|
Community Links |
Social Groups |
Pictures & Albums |
Members List |
Search Forums |
Advanced Search |
Go to Page... |
|
Thread Tools |
07-20-2008, 02:47 PM | #1 |
Banned
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: .
Posts: 784
|
I’ve been lurking on this site for quite some time now and have noticed a few “threads” that have peaked my interest. I apologize in advance for the length of this post and completely understand any and all backlash I might and probably will receive or the deletion of the post entirely.
I am a Proud new member and a G.I. Joe super freak… but I am also an overnight supervisor at Wally World. I’ve worked at several stores spanning over a decade, from a giant of a seller (3.7 million in sales a week was average) to the store I work now, a humble 600k a week store.. in the Midwest. I’m not trying to make excuses or show a certain point of view but as a collector myself and someone who lives life day to day with Joe on the brain. A few things I would like to touch on are the way things get distributed, ordering system and general info about those pain in the butt ASSociates at Wally World. I’ll be one to tell you, an individuals personality has a great deal to do with how they treat customers/collectors and in this case Joe collectors as well. It is in my experience that some Merchandise Supervisors (in short, a MS is the person in charge of ordering and general appearance of a department, keep in mind that very often these orders can and do get altered/deleted by upper management.) take great enjoyment from keeping a collector from finding that special something. From bending the packaging, cutting them to outright making holes in things that some find valuable. Some do go that extra mile and help the customer the best they can with the tools they are given, taking into consideration the policies that must be followed. Some are simply jerks. There are some however, that are collectors themselves and hide the goodies only to buy them later. This is against policy, and is one I uphold to no end. There is a “No Hold” policy at Wally World, this is for customers and associates alike. Also, associates are not allowed to buy anything on the clock, and even their “on the clock breaks” are supposed to only buy food related items, not general merchandise (this is often abused but still a no-no). I can give the example of getting a case in and I just happened to be putting freight away that night and had the pleasure of filling the peg hooks with those oh so wonderful 25th anniversary toys. An early wave Flint was one of them… it was one that I actually needed myself but I put it up anyway. I wasn’t on break and didn’t give myself one to purchase it. I finished the Joe’s and moved on down the isle to work more freight and a few customers showed up… looking for Joe’s none-the-less. Right away they noticed the Flint I put up (yes I put it right in front, I didn’t try hiding it behind any others) and it was snatched up immediately. Was I sad? Upset? Not at all. It felt good to not only do the right thing but to also see a fellow collector find success. (Side note, I’ve only been able to buy less than 10 Joe’s that I need at my own store. No Joke! I buy online since I don’t believe on holding or hiding merchandise. I personally see these fly out the door and not able to purchase a single one. With the pegs empty… Online I go! In any event, half the fun is the hunt and the reward of finding something that brings me enjoyment. That same joy I felt when I was little, without the cares and worries of job, taxes, and the cost of gas. My reason for collecting Joe’s.) I mentioned earlier that this was a Midwest store so Joe shipments are very few and far between. Truck distribution depends greatly on the amount of freight a store sells and thus, needs. Also, since the Midwest smaller communities aren’t as heavily populated as the coasts we generally get things much later than everyone else. So to those who already have bought your B.A.T.S. and Snow Serpents… Damn you!! I am jealous. Associates are told to tell customers that what we have on the floor is all we have, some managers enforce this, others don’t or neglect to mention it all together. However this can be misleading depending on anyone’s Point Of View. I’ll give a Nintendo Wii example. The item’s “home” is empty. You the customer asks do we have any in stock, and the associate scans the item and the Gemini/Telxon tells the associate that there are 10 in stock (you get a glimpse at the screen). Ok, if the Associate tells you “we don’t have any” is he lying? Well, there are a few things that can be happening. First of all is something called Tab. If you have ever been to a retail chain I’m sure you have picked up a flyer or received one in the mail or in a newspaper. Lets say the Wii we want to buy is shown in the paper. The flyer is for the dates of August 1st through the 10th. You are in the store on July 28th. Under the description in the flyer you read something that says “guaranteed in stock minimum 10 per store”. Well the associate that scanned the Wii’s home says “we don’t have any in stock” but you saw the screen that says 10… I understand that you would be a little more than upset!! (I’ve dealt with his many, many times.) However, if they sell the item the store will be short the “guaranteed in stock minimum” and can be reprimanded. Not only that, that store has then lied to every customer that has received that flyer and yes, some customers do keep count! This has happened at my store recently. There were several things that happened here. 1 the associate didn’t understand the Tab related sale coming up 2 Inadequate training on managements part, every associate is supposed to be trained to understand these happenings. 