Here is a question for all apparel associates...
How many associates do you have nightly; not including fitting room; to zone all of apparel?
It would be a miracle if we got three. There are certain nights when there are only 2, and there is no fitting room associate.
We have a lot of challenges, particularly when we have to undo the work that customers have done in a certain area and start over again.
We've literally been closing with 1 person most nights since Thanksgiving. People getting pointed out and or just quiting. The quality of the people they are hiring is just gone.
Our fitting room associate is responsible for all the returns in apparel but they don't schedule one to close so it's literally one person doing returns all day and then no one does them again til she comes back in. Half the time she is also covering jewelry and a department to zone as well.
The culture in the store and work ethic is a reflection of present La La , gone for the day, still out to lunch , watching their back walmart corportate culture.
For us, it depends on the day. On the weekends, we have a lot of people (about 4-5 people, including me in the fitting room), but I still have to set up zones in close areas. Then, during the week, we only have three, if you count the fitting room. We're lucky if we get everything mapped out, but the women I work with all talk about who needs to do what, etc., if our leads haven't given us specific plans for the day. It's not easy at all, though.