Black Friday 2023

flow4areasonuno said:
Around Halloween and before there would be days where the cashier-side of front end would get SCO...and no one else until 9 or 10am. Wednesday/Thursday are our slowest days and it's at its worst there. And if we DID have an extra person they'd be stolen for GS...which I hate. They're nice people over there but I resent the short-staffedness this forces onto the cashier-side. There's been days we had three or four cashiers scheduled--ALL DAY. It's less common after Halloween but when the days are bad they're awful.

Backup calls for days. Prompts to "go faster" when you're the sole cashier working. Every day it got like that I'd just be praying for someone to say something to me so I could leave 'em high and dry.

I wish I was in the store you apparently are. I just know when the holiday help leaves we're going back to osteoporosis staffing.
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I’m not disputing that it sometimes feels like there aren’t enough resources. That definitely happens. What I’m saying is I never met a SD that does that on purpose. Usually it’s just terrible payroll given.

It’s an uphill battle from the start when they still drop Imbound hours like 600hrs when you’re taking 14 trucks. SDs are forced to give inbound what they actually need which in that scenario could be over 1700hrs. Now you have to play accountant and figure out where you going to take from to make up for that.

Most definitely it feels like a lack of resources game at times. I think the way MyTime drops inbound hours is the main issue.
 
SilentCrow said:
I’m not disputing that it sometimes feels like there aren’t enough resources. That definitely happens. What I’m saying is I never met a SD that does that on purpose. Usually it’s just terrible payroll given.

It’s an uphill battle from the start when they still drop Imbound hours like 600hrs when you’re taking 14 trucks. SDs are forced to give inbound what they actually need which in that scenario could be over 1700hrs. Now you have to play accountant and figure out where you going to take from to make up for that.

Most definitely it feels like a lack of resources game at times. I think the way MyTime drops inbound hours is the main issue.
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I always feel good with 100 hours a truck and 125 for a double. 1700 is pretty extreme, almost 250 hours per day in inbound?
 
SilentCrow said:
I’m not disputing that it sometimes feels like there aren’t enough resources. That definitely happens. What I’m saying is I never met a SD that does that on purpose. Usually it’s just terrible payroll given.

It’s an uphill battle from the start when they still drop Imbound hours like 600hrs when you’re taking 14 trucks. SDs are forced to give inbound what they actually need which in that scenario could be over 1700hrs. Now you have to play accountant and figure out where you going to take from to make up for that.

Most definitely it feels like a lack of resources game at times. I think the way MyTime drops inbound hours is the main issue.
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Rob Peter to pay Paul is how our leaders say.
 
SilentCrow said:
I don’t know one peer that would rather suffer by cutting payroll, not replacing key shifts, or underposting. It’s a myth.

Truth is we are told by DSDs to spend the payroll but don’t miss the month. If you leave too much payroll on the table it’s a sign that you’re understaffed and can cause your store to get lower payroll the following year.

The payroll game is simple. Target gives X, going over it is essentially cheating because you can solve any problem by throwing bodies at it. So you manage your building with X payroll to achieve results. Not good going way under X as your results will 9 times out of 10 show up poorly.

Taking in the entire month you may underpost one week because you know let’s say wk3 of the month has a massive workload, so you over post wk3 etc. I have yet to meet an SD that doesn’t want more payroll or is scared to spend payroll for arbitrary reasons. I never met a DSD that is happy with a store banking hours for reasons besides training for new hires.

Opposite actually happens. We all fight to be able to spend more payroll. Then again maybe you had a very strange SD. Could be true not knocking what you’re saying.
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Worked with payroll for years. Yep, pretty much sums it up. Too, there are so many factors. What corporate expects it to take vs actual time bc your store has some crazy layout, big event in your area that causes everyone to do customer service, or the 3 weeks everyone has flu and you have to factor it into next month's payroll, etc.
 
gsa4lyfe said:
I always feel good with 100 hours a truck and 125 for a double. 1700 is pretty extreme, almost 250 hours per day in inbound?
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We always separate Backroom. 100 hours per trailer is for push and unload. I will always schedule 7 Backroom TMs no matter what. Hence where 1700+ comes from. It depends on your store. My district we found that consistently scheduling X amount of Backroom for inbound works best. Push & unload is based on the amount of trucks taken.

My store takes 16 trucks a week. My peers store takes 22 a week. We use a similar formula. ASANTS though. Two stores in my district do hybrid unloads. Weekends they’re overnight, other days they’re dayside unload. We also are expected to be 95% in priority Fill and OOS. That Backroom piece is crucial for us hitting those numbers before midnight.
 