3 Customers really aren’t suppose to see the information displayed to us, not that information is being hidden but to avoid any misunderstanding that might occur. Such as described as above unless the associate is prepared to explain the entire process. An associates job is growing ever more complicated in the modern retailer. Some care, some don’t. Some follow policy, some don’t understand it and there are those that break it for their personal gain. Now, the associate should have informed the customer (since they saw the screen) that the items we do have are for the guaranteed release date indicated in the new flyer. He simply should have used a flyer as reference and showed the customer or had management address the issue before it got as out of hand as it did. This freight is supposed to come as close to the release date as possible but with so many stores to ship to some stores get their stock sooner than others and this does cause some issues. Now in the ideal scenario a customer approaches the associate and asks “Do you have any Wii’s?” The Associate should either already know what the on hand stock counts are or have a Gemini/Telxon (handheld scanner) ready to check the status. Scanning the shelf label, the associate keeps the screen at an angle where the viewing is confidential and notices the on hand count being 10. Now looking further down the screen some info is given stating Tab. Noticing this the Associate informs the customer that we do not have any to put on the shelf but that we do have a new flyer for the week of August 1st through the 10th, and we are guaranteed to have 10 in stock. Please try to come early to pick on up as the sale starts at 8am and due to our no holding policy customers are treated first come first serve. Now from a Joe purchase point of view. All associates should help all customers with the scanning of items. Some do not have a hand held scanner as some stores differ as to who can use them due to the expense of the units (you wouldn’t believe what they cost and how many get stolen for whatever reason). Wally World is supposed to fill the peg hooks up with new figures as they come in. They aren’t supposed to wait till the hooks empty to fill them. However, if there aren’t room for a case of Joe’s on the hooks, then they won’t be ordered till there is space (automatic ordering system) but if a MS orders a case and then another gets ordered by the system then they might get stuck with some dead product (happened at our store, we have a ton of the same comic packs that aren’t moving). So if a product isn’t selling, more aren’t ordered. As far as pallets with freight on them, these are actually not to be touched by customers due to safety reasons really. You’d be surprised to know how many excited collectors see a box on bottom of a stack to grab it and not give all the ones above it a clear thought… down they come! Of course some of the time sensitive merchandise does make it to the floor only to be brought back to be stored until its release date. So to all the “pallet jackers” out there, it is a no-no. But just don’t get caught… and use your head. If you want one on the bottom at least remove the ones above it and please don’t put them in the way of other customers. Regarding how much stock is on/in the floor/storeroom. Wally World is theoretically supposed to work like this. Little freight in the stock room and full peg hooks/shelves on the floor. As replenishment freight comes nearly daily. The stored items in back is supposed to be just enough to fill the demand until a new shipment is made. Now as we all know this isn’t always the case. As a customer and a supervisor I get to see both sides of the coin. There is the automated ordering system that orders as things go out at a register and there are MS’s who also are responsible for ordering items. Ok, a computer ordering and a human being are ordering… what could possibly go wrong?? Things are bound to go wrong somewhere. If proper training is to be had things can run smoothly, doesn’t always happen. Wally worlds ordering system isn’t exactly point and click. It’s a royal pain in the ms-dos based programs butt. So, some order more than they should and other stores don’t get enough. In any event, there are only a finite amount of product at any given time and it has to get distributed to the stores that need it the most (ie. who sells more, so they have more of a demand). Computers do a lot of those judgment calls unfortunately. And there are those associates that do “stuff” or can’t find merchandise and it might get put back in the back room as overstock or get placed in an entirely wrong location all together because they don’t want to actually take the item to the back room… general laziness. Release dates are also an issue in modern retail. Huge fines can be placed at a store for violating release dates. These aren’t just limited to DVD’s. A good example is the new Star Wars Clone Wars figures being released. The dates are printed right on the box, but lets admit something right away. Wally World is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE), and this shows in some of the associates that work there. Reading isn’t always something that everyone is good at. (Trying to use a computer is another! Now combine those two and try to be fair and honest to a customer.) These release date specific items sometimes find their way to the floor and heads do roll. A few things usually happen, a over joyous customer tries to buy the item and is denied by the computer. Customer is pissed and nobody is happy. (yes that includes management, the customer and all the other customers that have to hear it.) Or, customer actually buys item and nothing happens. Worst case scenario, customer buys item then shows photo of it online with receipt showing the world his prize but also the time and stores location. That store could soon be getting a phone call from the manufacturer and action will be taken. (They watch these sites too! Hi Wally World!) Sure, the customer has his prize and bragging rights, but