Archived Project Viper

[Bosch]

My Device makes it easy? Come to my store where they crash half way through your task list.

LOD will just drop everything and go look for an item in the back? LOD ain't got time for that!

 

[RedDog]

Well lets face it the reason they are trying to make these changes is do to the massive payroll cuts Target has made over the last couple of years. Nothing at Target works because they are not staffed for it. That poor staffing and other cuts to leaders and hours has left Target with lots of untrained part time workers who could care less if they even bother to show up because jobs that pay poorly with low hours are everywhere. Along with all those cuts, training no longer exists. It had not been good for a long time but, now it simply does not happen. And Targets long suffering IT department continues to roll out stuff that works sometimes or not at all from store to store. The culture of the company needs a complete turn around. Or things like Viper or whatever program they roll out are never going to work. Target needs to go back to master the basics. Then move on from there.

 

[konk]

Project This Idea Sucks Ass

At least we won't have to come in and finish morning's backstock and clean up their mess. We'll just go to our area and work abandon/zone/research/pull/back-up. Sounds great to me!

 

[RunForACallBox]

Aye yai yai - don't even get me started on Flexing.

And LOD's doing research?

Yikes.

:runs and hides:

I hate the word "flexing" I cry a little inside when I come across flexed over active outs. Then cuss a storm.

 

[Bosch]

Cause nine out of ten times its in the back.

 

[RunForACallBox]

Cause nine out of ten times its in the back.

One of our Senior team leads did this and I called him out on it too. And it was in the back

 

[Bosch]

Cause nine out of ten times its in the back.

One of our Senior team leads did this and I called him out on it too. And it was in the back

Yep. They do their flex during Mid-day, overnight flow doesn't see the spot for the thing in their hand so they back stock it. So the shelf sits empty.. Until one of us "did I cover that up?" checks and its active and in the back... Grrrr

 

[RunForACallBox]

Cause nine out of ten times its in the back.

One of our Senior team leads did this and I called him out on it too. And it was in the back

Yep. They do their flex during Mid-day, overnight flow doesn't see the spot for the thing in their hand so they back stock it. So the shelf sits empty.. Until one of us "did I cover that up?" checks and its active and in the back... Grrrr

It was in the video games.

 

[Bosch]

Video games is its own monster, luckily my partner has that nightmare, I got shoes he got electronics.. We each took an area to be our special areas.. Not saying we don't share areas but we give attention to an area more than others.. Our third partner she has the problem areas in domestics..

 

[Rock Lobster]

One thing I never knew: What the hell is a RIG

Research Investigation Group(?). RIGs are for items with "suspicious" sales activity. In the past, they would often result in rain checks being set up.

Correct. When they were in RF Apps they were "batches" in the same way that the Autofills drop. Each fillgroup had a chance of dropping on its own (so you would open the PAPR batch and count those items on the floor), and then two Ad out batches (DALY01 and DALY02) which were limited to 25 DPCI's each, which is why RIGs will take you to some of the ad outs in the store, but not to all of them. They are functioning the exact same, but the Instocks Task List is nothing more than a pretty face on the old system.

 

[Rock Lobster]

My Device makes it easy? Come to my store where they crash half way through your task list.

LOD will just drop everything and go look for an item in the back? LOD ain't got time for that!

Because they are too busy managing the friggin pulls on top of the normal tasks throughout the day!!! If I didn't have to worry about pulls from 11-5 (working them until 7 sometimes) and TMs were broken out into pods I would have a ton more time on my hands.

 

[Rock Lobster]

I still say the average store is going to find a very hard time finding that many self driven competent people who are willing to do that kind of work for that kind of money.

Shoot outs and zone at the same time?

 

[Bosch]

My Device makes it easy? Come to my store where they crash half way through your task list.

LOD will just drop everything and go look for an item in the back? LOD ain't got time for that!

Because they are too busy managing the friggin pulls on top of the normal tasks throughout the day!!! If I didn't have to worry about pulls from 11-5 (working them until 7 sometimes) and TMs were broken out into pods I would have a ton more time on my hands.

You mean as they sit in the office figuring out what they want to order for lunch and then who's turn it is to go get it. Pulls "when you get to the line, give an update on the radio". That what you mean by manage? While trash piles up to the point our Pfresh people don't have any more trash cans? "Oh we are in a status, can't you just grab a can from somewhere else?" manage? Cry me a river... This is our typical weekend day...

 

[jenna]

The problem lies that there are 11 zones (or more depending on how the store pilots it), however none of the 3 testing stores have enough team members to cover all these zones, so team members have to double-up on the zones until more can be hired.

The "opportunities" I've heard so far are:

• Not enough team members to work
• Most of the backroom team members are not cashier trained, so there is literally only 1 person in all 11 zones that can actually respond to "guest first!"
• Many sales floor team members don't fully understand the backroom process, and backstock is just left haphazardly in the stockroom
• Not enough equipment to go around (even though the pilot stores all borrowed extra equipment for the test), as with this project every team member MUST have a PDA

All of these are obviously fixable, so I'm curious to see how this pilot plays out over the next few months, and if it is implemented into every store. It definitely can help with the goal of removing most Team Leaders within the next few years.

