The membership desk: They've reduced it and the space it occupies, in pretty much direct correlation with the number of associates they have on the payroll in the average club; now, versus ten years ago. Think about that for a moment and then ask yourself how they can continue to rationalize the ability to maintain a smooth operation with such a radical reduction of staff. The numbers will never add up. Just because you, "empower", more associates to be able to handle more responsibilities through cross-training and altering job descriptions, doesn't mean you can realistically reduce the number of associates you employ to the effect that this company has done in the last decade. Last I checked, all or most of us have two hands, two arms, two legs, and eight hours in our shift. Adding more knowledge and responsibility doesn't automatically make us faster, stronger, more resourceful, or better at managing our time. Quite the contrary. I may be able to handle a greater number of processes in the grand scheme, but if I am now being pulled in ten different directions instead of six or seven, some of the things I once had adequate time to accomplish are going to be impacted negatively. The entire, "work smarter, not harder", philosophy can only be carried so far before things begin to deteriorate. You can attribute this theory throughout the entire club, no matter which location you care to use as an example.
Let's use someone on the 3:00 PM - 11:30 PM shift as an example: They punch in and are given six club pickup orders of varying sizes to pull. Some of them are relatively simple and some are of the larger, heavier variety. Many of the items are readily available but some are not. Of those that are not, how many of them are in the steel and how many are sitting on the dock waiting to be brought out? So they pull what they can and notate what they can't. That's fine, we'll pull what remains later on when they've dropped it. In between all this, members may need help with something, carts may have to brought in from the parking lot, someone may even need to have something rung up at the jewelry register. They may even pull this person off of what they're doing because something needs to be dropped and another spotter is needed. At 5:00 this person goes on break and there's still two orders to finish but now they're panicking because only one person is out there zoning. So, they set everything aside and start zoning in grocery. More members needing assistance finding things, another turn as a spotter for a drop or series of drops, frozen and dairy shows up and needs to be run to the cooler and freezer....and now it's 7:00 and they have to go off the clock. At 7:30 they go back to their club pickups and finish them as best they can, resume zoning, the store closes, and now they have to get on a lift and drop paper, water, soda, and back stock for endcaps and pods. Now it's after 9:30 and they take their last break. They've got less than two hours to stock, finish zoning, put away whatever partials are left from what was dropped, and try to drop as much for the 4:00 AM people as time allows. The store still looks terrible, there are still holes everywhere, the dock is still full because there is only one person working back there and three hours aren't enough to run out a full DC and a water truck and maybe even a paper truck, AND empty at least one of the other DCs. There were also three other associates there - on a good night - and while they managed to get most of their stuff done, they couldn't get to everything because they were being pulled in numerous directions, too. The manager and TL are in the same boat, dividing their time between the dock and the floor, running freight, stocking, zoning, and doing manager and TL things. This is a vicious cycle and it's like this every day. Some days you have five people, some days three. Some days there are three left drivers on the floor, some days only one. The dock is NEVER empty when you leave. The product the morning crew has to stock is NEVER fully dropped. There is NEVER a day where there are dozens of holes throughout the store. There is NEVER a night where every DC in the door is empty. There is NEVER a night that the store is even close to 100% zoned. And finally, there is NEVER a morning where the day crew is able to fulfill all their responsibilities either.
So, for the umpteenth time, I ask you: How can you possibly justify the operational misstep of trading eight full hours of readying an entire store for the next day with eight to ten people nonstop; for six hours - in two separate three hour shifts with no more than six people on either one - of, "working smarter, not harder", lunacy? How?!?
The numbers do not add up. The numbers NEVER will add up. You have failed and you will continue to FAIL.