Page 4 of 4
Re: Target debuts new store designs to launch in October
Posted: November 16th, 2018, 10:26 am
by Super S
storewanderer wrote: ↑November 15th, 2018, 11:00 pm
Better operators/better store directors frequently walk departments to monitor conditions but in the Target world I get the impression the store management is generally in the office.
I worked at a Target store for a couple years in the early 1990s. In that time we went through four store managers. The first one frequently walked the store. The second and third ones rarely left the office.
One in particular would stand at the service desk and YELL over the PA for backup cashiers every ten minutes, and frequently threatened to write people working other areas of the store up who did not come running every time, this happened while they were lucky to have two cashiers total in the evenings. She NEVER would step in and use a register at any time. During that time, things occurred such as refusing to order ink ribbons for the IBM 4683 registers until ALL of them were used up, often ribbons would be used from less-used registers and would get to the point that the ink was barely legible. And the front end ran completely out of bags a couple times which was embarrassing to say the least.
The final manager was the best, he often walked the store and took care of things, and often would come down from the office and cashier as needed, and would sometimes even be seen bringing out a ladder to change light bulbs and doing other maintenance related tasks as he was the only one who truly seemed concerned about how the store looked overall. That manager also once told me that he did not care for how Target positioned the office upstairs behind mirrored glass to "look down" on the employees and would have preferred an office near the front end.
I will not pretend to know all manager duties, but a store works better when management mingles with employees and gains a better understanding of how the store works instead of staying in the office all the time.
Re: Target debuts new store designs to launch in October
Posted: November 16th, 2018, 2:26 pm
by babs
Super S wrote: ↑November 16th, 2018, 10:26 am
storewanderer wrote: ↑November 15th, 2018, 11:00 pm
Better operators/better store directors frequently walk departments to monitor conditions but in the Target world I get the impression the store management is generally in the office.
I worked at a Target store for a couple years in the early 1990s. In that time we went through four store managers. The first one frequently walked the store. The second and third ones rarely left the office.
One in particular would stand at the service desk and YELL over the PA for backup cashiers every ten minutes, and frequently threatened to write people working other areas of the store up who did not come running every time, this happened while they were lucky to have two cashiers total in the evenings. She NEVER would step in and use a register at any time. During that time, things occurred such as refusing to order ink ribbons for the IBM 4683 registers until ALL of them were used up, often ribbons would be used from less-used registers and would get to the point that the ink was barely legible. And the front end ran completely out of bags a couple times which was embarrassing to say the least.
The final manager was the best, he often walked the store and took care of things, and often would come down from the office and cashier as needed, and would sometimes even be seen bringing out a ladder to change light bulbs and doing other maintenance related tasks as he was the only one who truly seemed concerned about how the store looked overall. That manager also once told me that he did not care for how Target positioned the office upstairs behind mirrored glass to "look down" on the employees and would have preferred an office near the front end.
I will not pretend to know all manager duties, but a store works better when management mingles with employees and gains a better understanding of how the store works instead of staying in the office all the time.
I worked at Target during the same time. We had some amazing managers, several who got transferred to Minneapolis for well-deserved corporate level positions. But at the same time I remember our store manager leaving. There was another store less than 5 miles away. As a cost savings move, they decided to have one store manager oversee both stores. It was a disaster. This guy who was only a few years away from retirement and not in the best health or shape never left his office. Our store went down in the dumps. As a store manager, you don't get to decide what you sell, establish pricing or market the store. Your role is to operate the store as a well oiled machine. When store ops goes down the drain, customers notice and that's on the store manager.
Re: Target debuts new store designs to launch in October
Posted: November 28th, 2018, 9:24 am
by Super S
Target has apparently opened another small format store in Portland, at a former bowling alley along Powell Blvd:
https://katu.com/news/local/target-spar ... ing-center
I will check this out next time I am in the area. It looks interesting to say the least, and a bit unusual for Target to pay homage to history in any of their stores. (I think they should at least restore the neon on the old "BOWL" sign they placed indoors on the wall.) This one also has a road sign that mimics the old bowling alley sign, but has the new lowercase logo in it. I am not so sure about exposed ceilings and what appears to be strip lights in a Target though.
Re: Target debuts new store designs to launch in October
Posted: November 28th, 2018, 12:31 pm
by BreakingThrough
Super S wrote: ↑November 28th, 2018, 9:24 am
Target has apparently opened another small format store in Portland, at a former bowling alley along Powell Blvd:
https://katu.com/news/local/target-spar ... ing-center
I will check this out next time I am in the area. It looks interesting to say the least, and a bit unusual for Target to pay homage to history in any of their stores. (I think they should at least restore the neon on the old "BOWL" sign they placed indoors on the wall.) This one also has a road sign that mimics the old bowling alley sign, but has the new lowercase logo in it. I am not so sure about exposed ceilings and what appears to be strip lights in a Target though.
Wow, cool. That's the most creative Target I've ever seen -- by far.
Re: Target debuts new store designs to launch in October
Posted: November 28th, 2018, 1:26 pm
by Brian Lutz
That's actually pretty cool. Aside from Trader Joe's, I can't really think of a lot of national retailers that do much in the way of "local" designs, instead preferring uniformity across the chain. About the only example that comes to mind would be the Haggen "Northwest Fresh" stores that they tried in some converted Top Foods stores just prior to the Safeway debacle that sunk them. Basically, they tried to go for "local" branding throughout the store, but the problem was that the effect basically came off as "Bellingham Fresh." which probably just confused people in Bellevue or Tacoma.
Re: Target debuts new store designs to launch in October
Posted: November 28th, 2018, 2:19 pm
by SamSpade
Super S wrote: ↑November 28th, 2018, 9:24 am
Target has apparently opened another small format store in Portland, at a former bowling alley along Powell Blvd:
https://katu.com/news/local/target-spar ... ing-center
I will check this out next time I am in the area. It looks interesting to say the least, and a bit unusual for Target to pay homage to history in any of their stores. (I think they should at least restore the neon on the old "BOWL" sign they placed indoors on the wall.) This one also has a road sign that mimics the old bowling alley sign, but has the new lowercase logo in it. I am not so sure about exposed ceilings and what appears to be strip lights in a Target though.
It's a beautiful store. Small. Basically a souped up drugstore with a modest Target apparel department in the center.
Fewer hours than most Targets, including others in Portland.
I'd been meaning to post about it but work & holidays got in the way.
