first person arrives. The spotlights kick on at 6am. Everything else when the store opens.

 

[Ashfromoldsite]

I feel sorry for our softlines breakout TMs. That's all they do, all day, for 5 hours. Used to be they would hang up stuff and sort the non-hanging back into the repacks, which would be pushed by other people. Now they have to breakout for all of softlines into specific shelved vehicles, with half the amount of people. They never even leave the backroom--and naturally this creates a huge bottleneck in two places

And sometimes shit gets piled up anyway because we're all on 5 hour shifts, no going over

Our Softlines unpackers love it. They eat and drink, listen to music, and talk the entire time. We need to rethink who’s doing it at my store!

 

[Frontlanegirl]

I know, cashier hours have dwindled and they are always calling for back-up.

I keep hearing that hours have been allocated to other areas. So, they reduce the number of hours to the front end and give them elsewhere in the store. So, there are days when we only have 1 or 2 people in SL & HL, are these hours going to flow - who does not respond to guest first? Where have these hours been allocated?

 

[unknown]

I keep hearing that hours have been allocated to other areas. So, they reduce the number of hours to the front end and give them elsewhere in the store. So, there are days when we only have 1 or 2 people in SL & HL, are these hours going to flow - who does not respond to guest first? Where have these hours been allocated?

That's a fallacy numerous people on here state to back up their support of modernization. No one supports their assertions with any numbers.

But you who see what is happening. Less hours. Less people.

Now it's also true that each year, the amount of hours a store uses, if sales remain level, have historically gone down. But this modernization thing has gutted payroll like no other. It won't be better anytime soon.

 

[Go2TL]

I keep hearing that hours have been allocated to other areas. So, they reduce the number of hours to the front end and give them elsewhere in the store. So, there are days when we only have 1 or 2 people in SL & HL, are these hours going to flow - who does not respond to guest first? Where have these hours been allocated?

You just discovered everyone's dirty secret! ALL the hours have been allocated to The Truck unloaders/pushers! That is why there's a skeleton crew at the front end, 1 HLTM and 1 SLTM. Even the consumables team is a skeleton crew. Truck gets all the hours but they somehow still roll over truck freight.

 

[ntauctions]

You just discovered everyone's dirty secret! ALL the hours have been allocated to The Truck unloaders/pushers! That is why there's a skeleton crew at the front end, 1 HLTM and 1 SLTM. Even the consumables team is a skeleton crew. Truck gets all the hours but they somehow still roll over truck freight.

They aren't getting hours at my store. We are all down to 4 hour shifts on flow.

 

[GlobalTL123]

The straw that will break the camel’s back is coming and it’s name is 4th quarter...soon to be set up by it’s companion Back-to-School...

We have been through a Q4 and BTS absolute hell. You cannot handle multiple trucks with this system by scheduling dayside hours.

 

[Go2TL]

They aren't getting hours at my store. We are all down to 4 hour shifts on flow.

At my store, on paper it reflects 4 hours scheduled but truck team members stay longer than their scheduled shift. So that's where the hours are going. That's the workcenter that is overspent each week, each month. At the end of each month other workcenters have to cut shifts just to make the store payroll for the month. Currently at my store (no offense to other stores) it's the truck team against everyone else. There is a big segregation going on and it's going to get even uglier!