# I move too fast, said the guest...



## TheClopen (Oct 22, 2021)

One time in Tech it was a really busy day and I was moving at warp 9 speed trying to push truck and tackle the workload. 

Then these 2 guests come into Tech looking around the department and called me over with a question about an item so I stopped real quick answered the question and gave my recommendation, then left to go back to pushing the truck.
Well, they then went and complained to a TL about how I was moving too fast and they felt they couldn't "Approach" me. So the TL called me over we both answered some more of their questions then they walked to the front. 
The TL totally sided with me because he knew I did stop and help them and he knows that I'm never one to get a guest complaint so he was confused as to what they were even complaining about. I was moving too fast and they wanted me to slow down??? Made no sense. 
So then after complaining to him they decided to go up to the front and complain to a higher-up ETL which then caused the ETL to come back to Tech and ask me about what happened? So I said, "I stopped, helped the guest and answered any questions then went back to work". The ETL said "well the guest felt that you were not very Approachable because you were moving too fast..."

So now I'm completely confused the guest was mad because I was good at my job by getting the work done really quickly by moving too fast??? They didn't like this because they felt they couldn't stop me, so they not only go and complain to a TL but also an ETL... Excuse me but wuuuut??? 
Well to this day I still move fast and I get stuff done because of it, I go into work every day to actually work, I'm not gonna change who I am and how I work because one guest doesn't like it.


Has this ever happened to anyone else? But I guess the Guest is First!


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## Hardlinesmaster (Oct 22, 2021)

TheClopen said:


> One time in Tech it was a really busy day and I was moving at warp 9 speed trying to push truck and tackle the workload.
> 
> Then these 2 guests come into Tech looking around the department and called me over with a question about an item so I stopped real quick answered the question and gave my recommendation, then left to go back to pushing the truck.
> Well, they then went and complained to a TL about how I was moving too fast and they felt they couldn't "Approach" me. So the TL called me over we both answered some more of their questions then they walked to the front.
> ...


You did not do the GUEST thing 100%.
Greet, Understand, Engage, Solve, Thank


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## TheClopen (Oct 22, 2021)

Hardlinesmaster said:


> You did not do the GUEST thing 100%.
> Greet, Understand, Engage, Solve, Thank


You're right I missed the T. I usually just say have a great day! As my form of thank you. 
But I know "Thank you for choosing Target today" or a similar option would be the appropriate Target official way.


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## seasonaldude (Oct 22, 2021)

There are guests who complain about anything and everything. You haven't worked at Target until you've had a guest complain that you're stocking the floor in their presence or helping another guest instead of helping them.

Don't worry about it. Guests rhymes with Pests for a reason.


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## redeye58 (Oct 22, 2021)

They wanted you standing there waiting in case they had any other questions.
Yet, if you kept asking if they needed anything else or had any other questions they would've complained that you were badgering them.
There seems to be no happy medium.
Same thing happens at my SB counter: I'll greet them, answer a few questions, wait a few while they stare blankly at the menu/talk on their phone/mutter among themselves.
Then, as soon as I go back to tasks behind the counter, they'll either have ONE MORE question or wander off because I wasn't standing there waiting breathlessly for them to decide.
Damned if you do, damned if you don't.


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## Black Sheep 214 (Oct 23, 2021)

redeye58 said:


> They wanted you standing there waiting in case they had any other questions.
> Yet, if you kept asking if they needed anything else or had any other questions they would've complained that you were badgering them.
> There seems to be no happy medium.
> Same thing happens at my SB counter: I'll greet them, answer a few questions, wait a few while they stare blankly at the menu/talk on their phone/mutter among themselves.
> ...


This is why decaf exists…and degreaser.😁


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## Black Sheep 214 (Oct 23, 2021)

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂


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## can't touch this (Oct 23, 2021)

_The Fast And The Furious_


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## 60SecondsRemaining (Oct 24, 2021)

Hardlinesmaster said:


> You did not do the GUEST thing 100%.
> Greet, Understand, Engage, Solve, Thank


Wait is this an actual thing they push?


