MEGATHREAD Hang Me (The Softlines Thread)

[isthatathing]

@RightArm I feel your pain. The men's VMG is a 38 hr set. So really that should be your week if it's just you setting it by yourself. Stuff like that is mind boggling. I haven't touched mine yet because of the remodel. But I figure I will attempt maybe the feature tables and hurdles. Change the mqs. But actually doing a deep zone and setting the dept completely would be the whole week. Poor men's gets so neglected. Going thru all the denim. The God awful wrangler cargos. Sorting the knit bar that always seems to get mixes up. Etc.

 

[RightArm]

@RightArm I feel your pain. The men's VMG is a 38 hr set. So really that should be your week if it's just you setting it by yourself. Stuff like that is mind boggling. I haven't touched mine yet because of the remodel. But I figure I will attempt maybe the feature tables and hurdles. Change the mqs. But actually doing a deep zone and setting the dept completely would be the whole week. Poor men's gets so neglected. Going thru all the denim. The God awful wrangler cargos. Sorting the knit bar that always seems to get mixes up. Etc.

Thanks And of course we had another "visit" scare today. That's two days in a row they've stolen me from the Men's VMG because of damn corporate VIPs who don't have the grace to get their asses in the building and get it over with. SO of course we have to go through this crap again tomorrow and it's my last chance to get anything done. I'm so past over this stupidity it isn't funny right now.

 

[SpilledTea]

SO sick of this job. I am supposed to be setting the men's VMG this week but it's damn hard to do that when you have to answer the phone, fix the fitting room, backstock all the crap from autofills, push truck, do go backs, and zone. Doesn't matter that I work double time to make sure other TMs can be left alone when it's their turn to set their areas.... I just don't get the same support. Target demands so much and I get that all retail is going to this model but let me tell you, I go home broken, dragging, and half dead EVERY single day it seems. Just once I'd like to have a manageable workload with reasonable expectations. And yes, I know I'm preaching to the choir. lol Reading your stories on this thread tells me that I'm not alone. The struggle is indeed real and I feel for you all.

Does your TL or ETL jump in to help you with your set or any of your other tasks? I ask because that's what I do and I feel like that's the only way to get it all finished, especially when hours are so shitty.

In any case, I feel your pain.

 

[RightArm]

Does your TL or ETL jump in to help you with your set or any of your other tasks? I ask because that's what I do and I feel like that's the only way to get it all finished, especially when hours are so shitty.

In any case, I feel your pain.

We have an ETL of Salesfloor (no longer is A&A and Hardlines separate in our store for ETLs) and he knows very little of how things are done in apparel. As for my TL, she is a SRTL and put on closing LOD shifts so much that I don't often see her and when she opens she's also LOD so it's hard to get her help at all. I really could do it without help IF I could get the support to be left alone to do it. Problem is that there's a truck to push and go backs to do and phones to answer and guests to help and backstock to be done. If they could schedule one extra person to cover that for me so I could be left alone I would have been done easy peasy by tomorrow. Add to it these coprorate VIPs that are coming only God knows when and I can't get left alone. So I dread tomorrow. I have to at the very least have everything tied. sigh

 

[Tessa120]

Can you grab hold of some softlines TMs? Whenever there's a major reset our VM has about half a dozen softlines folks doing her bidding.

 

[RightArm]

Can you grab hold of some softlines TMs? Whenever there's a major reset our VM has about half a dozen softlines folks doing her bidding.

If I did that there'd be holy hell to pay from the TL because no truck would get pushed. Our VM does not set the VMGs. She is only responsible for auditing them and making sure the mannequins are dressed correctly. When she has free time she helps where she can but since these amplified nightmares from Christmas have NOT gone away she is constantly yelled at by the salesfloor ETL to make sure they are filled and up to date. She did help me a little but as I said she'd be with me for like maybe half an hour and the ETL salesfloor is on the walkie and demanding she do something else instead. Appreciate the thought though.

 

[hollywood]

Our new thing is 2 per size. This is horrid backstock and takes forever. Also no case packs backstocked allowed.

 

[Tessa120]

Our new thing is 2 per size. This is horrid backstock and takes forever. Also no case packs backstocked allowed.

We've had that for a while. In practice most people just squish it and some people will squish to a certain point but take back what can't be made to fit, even if that leaves 5 of each size on the floor. Leadership has far too many fires to put out as part of keeping the modernization engine clunking along for one more day to check all racks daily for a size count.

 

[RightArm]

Our new thing is 2 per size. This is horrid backstock and takes forever. Also no case packs backstocked allowed.

I use common sense judgement on this one and yes, I know some of you are not given that option. Denim, absolutely NO MORE than 2 per size on the wall (and sometimes only one if the space doesn't allow) and folded cardigans, two per size or less (again, all about the space); but thin summer shirts on a table? I'm going to do more than 2 per size but make sure the stack isn't ridiculously unwieldy or unsightly and the count per size is as evenly dispersed as possible. Yes, I agree, it can be rough on backstock. Some of our team are still too lazy to backstock and overcram the floor so those of us who aren't lazy have even more work to do. It's very annoying. -_-

 

[SpilledTea]

Overstocking is one of my big pet peeves and something that we've been called out on during visits one too many times. It makes it more difficult to zone and, if you've got minimal floor space, harder to get out new inventory.

 

[Softsoul]

I don’t understand why no one does it, I love having an excuse to go in the back for a bit. You have to be a bit of a contortionist to get to where you need to be, but being back there, listening to music, while I have my little moment of zen, while also minimizing the amount I’ll have to pick up off the floor, or re-fold, that’s the best part of my day most days. I’ve asked to stay late to backstock an entire flat, was kind of shocked that I got the ok to do it. Best day ever.

