Target’s Vision

[FlowTeamChick]

were yours required? we had them but busy people were permitted to skip them

Used to be able to get away with this, but now TLs will name missing TMs over the walkie. They're such a stupid waste of time. There are a few of us who hang on the outside edges and bolt as soon as we can.

 

[vendordontmesswithme]

were yours required? we had them but busy people were permitted to skip them

"Checking in a vendor"
"Baler and compactor throwing away all the trash

 

[Sisyphus]

It's almost certainly the same reason here. This new SD and the HR TL are buddies so of course they'll deny deny deny so we can have people to work the store (even though we totally can still have enough TMs even with people requesting off...). Rumor has it that all the other TLs got holidays denied off but the HR TL got labor day off. Suspicious!

What they don't seemingly get is if you deny someones important day off; they will just call out and you will have an unplanned hole to deal with.

Everyone can't have every holiday off, everybody gets that. But denying an ordinary day?

Giving someone the time off they have earned is seen as sign of respect. It shows they respect that a person works hard and needs a break. It shows respect that you have a family and a life you enjoy. No one wants to work somewhere that they don't feel respected.

"Deny, deny, deny" only leads to low morale and burnout which leads to 2 rabbit holes of problems. Then on top of all of that the call outs the store has to scramble to cover in turn leads to the blame and shame game and yes, more problems. So it will come back to bite them hard on the bottom.

All the while those same two leaders will be getting ready to go on their 10 day vacations.

 

[Kvothe]

Here's HQ's vision, it also mirrors TGT stock price.

 

[animalcrossing]

What they don't seemingly get is if you deny someones important day off; they will just call out and you will have an unplanned hole to deal with.

Everyone can't have every holiday off, everybody gets that. But denying an ordinary day?

Giving someone the time off they have earned is seen as sign of respect. It shows they respect that a person works hard and needs a break. It shows respect that you have a family and a life you enjoy. No one wants to work somewhere that they don't feel respected.

"Deny, deny, deny" only leads to low morale and burnout which leads to 2 rabbit holes of problems on top of all the call outs the store has to scramble to cover which then leads to the blame and shame game and yes more problems. So it will come back to bite them hard on the bottom.

All the while those same two leaders will be getting ready to go on their 10 day vacations.

Damn straight. One of those days I requested off during my yearly time off for school that used to get approved without question was for a SUPER important interview I've known about for weeks that would happen right during a normal shift. Wanna know what I did? I called off. This interview directly relates to advancing my career and I am NOT risking my future livelihood just for this (excuse my language) fucking garbage, failing retailer. I'm sure HR is gonna chew me out (even though I used sick time but that apparently doesn't matter now).
Trust me though, they're feeling the hit. Because of how many people have quit, the grid looks puny every day and we usually average around 5-8 call-offs (that's bad for my small format). And you know what? I don't feel bad at all. Let it crash and burn. I've tuned out how often the TLs who subscribe to this new culture scream at us over the walkie to get priorities down and fix the zone because there's not enough people to do it well anymore. We all know who's fault that is!

 

[flow4areasonuno]

I'm honestly shocked about it myself. We have a lot of people leaving at our store, and normally there's a lull before the holiday hiring starts. But we're hiring still.

I feel like Varys at this point. The big fish eat the little, and I keep on paddling. It is WEIRD being the most senior person (managers and TLs aside) up front.

 

[SilentCrow]

For the last few years it’s been challenging. Ups and downs. I hope we see a return to the basics.

Payroll to match the workload
Focus on guest experience
Good looking stores

We have 10,000 metrics these days with higher expectations which seems good but in reality everyone is chasing metrics to be green but the focus on the basics goes away. Departments go without staff presence because people are drowned in metric based tasks.

Where I would like to see innovation is the distribution process. Honestly stores probably take in more trucks than they really need also throwing trucks seem so antiquated to me. Trucklines should be a thing of the past. Breaking down style seems strange in 2025. Having Z-racks on the truck, roll out to fill the floor, racks come back on the sweep, makes more sense to me but I’m not going to pretend I know the ins and outs to everything. I think opening a truck full of boxes, taking it, throwing it on a line, pushing it down, another person picks it up, places it on a vehicle, then it goes to the floor, someone pushes it all seems like too much steps.

I truly believe logistics should be less stressful for stores. Teams should be able to focus on great looking store and guest experience. Keep it simple and let stores staff / schedule correctly.

I’m wondering if some things from the past that worked will return with the recent leadership changes bringing people who was with Target in the past but we’ll see. Target has allowed be to grow and help others. I want to see Target thrive so I hope things get better.

 

[jenna]

We have 10,000 metrics these days with higher expectations which seems good but in reality everyone is chasing cheating metrics to be green but the focus on the basics goes away. Departments go without staff presence because people are drowned in metric based tasks. quitting in droves, calling out, or being pulled for SFS/OPUs.

FYP to reflect how it's going at my store.

 

[flow4areasonuno]

FYP to reflect how it's going at my store.

It's happening here too. Usually there's a lull in hiring after BTS is over. Not so right now. New people constantly.

 

[BKop16]

Breaking down style seems strange in 2025. Having Z-racks on the truck, roll out to fill the floor, racks come back on the sweep, makes more sense to me but I’m not going to pretend I know the ins and outs to everything.

Certainly not feasible for style. Those repacks get sorted at the UDC (Upstream Distribution Center) and get sent to the RDC which puts them on the truck. That's why style repacks seem to come in waves on the truck.

 

[Luck]

For the last few years it’s been challenging. Ups and downs. I hope we see a return to the basics.

Payroll to match the workload
Focus on guest experience
Good looking stores

We have 10,000 metrics these days with higher expectations which seems good but in reality everyone is chasing metrics to be green but the focus on the basics goes away. Departments go without staff presence because people are drowned in metric based tasks.

