Rack

Rack

n. 1. The heavy-duty multi-story steel storage shelving BAYS in the BACK ROOM. 2. See BLACK RACK. 3. The designated repository shelving in the RECEIVING area for any STORE DAMAGED ITEMS, B-ITEMS, OUT-OF-DATE ITEMS, etc. —v. To use the HIGH-LIFT to put a PALLET, often WRAPPED, up into the Rack1 in the OVERSTOCK area: “Rack this.”

Rain Check

Rain Check

n. A make-good promissory slip issued by the CUSTOMER SERVICE DEPARTMENT upon CUSTOMER request when a SALE ITEM is OUT OF STOCK, thereby guarantying the CUSTOMER the PRODUCT at the stated SALE PRICE at a later date when the PRODUCT is again available.

Rally Point

Rally Point

n. A designated place outdoors for all employees to convene in the event of a fire or other emergency that requires everyone to exit the STORE. See also ALARM.

NOTE: The idea is to make sure everyone is safe and accounted for.

The Rally Point should be clearly posted in the BREAK ROOM. Mine is printed in big letters at the bottom of a large blueprint of the STORE'S floor plan.

Keep in mind that Rally Points may change. Mine used to be in front of a particular bank, but the bank moved. So, now we're supposed to get together at the flagpole far across the parking LOT.

If you're not 100% sure where your Rally Point is, find out!

Ramrod

Ramrod

n. A long, hollow segmented iron pipe, usually black or green, that is used when necessary to clear the wire channels in the underside of the platen of the BALER. See BALER, MAKE A BALE.

“Randomizers”

“Randomizers”

n. A possible cause behind many odd RESHOPS, these are a class of people—akin to the gremlins of myth—who either singly or possibly in clubs or other organized groups appear to take delight in making special trips to the STORE for the sole purpose of removing ITEMS from their proper SPOTS on the SHELF and, after some indeterminate period of random ambulation, then randomly setting them down in an entirely senseless location. See also EVIL-STOCK-DUDE.

RCS

RCS

n. “Remarkable Customer Service.” The name of a corporate slogan program.

NOTE: Where I work, except for a few individuals who already “got it” because they walked in with it, RCS was evidenced for a long, long time by a few posters in the BREAK ROOM, and not much else.

Recently, however, all ASSOCIATES have had to take mandatory “G.E.T. Friendly” training, where they view an inspirational video and learn that “G.E.T.” stands for “Greet,” “Eye-Contact,” and “Thank.” Then they get a campaign-style button that says “I make the promise.”

Well, as I have some background in instructional design, I know that performance training—teaching a skill—is one thing, and affective training—that is, instilling a new attitude—is quite another. Generally, it's several orders of magnitude more difficult, and usually succeeds only if you understand you have to seek change not only in the employee, but in the surrounding environment as well. Further, I've heard of no metric by which they're going to measure these hoped for changes, reward those who shine, or rehabilitate those who slack off.

So, while I wish them well, I wonder how long it may take before “G.E.T. Friendly” becomes just another few posters in the BREAK ROOM, and not much else.

Recall

Recall

v. To remove one or more PRODUCTS from the SHELF immediately upon management notification that there is or may be an unacceptable problem, for the sake of CUSTOMER safety, etc. —n. The official notification to perform such a Recall: “There's a recall on many cat and dog foods.” —adj. Any PRODUCT so designated: “Sorry—that's a Recalled item.”

NOTE: Any Recalled ITEM is immediately N.F.S.—Not For Sale—and will be so flagged at the registers and confiscated. CUSTOMER who have purchased suspect PRODUCT prior to the issuance of the Recall may return it for a full credit or refund at the CUSTOMER SERVICE DESK. Recalled PRODUCTS are generally collected and destroyed on-site, and accounted for under SHRINK.

Receipt

Receipt

n. A printed paper tape record evidencing legitimate purchases. See also “PAID” STICKER.

Receipt Check

Receipt Check

n. A surprise inspection by MANAGEMENT, typically occurring in the BREAK ROOM, to ensure that STORE ITEMS in ASSOCIATES' possession have all been legitimately PURCHASED. Regardless of location, ASSOCIATES must always have both a RECEIPT and a “PAID” STICKER for any/all STORE ITEMS—such as drinks, snacks, etc.—in their personal possession.

Receiver

Receiver

n. The person or manager who oversees and tracks the arrival and departure of all PRODUCTS and other VENDOR-related ITEMS that enter and leave the STORE via the TRUCK, VENDOR delivery RUNS, and otherwise. Also tracks STORE DAMAGE, OUT-OF-DATE ITEMS, and other kinds of SHRINK.

