The Woolworths Thread (23 Viewers)

[iMatthew]

Zomg I want phones in between our registers!! We don't even have P.A's, you are screaming your message to the service desk when on the far register

 

[babikakez]

lol at the total image email, basically order something now, expect it in june.
ffs.

 

[greekgun]

Zomg I want phones in between our registers!! We don't even have P.A's, you are screaming your message to the service desk when on the far register

wtf?! ur registers dont have phones? how are u supposed to contact other registers (especially the customer service desk), call for price checks, or even call for a robery alert (not sure what u guys call it...think u call it service 0 or something?).

 

[babikakez]

pathetic little bells on approx half the registers
and there's a button on the screen that you can not-so-discretely press to call a supervisor, but i wouldn't be relying on that.

 

[babikakez]

tbh i think at times phones would be more efficient, but i do see what you're saying.

One thing that I've noticed with this whole 'supervisor on the floor' movement is that a heap of phonecalls are being missed, because the supervisor is nowhere near the service desk and the supervisors in express are terrified that the moment they leave their register to answer it they will have their heads bitten off.


The call security/supervisor buttons send an alert to cash office via the computer. Cash office is then supposed to call the service desk and whoever answers checks that you're okay.
Pretty unreliable though.

 

[iMatthew]

I've pressed the "Call SVR" button several times and absolutely nothing had been done or had come to me.

wtf?! ur registers dont have phones? how are u supposed to contact other registers (especially the customer service desk), call for price checks, or even call for a robery alert (not sure what u guys call it...think u call it service 0 or something?).

Nope, nothing at all. We have pathetic bells which are useless half the time. Oh, and thats if the bells actually work and are not missing.

Hey PM me your roster sir

 

[DM Mike]

The call security/supervisor buttons send an alert to cash office via the computer. Cash office is then supposed to call the service desk and whoever answers checks that you're okay.
Pretty unreliable though.

I really hope they take those buttons out of the POS at the next update. Especially now with Project Phoenix the Cash Office isnt staffed anywhere near as much its a very bad thing to have, at the very least they should change it to something similar to a recall, where if it happens the Service and the 2 lowest registers get a note theres a security call...

Although security is pretty dodgy at woolies anyway, I was the subject of an assault at work one morning, the fiasco that followed means if something happens again to me ill be dealing with it my own way, and CMS will be last on the list of phonecalls...

 

[babikakez]

I really hope they take those buttons out of the POS at the next update. Especially now with Project Phoenix the Cash Office isnt staffed anywhere near as much its a very bad thing to have, at the very least they should change it to something similar to a recall, where if it happens the Service and the 2 lowest registers get a note theres a security call...

Although security is pretty dodgy at woolies anyway, I was the subject of an assault at work one morning, the fiasco that followed means if something happens again to me ill be dealing with it my own way, and CMS will be last on the list of phonecalls...

I agree. I went into cash office a few weeks ago at the end of the day (around 6.30) to pack up tills, and noone had been in there since about 4pm ish. I noticed a message that had been there since around 4.15. Now obviously nothing drastic had happened and I'm sure it was an accident, but its still not helpful.
Or even sending the message to a smokeshop register might help? I know for us our smokeshop registers are constantly in use and there's always someone nearby who could deal with it.

 

[lordtopcat]

Yeah, those buttons are useless here considering the Cash Office is unmanned from 11am onwards every day.

 

[MMacka]

wtf?! ur registers dont have phones? how are u supposed to contact other registers (especially the customer service desk), call for price checks, or even call for a robery alert (not sure what u guys call it...think u call it service 0 or something?).

In Christmas 2008 I had a bag snatch right next to my till, but the customer managed to keep a hold of it and there was a little fight. It was a new store and luckily my till was the only one with a PA attached to it (since it was the second furthest away from service desk. I tried to call service 100 and it wouldn't work (dodgy woolworths PA's) so then I rang my bell continuously which was also broke, eventually my supervisor got the message and called over her PA.

It would be great to have the security button link to every till with a red message "SERVICE 100" when pressed. That way the supervisor would know somethings going on a lot quicker, can ring for help etc.

 

[Harry778]

yeah, for example, registers 9 and 10 are back-to-back, so they share one.
it's mainly so we can call them from the service desk, and to use the p.a function.
we have 25 registers, so it would be hard if we had to keep running around all day telling people to jump off to do stock or go to tea, etc.

My store has one on the very last large register (Reg 21 and 22). Cos you can hardly hear the bells all the way up there. It can only ring the service desk though. And the office can ring it and be like WHERE IS YOUR PICK UP? Hahaha.

 

[babikakez]

Yeah, I understand what your saying with it having the potential to be more efficient, but what I was referring to is that if you have all these people ringing the service desk in busy periods, it becomes more difficult to manage whats going on for the svr.

Also what is this "supervisor on the floor?" I think I may have missed that...

Is it just that supervisors are meant to be on the floor waiting for bells etc?

