They left me two floats of freight.  One was clearly freight to be worked, one I wasn't sure about.  Before I got to work through them both, my asst mgr pleaded with me, to help put out the Christmas candy/giftsets on the seasonal aisle.  I reminded him of the other things he had told me to do, and he said he needed me to do the Christmas stuff instead.  Everyone else who was over there was leaving at 2, so I took a break early.  I was planning to pick up where they left off.  I told the ICS lead that's what I was going to do.  When I came back, they had put everything back in grocery receiving.  I decided that leaving my dept looking like hell, so that I could do more work on a job that I couldn't finish, was dumb.  I got my two projects done; but when I left, my dept still looked bad.  Not AS bad, but still bad.

 

Mad

This was the part that got me about being a department manager; the wheeze was always about time management, yet the priorites would always shift on a moment's notice.  The end result was that I was being pulled several different directions and never felt that I got anything done.  How can one manage their time at work when there never enough of it to get all these different tasks done?  My feeling is that the compny is going to stretch the workforce so tight that customer service - what little there is now - will suffer to the point that sales will continue to drop.

 

So, what's my solution?  For a start, fill openings on ICS and overnights, including unloaders.  Second, quit using department managers to run registers on the front end.  Finally, holding people accountable for getting tasks done and a more fair-minded approach to the coaching process.

 

Anyway, that's my thoughts.  Feel free to disagree, or not.  Your choice.

Mad we have to have all floats and carts empty by the end of each shift.(That doesn't mean it happens)The unloaders don't use pallets anymore.The cart is filled and an ICS members works it and returns an empty cart.It has been this way for months now for us.Don't look in the dairy cooler though. LOL

 

Nhy you hit the nail on the head.  holding people accountable for getting tasks done and a more fair-minded approach to the coaching process.Yesterday I pulled 19 packages of rotten tomatoes from the floor.This is about the 20th time this person was told about this.I spoke with the laed and the assistant and said this person needs coached.Did they? No they just hit his hands with a feather duster.

Sometimes you wonder if they treat some folks like they can do no wrong; just to drive the rest of us crazy!

I think also, that mgmt doesn't pay attention to folks who make it their business to stay under the radar.

The Crafts dept mgr gets a Gemini EVERY day, but doesn't use it.  Her former cohort, from Fabrics (now managing Furnture), does all her price changes FOR HER.  She also gets a Gemini; I guess to make it look like they're both working.

The Crafts mgr has never done anything she didn't have to.  The Fabrics mgr did all the Telxon stuff, when the 2 depts were together.  The Crafts mgr also "gets sick" the day before she goes on vacation.  She also often gets sick the day she's supposed to come back.

I have a printout showing who did her price changes.  Sometimes the Sporting Goods dept mgr did them; which is VERY weird.  He never seems to do anything he doesn't have to, either.

 

Mad

Mad that will end soon.fabrics will get downsized and they will only have one departmet manager. 

It's the D 17 (Furniture) dept mgr who's doing most of  the Crafts mgr's price changes.  She used to do them all, when they both managed Fabrics & Crafts.  I know part of the issue is that if she didn't do all that stuff for her, the Crafts mgr would have to either step down, or do her job.  I am confused as to why anyone would do so much of another dept mgrs job for them--I sure don't have them time.

 

Mad

When I was the Craft dept. manager I never got a chance to do price changes... the fabric dept. manager did.... it was because she was the manager there for a long time and she was just used to it... I just had the title...  With the Fabric/Craft dept. all the price changes come down under one dept. which is 19..  So, I was glad when I was told I had to find another position in the store which ended up being cosmetics  which I really like alot.

This made me smile a little just because the frustrations really are the same wherever we go, eh? 

 

We had an issue recently because I work 3rd (O/N CSM) so my cashiers and I are responsible for working 82 frieght and the McLane's stuff.  For the LONGEST time, the rule was that I left overstock on a rocket cart because 3rd shift isn't "allowed" to prep and bin things.  And they didn't want to lose just a bit of 82 on a pallette.  Okidoki then.

 

Then this co-manager decided that the clean off ALL CARTS rule meant us too.  When I asked what he'd like me to do with any overstock (or stock we can't get to because they've shorted me cashiers like you wouldn't believe but oh dear, I digress!) and he said "it just can't be on a cart."  Um, oooooook...."so a pallette then?"  "I'd better not find 82 overstock on pallettes."  Hmmmmm...

 

His solution was to tell me we should stack it in the bins so that in the morning, the department manager could prep it or work it or whatever.  B-b-b-b-ut...never mind.  SIGH! 

 

So against everything inside of me (and against my royalest of pet peeves) we started stacking stuff in the bins WITHOUT prepping it.  (Insert horrific shudder here.)  I tried to clean the bins so we'd have a section where the unprepped stuff could go so the dept. mgr knew exactly where to go each morning but that didn't stay long.  (I only had to be away for 2 days for that to stop.)  So the unprepped stuff got mixed in with prepped stuff and SHE got taken to task for THAT.  UGH!

 

Add to that that the remodel crew LITERALLY hid breakpack boxes FULL of 82 and assorted junk in the 82 bins and whatamess.  :(  Also I got blamed for the breakpack boxes but that's a whole 'nother story.  lol

 

Lol all THAT to say that nobody took the time to realize how silly it ws that I was UNLOADING a rocket cart improperly into a bin just for that SAME MERCHANDISE to be put back ONTO the same rocket cart within 45 minutes. 

 

So, riddle me this...How is this good time management? 

In my case, my bins are blocked by 2 or 3 rows of pallets, most of the time.  3rd leaves me various things on floats, like features and stuff they didn't finish.  Well, I have very little feature space, so then I have to move the stuff onto a pallet; which they should have done, in my opinion.

Friday when they did this, I was pulled to help in Cosmetics, so the float and cart they left me, were there when I left.

Last week it dawned on me that I am severely handicapped by the way my bins are.  I mean, I already knew it, but I finally realized that no other dept has to go through as much as I do, to get to my freight.  I try working the freight at the front, so that I can get to what's behind it.  That never gets finished, and the next day, there's no less freight than there was the day before.

If I need to get a pallet down from the corner of my steel, I have to move no less than 3 other pallets, first.  There is very little space to put pallets in, since grocery, chemicals and papergoods have the halways lined with their pallets, and the grocery rec'g area is often pretty jammed up too.

>sigh<

 

Mad

When I came in today (Mon), one of my ends had been changed, which was good.  I had a 4 way and 2 stackbases over near L&G.

In the back room, I had 2 or 3 new features, and an entire pallet of G.O. aquariums, plus a bunch of new freight.  Oh well.

As of this afternoon, I had lost one stackbase, so that they could put out a pallet of wrapping tape.  I fail to see how tape could be more important than a pallet of cedar shavings, but whatev'.

So now, my other stackbase is going to be changed over to the new fishtanks, and I will have to find space in my backroom for the stuff that is on it now.

It just never stops, does it?

 

Mad

Just boils down to this company buys to many feature items thinking it sells out the same day you put it out. I don't know how many times I have had a pallet of Hannah crap come in and it gets maybe 3 days on the floor before they send it to the back.

no it will never stop..... the features that come in are way to much... you certainly don't need 10 cases of the same darn thing.  I currently have a feature of Nivea cream on a 4 way.... and I keep getting more and more of the same cream in.. today I have to box it up to put another hand cream feature up.... when I have in fact enough in my bins of the same stuff to make my own feature.

 

I just can't stand it anymore