MEGATHREAD Signing Tips, Tricks and Quips (along with howls of despair)

Thanks for the compliments. :blush:

I need some advice. I had a really good review, but there is something I need to work on. My sl tls say I need to pay more attention to their signing. First, I am never behind, and I put up all the towers, billboards, walk and straighten their IT displays daily, rotate the signs in their dept boxes, but I don't walk the adjacency after its been set. I don't put the signs on the tables and racks since it seems like such a simple job to pop it on if you take the box of signs with you when you set an adjacency.

I admit I didn't connect with the new sltls like I did the old tls. Our new tls never set adjacencies, but have different people doing it, so I lost interest in the constant training and constant retraining.

But, now that it was brought to my attention, I think I can do better job regardless.

What is your routine with softlines? I'm big with routines. Do you put every sign on the racks and tables? Do you walk the racks and audit weekly? How do you handle walking an adjacency that is being set incorrectly? Do you maintain the table/convertible location numbers?

Thanks for the help...
 
For softlines I put up all the signs regardless if it is for racks/tables or billboards and towers. This way I know for sure that it went up. We had problems letting the brand team members setting the adjacency put signs up because they didn't put all of them up and I could never find the leftover ones (guessing they threw them away). I do partner with the brand team members about any issues or I'll ask when they plan to start certain departments. Once I'm done with a department I don't go back every week to audit the signs, that is the responsibility of the TL and brand team members.

What I do is scan all the larger signs to see if they are tied to any tables/convertibles and put them up with their corresponding 11x11 sign. Then I'll use the adjacency to put up the remaining signs on the racks and convertibles. If I can't find a sign in the adjacency I'll walk around the department and try to find it. Any extra signs I leave in the fixture room where we separate softline signs by department.
 
I put up all the tower and billboard signs and hand deliver the smaller signs to the adjacency teams.
You probably just need to smooze with the ETL-SL a bunch, and everything will be fine.
 
dek067 said:
anyone have a part # for generic camera boat backer cards? what about the HBA light up fixtures that go along the wall and cosmetics aisles (they have gray headers that say "beauty" "nail care" etc. that slide into them). We tore one apart today looking for #s, but they either don't have them or we're blind and i have no idea how to pull them up in sap success. 😉
Click to expand...
I was in electronics today & no part numbers were found on the fixtures or wood grain info cards. Sorry...
 
one thing that might be appealing or might be appalling to you is that sometimes when i am desperate for a generic card backer for something, i sometimes cut a shelfliner with a similar or matching theme and use that. i used to have to do this more in the "black and grey dot" days of electronics. it doesn't help with the green-blue fade, but in a pinch you could use woodgrain (if you still have some of the plastic version around, the cardboard one is kind of thick) ir plain white or black. but like i said - some stores would super frown on that.

softlines. okay - here's the thing. my softlines team is terrible in terms of planning and communication. two of the TLs i have a good rapport with and they try their best, but sometimes planning and communication and adjacencies go by the wayside because they get caught up in the daily tasks of zone/reshop/push, etc. the other - i have a good rapport with but they are a walking disaster and the whole team has a problem with this person. i'm just including some of that for backup. also - i have been in my position longer than they have been in theirs - so i have gone from previous routines over there and reworked them, and whatever we end up with i have communicated with them from the get-go about how we can work together. whatever is decided upon usually completely falls apart. i do the towers/billboards, specialty, wall and rail signing and any displays that need maintenance get attention. as far as racktop signs? i hand them the box when i get them. it is just not worth it since they do not have a good process as-is. think about it this way - the best way to put signs up is to do it in one action, and redo any work. so....how can i put up racktop signs?

1) i can put them up before hand by looking at the adjacency and they can move the product to those racks.
2) i can wait until the adjacency is over and put them up according to the adjacency.
3) I can look around for the product before the adjacency and put signs up where product lies.
4) I reserve an entire day and put them up as the team sets the adjacency rack by rack.

so 1) doesn't work because they are going to move the racks around and move product as they see fit, resulting in signs moving anyway
2) doesn't work because they will complain that signs are not up for the 1/2 day lag (i would have to set next day as they do the adjacency past the hours that i work)
3) doesn't work because it is just a waste of time
4) also, a waste of time.

it seems like it would make the most sense to me - to dole out the signs to those whom are setting the adjacency. then, as racks are in place with product - boom, sign goes up. not only is it the most efficient for time, it also visually serves to note which parts are done particularly when there is a design change in the signing campaign. or, conversely - someone can run around after the adjacency is set and put up the signs as a means to mark that it has been audited. i know there is a signing audit tool for softlines adjacencies but any way you slice it, to me - it seems like the most effective and efficient way to set these signs is to have the team doing the adjacency. FWIW the current teams in my store do not have a problem doing this - and the previous teams did not either. it was actually never asked of me. i know there are other stores that do this but it seems like an awful waste of time.
 
