Archived Cash office

[awbuckit]

I'd start with HR first as well, unless he/she is an ass and it won't get you anywhere. Generally, the stl will listen to problems and will try and find a solution. CO is important and I'm sure they will want to see any problem fixed.
Maybe you need to go to another store and see how they process the money. Maybe you could suggest going somewhere else for even just 1 day.

 

[Jill of All Trades]

Start with yourself before HR. For a day, try writing down when you finish each task so you learn how long it takes you to do something. For example, if I start work at 7, I'm sitting down to count locations at 7:20. I'm done with my first block of bags around 8:00 and I finish counting at 9:00. It takes me about 45 minutes to organize bundles, transfer to safe, do the deposit and count the safe. If there's change from the bank, I know I can count and re-strap 1,000 ones in twenty minutes. So if an LOD comes in at 9:15 and I'm just counting the last bag, I can tell her, "I'm on track to finish by 10:15!" (notice I didn't say "I'm running fifteen minutes late!")

I don't think your leadership is out to get you- they just need better information. From their point of view you never finish CO at the same time, day to day. They're not taking into consideration that you start half an hour late most of the time. If you were able to give them a reasonable estimate when they barged in demanding to know when you'll be done, that would probably solve a lot of problems. It's probably not personal- they're just trying to fit closing the CO into THEIR schedule. If you make that easier for them, they'll get off your back, no HR required.

 

[awbuckit]

Start with yourself before HR. For a day, try writing down when you finish each task so you learn how long it takes you to do something. For example, if I start work at 7, I'm sitting down to count locations at 7:20. I'm done with my first block of bags around 8:00 and I finish counting at 9:00. It takes me about 45 minutes to organize bundles, transfer to safe, do the deposit and count the safe. If there's change from the bank, I know I can count and re-strap 1,000 ones in twenty minutes. So if an LOD comes in at 9:15 and I'm just counting the last bag, I can tell her, "I'm on track to finish by 10:15!" (notice I didn't say "I'm running fifteen minutes late!")

I don't think your leadership is out to get you- they just need better information. From their point of view you never finish CO at the same time, day to day. They're not taking into consideration that you start half an hour late most of the time. If you were able to give them a reasonable estimate when they barged in demanding to know when you'll be done, that would probably solve a lot of problems. It's probably not personal- they're just trying to fit closing the CO into THEIR schedule. If you make that easier for them, they'll get off your back, no HR required.

What do you mean by "count and re-strap 1,000 ones"? What do you do with them?

 

[Jill of All Trades]

What do you mean by "count and re-strap 1,000 ones"? What do you do with them?

When they come in from the bank they're strapped in bundles of 100. Since I need them in straps of 25 and 50, I have to run them through the document counter and strap them into the smaller increments before I put them in with the rest of the money in the safe. We keep all ones and fives in the safe strapped in bundles of $50 (with the ones in two sub-straps of $25) at all times- never in larger bundles.

Also I think last time I timed myself I was dealing with 2,000 bills, not 1,000, so that should have read "it takes me 20 minutes to count and re-strap 2,000 ones"

 

[PinkZinnia]

Jill, I know their only concern is to have me on the floor so they don't need backups.. There have been times when I have had to put it all back in the safe, come out to ring, go to lunch, be let back in, only to put it all back again to cover gstl lunch and then do it again and then don't leave work until 4 pm.

I do time myself when I'm counting the bags, and I seem to be all in line, but then it all falls apart when I get to transfer to safe.

I think, what they are assuming is that i can handle the job of the GSA who recently left target. she had been doing the cash office for a long time. Right now it is extremely stressful for me.
Yet when the seasoned co person gets out at a reasonable time, she never covers breaks. She usually does one spot or pushes gum because they have a mid shift gstl/GSA when she is on, even though she is a GSA.. Something is so drastically wrong.
I would talk to stl about it but we don't have one and the new one, who I here has not worked for target before doesn't start until mid October.. I really don't think he will even grasp what my woes are.. He is going to be overwhelmed himself. I think I will talk to hr before she decides to pack it in and leave like most of management is doing.
It's such a mess...

 

[awbuckit]

What do you mean by "count and re-strap 1,000 ones"? What do you do with them?

