Are corporate visits suppose to be scary?

[JustTapNotNow]

I feel like my TL is always threatening us with a corporate visit whenever they want something done. “Can you please dust the registers and pick up the carts/baskets as fast as you can because we’re getting a visit from X” “make sure you know everything on the weekly ad because X is coming and will ask you about it” and that visit never happens. I know it’s all apart of our jobs as cashier to know the deals/keep register areas tidy, but do they really have to keep trying to scare us with a corporate visit?

 

[Black Sheep 214]

I feel like my TL is always threatening us with a corporate visit whenever they want something done. “Can you please dust the registers and pick up the carts/baskets as fast as you can because we’re getting a visit from X” “make sure you know everything on the weekly ad because X is coming and will ask you about it” and that visit never happens. I know it’s all apart of our jobs as cashier to know the deals/keep register areas tidy, but do they really have to keep trying to scare us with a corporate visit?

Your leaders are the ones who are scared about a corporate visit. What usually happens is, X lets it be known to your leaders that they are coming for a visit. Your leaders know what will happen if they are not totally prepared for that visit, so they tell you and the rest of the team to do this, that and the other to get ready for the visit. X knows that the threat of a visit is all that is needed to get the store all brand and ship-shape, so they don’t bother to actually make the visit. They don’t need to and never intended to. The ones being scared brand are your leaders. Even though they know that the chances that X will actually show up are pretty slim, they don’t dare to take that chance that X won’t show, since one or two stores in a district might actually at some point get a visit, just to keep the game going. X gets the maximum amount of work done with the minimum amount of effort on their part. It may not be the oldest con game in the retail world, but it’s one of them.

 

[Planosss]

My X was scary too…

 

[Captain Orca]

Just do your job to the best of your ability, ask the right questions and be aware of what's going on. Nothing new, it's all bullshit.

 

[Xanatos]

@Black Sheep 214 is right. To add on to that, sometimes someone will do a surprise visit at one store and then that store will let all the other stores know that they had a surprise visit. The rest of the stores will get ready just in case. The visitor hasn't announced their schedule or where they are going, but everyone needs to get ready, even if they are only going to a couple stores.

That one surprise visit just got 8 stores to put themselves into overdrive to get the store looking how it should, but they only planned on visiting 3 stores that day anyway.

 

[Fluttervale]

I feel like my TL is always threatening us with a corporate visit whenever they want something done. “Can you please dust the registers and pick up the carts/baskets as fast as you can because we’re getting a visit from X” “make sure you know everything on the weekly ad because X is coming and will ask you about it” and that visit never happens. I know it’s all apart of our jobs as cashier to know the deals/keep register areas tidy, but do they really have to keep trying to scare us with a corporate visit?

90% of visits get canceled. But when you don’t get ready for them, that’s when they happen and with extra picky visitors.

My philosophy has always been to expect my department to be visit ready all day every day, and then there’s no extra work ever.

 

[Marvin Martian]

I believe that some visits should be out of the blue. That way they know what the store actually looks like. Especially being Christmas and the amount of freight in the stockrooms do not get hidden away. I mean they know how much your store was delivered and when so why hide the stock

 

[Noiinteam]

We have push parties at least once a week. Every salesfloor tm except sfs. We had 7 pallets of mini seasonal done in 45 minutes. Our visitors would have to go to the parking lot and check each conex. They don't. They should. They may not want to know lol

 

[commiecorvus]

They are scary only in the sense that shit rolls downhill.
When corporate gets pissed at what a mess your store is in, then the bosses are going to make your lives hell until it is fixed.
It's never really your fault the store is up to snuff.
That is just about always due to bad leadership but those leaders will take it out on you when they get called on it.

 

[NotCynicalYet]

Corporate visits are performative and serve as proof that everyone can get their shit together on short notice. They are important for maintaining order and standards. Use them to shine.

 

[BurgerBob]

We have push parties at least once a week. Every salesfloor tm except sfs. We had 7 pallets of mini seasonal done in 45 minutes. Our visitors would have to go to the parking lot and check each conex. They don't. They should. They may not want to know lol

One opened our third trailer once and saw all the hidden sins.... it was quite hysterical the ammount of egg on faces.

 

[KarmaToBurn]

I love watching my leadership run around like a chicken with their heads cut off, deny there's a visit 3 times before admitting it while I sit back and chill and chuckle to myself... my secret, I do my DAMN job every day. I wish they'd do more surprise visits....

 

[UboatOfDeath]

Your shift leaders just wanna make sure people are "doing what they're supposed to do," avoiding activities that could get a tm fired/term or written up:
-standing on pallets/riding on uboats
-wooden pallets on the sales floor without pallet jack/pallets or flats on the sales floor during store operating hours
-building pallets full of merchandise above 6feet or making uboats too high
-blocking exits/fire extinguishers/power grid


Stuff like that. Or as my shift leader says, "stuff that would make him look bad because what you do is a reflection on me and how I trained you"