Unrealistic Expectations

[SarahTMMaybe]

Hello. Today has been a not so great day. For no explanation I was moved to HBA where I am not comfortable and told I have an hour and 15 mins to finish 14 repacks and that it is expected of me to finish.
My main concern is that I need this job but I feel that this was an unwarranted and silly expectation of someone who has worked in toys since starting in September.
Does anyone have any advice on what j should do? I get really bad anxiety to the point of almost having a panic attack when things like this are thrust upon me. Is this normal and I'm just complaining or is there another way I can go about this?

 

[unknown]

Do as much as you can. Isn't that all you can do?

 

[Lisamarieg77]

Don’t stress about it unfortunately it’s very normal.

 

[countingsheep]

Breathe and do what you can as best you can. This is a typical thing now. Our idiot etl sf wanted one person to do 5 fully stacked u boats of toys in 30mins at 5pm. Like that was going to happen. Target has always had questionable expectations but with modernization it iz now completely laughable with what they want

 

[seasonaldude]

I have an hour and 15 mins to finish 14 repacks and that it is expected of me to finish.

There's no way that's getting done. HBA repacks are fucking nasty. You've been given an impossible task. Most likely, your leadership knows it's impossible. Instead of being supportive and giving you a reasonable assignment they are likely making you feel pressure because they think that's how to motivate people into working hard. It's a common tactic of shitty managers everywhere. If they get on you for not getting enoug of it done, ask them to show you how they manage to get that many HBA repacks done that quickly so you'll know how to do it next time.

 

[SarahTMMaybe]

I ended up getting it done because a trainee was scheduled to work with someone else but they called off so I got him. To top it all off and slightly unrelated, my bad day got worse after I clocked out and went to get McDonalds on the way home where I got rear ended. Then I got home and found out McDonalds forgot my sandwich.
Laughable day.

 

[Shani]

I do HBA repacks every truck day and have been for a while. I'm pretty fast at finishing them according to my leads, and I think 14 in that time frame is a stretch. Especially the way distribution sends them - you're dealing with pretty mixed up boxes, items that definitely don't go in H&B, items that look like they could go in H&B but don't, and leaking bottles. And even more so for someone who hasn't done them before.

 

[WalksforMiles]

Isn’t unrealistic expectations the Target way?

 

[FlowTeamChick]

That's an unrealistic expectation in a big way. I do the pharmacy repacks all the time, had 16 of them today, and even though I don't need to scan much, it still takes me longer than 1 1/4 hours to do them. The TM who does the beauty repacks would say the same thing. Do the best you can, and try not to stress about it.
Something to keep in mind is that someone who hasn't actually pushed those repacks doesn't really understand how long it takes. All those little bundles of band-aids or face cream with no pick labels just take longer. One would think that would be obvious, but I guess not.

 

[Fluttervale]

A leader will ask you to do more than is possible for a lot of reasons.

Maybe your LOD is a shit manager. Or maybe they have this practice to keep you busy, so they have to supervise you less. If you have good work ethic, you will get more work done this way than if she only gave you two or three repacks.

Maybe they are also just hoping you will get way more done than they expect.

I always ask my team for more than I think they can do, and every day so,some one surprises me. I ask because if they have tasks, they don’t dick around chatting with everyone and their brother.

 

[Logo]

Repacks are not perfect but i will say there has been some improvement since the new zones were created. If you push correctly (the Target way) it can go pretty fast.

 

[Shani]

ETL-Log came up to me yesterday and said there was an email regarding how distribution sends the repacks, saying they absolutely are going to be sending them sorted how they're supposed to be. ETL-Log and I both agreed that we'll believe that when we see it, though they said the way the email was worded made it sound like they were serious about it this time. Again, that remains to be seen.

I also timed myself for part of the day to see how long it took me... I pushed 8 boxes in 1hr 12 min. There weren't any damages or other surprises in those, so that is pure unboxing, unwrapping, and pushing time. Hopefully that gives you a more realistic idea of how long it might take in case you're moved to that area again.

 

[busyzoningtoys]

Breathe and do what you can as best you can. This is a typical thing now. Our idiot etl sf wanted one person to do 5 fully stacked u boats of toys in 30mins at 5pm. Like that was going to happen. Target has always had questionable expectations but with modernization it iz now completely laughable with what they want

How stacked were these u-boats? I can usually work any one of my TMs u-boats in about 6 minutes. Is the sort being done properly?

 

[busyzoningtoys]

ETL-Log came up to me yesterday and said there was an email regarding how distribution sends the repacks, saying they absolutely are going to be sending them sorted how they're supposed to be. ETL-Log and I both agreed that we'll believe that when we see it, though they said the way the email was worded made it sound like they were serious about it this time. Again, that remains to be seen.

I also timed myself for part of the day to see how long it took me... I pushed 8 boxes in 1hr 12 min. There weren't any damages or other surprises in those, so that is pure unboxing, unwrapping, and pushing time. Hopefully that gives you a more realistic idea of how long it might take in case you're moved to that area again.

