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The Hub

Started by beentheredoneit, 13-08-19, 04:03PM

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lucgeo

So can anyone confirm the agreed ratio of assistants per self scan checkout...for future reference  ??? Redshoes ?
Live for today. Learn from yesterday.

Redshoes

There is nothing set in stone but I believe the guide it's one person to four tills but only when it's busy. It will only ever be a guide as it can be hectic with all tills busy but two mins later there is nobody. If you are close to a town or school and you have a 1200-1300 lunch time rush daily the heat map may show you need dual man daily at this time. Other than that the team support should be supporting for those few mins when there is an unexpected rush. As team support can leave the area if call to another till they can and should be doing this sort of thing. If there is a higher void (walk off) issue in store it may require dual man more often. We had two women in our store who went to opposit sides of self service and tried to confuse the colleagues. This was spotted and we worked had to have that second body on self service for when they arrived at the tills. It was often the checkout manager and in the end they gave up. They were trying to get away without paying for meat, extra packets in the bag and weighing as something else but when spoken to by colleagues they made out they could not speak a word of English.
There will never be anything other than a guide. It is mostly about the interaction and picking the right colleagues. Those that stand and look bored or are not fully watching what is going on should not be on self service. Being interactive and ahead of the game is key. Knowing that the light will go on for think 25 and being ready to de-tag at the end will help things run smoother. Standing talking to friends and being unaware of what is going on and even not being brave enough to check what is going on with bagging alerts is poor. Poor service will result in lights flashing and customers waiting for help.

Redshoes

Hub reports are about two or three weeks behind.
My question relates to till investigations. They are done by store as quickly as possible because we deal with a lot of transactions daily and people forget. If a Hub investigation comes down for a till with a long delay and it was just a mistake made by the colleague this could have already resulted in a till investigation so are colleagues now investigated twice or can we say till investigation already completed and was not human error. Then if it was fraud as seen on hub can they change a normal no further action till investigation into a fraud investigation. Does this now mean that we wait on the hub to tell us is we do a till investigation.
I always thought we don't punish twice. This could potentially lead to double punishment. Normal till investigations have a two week time frame. If hub is 2-3 weeks the store investigation should have been done. Can it overturn a 'no further action, next steps' investigation into a disciplinary.

Redshoes

So going back to poster who de-tagged alcohol prior to payment, this is a training issue for a new start to self service. It's one of the things they had not been told or not remembered. As such this should just be a "let's talk" and should state that it was mistake as not fully trained with the next step being to complete the training, simple. Just because it comes down from the hub it should not automatically mean disciplinary. You could counter this by saying its a manager/team support disciplinary as not fully trained. However, the training for self service and main bank tills does not really make a lot of sence until you have experienced the tills. The training should be seen as a mop up of the things that you need to know and to ensure it was not missed during the 'experience' part.

gomezz

Quote from: adamlad on 08-03-20, 09:13PM
The incidents are sent to store in our case within a few days I have seen incidents that come within 3 days of it happening. Management have been known to take weeks to follow up however
So even worse than VAR then?   :o
"The progress of the kart is more important than its direction"

lucgeo

Sorry...but am sure there is an agreement on ratio for self serve...I recall reading it in a monthly news sheet for reps a few years ago.
Live for today. Learn from yesterday.

NavyNinja

One of the biggest problems I've had is that no-one is trained up in the same way or to the same standard. One person tells you to do something one way, another wants it done differently. It's been the same with all 5 of us who started at the same time and with established colleagues from those I've spoken too.

lucgeo

Training has become extremely lapse in Tesco over the years...the only people who should train you are team support or checkout manager, and then you are signed off on it. Have you been given any online training regarding the self serve?
Live for today. Learn from yesterday.

