Archived Operator/Fitting Room HELP

[jerZgurl666]

Hey guys, so I've been working softlines for about two months now, and coming up next Saturday I have my first operator/fitting room shift AND they booked me for a long shift, from 8-4:30 (normally operators at my store only work 4-5 hour shifts). I received the basics from when I had my initial team member training, but outside of covering for people's meals or breaks I don't have much experience. I am extremely nervous and I could use some assistance. I understand how organizing the reshop works and I know how to handle guests at the fitting room, and I know how to answer calls, park them at an extension, and call out for a certain department. However, I don't know how to use the mobile phone, I'm still confused about which calls go to an LOD vs. a GSTL, and I'm overall feeling very anxious. Any advice, tips, instructions and stories from your experience would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[HRZone]

When it comes to the phones, the key is to figure out what the person wants.

Any call from a team member will go to the LOD.

I would check with your team on demand items. At my store it's glasses to see the solar eclipse and Nintendo switches. If you can screen calls for those items by knowing whether you have it or not you will save yourself the anxiety of trying to track that information down while the night is chaotic

 

[Yetive]

Sounds like you have most of it down. Now that we are required to be at the fitting room at all times, you shouldn't need to use the mobile phone. If you do need to for some reason:

When it dings overhead hit talk 5529.
Greet the guest and see what he wants.
To park the call, hit talk/flash and 2180, 2181, 2182, etc then hit end.
Walkie the appropriate person about a call on 2280, 2281, 2282, etc.
To transfer a call--hit talk/flash, hit 3 then the extension, then end.

Typically, a Team member will ask to speak with an LOD, so obviously, give those calls to the LOD. If the guest asks for a manager, you can ask what they need ("May I ask what it's about so I can get the right person for you?") Often, they just have a question about a return, and those calls can go to Service Desk/GSTL. If they have a question about an application, those calls go to HR. Because you will be there on a Saturday, find out if there will be anyone working in HR. If not, you can have the person call back on Monday. If you are unsure, just give it to the LOD. If the guest is already angry when you greet him, just give it to the LOD.

A couple of tips for busy Saturdays. If the phone rings back a couple of times, explain to the guest that "he is with a guest in the store, and will be with you as soon as he can." Rather than to say no one is answering. Make sure to get a good walkie and zebra. If there aren't any, get with your LOD. You should be able to use your zebra to help answer guest questions, but if the fitting room is busy, just give the calls to the department and they can check. Also, you may need to give the portable to a SL team member if the fitting room gets too crazy. You need to focus on guests at the fitting room.

Lastly, feel free to let the LOD know that it's your first solo shift, and ask if there is anything specific you need to know.

You Got this!

 

[Doglover89]

You may need to give the portable to a SL team member if the fitting room gets too crazy. You need to focus on guests at the fitting room.

Again, I'd love to come to your store. We have no portable. And rarely get to stay at the fitting room or focus on guests.

 

[Tessa120]

To park the call, hit talk/flash and 2180, 2181, 2182, etc then hit end.

At our store you have to hit talk/flash a second time after entering the park line number and before hitting end. So verify for your store before the first call.

You may be able to automatically forward all calls to the cordless by hitting transfer and 29 on the base. My store was able to do that until recently.

Yetive has great advice about asking a couple of questions to accurately route a call. The only thing I have to add to that is people hate waiting on hold so if the right person says something that indicates a potential long wait (i.e., "I have two guests right now.") I will inform the caller that the hold time may be extensive and ask if they want to remain on hold or call back in about 10 minutes. 10 minutes usually is all that's needed for a crazy high number of guest issues to calm down.

Don't be afraid to put people on hold. If you have guests right in front of you, smile and say "Sorry for the interruption", answer the phone and (depending on the mood of the guest in front of you) either put the caller immediately on hold or ask how you can help them on the off-chance they only need a quick transfer. If they have verbal diarrhea don't hear them out, just quickly say "Hold please" and put them on hold until you can deal with the guests physically there.

If your experience with multi-line phones is limited and more than one call comes in at once, you would handle answering the same way. Pick up, give a greeting and put them on hold, pick up the next call and put them on hold, go back to the first call. Unless circumstances dictate otherwise deal with each call in the order they came in.

I'm a bit passive aggressive so if a call comes back to me and the right person/department didn't radio with a delay, I'll call out on the radio "The call is still holding on 228..." The clues the LOD in that it's not multiple calls coming in, they simply didn't pick up. Very helpful if you have people that won't pick up the phone on a regular basis.

If there's special circumstances, like a guest breathing fire or a call from Target Guest Relations, I'll put them on hold and use channel 2 to tell the right person what is going on before they pick up. Forewarned is forearmed.

And there will be weird calls and joke phonecalls and, thankfully rarely, a call that makes you want AP to babysit you for a while. Weird but genuine calls, try to end it on a positive note as the guest will remember the call when their life settles down. Joke calls, ask before the shift how your store wants you to handle it. My store, it's to try a couple of times to direct it back to Target merchandise and after that I am authorized to say "Since I can't help you with Target's merchandise I need to end this call." and do so. The scary ones, just take a deep breath and remember there's a ton of cameras at the fitting room and someone is watching them live, so you are safe.

For guests at the fitting room, many guests like an unbiased opinion when they show off items to friends and family. Just try to phrase it in a positive manner if it doesn't look good. some examples -
"That does seem to be a little tight at the chest level, maybe a different size?"
"If you're having difficulty in fastening it now, you'll want to keep that in mind for daily wear."
"That looks good, but you say you'll be working in it. Try bending over and stretching a bit, you'll want clothes that won't bind when you're moving around."
"That is pretty large, there's too much material so it's not complimenting you correctly. I would go down a size."

And watch the flow of clothing. If a group comes, there's a huge chance friends and relatives will find something while a guest is still trying stuff on and will bring in additional items and pass them over the door and bring out the no's. So you'll have to track what's going in and out when that happens.

And upsell. Shirt looks good, say there's some pants that will match well. Check cartwheel before your shift daily so you can inform the guests of a sale. If a guest looks to be buying several items or is a clearance shopper, that's an opening for a red card. Pitch both versions, but phrase the debit version as "If you don't want another credit card..." because no one likes the overt suggestion their credit isn't good enough. Get personal with the chit chat as you can tailor upsell suggestions to the guest's circumstances and preferences.