Archived What are the worst and best ideas in the last 5 years at Target?

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Sushi2Go

Sushi2Go

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Oct 18, 2014
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Worst: Having electronics team members (not Target mobile guys) sell contract phones. Who bright idea was this man?! Training was basically reading a book that I have no time to read or memorize. So when a guest has specific questions, I'm constantly digging in trying to find answers. I just cringe every time I had to try to ring one up cause the process was so tedious. I think I've only sold like 2. Hopefully, everything went smooth and I never have to see that guest again.

(Ok, this might have been a lil more than 5 years ago.. maybe)

Best: MyDevices, I know a lot of people complain about how quirky the software is and that PDAs are way better. But at least we finally have something to use. Trying to get a PDA was almost impossible to get for a non-specialty area.
 
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Most of mine relate to the front-end, as that is where I have most of my knowledge and experience. These are in no particular order.

Worst:
  • Flexible Fulfillment, AKA "I'll have the employees do my shopping for me." It's even worse in 4th quarter when so many people are placing orders and we have such little room for it all up at the service desk.
  • CurrentC. Shitty competition to Apple Pay.
  • The increased REDcard goals. Our store has been red ever since prompts shut off in February and we went to a flat number goal.
  • The loosening of restrictions for item returns. The $70 limit was fine. 1 year to return Target-branded items? What a headache.
  • Target Canada.
  • Target Pharmacy buyout by CVS. I can't stand CVS and will be switching pharmacies once it's finalized.
  • All the budget cuts at the store level.
Best:
  • We're finally transitioning to Chip-and-PIN, and are one of the few retailers in America going to the most secure option which is Chip-and-PIN versus the entirely useless Chip-and-Signature that most credit card companies are opting for. This really helps boost guest confidence in the security of the payment system, and is the only appropriate response to the breach.
  • The increase to $9 as the minimum pay rate.
  • Free shipping for all orders over $25 at Target.com (and of course $0 with the REDcard). What a deal.
Neutral:
  • Gregg W. Steinhafel getting fired. I'm putting this in the neither good nor bad category, as Brian Cornell is pretty terrible as well, and Steinhafel got out with a giant golden parachute that more than made up for his firing. It is literally a perfect example of "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss."
 
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Best
PFresh
Ship from Store - brings in an extra .5 to 1 million in sales per store.
MyDevices - Great when it works.
EE and Home Innovation
New Chip and Pin Cards - Although this is a result of the Target breach

Worst
Target Canada
Nieman Marcus - Partnership with Nieman Marcus that failed. Overpriced product that never sold
The Shops at Target - Trying to bring in small boutiques into Target. Product didn't sell well.
Target India - Good for Target infrastructure/IT. Horrible as a call support center (CSC, MySupport, etc.).
CVS buying Pharmacy - Done only to offset Canada loses and pay shareholders.
 
Best: MyDevices (Good battery life with more and more features being added)
Worst: Payroll cuts (Hours go down, stress per TM goes up, turnover goes up, repeat)
 
Best: pfresh, new devices, cartwheel.

Worst: crap tech support, eliminating specialists, reducing TLs, combining depts, moving PA to 8am, The Shops, Neiman Marcus (aka: Needless Mark-up), Lily Pulitzer, external hires, review rankings based on budget, red card overload, the credit breach, poorly-planned Canada launch, vibe walks, useless metrics, CVS, GSAs, non-existent return policies, lax coupon policies, AP reductions, Starbucks Fizzios & Evolution smoothies, elimination of fresh-made sandwiches/salads/cookies/yogurt parfaits to name just a few.
I'm sure I can think of more.
 
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It is not that Target does not have good ideas. The problem is Target can not execute those ideas. Canada, Pfesh, the Pharmacy, designer collaborations etc. All good ideas on the chalk board and if properly executed. The problem is nobody seems to have any idea how to role the idea out successfully. This is Targets real problem. They can role out all the great ideas they want but, until the learn how to execute those ideas things will continue to go down hill.
 
Best: the concept of designer collections. They haven't all been a success, but I think at its core, it's a good idea!

Cartwheel. I definitely buy things I wouldn't have because of it.

MyDevice. There were some kinks in the beginning and there still are tbh, but the PDAs weren't perfect either and a lot of things are way easier on the iPods. And the screen is more responsive.

Putting locations and the map in the target app. I love not having to ask people questions when I'm shopping lol.

Worst: not setting limits on those designer collections.
Poor employee treatment including wages, schedule consistency, hours, work/life balance. Happier employees tend to be more productive. There have been multiple times I could've done more to benefit target and I just said "F it. Tgt treats me like shit."
 
I'd have to say the best idea is Cartwheel. It's engaging, has some great deals, and gets people to buy things they normally might not.

The worst idea has to be making STL/ETL reviews and bonuses and TL reviews based solely on metrics. This is not how metrics should be used. The goal became having green metrics across the board whether or not they were actually green. What your store looked like in real life didn't matter, only the numbers you put up. This is not how metrics should be used. They shouldn't be a punishment. They should serve as indicators of where your problems are. And many of our metrics don't even measure anything useful. The extreme focus on metrics over at least the better part of the last decade and tying them to raises and bonuses has been a huge disservice to the company and to the stores.

The only other bad idea that comes to mind is the Nieman Marcus collaboration. Target totally missed the mark on that one. It's almost as if they were another retailer trying to be Target and failing miserably. The idea didn't make sense. The selection was too expensive and a lot of it didn't sell even at 70% off. It's like Target forgot who they were, who the target demographic is, and what an exciting designer collaboration looks like.