Receiving

Receiving

n. 1. The loading DOCK. 2. The DEPARTMENT the RECEIVER manages.

Recipe Kiosk

CAPTION

Recipe Kiosk

n. A special free-standing KIOSK located near the Meat DEPARTMENT that can SCAN product BARCODES and provide CUSTOMERS with printouts of various menu and recipe options for the SCANNED ITEM.

Reclaim PALLET

Reclaim PALLET

n. A PALLET on the DOCK between the STORE DAMAGES RACK and the RECEIVER'S desk where the RECEIVER STACKS used BANANA BOXES full of ITEMS being collected for RECLAMATION. Also RECOVERY PALLET.

Recovery PALLET

Recovery PALLET

n. See RECLAIM PALLET (in RECEIVING).

Reclamation

Reclamation

n. The process, performed by the STORE'S RECEIVER, of collecting and documenting ITEMS that are to be returned to the manufacturer or supplier for a refund or credit.

NOTE: There are three categories of ITEMS the RECEIVER can't submit for Reclaim/RECOVERY credits regardless of whether they suffer STORE DAMAGE, go OUT-OF-DATE, etc., or not, namely:

• DSD,
• PRIVATE LABEL, and
• SWELL ALLOWANCE.

Rectangulosis

“Rectangulosis”

n. An annoying condition that is either discovered or may occur when THROWING rectangular ITEMS to the SHELF, if HOLES are narrow and/or adjacent ITEMS are spaced tightly, where a corner will have snagged as an ITEM or handful of ITEMS were slid into the HOLE, creating a false, diagonal back surface, and which makes it necessary to withdraw sometimes significant amounts of PRODUCT, often realign its neighbors, and try again to insert them flush and square.

NOTE: Typical offenders are things like Jell-o®, spaghetti, and aluminum foil, but no tightly packed rectangular packages are immune.

One tip for quickly and easily straightening the irregular or jagged sides of a HOLE: cut off a flap from a CARDBOARD CASE otherwise destined for the BALER and use it as a “paddle” to gently push things into alignment.

Red Juice

Red Juice

n. See SPITFIRE®.

REGIS

“REGIS”

n. See RGIS®.

Register

Register

n. A cash till at CHECKOUT manned by a person. Compare U-SCAN.

Regular Price

Regular Price

n. The usual price for an ITEM when it is not ON SALE, as stated on the uppermost portion of the ITEM'S SHELF TAG. Also written R/R.

Rep.

Rep.

n. Short for “Representative”. See VENDOR.

Reset

Reset

v. To systematically reorganize an area, AISLE, or section of SHELVING by CUTTING IN NEW ITEMS, removing DISCONTINUED ITEMS, and arranging everything according to a given, corporate-supplied PLAN-O-GRAM. See RGIS®. —n. The result of such actions: “Wait until after the next reset.”

NOTE: Typically if not always, Resets are done by a special RESET TEAM brought in from outside.

Reset Notice

Reset Notice

n. A paper note taped to a shelf at one end of a section, saying, e.g.: “Attention Night Crew: This section will be reset on (such-and-so date).”

NOTE: Reset Notices are intended as an reminder to the NIGHT CREW CHIEF (among others) not to ORDER any additional PRODUCT for the posted section until after the Reset is complete. Excess INVENTORY on the SHELF would simply be more for the RESET TEAM to move around, and would thus slow them down.

Reset Team

Reset Team

n. An external team of people who specialize in doing RESETS. See RGIS®.

Re-Shop

Re-Shop

n. Any ITEM found out-of-place or declined by a CUSTOMER at check-out that needs to be returned to the SHELF: “That's a re-shop.” —v. To return a bunch of such ITEMS to their proper SPOTS on the SHELF: “I'm doing re-shops.”

Re-Shop CART

Re-Shop CART

n. A SHOPPING CART kept in the BACK ROOM and/or at the FRONT-END to hold abandoned ITEMS discovered around the STORE, or ITEMS declined by CUSTOMERS at CHECKOUT. These CARTS are periodically WORKED by CASHIERS to return ITEMS to their proper SPOTS on the SHELF.

RGIS®

RGIS®

n. (pronounced “REE-jiss”) Originally, “Retail Grocery Inventory Service,” now just “RGIS Inventory Services,” since—as a global supplier of INVENTORY, merchandising and staffing services—their client base is no longer limited to GROCERY STORES alone.

NOTE: Like many others, my STORE outsources INVENTORY DAY and RESETS to this company. They send in a team of specialists, and the job gets done. What's not to like?

