Source
r/Target•
truthRealized

Guest advocate help

Workplace Question or Advice Needed

Does anyone actually like running a register?

It is not something I like or am comfortable with. I am scheduled an entire shift next week on registers and the following week the one and only shift I was given is at the register. I am currently an on demand worker that started during the Christmas season in general merchandising.

I was planning on going back to full time during the holidays but if I am going to be forced to work the registers I am not sure I will stay on at all. Don’t hate me but the truth is I am working because I want to, not because I have to, I could walk away tomorrow.

I like and am comfortable in general merchandise, running a register freaks me out.

Help how do I get out of this or at least learn to deal with it?

Posted Sep 8, 2023, 2:51 AM UTC

119
twizzlerheathenFront of Store•

What aspect of registers freaks you out?

1
truthRealizedOP•

There always seems to be a discount or gift card or price match or … if it were just a matter of a simple transaction it wouldn’t be so bad. Just the whole thing makes me nervous I have nothing against helping a guest out on the floor but at the register it feels very intense.

1
BroIBeliveAtYouClosing Team Lead•

If you mess up a discount or gift card, what happens?

1
truthRealizedOP•

Not sure angry guest, ticked off supervisor? Kind of hoping they will realize I am incompetent and stop assigning me that task if I mess up enough. Only half joking here.

1
twizzlerheathenFront of Store•

Just direct them to guest services

1
twizzlerheathenFront of Store•

Direct them to guest services. Even if you had the experience to fix the mistake, you’ve probably got a huge line to check out

1
twizzlerheathenFront of Store•

If you ever have a question, flip your light to ask for help. If it’s slow, you can even just preemptively ask how your stores handle those situations, as every store handles things slightly differently. You don’t have a lot of experience up there and that’s ok. You learn as you go. Just ask questions and ask for help when you need it.

Gift cards are easy, scan the back to load up the amount that the guest wants. If it’s a high dollar amount, you can flip your light and let someone know that you’re worried that the guest might be being scammed. When the guest pays with a gift card, you scan the barcode on the back. If there’s more than one visible (that’s not covered by the silver scratch off), you want the smaller barcode in the upper left corner. Then you’ll have to scratch the silver part and scan that barcode or input the 8 digit pin

Most sales should come up automatically. If they’re not, they’re usually on the app and the guest will have to download the app and add the coupon to the barcode on their phone. Sometimes it’s a matter of the guest failing to meet to purchase quantity requirement to trigger getting a gift card.

For price match, it is only one of the same item per day. There’s a price map app on the zebras where you can scan the item and then select the company where the guest is trying to price match. If it’s a very high priced item being price matched to an absurdly low amount, (a $300 baby monitor to $100 for example) I’ll still ask a TL for approval, even with my years of experience.

Last. Don’t rush. If you rush you’ll psych yourself out. If people have to wait, then they have to wait. That’s what it’s like sometime. I just explain that I need help, maybe the why, and then thank the guest for their patience.

1
truthRealizedOP•

Thank you very helpful!

1
twizzlerheathenFront of Store•

Glad to help!

1
Ok_Maybe_8020Closing Team Lead•

The best cheat sheet is to look at the Weekly Ad and the weekly Target Circle offers. If you have a general idea of what available offers are live, it can help you to understand any guest confusion and solve problems. Not sure about your store, but my store is very engaged in solving the problem and making it right for the guest, per our DSD. If the discount is less than $40 or 30%, our store doesn't blink at the price change, as long as you politely inform the guest that there might be a discrepancy but we are happy to honor the price as a one time courtesy (the one time courtesy phrase is important - it helps eliminate future arguments about price changes or honoring expired Ad pricing).

1
trekkiemoonGuest Advocate•

Adding to this: on your my device, in myday, when you scan an item, one of the buttons that pops up below the info about it is promos. If a guest says, for instance, that they should be getting a $5 gift card cause they're buying 4 of something and it doesn't auto generate, ask to scan the items. If you scan them and it has a lil shopping cart next to the offer on the my device, it means it is a target circle offer, and you can either walk them through clipping the digital coupon, or offer to take $5 off an item in their cart that is over $5.

