Archived Cashier → GSA → GSTL Timeline?

[NoTasking]

My personal timeline: three months cashier/GS, 8 months GSA, currently “next in line” for a TL position but there’s nothing open in the district

 

[Bullseyerc]

My personal timeline: three months cashier/GS, 8 months GSA, currently “next in line” for a TL position but there’s nothing open in the district

In the district? Hah. I don’t believe that for a second. They’re just carrot dangling you (and besides, typical rotation is 18 months anyways..).

My advice. Wait it out a little longer until you’re even more prepared.. then start applying online at other stores near you. They can’t stop you from doing that, and you can speak to your ETL and STL about it too + get their support (since ultimately these other stores will probably contact them).

 

[NoTasking]

In the district? Hah. I don’t believe that for a second. They’re just carrot dangling you (and besides, typical rotation is 18 months anyways..).

My advice. Wait it out a little longer until you’re even more prepared.. then start applying online at other stores near you. They can’t stop you from doing that, and you can speak to your ETL and STL about it too + get their support (since ultimately these other stores will probably contact them).

I mean I’ve looked online, so unless there are stores who have openings that aren’t posted...

 

[REDcardJJ]

In the district? Hah. I don’t believe that for a second. They’re just carrot dangling you (and besides, typical rotation is 18 months anyways..).

It's 100% possible that there's no TL openings in certain districts, especially if stores are already over TL headcount and thus can't hire another TL to replace one who is stepping down/resigning. Each store is only allotted so many TLs.

 

[GSAguy]

My 1 year anniversary is coming up next week, and there were 3 other GSA’s already when I was hired. I’m now the GSA who’s been in the position longest lol. None of them were promoted, they all quit. So now there are 3 completely different GSA’s (plus me), and only one of them was promoted. He has been a cashier for a couple years and as far as I know, an impeccable track record. Very smart, no attendance issues, familiar with everything relating to the front end. He’s been great obviously, but they definitely jerked him around about giving him the job. I don’t really feel as though it’s a promotion because there is literally nothing that sets a GSA apart from cashiers these days, other than supervisor access on the register, an email address, and the pleasure of dealing with that lovely guest at the service desk who wants you to combine the the online only offer, the in store offer, and price match based on the screenshot she has on her phone. Then she starts sarcastically laughing in your face as you explain the reasons why you won’t be able to honor her request. Sorry, had a flashback there for a moment. Anyhow, my store is very reluctant to hire GSA’s from within. Of the 4 of us, only 1 was an internal hire.

 

[CLCCats48]

Once your a GSA is it possible to get demoted. When I left I was a GSA and I realized that managing was not for me. I was told that it was not possible. Either quit or stay and be "let go" for underperforming. So I looked for a new job and when I couldn't find one I tired to work harder to stay but it wasn't good enough. Was there anyway I could have demoted?

 

[Dog]

Once your a GSA is it possible to get demoted. When I left I was a GSA and I realized that managing was not for me. I was told that it was not possible. Either quit or stay and be "let go" for underperforming. So I looked for a new job and when I couldn't find one I tired to work harder to stay but it wasn't good enough. Was there anyway I could have demoted?

Someone transferred to my store from a different target and started at my store a GSA, was GSA for a couple months and then switched to a different workcenter as a “demotion.” I’m not sure if this is possible in all stores

 

[CLCCats48]

Someone transferred to my store from a different target and started at my store a GSA, was GSA for a couple months and then switched to a different workcenter as a “demotion.” I’m not sure if this is possible in all stores

Thanks you. I am not sure maybe I could have hopped around until I found a store. I was told I wasn't able to go from my store a GSA to another as a cashier. I really loved working at Target. I just wasn't ready to be in that position. Do you know if your let go for underperforming if you could be rehired?

 

[Anelmi]

We’ve had several GSAs demote themselves with no ramifications and honestly, it’s not like you are going down a pay grade anymore.

 

[Dog]

Thanks you. I am not sure maybe I could have hopped around until I found a store. I was told I wasn't able to go from my store a GSA to another as a cashier. I really loved working at Target. I just wasn't ready to be in that position. Do you know if your let go for underperforming if you could be rehired?

I would definitely call HR at your store and ask - “underperforming” as a GSA can mean a completely different thing as performance for a cashier or another position, you could be fine. Were you a cashier or another position before being GSA, or were you hired as GSA? Either way, doesn’t hurt to ask!