the store he bought it from just got fined, and quite possibly its license pulled for that brand and has to adjust their prices to reflect that loss. Oh, and to the poor sap who couldn’t read, he was either coached (written up or verbally warned) or let go entirely. In any event, I have witnessed all the above. Unfortunately I understand the system, but I don’t agree with it. In whole, I believe we are the sum of what we learn and the experiences by which we learn them. Some are uneducated selfish souls that don’t see past today, there are others that feed of the misery of others, and then there are those that are true diamonds in the rough that make all the difference that don’t care about the butt chewing they just got for not doing enough freight, or how close they are to going home but those that see another person and wants to help them the best they know how. I believe a collector can have several experiences at one time at one store at one time. Of course this depends greatly on the associates character, personal work ethic, mood, training, ambition and overall outlook on life at that one given moment. We are people after all, and though we are told to smile, greet customers, ask if we can help but things don’t always go by the book. A persons mettle gets pushed. Some have to deal with over a hundred customers a night (don’t forget hundreds of boxes of freight too), and each one they are told to treat as if were their first for the day. Day after day. This can become overwhelming to some who all they thought they had to do was unload boxes. Not everyone has people skills or had customer service training. These associates generally don’t last long and feel they are being attacked by both customer and management alike and even take out their frustration on the customer, then everyone walks away with a bad experience. Of course we all know that each customer is as unique as the things that person did that day, up to the time of walking down our isle. Who knows what can possibly be going through their head at that moment. Perhaps they are thinking of the bad service and the order that was screwed up at McDonalds that they just came from. The burger they waited for all day at work only to be disappointed by it being made the way they specifically asked them NOT to do. Maybe while they were waiting for that order their wife called only to tell him that his dog died. Now they are at Wally World looking for that certain toy for Timmy who’s in the hospital with cancer. That one toy that will cheer him up. A 25th Anniversary GI Joe, like dad once had. (ok, this is a little over the top but bear with me) He spies that Wave 9 case of Joe’s on a pallet knowing it has inside that one figure that could cheer Timmy up. Up walks the Wally World Associate. Now, what is going through his head?? The rules say, the customer. But it doesn’t always work that way. Everyone gets caught up in something. Their mind elsewhere, not always thinking of what’s going on at that exact moment in time. If you have done something a hundred times, are you as enthused as you were the first? Probably not, but I try to teach and remind my associates that even though you’ve done this a hundred, maybe a thousand times concentrate at the moment. Think about how you as a customer would want to be approached. One thing stands true, people will always surprise you, they will always come up with something that you never would have thought of. But be honest with them, and be honest with yourself. If you don’t know… ask someone who does! I’ve said this a million times in countless meetings. But like I said before, it only works if they are paying attention and have the desire to actually go that extra mile that everyone deserves. If only things were as easy as following policy. I wish it were as cut and dried as that. We all have so much on our minds, racing around trying to make the most of our precious time we forget to just take a few little moments and remember… everyone else is going through the same thing, sure the events are different for each but the one thing we all have in common, life is getting a bit crazy. Isn’t that one reason some of us “older kids” buy the Joe’s?? To remember that simpler time when we didn’t have all these worries? Instead it was “But Mom… Timmy has a Flagg!!!” If only life were only that complicated again! |
07-20-2008, 03:02 PM | #2 |
Golobulous
Guest
Posts: n/a
|
i think we have all come to understand hasbro is creating this frenzy by short supplying everyone on purpose to keep the line hot.
it is sure interesting to know that walmart employees are also messing up cards and bending and destroying them. i bet hasbro would love hear this little piece of info i have to say i have found more destroyed cards and bubbles on joes at wal mart than any other retailer. we can't even depend on the retailer to provide us with quality product. in my experience the walmart toy department employees just give the same old bs line about well joes are a hot item. REALLY YOU THINK!!! well wouldn't common sense say to order more than a case at a time if they are a really hot item. i mean really you don't have this problem with paper plates and toilet paper. i mean when you go to buy toilet paper at walmart do you find 3 packages? then the walmart guy tells you well toilet paper is a hot seller thats why we have none. we always under supply the stuff that we sell a ton of. its a big joke, to the collector, and to the parent who is not a collector but whose kid wants some joes as well and sees nothing but empty pegs |
07-20-2008, 03:14 PM | #3 |
Health Educator for ARBCO
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Mt Morris, MI
Posts: 800
|
Thanks for your POV dude, working at Sears for a year and a half I can sympathize with you. I wish more people could be like you where you could explain the situation to them and they would walk away understanding.
