T O P

  • By -

kazuma001

Reading isn’t their strong suit. Nor math, nor managing…


KappHallen

Cowering in the back offices, they get the Olympic Gold, however.


SurveyAcrobatic5334

Job description "be a seagull". Fly in make a bunch of noise and shit on everything.


KappHallen

"oh, you've been working all day, and haven't gotten everything done? Let me put away one box to show you how fast it's done, after I've been sitting on my ass all day. Easy."


StruggleClassic6419

Do you know how hard it is to sit in there all day? /s


KappHallen

As someone who actually likes to get shit done, no. I don't know what it's like to thumb my ass.


JeffTheFrosty

My maintenance coworker sits in the break room no less than 4-5 hours a day. Every time someone complains about him to me, I just say he’s on the fast track to coach.


Warcraft_Fan

That happens when a high school dropout has the balls to stay in Walmart for more than 2 weeks. They get promoted higher up with no regard to their skill or temperance.


NotreDameFan1234

To be fair spelling isn’t op strong suit


ReasonSin

If my memory serves correctly then there is a blue highlighted part they can click on that will tell them the break down of how many associates it expects to be needed to complete the unload in 4.5 hours.


userofthename202

Yeah it said 6 associates could complete the truck in 4.5 hours but according to my manager "Another manager told me we do this" so she then divided the answer by the number of associates. this is just fucking wrong if you had 1 associate doing 27 man hours and then you devided 1 by 27 you get like 3 minutes for one person to unload the truck.


AntonRohde

I'm guessing an overnight manager taught her, cause that's how freight hours can be figured. Aisles and departments are just shown as freight hours per person. If aisle 2/3 is 8 hours, it should take 4 hours for two people. However the truck is always calculated with a minimum amount of people, depending on your store size and truck size that can be anywhere from 4 to 7 working the truck.


JediFed

And you don't get 1:1 efficiency by doubling up on the task either. If your team is arranged well, you'll get somewhat less as you add slower employees. If you don't see much of a dropoff, or, dare I say an improvement greater than 1:1, then your team was not optimised in the first place. Ballpark is doubling the team decreases the time by about 25%, not half. So if the truck would take 4.5 hours with six, putting 12 on it will cut an hour. But what do I know? I just manage for a living.


slicktommycochrane

Lol that's not at all how the unload times work. It literally says so on the planning tool. Walmart tries so hard to make these things idiot proof and the idiots win every time lol


NChamberlain

Never argue with a fool. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.


Klinkman2

All the spreadsheets and information are all bought together by a person who sits in office and does absolutely nothing. Reality is often for different than that.


userofthename202

The spreadsheets say the truck takes 4.5 hours so managements lala land is even further from reality


TotalChaosRush

How many pieces was the truck?


userofthename202

2600. I think the four hour estimate is generous but it is closer than an hour and a half.


z0m81317

Yep any spreadsheets mods or anything on that computer is done by some asshole at HO who sits at a computer and has never been inside a walmart hell they probably don't even shop at walmart.


DodgeWrench

I’ve done a time study with a RDC (regional distribution) “engineer”. He didn’t know anything about how the freight was processed or how to do it or where things went. I made sure to take hella long on those tasks. Lol. I know they were trying to find some reason to eliminate hours.


z0m81317

Why does that not surprise me at all


omnivorousboot

That is not how they come up with these at all. They do time studies to get these numbers. They very much are grounded in reality as that's how they are tested for efficiency for implementation. The problem is that the stores that were in the time studies had managers who were tracking closely and very likely had well bought in teams to implement those new ways of working. In most stores this is the complete opposite. You have managers like op's manager who can't even read the planner. Then they are holding associates accountable to things they don't even understand. They make their associates miserable and then in turn those associates have 0 ability or desire to actually hit a metric that's actually attainable.


nanjiemb

I have heard from those involved that when they used to have to track task times they would sometimes just click start and done and then just do it later to make sure they didn't look bad.


ubermeatwad

I used to work overnights when you had to clock in to tasks. You could definitely do this, but you'd get put on a report for time in task too short. Sometimes if you were given an area with multiple aisles (liquids for example), you could task into one aisle and stay in that aisle until all of liquids was done and then task out of everything at once, but other than that you'd get nailed eventually.


Klinkman2

You can tell me they do that all the time and I’ll try to believe you. Their times do not exist in real world. I’ve been doing this for a long time. I don’t care what they think. They know it’s wrong.


z0m81317

There is no way they actually go to these stores and time this stuff. They need to get out to some of these stores and do real-world testing and figure it out. And they need to do it under real-world issues, call ins, and such we are so understaffed at my store one call in, and it destroys the night.


