The skeleton crew thing is getting really old really fast

[flow4areasonuno]

It's become a habit, I'm sure you've noticed, of every department in the store being robbed of people to help OPU/DU.

Last night was the most egregious example I've seen yet. No one scheduled for GS after 5 pm. So guess what? The front end loses 3 cashiers including the person who has to later do cash cart.

Guests complaining about lines. Constant backup calls. Managers questioning why you aren't moving the lines faster.

How long is this going to go on? Something's gotta give here...it feels like they're trying to make people quit.

On that head we never stop hiring after BTS. People keep leaving. I WONDER WHY????

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

common event at my store too.

 

[The Dude Abides]

Target has turned their stores into online shipping warehouses open to the public. It's fucking embarrassing.

 

[Black Sheep 214]

Target’s attempt to run a retail business and a fulfillment center in the same store without adequately staffing either team is like shooting themselves in both feet, with the same result.

 

[flow4areasonuno]

Target’s attempt to run a retail business and a fulfillment center in the same store without adequately staffing either team is like shooting themselves in both feet, with the same result.

Yeah. On the upside I've never seen so many TLs and ETLs doing basic grunt work. Wonder how long it'll be before that becomes a primary thing for TLs to do

 

[animalcrossing]

Yeah. On the upside I've never seen so many TLs and ETLs doing basic grunt work. Wonder how long it'll be before that becomes a primary thing for TLs to do

It wouldn't be too surprising. This is how my store has operated for over a year now. The closing TL is almost always doing OPUs and trying to make the backroom "brand" again because it rarely is. Our old SD would go into priority pulls too if we were too backed up with other things

 

[redeye58]

It's hit us hard at Starbucks too.
Hours from SB were getting cut anyway because of their 'restructuring' but now we're lucky if we have a mid to overlap between the opener & closer. It sucks to be alone during a breakfast rush while drive-up is ringing off the wall then getting a guest who pulls out a list of drinks & food 🙁

 

[SilentCrow]

It wouldn't be too surprising. This is how my store has operated for over a year now. The closing TL is almost always doing OPUs and trying to make the backroom "brand" again because it rarely is. Our old SD would go into priority pulls too if we were too backed up with other things

Then get in trouble if they answer the “how you spend your time at work” survey honestly lol 😂

 

[SilentCrow]

For my store I protect Fulfillment, Front, truck, and food. You never have enough payroll to accomplish everything so you then start looking at where, as a team, you all have to pick up the slack.

Definitely tough. I miss the days of an official backroom team, instocks team, zones that covered all areas in the store, and overnight stores having a proper TM and Leadership headcount.

 

[employee 626]

The front end loses 3 cashiers including the person who has to later do cash cart.

If we lost 3 cashiers we would have no one to ring or watch SCO or do GS

 

[NKG]

The last week I worked at Target- I was asked to cover all of home, stationary, kitchen, domestics, electronics and weirdly enough beauty in the same 8 hour shift. That meant pushing go backs and truck too 🤣

 

[flow4areasonuno]

We've had a lot of Gen Zers just up and quit when asked to do too much. "That's not what I was hired for" which I am beginning more and more to understand.

The store's inability to schedule shouldn't be our job to fix. One person should not be asked to do more and more and more, and then induce "but why?" when they inevitably just can't anymore.

I've been wondering when the breaking point is for ages. I don't move fast. I'm not breaking my neck when I can't finish it all anyway. I don't care about "other duties as assigned"

They're going to keep losing people and they don't seem to care.

 

[GRC]

The fullfillment ETLs at my store refuse to schedule people properly, nearly every single day around 2-4 pm they ask for several people to help. It's been this way for months and they seem to simply not care, and the SD doesn't care, probably because their almighty metrics are fine because they just make the rest of the store do their work. Meanwhile we can't get all our work done because we barely have enough people as is, and now lose 2+ hours of work every day to fulfillment, which apparently is "not an excuse" and we need to be faster.

