Archived GSA at 17

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Hay0201

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Apr 17, 2017
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Can I be a GSA at 17? As summer is approaching my ability will open up and I will be able to open as a GSA. My store doesn't sell alcohol. There has already been talk of making me a TL when I turn 18. During school I will open on the weekends.
 
Technically GSA is a cashier with more responsibility. So it is possible. But a store's expectation for the position of open availability may counter it.

Every store is different.
 
buliSBI said:
Technically GSA is a cashier with more responsibility. So it is possible. But a store's expectation for the position of open availability may counter it.

Every store is different.
Click to expand...

Spot on, in my state a minor can't open or close so we wouldn't have a minor GSA but some stores may be able to make it work.
 
See I'm 17 it would be funny if I was GSA but sadly we sell alcohol so that's slightly a problem
 
Working GS is vastly different than GSA. At 17, would you really be able to deal with rude guests, RCs, entitled guests, scamming guests, making sure the break/lunch schedule is being followed, running the front lanes, etc? You also have to be aware that at 17, you would be over cashiers that may be significantly older than you. Can you bridge that gap effectively?
 
I mean If you Cashier and do GS you know all policies and how people act so other than the breaks and front lanes you know a lot more than some new hire... even at 17
 
> wants to be a GSA

OP, I'd stay far, far away from that position unless you REALLY want to move up. The raise is laughable.
 
So if I could be 100% honest with you, I would say no if you applied (yes, as GSTLs we have a hand in the process). I'm sure you are great with guests and all, and that's a big part of what a GSA needs to be, but you need to ask yourself one question... do you think your peers would look to you as a leader? Remember, you are the person in charge when there isn't a GSTL in the building, so if you don't think your peers would look to you as a leader then I would wait a year until you have had a little experience under your belt before jumping in. The other issue I see is availability. It's great now (or soon when summer is here) but what about when you go back to school in the fall? How drastic would it change? GSTLs and GSAs tend to be on rotations and would it upset the apple cart when you have to change your availability.

Make no mistake here, i am sure you are fully qualified and with time would make a good GSA, but right now I would focus on school. GSA is difficult and going into what I would assume to be your senior year you want to make that year count.
 
MrGSTLman said:
So if I could be 100% honest with you, I would say no if you applied (yes, as GSTLs we have a hand in the process). I'm sure you are great with guests and all, and that's a big part of what a GSA needs to be, but you need to ask yourself one question... do you think your peers would look to you as a leader? Remember, you are the person in charge when there isn't a GSTL in the building, so if you don't think your peers would look to you as a leader then I would wait a year until you have had a little experience under your belt before jumping in. The other issue I see is availability. It's great now (or soon when summer is here) but what about when you go back to school in the fall? How drastic would it change? GSTLs and GSAs tend to be on rotations and would it upset the apple cart when you have to change your availability.

Make no mistake here, i am sure you are fully qualified and with time would make a good GSA, but right now I would focus on school. GSA is difficult and going into what I would assume to be your senior year you want to make that year count.
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Agreed completely. For GSA, out of YOUR best interest, wait until you're out of high school.
 
If the cows don't give kerosene and the words you know aren't obscene then it's alright. Classical reference. Grateful Dead.
 
I became GSA at 19. My store had a TL who was 19 also. It is absolutely doable to be a young manager (and yes, a GSA is a manager) but be warned it will be a lot of BS to deal with. Some of your older cashiers may be at odds with you, as they may not respect someone who is much younger telling them what to do. I remember specifically clashing with an older woman who had been at Guest Service for 10 years and been denied the GSA position multiple times. To say the least she did not like me.
 
Flabbergasted said:
I became GSA at 19. My store had a TL who was 19 also. It is absolutely doable to be a young manager (and yes, a GSA is a manager) but be warned it will be a lot of BS to deal with. Some of your older cashiers may be at odds with you, as they may not respect someone who is much younger telling them what to do. I remember specifically clashing with an older woman who had been at Guest Service for 10 years and been denied the GSA position multiple times. To say the least she did not like me.
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You know this is what really pisses me off. Sure a 17-19 year old doesn't have as much life experience, but for Christ's sake, the work can still be done by someone that young. I was a supervisor at CVS at 20. Sure it's more stressful than being a cashier but you don't need to be 35 to do that kind of work. OP, my advice is to always listen to your team, always be humble, but when it's time to be manager, you call the shots and some folks just wont ever give you warranted respect simply because of your age. Those people are upset at their own lousy predicament, not yours.

The pay was crap, but being able to deal with difficult (and uncomfortable) situations as the store leader was worthwhile imo. It helps you down the road whether you have plans for college or not. I probably couldn't do it at 17 just because I wasn't prepared to deal with some of the stress, but I'm not going to say you can't. Just know that it will be there and it's not the same kind of stress you might be used to.
 
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I had a friend who had gotten the promotion at 17 and 11 months. I got mine when I was 18 and 4 months. ASANTS.
 
GSA is not a "manager" position, it's a "specialist" position like perishables assistant, instocks, brand team member, visual merchandiser, and receiving.

Soon, with end to end coming, every department except cashiers will be a specialist position.
 
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GSA is not a manager. You can't coach anyone.

One of our GSAs tried to coach one of our cashier's. The cashier complained and our gstl coached our GSA for not having her to do the coaching.

Nothing wrong with taking GSA it's the most natural step to TL but you are in no way a manager
 
Motorhead said:
GSA is not a "manager" position, it's a "specialist" position like perishables assistant, instocks, brand team member, visual merchandiser, and receiving.

Soon, with end to end coming, every department except cashiers will be a specialist position.
Click to expand...

We had this young GSA telling everyone that she was part of management.
 
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