The Woolworths Thread (22 Viewers)

[iMatthew]

Hi everyone, I had a short stint at Woolworths last year while doing year 12 approximately 6 weeks, unfortunately i had to give it up as i was put into a position i didn't apply for which was part time and double the hours and affected my studies. Now I'm applying at a different store to the one i was previously employed at and was wondering would Woolworths re hire me, i gave notice and performed my duties as required for my last week.

Thanks in advance.

Don't see a reason why they wouldn't, especially considering it's a different store. Just apply and see.

 

[BSammy]

Hi everyone, I had a short stint at Woolworths last year while doing year 12 approximately 6 weeks, unfortunately i had to give it up as i was put into a position i didn't apply for which was part time and double the hours and affected my studies. Now I'm applying at a different store to the one i was previously employed at and was wondering would Woolworths re hire me, i gave notice and performed my duties as required for my last week.

Thanks in advance.

When you left your old store, on the termination form there's a field at the bottom 'would you rehire this employee?' unless you were terrible they would have ticked the yes box. This will probably help your case.

 

[Jolyon]

Oh wow, so the old ones are actually being replaced?! One of the SCO attendants was only telling me the other day that an NCR technician told her they were planning to replace the old machines, but I said to her that I found it really hard to believe the company would 'waste' money on that!!
Out of interest, did your machines get replaced during a store refit? And how old were the previous ones??

Yep, during refit. I opened the first day after we got them and so worried I would be lost but they are very similar to the old ones. Look much better too!

 

[philboy]

I was talking to someone in management today and they were saying that they hadn't heard of sco 10 but they were aware of new checkouts that can be manned or double as self serve machines when unmanned. Also there are self scanning and bagging trolleys on the new technology list. Apparently these technologies are on track to find their way in to Woolies stores in the not too distant future. Has anymone heard anything similar to this at all?

 

[bensneddon]

I was talking to someone in management today and they were saying that they hadn't heard of sco 10

Unless they are involved with the pilot, or spend a lot of time on StoreNet, they probably wouldn't be aware of SCO10

but they were aware of new checkouts that can be manned or double as self serve machines when unmanned.

Masters are using these. I haven't heard of any plans to introduce them to Supermarkets.

 

[iMatthew]

new checkouts that can be manned or double as self serve machines when unmanned.

I'd be interested to see how they will implement that :\

 

[philboy]

Seeing as people seem to be able to shed light on rumors or otherwise, does anyone know when or whether Woolies is going to rejuvenate the outdated instore radio playlists? I know they are running a staff survey and blog on AllYours on their instore radio music selections but I haven't come across any dates at all. Maybe they are working on their licences and legal obligations?

 

[bensneddon]

Seeing as people seem to be able to shed light on rumors or otherwise, does anyone know when or whether Woolies is going to rejuvenate the outdated instore radio playlists? I know they are running a staff survey and blog on AllYours on their instore radio music selections but I haven't come across any dates at all. Maybe they are working on their licences and legal obligations?

From memory, in store radio is managed by a third party contractor - AirMedia.

I would say that Elizabeth Ryley's team would be in the process of working with AirMedia and the greater Supermarket Ops team to compile a new playlist.

I'd be interested to see how they will implement that :\

I will try and get some details on what hardware they are using at Masters. I would assume it would be NCR, and Retalix StoreLine for the POS functionality.

Has anybody's store gone live with Project Evolution?

 

[philboy]

Has anybody's store gone live with Project Evolution?

What is Project Evolution?

 

[_be]

I had a read through the SCO 10 doco, it looks AWESOME!

 

[spilla2003]

I had a read through the SCO 10 doco, it looks AWESOME!

Yep, certainly looks better than the current version.

I like the fact that it can show the still available payment methods if one is unavailable. (For example, if cash is out of action, it just puts a cross through the cash symbol and customers can see that the others can still be used.)

Of course, customers won't realise this, and will complain right at the end when it won't take their cash or whatever.

Hi everyone, I had a short stint at Woolworths last year while doing year 12 approximately 6 weeks, unfortunately i had to give it up as i was put into a position i didn't apply for which was part time and double the hours and affected my studies. Now I'm applying at a different store to the one i was previously employed at and was wondering would Woolworths re hire me, i gave notice and performed my duties as required for my last week.

