Training in Walmart

I started 13 years as salefloor associate. The first day, after orientation, the 4 computers for training were not available and my manager send me to “Face” the parenting control section in the pharmacy department.

I asked: face?? Yes, Zone!! My manager replied, Moving his hands as if he was moving air toward his chest.

It made no sense to me, but I found the department, the section and stayed there observing the mess of empty condoms and pregnancy Test boxes everywhere.

Seems to me that people steal a lot of these items....many times the same person steals Both.

So, I felt I was there to guard the department. Or maybe it was a Walmart test: to see if I could follow instructions...

About two hours later another manager walked by and asked me what I was doing just looking at the shelves. To which, I replied : I am Facing the pharmacy department.

That was when I learned what face a department was:

To clean the shelves , read the label to see if the right item was in the right place, and if there were the right number of  rows of the same product, some have one row other 6 , finally remove open boxes and place them in the stolen bin in the claim department.

There are many retail /Walmart terminologies like “Home”: permanent item’s location And other more.

I learned fast that to grow in Walmart,  I needed to learn it’s terminology and procedures by myself. I have a Similar story, when I got the department manager position three month later.

This year, they have started preparing models stores and making them retail academies. There, for a week at the time, they teach hourly supervisors from other stores “what good looks like” and how they can get there.

It’s a good step for improvement...

Hopefully, it is not too late.

I have some “customers service” experience, I will share with you next time.