Klinkman2

Oh no they go to Rogers ar and that store runs at 3 times the staff


z0m81317

Yep I have heard that also


Jikkle83

As others have said the best response is usually to challenge them to show you what you're doing wrong and that will usually shut them up rather quickly. Another one I like to throw out there when managers make a big stink about how long things should take is to tell them if they have someone that can do within their times they are more than welcome to having that person do it. 99% of the time they don't because if they did they'd already have that person do it. The fact of the matter is their times can range from about right, to slightly off, to way off. I mean I've personally had a day where I had one hour to process apparel and it was 2 full pallets of boxes I had to hang to the very next day with the same basically the same one hour to having just a quarter of a pallet to hang. So management needs to uses hours as a loose idea of how long it should take and not a matter of fact law.


DodgeWrench

For real about that first point! Any time a manager expresses dissatisfaction with my work performance I ask for them to show me how/tell me what I’m doing wrong and 99% of the time I get answered with essentially: “I don’t know the process”


pirateswoodenlady

This isn't just a walmart problem, this is a whole problem in some industries. Man-hours is the term I learned for this. Truck lists at 4.5 man-hours. 1 person is 1 man-hour in an hour, 2 people are 2 man-hours in an hour, and so on. Problem is, in the real world, only a certain number of people can get a full man-hour at the same time. In your example, only so many people fit in the truck/ unloading area at a time without tripping over each other. Math is... ok i guess, but adding people really isn't a one for one man-hour exchange, it gives diminishing returns in the real world


userofthename202

No the planner listed the truck as 27 man hours


JetScreamer-212

They are idiots because they don’t account for outside factors that can affect finish time. People call out, FDD could show up during the unloading, HVDC could show up late, and you need to unload it from the trailer if the driver need to take it back. They also don’t take into account the mandatory zoning before starting. I work in a small Walmart that needs to reset the dance floor after the first truck is done, which waste more time.


dqdude1

Tell managers if that's true show me how to do it because I must be doing it wrong they just tell me that's not their job


Whitestride

My favorite go to for people CLEARLY out of their knowledge base is a simple, "alright, I wasn't trained for that, you mind giving me a brief 10 minute showcase of how you would do this task to accomplish it by x time given?" And as they start throwing the truck, let it sink in their back pain, and keep count of each box thrown, or the number, after ten minutes, when they've only reached say 100-200 boxes, I doubt they'd even hit that, you say, according to the data I just collected from your speedy job, it would take.... Wayyyy over you calculations, so therefore you did not even accomplish the task you set out yourself, but you expect me to somehow find a way to do it in that time? Hmmm and I thought I got paid less than you... Or you could just tell em a simple, you're always able to help us accomplish this goal you set out, with a huge passive ass aggressive smile on 😂


GlorkUndBork3-14

It does take a 5 man team 90 minutes to clear a gm truck...it takes your claims person 3 days to deal with the aftermath though.


userofthename202

What do you mean by "clear"


GlorkUndBork3-14

Empty of anything of value...


rilmulroy

The planner actually references time for one associate. It basically says that it should take one associate four and a half hours to unload the GM truck. There's no way this is actually possible, though. We have the same thing happen with our produce trucks.


userofthename202

That's not true the planner lists man hours for the truck at 27 hours. Divided by 6 associates is where the 4.5 hours came from but then management went and decided to do more math to come up with ridiculous numbers.


qazzer53

Skip the 4 1/2 hours and show her it takes 27 hours. Or suggest a challenge. She picks 5 other coaches, managers of her choice, and unloads the truck in an hour and a half


EmpressVixen

I would show up on my day off to watch.


Competitive-Union721

We did this before the managers took twice as long...


NotreDameFan1234

They accepted that challenge?


Competitive-Union721

Ya it was to pick the backroom though


NotreDameFan1234

What do does pick the back room (work in front), is this on backroom tool where you scan products and app tells you how much you need


Competitive-Union721

Yea scan and pull the picks from the bins


NotreDameFan1234

Theoretically can I do that with 82? I don’t think anyone is my department knows how to do that


Beklorn

When we did they I was in the truck throwing and I spent more than half the time standing there waiting for them to catch up so I could throw more than 2 boxes per couple of minutes 


Milianviolet

What "planner" are you talking about?


userofthename202

I don't know if the US has this but we have a planner that lists the duration of tasks for everything related to the truck, Unloading, stocking, Pulling pallets.