When they come in from the bank they're strapped in bundles of 100. Since I need them in straps of 25 and 50, I have to run them through the document counter and strap them into the smaller increments before I put them in with the rest of the money in the safe. We keep all ones and fives in the safe strapped in bundles of $50 (with the ones in two sub-straps of $25) at all times- never in larger bundles.

Also I think last time I timed myself I was dealing with 2,000 bills, not 1,000, so that should have read "it takes me 20 minutes to count and re-strap 2,000 ones"

We NEVER re-strap our ones. This is just extra work. They are kept in the 100 strap they came in from the bank. We restrap them as needed. About twice a week do I need to make a $25 strap for the change fund. I guess we just don't go through ones. Now we do go through tens like hotcakes. People always getting cash back.

We would get in so much trouble if we stopped doing CO to go give breaks or go take a break.

 

[Jill of All Trades]

We NEVER re-strap our ones. This is just extra work. They are kept in the 100 strap they came in from the bank. We restrap them as needed. About twice a week do I need to make a $25 strap for the change fund. I guess we just don't go through ones. Now we do go through tens like hotcakes. People always getting cash back.

We would get in so much trouble if we stopped doing CO to go give breaks or go take a break.

We go through a lot of ones, so it's not extra work- it's work that would have to be done eventually anyway. It also makes counting the safe easier.

We don't get breaks during CO either, but I'm always scheduled for more time than it takes me to do CO so I cover breaks when I'm done.

 

[PinkZinnia]

All the money that comes in from the bank is recounted
I think the other lady wants ones strapped in 50's and 5's strapped in 500.
I'm assuming 10's get strapped in 500 then over strapped in 1000. But I have never had 10's come in when I have been in there, but that's how they are strapped when I count out the safe.

She did get mad at me when I strapped 5's in 500 then over strapped in 1000 the way I saw the 10's were strapped.
Sigh. She took the over strapping off because she said it's not done that way. Sad because I found it quicker to count, but I don't want to ruffle feathers.

 

[PinkZinnia]

I think I found my groove. I've found my own system and I didn't even have to read my notes yesterday.

 

[redeye58]

Atta girl, Pink!
We knew you could do it!

 

[PinkZinnia]

Ok I got sort of yelled out for not exiting
Cp4000 correctly.
I thought - I Close & lock sales day then exit out of CP4000.
What am I doing wrong. She said she didn't know what it says but I have to click on something in the upper left of the program.

 

[Jill of All Trades]

There's a button for close sales day and a button for lock sales day (I believe that's the wording. Anyway, there's two buttons.) It's entirely possible to accidently hit one and not both. Happens now and again, don't stress.

 

[SeeSpotVibe]

As a GSA, I love my cash office days. Being away from the front end without being bothered constantly is nice. It's basically a break for me. It's a breeze once you get into your routine.

 

[PinkZinnia]

Jill, I use the close sale day and the lock sales button..when it's all finished doing its thing I Then click on the red x on the upper right to close the program. She says I have to go to the right upper corner to close.. I haven't been in since she told me, but I'm a bit baffled...
Do I have to somehow log out after I lock the sales day and before I exit the program?
I don't know, I guess I will figure it out when I go back in on Monday

 

[PinkZinnia]

As a GSA, I love my cash office days. Being away from the front end without being bothered constantly is nice. It's basically a break for me. It's a breeze once you get into your routine.

It's not a breeze, I have people up my butt from the minute I go in the room asking me when I will be done. I'm getting my own routine, but speed will take time...
I know if I had to let someone know they were doing something wrong, I would have the steps available to them on how to fix the problem.. Not say - you have to click on something in the upper left and pick an item in there...

 

[redandkhaki]

i work in a high volume Super T and it takes me on average 1.5 hours to complete CO. I think the big thing that helps me save time is that I strap my bundles and money as I go. So once I am done counting the bags most of my money is strapped and ready to be put away.

I think it's crazy that they bother you so much. I would mention to them that it messes you up to be bothered and that you would be able to complete the co faster and more efficiently if you were left to yourself while in there.

I currently have a gsa that just learned co and she is messing up big time every time she is in there and I cannot figure out how to help her! I am so frustrated that I am unable to give her a hand.