TargetOldTimer said:
Thanks for the compliments. :blush:

I need some advice. I had a really good review, but there is something I need to work on. My sl tls say I need to pay more attention to their signing. First, I am never behind, and I put up all the towers, billboards, walk and straighten their IT displays daily, rotate the signs in their dept boxes, but I don't walk the adjacency after its been set. I don't put the signs on the tables and racks since it seems like such a simple job to pop it on if you take the box of signs with you when you set an adjacency.

I admit I didn't connect with the new sltls like I did the old tls. Our new tls never set adjacencies, but have different people doing it, so I lost interest in the constant training and constant retraining.

But, now that it was brought to my attention, I think I can do better job regardless.

What is your routine with softlines? I'm big with routines. Do you put every sign on the racks and tables? Do you walk the racks and audit weekly? How do you handle walking an adjacency that is being set incorrectly? Do you maintain the table/convertible location numbers?

Thanks for the help...
Click to expand...

our sltl/etl puts out the racks and tables. it's a waste for my guy, and they never set things by the adjacency. major pet peeve. even in accessories. they wanted to help out with the next set, so they started mapping stuff today, and everything was mapped wrong. we put out the billboards, etc. i'm thinking the VA falls under softlines, they are alotted hours for it, and the signing is included. much like salesplanners. i'll see if i can find the directive on workbench for you.

we renumber the tables/racks/aisles during major resets if they need them. i actually just pressured sltl to go through and renumber all the dept. we had went through around six weeks ago and labeled everything and made sure the ties were accurate. i pulled the sf loc accuracy and over the last month 99% of the problems were in softlines. so this time they got to go through and fix it.

do you guys number the convertibles, gondolas, walls? what about quad racks?
also, is your jewelry located, or randomly scattered under the boat?
 
All the convertibles and tables have locations on them (i.e. H1, H2, ...). A few racks have locations because sometimes there are planos that go on the racks.

Our jewelry backstock area is not located. They put whatever is extra from the showcase/spinners under the boat in that section to keep it organized.
 
I walked the entire RTW adjacency, corrected all the signs. I then pulled every location label off every table and renumbered each one correctly, 2 heavy location numbers on the outside of every rack, 2 scannable location labels on the inside or table top of each. Then I taped them in. I swear I'm hunting down whoever pulls them off again. Took me 7 hours, but I am at a good starting point. With the hours cut so bad, I figure I'll try and do one department from top to bottom a week.

Oh, and I am using lots of Target Speak when dealing with the tl. Hope I can keep this up until next year.....


I'm pretty savvy on numbering softlines.

1. number the gondolas first. (kids, & mens) In Jewelry, number the counter first, then the gondolas.
2. number the tables.
3. number the walls. The location number changes every time a wall curves, but doesn't if the break is because of a door.
4. number all the convertibles, & trend tables.
5. Do not number high capacity or quads.
6. Number poles in the department last, you can then tie any wayward planogrammed quad. (usually only in infants and girls)



Oh and I found that cosmetic valence part number and I emailed myself the part number, but I get home and no email??. I'm thinking it was MF1245. SAPP search engine is vastly improved over TIPP, so it gives you all the parts associated with it.

I didn't find the camera boat generic sign(i know there is one), but found a generic for phones that could easily be cut down. 4289889.
 
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Spoke too soon. Sat down to try and order all the missing signing from the pharmacy set today. Found them all, and tried to complete the order and a dozen error messages about Tax code error and Time Zone error popped up and nothing I could do would clear them so I could get to confirmation. Help desk was no help, he kept trying to walk me through how to find an answer through MySupport.

Ugh.
 
TargetOldTimer said:
I walked the entire RTW adjacency, corrected all the signs. I then pulled every location label off every table and renumbered each one correctly, 2 heavy location numbers on the outside of every rack, 2 scannable location labels on the inside or table top of each. Then I taped them in. I swear I'm hunting down whoever pulls them off again. Took me 7 hours, but I am at a good starting point. With the hours cut so bad, I figure I'll try and do one department from top to bottom a week.

Oh, and I am using lots of Target Speak when dealing with the tl. Hope I can keep this up until next year.....


I'm pretty savvy on numbering softlines.

1. number the gondolas first. (kids, & mens) In Jewelry, number the counter first, then the gondolas.
2. number the tables.
3. number the walls. The location number changes every time a wall curves, but doesn't if the break is because of a door.
4. number all the convertibles, & trend tables.
5. Do not number high capacity or quads.
6. Number poles in the department last, you can then tie any wayward planogrammed quad. (usually only in infants and girls)



Oh and I found that cosmetic valence part number and I emailed myself the part number, but I get home and no email??. I'm thinking it was MF1245. SAPP search engine is vastly improved over TIPP, so it gives you all the parts associated with it.

I didn't find the camera boat generic sign(i know there is one), but found a generic for phones that could easily be cut down. 4289889.
Click to expand...

