PA

PA

n. 1. The STORE'S Public Address system. When not otherwise in use, a steady stream of MUS-ICK! issues forth, periodically punctuated by pre-recorded PROMOS. See also PAGE, below. 2. (Very rarely) a Performance Appraisal, or job review.

Page

Page

n. Any call or announcement made over the STORE'S Public Address system: “Did you hear that page?” —v. To make such a call or announcement: “Did you page me?”

NOTE: Some people seem to thing that talking incredibly fast and/or sounding impatient or cranky is the right way to make a Page. Uh,... no.

Consider what's playing over the PA before your Page interrupts: MUS-ICK! and the occasional PROMO with professional production values. The idea here is to provide an audio environment that soothes and informs the CUSTOMERS. To help encourage them to be happy shoppers.

Thus, your style of speaking when making Pages should likewise soothe and inform. For example: “Customer assistance to Captain's Choice, please. Customer assistance to Captain's Choice.” Friendly; good manners; that kind of thing.

HOW TO: Make a PAGE

1. Pick up the telephone handset.
   

Press and release the "Page" button on the body of the phone.


Speak into the handset receiver slowly, clearly, and loud enough to be heard.

Repeat the message, saying the person's name or department name and the place or phone extension they should contact twice.


Press and release the small rectangular "Release" button on the body of the phone to break the connection silently and avoid making a loud audible “clunk” over the PA system.

5. Hang up the telephone handset.

Repetition and speaking slowly is important because—like you—other ASSOCIATES and MANAGERS are busy, are sometimes in a noisy environment, or are in the middle of conversations, and so on, and may not immediately “tune in” to what you're saying. So, help them out: speak slowly, clearly, and give the important information twice. If nothing else, it cuts way down on those ridiculous: “Please repeat the last page...” Pages.

Peek-Cut

Peek-Cut

v. To peek, or look into the interior of a CARDBOARD CASE while piercing its side with a BOX CUTTER and drawing the blade around the outside of the BOX to trim away its lid and a significant amount of its upper portion, thereby reducing its height. —n. Any cut so made. See also BASE-CUT, BOX CUTTER, H-CUT, LIFT-CUT, SHARK-CUT, STACK-CUT, TAPE-CUT, TOP-CUT, TRAY-CUT, WINDOW-CUT, X-CUT.

NOTE: The purpose behind cutting away the upper part of a partially full CASE is to save space on a SPECIALS RUNNER and/or OVERSTOCK CART. And clearly, the benefit of using a Peek-Cut to do it is that you see what the KNIFE blade is doing in the CASE'S interior, and thus avoid creating inadvertent STORE DAMAGE as you attempt to cut away as much of the unwanted portion of the BOX as possible without nicking or cutting the PRODUCT inside.

Yes, you can get all macho about it, “guess-timate,” and possibly make many successful cuts without looking or peeking inside, but why put contents at risk? Don't. Instead—take a peek. It works much better that way!

Pick of the Week

Pick of the Week

n. 1. A weekly sales promotion of a usually small ITEM at the checkout registers. Abbreviated POTW. 2. CASES of the Pick of the Week ITEM received as part of the usual LOAD: “Where's my Pick of the Week?”

Pinwheel Fold

Pinwheel Fold

v. To close a BOX or CASE by laying flaps down in a clockwise or counter-clockwise order, and folding the last flap under the first to hold them relatively secure. —n. Any closure made in such manner.

Pinwheel Pack

Pinwheel Pack

v. To put PRODUCT into a BOX, CASE or CRATE by laying it down in a clockwise or counter-clockwise order, so that the same edge of the PRODUCT packaging is in contact with the outside edge of the container, regardless of the container's rotation. —n. Anything so packed.

NOTE: Wire MILK CRATES are the container of choice for ITEMS like 100-ounce plastic jugs of laundry detergent, and the Pinwheel Pack holds four of them nicely, with every label facing outward for ease of identification.

For pouches of rice or pasta side dishes, lay them on their backs in a pinwheel arrangement, possibly alternating head-for-toe in small STACKS so each composite STACK of STACKS in the pinwheel lies flatter.

As with all packing, the idea is to clearly show what's in there, plus (what may be a slightly competing objective, namely) to minimize the task of reorientation as ITEMS are later extracted.

Plastic

Plastic

n. 1. A strong, flexible and usually transparent or translucent packaging material that's wrapped around tray CASES to keep contents safe during transport. See also H-CUT. 2. A strong, hard, and durable material used to form PALLETS: “Wood or plastic?” 3. The usual shopping bags into which CUSTOMER PURCHASES are placed upon CHECKOUT: “Paper or plastic?”

NOTE: Wrappers from around tray CASES of, e.g., spaghetti sauce, cat food, etc. all get recycled. While on your cart, stash them in a BOX, or better yet, a MILK CRATE to prevent them flying around and driving you crazy.

CAUTION: Out in the AISLE, be very careful to keep all Plastic wrappers under control so nobody slips on them!

Back in the BACK ROOM, put Plastic wrappers into the extra-large “CAN LINER” bag knotted to the door hinge of the BAILER in RECEIVING. When the bag is full, it gets cut off, tied closed, and thrown onto the TRUCK along with any BALES, PALETTES, etc. returning to the WAREHOUSE.

TIP: H-Cut Plastic Tops. Until you're sure it'll all GO, start with an H-CUT on top when you first open any plastic-wrapped CARDBOARD trays like spaghetti sauce or cat food. This keeps the CASE'S ends and edges tight, and helps maintain the package's integrity if it ends up on the SPECIALS CART or in OVERSTOCK.

Purchase

Purchase

v. To buy something. —n. The ITEM or ITEMS so bought.