Where I would like to see innovation is the distribution process. Honestly stores probably take in more trucks than they really need also throwing trucks seem so antiquated to me. Trucklines should be a thing of the past. Breaking down style seems strange in 2025. Having Z-racks on the truck, roll out to fill the floor, racks come back on the sweep, makes more sense to me but I’m not going to pretend I know the ins and outs to everything. I think opening a truck full of boxes, taking it, throwing it on a line, pushing it down, another person picks it up, places it on a vehicle, then it goes to the floor, someone pushes it all seems like too much steps.

I truly believe logistics should be less stressful for stores. Teams should be able to focus on great looking store and guest experience. Keep it simple and let stores staff / schedule correctly.

I’m wondering if some things from the past that worked will return with the recent leadership changes bringing people who was with Target in the past but we’ll see. Target has allowed be to grow and help others. I want to see Target thrive so I hope things get better.

So I have unique insight into this because I worked at a store and then transferred to the RDC that serves that store.

When the major wave of Christmas transition dropped I specifically requested to load the truck for said store. And I grabbed a dozen pallets and organized the transition exactly how we would do it off the line at the store, shrink wrapped it up, and loaded it on the tail end of the trailer.

And I can confidently say it is in no way worth trying to implement that type of pre-sort process chain wide. Just not practically feasible.

 

[SilentCrow]

So I have unique insight into this because I worked at a store and then transferred to the RDC that serves that store.

When the major wave of Christmas transition dropped I specifically requested to load the truck for said store. And I grabbed a dozen pallets and organized the transition exactly how we would do it off the line at the store, shrink wrapped it up, and loaded it on the tail end of the trailer.

And I can confidently say it is in no way worth trying to implement that type of pre-sort process chain wide. Just not practically feasible.

I respect what you’re saying.

I also don’t think putting the sort process on the store team is practical either. This is why I think innovation is needed in the way the company distributes product. A new system that doesn’t overwork and create multiple steps for the team members in stores as well as the team members at the RDC.

What I’m referring to is developing something totally new. We speak about safety, but it’ll be nice to have a process where RDC teams are thought about as well as store teams not having to open trucks and jumping back to avoid freight falling on them and then beginning to do such a ridiculous task like throwing a truck hoping nothing falls on them. Bizzare.

I just think in 2025 we’re still doing things that seem antiquated. Target loves to implement new systems, new company focuses, new reports, etc but the distribution process is where I see snail pace in changes.

 

[SilentCrow]

Certainly not feasible for style. Those repacks get sorted at the UDC (Upstream Distribution Center) and get sent to the RDC which puts them on the truck. That's why style repacks seem to come in waves on the truck.

Yep and there is a long term plan to eliminate that extra step but I’m not sure where they’re at with that yet. It was spoken about two years ago.

 

[FlowTeamChick]

normally there's a lull before the holiday hiring starts. But we're hiring still.

Same at my store. We used to be more stable than most, considering how high turnover is in retail. Not this year. It's not all because of an awful SD either. We had a couple guys on unload who couldn't be bothered to show up on time, which is kind of a problem when there's a truck to unload.

 

[Luck]

I respect what you’re saying.

I also don’t think putting the sort process on the store team is practical either. This is why I think innovation is needed in the way the company distributes product. A new system that doesn’t overwork and create multiple steps for the team members in stores as well as the team members at the RDC.

What I’m referring to is developing something totally new. We speak about safety, but it’ll be nice to have a process where RDC teams are thought about as well as store teams not having to open trucks and jumping back to avoid freight falling on them and then beginning to do such a ridiculous task like throwing a truck hoping nothing falls on them. Bizzare.

I just think in 2025 we’re still doing things that seem antiquated. Target loves to implement new systems, new company focuses, new reports, etc but the distribution process is where I see snail pace in changes.

It is practical to do store side, because the store knows what setup works best for then. ASANTS and all that.
There is no one-size fits all solution so the only logical choice is to have the store themselves be the expert in the area.

Your real complain is lack of budgeted hours store-side which is valid. But on the other hand by wage per hour cost DC team members make 1.5x+ the wage per hour so that is another reason it is always going to fall on the store to perform the final sort.

 

[Targen]

It is practical to do store side, because the store knows what setup works best for then. ASANTS and all that.
There is no one-size fits all solution so the only logical choice is to have the store themselves be the expert in the area.

Your real complain is lack of budgeted hours store-side which is valid. But on the other hand by wage per hour cost DC team members make 1.5x+ the wage per hour so that is another reason it is always going to fall on the store to perform the final sort.

If it's going to be on stores then I need a remodel at mine because our receiving was built in 1992 and in no way does it work for 2025. They remodeled it a few years ago to add more bulk space but now truck unloads are a nightmare. You cannot move a single vehicle off the line once you start and there's space for only 2 transition pallets if you put the line sections on the salesfloor first. I'm talking blow out walls to increase the amount of space, and I know they won't do that, so we're just screwed.

 

[flow4areasonuno]

If it's going to be on stores then I need a remodel at mine because our receiving was built in 1992 and in no way does it work for 2025. They remodeled it a few years ago to add more bulk space but now truck unloads are a nightmare. You cannot move a single vehicle off the line once you start and there's space for only 2 transition pallets if you put the line sections on the salesfloor first. I'm talking blow out walls to increase the amount of space, and I know they won't do that, so we're just screwed.

At my store and several near me they cut a part out of seasonal to expand receiving. Maybe they'll do that.

 

[vendordontmesswithme]

At my store and several near me they cut a part out of seasonal to expand receiving. Maybe they'll do that.

Out of luck. Opposite ends of the building. When you stop and think about it how much is generated in sales? Minus clearance salvage and productivity.