1
Cloudcastle515•

I’ve been with Target for almost a month now in GM and I feel the same way. I have had to help be a back-up cashier for a few times now, including today for like two or three times (most in one day was four). I was barely trained on the registers so a few times I have looked like an idiot if something ended up confusing me because I simply hadn’t gotten enough training on the registers. I can handle basic transactions where I just ring up all the stuff no problem, but if a guest is picky about something or there’s some kind of deal I don’t know anything about or the screen shows something I’ve never seen before, etc., things can get confusing. I actually typically worked as a cashier at my last job (a restaurant), which is why I’m glad to be doing mostly stocking at Target because I’m just so tired of customers. At this point I just expect people to be rude and though I try to remember that not everyone that walks into the store is a mean person, I’ve seen and dealt with enough to the point where I just prefer not to interact with people if I can avoid it. Of course, when someone does approach me I do try to be nice and respectful, but instinctively expect that the person might be rude. It’s pretty sad 🙃🎃. What I can offer you as advice is to just walk up to the registers when you get called to go there with confidence, reminding yourself that you can do it. I know it may sound easier said than done, but I feel like so far, that has helped me. I just accept that I have to go up there, and try to remain calm and remember that I likely won’t even have to be there for very long and if they’re just basic transactions I have to do, even better. Even if someone were to be rude, I’m not gonna be the one who looks bad at that point. It’s also kind of Target’s fault for rushing the training, so I’m only doing the best that I can. But if I need help, I will ask for it. One more thing-the other day in the break room, “The Secret Life of Pets 2” was playing and in it, Harrison Ford’s character, Rooster, told Max that the first step in not being afraid is simply acting like you’re not. That’s genuinely what I’d been doing every time I got called to go help at the registers. Though I didn’t want to go, I just accepted it and walked over knowing that I could get through it. Anyway, I’m sure with more time I’ll get the hang of the registers but I wish I had gotten more training on it. You can do this 😁! Also-is it just me or does Target seem to call for back-up when it’s not even that busy 👻?¿

1
truthRealizedOP•

Thanks. And I also had the experience of being told they were desperate for help but when I got there it was not busy at all. Certainly that will not be true during the holidays.

1
Cloudcastle515•

No problem 😊! I’ve been wondering if it’s some sort of thing that Target does where they don’t want guests waiting for like more than five seconds before getting helped 👾. So they try to get more people to the front so that everyone gets helped in a timely manner and Target stands out among the rest of America’s stores for being so prompt or something. As you point out, during the holidays they really will need the help. I’m kind of nervous about Christmas 😅.

1
Adventurous_Soft_686•

This is how Target used to be and it was the main difference between Target and Walmart. My store no longer operates this way. Lines back up all the time and past about 10am there is hardly any employees on the floor, maybe 2 cashiers if lucky and one callout screws the entire day. Yesterday as I was taking my lunch at 1015 there were no cashiers and one person at guest services. The irritating thing was that there were two AP team members standing there talking.

5
Goochcorp•

Lol they gotcha

1
Yearofthehoneybadger•

I kinda like registers although if you do it all shift it gets tiring. My favorite is self checkout, because I’m just there to help someone if they run into a problem or have a question. Try asking people how there day is going, or if they have any fun plans for the day, you’ll find you meet some cool people that way, and people like that little personal touch. Get some patter down.

1
dowhatsrightalways•

The longer tgey wait, the more likely they're going to change their minds about some of their purchases.

I work the front end, and our customer base are generally friendly and nice. Makes a big difference. During 20% college student and/teacher discount, I would walk Guests through the verification process. They were very appreciative of the savings!

1
Ziglet_249🦙Mondo Llama Re-Locator🦙•

Being on demand they may have simply used front end hours to get you the shift. They might actually have you doing things like shop-back or FF or GM freight and only call you to back up cashier when needed. Just guessing but they do this sometimes.

1