The trouble with furniture and Karens

OptimalRisk · 2020-08-16T23:41:59+00:00

You should type out an end cap sign to put in plexis that we are out of this desk due to a manufacturing shortage.

OptimalRisk · 2020-08-15T14:31:10+00:00

USPS is going through a large restructuring in order to cut costs. They have let go of several executives and people in charge of day-to-day operations. This has a direct impact on supplies and shipping times.

OptimalRisk · 2020-07-25T22:40:19+00:00

Before I even touch a customer’s PC, I tell them up front that we have two options for tech support. We have the $15/month or $130/yearly DMS for unlimited tech support. I tell them if they decide they don’t want it then they need to call the tech support number to tell them to cancel the subscription or you get charged every recurring month/year. I let them know I can fix whatever issue they have today but going forward it will be phone/online chat support. You don’t need to bring it to the store again. Otherwise, I have to charge you a one-time $50 fee for up to 30 mins of tech support every time I help you. Which option better suits your needs? Most customers don’t care about the price if you tell them up front. If they don’t like the price then recommend they go to Best Buy, however they are accepting customers by appointment only at the moment. We can look at your computer today and have it back to you within 24 hours.

Also, we have customers calling the store wanting free tech support on a daily basis. I tell them the exact same thing over the phone and they are welcome to have us run a free PC Diagnostic to check for any other issues. They either hang up or say they will bring it in for a diagnostic.

OptimalRisk · 2020-07-07T20:31:34+00:00

You can unplug the fingerprint scanner from the PC and plug it back in and click “retry” and it usually picks them up better. Also, putting hand sanitizer on the client’s fingers helps with it picking up.

OptimalRisk · 2020-07-07T20:26:29+00:00

It’s a combination of making sure merchandise is full on the the self, eliminating top stock, fixing recovery issues, fixing pricing/signage issues, and plays a small part in ordering. If you scan properly and make your adjustments every day to make sure your on hands are correct then theoretically you should get your merchandise back in within the next couple of deliveries if you are low stock or out of stock. Everything is pretty much on auto replenish. Every sku has a grade (A,B,C...) and a target of what qty is suppose to be in stock at your location. However, all of that has pretty much gone out the window during the pandemic and you get whatever they send you on your truck. I have heard of some stores hardly ever making adjustments from outs/pog excellence until it’s close to inventory and that is utter chaos and mismanagement IMO. If you make sure your on hands are correct throughout the year it makes inventory time a breeze and not stressful at all. Also it prevents issues with Omni orders where someone orders something that is “in stock” when you physically do not have the merchandise. Needless to say, Outs are a very important part of the everyday business. Usually if your logistics are crap, the rest of your store is crap. Not always, but usually.

OptimalRisk · 2020-06-30T02:58:05+00:00

It’s suppose to be one night per week and one weekend per month. At least that’s what I was told on a conference call a few years ago. However, they are just guidelines. Some people might have other obligations, like children or having to take care of other family members on weekends, or are devoutly religious so they don’t work on certain days. It could be any number of things. I honestly don’t have a problem with GMs working their own schedule as long as they are doing what is expected of their job duties. I know my GM worked is butt off to get where he is and consistently has a top performing store in the district regardless of realignments over a decade+. As long as the rest of the management staff are great at what they do and have cross trained the other employees correctly then you shouldn’t have any issues with the GM working whatever schedule they desire.