Also, at my old store when the phone was going off I used to answer it anyway (towards the end of my time there I wasn't supposed to ~ the supervisor must do it.)

The CSM told me that I wasn't allowed to answer the phone while the boss is there... I told her that "well, he seems O.K when I answer it and he's on the other end of a night... He must think that during the day I can't answer the fucking phone!"

My new SM has decided that whoever is the IC supervisor is not allowed in express or service desk, they have to be on the floor doing baskets/cleaning/tidying/waiting for bells etc. The problem is that you can't hear the phone if you're doing that all properly :/ And I'd hate to answer the phone and then cop abuse from the floor supervisor for not serving.
So yes its just as you thought, but its just a bit difficult for us to adjust seeing as we're so used to the supervisor spending half the day serving in express.

And it doesn't help that I seriously don't know where I stand anymore. On Friday my 2IC spent the whole afternoon in express, and even though my CSM was asking her to do stuff, she just shrugged her shoulders and left it to me. But then Saturday she bitched to the other supervisor about how I never stay on my register and just to shove me in smokeshop so I stay there.

I wish I'd pointed out that I was actually rostered in nontrade and was only on frontend because I had nothing to do, and waltzed up to cash office and stayed there.
This is why I did NOT want to come back to Saturday afternoons on checkouts.

 

[wixxy2348]

My Boss would not know I was in, not many people around on a sunday. And when I was in supermarkets I did 8 hours a week more that normal like all salary people do so doing the extra bit is not hard

8 extra hours/week on store level?
Zomg.
...



Anyway. Found out that my upcoming 4-6 weeks 2IC relief are gonna be total balls. The manager is acting STM, and one of our pastrycooks is going on holidays... and we can't replace their hours apparently. FML.

Had a nice talk with SM and the bakery specialist today, though. Also, looking like I might be able to get out of a lot of express alerts from now on. I closed my register off after exploding at a couple of customers today... I simply told the SSM (who told me to go on) that I couldn't handle it, and he didn't argue, just asked me if I wanted to go on tea and have a chat over coffee. I declined, but I still got out of the rest of the express alert.

 

[PyroTek]

Sorry wixxy .

 

[babikakez]

i now have pants that fit!
zomg.
liz, you better be proud of my epic sewing skills

 

[tubtub]

is anyone applying for the woolies grad program? have you done the reference part? im giving it a try, but does anyone know anything more about it? whats it like, is it long hours, challenging, where is the location for finance? any insight is much appreciated.

 

[PyroTek]

I think today was the last day of entry? :S

 

[shinji]

Monday 22ndwas the last day of entry.
they already did extend it from the 14th so yeah.

All i know atm is that it's located at Norwest (headoffice).

 

[yoddle]

My new SM has decided that whoever is the IC supervisor is not allowed in express or service desk, they have to be on the floor doing baskets/cleaning/tidying/waiting for bells etc. The problem is that you can't hear the phone if you're doing that all properly :/ And I'd hate to answer the phone and then cop abuse from the floor supervisor for not serving.
So yes its just as you thought, but its just a bit difficult for us to adjust seeing as we're so used to the supervisor spending half the day serving in express.

And it doesn't help that I seriously don't know where I stand anymore. On Friday my 2IC spent the whole afternoon in express, and even though my CSM was asking her to do stuff, she just shrugged her shoulders and left it to me. But then Saturday she bitched to the other supervisor about how I never stay on my register and just to shove me in smokeshop so I stay there.

I wish I'd pointed out that I was actually rostered in nontrade and was only on frontend because I had nothing to do, and waltzed up to cash office and stayed there.
This is why I did NOT want to come back to Saturday afternoons on checkouts.

I actually can't wait until she leaves, I might think my CSM is the biggest bitch ever but at least she's consistently horrible.

So i've found an advantage of a small store, we have no troubles with bells. If the supervisor is too busy to answer them we just nip into the service desk and get the smokes ourselves, or if someone in my vicinity needs an override i just tell them my numbers from where I am.

So i got to work at 4 yesterday and both our SSM and SM had gone and we now have two new permanent SM and SSM. The SSM lives here and is a family friend, but tends to be very divisive, once you get on her bad side you're there FOREVER. As a consequence most of the people who are department managers hate her because she used to be SSM here when they were working up the ladder. The SM is a Woolies die-hard who's apparently very competent, and i did notice all the ends looked stunning yesterday.

But I was very sad about the SM-for-two-weeks leaving, he was really cool and very young, like mid-twenties, for an SM. Appaz he didn't know he was leaving until Sunday afternoon, he even said "see you tomorrow" when he left. Hr must have been on some crack.

My ros-ros:
MON: 1600-2100 OPERATOR
TUE: off
WED: 1515-2115 SUPVSN
THU: 1000-1900 OPERATOR
FRI: 1215-2115 SUPVSN
SAT: 1015-1915 SUPVSN
SUN: off

 

[lordtopcat]

Eek my profile is number 2 for 'Woolworths bitching' on Google

:O