Extra stocking hours

[XCashier]

Another 400 box shipment tomorrow!!! We don't have enough hours to get out what we've already got, and they're sending us 400 more tomorrow!!!

FML.

[XCashier]

So the shipment was divided into two days, with two different trucking companies. The Monday shipment came on time with one of the more trustworthy companies, and comprised 225 boxes, give or take a few. The second shipment was with the flaky company, when you ask them for an ETA they say, "It'll get there when it gets there." (I don't understand why we still do business with them.)

Anyway, the shipment came today, and the trailer looks like it was packed by the Samsonite Gorilla. The boxes were all over the place, half of them were torn, crooked or outright broken, and one box of rolled batting arrived with one opened end and the batting inside absolutely filthy.

We get it unpacked, as much of the fabric unloaded as we can, and now we have to put the fabric on the shelves. Problem: our shelves are already maxed out, as are the overstock shelves. We had to get really creative; ended up using the open top of the upholstery fabric racks to store extra fabric. One errant cart might send the whole thing tumbling down.

Ever since we opened the new store four years ago, Corporate seems to have lost all common sense and understanding of the Laws of Physics. "Hey, the new Hippietown Store is twice as large as the old one...let's send them TEN TIMES the merchandise!" "Great idea, boss! And how about we cut the staffing hours, too?" "Brilliant, that'll rake in the bucks and make everyone happy!"

Sheesh.

[XCashier]

So, we set up part of the Christmas planogram today. Good news: we got rid of a lot of large banded boxes. Bad news: we didn't get rid of nearly enough of them, and we're getting another 400 box shipment tomorrow. Physics, schmisics, let's pack the stockroom so full it bursts!

Receiving manager is going to try to sort and condense the rest of the boxes. I wish her the best of luck. The Christmas floral also needs to be set, and that stack has to be at least twenty feet high. Plus we've still got the standard stock that desperately needs to be set out. I've got three more early morning stocking shifts this week, and am hoping we can make a decent dent in it.

[TheSHAD0W]

At this point I'd say get some cargo containers dropped off in the parking lot for overstock storage. If it's good enough for Walmart...

[XCashier]

At this point I'd say get some cargo containers dropped off in the parking lot for overstock storage. If it's good enough for Walmart...

Not up to me. I suspect Corporate might frown on it. It costs money to rent those things, after all.

[notalwaysright]

Not up to me. I suspect Corporate might frown on it. It costs money to rent those things, after all.

Our DM approved this, but it hasn't materialized because nobody at my store can accomplish the basic task of getting an okay from the mall property manager. Tomorrow's freight day, let's see if we get more molded boxes!

[XCashier]

Another monster shipment today. Many of the boxes were wet, and while most of the merchandise inside is wrapped in plastic, wet cardboard can't be stacked except on the very top of the stack.

The one thing I've been fearing happened today: a ten-foot stack of boxes toppled over and crashed to the floor. Fortunately nobody was in the way, but still, it could've been a disaster.

The stockroom is so crowded full we can barely move. The cardboard crusher is full and we have no room to make a bale. I hope we can put a dent in this delivery, and next week's is very light. Or delayed another week.

[notalwaysright]

The cardboard crusher is full and we have no room to make a bale.

...You have a cardboard crusher?? We have to make multiple trips per day out the back loading dock to the recycling bin.

On a sad note, the mall property manager wanted to charge $600 per month to keep the storage container. So the store would be paying for the container rent, and space rent, and now we can't have it. The DM said she'd rather put the money into getting stock out (yay!) but then didn't give any firm numbers. She just said that we'd be allowed to go over on payroll, a little. ?!$!%#. We already go over, just to keep the store open. Also, she TOLD US THE SAME THING last month, and we got yelled at even though we had her approval.

[XCashier]

The DM said she'd rather put the money into getting stock out (yay!) but then didn't give any firm numbers. She just said that we'd be allowed to go over on payroll, a little.

We're in much the same situation. I was called in for an extra stocking shift yesterday because, as you said, they'd rather put the money into getting the stock out than storing it. It's nice to get more money in my paycheck, certainly.

There's nothing quite like the feeling of satisfaction you get after unloading a full Uboat and half of another one...only to get to the back room and see that you barely made a dent in the pile. And then learning that Monday's shipment is going to be around 500 boxes...

Apparently, all of our stores have gotten too much stock this year. I don't know if it was a clerical error or if the company bought way too much stuff, but sadly, I foresee the vast majority of it going to clearance. We'll be doing more Christmas POGs tomorrow, and we still have loads of Fall/Halloween stuff left that we have to find a place for.

