Signs of trouble at Target?

Predicting the demise of Sears & Kmart since 2017!
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storewanderer
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Re: Signs of trouble at Target?

Post by storewanderer »

Kroger has the best self checkout experience of any retailer. They seem to be the only one that actually "gets it." Their self checkouts are, without fail, every store, every division, always staffed. The employee handheld makes it so it is very fast for them to clear out any error, process coupons, large items, etc. I cannot say how many times I've used self checkouts at Raleys or Save Mart and had the machine need assistance but there is no employee anywhere to be found and an open cashier has to page someone or, in the case of Raleys, a courtesy clerk will come over and clear out the error (at least this has happened many times to me at the Reno and Sparks Raleys, maybe they are better elsewhere). The Sparks Safeway also was notorious for not staffing its self checkouts, but those have been removed. All Safeways will be removing self checkout as equipment leases expire under the current plan (this is a plan Safeway/Albertsons really needs to reverse course on).

I have found horribly managed, unmanned self checkouts at many retailers. In the case of Wal Mart, the self checkouts are often about half broken and while they are manned, the employee stands up at the podium and doesn't notice even when a machine locks up.

Kroger's self checkouts seem to be a different vendor hardware/software than most stores.
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Re: Signs of trouble at Target?

Post by arizonaguy »

Target announced today that it would close 13 under-preforming stores by the end of January 2016.

Austin North East in Austin, TX
Suncoast Pasco County in Odessa, FL
Casa Grande, AZ
Victorville, CA
East Flint in Flint, MI
Columbus Southwest in Columbus, OH
Springfield, OH
Northridge in Milwaukee, WI
Superior, WI
New Ulm, MN
Ottumwa, IA
Anderson, IN
Dixie Highway in Louisville, KY

Source: http://www.wtol.com/story/30439123/targ ... pe=generic
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Re: Signs of trouble at Target?

Post by jamcool »

The Casa Grande store is in the same power center that a Best Buy closed a few years ago. Casa Grande doesn't seem to be the place to have a big box center, especially after the housing bust, and the fact that it is only 30-40 minutes away from all of the mass retail in Chandler
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Re: Signs of trouble at Target?

Post by storewanderer »

I seem to recall a pretty nice Frys Marketplace in Casa Grande but it was quite a ways from that power center.

I am a little surprised the Carson City, NV Target is not on the closing list. Maybe next year. It is one of the lowest volume stores in the chain. Zero capital since opening day in 1995, still has the original shopping carts even. The neon fixtures inside look great but a lot of the hanging and other signs are quite discolored. The walls could use a good paint job or cleaning also. Staples and Ross have both abandoned the shopping center it is in.
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Re: Signs of trouble at Target?

Post by Super S »

storewanderer wrote:I find Target seems to have understaffed checkouts and long lines lately. This is in multiple visits in Reno and Sparks lately. They seem to only like to have 1-2 registers open. It takes a line of 5-6 customers before they call for help, and when they call for help the situation is already out of control and it takes a few minutes for their floor help to respond. Then, they are eager to leave the checkout area after helping 1-2 customers.

I also cannot believe how poor the attitude of their help is. Wal Mart has far better employee attitudes than Target (even if the employees at Wal Mart look sloppier). The cashier I had last night did not say one word to me the entire transaction; she had a zombie like look on her face the whole time and did not have one word to say.

Maybe they can add self checkouts like they had in Canada to help the situation.
Target has always had issues with front end staffing. I worked in a Target store briefly during the early 90s. They would provide cashier training for everybody in the store, but only schedule 1-2 cashiers most of the time, and more or less relied on the floor staff to, regardless of whatever you were doing, come running every 5-10 minutes as they repeatedly called for backup cashiers, then grumbled about overtime because of how late we had to stay putting stock away etc. There were typically 2-3 days a year where the front end would be fully staffed. Those days were Black Friday, Christmas Eve, and the day after Christmas. Those were the only days you would ever see all 14 registers open. And the seldom used registers often had issues, everything from very slow printers to scan guns that did not work to not being stocked with bags because they were used to fill other checkstands throughout the year.

Out of all the managers there was only one who would ever help out cashiering. The rest would sometimes YELL on the PA system for backup cashiers when there was no response the first time, but felt like they were above cashiering at all times.
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Re: Signs of trouble at Target?

