The six week schedule for sales associates was released today. My department has 2 full time and 1 part time sales associates. We are scheduled each day with just an associate to open and an associate to close. Also, the full time associates are scheduled 9 or 10 hours each day for two of the six weeks. This is added overtime that we didn’t know would happen. We need more workers to open some of the days when the shifts start at 5:30 or 6:30 am and to close some of the days when the shifts end at 10:30 and 11:30 pm or 12 am the next day. These extended store hours and added overtime for only 3 associates doesn’t give us enough recovery time and will not be good for customer service.
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The only day we need extended hours (8 or 9 am to 10 or 11 pm) is Black Friday.
Sounds like OP's store is maybe having issues with seasonal hiring. It'll be interesting to see how many customers actually show up for those late night hours.
They hired too many people at our store and then we have crazy hours like we close at 11 or 12 for the holidays and customers don’t come that late anymore. This is postpandemic world, makes no sense to have the stores open that late. Then they won’t make the numbers for the holiday season and proceed to lay off people like they do every January before the new fiscal year starts in February. They could have saved money by closing the stores earlier and not hiring so many people in certain stores.
Isn't a little extra overtime a good thing? Weren't people complaining about not enough hours in 2019? Those hours are typical for a normal Christmas season. Many people won't come in for the early and late 4 hour shifts. It won't work financially for them. Psychologically, a little mess at Christmas time might actually help sales. It's like blood in the water. If the floor looks immaculate as Christmas approaches, people will feel like there is no rush and expect prices to go lower. Some Macy's have more employees in the store than there are customers. Make sure you have a good plan for Christmas fulfillment.
If we open at 9 or 10 and close at 9 or 10 that is fair for associates and customers. Most Macy’s stores are in malls and the mall stores open later and close earlier than those hours.
The schedules are a train wreck. Yes, of course we need to hire more people, but you can't conjure up people to fill the jobs. And for the ones who do want to be hired, the system to do so is broken, too. Today was just another example of the I-9 system being down again and everything at a standstill nationwide. Our MBA was almost in tears with what was happening, had to send three people home.