Thanks in advance.

How long ago did you quit? If it's under 6 months or so, you might not have to go through the induction again. I was working at one store for a 1.5 years and then quit to travel for 6 months. When I came back, I tried to get a job back at Woolies and the area HR manager had me back within a few days, but because it was over 6 months, I had to redo the induction.

 

[bensneddon]

What is Project Evolution?

Project Evolution is a telecommunications project for all supermarkets, petrol sites, WLG stores (Dan Murphy's, BWS etc) and Big W.

It involves upgrading WAN links to BDSL/3G and implementing a new VoIP phone system.

I believe that supermarkets will be upgraded from Frame Relay/ISDN fallback to BDSL/ISDN fallback or perhaps BDSL/3G fallback. Additionally, all Wireless Access Points (and related infrastructure?) will be replaced.

From the perspective of store staff, this means WAN services such as CoreComms, StoreNet etc will load significantly faster. There will also be more phone handsets (see below for list), better RF coverage for RF guns/cordless IP phones. There will be a cost saving to Woolworths, as only one phone line will be required (for the BDSL) and all services can be served over IP.

Some interesting points:
-Improved customer service by ensuring the first point of contact will be able to assist the customer and address any questions the customer may have
-Store management ownership over incoming calls
-Only the phones in the invoice office will ring when 'day mode' is enabled
-There will be a 'speed dial' function (see list below)

All extensions will (obviously) be able to call internal numbers, as well as 000. The General Office and Systems Office phones can call local numbers. Invoice, Managers Office, Managers Mobile, Service Desk and Comms Room can call STD and Mobiles.

If anyone has any questions, let me know and I will try to answer/find out the answer.

Phone Extensions:
999 - Page to PA
101 - Invoice Office 1
102 - Store Manager's Office
103 - Customer Service Desk
104 - General Office
105 - Systems Office
107 - Lunch Room
108 - Invoice Office 2
110 - Back Dock
112 - Deli
113 - Seafood
114 - Bakery
115 - Meat
116 - Liquor
118 - Comms Room (no idea what this is - my guess is that it will be the 'second office' in most stores that the ASM or LLTM use)
121 - Store Manger's Mobile
122 - Customer Service Team Manager's Mobile
123 - Assistant Store Manager's Mobile
124 - Duty Manger's Mobile
125 - Homeshop Team Manager's Mobile (not sure if non-Homeshop stores will be allocated a handset for 125)
126 - Longlife Team Manager's Mobile

Speed Dials:
4000 - The Service Desk
4001 - National Payroll
4002 - Area Office
4003 - Area Manager
4004 - Human Resources Specialist
4005 - Implementation Specialist
4006 - Longlife Specialist
4007 - Produce Specialist
4008 - Bakery Specialist
4009 - Deli Specialist
4010 - Meat Specialist
4012 - Seafood Specialist
4013 - Retail Support Manager
4014 - Regional Admin
4015 - Regional PA
4016 - Regional HR Manager
4017 - Trading Support Manager
4018 - Regional Compliance Specialist
4019 - Regional SHE Manager
4020 - Productivity Specialist
4021 - Maintenance Coordinator
4022 - Loss Prevention
4023 - Regional IT Implementation Coordinator
4024 - 4042 are for stores in your area group

 

[jgibson0011]

999 - Page to PA
101 - Invoice Office 1
102 - Store Manager's Office
103 - Customer Service Desk
104 - General Office
105 - Systems Office
107 - Lunch Room
108 - Invoice Office 2
110 - Back Dock
112 - Deli
113 - Seafood
114 - Bakery
115 - Meat
116 - Liquor
118 - Comms Room (no idea what this is - my guess is that it will be the 'second office' in most stores that the ASM or LLTM use)
121 - Store Manger's Mobile
122 - Customer Service Team Manager's Mobile
123 - Assistant Store Manager's Mobile
124 - Duty Manger's Mobile
125 - Homeshop Team Manager's Mobile (not sure if non-Homeshop stores will be allocated a handset for 125)
126 - Longlife Team Manager's Mobile

Sounds like a HUGE project. Any plan to reduce the reliance on PA calls in store is great IMO. I'm sure the grocery/produce/perishables assistants would prefer that instead of having to find a phone or walk all the way to the service desk when they're on the other side of the store. Although to be honest, half our staff don't even understand how our current phone system works.