MY HERO! thanks!

the issue i'm having in softlines is that they tie quad rack pogs to the closest convertible. so i may have a table labeled N14, and then six quad racks around it tied to the same location. they went through and retied them to different physical sections so they would clear the report, but they aren't keeping a close watch on them. they end up untying pogs too soon. i suggested labeling the quad racks, but they said it would be too difficult. and their numbers get ripped down monthly.
it seems like every day i get reamed for stuff. we just redid all of the aisle markers. half are gone from people setting salesplanners and taking them down, even though we've communicated it. or they pull out sf loc labels. i had one come up "hey, didn't y'all set xyz dept. they're a sf loc label missing on b34." i looked at him (a brand tm) and asked if he knew how to generate a loc label. "YES i've been here blah blah blah" my only response was "ok then, get to it. " electronics cameras we set TWO DAYS AGO... someone pulled out all the signs. then my team gets lectured about brand standards. when we leave, it's as close as we can get to perfect within payroll expectations. but it's like everyone in our store assumes we're responsible for the brand of every single dept 24/365.
 
dek067 said:
MY HERO! thanks!

the issue i'm having in softlines is that they tie quad rack pogs to the closest convertible. so i may have a table labeled N14, and then six quad racks around it tied to the same location. they went through and retied them to different physical sections so they would clear the report, but they aren't keeping a close watch on them. they end up untying pogs too soon. i suggested labeling the quad racks, but they said it would be too difficult. and their numbers get ripped down monthly.
it seems like every day i get reamed for stuff. we just redid all of the aisle markers. half are gone from people setting salesplanners and taking them down, even though we've communicated it. or they pull out sf loc labels. i had one come up "hey, didn't y'all set xyz dept. they're a sf loc label missing on b34." i looked at him (a brand tm) and asked if he knew how to generate a loc label. "YES i've been here blah blah blah" my only response was "ok then, get to it. " electronics cameras we set TWO DAYS AGO... someone pulled out all the signs. then my team gets lectured about brand standards. when we leave, it's as close as we can get to perfect within payroll expectations. but it's like everyone in our store assumes we're responsible for the brand of every single dept 24/365.
Click to expand...

Same story over here. I still can't get the hardlines teams to adhere to the salesplanner labeling system. POG gets blamed for everything missing. even though we were supposed to start a "sign off" system where everything pog did was walked off with an etl or the tl of that dept for that exact reason it still doesn't happen.
 
I hate that, because I'm signing, I have to go back over and over repairing others mistakes. Ad set team takes all the signs off displays as they do take down, I have to fix it, softlines takes their numbers off their tables, I have to fix it, bump all the wine dividers off with a pallet, I have to fix it, lawn and garden is a mess, I have to fix it. yadda yadda yadda........

As long as I got full weeks hours, I was cool with it, but they have cut me down to 25 hours the past month and I am freaking trying to keep up with Target's kids.........
 
commiecorvus said:
All I have to say is ...

Freaking TV WALL !!!

I so hate you.
Click to expand...

Luckily the clearance TVs were still up. I just put the new signs behind the old ones and told the SFT that when they sell the clearance TV to replace it with the new one. I know that the TV wall is going to reset soon and I always have to help hang and move the TVs around.
 
so do your sfts hang the tvs?
my sft did NO work in electronics whatsoever. we moved/set up everything. is there a way to access what he's responsible for?
 
The SFT's get work orders for certain jobs.
The might not have gotten one for this.
I know they got one for the one next month.
Mine always helps me but all too often we could use a third hand and that's not happening.
 
dek067 said:
so do your sfts hang the tvs?
my sft did NO work in electronics whatsoever. we moved/set up everything. is there a way to access what he's responsible for?
Click to expand...

commiecorvus said:
The SFT's get work orders for certain jobs.
The might not have gotten one for this.
I know they got one for the one next month.
Mine always helps me but all too often we could use a third hand and that's not happening.
Click to expand...

We use electronics tm's to do that.
 
Almost everything is mentioned in the transition packet that involves the SFT. I don't know if everyone has access to the SFT workload on workbench but comparing my SFTs workload against the transition packet - his workload actually had one more project scope than the packet. This time around they were responsible for (assuming your store got these projects):

GPS wedge move to Laptops
Bose
Headphones SOL/Bose
Headphones BEATS
securing battery gondola fixture
removal of camera boat sec

plus ours had an additional removal project
 
dek067 said:
so do your sfts hang the tvs?
my sft did NO work in electronics whatsoever. we moved/set up everything. is there a way to access what he's responsible for?
Click to expand...

Look on workbench under SFT Field Projects. You will have to go to the Facilities Management page and scroll through it. That gives you all the projects that they have to do (that came down from HQ) for each month.

We moved and set up everything as well. I don't understand why Target gives the SFTs all this work, but won't let them work overnight or early morning with us. It creates such a hassle to be moving lockup cases, running power through basedecks, wiring, etc. when the store is open. They should just give the plano team all the extra hours to do the work...and then we get yelled at because we don't come clean. Well duh, that's because we were doing all the work that the SFT was supposed to do.
 
What's happened with everyone's headers in miniseasonal?
Did the fix they sent out work or were they (like mine) damaged beyond repair?
 

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