 

[flow4areasonuno]

For the front end, we give a bunch of our cashiers to OPU and DU, which means we have to call backup cashiers, which means the floor work isn't getting done quick enough. But our OPU metrics are green so nobody in management gives a shit idk

 

[Not My Name]

Cornell is a psychopath who did exactly what I knew he would do. Bleed it until he can't bleed it anymore and get out.

The problem Target will face going forward is you have a bunch of allegedly "amoral" shareholders who don't give the slightest bit of a fuck about the conditions for the employees or how the company is actually run and whether it's sustainable or not. They can always just dump their stocks and move on to the next company to leech until it dies. What CEO is likely to step up and say "you know what, we need to spend more on payroll to get the stores operating correctly"? Answer: None of them because the shareholders will sue.


People like to throw around the term "amoral" towards shareholders but that's just bullshit. The major ones with deep pockets are usually evil pieces of shit who would stick a garden hose into your throat while you were drowning in a lake if it meant that they would get more money. Anyone with the slightest hint of a brain can see that their business model is not sustainable whatsoever because it abuses the employees and puts out a shittier experience for the customers. If you have zero care in the world about the sustainability of what you are investing in and the conditions of the company overall, I simply refuse to call you "amoral" and will rightfully call you the psychopath that you are.

 

[flow4areasonuno]

The location I'm at is lucky enough not to be hit too hard by the boycott (we still didn't make numbers a lot for a while) because we're a blue dot in a red ocean and we have apple pay. There's 4 colleges in about 20 miles and all these kids use apple pay.

I've had so many complaints in the last month or so about the long lines but I guess. idk. The store keeps on trucking.

 

[Planosss]

Cornell is a psychopath who did exactly what I knew he would do. Bleed it until he can't bleed it anymore and get out.

The problem Target will face going forward is you have a bunch of allegedly "amoral" shareholders who don't give the slightest bit of a fuck about the conditions for the employees or how the company is actually run and whether it's sustainable or not. They can always just dump their stocks and move on to the next company to leech until it dies. What CEO is likely to step up and say "you know what, we need to spend more on payroll to get the stores operating correctly"? Answer: None of them because the shareholders will sue.


People like to throw around the term "amoral" towards shareholders but that's just bullshit. The major ones with deep pockets are usually evil pieces of shit who would stick a garden hose into your throat while you were drowning in a lake if it meant that they would get more money. Anyone with the slightest hint of a brain can see that their business model is not sustainable whatsoever because it abuses the employees and puts out a shittier experience for the customers. If you have zero care in the world about the sustainability of what you are investing in and the conditions of the company overall, I simply refuse to call you "amoral" and will rightfully call you the psychopath that you are.

Cornel is not “getting out” he’s just changing roles 🤷🏻‍♂️

 

[SilentCrow]

The fullfillment ETLs at my store refuse to schedule people properly, nearly every single day around 2-4 pm they ask for several people to help. It's been this way for months and they seem to simply not care, and the SD doesn't care, probably because their almighty metrics are fine because they just make the rest of the store do their work. Meanwhile we can't get all our work done because we barely have enough people as is, and now lose 2+ hours of work every day to fulfillment, which apparently is "not an excuse" and we need to be faster.

I wonder if it’s truly that your SD doesn’t care or he or she is working within the confines of what’s given. For example the payroll we’re allocated Is what it is. We then try to figure out how to best run the store with the resources we have. Not saying you’re wrong at all. I’m just giving some insight into tough decisions that have to be made.

Unfortunately we’re never given what we really need. Therefore by that very nature we’re understaffed. Most stores have to look at what areas they’re going to have to sacrifice and what areas will be protected because payroll isn’t enough for all areas to be 100%.