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## Hardlinesmaster (Oct 24, 2021)

60SecondsRemaining said:


> Wait is this an actual thing they push?


Yes. The vibe is back.


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## FlowTeamChick (Oct 24, 2021)

Some people just like to complain. Perhaps the guest didn't get the apology they felt was necessary from the TL so they told the ETL as well.
I move pretty quickly too, given my short little legs, and I tend to be less helpful to maskless guests. I still answer their question, but it's more to the point, less engaged. Sort of expecting one of them to complain about me sooner or later.
And sometimes, you just can't win for losing. Move to slowly and another guest will complain about something not being on the shelf already.


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## NKG (Oct 24, 2021)

Only advice I can give is greet them 1st then ask if they have any additional questions when the conversation feels over with then say " I'll be unpacking some boxes but let me know if you have any more questions " It will give them the impression your approachable and willingness to help.


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## qmosqueen (Oct 24, 2021)

60SecondsRemaining said:


> Wait is this an actual thing they push?


Yes we even have wrist bands.


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## TheClopen (Oct 25, 2021)

qmosqueen said:


> Yes we even have wrist bands.


Oh lord...


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## NotCynicalYet (Oct 25, 2021)

Imagine complaining to not one, but two managers about that. But I see that one a lot since I'm S&E. When I have that kind of guest, I tell them that it's good they talked to me because I'm exactly the right person to talk to about service issues and I promise I'll take care of it, take it seriously, etc. That cuts way down on the "can I speak to the manager of the manager and also the CEO and the CEO's mother" lunatics. I knew my acting training would come in handy some day....lol.


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## IhateOPmodel (Oct 25, 2021)

I always say, "is there anything else I can help you with?". This way I can walk away without the bothering me again. And it gives them the opportunity to ask more questions.


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## 60SecondsRemaining (Oct 25, 2021)

qmosqueen said:


> Yes we even have wrist bands.



Imagine trying to structure human interaction.  It's such a personal thing - I can't imagine anything like this ever resulting in anything but a bunch of employees who come off like robots and very impersonal, cold interactions...


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## TheClopen (Oct 25, 2021)

60SecondsRemaining said:


> Imagine trying to structure human interaction.  It's such a personal thing - I can't imagine anything like this ever resulting in anything but a bunch of employees who come off like robots and very impersonal, cold interactions...


Beep Boop hello guest I am here to serve you...do you need...any help TODAY???


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## NotCynicalYet (Oct 25, 2021)

60SecondsRemaining said:


> Imagine trying to structure human interaction.  It's such a personal thing - I can't imagine anything like this ever resulting in anything but a bunch of employees who come off like robots and very impersonal, cold interactions...


At the risk of being an uncool corporate drone, I really like GUEST. It's a little awkward because understand and engage are basically the same in practice, but I think most of my team does better when they have a mental template to work from, at least until their guest service skills get to the point where they understand how to best help people in our environment, for our brand (this takes a lot of time and experience as it's a skillset that requires practice, trial, and error - see how much better TLs are at addressing concerns than TMs, and how much better ETLs are than TLs, etc). I really hate corporate euphemism and acronyms - I think everyone does - but this one helps imo.


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## 60SecondsRemaining (Oct 26, 2021)

NotCynicalYet said:


> At the risk of being an uncool corporate drone, I really like GUEST. It's a little awkward because understand and engage are basically the same in practice, but I think most of my team does better when they have a mental template to work from, at least until their guest service skills get to the point where they understand how to best help people in our environment, for our brand (this takes a lot of time and experience as it's a skillset that requires practice, trial, and error - see how much better TLs are at addressing concerns than TMs, and how much better ETLs are than TLs, etc). I really hate corporate euphemism and acronyms - I think everyone does - but this one helps imo.



