Joey ([info]binko1) wrote in [info]walmart_employe,
@ 2008-05-13 23:20:00
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Dept. 5 / 87 Mod Updates
I'm just curious how other stores are handling the modular refresh taking place on Monday, May 19th for electronics and the connection center.

Our store isn't doing anything overnight. Everyone in the department would like to, along with our assistant, but the store manager doesn't find it necessary.

So this week we are moving the sections to where we would like them (with the existing mods) and will be staring the modular updates on Friday the 16th during the day.

What are your stores doing?

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[info]darklord
2008-05-14 05:35 am UTC (link)
Well just started but they got the tvs done in one night. The new sharp tv's look good.

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[info]shortone17
2008-05-14 11:08 am UTC (link)
We'll be doing it overnight. We do all modulars overnight. Without customers it goes a lot faster so we get done quicker. It takes less payroll to do it overnight than to drag it out during the day.

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[info]aisforapathy
2008-05-14 09:41 pm UTC (link)
Our electronics department manager did a few of hers overnight, with some assistance from a few other department managers, but she and her team have been trying to do the remaining ones during the day. Which of course is easier said than done. I've been trying to help out where I can.

I'm technically almost done with my Connection Center mods. All I really have left is wireless accessories, which I'm saving until after our inventory (next Monday). I don't have nearly enough product in for it yet to make it look decent. I did my prepaid phone mod last night, and the GPS accessories the day before. I'm still waiting on four more small GPS bases so that I can put all six units into the one case; right now, they are split up into two cases...the three Garmin models still in the Marketing Position #1 case (supposed to end tomorrow so that electronics can put Mario Kart in it, but probably won't) and the two TomToms/one Magellan in the usual GPS case. I'm also still waiting on the remainder of the new signing for the digital services panel and the prepaid mod, as well as new box stock and dummy phones for the postpaid mod, which is finished otherwise.

The only thing that sucked about doing the mods ahead of schedule was having to manually create each label with a Telxon and printer, but I didn't have that many because the product on the prepaid mod changed only slightly (T-Mobile prepaid phones coming off completely because they hardly sell, one new Virgin Mobile phone added, and we're starting to carry Boost Mobile) and there are only sixteen pegs of GPS accessories. Fortunately I can avoid that problem with the wireless accessories mod because the labels will be printable in the SMART system by next week.

What are you guys doing with all of your satellite radio stuff that's going away? We have way too much left, and although I've marked it down quite a bit it still isn't moving very much. I have it merchandised on one side of a four-way for the time being.

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[info]binko1
2008-05-15 01:22 am UTC (link)
We haven't started any of our mods yet. I'm stuck starting them tomorrow when I come in.

The first mod that I plan on setting is the GPS case. We don't have any market position cases around the register as most stores do. We have a 4 foot case located on the photo center wall for GPS. And the accessories are going above the case. Do you know if we are supposed to use live displays or if we will be receiving the additional dummy units?

For our prepaid mod, we're getting Virgin Mobile added. And for the contract mod, AT&T is being dropped altogether and Sprint is being added.

We don't have much satellite radio mod stuff. We're going to mark it down and use it when we do our weekend table sales at the front registers. (along with the majority of our cameras that were deleted)

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[info]aisforapathy
2008-05-15 04:03 am UTC (link)
You should be getting additional dummy units. When my MEM stopped in recently, he said that all stores should be carrying six different GPS units: the Garmin 200, 200W, and 260, the TomTom One and TomTom One XL-S, and the Magellan 3220. Not every store, however, is getting the 4 ft. section of accessories.

I'm really surprised you guys are losing AT&T. We do awesome amounts of sales with them, and their activation/credit/customer service people are always incredible. How I wish we could get rid of T-Mobile though! They SUCK in just about every respect. I have however realized the benefit of using the personal coverage check tool before letting a customer sign up for a contract with them. (I live in an area where their coverage is pretty weak in most parts.) It reduces the chances that the phone will be returned a day or two after purchase.

I had our satellite radio merch on a table near the Connection Center for a few days, until our MEM came along and told me to take it down. I'd love to be able to do more weekend table events, but my associates are never very pleased when I ask them to go stand up near the front. So I've cut them back to maybe once a month in order to minimize bitchiness and complaining, lol.

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[info]binko1
2008-05-15 04:17 am UTC (link)
Yep, those are the exact ones we are carrying. But we only have the four foot section which is fine as our sales aren't amazing in that category. I really like the fact that we are carrying six instead of the one (!) that we sell now. (the TT XL-S)

Right now we have Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile. We have steady sales for AT&T. It makes absolutely no sense that we are loosing AT&T to Sprint instead of T-Mobile.

T-Mobile's coverage around here is horrible... although we don't have much coverage, our sales seem to be increasing for them recently. (however zero movement in T-mo prepaid) I would so much rather lose T-Mobile. But that was our MEM's decision.

I'm going to steal an endcap from the department over for some of our clearance stuff as well.

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[info]aisforapathy
2008-05-16 01:34 am UTC (link)
See, I'd LOVE to get Sprint back in our store. I didn't work for Wal-Mart when we did have it, but from everything I've heard it was much better than T-Mobile. The only problem is not many people in the town of Lockport, NY (where my store is located) have great credit, so T-Mobile's FlexPay option works out well for them.

We just got the LG Venus and Voyager phones in for Verizon last week. They both look awesome, but I doubt they'll start moving in my store until their prices go down. (Right now, they are $148.88 and $299.98, respectively, for a two-year contract.)

I'd love to be able to steal someone else's space for my deleted/clearance stuff. I did the wireless accessories mod tonight, and I have a huge heaping cart of stuff that came off (most of it being the TalkWorks line of home/car chargers, since they're being replaced by Durabrand). My only option right now is to box it all up and shove it somewhere in my bins; once inventory passes, I'll find a place for it on the sales floor.

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[info]binko1
2008-05-16 01:58 am UTC (link)
Yep, that's why T-mobile is going so well in our store. The horrible credit that other carriers deny gets signed up with T-mobile. We've been selling our Sidekicks like crazy.

We also got the Venus and Voyager last week. I stuck them in the backroom as they aren't going to sell here either with the high price tag.

I set the GPS modular today. Do you know if we are supposed to get fact tags? I just printed 4pt small fact tags, but they didn't have any information on them.

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[info]aisforapathy
2008-05-16 09:29 pm UTC (link)
You should be getting a model-specific fact tag for each GPS, which will fit in a slot on the base. According to the cover letter for the modular, "carrier reps" will be in to provide them. (Though I've never seen a carrier rep for Garmin or anyone else in my store; perhaps the signing just comes in through directs?) The only thing you may want to print are Rollback flags if any of your models are on Rollback. (All but the Magellan are in my store.)

I have to get a hold of my MEM sometime next week, as I'm still waiting on the smaller bases for the dummy units. If I don't get them sometime soon, I'm going to be having two GPS cases instead of one.

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[info]binko1
2008-05-17 04:24 am UTC (link)
Yeah we already had plenty of bases from the other MP3 / iPod cases.

I've never seen a rep for Garmin. However we have regular reps that come in almost every week for Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile.

I did our prepaid phone mod today, and we lost all of the Boost Mobile and T-Mobile prepaid. Virgin Mobile got added.

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[info]inpicklecountry
2008-05-22 06:13 am UTC (link)
They're doing it overnights....all major mod changes happen overnights. Not only people from Electronics, but some from Toys and Shoes are working together on this one. I tease them that by the time they're done, they will have gotten used to working overnights

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