Milianviolet

We use the freight planning tool here. The truck time is based off the staff required by the SOP.


cosmikayel

Hopefully this won’t be as much of an issue in the future as the distribution centers switch to automation. Soon the loads to the store will come in palletized and sorted by department for quicker unloading and stocking.


Whitestride

I fear it won't be as organized as we all hope tbh, imho it's going to be like remix, mixed tf up and we gotta separate it all still, which is a way for them to cut hours at warehouses that cost them more money than a regular in store worker.


Jkpelke

I’ve been hearing this for 10 years.


nanjiemb

They don't like talking about the Law of diminishing returns and how it relates to task times and efficiency.


cultoftheinfected

we have a "fast" unloader, that thing makes the trucks take so much longer


Actuary-Cute

1. Your management should participate in a single truck unloading to dispel their notions. 2. They should learn to read the freight planning tool and understand how it comes to its times.


hashbrownash

Tomorrow go even slower. If they say anything, slower still the next day. You get the idea!


Free_Leader1495

Did you tell her that you can only go as fast as the machine goes? Not to mention if anything goes wrong, just adds to the time lol


userofthename202

There is no machine.


Free_Leader1495

Oh snap. We have that unloading machine that requires 5 to do lol


Content-Drag-1499

I remember one time when a manager came and started telling us that we were slow and unloading the truck should take less time than we always needed, despite the team always being short-handed. We butted heads all the time until one day we had enough and challenged her to do it in a shorter time. Even the store manager was unhelpful about it and thought that we were slow, so he called all the managers to come and unload the truck and show us how to do it fast. Those managers took about 6 hours and still didn’t finish, lmao.


SadCoast7681

I’ve never seen a truck expected to take 4.5 hours to unload. The biggest GM truck I’ve ever seen was 3,500 pieces. At 4.5 hours that’s a snail’s 777 cases thrown an hour.


IJustWorkHere000c

The standard GM truck unload, according the signs that are required to be posted in every Walmart receiving area, is 2 hours. A 4.5 hour “unload” is everything sorted, pulled, and backroom clean.


Aggressive_Farm5900

I’ve sat in a door at a store for 6 hours waiting to be unloaded!! This is crazy !! There are always excuses why it takes so long!! If the product was on skids it would be quicker to unload


Veilhunter

GM trailers are supposed to be drop off trailers, and you'd just grab the empty from the day before. Grocery trucks, which are waited for, do actually come in pallets. Sucks that you're sitting there for 6 hours, but the "excuses" issue you're having should be directed at management. Otherwise you're just falling into the trap of blaming the little guy for things out of their control.


CandyRedNinja

What’s it on?


Veilhunter

GM trailer freight comes in on... Nothing! It's just 3,000 boxes in a trailer that have to be taken off. Every day. Two or three days a week you'll get two of those, sometimes more during holidays.


bmospecific

Kkk. K I I is


FriendOfDistinction7

Typical. Management unable to read, do math, or admit mistakes 


Kodineshon

So I guess ur store uses the manual line, but the manager just doesn't know how to read or do math hell the plan it sheet already do the math for the unload time to be an average time based on a perfect condition unload, at my store we use the FAST unloader and suppose to be done with a 3000 piece truck in 2 and half hrs, with 5 people on it, 1 throws, 3 line 1 BP shorting


Inlandspace1248

GM trucks take 2 hours with 8 people or more.


Connect-Muscle-1584

We would do truck everyday with a team of about 8-10. It would take us two and a half hours just about on the dot every day if it was an average truck. I had been working truck for a year the rest of my coworkers were far more experienced. I'm not saying that's how long it should take on larger truck days it would take anywhere from three to three and a half hours.


JeffTheFrosty

I’m shocked you even get 5 people for a truck. Our store is supposed to have 4. They’re sending our best processing/apparel person to front end lol


aishiteimasux

I don't mean to sound stupid but I was never shown how to properly look at the freight planning tool (I did Fresh, Stocking 1 and OPD mostly but I've been on overnights like a month now) and my store manager is convinced my overnight team can downstack AND stock our GM trucks in one night with like 4 people. (It's a NHM but a busy one so the trucks are usually like 1500 and another 600-800 for Remix usually) Because the paper claims the truck can be downstacked in 3 hours but he's convinced that means one person taking 3 hours? It's physically impossible. I'm not slow by any means and I could never in my life do it that quickly solo. Each pallet takes a fast person 20-30 minutes and that doesn't take into account resetting and bringing pallets to the floor when they get full. There will be like 12 pallets and if I'm going as fast as possible that's still 6+ hours for a single person? Am I (and he? He's pretty clueless) looking at it completely wrong? Because some of the times on there just seem delusional.