Shoot outs and zone at the same time?

It's more than shoot outs and zone. Doing your own pulls, back up cashiering, doing your own reshop. The team member is essentially asked to "own" the area, but [apparently] can be moved around at will. Thus they are often [I would assume] asked to "fix" an area where the prior team member couldn't/wouldn't do their job (of zoning and filling the floor.)

C'mon. Don't be obtuse.
You've never had a weekend with call outs where everyone is up on the registers ringing?

You've never had a perfectly capable backroom team member that absolutely dreads working on the floor?

You've never had an ETL that disagreed with other ETLs regarding the priorities for the day? - 45 min huddle (just talking,) smart huddles, 4x4's, clearing out 12 carts of reshop, candy order, Freshness Friday. I could go on and on. The amount of work we are expected to accomplish with so little payroll is astounding some days.

You think all the day side BR team members are going to want to work on the floor? You think the BR is going to come clean with no DaySide BR? Hell, somedays it barely comes clean in 1 of the stockrooms, much less all of them.

Oh, and toss in more trucks due to 4th Q, and double trucks. And NEW team members. Plus a store that is understaffed - so it can be an all-hands-on deck kind of day when the truck is huge.

dude.

-
Our endcaps are usually a mess on Mondays, and it takes awhile to recover from the busy weekends with light staff.

When I worked PFresh, it would take me all day just to "recover" that tiny area from a busy weekend - where no one stocked milk, or finished reshop. Oh, and the ETL Log asks "would you help with the PFresh truck?" while you are over there.

I've seen people that can't even put away reshop without a PDA. I have seen people scan every item in an area like HBA and Market.

:head desk:

 

[konk]

/thread

 

[StackerMistress]

You've never had a perfectly capable backroom team member that absolutely dreads working on the floor?

This. I am not built for the salesfloor. I like quiet, predictability, not being interrupted, and being left alone. I'm happiest when the only sounds I can hear are the beeps from my PDA. And just like an extrovert would go crazy in the environment I like ("You literally don't talk to anyone for HOURS!!!" "I KNOW, IT'S GREAT!!!"), the salesfloor totally overwhelms me. Of course, I'll go out there if I'm asked, because I'm a grownup, but I just don't know how you guys deal with it.

 

[jenna]

Ha! Welcome to the hell that is channel one, StackerMistress.

 

[oath2order]

You've never had a perfectly capable backroom team member that absolutely dreads working on the floor?

This. I am not built for the salesfloor. I like quiet, predictability, not being interrupted, and being left alone. I'm happiest when the only sounds I can hear are the beeps from my PDA. And just like an extrovert would go crazy in the environment I like ("You literally don't talk to anyone for HOURS!!!" "I KNOW, IT'S GREAT!!!"), the salesfloor totally overwhelms me. Of course, I'll go out there if I'm asked, because I'm a grownup, but I just don't know how you guys deal with it.

There is a reason I demand to do my own backstock. The first is so I SUBT999 the overpush. The second is because I need some time in the backroom where I can be away from the guests and it's so nice.

 

[Rock Lobster]

It's more than shoot outs and zone. Doing your own pulls, back up cashiering, doing your own reshop. The team member is essentially asked to "own" the area, but [apparently] can be moved around at will. Thus they are often [I would assume] asked to "fix" an area where the prior team member couldn't/wouldn't do their job (of zoning and filling the floor.)

C'mon. Don't be obtuse.
You've never had a weekend with call outs where everyone is up on the registers ringing?

You've never had a perfectly capable backroom team member that absolutely dreads working on the floor?

You've never had an ETL that disagreed with other ETLs regarding the priorities for the day? - 45 min huddle (just talking,) smart huddles, 4x4's, clearing out 12 carts of reshop, candy order, Freshness Friday. I could go on and on. The amount of work we are expected to accomplish with so little payroll is astounding some days.

You think all the day side BR team members are going to want to work on the floor? You think the BR is going to come clean with no DaySide BR? Hell, somedays it barely comes clean in 1 of the stockrooms, much less all of them.

Oh, and toss in more trucks due to 4th Q, and double trucks. And NEW team members. Plus a store that is understaffed - so it can be an all-hands-on deck kind of day when the truck is huge.

The problem with these objections is that many of them are true whether Project Viper roles out or not. If your store has attendance issues, then the process is going to be behind no matter how it is set up. You can have CAFs or VIPER and it will fall apart. The same applies to the LOD making odd decisions or payroll getting cut at the end of the month. None of this is specifically an objection to Viper.