NavyNinja

No, no online training of any sorts. My four contracted shifts are all midnight finishes so I was just put on with whoever else was on at the time and did whatever they've taught me to do. If something happens and I'm on on my own and dont know what to do I just have to wait for team support or someone with experience. Sometimes Team Support have finished at 10 and I/we have been on our own till the shop shuts 2 hours later. In the morning when I do some overtime I'm on my own up there for 3-4 hours before someone else comes on.

lucgeo

Well if you haven't been trained properly, and not signed off for any training, the buck stops with the checkout manager...no training, no investigation, nothing to answer to.
Live for today. Learn from yesterday.

Redshoes

I tend to agree that if not trained it should be a simple next step to complete training.
Training should be done by buddy system. Then followed up with the online. It's interesting with the PFS training. Online it says if new to buddy up with experienced colleague and if experienced to shoe a new colleague. At no point does it say to ask a manager.
It is however down to team support and manager to ensure you have followed up experience with the online training. The online training is very basic but it ticks enough boxes for new starts.

lucgeo

#286
And does it state how long a buddy system should be for, depending on department.

Buddies were done away with, when they brought in team leaders, as it was part of their job role to train new starters. Then when they got rid of team leaders, it became the managers sole responsibility.

So now they've gone back to buddies? Which used to be time allowance depending on dept. Checkouts was a days shift, where an experienced colleague was introduced to them then they  sat on the closed checkout for the entire shift and played about in training mode, with a basket of loose produce and a picture card to identify each item and their codes, also bakery codes and picture of products. They also read through a manual of differing scenarios and procedures of transactions, voiding etc...the buddy checked on them intermittently for any queries etc..the next shift they were tested on the codes and product recognition. For the rest of their week, they were supervised with the buddy stood alongside them. This buddy also went on breaks with them, to involve them into the groups of colleagues on break.

Stock control and merchandising, you observed a buddy, and TOUCHED NOTHING for two weeks!!

Other dept's, had different set time frames...I'm guessing this is no longer the case  ???
Live for today. Learn from yesterday.

King1999

Managers should always ensure staff have the knowledge to do a job,this online self learning c**p doesn't mean you've done the training now get on with it.As I told my manager it's no good beating people up if you haven't worked along side them and checked if they are competent.I also pointed out it's your job to train people as a manager not mine when she tried to get me to buddy with someone ........ toss pot company shouldn't have done their damage last year should they.

Redshoes

It's probably not a good idea to buddy up a new start with a colleague who is hostile towards doing this. It's not a good first impression to give and the level of training will be poor and probably retention low.

lucgeo

It should not be delegated to any colleague to buddy up...they should be asked, but ensured it is not part of their job description. It's the responsibility of T/L's and managers to train people...you say it's stated online that colleagues should be buddies, no mention of managers or T/L's...so when was this changed and when was the change of responsibility agreed between USDAW and Tesco, and where can it be found in the ever diminishing partnership agreement  ???
Live for today. Learn from yesterday.

King1999

Hostile......ffs......talk to tosco about hostile they wrote the book.Goodwill ain’t there anymore,if your doing the job of 3...4 people f*** right off.This new way of working,manage by hours s*** nobodies interested anymore.You just come in get through your shift and get out.The whole place is geared towards not caring......the complete opposite of what it use to be.Well done Dave and the clever twats who know best.Training feels like an afterthought now not one ounce of quality.So don’t be asking what’s left of the experience to make out things are amazing.Its a daily shower of s*** now.Well f****ng done.

NightAndDay

If the CAs were more employment law savvy  Tesco would have been litigated into liquidation yonks ago.

NavyNinja

I was on my own down on my stores Self Scan and Scan as you Shop area late last night and had a walk-off. The items involved were I think a bag of crisps or nuts and a small bottle of Vodka. In all it came to a little over £9. I was helping a regular customer with learning difficulties who'd picked up the wrong product for the Clubcard Price as he's not very good at reading. As I went to quickly grab the right product another customer asked me to de-tag the bottle of vodka and approve it which I did. Normally I don't de-tag until after payment but as she had her card in her hand and I didn't want to keep the other customer waiting I quickly de-tagged it and went on helping the other customer. The guard checked the camera and could see that contactless had been used too soon and thus how the customer had 'walked off'.

