ISM Master
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Spent two hours today walking around putting the new shoes 3x5s up because I had to type in each DPCI. And they sent two of every sign which was a waste of paper. Fun times.
MEGATHREAD Signing Tips, Tricks and Quips (along with howls of despair)
- Thread starter commiecorvus
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Yeah, I set up 2 tables with short legs and one with the tall legs. And yes, we are the only ones who actually read directions!
The boys jeans were a reprint if I'm not mistaken, so just switch them out. (edit) SLTL said the adjacency set was pushed back a week, so perhaps the boys jeans will be reset then??????
I looked up the part number of the signholder they were calling out for to put up the Return policy cards, and they are the OLD peg 3x5s we used to set ad with. Sheesh, like we kept any of those. I put an order in for a box of 100 today.
The team put up the shoe 3x5s for me today. I guess I should be happy, but I came over and they had pulled off the little strip on the top of the signs. I hate that! I can tell them a 100 times that its supposed to stay on, but I feel like I'm talking to a wall. ugh!
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Yeah. I hate that I get asked if I have walked off new transition packets when I know my TL didn't even read them yet since I haven't even received them. I also hate it that instead of, oh, i don't know.....telling my TL they need to step it up and not suck at everything they do - I get told, "well, they're on workbench anyway, along with TWT so you can just print all that for yourself". Like seriously? i have to do work that has already been done because of laziness? give me a break. ugh, so frustrated with the ineptitude at my store.
as for boys denim, i am holding onto it until the adjacency. the tl over there doesn't think anything changes, but the way it is the strips were all dated from july and the signs match what is currently there. looking at the new ones it is a different set of combinations (say there was skinny in one section and straight in the next, the new one says Skinng & Straight, or vice-versa).
if i had a penny for every time the team took something down that needed to stay up (even thought it clearly states on the plano it stays) i could fill an olympic sized swimming pool with the change.
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How many of you find yourself jumping in to help the plano team finish the weeks work lately? I don't know if the times are off on the planograms or our team just sucks....
ISM Master
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I'm always helping our plano team. Either they don't schedule enough hours or they have a lot of call outs.
the scheduler is not accurate at all. we were forecasted 50 hours under our calendar, then the stl took another 30 from us to give to the cashiers to protect the vibe...
the revisions for some of this stuff is just ridiculous this week. i did three today toward the end of my shift thinking they should take 15 minutes. upon closer inspection, all the shelves moved down an inch or two down the aisle, just to add one thing in, or got backer just for fun. we set all of mmb, software, video games, and the electronics revisions today. game cases shifted, new backer, etc. so the games took a while. lets not get started on all the guests ticked because of the new release date screw up.
i read in the mmb transition notes for the set coming up, how proud they were that 50% less of the department was resetting this year. all i could think was "YEAH, BECAUSE YOU MADE THEM 30 STRIP REVISIONS".
the revisions for some of this stuff is just ridiculous this week. i did three today toward the end of my shift thinking they should take 15 minutes. upon closer inspection, all the shelves moved down an inch or two down the aisle, just to add one thing in, or got backer just for fun. we set all of mmb, software, video games, and the electronics revisions today. game cases shifted, new backer, etc. so the games took a while. lets not get started on all the guests ticked because of the new release date screw up.
i read in the mmb transition notes for the set coming up, how proud they were that 50% less of the department was resetting this year. all i could think was "YEAH, BECAUSE YOU MADE THEM 30 STRIP REVISIONS".
on a signing workload that comes in at 47hrs to boot. our team was scheduled to do it all in two days? even if hours-wise that "adds up" seems a bit "overambitious" to me. we'll see what i have to end up setting today.
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Anybody done the TV wall yet. Not looking forward to it.
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It was just a revision. Our revision person set it fairly quickly by herself. The signing was just swapping out. Pretty easy..
ISM Master
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One TV changed to replace the one on clearance. Mostly swapping out all the TV info signs.
Same here. Always answering questions. Always finding parts and fixtures. My PTL asks me all the time if I am done yet to help them set planograms because they are behind. Wish I could get that in writing too, mine sets the smallest workload each night.