The Team Member is doing the same thing they have been doing up until this point (zoning, working reshop, working "pulls", answering guest calls etc.) the only difference is that with VIPER the pulls are generated by a TM instead of a computer. The TM has control over what is pulling for their area instead of getting forcefed pulls that often do not go out or do not need to go out. It is shooting outs as you zone, and TMs already shoot outs now and skim through aisles without zoning (instocks). It makes sense to have the team get bulked up in payroll and just scan outs as they zone.

 

[RunForACallBox]

You've never had a perfectly capable backroom team member that absolutely dreads working on the floor?

This. I am not built for the salesfloor. I like quiet, predictability, not being interrupted, and being left alone. I'm happiest when the only sounds I can hear are the beeps from my PDA. And just like an extrovert would go crazy in the environment I like ("You literally don't talk to anyone for HOURS!!!" "I KNOW, IT'S GREAT!!!"), the salesfloor totally overwhelms me. Of course, I'll go out there if I'm asked, because I'm a grownup, but I just don't know how you guys deal with it.

I am a introvert all the way, but working on the floor for my going on 4 years with Target, i'm a extrovert as soon as 8am hits, and i used to be so shy, heck i don't even know how i do it, haha.

 

[StackerMistress]

Ha! Welcome to the hell that is channel one, StackerMistress.

Sometimes, in my rare encounters with other human beings, I hear what goes on on that channel....

"ADDITIONAL CASHIERS TO THE FRONT LANES TEAM WHO CAN COME FOR BACKUP FAST SERVICE NEEDED IN ELECTRONICS TEAM WHO'S GOT THAT CALL BUTTON DOMESTICS, CALL ON 2280 TEAM WHO CAN ANSWER THAT CALL TEAM MEMBER NEEDS ASSISTANCE AT THE TIMECLOCK, THIRD REQUEST"

 

[whippingboy]

Emphasis on the caps, too.... I just want to tell them to stop yelling into the walkie already. Who needs walkies when you can hear them across the store??

 

[konk]

Push all increased the amount of open stock backstock. Now we're gonna have TMs pulling partial case packs and our BR is gonna look like one spot! Wal-mart has almost entirely case stock in the back.

 

[jenna]

The problem with these objections is that many of them are true whether Project Viper roles out or not. If your store has attendance issues, then the process is going to be behind no matter how it is set up. You can have CAFs or VIPER and it will fall apart. The same applies to the LOD making odd decisions or payroll getting cut at the end of the month. None of this is specifically an objection to Viper.

The Team Member is doing the same thing they have been doing up until this point (zoning, working reshop, working "pulls", answering guest calls etc.) the only difference is that with VIPER the pulls are generated by a TM instead of a computer. The TM has control over what is pulling for their area instead of getting forcefed pulls that often do not go out or do not need to go out. It is shooting outs as you zone, and TMs already shoot outs now and skim through aisles without zoning (instocks). It makes sense to have the team get bulked up in payroll and just scan outs as they zone.

Yes, but who's pulling those outs?

How many team members will say "I'm in the backroom, is someone else closer that can backup cashier?" - and then ignore the backup calls? What happens to the areas of the team members who actually do answer the back up calls?

What happens when a couple of busy days go by, and very few outs are shot? ie see the weekend.

And autofills aren't pulling stuff for market or other high traffic areas {toys, video games, movies?}
cue a backroom that's full, while floor is getting emptied I actually see that fairly often now in just PFresh. I have had to pull 4-5 items out of the back that were completely empty on the floor. That rarely used to happen.

You get 1-2 weak tms in PFresh and the system falls apart (purging, culling, stocking, rotating product ala FIFO, zoning, signing, vibing, re-shopping.) What happens when you get 1-2 weak tms through out the store when executing Viper?

How many guests are going to bother to ask a TM to look in the back for an item not on the shelf v. just not buying the item? How many more OUTS will we have once Autofills go away? And at least CAFS are getting the items onto vehicles that will eventually be worked. No CAFS = not automatically filling the floor in some areas that are high traffic like HBA and Market. You enter the human element into the system = more room for errors.

I have had several market pulls where there's very little backstock. And HBA. Can't sell what's sitting in the backroom.

What do you think is going to happen to the number of errors in the backroom once EVERYONE starts pulling their own outs batches?

You honestly think the team is going to get bulked up on payroll? hahaha. After 4Q, it will be a ghost town.

 

[Bosch]

Push all increased the amount of open stock backstock. Now we're gonna have TMs pulling partial case packs and our BR is gonna look like one spot! Wal-mart has almost entirely case stock in the back.

That just means they sell down until an entire case will fit. You know what that means for me when I go to Wal-Mart? I have to track down a non-existent employee and I have to make them understand I need 1, 5qt bottle of mobil1 and two 5qt bottles of mobil1 high mileage since the shelf is always empty. And never do they get it right and argue "what is the difference its still motor oil?" After doing this a couple times, I don't bother at oil change time..

So I just buy cases at the local parts houses.. More hassle to deal with 1 qt bottles but I can get the correct oil without a half hour scavenger hunt.