 

[PinkZinnia]

@redandkhaki, that's what I have started doing - making the bundles - mostly because it used to take me so long that I would have to go back in after lunch to finish and I would have so much money around that had to be piled up and put in the safe. Then it would end up taking me extra time taking it back out of the safe..with the bundles done, it cuts down on a lot of work if I have to step out of co for something.

Did you make a simple check list for the other person doing the co? Did you show them how to look up help when a problem occurs? No one showed me that and I had to figure it out on my own. Have you shown her how to use recall and the other buttons? She might be getting confused and doesn't know what to do when a problem comes up..
I still have a hard time figuring out what to do if something goes wrong..but I am learning..if I have extra time, I will bring down the pull down lists to see what is available to me..

I think a review of all the drop down buttons would be extremely helpful to someone learning. More helpful after they have been doing it for 2 weeks..I do think an additional training session should be done two weeks of cash office hours and also at 4 weeks of cash office hours. it would be extremely beneficial to the trainee and to target..

 

[flowmaster]

We just currently had a GSA just completely stop coming to work because she hated the CO. She asked HR to stop scheduling her in there but they didn't. She used to get nervous and confused when it came down to transferring the money and what not.

...she was terminated.

All in all, if you just focus and relax, you will do just fine. Don't stress it.

 

[redeye58]

Zinnia, sending you a PM.

 

[awbuckit]

@redandkhaki, that's what I have started doing - making the bundles - mostly because it used to take me so long that I would have to go back in after lunch to finish and I would have so much money around that had to be piled up and put in the safe. Then it would end up taking me extra time taking it back out of the safe..with the bundles done, it cuts down on a lot of work if I have to step out of co for something.

Did you make a simple check list for the other person doing the co? Did you show them how to look up help when a problem occurs? No one showed me that and I had to figure it out on my own. Have you shown her how to use recall and the other buttons? She might be getting confused and doesn't know what to do when a problem comes up..
I still have a hard time figuring out what to do if something goes wrong..but I am learning..if I have extra time, I will bring down the pull down lists to see what is available to me..

I think a review of all the drop down buttons would be extremely helpful to someone learning. More helpful after they have been doing it for 2 weeks..I do think an additional training session should be done two weeks of cash office hours and also at 4 weeks of cash office hours. it would be extremely beneficial to the trainee and to target..

When I train people in CO, I, on purpose, make mistakes and then show them how to fix it, like editing the deposit, when you do Safe Advances wrong, mess up when counting a bag (recall)...those types of things. People NEED to know how to fix a mistake. Otherwise they are lost when it happens and they freak out. Shoot, sometimes I still mess up but I just "accept" it and move on. Usually it washes out the next day.

 

[awbuckit]

We just currently had a GSA just completely stop coming to work because she hated the CO. She asked HR to stop scheduling her in there but they didn't. She used to get nervous and confused when it came down to transferring the money and what not.

...she was terminated.

All in all, if you just focus and relax, you will do just fine. Don't stress it.

I don't know how people get this confused. You just enter all of the money you JUST counted plus any unused $150 bundles. Easy as pie.

 

[PinkZinnia]

If it were easy as pie, they would let every team member do it. It's only as easy as your trainer makes it. The counting part is very simple, though time consuming when the person showing you has piles all over the room. It's every other step that you have to practically beg for information on that makes doing it alone an awful chore.

 

[thetargetman]

The other day I was getting my Advance funds out for the opening GSTL and I nearly had a heart attack when I saw my Advance coins were all missing. I didn't panic but I was thinking "I am going to have to tell the LOD if I cant find these coins" well it turned out the LOD from the night before when putting the money away for the night had mixed up the coins.

 

[doodlebug]

I had a hard time with CO for the first few weeks too. I think the second day by myself, I mistyped some numbers somewhere and it made me a few thousand off. I FREAKED. It totally killed my confidence and I dreaded going in there for a while. When it came to the transfer to safe step, I about had a heart attack every time until I saw that little white check mark. Never has a check mark looked so beautiful, lol. I finally got my routine down, and I can relax a little and enjoy my cash office shifts!! I promise, with more practice, it does get easier.

 

[thetargetman]

I totally agree doodlebug. it isn't too bad but you do have to be alert about what you are doing. I also managed to cut my time down and stay accurate. I usually enter the CO at 7am and on my first time alone I left around 12noonish well my last shift in CO I started at 7 and left around 10:35ish. I am very pleased with myself.