Because of the unpredicatable nature of an associate's character, personal work ethic, mood, training, ambition and overall outlook on life at any given moment I have stopped asking associates at Walmart, Target, K-Mart, Meijers. For example at my Flint TRU I've had success in the past because they used to help out but as they left the store, and the current group of employees are there, I've tried to establish rapport with the current people and have reached a brick wall. Due to their character, they are losing a customer to online shopping. The funny part is my local comic shop has tipped me off to five of them that are scalpers, and I've seen one of them come in with hot toys and want to know how much the store will buy them. So when I see them in the store I avoid them like the plague that they are. |
07-20-2008, 03:19 PM | #4 |
Cobra Viper
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Canada
Posts: 497
|
Interesting read. Thank you for taking the time to post.
__________________
My Feedback Last edited by Storm.Shadow; 07-20-2008 at 03:45 PM.. Reason: Spelling. |
07-20-2008, 03:25 PM | #5 |
Banned
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: .
Posts: 784
|
And what is really hard, as a customer going to another store (not my own) and getting the sam BS everyone here hears... it's very dishearting. I collect for myself and my boy, I would like him to share something that I enjoyed as a kid like fishing, biking, camping and such. Wally World has certainly changed in the years I've been there and not for the better. That's why I buy online, I get what I want with no runaround and no hassle. Sure I might pay more but at least I don't get treated like a putz.
|
07-20-2008, 03:29 PM | #6 |
Golobulous
Guest
Posts: n/a
|
what i want is the inside info on whether or not hasbro is creating this by short producing the stuff to keep the line hot OR are the retailers just not getting with the program and ordering enough
i know we have all seen pictures on here of some walmarts that have hundreds of joes on an endcap. how is this hapenning. is this just a great toy manager? |
07-20-2008, 03:36 PM | #7 |
Banned
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Cobra Headquarters
Posts: 143
|
Quote:
what i want is the inside info on whether or not hasbro is creating this by short producing the stuff to keep the line hot OR are the retailers just not getting with the program and ordering enough
i know we have all seen pictures on here of some walmarts that have hundreds of joes on an endcap. how is this hapenning. is this just a great toy manager? |
07-20-2008, 03:41 PM | #8 |
Banned
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Cobra Headquarters
Posts: 143
|
Also WELCOME to the Hisstank Akunin! Great post with lots of insight. Thanks for sharing!
|
07-20-2008, 03:41 PM | #9 |
Hisstank.Com General
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Greensboro, NC
Posts: 13,759
|
Thank you for the look behind the Wal-Mart curtain. It's been very informative. Also, welcome to Hisstank!
|
07-20-2008, 03:58 PM | #10 |
Golobulous
Guest
Posts: n/a
|
in response to cg85 i have a hard time believing this fact. i frequent the walmart that does the highest sales volume in my state. i know this because both of my brothers work there. yet, they order joes one case at a time if that. and we can go a month between cases while other toys such as star wars and transformers animated get replenished weekly. so i have a hard time believing sales volume has anything to do with the lack of joe product on the shelves
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
How do you fix a loose hip joint (aka "T-Hook", or "T-Bar")? | Scoop | G.I. Joe Toys Modern & General Discussion | 15 | 10-13-2017 02:08 AM |
"G.I.Joe - The Movie" or "G.I.Joe - Dark Sky: First Strike"? | Gentleman | G.I. Joe Live Action Movie | 27 | 04-05-2011 01:30 AM |
"My wife is AWESOME", or "NEW DETOLF!" | Derek2783 | Toys | 17 | 03-08-2008 07:36 AM |
Pythona head: what to use that i can find at wally world | SHIPWRECK"N"POLLY | G.I. Joe Customs Finished Projects | 4 | 02-23-2008 06:24 AM |
Citing new G.I. Joe movie, Glenn Beck warned of a possible "one-world-government.... | jignacio_2k | G.I. Joe Live Action Movie | 1 | 11-01-2007 03:04 PM |
|
|
Recent Off Topic Threads |
Marvel Universe 3.75" figures |
Hisstank Late Night thread... |
What song are you listening to? |
G.I. Joe March Madness 2024 Championship Battle Armor... |
Last Movie You Watched? |