I've got to agree with @RedDog that almost everything else can be chalked up to execution. It's not that Target has bad ideas, they just can't roll them out or execute them successfully. Target Canada, PFresh, Instocks processes, casepack logic, pharmacy software...the list goes on and on.

The only reason I don't have the payroll slashing as the best idea is because I think there was a lot of fat to trim at the stores within the last 5-8 years, but they went overboard and have left a lot of stores barely functional.
 
Worst
FF aka "I'm a fucking lazy ass and can't walk to the back, front, or middle of the store to pick up an item and take it to a register and pay it for it shopping" aka the type of shopping that the fat people in Wall-E would do.
FDC - 6am start time is a joke. Freezer, dairy and meat coolers are never stocked or backstocked properly. Just a fucking mess and all because the corporate dummies are greedy pieces of shit.
Data breach- just terrible
Employee suicide - I hope the family of that mentally ill guy gets a decent payday.
Mytime- a joke of a system. Store is never staffed properly.
Morale - at an all time low
All of that crap that's app-related - just terrible

Best
None :D
 
My Devices - suck they are slow, buggy and will never be fast enough. At least with a PDA I didn't have to look every single time I keyed in a number. Big downside to touch screens no more touch typing - slower for my job.

Canada - My Canadian relatives laugh at Target and are pissed off at the same time. They knew and I saw first hand how it was the red headed step child, even the team members what they were given as far as equipment to work with was setting them up to fail. Not bothering to use systems in hand that worked but building a new system from scratch so when you pulled from US TM's were almost of no help cause they had no tools to work with. And no real idea how to fix it. And great open nationwide, but never actually learn that different areas have different likes and needs.

Management - can we get some grownups please? I am sick of breaking in green ETL's. I have a truck older than most of the newbies, part 2 of this. A bit more control at store level, can we control what temp the store is?

Tech support - can you idiots actually answer a question? Every time we My Support something the answer is useless. Umm this POG has 9 sections umm we only have 8 for that total. Can we get a do over? Answer - are you sure you only have 8 sections? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?????

Red cards - the pressure you are putting on stores is killing them and it shows they are desperate.

And when you do these programs like FF can we have hours to actually staff the position,

The good?

The people I work with.
 
Best:

Plastic shopping carts

(Except when the handle breaks in the middle or the plastic plugs come out.)
 
Flabbergasted said:
  • We're finally transitioning to Chip-and-PIN, and are one of the few retailers in America going to the most secure option which is Chip-and-PIN versus the entirely useless Chip-and-Signature that most credit card companies are opting for. This really helps boost guest confidence in the security of the payment system, and is the only appropriate response to the breach.
Click to expand...

Actually a LOT of retailers are capable of chip & pin now. At my job we're responsible for deploying retail technology to retail customers, and I can say that a LOT of stores already have the VeriFone MX915 or 925 terminals which can support chip&pin. Many are in the process of getting it right now.

I think there's a PCI compliance deadline IIRC, but i'm not sure when it is.

ISM Master said:
New Chip and Pin Cards - Although this is a result of the Target breach
Click to expand...
Not entirely - see above
 
The 6am start times have been the worst, in my opinion. Flow doesn't even properly vibe since our leads changed a bit ago. No advantage, all the disadvantage.

Also, does anyone remember that bike we sold a few years ago that was like $500? It was part of some summer set and it sat on the floor in softlines. It never sold, went clearance. Makes me laugh from time to time.
 
BEST: Pfrsh, Mydevices, cartwheel
Worst: integrating Guest service with check out, Flexible fulfillment, longer store hours, fewer TMs on the floor, Target Canada!
 
Worst: Target Ticket, pfresh, early morning logistics for 50million stores, Pizza Hut, VIBE, and open Thanksgiving day .

Best: Cartwheel, myDevices, RedCard benefits.
 
I can't remember if it was my district or another one close to me but I know some ETLs got together and bought a bike from, like, 10 different stores and then returned them all to 1 specific store so that 1 store had 11 $500 bikes on hand.
Good Times...
 
worst: cut in hours, brings down morale, Tms leave.

Best: Pfresh, brings sales up, our store is up 40% year to date all do to FOOD sales !!!

and yet there are no hour for consumables, wtf ???

Worst: the remodel in electronics and furniture.
 
I think everyone can agree the bad has out weighed the good and if the trend continues, Target could become another Kmart.

Good:
In-store brand expansion
Pfresh
Mydevices
Some of the budget cuts
City Target

Bad:
Target Canada
Integrated Guest Service
Cutting TL and Specialist positions
Self Checkout (used as another excuse to cut hours yet it almost slows down checkout more than speeds it up... A lose/lose)
Changing from overnight flow
Higher REDcard demands
External ETLs
Potentially the CVS sale... I'm still trying to figure out how you can't run a profitable pharmacy...
Flex Fulfillment
 
cmat21 said:
Bad:
Target Canada
Integrated Guest Service
Cutting TL and Specialist positions
Self Checkout (used as another excuse to cut hours yet it almost slows down checkout more than speeds it up... A lose/lose)
Changing from overnight flow
Higher REDcard demands
External ETLs
Potentially the CVS sale... I'm still trying to figure out how you can't run a profitable pharmacy...
Flex Fulfillment
Click to expand...

can you elaborate how the self checks are a lose/lose? And how they slow things down. We just got them and want to see how my observations compare with what is happening at other stores.
 
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