Post by norcalriteaidclerk »

storewanderer wrote:Kroger has the best self checkout experience of any retailer. They seem to be the only one that actually "gets it." Their self checkouts are, without fail, every store, every division, always staffed. The employee handheld makes it so it is very fast for them to clear out any error, process coupons, large items, etc. I cannot say how many times I've used self checkouts at Raleys or Save Mart and had the machine need assistance but there is no employee anywhere to be found and an open cashier has to page someone or, in the case of Raleys, a courtesy clerk will come over and clear out the error (at least this has happened many times to me at the Reno and Sparks Raleys, maybe they are better elsewhere). The Sparks Safeway also was notorious for not staffing its self checkouts, but those have been removed. All Safeways will be removing self checkout as equipment leases expire under the current plan (this is a plan Safeway/Albertsons really needs to reverse course on).

I have found horribly managed, unmanned self checkouts at many retailers. In the case of Wal Mart, the self checkouts are often about half broken and while they are manned, the employee stands up at the podium and doesn't notice even when a machine locks up.

Kroger's self checkouts seem to be a different vendor hardware/software than most stores.
As of last week,my local Safeway still has self-checkouts.I find them useful to avoid express checkout cheaters(one or more items more than permissible)...

Anyway,back to the intended subject,the Citrus Heights Target(where my sister works)received self checkouts this past summer.I was never thinking that Target would ever put in self-checkouts...
For your life,Thrifty and Payless have got it.
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Re: Signs of trouble at Target?

Post by storewanderer »

Add CVS to the list of chains with unmanned self checkouts. They don't even have an attendant station... quite a few SoCal CVS Stores with self checkouts. I wonder how much theft is taking place with these unmanned self checkouts in a region where stores have even low dollar items locked up... so funny.
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Re: Signs of trouble at Target?

Post by mbz321 »

storewanderer wrote:Add CVS to the list of chains with unmanned self checkouts. They don't even have an attendant station... quite a few SoCal CVS Stores with self checkouts. I wonder how much theft is taking place with these unmanned self checkouts in a region where stores have even low dollar items locked up... so funny.
Everything is so marked up at CVS (and the other 'Pharmacy' chains), I'm sure that is factored in. The last time I purchased something at a CVS (or maybe it was a Walgreens? Who knows?) I remember wandering around to find a cashier (who was stocking shelves). I could have walked out with anything I wanted.
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Re: Signs of trouble at Target?

Post by storewanderer »

I live near a CVS and go there somewhat often for an item or two. Most of the time the store manager (a 25+ year ASC person) is running the front register and is the only visible employee on the front end. He is just standing there the majority of the time as there are not steady transactions. A computer in what was the photo counter seems to be used at some points. It is really humorous to see these drugstore front ends selling so little merchandise and having so little staff. I often think the 7-Eleven sells more merchandise than the CVS front end does in a day but I'm probably wrong.
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Re: Signs of trouble at Target?

Post by Super S »

I was in Vancouver, WA yesterday and visited the Target store in Hazel Dell, another which is giving a questionable impression.

The store seemed to be stocked well enough, but I did notice that there were some empty shelves, and the clothing area had more space in between racks, where there were less items but racks were more spread out. Customer count seemed low compared to the times I have visited the other two locations in Vancouver.

This location is relatively new, having opened in the mid-2000s, but shows signs of wear such as cracked floor tiles (rare for Target) in nearly all areas of the store, and would be justified for a remodel. The Vancouver Plaza store, which is much busier, is undergoing a remodel.

The Hazel Dell Town Center, where this store is located, seems to be struggling. One of the original tenants was a Best Buy which closed fairly quickly (now Craft Warehouse), a major factor was the fact they had a store a few miles away at Jantzen Beach which is free of sales tax. Coincidentally, Target has a newer store there as well. But other spaces are vacant such as a Bed Bath and Beyond, and a Famous Footwear, among a few others. An Applebee's nearby also recently closed. There is a Kohl's in the same plaza which seems to be doing OK. But there was a proposed grocery store at the beginning that never was built, most likely Albertsons which had a 1970s era store nearby at the time (now Grocery Outlet). Albertsons supposedly backed out due to their own problems.

Target seems to do well in Vancouver/Portland, but, judging by the immediate area, I am not sure that this particular location is doing all that well.
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