UGH i could have wrote that post myself. our plano tl sets NOTHING now. doesn't matter too much since they are so bad at setting it doesn't even matter. i am so sick though of finishing everyone half-aced planos when i'm supposed to finish fast and early and help out when the same is not expected the other way. i was out one day and instead of "oh, lets make sure we finish everything" they took it as an excuse not to do anything. don't pull out a single signing box, no displays, no 3x5s......ugh, i can't take one day off! yet our PTL is never here on all the major transitions! oh and i better not dare ask to see a planogram for all the leftover signs and displays they didn't care to set - thats asking too much. how many of you had teams that missed the NOOK white backer paper? no one reads the planos ever! so annoying. i hate it when they act as if i have some magic key to figuring things out - no - literally i just read your planogram - it is not hard. whats that? you threw out all the prepaid phone displays by only scanning them? good job. you're not short 3 displays and all your new ones came in. whatever.
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Our PTL sets planograms.
And the TV wall was the easiest ever.
I haven't had to set planograms myself but everything else plus since there was so much clearance we didn't do the display wall till this week.
So in addition to doing electronics, I'm building glitter covered deer.
ours expanded. they didn't send the right stuff to expand the wall. apparently, it was another "global issue".
i set the nook aisle. i put up the white backer, and my signing guy called me out on how stupid it looked, pulled out my pog to double check and gave me so much grief... it was nice to be able to say HA!
even the most experienced poggies can suck at displays. now, i walk all the displays to make sure they're labeled with the display part (if not already) and barcoded, signed, attached, whatever. learned my lesson on the dinnerware aisle that someone hadnt swapped out displays in a year.
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ours expanded. they didn't send the right stuff to expand the wall. apparently, it was another "global issue".
i set the nook aisle. i put up the white backer, and my signing guy called me out on how stupid it looked, pulled out my pog to double check and gave me so much grief... it was nice to be able to say HA!
even the most experienced poggies can suck at displays. now, i walk all the displays to make sure they're labeled with the display part (if not already) and barcoded, signed, attached, whatever. learned my lesson on the dinnerware aisle that someone hadnt swapped out displays in a year.
I tagged the back of the dinnerware displays with a fixture UPC code and the actual merch. dpci as well with the portable printer. Saved a lot of time when resetting this time around.
when i have time i cut/peel the actual display "square" from off of the box (you know, the green label) and double-stick tape it to the back of the display if it fits. then it has all the possible info. however, i have been trying to take a step away from the black hole that is planogram right now and have been hand-delivering all displays and walking away. please don't even ask me about "decks" ever (although back in the day i used to do the aforementioned green label technique but i can't convince anyone else that it is worth the 3 seconds it takes - you're right, the 3 days of not being able to figure out which display is which is better). my team really got "trash-happy" lately with the displays. they somehow think it is easier to throw it out then to figure out where things go. but i guess they're right, because then it becomes my problem. and the cycle continues. i audited the portable devices POG and it turns out we are missing the basic Nook, and for some reason still have the iriver and the sony on display. and of course only the one new display works. does anyone know if a nook will charge from a cell phone charger with a micro-usb end? might be less hassle than ordering new displays to just swap the chargers (ours are snapped at the cord, of course). i put the white paper behind the case myself, but that second section is going back to the team to do. somehow one of our TMs trashed 8 cell phone paddles when they were only supposed to take down 6. just another day......
did i mention my pog team is currently under the idea that if i don't bring them their items for their aisle, they don't have to do it? i don't know when this started, but our TL who showed up today seemed to be under this impression as well. i didn't know i signed up to be a chauffeur and butler.
unrelated- i was looking for transition info on workbench today and saw something i hadn't seen before. a PPA Follow-up form? Has anyone else seen/used this?
did i mention my pog team is currently under the idea that if i don't bring them their items for their aisle, they don't have to do it? i don't know when this started, but our TL who showed up today seemed to be under this impression as well. i didn't know i signed up to be a chauffeur and butler.
unrelated- i was looking for transition info on workbench today and saw something i hadn't seen before. a PPA Follow-up form? Has anyone else seen/used this?
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Sounds like you need to knock some heads greydot.
Nothing ends well when plano teams decide they need to be catered to.
I've seen the PPA form, my PTL has suggested we start using it.
I suggested I might get around to it in my copious spare time.
Nothing ends well when plano teams decide they need to be catered to.
I've seen the PPA form, my PTL has suggested we start using it.
I suggested I might get around to it in my copious spare time.
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Did you happen to save any old ebooks? I heard the electronics tm say all ebooks chargers are exactly the same.
I feel your pain. My team is very good at pretending to be completely confused by displays. AND with the ISM goof ups with displays scanning discontinued and they weren't, made it even more of a headache...
We fill out a PPA for each planogram, then you transfer any issues you have to the Weekly PPA follow up form. Its more of a simple way to show the etl what problems need to be taken care of.
Complete waste of time.