I recorded this in the folder but am now wondering whether this will trigger a Hub investigation and if it would be serious? The Hub scene has been quiet in our store for months and I was wondering if it's been working during the pandemic but there was one investigation a fortnight ago which I know of. Any help please?

lucgeo

And as you continued to assist the special needs customer, you observed, albeit at a distance, the customer presenting their card for the contactless payment  ;) which the guard verifies gave the impression of due payment.

How many self scan and self serve checkouts are you solely monitoring at any one time? If I recall correctly, there used to be an agreed union ratio of one assistant per ?4? (please someone correct me if this is no longer the agreed amount). If you are monitoring more than the agreed ratio, then it can't even be put down to human error, but deliberate understaffing.

In any case, they might not even pull you up on it, seeing what you and the guard saw, or maybe just a lets talk??? However remember the motto..."always be prepared" especially when dealing with the big brother tactics of Tesco, who are renowned for blowing everything out of the water  :-X
Live for today. Learn from yesterday.

NightAndDay

#294
The few metros and super stores I've been in has 1 ca monitoring 6 self serve checkouts, has been like that for at least 2 years. Express defo has it harder in my opinion, got to do normal checkouts and 2 self serves at the same time (sometimes as much as 8 ).

Redshoes

We have had two HUB investigations come down regarding a walk off when alcohol has been de-tagged before payment had completed. The Hub just suggest questions to ask and over and above that it will depend on your manger and what you say. Just be frank, tell your manager now before the report comes down. Don't try and hide or fudge the issue as the images are very clear. We have not had a Hub investigation about the colleagues leaving self scan but you should not do that either. Did you remove as a void, you said you put in book so that is good. It asks questions about why not removed as a void but if not recorded that is the big one.
It's all about clarity. We will always have walk off. It's the de-tagging before sale had completed that is the issue. Big issue is then if colleague then removes from till wrong and tries to hide that this happened. Don't even try as you can't.
It just triggers an investigation. Over and above this depends on the investigation.

Redshoes

#296
The number of tills you can oversee changes, it all depends on how busy they are.  It's one of the things to be looked at, at the suggestion of the hub.

lucgeo

 8-) There was an agreed ratio, between Tesco and USDAW, as to how many self service tills each colleague solely cover. It should not be open to manipulation as in, time of day, which is usually the case done by management. It is based on the amount of self serve checkouts open, requiring supervision, at any one time. If 8 are open, then at any point, all 8 could be in use, regardless of time of day. This agreement was in place before the scan and shop began, which there is now a set daily  % of random bag checks, each colleague should achieve. Was the ratio amended to incorporate the extra time needed, for a colleague to put a customer's whole shop through for checking, whilst monitoring and being available for other customers?

Does this agreement still stand? What is the agreed ratio? Anyone know  ???
Live for today. Learn from yesterday.

NavyNinja

So I will likely have a Hub investigation then I guess? I had one when I first started for de-tagging so hope that wont go against me? There were 12 tills open across Self Serve and SAYS and only me working. We're very undermanned in my store and often it's one person monitoring the whole thing for most of the day. It's getting quite dire really.

Nomad

I would advise that you try to get details/confirmation on the agreement that lucgeo mentions  ref: till numbers, should be easy if you are in the union.  If you are not in the union they, in my opinion, must assist you in obtaining the facts regarding such an agreement, reason being it is often quoted that although not all staff are in the union they do in fact negotiate on behalf of all employees and that non-union members are bound by most of the agreements they make with your employer, they are the recognised negotiating body.

Tesco and USDAW have no problem in reminding staff of that fact.
Nomad ( Forum Admin )
It's better to be up in arms than down on your knees.

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