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boobooduck said:
Worked with payroll for years. Yep, pretty much sums it up. Too, there are so many factors. What corporate expects it to take vs actual time bc your store has some crazy layout, big event in your area that causes everyone to do customer service, or the 3 weeks everyone has flu and you have to factor it into next month's payroll, etc.
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100%. It’s the game of “Theory” from HQ vs “Practical” from stores.
 
Frontlanegirl said:
I know we made payroll based on the number of callouts on Fri and Sat. Here’s the kicker, not one documented conversation regarding any of those callouts.
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That's what pisses me off. I get talked to about being 2 minutes late coming off breaks or not moving fast enough but people who call out and NCNS left and right get diddly squat.

I've just gotten lazier. Why try? There is no reward for it. In fact, there's punishment.
 
SilentCrow said:
I’m not disputing that it sometimes feels like there aren’t enough resources. That definitely happens. What I’m saying is I never met a SD that does that on purpose. Usually it’s just terrible payroll given.

It’s an uphill battle from the start when they still drop Imbound hours like 600hrs when you’re taking 14 trucks. SDs are forced to give inbound what they actually need which in that scenario could be over 1700hrs. Now you have to play accountant and figure out where you going to take from to make up for that.

Most definitely it feels like a lack of resources game at times. I think the way MyTime drops inbound hours is the main issue.
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You’re 100% right. SDs want the most payroll they can get. Whether they make payroll by 1 hour or 5000 hours they qualify for a bonus. It’s how much sales over goal that increases their bonus.
SD know that to increase sales they need to use every hour given. And that if they don’t, they will get less payroll next year.
 
KarmaToBurn said:
Hell, as a former district soecialist (K-Mart) Spot is over-paying for a complete lack of experienced managemrnt. Our new ETL-GE was about to cry yesterday, up there all alone with no good traing on how to run a register, lookup [rices in the Zebra, etc...
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And here I am feeling like I'm under qualified to apply to an ETL position. It seems like most ETLs are hired straight from getting an MBA with no retail experience. And that's not a knock on MBAs, I have one lol
 
flow4areasonuno said:
That's what pisses me off. I get talked to about being 2 minutes late coming off breaks or not moving fast enough but people who call out and NCNS left and right get diddly squat.

I've just gotten lazier. Why try? There is no reward for it. In fact, there's punishment.
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Friend at work said the same thing. Why should she care if management doesn’t? Why should I work harder when they get a pass?
 
In a related matter are shift lengths auto-generated in the system?

Our store posted two GA (cashier) shifts both eight hours long.

Actually one shift ends at 11:00 PM one day and another starts 7:00 AM the next morning.

To me it would make sense to break them into four shifts because no one will pick them up.
 
Frontlanegirl said:
Friend at work said the same thing. Why should she care if management doesn’t? Why should I work harder when they get a pass?
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Oh people should definitely not care more than management.

I've heard leaders gush over decidedly mid or even bad team members, thanking them for their hard work or calling them "rock stars".

Yeah, I've taken things down a notch or two the past year or so. But my work ethic and perfectionism only lets me slow down so much. Still, I try not to get stressed anymore. Why bother when over the years I've seen bad employees get pass after pass?
 
I had a guest come up to me in the toys section asking if he could grab a couple board games off the shelf since he placed an order for pickup. I told him no, but I asked him what time he placed the order and he said "just now".

First of all-

1701715912609.jpeg

It tells you to wait 2 hours on the product listing. It tells you to wait 2 hours when you add it to the cart. And it tells you to wait 2 hours on the email confirmation.

Second of all, why the hell did you order something for pickup if you were already in the store? So strange.
 
Oh and I just tested positive for Covid hahaha (I feel fine). I checked with HR and they said I can come to work with a mask if I feel fine, but I feel like that's a bad idea. I'm probably going to stay home for 5 days or until I get a negative result.
 
I spoke too soon. Yesterday we had 1 person at 7am, one at 10, (me) one at 1, and six people coming in at 4 pm or later

They do realize moms are our MVP guests right? And therefore day staffing is important???

I think they're trying to make people quit. This is getting unmanageable. I'm stressed from the time I clock in to the time I clock out.
 
dannyy315 said:
And here I am feeling like I'm under qualified to apply to an ETL position. It seems like most ETLs are hired straight from getting an MBA with no retail experience. And that's not a knock on MBAs, I have one lol
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dannyy315 said:
And here I am feeling like I'm under qualified to apply to an ETL position. It seems like most ETLs are hired straight from getting an MBA with no retail experience. And that's not a knock on MBAs, I have one lol
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Etls don’t even need college degrees anymore.
 

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