Also theoretically useful for sales floor Team Leaders who notice something amiss or missing in their department. They can just go to the PPA Followup book, look for the relevant aisle number and see if someone is already looking into whatever the problem is.
Of course, in my years on the floor I never had time for that, and in my time as PTL no sales floor TL ever asked me where the followup form was or why we weren't using it.
ISM Master
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I try to print UPC labels on displays, especially the DVD decks because they have no information. At least the new plate displays have the display number and the DPCI on the back of them.
If I were to step back, my plano team would fall apart. They can never find their displays. They never print 3x5 price points because they can''t figure out how to do it. They don't tell me when anything is missing. They best is when something needs to be built and they look at me like I was supposed to already have it built and ready for them. The one thing I hate is when they look through all the boxes trying to find their signs because I was off that day. I come in the next day and they tell me that they couldn't find the signs for their aisle. I go looking at my signing area and all the boxes are cut open and not neatly stacked how I left it. They can't figure out how to read the sticker that tells what aisle the signing is for or even scan the bar code on the box.
Our store uses PPAs (Post Planogram Assessment), but really it is just a waste of time. No one ever looks at them, and our team is really bad and taking out the old ones when they reset an aisle. I know our PTL is supposed to do them, but they make the TMs do them because they are too lazy to audit the aisles.
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Last time the decks were reset I used a felt tip to put display number, display DPCI and product DPCI on the bottom of each deck. Monday night an inexperienced TM did the reset, and I was glad to see that it was really easy to figure what to keep/toss. Hope she put the info on the bottoms of the new displays, but I don't have a lot of faith that she did.
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I do this too. You would think ISM would print a display strip for the planograms, especially since all displays now have a DPCI. Then plano wouldn't have any excuse as to why they can't figure out what display goes where. The strip could then be flipped over so only white shows, but we could easily figure out what the part number of a missing display was.
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Then they put up display labels for .01....
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What I want is for the plano "picture" page to differentiate between product, signs, and displays. How about numbers, as now, for product 1 ,2,..., but S1, S2... for signs, and D1, D2... for displays. The way it is now sometimes demands a lot of close study to figure out what all the digits refer to so you can find them in the line listing.
I am happy that they have gotten a lot better about making everything scannable. Once all the printer aisle displays were detrashed it took only a few minutes to set them out, and unbelievably they were all there.
Whoops - don't get me started about the line listing.
I am happy that they have gotten a lot better about making everything scannable. Once all the printer aisle displays were detrashed it took only a few minutes to set them out, and unbelievably they were all there.
Whoops - don't get me started about the line listing.
commie:
I've debated on making a "brand" book for every department - but at the end of the day I don't think that all the extra effort will be worth it. I've given TLs binders before with all their re-orderable materials; furniture brochures, bike inserts, infant flyers, etc but they all end up "misplaced". I keep copies for myself somewhere but to really put it all together would be encyclopedic and I wouldn't have anyplace to put it. Plus, I remember most things (it - the TIPP names for things) so I get by just fine. I can set up a million systems, but if they won't get used, it is useless. Which is why I brought up the PPA follow-up report - I could use it, but if no one else does its just another piece of paper to store somewhere that i'll be stuck filling out myself. They just need to put the questions from the regular PPA onto the front page of the planogram - in a little check-box that the TM fills out, which then needs to be initialed by the TL. When i audit planos i highlight in the schematics and the line listings what is new/and/or missing and on the front i will put a check mark for "complete" and if not i will write "Needs" and then what the issues are. once those needs are addressed that then earns a checkmark as well.
tgtoldtimer
for the e-books, i removed the iriver and the sony from the wedge, so i took their cords and i will see if that will get the nooks running again. hopefully they are just dead and not actually broken.
my team is like a troupe of acting geniuses when it comes to "oh, i didn't know it got anything new" to "i didn't see anything back there" and "the labels were so confusing" to the old favorite "i don't have time for that". i actually kind of dislike the fact that everything has barcodes on it - it just makes the team scan-happy, when we all know that there are tons of displays which drop off the planogram but are still called for despite what the barcode says. if it was fool-proof it would be great. i know when i first started in signing the team just tossed anything that came up NOP or no No Loc, and after ordering to fill all the holes I quickly found out "oh, this display is exactly like the one you threw out, and guess what - barcode still doesn't scan". i think it is a timesaver for anything that is Active with a location but anything that comes up something else needs to get automatically re-evaluated against the line listing anyway. i know when i am putting out displays myself i usually don't scan anything (well, they don't really think plano needs PDAs at my store right now, so signing is even further down the line) i take out the line listing and highlight every display. then i flip to the schematic and write all the PX/AX/MD #s over which box they are. this to me, cuts through any confusing locations from the gun (d23(4) 2-p7-17.13 or something random like that which i know my team will be lost looking for). they should just put this on there to begin with. they have it on some of them sometimes, but it is usually super tiny and hard to read and often inconsistent. most of the team still pretends to be baffled by this (which i know just means that they aren't reading) since those who do read, understand fine.
