Service & Engagement Front end breaks, how does your store do them?

[Amanda Cantwell]

haha the breaks generated in mytime for my store are comically bad, like having cashiers take their 45 2 hours after their shift starts and shit like that. no one ever follows them, just a total trainwreck

Lol yeah also sometimes mytime just doesn’t give breaks at all, also has a lot of trouble with minors who have different break rules

 

[Tessa120]

I agree - no break schedules. Let the tm’s be responsible and required to take their own break.

1. making A break schedule is a waste of time - it’s rarely followed anyway and turns you into a traffic cop
2. i thought with modernization there didn’t NEED to be anyone “watching” the front as ALL cashiers were to be self-reliant, empowered
3. We are mostly adults - not children with curfews - as adults they shouldn’t be ‘told’ when to go to break!
I would snap at anyone telling me “you can go now” or “no, you must wait”. !!

my solution:
—-‘EVERYONE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR OWN BREAKS !
For Consistency : Every tm must go to break 2 hours after their start time for work, NOT just ANY time they like !
( of course the schedule will need to be staggered - not ALL cashiers starting at the same time for this to work)
Ex: in at 8;00 - break at 10;00, in at 10:00 - break at 12:00, in at 2:00 - break at 4:00.

—-if 2 cashiers start at 8:00 - they should work out between them who prefers 10:00 and which goes at 10:15

very little training should be required for everyone to understand they break every 2 hours,
no break will be too early OR too late because they are ALL every 2 hours.

For 5 hour shift - you could make the exception 2 hr. 15 min. So that first half of the shift is 2.25 hrs. Long /15 min break/ 2.5 hrs til shift ends - more in the middle

as for meals: if 6+ hour shift - your lunch is 2 hours after you return from break
the Added benefit - no compliance violations cause ALL meals are 4 to 4.5 hours after start time.

So you'd rather cashiers spend time squabbling negotiating with each other for who goes on break, taking time away from the business. You believe cashiers who are caught up in a rush should not be given an alternate time to go and just skip. You think break coverage is childish and that no other place in the world thinks it essential. (Guess my work is childish since coverage for my breaks must be arranged.) You think that leaders should be in SCO on their phones rather than leading by ensuring adequate coverage during the ebb and flow of the day.

And yeah, a lot of places would look right at you and say "You have to wait" and would pin your ears back if you snapped back over your so-called curfew since business coverage is essential and they are paying you to wait/go right then.

 

[Anelmi]

Lol yeah also sometimes mytime just doesn’t give breaks at all, also has a lot of trouble with minors who have different break rules

Minors have different break rules? That’s news to me and my team has a good chunk of minors. They have the same break schedule as everyone else...largely on the 2 hour points.

 

[Amanda Cantwell]

Minors have different break rules? That’s news to me and my team has a good chunk of minors. They have the same break schedule as everyone else...largely on the 2 hour points.

They hit compliance at 5 hours rather than 6. If you do breaks every 2 hrs, not a problem.

 

[Anelmi]

I am in a 5 hour state so that’s why I’ve never heard of it.

 

[azure]

They hit compliance at 5 hours rather than 6. If you do breaks every 2 hrs, not a problem.

Must be your state. We always have minors that go 5 hours and like 50 minutes or close to 6 hours.

 

[azure]

Someone should make a card on greenfield that can make break sheets. Would be pretty cool if someone could find a way. Obviously some parts may have to be adjusted but that’s expected if a computer is doing it. You would also have to choose who would be the breakers which would be hard.

 

[Zxy123456]

I literally do not see what is so hard (or overbearing) to write the TMs breaks on a sticky note and hand it to them when they check in at GS for the day.

They get their breaks and are responsible for taking them on time.

It largely works at my store but again break times are non-negotiable bc adequate coverage depends on it.

Not always possible to go on time am I supposed to tell a guest I can’t finish checking them out because I have to go on break. If we turn out light 5 minutes prior to break time there will still be some guests who take longer then 5 minutes to checkout because they are looking for coupons, scanning everything in app. Digging for change etc.. breaks work best when Sco sends someone to take over for our break.

 

[Zxy123456]

Must be your state. We always have minors that go 5 hours and like 50 minutes or close to 6 hours.

It’s 5 hours in my state. It’s a big deal if a minor goes into compliance.

 

[flow4areasonuno]

I am technically front end though I am just a cleaner. Some days I have to beg for a break, other days I get a TL that REMEMBERS me.

