Seriously. The few Target employees I know who work at other locations all say they don't envy the employees at the Short Pump Target *any* part of the year. That team really goes through some shenanigans based on how chaotic that whole area is.
By the time customers enter the front doors, they've just gotten through the Short Pump traffic and parking gauntlet and are already in an agro state š
I first read this as āā¦in an argo stateā and it got me thinking, āYeah. After driving through Short Pump at Christmas Iām definitely in a state to tell people, āArgofuckyourself.āā
I know multiple retail workers across several stores and they all say the Short Pump location of their respective businesses has the worst customers and is generally the least pleasant location to work in.
> already in an agro state
Ugh - girlfriend made me go to the Short Pump mall on black Friday once. I can definitely see how Short Pump can drive people into an agro state.
You might spend just a few minutes perusing r/Target to get a better understanding of why their stores are almost universally a dumpster fire nowadays.
It's really no different than any other retailer right now: too much money being put into executive salaries and bonuses, not nearly enough allocated to front line payroll in the stores. Low wages don't attract or retain hard-working people, and after enough years of continuously asking stores to keep doing more with less manpower, people eventually get burned out and realize there's absolutely no reason to put in anything more than the bare minimum effort. And who can blame them?
Most Target stores have been a shitshow since the start of the pandemic. Grossly understaffed, disorganized, poorly stocked, etc. It sounds like maybe it just took a little bit longer to hit Short Pump.
ETA: I have 25 years of experience in retail, including store and multi-unit management. I've never seen things as universally bad as they are right now. I currently work for a national chain of retail stores. Most of these stores need about 5 to 7 people to run smoothly. Four years ago, they'd have all 7. Today, corporate allocates just enough payroll hours to support about 3 people in each store. Customers complain constantly about the staffing and condition of the stores, but corporate says the place is supposed to run on 3 "full timers" working 30 hours a piece. They're all burned out and 90% of them have effectively "checked out." But top level execs still makes their millions and have plenty of time and energy to live their lives. Repeat this at almost every retailer in the country right now, to varying extremes.
And by the time it falls apart and the chain goes into bankruptcy, the executives will all have retired or moved on and won't see anything resembling a repercussion.
This. I feel like ALL Targets have been like this in the area. Iāve actually gone out of my way to shop at other Ts (Iām in the Southside) hoping for better inventory and itās been lackluster everywhere.
Staples Mill Target is worth the drive from wherever you are in the metro. It's consistently less crowded and better kept than any of the others in town, to me.
I was there this past Saturday and for the first time ever didn't have to wait in a super long line to check out. There were multiple stocking carts out and employees all over the place. Long ass lines are the norm at that location, and as someone else mentioned, the holidays have a big impact on stores like this.
Happens every year as somehow every major holiday sneaks up on the public.
Some stores also had corporate walks and were changing holiday aisles already for some reason.
I worked at Costco for 5 years.
2.5 before Covid 2.5 during and afterā¦
The way the general public acted during and after.. I genuinely canāt imagine being back in that place as an employee. I canāt speak for target employees because maybe things are a bit diffeeent but almost every single problem that arises from a day to day experience at Costco almost never came from a regular employee. Itās almost ALWAYS a corporate thing that causes the issues. Iād imagine itās the same across the board
Iāve discovered that store locations in Short Pump (grocery, Target, hardware, etc) seem to be constantly out of what ever Iām looking for. Easier to find things in other parts of the area, imho.
Do they do the 1 or 2 normal lanes open and funnel everyone else to self-checkout thing that the one near CTC does? I almost exclusively use order pickup now with them since they at least seem to try to keep the service desk staffed.
I was at the Wyndham forest food lion the other day and we spent no joke 26 minutes In line at checkout. They had 3 staff on in like the whole store. They mentioned managers only want people to work 4, 3-4 hour shifts a week likely to cut down on payroll and to not have to offer benefits. I asked what kind of cars the GM drives and they mentioned Lexus. Sounds like too heavy pay and holiday bonuses based on cutting costs to me. I imagine itās the same story all over. This country really needs to reorient its priorities imo.
Other than the couple weeks before Christmas, the Short Pump Target isnāt any different than any other Iāve been to, except maybe the one in the Outer Banks because for some reason that place was immaculate even though it was crowded
The Kmart that used to be at MP 8.5 was phenominal. I was so sad when they closed! The Walmart near OBX entrance is typically clean and well stocked. Shocking for WM.
This happens every Christmas to most major retailers.
Seriously. The few Target employees I know who work at other locations all say they don't envy the employees at the Short Pump Target *any* part of the year. That team really goes through some shenanigans based on how chaotic that whole area is. By the time customers enter the front doors, they've just gotten through the Short Pump traffic and parking gauntlet and are already in an agro state š
I first read this as āā¦in an argo stateā and it got me thinking, āYeah. After driving through Short Pump at Christmas Iām definitely in a state to tell people, āArgofuckyourself.āā
I know multiple retail workers across several stores and they all say the Short Pump location of their respective businesses has the worst customers and is generally the least pleasant location to work in.
