Shownotes
Target's new "10-4" policy requires employees to smile and wave at customers within 10 feet, and personally greet them within 4 feet. Is this explicit instruction necessary for today's workforce, or a forced, performative approach that signals deeper cultural problems?
Former Target store manager Chris Walton shares insider perspective on why this policy reveals how far store culture has declined, while Anne argues that explicit direction is needed for first-time workers entering the retail job market. Kelly calls it "firmly over and out," while Waqas warns it could give employees an excuse to avoid customers entirely.
Sponsored A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and Quorso.
For the full episode head here
#Target #CustomerService #RetailOperations #StoreManagement #RetailCulture
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy
Transcripts
Target has instituted a new policy that requires employees who are within 10ft of customers to smile, make eye contact, wave, and use friendly, approachable and welcoming body language.
Speaker A:Huh.
Speaker A:I didn't even think about that until just now.
Speaker A:According to USA Today, if staff members are within 4ft of customers, they must personally greet guests, smile, and indicate a warm, helpful interaction.
Speaker A:The requirements are part of a program called Tickets 10 4.
Speaker A:The program is one way Target is trying to elevate the shopping experience.
Speaker A:The company did not say, however, when the policy will go into effect or whether employees will be reprimanded if they don't abide by the policy.
Speaker A:All right, Kelly, are you 10 for good buddy or 10 four over and out on Target's new in store service policy?
Speaker B:I think I'm over and out on this one, thank you.
Speaker B:I am actually going to say I'm firmly over and out on this.
Speaker A:Firmly over and out.
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Yeah, I was not expecting that.
Speaker A:All right, why?
Speaker B:Obviously, I encourage all store associates to be friendly and helpful.
Speaker B:So it's not that I'm anti being friendly and helpful, but it just, it feels very forced and performative to have this like measured distance rule of interaction.
Speaker B:And I think for Target too, when, when people go into a Target, they're not looking for this boutique guided shopping experience.
Speaker B:You know, you're, you're either going in on a mission and you want to do your shopping and get out, or you are browsing.
Speaker B:But like it's, it's that treasure hunt.
Speaker B:You want to explore and, and find things on your own time.
Speaker B:I, I feel that having someone kind of in your face and guiding you through the store is, is not the model that they've been so successful with.
Speaker B:So it feels very awkward to me.
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker A:Interesting.
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker A:How the brand has changed too.
Speaker A:If you step back and think about what Kelly just said.
Speaker A:All right, Ann, what do you think?
Speaker A:Do you agree with Kelly?
Speaker A:Do you, are you are, are you ten four over and out?
Speaker A:Are you ten for Good Buddy on this one?
Speaker C:I, I, I don't know which, which place I land.
Speaker C:I think I'm, I'm more 104 good buddy on it because I have a 15 year old entering the job market and they need explicit direction on what to do in a store, like more so than I can explain.
Speaker C:So I think if you are, if you do have a policy that you want to enact, like many retailers do, you need to be very specific on what your expectations are.
Speaker C:And I, and I think that it's coming at a time, especially during the holidays.
Speaker C:Where people do need more assistance than normal or throughout the rest of the year with finding products or trying to get a lot of things accomplished while they're at your store.
Speaker C:And second, I would say it does feel in my, you know, anecdotally, in my experience being in a Target, that a lot of the people that you see are very focused on fulfilling those curbside orders and so they're driving the car.
Speaker C:Like that seems to be the focus of the employees that I see in the store.
Speaker C:So I do think it would be helpful to remind them that you're also serving the customer that's standing right next to you as you're grabbing those groceries off the shelf and putting them in that cart.
Speaker C:So I'm not opposed to it.
Speaker C:I think that the media is kind of taking this off as like Target.
Speaker C:How dare you.
Speaker C:Because, you know, you're not building morale and this is being very specific.
Speaker C:But in this job market, with the types of people that are starting their careers at a retailer, mass retailer, like a Target, I'm not against giving very direct instruction of what the expectation is of the view of an employee.
Speaker A:But let me push you there.
Speaker C:That could be me.
Speaker C:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:Do you, but do you think this is explicit instruction?
Speaker A:Do you think the, the 10 and 4ft parameters are explicit or are those actually more confusing in the long run when you get right down to it?
Speaker C:I mean, I, again, like, I'm dealing with a 15 year old who, yes, I would need to show him, this is 10ft, this is 4ft.
Speaker C:This is what you need to do in X, Y and Z scenarios.
Speaker C:And, and again, like I, the job market's tough right now.
Speaker C:It's hard to get labor that can work in your stores that are invested in doing this.