 

[Tessa120]

I don’t understand why no one does it

Because we have so much backstock that the wacos are full to the ceiling in most of the softlines area, nearly to the ceiling for the rest, the bars are stuffed full and there's still so much more hanging backstock that a couple of Zs are stuffed full of backstock. Fighting compressing the clothes enough to add them into the backstock hanging without knocking stuff down and going up and down the ladders looking for an open spot to put folded or packaged in is a nightmare.

 

[Softsoul]

That sucks, but not really an excuse at my store. Plenty of empty wacos, also plenty of hanging that’s gone to clearance and can be cleared out

 

[hollywood]

We can do any amount of sizes for hanging. But our DTL is obsessed with softlines and yes he does count the amount.
I’m completely out of room in the wacos and I never have time to actually go pull to fill the tables.

 

[L4D]

SO sick of this job. I am supposed to be setting the men's VMG this week but it's damn hard to do that when you have to answer the phone, fix the fitting room, backstock all the crap from autofills, push truck, do go backs, and zone. Doesn't matter that I work double time to make sure other TMs can be left alone when it's their turn to set their areas.... I just don't get the same support. Target demands so much and I get that all retail is going to this model but let me tell you, I go home broken, dragging, and half dead EVERY single day it seems. Just once I'd like to have a manageable workload with reasonable expectations. And yes, I know I'm preaching to the choir. lol Reading your stories on this thread tells me that I'm not alone. The struggle is indeed real and I feel for you all.

Wait... are TMs supposed to be setting VMGs now??

 

[L4D]

Our store hasn’t had a softlines TL in quite awhile and so many things don’t get done/fall through the cracks but management doesn’t seem to care and they’re not planning on replacing... so what does that mean?

 

[Stylized]

Our inbound team is 10 pallets behind breaking out. Payroll is cut so tight, my team isnt able to help.. esp with project lace this week. STL refuses to add payroll to get these pallets broken down. My team is going to end up catching them up next week.

By next week, they are going to be behind even more. They are only scheduling 7 hours for it. We are getting 100+ repacks per truck. 4 more trucks to go this week.

Meanwhile, I'm getting told we need to be doing more manual audits... just how when our freight is in repacks in the back??
Not to mention all the INFs this is causing.

Why is it so hard to prioritize something so crucial to many processes??

 

[FredPanda3]

I use common sense judgement on this one and yes, I know some of you are not given that option. Denim, absolutely NO MORE than 2 per size on the wall (and sometimes only one if the space doesn't allow) and folded cardigans, two per size or less (again, all about the space); but thin summer shirts on a table? I'm going to do more than 2 per size but make sure the stack isn't ridiculously unwieldy or unsightly and the count per size is as evenly dispersed as possible. Yes, I agree, it can be rough on backstock. Some of our team are still too lazy to backstock and overcram the floor so those of us who aren't lazy have even more work to do. It's very annoying. -_-

We had two per size 2 years ago, then it was switched to three for two years and just now it's back to two. I liked three more than two because our hanging items rarely get filled in the first place and our backroom got much smaller since the remodel so backstocking is a pain.

 

[FredPanda3]

I don’t understand why no one does it, I love having an excuse to go in the back for a bit. You have to be a bit of a contortionist to get to where you need to be, but being back there, listening to music, while I have my little moment of zen, while also minimizing the amount I’ll have to pick up off the floor, or re-fold, that’s the best part of my day most days. I’ve asked to stay late to backstock an entire flat, was kind of shocked that I got the ok to do it. Best day ever.

I used to like backstocking, but ever since our backroom got redone and it got way smaller and we have to zone before backstocking, I'm over it.

 

[Softsoul]

There’s never enough time to backstock, and for that reason I can see why some people don’t do it. I still make time for it so I can satisfy my obsessive compulsive tendencies..... when I can find a zebra. No such luck today!!! Ugh I swear all of our equipment left with all of our halfway decent TMs.

 

[SpilledTea]

Wait... are TMs supposed to be setting VMGs now??

My team has been for a year.

 

[Softsoul]

Lol, yeah. Reset VMG (good luck finding fixtures!) while being operator, backup register, guest services, Starbucks if ya can.... push, push, push, fitting room, audits & autofills, anyone need help from softlines? Cool that’s me. Throw in a few FAs, or sorry OPUs, oh what zone? Yeah that’ll get done every 10 minutes. Make sure you meet your sales goal! Oh what take a lunch? Don’t clock out late?? You got it!

 

[RightArm]

Any other "no scope" stores out there for the intimates reset next week? We are a "no scope" and they apologized for "oops-ing" and not giving us a map for our situation. So we get a map and then the POGs are all weird. First time I've had to set a "B" POG in softlines. Only place we ever saw those was in baby hardlines. ><

 

[RightArm]

Our store hasn’t had a softlines TL in quite awhile and so many things don’t get done/fall through the cracks but management doesn’t seem to care and they’re not planning on replacing... so what does that mean?

Lots of sniping from your DTL on what's not done? I can't even imagine. >< But yes, under the model of "modernization" TMs should own an area of A&A/Softlines and be responsible for all aspects of that dept from zone to truck to push to setting to backstocking to signing to whatever the hell they can come up with next. Which wouldn't be a problem in my store IF we actually got to own one area in reality instead of theory.

Edit: And don't forget to know the sales goal, the comp rate, and what's selling the best in your little area. -_-

 

[SpilledTea]

Any other "no scope" stores out there for the intimates reset next week? We are a "no scope" and they apologized for "oops-ing" and not giving us a map for our situation. So we get a map and then the POGs are all weird. First time I've had to set a "B" POG in softlines. Only place we ever saw those was in baby hardlines. ><

Yes, but we're doing it this week and we have to be finished by Friday AM with pics 😩