This is correct, repacks are supposed to be filled differently now. I’ll believe it when I see it but yes this is official.

 

[busyzoningtoys]

That's an unrealistic expectation in a big way. I do the pharmacy repacks all the time, had 16 of them today, and even though I don't need to scan much, it still takes me longer than 1 1/4 hours to do them. The TM who does the beauty repacks would say the same thing. Do the best you can, and try not to stress about it.
Something to keep in mind is that someone who hasn't actually pushed those repacks doesn't really understand how long it takes. All those little bundles of band-aids or face cream with no pick labels just take longer. One would think that would be obvious, but I guess not.

If your leader hasn’t ever actually pushed those repacks, or you think they haven’t, then I’m sorry. I’ve pushed every single area I own, so I know what’s possible and reasonable. Yes, I’ll set a goal that’s higher than that, because if I set the goal to match the guidelines it’s harder to get results that exceed them. I don’t punish my team for not meeting inflated expectations, I thank them for working hard and make sure they know I’m impressed with the quality of work they are giving.

 

[dannyy315]

If it were any other department, I’d say 1hr 15min is reasonable. But those HBA repacks have very small items sometimes, and can take a long time.

 

[ShortTM]

I did HBA and PHARM repacks the other day for my first time. My TL said it should take about 10 minutes per box. I've been a bit sick lately so I was moving slower. But if I wasnt sick then I'm sure I would have been close to 10 minutes

 

[CartinalCopia]

They'll never be realistic about repacks. It goes faster if you've got a device and you know the area, should go fine if you at least sort of know the area or have a device, and you're ****ed if you don't have either. But Spot doesn't care, any day of the week. ('They get it done at other stores!!!!!!!!!!!!')

 

[unknown]

So, I'm guessing people that push repacks and other truck inbound aren't expected to help with other store processes like other teams, pog and pricing specifically at my store, in the past. For example, carry outs, carry ins, help get carts, back up cashier, answer phones, etc. Because I walked by 5 other inbound tms to go and back up cashier today. I guess once they dissolve our pog team, I won't have to help do any of those anymore.

 

[Sweet Pea]

You've been given an impossible task. Most likely, your leadership knows it's impossible. Instead of being supportive and giving you a reasonable assignment they are likely making you feel pressure because they think that's how to motivate people into working hard. It's a common tactic of shitty managers everywhere.

This.
My TL is this way. My ETL only sometimes. This has the complete opposite affect on me. It makes me nervous and frazzled therefore I make mistakes and work slower. Nothing is worse than a leader that’s a bully and uses fear and intimidation as a way to motivate people. Stupidity.

 

[CartinalCopia]

This.
My TL is this way. My ETL only sometimes. This has the complete opposite affect on me. It makes me nervous and frazzled therefore I make mistakes and work slower. Nothing is worse than a leader that’s a bully and uses fear and intimidation as a way to motivate people. Stupidity.

Agreed. But Spot doesn't hire leaders. They just fill management positions. Sometimes they fill them with **** instead of people. Whatever works.

 

[CartinalCopia]

How stacked were these u-boats? I can usually work any one of my TMs u-boats in about 6 minutes. Is the sort being done properly?

haha they abandoned the sort process at my store. Now, I don't know whether the STL knows that or not...

 

[busyzoningtoys]

So, I'm guessing people that push repacks and other truck inbound aren't expected to help with other store processes like other teams, pog and pricing specifically at my store, in the past. For example, carry outs, carry ins, help get carts, back up cashier, answer phones, etc. Because I walked by 5 other inbound tms to go and back up cashier today. I guess once they dissolve our pog team, I won't have to help do any of those anymore.

This is why they’re getting rid of logistics teams. Everyone working on the sales floor should be helping with that stuff.

 

[Black Sheep 214]

Nothing is worse than a leader that’s a bully and uses fear and intimidation as a way to motivate people. Stupidity.

Agreed. But Spot doesn't hire leaders. They just fill management positions. Sometimes they fill them with **** instead of people. Whatever works.

I see you’ve met my old boss, ETL-She Who Must be Obeyed...🎯

 

[Shani]

So, I'm guessing people that push repacks and other truck inbound aren't expected to help with other store processes like other teams, pog and pricing specifically at my store, in the past. For example, carry outs, carry ins, help get carts, back up cashier, answer phones, etc. Because I walked by 5 other inbound tms to go and back up cashier today. I guess once they dissolve our pog team, I won't have to help do any of those anymore.

I don't know about others who do repacks. In my case, I'm only there part-time and never have long shifts. In a typical shift, I'll have enough time to finish my boxes, backstock my stuff, and do an audit for the aisles I push in. If I have extra time, I'll do an EXF. If I have too many boxes, I'll only have time for push and backstock - sometimes not even backstock in those cases, but that's rare for me. So when they announced that plano and pricing were going to be added on, I just kinda shrugged. I'm not there long enough to have time for that. So I guess that falls on the people assigned to OTC and personal care since they regularly work longer shifts.