But are the numbers above going to apply to every store? I don't really want to relearn my those numbers. Our service desk is 106, Invoice 103, Back dock 111, Tea Room 102, Manager 100, Liquor 113, That's about all I know. All different!

Also got a question about self serve. It appears we never switched over to the new closing routine. I did a shift at another store and I noticed:

1). We're still emptying all the note dispensers at the end of the night instead of adding to them the next morning, which I really hate having to do.

2). My store is still returning borrowed funds (coins only) to its register, which is fine.

3). We don't worry about manually ordering change. As far as I know, that's all done automatically??

What's everyone else doing?

 

[bensneddon]

Any plan to reduce the reliance on PA calls in store is great IMO.

There is no plan to reduce the reliance on PA calls. All external calls still need to be broadcast over the PA (eg. Store Manager, Service 91) before transferring the call to the appropriate extension.

I'm sure the grocery/produce/perishables assistants would prefer that instead of having to find a phone or walk all the way to the service desk when they're on the other side of the store.

Yes, the increased number of handsets will be very good, given that some large stores have only 2 handsets on the trading floor (one at the service desk, and one in liquor)

But are the numbers above going to apply to every store?

Yes this will be standardised across all supermarkets.

Also got a question about self serve.

ekul444 is your man for all things SCO

 

[Jolyon]

Sounds like a HUGE project. Any plan to reduce the reliance on PA calls in store is great IMO. I'm sure the grocery/produce/perishables assistants would prefer that instead of having to find a phone or walk all the way to the service desk when they're on the other side of the store. Although to be honest, half our staff don't even understand how our current phone system works.

But are the numbers above going to apply to every store? I don't really want to relearn my those numbers. Our service desk is 106, Invoice 103, Back dock 111, Tea Room 102, Manager 100, Liquor 113, That's about all I know. All different!

Also got a question about self serve. It appears we never switched over to the new closing routine. I did a shift at another store and I noticed:

1). We're still emptying all the note dispensers at the end of the night instead of adding to them the next morning, which I really hate having to do.

2). My store is still returning borrowed funds (coins only) to its register, which is fine.

3). We don't worry about manually ordering change. As far as I know, that's all done automatically??

What's everyone else doing?

At my store we add the notes in the next morning and do not take out the dispenser notes. We only borrow funds for notes, coins we take out of the self serve machine (the SCO attendant has a self serve lanyard with the self serve key on it to open it). We do our change orders at the end of the night when we close when the SCO attendant takes out the acceptor coins.

 

[bensneddon]

the SCO attendant has a self serve lanyard with the self serve key on it

Are you referring to the silver key, or the black key?

When SCO was launched, the silver key was supposed to be kept in the main safe apart from when it was being used. Does anybody know if this has changed?

Sidenote - I remember when SCO was launched, and the note dispensed needed to be opened during the day, for whatever reason, authorisation had to be gained from the Area Manager and SSS before proceeding that didn't last too long!

 

[Jolyon]

Are you referring to the silver key, or the black key?

When SCO was launched, the silver key was supposed to be kept in the main safe apart from when it was being used. Does anybody know if this has changed?

Sidenote - I remember when SCO was launched, and the note dispensed needed to be opened during the day, for whatever reason, authorisation had to be gained from the Area Manager and SSS before proceeding that didn't last too long!

Black key, silver key is only down when we open and when we close.

 

[BSammy]

That all sounds awesome

3). We don't worry about manually ordering change. As far as I know, that's all done automatically??

Automatically? It's done by us fine folk in the cash office.

 

[Aquawhite]

That all sounds awesome


Automatically? It's done by us fine folk in the cash office.

You guys have the best/easiest job.

 

[Jolyon]

That all sounds awesome


Automatically? It's done by us fine folk in the cash office.

Our cash office staff are lazy bludgers. Hate them