PTL "Also theoretically useful for sales floor Team Leaders who notice something amiss or missing in their department. They can just go to the PPA Followup book, look for the relevant aisle number and see if someone is already looking into whatever the problem is.
Of course, in my years on the floor I never had time for that, and in my time as PTL no sales floor TL ever asked me where the followup form was or why we weren't using it."
I would think that whenever a TL does a BW they would follow-up with me about things missing or amiss signing/brand-wise in their department, but never once has this happened. once in a while i will have an ETL come up and be like "why was this never done?" when the answer is "actually that has been done like 3 or 4 times and is something that is consistently being broken and tossed by the team"
we have done the UPC barcodes - and the white ones seem to work well, but whenever the regular yellow and white roll-type ones are used we get two problems - they peel easily, leading to ticket switching and/or nothing being left on the items.
the label strips with the displays on them is the simplest and easiest thing they could do, but they shoot themselves in the foot by putting the $0.01 on them! carseats anyone? ugh. so close, yet so far.
did anyone see - probably not - but there was an endcap planogram recently where it put the headers as being on pegs!? the SFTM came up to me completely confused and it even stumped me for a minute because it clearly put the visual cue for a peghook on the schematic. i went through the line listing and it was literally just the headers (3ft header, filler, and topper). it looked like three pieces of product in a row on the picture.
where are the glitter deer for? we don't have those at my store. just a snowman and a penguin. deer would be more exciting.
also - did anyone else get the secret furniture transition thats not a transition? moving entertainment, office 1 and office 2 to make way for the video rockers? had impact say they were coming but not what for. i was like......i have two video rockers? turns out they got a TV stand too which we of course never received. i bet that will be on this weekends pallet.
I think it is just wearing having to redefine (or at least re-justify) your role with every new TL and ETL (or STL for that matter). I enjoy that signing gives you the freedom to work on many projects and with different depths depending on the way it runs at your store. However, the undefined nature can leave you vulnerable to be someone else's scapegoat, and let people question what exactly it is that you're supposed to be doing since you are doing so many things at once - it is not a documented, scored, or measured position like almost every other one in the store. but then again that is probably turning into a post for another thread. try to spend my days pre-planning things and avoiding problems but the current ETL and TL are in the "charge ahead and fix problems later" camp, but their way of fixing problems is to just shove them onto me. it sucks because if they would work in a preventative mode it would make them better and more efficient, instead of reactionary and behind.
ps
did anyone else install their new Nikon Facebook machines in elec? our software seems to not work. what is supposed to run on these? we just get a nikon logo in the corner of a blank screen.
I've debated on making a "brand" book for every department - but at the end of the day I don't think that all the extra effort will be worth it. I've given TLs binders before with all their re-orderable materials; furniture brochures, bike inserts, infant flyers, etc but they all end up "misplaced". I keep copies for myself somewhere but to really put it all together would be encyclopedic and I wouldn't have anyplace to put it. Plus, I remember most things (it - the TIPP names for things) so I get by just fine. I can set up a million systems, but if they won't get used, it is useless. Which is why I brought up the PPA follow-up report - I could use it, but if no one else does its just another piece of paper to store somewhere that i'll be stuck filling out myself. They just need to put the questions from the regular PPA onto the front page of the planogram - in a little check-box that the TM fills out, which then needs to be initialed by the TL. When i audit planos i highlight in the schematics and the line listings what is new/and/or missing and on the front i will put a check mark for "complete" and if not i will write "Needs" and then what the issues are. once those needs are addressed that then earns a checkmark as well.
tgtoldtimer
for the e-books, i removed the iriver and the sony from the wedge, so i took their cords and i will see if that will get the nooks running again. hopefully they are just dead and not actually broken.
