Archived Photo Lab - The Forgotten Department

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WI klab

WI klab

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Jun 5, 2014
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When it comes to staffing the Photo Lab, is any store still giving Photo Lab Team Member hours for that department?
 
At my old store, it was staffed very well, this was a High Vol Super-T with Photo next to Guest service.

At my current store (iGS model), Photo isn't staffed except during Holiday Season.. Usually someone only goes over there if someone needs help/pickup.

I really liked working in Photo too, was my peace and zen when I was a GSA :( So sad to see it going neglected nowadays.
 
I'm so jealous of you all who don't have it at all. Does this mean you don't have the self-serve kiosks, either?

Photo is a huge time suck for me, and generates very little money for the time I spend there, making it entirely unprofitable, unless the guest is going to buy other stuff or come back due to a great bold moment.
 
Photo (even in busy stores) isn't meant to be a huge profit (my store did make some though), its meant to be a hook to get people in the store shopping.
 
Spending an hour and a half of my time fixing something in photo only to either have to severely reduce the price or give away a product (happened last week to me) because of the inconvenience just seems like a waste. Or spending an hour helping someone go through their photos on the self serve kiosk because they want their hand held, meanwhile allowing for backups on the lanes or being unable to answer cashier questions, thus putting the guest service do the rest of the front end in jeopardy just doesn't sit well with me.
 
Let's not talk about Photo :(
 
Retail Girl said:
I'm so jealous of you all who don't have it at all. Does this mean you don't have the self-serve kiosks, either?

Photo is a huge time suck for me, and generates very little money for the time I spend there, making it entirely unprofitable, unless the guest is going to buy other stuff or come back due to a great bold moment.
Click to expand...

We have a kiosk and it's a giant waste of space. Guests have gotten so used to it being horrible that after one experience with it they just go somewhere else.
 
ah.. i miss photo! Back in the day I was the photo specialist and it so much fun! I was so bummed when they took out the wet lab. :(
We're suppose to get 70 hours a week for photo from MyTime but our STL took them and said flow needed them more. I really just wanted to hours to use that person as a breaker for the front end but flow always wins out.
 
I hate our photo kiosk, the doors are busted so not only do they not lock correctly but like 90% of the time at least one photo and sometimes half an order or more falls behind the doors or even under the printers, thus requiring me to go fish it out. Not to mention as RG said the guests who need their hands held through the process and all that. Altogether I think the biggest photo order I've ever seen was about $12 (after knocking off the price of a couple of prints because the guests used an enhance filter that oversharpened the photo so it looked painted), and I think probably 75% of the guests who use it come to guest service to check out then walk right out the door.
 
Before MyTime, our photo lab was always staffed during its open hours. We even had double coverage for an hour or two on Saturdays. Our photo assistant would work the same hours on the same days every week to keep everything ship-shape.

It's a sad place now.
 
When I started in photo lab, 9 years ago. The department was getting over 130 hours for staffing... Since "MyTime" has settled in, I'm getting 31 hours... And I'm fighting to keep those...
For the 9 years I've had the lab, we've been the top money making lab in [my state] (even beating out a Super Target in our state)... I've been asking more guests to fill out the
comment cards & calling the guest service number... Guess we'll see if this helps... Photo Lab can create many a "Vibe Moment" if we can keep trained team members in the department...

and one more question, to me fellow team members...

Are any Target Stores still doing film send out?

*edited to remove the name of the state of the poster* -RG
 
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Ours is back by electronics, so it's just an additional thing for electronics TM's to do now
 
I wish it was back by electronics :) I love photo.

At my store it's up by Starbucks.

@WI klab When I was in photo we just had the purchasable mailers, that you put your film in and sent in.
 
I'm in Photo currently. I was the Specialist before they nixed the position. I get about 30 hours a week there, with other part time TMs filling in the rest of the time that we're open. To avoid outing myself, I'll avoid saying where it is in the store.

I've got a bit of pride with my work there. My TMs (old Spec. habit) and I have gotten a good mix of regulars who come in often and others who electronically submit often. Everyone is always glad to see us. I even get people coming in asking for us by name because their friend suggested us.

That said, I'm absolutely bored out of my mind. The occasional tech problem is simply a Kodak call away from a fix (they don't bother coming in anymore to maintain anything unless it's physically FUBAR'd). In between guests I'm usually out helping the sales floor or zoning. You wouldn't think I actually staffed my own section. At least thrice a day it's "Uhhh, is anyone in Photo?" over the walkie.
 
Photo's a joke at my store. There's never anyone there and the lights are always off. I don't think it's ever really staffed.
 
We got one Kodak Prints in Seconds kiosk, and then three regular kiosks. Our APEX system is a three cabinet setup. two 8", three 4" and one 5" printer. Plus we've got the DL2100 duplex printer for calendars, books, and greeting cards...
Photo Lab is one of the easiest departments to create those "Vibe Moments" in... From helping our senior guests with there digital needs, to transferring photos from a cell phone to a kiosk, or even helping a guest copy some treasured prints
that might be a hundred years old...
and while these orders are being printed, the guest shops in the the store... driving sales for other departments...
 
We have the almost the same setup at our store. Our store is really the only Target in the area with a working, functional photo lab. Some of the stores don't even know how to work the equipment at the other stores. We also still have two photo lab specialists. They definitely don't get any photo hours anymore but their knowledge is always welcome.
 
"Photo Lab" Keep it..? or Kill it..?
We've gotten some kiosk upgrades (larger monitor & more ram) and new 8" printer for the KPM.
We got the upgrades, but to do get the staffing to cover the department..?

Stores with labs, how are you doing out their..?
 
Our photo was very busy and a huge draw for the store. I say was because my district has been shafted by Kodak with supplies. The new update was fantastic and once everyone used it once or twice. Photo and service desk is one area and usually manned by one person except during 4th quarter. The 2nd person does photo and backs up service desk. In reality, only the service desk people are photo trained so we just move back and forth to help each other.
 
WI klab said:
"Photo Lab" Keep it..? or Kill it..?
We've gotten some kiosk upgrades (larger monitor & more ram) and new 8" printer for the KPM.
We got the upgrades, but to do get the staffing to cover the department..?

Stores with labs, how are you doing out their..?
Click to expand...
Are there still stores with real labs?
 
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