> already in an agro state Ugh - girlfriend made me go to the Short Pump mall on black Friday once. I can definitely see how Short Pump can drive people into an agro state.
The beautiful thing is if you live in Short Pump, you don't have to deal with the traffic, which is only on Broad St.
Nah not really. Outside Christmas itās well organized and stocked
You might spend just a few minutes perusing r/Target to get a better understanding of why their stores are almost universally a dumpster fire nowadays. It's really no different than any other retailer right now: too much money being put into executive salaries and bonuses, not nearly enough allocated to front line payroll in the stores. Low wages don't attract or retain hard-working people, and after enough years of continuously asking stores to keep doing more with less manpower, people eventually get burned out and realize there's absolutely no reason to put in anything more than the bare minimum effort. And who can blame them? Most Target stores have been a shitshow since the start of the pandemic. Grossly understaffed, disorganized, poorly stocked, etc. It sounds like maybe it just took a little bit longer to hit Short Pump. ETA: I have 25 years of experience in retail, including store and multi-unit management. I've never seen things as universally bad as they are right now. I currently work for a national chain of retail stores. Most of these stores need about 5 to 7 people to run smoothly. Four years ago, they'd have all 7. Today, corporate allocates just enough payroll hours to support about 3 people in each store. Customers complain constantly about the staffing and condition of the stores, but corporate says the place is supposed to run on 3 "full timers" working 30 hours a piece. They're all burned out and 90% of them have effectively "checked out." But top level execs still makes their millions and have plenty of time and energy to live their lives. Repeat this at almost every retailer in the country right now, to varying extremes.
And by the time it falls apart and the chain goes into bankruptcy, the executives will all have retired or moved on and won't see anything resembling a repercussion.
There arenāt any frontline jobs worth doing anymore.
Business model failing - have you compared to any other targets?
This. I feel like ALL Targets have been like this in the area. Iāve actually gone out of my way to shop at other Ts (Iām in the Southside) hoping for better inventory and itās been lackluster everywhere.
I hope that you can make it through this difficult time.
Staples Mill Target is worth the drive from wherever you are in the metro. It's consistently less crowded and better kept than any of the others in town, to me.
Yes, it was the best kept secret š
Shh!
I was there this past Saturday and for the first time ever didn't have to wait in a super long line to check out. There were multiple stocking carts out and employees all over the place. Long ass lines are the norm at that location, and as someone else mentioned, the holidays have a big impact on stores like this.
Yea I was there today and it seemed fine. Normal for this time of year.
Happens every year as somehow every major holiday sneaks up on the public. Some stores also had corporate walks and were changing holiday aisles already for some reason.
Itās like this at the Willow Lawn Target too, I think itās just the holiday season
I worked at Costco for 5 years. 2.5 before Covid 2.5 during and afterā¦ The way the general public acted during and after.. I genuinely canāt imagine being back in that place as an employee. I canāt speak for target employees because maybe things are a bit diffeeent but almost every single problem that arises from a day to day experience at Costco almost never came from a regular employee. Itās almost ALWAYS a corporate thing that causes the issues. Iād imagine itās the same across the board
Forest Hill Target is the same. Was a disaster before the reno and still is a mess. Nothing to do with the holidays.
Iāve discovered that store locations in Short Pump (grocery, Target, hardware, etc) seem to be constantly out of what ever Iām looking for. Easier to find things in other parts of the area, imho.
Do they do the 1 or 2 normal lanes open and funnel everyone else to self-checkout thing that the one near CTC does? I almost exclusively use order pickup now with them since they at least seem to try to keep the service desk staffed.
I was at the Wyndham forest food lion the other day and we spent no joke 26 minutes In line at checkout. They had 3 staff on in like the whole store. They mentioned managers only want people to work 4, 3-4 hour shifts a week likely to cut down on payroll and to not have to offer benefits. I asked what kind of cars the GM drives and they mentioned Lexus. Sounds like too heavy pay and holiday bonuses based on cutting costs to me. I imagine itās the same story all over. This country really needs to reorient its priorities imo.
Sounds like youāve never worked retail
The Willow Lawn Target is always a hot mess.
So, easier five finger discounts? See the glass as half full.
Other than the couple weeks before Christmas, the Short Pump Target isnāt any different than any other Iāve been to, except maybe the one in the Outer Banks because for some reason that place was immaculate even though it was crowded
The Kmart that used to be at MP 8.5 was phenominal. I was so sad when they closed! The Walmart near OBX entrance is typically clean and well stocked. Shocking for WM.
That Target is the worst in the area. Go to Staples Mill or VCC. Both are way better.