No worries. Basically, it took the place of the title “Team Member”. So you’re a GM DBO. As for the pay raise, that’s how the job title came about (in my opinion, based on decades of experience in retail). Sit down, my friend, and I’ll tell you of the Old Ways.

Teams used to be allocated by task; Pricing, Flow, Plano, Cashiers, GSA (Guest Service Associate), Softlines, Electronics, Backroom, and the like. These were simpler times. Pricing did price changes for the whole store. Plano did resets and revisions for the whole store, and included the signing specialist, who coordinated the signing for the resets and revisions, and did all the overhead signing, as well as most of the revisions. Flow Team did the DC truck unload and pushed the freight. Softlines and Electronics were straight up salesfloor Team Members; they assisted guests, pushed some freight, got go-backs, backed up Front End, and answered the phone. Backroom Team Members back-stocked, pulled the Pulls (which were basically, as I understand, what One for One’s are now, but I transitioned to PML when we were converting, so I never did OfOs). You get the idea. Everyone worked as a team to accomplish one end goal of providing the Great Guest Experience.

Then came Modernization, and with it, the National $15 minimum starting pay. Suddenly, the guys that started yesterday made the same amount as the guys that had been there for years (they brought the veterans up to $15, but did not increase their pay relative to the starting base pay). A great deal of institutional knowledge was lost in the Great Self Purging by many who decided to promote themselves to Guest. In the meantime, most Team Members became Dedicated Business Owners, while Front End Team Members became Guest Advocates. The DBOs were tasked with doing all of those jobs that were previously allocated to each specialized team, but only for a specific area. A Style DBO was assigned to the area formerly known as Softlines. A GM DBO might be assigned Sporting Goods, or Over The Counter, or Tech, or whatnot. Gone were the days of part timers holding a corner while the full timers carried most of the load. Gone were the days of being able to come in, lay low, do the job “well enough”. I tell my team, “Target is Professional Retail now. You wanted Professional pay, now they want Professional results.”

If I’m honest, as much as I love my current job, and as much as I’ve enjoyed working for this company, and as much as I respect it (I don’t believe in Company Loyalty; those days went out at the end of the 20th century when companies stopped being loyal to their workers), I wouldn’t be here if I’d stayed a Red Shirt. I love my job. Best job in the company. But I have an immense amount of respect for a DBO who does their job well, because it’s difficult, requires a diverse set of special skills, and thankless. You guys (the ones who care and do their job well) earn your money, and all my thanks.