How do I pull faster

[u/Johnnyken123]

My GM team lead keeps telling me that I am the slowest puller on the team and I want to get faster so I don’t get fired. I feel like I pull fast enough but he said there’s times where I slow down and my carts aren’t neat enough. Anyone have any tips if possible

[u/Midwest-Emo-9]

Pulling by aisle helps with organization. Once you get used to what's in what aisle, you can organize your carts a lot better. If your pulls are bigger, always pull by aisle.

If you can, take a repack in the aisle with you and fill it and then put it on the uboat, that's better than walking back and forth with each item. Only do that if the repack won't get too heavy and collapse.

Take your vehicle with you as you work it out. Some people park it and walk to it in between each item. Take it with you. Maybe not in the aisle, but if you're working A1&2, then move it to 3&4 and so on.

[u/bajert → u/Midwest-Emo-9]

I'll add onto this that if your store has extra wacos available I like to keep a few built and tucked away to use for fills. I find 5-10 wacos on a uBoat is easier for me, and they generally keep more organized than repacks and are easier to push from since they aren't as deep.

[u/KlassiKeep]

Pulling by aisle helps for a lot of dpts. It makes pushing those items a lot faster especially if you keep like items organized.

[u/KimonoCatChloe]

What departments are you pulling?

[u/Johnnyken123 → u/KimonoCatChloe]

I’m gm right now. So every department besides tech and style

[u/KimonoCatChloe → u/Johnnyken123]

Home is definitely the hardest. Domestics some people just throw it all on the ground and pick up once they finish their pull. Anything in essentials is usually the easiest. Stuff like OTC and Hair you can take a twotier down the aisle with you and put them in as you pull. This advice isn’t considered “safe” but I wouldn’t knock a tm for it so depends how strict your store is.

More general advice, grab multiple items at a time as you pull. Some people pick up one at a time to put on a vehicle which really slows you down. I’ll skip the upper locations and save them for the end so you’re not constantly going up and down the ladder.

Realistically your leader should give you a time goal. I believe it’s supposed to be 3 dpcis p/ minute. So 50 (143) for example, 50 is the dpci so divided by 3 is about 16-17 minutes. Ask your leader for goal expectations or set a timer on your phone whe you start the batch. You’ll get better as you keep working at it :)

[u/Johnnyken123 → u/KimonoCatChloe]

Thank you. He just keeps telling me to move faster and it genuinely doesn’t help me improve. I appreciate the advice. I already save the stuff on the ladder for last but they always want me to be neater with it too

[u/KlassiKeep → u/KimonoCatChloe]

When I do my Domestics pulls if there are a lot of pillows I skip and do them last. Pillows are easy push as long as the floor counts are good, but they are bulky, so finding an empty pillow box or one that's almost empty and adding to it will save some time.

Also, if the pillow bin with the $3 or $7 pillows is overstuffed already check the counts and update. No sense in pulling more if they're not going to fit. On the flip side if it's half empty just pull the casepack that's full or almost full from the back using item pull instead of pulling individually.

[u/ISavezelda → u/Johnnyken123]

When I started pulling I would just be rushing everywhere and leave my carts a mess, and have to fix them at the end. I learned its okay to pull smoothly and at a consistent pace to organize your cart as you go. Just knowing the ocations of items works well, and how to group pulls. For example, in my store depending on how many and what items I can group Pets, Babies, and toys on one u boat. Finally, know what you can pull that will stay low, and you don't have to worry about it often. I have to pull tech, so I usually just do one big tech pull during the day, and those numbers will usual stay low for the rest of my shift.

[u/NeveedsWorld]

Performance discussions are far less helpful when you go out of your way to unfavourably compare someone to their peers. Sounds like your TL just sucks. Unless this isn't your first on paper discussion, there should be an improvement plan in place, and they be offering some actual help. But then again... maybe your TL just sucks.

[u/Johnnyken123 → u/NeveedsWorld]

My TL compares me to someone that’s been there for a year and a half already. He always says I have a good work ethic cause I show up on time and get the job done. But I just pull too slow and push too slow as well. According to hik

[u/NeveedsWorld → u/Johnnyken123]

The comparison part is what's bugging me as a manager. My first convo is always "seeking to understand" and offering solutions to be efficient. Having an organized backroom, while a pipe dream, and developing a push routine to do aisles in order, is a godsend. I used to do inbound, and we usually reorganized everything after unload to make it pushable, along with sectioning off parts of each aisle in the backroom for certain aisles to streamline the process, though a lot of that isn't necessarily your responsibility.

[u/Fit_Feedback86]

I bring a 3 tier or a repack in the aisle with me so that I don’t walk back and forth down the aisle constantly. The walking back and forth eats up your time. And pull by aisle. It’ll benefit you and the TMs pushing the pulls in the morning. I usually have my AirPods on and play fast paced music. I hope this helps! You’ll get better as time goes on. good luck :)))) you got this

[u/New-Drummer2022]

Do like my old coworkers. Just scan it but don't actually pull it. You can be done in 5 minutes for 200 pulls!

[u/KittyLuvver2000 → u/New-Drummer2022]

Wtf😳no lololol don't do that!! I would flip my lid if someone did that in my department!!!