 

[flow4areasonuno]

I wonder if it’s truly that your SD doesn’t care or he or she is working within the confines of what’s given. For example the payroll we’re allocated Is what it is. We then try to figure out how to best run the store with the resources we have. Not saying you’re wrong at all. I’m just giving some insight into tough decisions that have to be made.

Unfortunately we’re never given what we really need. Therefore by that very nature we’re understaffed. Most stores have to look at what areas they’re going to have to sacrifice and what areas will be protected because payroll isn’t enough for all areas to be 100%.

I don't expect 100%. I expect to have more than 1 or 2 people on register because we've been robbed of everyone else. They're cutting into bone here, the hours simply aren't enough for any amount of reasonable work and people are only going to power through so long.

 

[FlowTeamChick]

the hours simply aren't enough for any amount of reasonable work and people are only going to power through so long.

Yep. It's perennial issue but it seems to be worse in recent months. The store looks trashed much of the time except for certain areas like Soft Lines, which gets cleaned up pretty regularly. No one has time to zone.

Heard an ETL say over walkie yesterday that some back room aisles are blocked by vehicles and could that be fixed so OPU TMs could get to the merch? If it doesn't help OPU, it doesn't have priority. Maybe that's why Soft Lines gets straightened up so often, so it's easier for OPU to find things - way back when I used to pull those batches, I remember how hard it was to find the right size, right color, right whatever sometimes.

Morale is again pretty low at my store and that's not good heading into 4th quarter.

 

[flow4areasonuno]

If it doesn't help OPU, it doesn't have priority.

This is the problem. OPU is resurrected Jesus Christ at this point, and the rest of the store merely peons that exist to support it. The front end gets robbed to help OPU. The floor gets robbed to help the front end. The shit doesn't get done. We all hear about it later.

 

[Florida Dawg]

It's become a habit, I'm sure you've noticed, of every department in the store being robbed of people to help OPU/DU.

Last night was the most egregious example I've seen yet. No one scheduled for GS after 5 pm. So guess what? The front end loses 3 cashiers including the person who has to later do cash cart.

Guests complaining about lines. Constant backup calls. Managers questioning why you aren't moving the lines faster.

How long is this going to go on? Something's gotta give here...it feels like they're trying to make people quit.

On that head we never stop hiring after BTS. People keep leaving. I WONDER WHY????

Only solution is to quit. It’s never gonna get better. This has gone on since 2021 and I left in 2022 after being there for just over 2 years.

 

[balthrop]

This is the problem. OPU is resurrected Jesus Christ at this point, and the rest of the store merely peons that exist to support it. The front end gets robbed to help OPU. The floor gets robbed to help the front end. The shit doesn't get done. We all hear about it later.

ASANTS

OPU is 15% of our sales. So 85% is coming from our shelves. Those are facts. Our shelves are lacking product because it’s on unworked vehicles in the back, backstocked but the counts are wrong so it’s not going to pull, lost to the ether because it never made it to the store because the DCs are in a similar if not worse state than the stores.

Corporate is focusing on the wrong thing. Maybe scrape the mold off the yougurt shelves on the sales floor before ya think about zoning the granola bars.

 

[RTCry]

ASANTS

OPU is 15% of our sales. So 85% is coming from our shelves. Those are facts. Our shelves are lacking product because it’s on unworked vehicles in the back, backstocked but the counts are wrong so it’s not going to pull, lost to the ether because it never made it to the store because the DCs are in a similar if not worse state than the stores.

Corporate is focusing on the wrong thing. Maybe scrape the mold off the yougurt shelves on the sales floor before ya think about zoning the granola bars.

Exactly. We’re burning down the store for 15% of the sales. Either shutter and make every store a warehouse/distribution center or understand the business you’re in, invest (payroll), and try to recapture some of that “Tarzhay” millennial magic.

 

[flow4areasonuno]

It isn't looking too bad right now because ETLs are even doing lots of floor and OPU stuff, but I wonder how long it'll last before even that can't save the lack of payroll.