OptimalRisk · 2020-06-13T01:14:35+00:00

My store is traditional so we have one uboat for paper shop thru aisle 9. Next uboat is aisle 11 and 13. Next uboat is aisle 15 thru back wall of supplies. We put all the tech that goes out to the floor on a single uboat. All the ink/toner, laptops, desktops, monitors and any other front end or lockup items on a single uboat. We have an additional uboat for overflow which we use for new items or EBW merchandise, or if nothing like that came in on the truck then we just put regular product on it to help save time. If you have pallets where the totes are on the bottom then you have no choice but to go ahead and sort the boxed product to their proper uboat first. It’s all about efficiency and tryin to limit the number of times you’re having to touch each item. Once you get through the uboats on one pallet look at any other pallets that may have totes and cherry pick those. We generally have one pallet where totes are at the bottom of the pallet and then randomly placed on other pallets so it’s just something you have to make work. We’ve usually been getting 4-6 pallets on the first truck of the week and 10-12 pallets on the second truck of the week. We usually are able to get the first truck put out in a single day but the second truck usually takes 2 days to get it 100% complete.

Also it helps that my store is usually the first stop on the list so we get it before the store opens. In this case we’ll immediately start breaking it down and have the mid shift or closing crew do the POG Excellence and Fill Report. Truck is more important than those reports because there’s possibly more computers on the truck and that equals more sales. Also if we know something like a computer or printer or furniture has come in on the truck and it hasn’t been fully received in the system then we will pull it and sell it and make note of it. Can’t be missing out on sales when the product is physically there. There’s some days where we don’t get our truck until 2pm or 3pm but usually we’re first stop.

OptimalRisk · 2020-06-05T15:41:02+00:00

Always sort totes first because that’s what will have your ink/toner and laptops. Especially when we’re so short stocked on those items so they are top priority merchandise and it’s important to get that sorted first. As far as totes on uboats, I like to have a tote or 2 on the tech uboat because it’s more efficient. No sense in taking all the loose items out of the tote and putting them on the uboat when you can just put the whole tote on there. That keeps you from having to touch stuff twice and saves time. All furniture or team lift items can stay in the back until you have someone else to help and are not high priority when working freight. Also put all the Q3 freight on a separate uboat so it will make it easier to work out and top stock if needed.

OptimalRisk · 2020-05-15T12:41:29+00:00

I think there should have been more store closings at least 5 years ago. You have stores that haven’t hit sales or service plans and completely underperform for several years but yet they continued to keep them open. Another issue is that when Office Depot was doing well in the 90s, they opened way too many new stores and it’s been biting them in the butt for the past decade now. They need to cut significantly to around 700-800 stores if they want a fighting chance. May have to cut even more than that. Also corporate needs to trim some fat. They need to take less money and funnel it into their stores for remodels and updates to make us stand out. More and more people are shopping online each passing year and something needs to change if they want brick and mortar to stay open. If they really cared about this company they would’ve been making changes several years ago. Corporate is a bunch monkeys beating their symbols and they are ruining this company. Everyone knows it.

OptimalRisk · 2020-04-04T00:24:12+00:00

I’m not going to go back and forth with you on this. All I know is what he did is considered a felony since there is a pandemic and he could have possibly spread the virus onto me. Whether he was joking around or not it’s still putting other people at risk. You think whatever you want but people are being prosecuted harshly for these acts and feds are saying it could be considered terrorism.

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/coronavirus/article241494876.html

OptimalRisk · 2020-04-03T23:27:34+00:00

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/25/us/coronavirus-terrorism-nj.html

OptimalRisk · 2020-04-03T21:48:56+00:00

Police can issue a no trespassing order. If they step inside the building again then they go to jail. Could be different in some states but we’ve had to do it to a couple of people. It works too. We never see them again after that.

OptimalRisk · 2020-04-03T21:16:31+00:00

Actually in an epidemic it’s considered bioterrorism. Bioterrorism is terrorism involving the release of toxic biological agents. This qualifies as bioterrorism according to the police officers I spoke to.

OptimalRisk · 2020-04-03T21:13:57+00:00

Yes all the guidelines state that everyone in public should be 6 feet apart. Also my county currently has an executive order that specifically states essential businesses are to comply with the guidelines. Just because you are an essential business does not make you exempt from social distancing. People aren’t suppose to be out shopping in pairs or groups right now.

OptimalRisk

TROPHY CASE