Honestly at my store you have to remind people you exist or half the time it seems like they forget or "forget" your breaks.

 

[NotCynicalYet]

I am technically front end though I am just a cleaner. Some days I have to beg for a break, other days I get a TL that REMEMBERS me.

Honestly at my store you have to remind people you exist or half the time it seems like they forget or "forget" your breaks.

Odd that the cleaner would have to be sent. Sometimes I remind them, but usually mine just tell me they're going and as long as the attendant is not on break, cool beans.

 

[flow4areasonuno]

Odd that the cleaner would have to be sent. Sometimes I remind them, but usually mine just tell me they're going and as long as the attendant is not on break, cool beans.

See, it also depends not only on TL but also time of day. We were told cleaner was mandatory so during the day (say, 11am onward) I'm told I can't go to break unless someone is there to relieve me.

If it's late at night or just after opening usually no one cares. If I get a hardass TL though my lunch and last break will generally be late. I'll hear "fast service" a whole lot and be like well...looks like I'll be waiting for a while...

 

[sunnydays]

See, it also depends not only on TL but also time of day. We were told cleaner was mandatory so during the day I'm told I can't go to break unless someone is there to relieve me

this is also how we are. cleaner cannot be pulled for any other duties and has to be relieved for their break so there is no gap in coverage. that coverage has to come from the front end as well

 

[allnew2]

this is also how we are. cleaner cannot be pulled for any other duties and has to be relieved for their break so there is no gap in coverage. that coverage has to come from the front end as well

Don’t you have 3 cleaners a day?

 

[flow4areasonuno]

Don’t you have 3 cleaners a day?

Maybe they're like our store. We have 2 cleaners per day generally, 6-2 and 2-10

We haven't had a roaming cleaner in months. The 6-2 person gets to do it for 2 hours before opening

 

[allnew2]

Maybe they're like our store. We have 2 cleaners per day generally, 6-2 and 2-10

We haven't had a roaming cleaner in months. The 6-2 person gets to do it for 2 hours before opening

Huh . We get someone in at 4-12:30 , 10-6:30 and 2-10

 

[BullseyeBabe]

Okay, but who covers their breaks?

 

[TheCartGuy]

Okay, but who covers their breaks?

Depending on the store (at my store, at least), the cart attendants will.

 

[sunnydays]

Don’t you have 3 cleaners a day?

6am-230
8a-430
8a-430
130-10
130-10
130-10

every day

we have 3 entrances

 

[allnew2]

6am-230
8a-430
8a-430
130-10
130-10
130-10

every day

we have 3 entrances

3 Backrooms? Don’t tell me lol

 

[DBZ]

Okay, but who covers their breaks?

cart attendant or cashier

 

[Tessa120]

cart attendant or cashier

And when you get that hardass ETL who says it's too busy at the front to spare a cashier at that moment ("that moment" lasting all day due to underscheduling) and the cart attendant needs to do this, this, this, why is the cart corral empty and what about those bathrooms? all day? What's a cleaner to do?

 

[TheCartGuy]

And when you get that hardass ETL who says it's too busy at the front to spare a cashier at that moment ("that moment" lasting all day due to underscheduling) and the cart attendant needs to do this, this, this, why is the cart corral empty and what about those bathrooms? all day? What's a cleaner to do?

Sounded like my store and, more specifically, my ETL.

 

[DBZ]

And when you get that hardass ETL who says it's too busy at the front to spare a cashier at that moment ("that moment" lasting all day due to underscheduling) and the cart attendant needs to do this, this, this, why is the cart corral empty and what about those bathrooms? all day? What's a cleaner to do?

They are a part of our cashier break schedule.

 

[blugirlami21]

Hmmm. I think breaks are really easy at my store. The SCO makes the breaks for the front end and guest services although guest services is allowed to make adjustments as needed. We print two grids for each dept and write them on the grid. Guestto service and the lanes cover each other. Sometimes that means we're shorthanded so the team leads may step in to cover. Not sure if this is the same at other stores but we SCO and a Teamlead on the schedule every day. The ETL carries around a grid. I believe the dept heads make their own breaks but I also think sales floor team members go whenever they want. If its interferes with someone else's break sometimes they are asked to wait. All of our cashiers are fully capable of running the lanes and writing break schedules. Some are absolutely better at it than others of course. Hold your team members to a higher standard.

Occasionally our compliance rates are too high and they start mandating breaks for everyone but that only happens once in a while.

Some ETL's are going to ETL. Nothing you can really do about it unfortunately