[EricKei]

Apparently, all of our stores have gotten too much stock this year.

I have my suspicion -- The company's profit projections have been a little *too* unrealistically rosy, and they base those results on stock shipped rather than stock that has been actually sold....So if the sales numbers at store level do not tally up (meaning: all of that stuff has sold), then the store is, of course, to blame. The only way to fix it -- from their point of view -- is, of course, to cut payroll...'Cuz that's where the waste is coming from After all, we know Corporate can do no wrong.

[XCashier]

We're getting more stocking hours this week, too. Our 5 AM-10 AM shifts have been expanded to 5 AM-1:30 PM.

Problem? It's next to impossible to stock while the store is open. Every few minutes, a customer asks for assistance, or we get paged to the cutting counter or register. A task that should take half an hour takes three times as long during business hours.

If I'm lucky, I'm given paints, crafts, baking or something similar to stock. I take the cart to the far aisle in the store that few people use, and can do most of my work with few interruptions. No such luck today. Had to do a POG right next to the cutting counter, only the most visible place in the store. As I said, interruptions every few minutes.

I'd rather come in very early in the morning and finish right before store opening, but we know that's not going to happen. At least I'm going to get some healthy paychecks for a little while.

[chimera]

Problem? It's next to impossible to stock while the store is open. Every few minutes, a customer asks for assistance, or we get paged to the cutting counter or register. A task that should take half an hour takes three times as long during business hours.

This is so true. The way the company likes to schedule, the cash register/cutting counter get overwhelmed as soon as more than three customers approach at once. This doesn't sound like much, but there's layers of complication added to each customer interaction because the sales, coupons, and store policies are so esoteric and tend to change at any time due to corporate whim.

Maybe I'm not shopping enough or observant enough, but I just don't notice customers regularly demanding such a degree of hand-holding from employees at other department and discount-style stores. I mean beyond "where is this item" and "do you have any more in the back?" Like "How do I use this?" and "do you think this would work?"

Sometimes it's fun to discuss projects and ideas with customers, but it also gets really exhausting when people expect you to have an expert in every craft working in the store to answer their questions.

But whatever...back to stocking! Fabric is literally bulging from the shelves and pens. I checked and we have OVER TWO HUNDRED YARDS of just one color of one particular fabric. And it's not even something you could actually sell that much of, like muslin. It's just plain bananas! And if someone makes a huge special order and decides to return it, as has happened to us, the store ends up stuck with around ~100 yards of one kind of fabric. We're also getting hundreds of pounds of the straight-up fugliest saved-from-a-dumpster clearance rack upholstery fabric. This stuff looks like it was literally left over from upholstering creepy old vans and tourist buses. Plus some nasty tapestry materials that look like cat urine stained pillows from the thrift store. So. Much. Ugly!

Not only are we getting more stock quicker than we could ever put it out, we're also getting useless/insane amounts of certain items that have to be put straight into overstock. Could it be related to the new buy online, pick up in store service? Who knows.

[XCashier]

Not only are we getting more stock quicker than we could ever put it out, we're also getting useless/insane amounts of certain items that have to be put straight into overstock. Could it be related to the new buy online, pick up in store service? Who knows.

That would make sense, except that not enough people are using the BOPIS thing to justify that. We get maybe 3-5 orders every morning.

[Sliceanddice]

So is it wrong that the crafter in me is trying to figure out which craft/fabric store this is out of morbid fascination because I know how fabric stores usually look and want to see one bursting at the seams so to speak?

[XCashier]

So is it wrong that the crafter in me is trying to figure out which craft/fabric store this is out of morbid fascination because I know how fabric stores usually look and want to see one bursting at the seams so to speak?

Hint: it's a nationwide chain with a woman's name.

Got another insane shipment Monday. The stockroom is so crowded, my claustrophobia was acting up big time. There's a very narrow path through the stacks of boxes; you can't even get a cart back there. Now that we've finished all the Christmas POGs, we are getting stuff out, but not nearly fast enough.

Worse, stocking during store hours in a store where there aren't nearly enough handhelds to go around, the stocking crew always has to give theirs to the cutting counter people. Today, I had finished stocking everything on my big u-boat cart except for quilting squares and jewelry, and they demanded I give up my handheld. There is no way I can stock jewelry without a handheld. I am severely nearsighted; very strong multi-focal lenses and I still can't read the painfully tiny print on the labels at the very back of the hooks, especially when the blamed things are overlapping. They keep asking us to do more and more, and taking away our tools and help.

I have officially run out of fucks to give. I spent the last part of my shift stocking quilting squares and thread (super-easy to stock). If they won't let me have what I need to get my work done, to hell with them.