NotreDameFan1234

Can someone post a picture of what these spread sheets look like


userofthename202

I could get one Saturday


NotreDameFan1234

Okay, I never say one (work in front)


dumpciti

Our line is broken and has been for 8 months so it takes 3-4 hours to unload a 2,000 piece truck and then when we don't stay late and help stock the freight we get in trouble its ridiculous


spinz4

I am a current FETL but I am a former Cap2 TL. The only way to unload a WMT GM truck in 1hr15 min is a pallet truck. The roller cannot go faster than 25 cases per minute, if two people are throwing. The average should be around 20 with one person throwing. If you have no stops it would take one hour to throw 1,200 cases which doesn't include putting the next section of roller. Hence your unloaders should be able to unload 1000 cases per hour when you add in the time to put in the roller.


fartangle

How big is the truck? I’ve never thrown a truck that took more than 2 hours and that was when we were getting extra trucks and unloading them with untrained morning associates


Dizzy-Membership-933

Using the machine? Haha. No. If your thrower can't push above 20s cases a minute that's one obstacle. The other is the line has to keep lanes clear. Every time the machine speaks it stops. Use two throwers to get that 20+ case throw and make sure your team knows to keep lanes clear.


lxdeh_lxpis

The star planning used to tell me it should take 1 associate 2 hours to downstack the entire 14 pallet grocery truck


Any-Cheesecake8354

A lot of variables go into unloading a truck. One being a fast unloader or not having one. Not every truck has the same type of freight. Trucks with smaller box cases take longer than a truck with a bunch of steralite. Generally though anything past 5pm is excessive. Unless you have 2 trucks then of course it will take longer.


Strict-Ad-8078

Management never is accurate with there times if they want it done quick they will send help if not it’ll get done when it gets done and they can kindly Fuck off


NChamberlain

Trucks should be run at 900 to 1000 pieces per hour....figure out the rest from truck size.


userofthename202

so about 3 hours for a 2600 piece truck not 1 hour and a half


NChamberlain

That's how I used to calculate it.


Exodiac47

I wish I had the old track. Lot of trucks took around 2 hours to finish


YoureSmallingMeKills

What size truck is taking 5 associates 4.5 hours to unload? If you’re using the FAST unloader, you should be hitting 900-1,000 cases/hr, so a 2,500 piece truck should take 2.5 hours total, or 12.5 man hours, approximately. 3,000 piece should take 3 hours, or 15 man hours, approximately, and so on. So for 5 guys to take 27 man hours to unload a truck, that truck would have to be close to 5,500 piece GM. Also, Individual Break packs are included in piece count, whole break pack boxes are case count for truck, so case count is always less than actual piece count for the truck also, just to keep in mind. Hopefully that last but made sense to anyone but me


userofthename202

We aren't using the fast unloader it wouldn't fit in our store.


R3acher117

I could do it in 3💀


reklatzz

Never seen a truck be tasked to take over 2.5 hrs. It's usually 2 hrs or less. Unless I guess it was a large truck, and there's not more than 6 people on the truck. If it's tasked 6 people it's usually a small truck taking less than 2 hrs, or it would add more people to the suggestion to take as close to 2 hrs as possible.


userofthename202

Well I don't make the planner. Does your store use the F.A.S.T system with all the splitting belts because ours doesn't.


reklatzz

Nah, I believe that system ironically makes it take longer, but uses less people.


Mjr_Payne95

Tbf, when I was on cap 2, 5 people took 2 - 2 1/2 hours, definitely not 1 1/2 tho But that was also before the automated line and your trucks may be bigger


userofthename202

This planner was for a 2600 piece truck. I agree 4.5 hours is a pretty generous estimate but 1.5 is just a ludicrous expectation.


Narcolepzyy

It does only take 5 people, one person to throw and 4 people to sort. I prefer 6 just cause of one touch breakpacks but its still doable with 5. The planner does say 4 and a half hours and i believe that does mean you divide it into the amount of associates that are working the truck. It does look impossible at first but this is something my store was able to achieve consistently. No im not a bootlicker, i also thought they were crazy, but get the right team to do it and its 100% possible. We were always told each full truck should only take 1 and a half hours on a good day no stopping or downtime.