For more information about RGIS®, see:
^{http://www.rgisinv.com/}

Rim Lock

Rim Lock

n. An annoying occasional occurrence usually only encountered upon making an H-CUT, and characterized by the bottom rim of one can inside a plastic wrapped CASE resting atop the bottom rim of the very first can you're trying to lift out, thus preventing its easy extraction.

NOTE: How high can you jump while someone stands on your toes? Same thing here. You can't fight Rim Lock; just select a different can to remove first, and bypass the log jam.

Ring Nails

Ring Nails

n. The type of nails commonly used when constructing PALLETS, whose shaft is encircled by a series of many raised rings, making for a stronger fastener, significantly harder to accidentally come loose as PALLETS get routinely tossed around.

R/O

R/O

n. “Request Off,” i.e., part of an additional written notation on the calendar in the GROCERY BACK ROOM that means either someone wants a particular day off, or that on a particular day no such requests off will be honored.

NOTE: You can put your name on a date square of the calendar with the notation “R/O”, and it means you want to request that day off—i.e., to not be scheduled to work.

On the other hand, there are times when you're not going to get your wish, because, e.g., maybe it's INVENTORY time, or some such thing, and so the GROCERY MANAGER writes , “NO R/O” on one or more calendar squares to say, in effect, “Don't even bother to ask, because we're going to be very busy that day.”

R.O.T.

R.O.T.

n. “Rule Of Thumb,” defined by MANAGEMENT as, “Guidelines for stocking the shelf that reduces inventory.” See also WORST EVER....

Rotate

Rotate

v. To keep overall STOCK levels as fresh as possible and minimize SHRINK due to OUT-OF-DATE losses by pulling LOAD in the HOLE forward, and refilling new INVENTORY to the back: “Always rotate baby food!”

NOTE: Some things deteriorate faster than others, and eventually will go bad if left too long on the SHELF. Baby food is a prime example of an ITEM where you have to pay close attention to EXPIRATION DATES. Bottled salad dressings would be another.

Consider: if new stuff is always pushed into the FACE of the HOLE, you may eventually run the risk of some ITEMS in the very back going O.O.D. And let me tell you, it can be downright embarrassing to have a CUSTOMER bring this to your attention, saying, “Hey—all this stuff is no good!”

Ideally, you want to pursue a “FIFO,” or “FIRST-IN, FIRST-OUT” strategy with every such time-sensitive PRODUCT, where the “oldest” always gets brought to the front of the HOLE so it can be purchased first, ahead of the “younger” ITEMS that come in to replenish the SHELF.

Realistically, though, it takes a lot more work to THROW to the BACK. That's because often you'll have to remove some or even all of the ITEMS to make enough room to put newer STOCK into position at the rear.

Well, it's like they say: “Sometimes, you just gotta do what you just gotta do.”

The good news is that not all ITEMS are so time-sensitive. There are plenty of things—paper goods, for example—where you don't even have to think about STOCK Rotation. Just fill it full to the face and move on.

Row-Down (#)

Row-Down (#)

v. To take everything from the top row(s) of a DISPLAY, typically on an END-CAP or 3-WAY, and merge it all neatly into the row or rows below, usually in order to make room for something else. If a number, (#), is omitted, then 1 is implied. Otherwise, the DISPLAY is to be contracted by the specified number of rows: “Row-down this sauce, one.”

NOTE: By implication, the lower row(s) in the DISPLAY must be relatively HOLLOW or sparse, so there is enough room to accommodate the additional PRODUCT.

Row-Up (#)

Row-Up (#)

v. The inverse, or opposite of ROW-DOWN. That is, to free up the bottom or specified number of lowest SHELVES in a DISPLAY my merging PRODUCT upward into the (presumably sparsely populated) existing row(s) above.

R/R

R/R

n. “Regular/Retail.” That is, an ITEM that either was not or is no longer ON SALE. See REGULAR PRICE.

Run

Run

n. A scheduled visit or delivery by a recognized VENDOR: “Do you have another run today?”

Runner

Runner

n. A long and narrow flatbed CART, with one or two tall vertical ends and an optional shelf that is used to carry e.g., CASES of PRODUCTS around the STORE and up and down the AISLES with minimum obstruction to shoppers. See also CART, U-CART. Also FLOAT, GLIDER, U-BOAT.

TIP: Work Beside Your Runner. Your runner works as a “windbreak,” directing CUSTOMERS around you, and minimizes your obstruction of the AISLE. If you work across the AISLE, you may often have to wait for CUSTOMERS to pass by, and they'll see you as an even greater nuisance than you see them—so don't.