Archived What Is It Like To Be An ETL

[Hardlinesmaster]

It depends on location you are at. Plus, you don't know what job you are getting. It could be ge, log or whatever. Assume nothing at spot. Some nights, you run the store with no tl's closing. Then your cart attendent breaks the outer center door off the hinges, your shift changes from an 8 hour closing to 14 hour shift. Because you cant armed the building or fix the door.
That happened at a store in my district from me. Or you have visits from upper group district multi times in a 3 monh period, you work long shifts then too.
Retail is retail. I am A volume store & my etl's work mostly 10 hours daily. Due to payroll & staff storages.

 

[commiecorvus]

The good ETL's do grunt work.
Logistics just about always has to get in the mix, if for no other reason than to show how it is done.
The fact is there are never enough bodies and a good ETL knows that you have to rearrange your schedule to put some time in for busting out product.
If you can't jump on the cash register when it's busy or set an endcap in a hurry, people will see that and it will be harder to get them to out there.
(Or they will make memes about you)

 

[StateofTarget]

"It depends on location you are at. Plus, you don't know what job you are getting"

I really wonder how true this is..... If you look at the salaried job listings on Target.com sometime, you will see that sometimes they list specific ETL postions, like ETL-LOG.... sometimes they list generic ETL postions without the department listed.

I suspect that if someone applies for an ETL position on Target.com that actually lists what it is (HR, LOG, HL, etc) then that is the position they get.... If they put in for one of generic ETL-Anything job postings, then it is random.....

 

[ETLHopeful]

In my interview they asked which of the ETL positions I preferred. Honestly, I didn't have a preference because just hearing the descriptions in an interview wasn't enough for me to have a preference. I said I would like HR because they said HR was in charge of training and some other stuff that seemed like things I would be interested in. I don't know which position is better or not. They threw out alot of Target jargon and acronyms so I always had to ask them 'what does that mean'. So I was a little lost on the descriptions for each position. Reading the descriptions on the Target website don't say enough for me to have a preference either. Oh well, I may not get hired so it may not even matter.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

At least, you got an interview for the job.

 

[redeye58]

GE: guest experience - front lanes/cashiers, photo lab, service desk (returns, etc), cart/brand attendants. In lower volume stores, they may also be over Target cafe & Starbucks.
SL: softlines - clothing/apparel, jewelry/accessories, shoes, boys & girls, infants.
LOG: logistics - backroom (stockroom), receiving. Some larger volume stores have overnight flow teams.
HL: hardlines - consumables, home storage, furniture, domestics, electronics/entertainment, toys, auto, sporting goods, stationary, etc. - basically everything else. Larger vol stores may have HL1 & HL2.
HR: human resources - personnel & training.
AP: assets protection - store security.

 

[Salesfloor_ETL]

Ok. I have most of my experience at a ultra low volume Target. Things work differently at different volumes, but I get the impression this is how it works at a lot of stores. You'll have somewhere between 3-7 Team Leaders who report to you directly (it could be more or less though, honestly). Those TLs have team members who report to them, so you could also consider yourself over those TMs, indirectly. As a manager though, you are expected to be able to lead everyone in the store, and help out as needed.

Now here is the fun part. Your team/TLs have a workload that they need to get done each day and/or week. However, some weeks, there is not enough payroll to get the workload done. No amount of great leading will get it done. This is where you will be doing grunt work. You could be pulling product from the back room, stocking the shelves, doing price changes, running register, getting carts, etc. You have to be willing to jump in, b/c ultimately, it is on you if the work doesn't get completed. Sometimes, you'll have to work extra long days. Sure, you're allowed to leave when your shift is over at the 10hr mark, but will you want to if it means your work center will not have completed its tasks?

This job will get you the managing experience you're looking for, but it teaches you the hard way that it sometimes means getting a little dirty.

Great answer! Couldn't have said it better myself.

 

[band_rules16]

GE: guest experience - front lanes/cashiers, photo lab, service desk (returns, etc), cart/brand attendants. In lower volume stores, they may also be over Target cafe & Starbucks.
SL: softlines - clothing/apparel, jewelry/accessories, shoes, boys & girls, infants.
LOG: logistics - backroom (stockroom), receiving. Some larger volume stores have overnight flow teams.
HL: hardlines - consumables, home storage, furniture, domestics, electronics/entertainment, toys, auto, sporting goods, stationary, etc. - basically everything else. Larger vol stores may have HL1 & HL2.
HR: human resources - personnel & training.
AP: assets protection - store security.

I think some Super Targets have a ETL-FOOD...I would assume that's for grocery, bakery, and deli? We had an ETL leave to be the food ETL in another store.

 

[SuperTTM]

I think some Super Targets have a ETL-FOOD...I would assume that's for grocery, bakery, and deli? We had an ETL leave to be the food ETL in another store.

All SuperTargets have at least 1 ETL Food, higher volume stores will have 2, they are in charge of perishables(bakery, deli, produce, and meat) as well as grocery, consumables, Starbucks, and Target Cafe. Also higher volume stores with an overnight logistics process, will have an ETL-Replenishment in addition to the ETL-Log. Lower volume stores will have combined positions such as ETL-Softlines/Guest Experience, ETL-Salesfloor(Hardlines and Softlines) with the STL handling Guest Experience, and the new position for AE12, ETL-Salesfloor/GE(which is basically the entire store minus HR and Log). There are also some rare positions in high risk, and super high volume stores ie, ETL-Foodservice (stores with really high volume in Starbucks, and Target Cafe), Sr. ETL Operations, and Sr. ETL-Merchandising.

 

[ETLHopeful]

At least, you got an interview for the job.

Yea, it's always nice to be invited in to interview. But the position really isn't for me. Based on what I read on the internet and what was said in the interview it really doesn't sound like what I'm looking for. But thanks to all who posted in this thread your comments were helpful.

 

[Barcode]

All SuperTargets have at least 1 ETL Food, higher volume stores will have 2, they are in charge of perishables(bakery, deli, produce, and meat) as well as grocery, consumables, Starbucks, and Target Cafe. Also higher volume stores with an overnight logistics process, will have an ETL-Replenishment in addition to the ETL-Log. Lower volume stores will have combined positions such as ETL-Softlines/Guest Experience, ETL-Salesfloor(Hardlines and Softlines) with the STL handling Guest Experience, and the new position for AE12, ETL-Salesfloor/GE(which is basically the entire store minus HR and Log). There are also some rare positions in high risk, and super high volume stores ie, ETL-Foodservice (stores with really high volume in Starbucks, and Target Cafe), Sr. ETL Operations, and Sr. ETL-Merchandising.

We have 2 ETL-FOOD and 1 SR.ETL-FOOD

Does pfresh just have an ETL-HL?

 

[SuperTTM]

We have 2 ETL-FOOD and 1 SR.ETL-FOOD

Does pfresh just have an ETL-HL?

Yes