I think that's fair.  I was there before the "can I help you find something" Era and we struggled a lot with that when it first started.

My team engaged the customer but they didn't say those specific words, and it turned into a battle between myself and my idiotic etl at the time who wanted to force them all to use the same exact phrase instead and engaging personally.

If it helps it helps, and in hindsight it doesn't seem as prescriptive as CIHYFS


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## bloodyred (Oct 26, 2021)

Hardlinesmaster said:


> Yes. The vibe is back.


Are you moving an inch? lol  Worst thing ever done, taking away recognition cards and trying to evolve something that wasn't broken!


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## NotCynicalYet (Oct 26, 2021)

60SecondsRemaining said:


> I think that's fair.  I was there before the "can I help you find something" Era and we struggled a lot with that when it first started.
> 
> My team engaged the customer but they didn't say those specific words, and it turned into a battle between myself and my idiotic etl at the time who wanted to force them all to use the same exact phrase instead and engaging personally.
> 
> If it helps it helps, and in hindsight it doesn't seem as prescriptive as CIHYFS


The idea of a script is rather awful! I hope they don't bring anything like that back.


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## Hardlinesmaster (Oct 27, 2021)

bloodyred said:


> Are you moving an inch? lol  Worst thing ever done, taking away recognition cards and trying to evolve something that wasn't broken!


I am old school. I was not a fan of the vibe.


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## StargazerOmega (Nov 28, 2021)

I get the idea of the GUEST model, but I tend to use my own mental template, just because it sounds more natural coming out of my mouth lol.


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## Ringwraith917 (Nov 30, 2021)

I would be like "absolutely won't happen again." And not change anything. Because they can't have their cake and eat it too. Guests don't complain about this type of thing often enough to make it worthwhile to allow yourself to fall behind on your tasks just in case they do. A lot of times when leaders talk to you they don't actually want what they're asking. They just want to be able to say that they talked to you about it so if their leadership asks them they don't have to lie about having spoken to you about it. What they really want is for everything to stay "green" and not to be bothered


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## TTB (Dec 3, 2021)

i felt this in my soul because YES this has happened and is happening to me. I am being told by my leaders to not take long with the guest unlock the product sell it and get truck or workload done. They fucking emphasized to me the other day that I dont get commision so the guest should already.know what they want so my job is not guest first its PROdUcTivity bECAUse thats the Numbers our new DICK WAD DM cares about apparently not the sales. So another lead said thats what they want they want me to unlock the product and just get shit done "with urgency" is how she put it. they already get their numbers with opu so my sales dont mean shit. so they want the product on the.shelf they want plano price change audit books revlogs done but its fucking  Q4 and seasonal tm called out  or they just dont give enough hours because payroll is going to all the  new bs management who dont communicate /give conflicting orders/ write documented conversations for bullshit reasons / are on a power trip.....etc. so guess who they call to help get elf on shelf or a xmas tree or.even a damn bike. so yeah im dealing with this shit. I help guests alllll shift long but it is unappreciated because they want that truck push ASAP and if i dont get it done i get a coaching. im one coaching away from a CA what kinda bullshit is that.. they are basically trying to make us move.fast and blow off.the.guest and just.ring them up quickly and get back to our tasks. I had a guest can't decide between the blue or black bluetooth speaker. i said take the blue one i like the blue one! very quickly so i can get back to my truck. she got to the register and kept changing her mind!!!! I am at the breaking point where I am apologizing and explaining that I have a lot of work to finish just take this one of you don't like it return it tomorrow. Some of them see my suffering. some just dont fucking care. Once they know that I am knowledgeable they just stand there grabbing everything i know about the product. which normally i dont mind but my leaders dont want me wasting this time they want me to just ring them up quicky and go push.or do my task quickly. I am having a hard time with this as this is not how i was trained and I have always helped guests and always work as hard as I can.


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