my team is like a troupe of acting geniuses when it comes to "oh, i didn't know it got anything new" to "i didn't see anything back there" and "the labels were so confusing" to the old favorite "i don't have time for that". i actually kind of dislike the fact that everything has barcodes on it - it just makes the team scan-happy, when we all know that there are tons of displays which drop off the planogram but are still called for despite what the barcode says. if it was fool-proof it would be great. i know when i first started in signing the team just tossed anything that came up NOP or no No Loc, and after ordering to fill all the holes I quickly found out "oh, this display is exactly like the one you threw out, and guess what - barcode still doesn't scan". i think it is a timesaver for anything that is Active with a location but anything that comes up something else needs to get automatically re-evaluated against the line listing anyway. i know when i am putting out displays myself i usually don't scan anything (well, they don't really think plano needs PDAs at my store right now, so signing is even further down the line) i take out the line listing and highlight every display. then i flip to the schematic and write all the PX/AX/MD #s over which box they are. this to me, cuts through any confusing locations from the gun (d23(4) 2-p7-17.13 or something random like that which i know my team will be lost looking for). they should just put this on there to begin with. they have it on some of them sometimes, but it is usually super tiny and hard to read and often inconsistent. most of the team still pretends to be baffled by this (which i know just means that they aren't reading) since those who do read, understand fine.
PTL "Also theoretically useful for sales floor Team Leaders who notice something amiss or missing in their department. They can just go to the PPA Followup book, look for the relevant aisle number and see if someone is already looking into whatever the problem is.
Of course, in my years on the floor I never had time for that, and in my time as PTL no sales floor TL ever asked me where the followup form was or why we weren't using it."
I would think that whenever a TL does a BW they would follow-up with me about things missing or amiss signing/brand-wise in their department, but never once has this happened. once in a while i will have an ETL come up and be like "why was this never done?" when the answer is "actually that has been done like 3 or 4 times and is something that is consistently being broken and tossed by the team"
we have done the UPC barcodes - and the white ones seem to work well, but whenever the regular yellow and white roll-type ones are used we get two problems - they peel easily, leading to ticket switching and/or nothing being left on the items.
the label strips with the displays on them is the simplest and easiest thing they could do, but they shoot themselves in the foot by putting the $0.01 on them! carseats anyone? ugh. so close, yet so far.
did anyone see - probably not - but there was an endcap planogram recently where it put the headers as being on pegs!? the SFTM came up to me completely confused and it even stumped me for a minute because it clearly put the visual cue for a peghook on the schematic. i went through the line listing and it was literally just the headers (3ft header, filler, and topper). it looked like three pieces of product in a row on the picture.
where are the glitter deer for? we don't have those at my store. just a snowman and a penguin. deer would be more exciting.
also - did anyone else get the secret furniture transition thats not a transition? moving entertainment, office 1 and office 2 to make way for the video rockers? had impact say they were coming but not what for. i was like......i have two video rockers? turns out they got a TV stand too which we of course never received. i bet that will be on this weekends pallet.
I think it is just wearing having to redefine (or at least re-justify) your role with every new TL and ETL (or STL for that matter). I enjoy that signing gives you the freedom to work on many projects and with different depths depending on the way it runs at your store. However, the undefined nature can leave you vulnerable to be someone else's scapegoat, and let people question what exactly it is that you're supposed to be doing since you are doing so many things at once - it is not a documented, scored, or measured position like almost every other one in the store. but then again that is probably turning into a post for another thread. try to spend my days pre-planning things and avoiding problems but the current ETL and TL are in the "charge ahead and fix problems later" camp, but their way of fixing problems is to just shove them onto me. it sucks because if they would work in a preventative mode it would make them better and more efficient, instead of reactionary and behind.
ps
did anyone else install their new Nikon Facebook machines in elec? our software seems to not work. what is supposed to run on these? we just get a nikon logo in the corner of a blank screen.
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My favorite is when someone on the plano says they didn't see any backer paper back there. Really? I ALWAYS put it in the same spot and date it. I love walking back there with that person and pointing to it.
My main problem this week was moving the shelves in the video games. No one read through the planograms beforehand to see what needed to be done or planned out. So, it is 1030 am, and the whole area is unshoppable. Had I known I was going to have to move all these shelves for the plano team, I would have planned it out a little. Our PTL, who used to be just the pricing TL, is still getting used to the whole plano thing.
Does anyone know if you can order just the top from (where the viking screws go) for a softlines billboard?
My main problem this week was moving the shelves in the video games. No one read through the planograms beforehand to see what needed to be done or planned out. So, it is 1030 am, and the whole area is unshoppable. Had I known I was going to have to move all these shelves for the plano team, I would have planned it out a little. Our PTL, who used to be just the pricing TL, is still getting used to the whole plano thing.
Does anyone know if you can order just the top from (where the viking screws go) for a softlines billboard?