 

[Nauzhror]

Can't speak for what a "typical" timeline is, but at my former store I was the only cashier promoted to GSA (or to anything for that matter) in the 3+ years I worked there. They hired two people as GSA, one of which had never worked retail before, and another who had previously been a CSM at Walmart.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

Can't speak for what a "typical" timeline is, but at my former store I was the only cashier promoted to GSA (or to anything for that matter) in the 3+ years I worked there. They hired two people as GSA, one of which had never worked retail before, and another who had previously been a CSM at Walmart.

Welcome back

 

[idkwhattodo]

We’ve had so many bad outside GSA hires (except we do have one guy now who has stuck) that my GSTLs are so against it and really try to groom people for GSA. One of the stores near me pretty much only does outside hires for GSA though (according to a friend who works there). So it definitely depends on personnel at your store.

For me the timeline went get kept as a seasonal cashier, train at the service desk here and there, finally get moved over there after like six months (my GSTLs were fighting with are HR about this forever. they would give me one shift and then not again for weeks.), mentioned GSA casually to me a lot (I was pretty against it lol), yearly review this year told me I was next in line if we had an opening, then a little after a year and a half was told they would just add another GSA position for me and here I am, but our “promoted” to GSA people were here like 4 years and 8 years before becomming GSA. I have yet to see a GSA become GSTL or any TL at my store yet.

 

[Nauzhror]

In my store they seemed to typically hire them from the oustide, but I'm not sure if they were actually against promoting, or if people just rarely pushed to be promoted.

We didn't have a proper guest service area, we were a store where Guest Service was just three registers at a counter near the checklanes, I know there is a term for the setup but I can't recall it any longer. The major difference was everyone was scheduled as a cashier, never as service desk. The GSA or GSTL in charge just decided which cashiers to assign to the service desk based on who was scheduled to cashier.

As a result Guest Service wasn't its own separate position. I learned guest service within a few weeks of being hired, and quickly learned the service desk better than anyone else in the store with the possible exception of the GSTL, but even he occasionally had me show him how to do things on the computers as I tended to know more about them than he did due to my propensity to experiment with them during downtime and to learn from posts on this site.

Despite that, I was never considered as a GSA initially, I trained two outside-hire GSA's to do the service desk without ever being mentioned that there was an opening beforehand either time. But despite that, as soon as I mentioned that the next time they had an opening that I'd rather be given a chance to apply for it than have it go to an outside-hire I was almost immediately given the position, and I didn't have to interview for it despite it being customary that cashiers are required to interview for GSA beforehand.

The way it was handled made me think that perhaps my store didn't so much have a preference for hiring outside GSA's, so much as they just didn't approach TM's and offer such positions to them unless the TM's explicitly mentioned being interested beforehand. More of a communication issue than anything potentially.

I haven't worked for Target since 2015 though, I eventually got fed up with Red Cards being the most important aspect of my job in the eyes of upper leadership and quit. I could be great at every other aspect of my job, but it didn't matter because being less than enthusiastic about pushing red cards on everyone made me a "problem employee".

Some of that is a bit off-topic, but the main thing is, that even stores that don't seem to promote often might not actually be opposed to doing so if they have TM's that actively express interest, they might just be less prone to suggest the idea to TM's on their own volition than other stores are.

 

[BulzeyeGrl]

I was hired from outside the company to be a Sr. GSTL so I dont think they have any kind of time line on how long you have to work there when you can be hired from outside the company to e a GSA or GSTL

 

[starmaster1000]

We didn't have a proper guest service area, we were a store where Guest Service was just three registers at a counter near the checklanes, I know there is a term for the setup but I can't recall it any longer. The major difference was everyone was scheduled as a cashier, never as service desk. The GSA or GSTL in charge just decided which cashiers to assign to the service desk based on who was scheduled to cashier.

Integrated Guest Service (IGS). 😛

 

[busyzoningtoys]

In my store they seemed to typically hire them from the oustide, but I'm not sure if they were actually against promoting, or if people just rarely pushed to be promoted

lol, yeah at my store no one is dumb enough to make the move to GSA. We overwork our GSAs, they pretty much act as and are held to the same standard as our GSTLs (who are, admittedly, held to a lower standard than the other TLs at my store). They cover all of the shitty shifts that the GSTLs don’t work; on my weekend rotation when we close we only have GSA, same on my closing night. They almost never get to open.

Our newest GSA didn’t want the role, and was pretty much strongarmed into it for being smart and capable.

 

[Lane Jockey]

My store is so desperate that they are seriously considering giving GSA to a TM who's been there all of 2 weeks because of his/her previous jobs.

That is how I made GSA. I was only at my store for 3 weeks before they offered it to me. But I also had years of management experience at my last job, and had originally applied to be a GSA, but there were no positions available till right after I started.