Target Archives - Page 2 of 6 - I Hate Working In Retail

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Target Canada Is a Spectacular Failure

Target Canada Is a Spectacular Failure

A couple of years ago, union-busting retail monster Target expanded into Canada in what they thought would be a bold new phase of international domination. It was not.

Today, the company announced that it is shutting down all 133 of its Canadian stores, laying off more than 17,000 employees, and writing off the whole god damn project as an enormous, outlandish, multibillion-dollar failure.

What went wrong? Target’s CEO said only that “After a thorough review of our Canadian performance and careful consideration of the implications of all options, we were unable to find a realistic scenario that would get Target Canada to profitability until at least 2021.” For a more illuminating perspective, please re-read this email sent to us by a Target Canada insider last year, detailing the company’s botched effort to graft its American business plan onto a new country.

Sourced from Gawker.com

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Target’s Dumb Internal Guide to The Generations

Target's Dumb Internal Guide to Millennials (and Other Generations)

Retail monster Target has more than 360,000 employees. Some of them are oldies; some of them are Gen Xers; and some of them are the dreaded millennials. Fortunately, the company has a neatly stereotyped training guide for managers to navigate this generational minefield.

This internal Target training document, entitled “Managing Generational Differences,” was leaked by Target employees and subsequently forwarded to us. (These things happen.) It is meant for training Target managers (“team leaders”) in the finer points of interpersonal communication with various “team members.” Its copyright is 2009, but it is unclear whether it is still in use.

How does the Target corporation define “diversity?” Today is the day that you will find out.

Target's Dumb Internal Guide to Millennials (and Other Generations)

Did you know that the characteristics of all living American generations can be contained on a single easily mimeographed chart? It’s true.

Target's Dumb Internal Guide to Millennials (and Other Generations)

Coaching tips for every single generation: patronize everyone in their own way.

Target's Dumb Internal Guide to Millennials (and Other Generations)

Target's Dumb Internal Guide to Millennials (and Other Generations)

Finally, what you need to know about “Generation Y,” the millennials who will—sadly—be the future of Target.

Target's Dumb Internal Guide to Millennials (and Other Generations)

Diversity is strength or whatever.

Sourced from Gawker.com

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10 Things I Hate as a Target Employee

*Ahem* Sorry. I mean, 10 things I hate as a Target Team Member. That’s a good place to start.

1)   The lingo. Hate probably isn’t the right word for this, because it’s actually pretty amusing. But calling employees Team Members and customers Guests along with all the other foofy feel-good vocabulary at Target can drive me a little crazy sometimes.

2)   Guests who pick something up, walk a couple of feet, and put it down somewhere else. I can actually understand the motivation behind leaving something halfway across the store. It takes a good bit of time to put it back at that point. But when you’re literally three paces from the item’s home location, PUT IT BACK. I once had a woman do this while I was standing right there. I was stocking some Planter’s peanuts and she walked by and picked up a box. She then looked at it for a second, shook her head, and tucked it between some bags of chips. She didn’t even move. I was speechless. Just… how… what…

3)   Guests who leave an empty cart sitting in the middle of the main aisle. I don’t mean leaving it there to go grab something. I mean grabbing a cart, browsing the store a little bit, then abandoning your poor cart in the back of the store. I always wonder what happened to the guests that do this. Did they suddenly realize they had to be somewhere urgently with no time to put the cart away? Did they get lost in the clothing racks? Were they abducted by aliens? Where did they go?

Please. Go home.

4)   Sundays. Why all of you people have to do your shopping on the same day is beyond me. Do you enjoy impossibly dense crowds? Do you not want to be able to find what you’re looking for because the shelves are picked clean? Seriously! You’d have a much more enjoyable shopping experience any other day of the week!

5)   Flats, carts, and tubs with squeaky or otherwise noisy wheels. I’d like to be able to do my job without drawing too much attention to myself. Unfortunately, just about everything I can push merchandise on has at least one wheel that shrieks louder than the souls of the damned. There’s no escaping it.

6)   Those stupid bungee chairs. You know, the apparently super-comfortable ones that would never look good your home. Nobody can figure out how to fold the damn things. They pull it off the shelf, click the legs into place, and sit on it for a bit. Then they realize that the legs lock into place so they don’t collapse during use. I know exactly what runs through these guests’ heads: “Oh noooo! I’ve ruined it forever!” Nope, there’s actually a little switch right next to the hinge that unlocks it. They’ve actually gotten even easier to figure out now.

7)   Being a cashier. Er, Check Lane Connoisseur. Or whatever. Gotta be Target Lingo Friendly. There is nothing worse than standing around for 8 hours trying to make idle conversation while scanning item after item. It makes your leg hurt and there’s no variety. And no, if it doesn’t scan the first time it’s not free. Hahahahahaha, never heard that one before!

8)   Holidays. More specifically, the days before and after holidays. It’s not really even because of the shopping rush that occurs. It’s because we have to put everything remotely related to the holiday on the shelf the day before, even if there’s no room. We can’t sell it if it’s in the back, so we’ve gotta cram every last bit on the floor in hopes that someone will buy it all. And they never do. It always ends up on clearance for like 99% off the next day. And even then the stuff sticks around forever. I’m still finding St. Patrick’s Day things on clearance shelves. It’s insane.

9)   Guests who wear red and kakhi. Do you work here? I don’t recognize you, but you could be in a different department and/or new. Generally, if you wear the Target uniform to Target, I’m probably not going to ask if you need help. And actually, if you dress like you work at Target outside of working at Target, you kind of need some fashion help.

There’s no way you’re not
a Team Member…

10)   Ambiguously rude guests. Most Target guests are actually pretty friendly. It’s rare that I meet a confrontational guest, but when it happens I’m pretty good at handling it. But when I can’t tell if you’re mad, I have no idea how to handle you. Here’s a conversation that happened today between me and an older guest in a wheelchair-cart-thing:

Me: Hi, finding everything okay?
Guest: No. *sourpuss face*
Me: … Uh, well, can I help you find something?
Guest: No. *rolls away in her wheelchair-cart-thing*

What happened there? I don’t even know.

Sourced from rothulfossil.blogspot.com