Speaker C:So I guess I think it depends on the training.
Speaker C:Chris, to be honest.
Speaker C:Like, I think if.
Speaker C:Is that a one time thing or are they, you know, they're not going to have you pull the tape measure out from people and walk through the store.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker C:Exactly.
Speaker C:I guess that's my question is, you know, how are they going to follow through with it then?
Speaker C:And what, you know, how.
Speaker C:I don't know.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And how do you monitor it?
Speaker A:You know, if you don't see somebody doing it, like, is the guy like.
Speaker A:Well, he was, he was in 11ft of me.
Speaker A:He was, you know, he was 15ft away from me.
Speaker A:I'm not expected to do it when I'm doing that.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker A:Yeah, that's why.
Speaker C:That's a good point.
Speaker A:I think there's a lot of Worms.
Speaker A:You know, this opens a big can of worms like this, this.
Speaker A:I'm with Kelly, man.
Speaker A:I'm over and out on this.
Speaker A:And I'm a former store manager, so I. I hired.
Speaker A:I hired like, thousands of these people.
Speaker A:I oversaw thousands of employees across the Target store base.
Speaker A:And so, you know, when I step back from it, I think it's crazy that when I was there, it was culturally accepted.
Speaker A:Culturally accepted that if you cross paths with a guest, we didn't even have to train them.
Speaker A:It's just like the way it was expected that it be done.
Speaker A:And this is why I made the point with Kelly.
Speaker A:Like, look how far things have come in 10 years.
Speaker A:It was expected that we would ask, can I help you find something?
Speaker A:There was no ambiguity, no rules about footage, just the expectation that was culturally accepted.
Speaker A:And this new concept like that, it feels like.
Speaker A:Here's the other point about this that I think is important.
Speaker A:It feels like such an operator mentality of how you would try to solve this problem, which.
Speaker A:Their new CEO is an operator.
Speaker A:He's not a service person.
Speaker A:He's not spent time in the stores.
Speaker A:And so, like, okay, 10ft.
Speaker A:But like, yeah, like, how am I going to police that?
Speaker A:Like, now, you know, what's the parameters?
Speaker A:I'm going to do that.
Speaker A:So I just don't get it.
Speaker A:And it tells me, more importantly, the other reason I don't like it.
Speaker A:It's.
Speaker A:Or the other thing I don't like about it is it tells me that the culture is going to be very, very hard to get back in the stores, because why would you need to reinvent the wheel in the first place if it.
Speaker A:If it had just continued the way it was, but all that left during the pandemic?
Speaker A:And so I'm just like, why can't you just go back to the practice that you had to begin with?
Speaker A:Like, what's so hard about that?
Speaker A:Why.
Speaker A:Why is that gone?
Speaker A:And why do you have to do this?
Speaker A:So that tells me that there's more broken here.
Speaker A:And I think it's just going to cause more confusion and aggravation in the long run.
Speaker A:But wakas, what do you say here?
Speaker A:So we're kind of.
Speaker A:We're.
Speaker A:We kind of got a split decision going on on this one.
Speaker A:Are you good?
Speaker A:Are you over and out or good buddy on this one, I think I.
Speaker D:Am leaning over and out.
Speaker D:I'm not leaning good buddy here.
Speaker D:And this may just be a reaction to just reading the headline.
Speaker D:Initially, it reminded me of a movie and an old Owen Wilson movie.
Speaker D:I think Idiocracy.
Speaker D:Idiocity or something like that.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker C:Oh, Idiocracy.
Speaker C:The whole world right now will cost.
Speaker C: what it should just be called: Speaker C:Yes, agreed.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker D:So in that movie, they walk into a Costco.
Speaker D:I believe it's Costco, and there's a guy standing there say, welcome to Costco, I love you.
Speaker D:And.
Speaker D:And then the next guy comes in, welcome to Costco.
Speaker A:I love you.
Speaker D:And this just goes on and on and on.
Speaker D:It just felt so contrived, you know, of course they were over the top making the point, but, Chris, I really like your point that I think it's this stuff that's, you know, you.
Speaker D:You're immersed in the culture, and you would just do it naturally if you have to police it.
Speaker D:And, you know, while I have teenagers as well, so I. I'm very sympathetic to the.
Speaker D:The specificity of instructions, but I think eventually they will learn and understand exactly how to operationalize this.
Speaker D:My fear is that this foot measurement almost gives people a pass that let's not get within 10ft of anybody.
Speaker D:And then it just feels a little awkward.
Speaker C:Thank God I didn't even think about that part of it.
Speaker C:Yeah, right.